The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 167 Retracing the Sacred Artifact
“An ancient ferocious beast, Taotie.” Funi murmured, repeating the two words over and over, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"A ferocious beast?" Immediately, her excitement was overshadowed by immense regret, her brow furrowed, and she fell into self-doubt.

"Why have we explored the ruins for so long without finding any trace of these mythical beasts? Not even the simplest patterns or the faintest carvings. Could it be..." she murmured, her voice filled with confusion, "...that we've been searching in the wrong direction from the start? Or perhaps they exist in older, deeper layers of the earth or in ruins that we haven't yet been able to reach?"

“Who knows?” Su Ninglong shrugged, calmly and pragmatically bringing the topic back to the present. “What you should tell me is whether you have seen any related objects.”

“No,” Funi swore to the heavens, “there was no trace of divine beasts, not even a pattern, at the place where the divination board was found.”

Funi's two assistants had stopped what they were doing and were now leaning to the side, eavesdropping on the conversation.

Su Ninglong immediately stopped asking questions.

Knowing that what Ziyue's maternal grandfather had hidden was a divination board, Su Ninglong naturally checked his identity information.

Ziyue's maternal grandfather was one of the founding members of the Star Alliance.

Unfortunately, he has long since passed away.

Otherwise, he should have a place on the shining list of founders on the Star Alliance School's wall of honor.

Su Ninglong knew that once the topic turned to this old man, it would inevitably cause a series of ripples and speculations, like a stone thrown into water, and would eventually touch that sensitive core.

That crucial item that was taken from the bank.

Phoenix had never seen it; either she didn't want to say, or she couldn't say, or perhaps, as she said, she truly didn't know.

“Alright,” Su Ninglong decisively ended her thoughts about the past and turned to Funi, “Which item do you want me to recreate? Where is it?”

Upon hearing this, Funi carefully took a box from an antique wooden cabinet to the side and gently placed it on the workbench between the two of them.

The box was opened, revealing a box full of fragments of various shapes and sizes, with jagged edges, like shattered stars scattered throughout. "This is it,"

Pointing to the inside of the box, she explained with a hint of helplessness, "Because it has a self-repairing function, we had high hopes that as long as we collected and put together as many fragments as possible, they could automatically reassemble under the guidance of its own repairing power, at least restoring a part of its complete form. Reality gave us a rude awakening; the repair speed is so slow it's almost despairing, practically negligible."

Su Ninglong leaned out of the box and peered inside. In just one glance, her eyes died. She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. Her posture was less like resting and more like contemplating the meaning of life.

Or more accurately, it was about thinking about why I took on this task.

It's too fragmented.

The fragments before me were not only astonishing in number, but also shattered extremely thoroughly, with many parts as small as grains of sand.

A quick scan with his divine sense revealed that the fragments contained many impurities that were not part of the sacred artifact itself.

We cannot force a rewind and restoration like this. If other fragments of sacred artifacts are mixed in, the rewind will inevitably fail.

"Why did it become like this?" The top of the sacred artifact had been neglected for many years, and was pitted and uneven. After being covered with a layer of material, its energy was dormant.

It obviously cannot turn itself into dust.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Funi's face as she explained, "We found it in an extremely dangerous ancient tomb complex, inhabited by an astonishing number of spirit corpses. This sacred artifact, for some reason, had fused with the core of one of the powerful spirit corpses, becoming inseparable. The situation was extremely critical, and the hunters, in order to completely eliminate the threat, had no choice..." She seemed to be searching for the right words, "...but had to 'physically exorcise' it along with the spirit corpse. As a result, it became what you see now."

Imagine the scene at that time...

Well, it's truly a miracle that we were able to salvage these fragments from that chaos and destruction.

She placed the box steadily in the center of the table and composed herself.

A layer of spiritual energy quietly covered his fingertips, gently brushing over each of the uniquely shaped, sharp-edged fragments inside the box.

Su Ninglong carefully examined the patterns remaining on the fragments, not missing even the slightest trace of the design.

"Have Qirui bring the tracer back to me." Su Ninglong sent a message to Xingyuan while checking.

The retrospective board can save a lot of spiritual energy and materials, and can also conceal its secrets from others' eