Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 275: Transformation of the Soul

"You don't need to belittle yourself. Reaching this level demonstrates your talent and comprehension in treasure refining. If you're interested in treasure refining, I can pass on my insights and experience to you. I can't speak for other things, but I have considerable expertise in treasure refining." The Mountain-Sitting Guest laughed heartily, clearly pleased with Jiang Ye's humility.
As he spoke, the Mountain Guest waved his hand, and a crystal-clear rhombus-shaped crystal appeared out of thin air in front of Jiang Ye.

This crystal has a perfect rhomboid structure, with each facet refracting a dreamlike array of colors. Inside, it seems as if countless stars are twinkling and leaping, like a miniature, dazzling galaxy, exuding a mysterious and enchanting aura.

“Disciple, this crystal contains some basic knowledge of treasure refining. Although it is only introductory content, it is enough for your current stage.” The Mountain Guest said seriously, “Not only that, this crystal is made of Void Source Star Crystal and has a storage space inside, which contains some common treasure refining materials. Among them are some very rare materials.”

Jiang Ye was overjoyed. This was an opportunity he had been longing for. He possessed the Qiankun Cauldron and countless weapon-refining techniques from the Great Thousand Worlds. If he could also receive personal instruction from a Treasure Refining God King…

He said respectfully, "Thank you for your kindness, teacher. I will study diligently."

"Yes, remember this: the art of refining treasures cannot be rushed. The knowledge contained in this crystal, though basic, is also profound and requires you to comprehend it carefully." The Mountain Guest nodded slightly, his eyes full of expectation.

"However, with your current strength, it is enough to study some refining materials. As for refining treasures and above, it is too early for you. It is not too late to explore it in depth after you successfully break through and become immortal."

Jiang Ye nodded. He understood what the Mountain Guest meant. Refining treasures was ultimately just an auxiliary means; one's own understanding and cultivation of the laws were the most important things. Moreover, refining an ordinary treasure often required tens or even hundreds of years, and he was currently only a Realm Lord with a limited lifespan.

"Put this crystal away," said the Mountain Dweller.

"Yes, teacher!" Jiang Ye bowed respectfully and then put the rhombus-shaped crystal in his hand into his world ring.

……

"Alright, take a look at these..." The mountain dweller stretched out a hand, and a water droplet emitting a soft golden light floated gently into his palm.

On the surface of the water droplets, golden light flowed, as if they were alive, shining brightly.

“In the beginning, I deliberately transformed the Earth to make it a cradle for nurturing special souls.”

The Mountain-Sitting Guest, with a slightly wistful expression, slowly said, "These are the offspring that I left for the original soul of the leader of the Earth lineage, namely the Soldier Soul, General Soul, King Soul, and Emperor Soul. Only the souls of Earthlings can use them. Besides Earthlings, only your second senior brother, the leader of the Flame God Clan, has the ability to use the Soldier Soul, General Soul, and other offspring. However, he already possesses the original soul, so these offspring are not indispensable to him."

"However--"

"These sub-entities are of vital importance to the Earthlings."

"Once they possess these, the Earthlings will have the opportunity to create an extremely formidable legion of psychic magic users. Whether they are masters of psychic magic or illusionists skilled in illusion, they will all become exceptionally powerful. These offspring can significantly reduce the probability of the Earthlings' elites perishing, thus greatly increasing the probability of the birth of a Cosmic Venerable!"

"We are all connected to the Earth, and our future is limitless."

"However, only souls born on Earth possess this unique characteristic. But Earth's space is limited, which restricts the number of Earthlings. Although being confined to this small planet makes Earthlings, like the Yan God Clan, scarce, the probability of them producing powerful individuals is extremely high. Given enough time, once your fourth junior brother, the leader of the Earth lineage, recognizes the Star Tower as his master, he will surely have a place among the future super-powerful beings. At that time, under his protection, guidance, and nurturing, a powerful race will naturally be able to be cultivated."

Jiang Ye gazed at the water droplets slowly drifting in the endless void, thinking to himself that even without these sub-bodies, the Earth lineage was destined for a bright future thanks to the existence of Luo Feng, the protagonist.

A towering building rises from the ground; the foundation of a building plays a decisive role in whether it can be built into a skyscraper.

Looking across the vast universe, in terms of conditions and resources, there is probably no one else who can compare with the protagonist Luo Feng, except for myself at this moment.

The Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, the Star Tower (a divine king's weapon), the Tribulation Armor (a supreme treasure), and the opportunity to become a disciple of a reincarnated divine king—such heaven-defying opportunities all belong to a single realm lord. How extraordinary!

“Jiang Ye, my disciple.” The Mountain-Sitting Guest raised his hand and pointed to the floating water droplets around him, saying, “There are a total of one million soldier souls, one hundred thousand general souls, ten thousand king souls, and one thousand emperor souls here. They are similar to the armor of the Yan God Clan, such as soldier armor and general armor. While soldier armor and general armor place a heavy burden on the body and have demanding requirements, these soldier souls and general souls have extremely high requirements for the soul.”

"Specifically, when an ordinary human realm master reaches their peak state, they can fully bear the weapon spirit."

"To bear the soul of a general, one must possess a soul strength a hundred times greater than that of a peak human world lord."

"As for the King's Soul, it requires a soul strength ten thousand times greater than that of a peak human world lord to bear it."

"And the most powerful royal soul requires a soul strength a million times greater than that of a peak human world lord to control."

The Mountain-Sitting Guest turned his gaze to Jiang Ye and said, "Disciple, you are not of the Earth lineage, so you cannot directly recognize these sub-souls as your masters. Originally, I planned to personally modify a few for you and bestow them upon you. However, given that you were able to successfully modify the King Armor and now intend to follow me to learn treasure refining, you will modify these King Souls yourself!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Ye frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the floating king souls as he quickly pondered.

Recalling how the Qiankun Cauldron transformed the King Armor, ultimately making its effects comparable to the Imperial Armor, it's important to understand that the Imperial Armor and Imperial Soul, in terms of their effects alone, are even more powerful than some precious treasures, and the materials consumed in creating them must have been extremely valuable.

If one can further upgrade the Imperial Soul based on the existing modifications, it might bring unexpected and enormous benefits.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ye clasped his hands slightly and said respectfully, "Teacher, I dare to ask you for a few more royal souls."

"Oh, a Royal Soul?" The Mountain-Sitting Guest raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Disciple, the requirements for the strength of the soul and will of this Royal Soul are quite high! It requires a million times the soul power of a peak Human Realm Lord. Moreover, this Royal Soul is already comparable to some powerful treasures. Are you sure you have the confidence to modify it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Ye raised his head, his eyes filled with determination: "Teacher, I can give it a try."

“Soul power is the soldier, consciousness is the general, and willpower is the commander. The stronger the will and consciousness, the greater the strength. These sub-souls are special items, with miraculous effects no less than many precious treasures.” The Mountain-Sitting Guest stared at Jiang Ye for a moment, seeing the determination in his eyes, and couldn’t help but show a smile of appreciation: “However, since you have such determination, you can take a few more royal souls for research. As for the others, leave them for your future fourth junior brother to cultivate the Earth lineage!”

"Yes," Jiang Ye said happily.

With a flick of his hand, he stored thousands of king souls and hundreds of emperor souls into his world ring.

Um... Seeing Jiang Ye still somewhat unsatisfied after taking away one-tenth of the money, Zuo Shan Ke smiled helplessly.

"Follow me!" The Mountain Guest pointed ahead, and a boat began to materialize out of thin air in the void where countless water droplets floated. First, a bow formed, and then it quickly extended towards the stern. Powerful energy gathered, naturally forming a beautiful and elegant cruise ship more than ten kilometers long.

The cruise ship exuded a powerful yet restrained aura, leaving Jiang Ye speechless.

"Get on the boat." The mountain dweller flashed into the boat and sat down cross-legged. At over 900 meters tall, he sat on the more than ten-kilometer-long cruise ship, his proportions perfectly balanced, just like a normal person sitting on a boat about thirty meters long. Jiang Ye and Puti, however, sat quietly on either side of their teacher, like tiny children.

"A creation?" Jiang Ye's eyes were filled with shock. What was in front of him was a cruise ship even more powerful than the spaceship that the Nine Swords Venerable had ridden back then, yet it had been created so easily.

"Surprised? Third Junior Brother, our teacher is one of the strongest beings in the universe. Even the laws governing the universe have to give way to them. Around them, the laws are practically useless. You should have felt it too; you can't even sense the fundamental laws of the universe anymore." Puti smiled at Jiang Ye. "Moreover, our teacher and the others can now make their words come true. Within a certain range around them, it's not the fundamental laws of the universe that are in control, but they themselves!"

"Within a certain scope, whatever the teachers say the rules are, that's what the rules are within that scope!"

"The teacher said that fire can freeze people to death, so it can freeze people to death."

"The teacher said that when countless lives reach their end and are destined to fall, countless strong people will fall."

"The teacher said that stars should disappear and planets should release endless light, and that's how life will be."

"The teacher said that the ultimate speed is no longer light, but ten times the speed of light, so it is possible to reach ten times the speed of light within this region."

"This is the power of words to become law!"

“Within a certain range around the teacher, the original laws governing the universe are rendered useless; the teacher controls everything.” Puti laughed as he looked at Jiang Ye’s dumbfounded expression.

At this moment, Jiang Ye's heart was indeed in turmoil.

Although he knew that reaching the level of the strongest in the universe would grant him some special abilities, such as the power of words to become law, he did not have a concrete and intuitive concept of it.

Seeing it with his own eyes now truly shocked him.

"Of course, it's not as invincible as you imagine. This endless universe... operates in an orderly manner according to the fundamental laws of the universe. It gives the strongest beings in the universe the respect they deserve, but it only grants them certain privileges. These privileges are only available within a certain range around the strongest beings in the universe... If you really want to defy the laws of the universe and become an enemy of the entire universe, then you are undoubtedly courting death."

"Logically speaking, if one's words become law, shouldn't one be able to kill countless powerful individuals at will?"

“But even for the Lords of the Universe, those who truly control a spacetime… it is extremely difficult for the strongest to kill them,” Puti explained telepathically. “The Lords of the Universe are closely connected to the fundamental laws of the universe by using the power of a spacetime. Even the strongest in the universe cannot break this connection.”

……

Jiang Ye clicked his tongue in amazement, feeling even more awe for the vastness and mystery of the universe.

In the past, Jiang Ye considered himself to have a broad perspective, having read the original work and once believed that he had everything under control.

Believing he had the system's assistance, he could grow smoothly all the way, from the Lord of the Universe to a True God... then to a God King, and finally reach the Primordial Lord who transcended the Source World, even fantasizing about climbing to an even higher realm.

Therefore, while he outwardly showed great respect for some powerful individuals, deep down he did not truly harbor a sense of awe towards them.

At this moment, Jiang Ye's heart was in turmoil, and he was acutely aware of his past arrogance.

In this vast and boundless universe, I am but a drop in the ocean. Even with many unique opportunities, it is far from time to be proud and complacent.

A true strongman can determine life and death with a mere gesture.

"Calm down. I am still just a minor realm lord. Even if I have endless treasures and exceptional talent, I am not a true powerhouse yet."

At this moment, Jiang Ye's eyes underwent a noticeable change.

The arrogance and conceit that once lingered in his eyes had faded, replaced by depth and reverence. He lowered his head slightly, no longer unconsciously displaying a hint of haughtiness as before.

Jiang Ye's breathing became more steady, each breath seeming to slowly expel the restlessness in his heart.

His fists clenched and unclenched unconsciously, as if he were bidding farewell to his blindly confident self of the past. His mind seemed to have undergone a baptism of a storm, sweeping away all the illusory fantasies and unrealistic complacency, leaving behind only tranquility and steadfastness.

"Ok?"

Sitting Mountain Guest and Puti keenly noticed the changes in Jiang Ye.

The mountain dweller nodded slightly, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes. Although he didn't know what Jiang Ye was thinking, at that moment, Jiang Ye's spiritual realm had indeed undergone a rare and precious sublimation.

"Hoo." Jiang Ye took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes, his gaze revealing an unprecedented clarity.

Jiang Ye raised his head, looked at Puti gratefully, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

"Huh? Me?" Puti looked puzzled, not understanding why.

The Mountain-Sitting Guest smiled and said, "The path of cultivation is long, and the improvement of one's state of mind is just as important as the growth of one's strength. Since you have such insights, then make good use of them. Now, come with me to tour this Star Tower. When I was refining this Star Tower, it underwent some miraculous changes, which may give you a deeper understanding of treasure refining and the laws."

(End of this chapter)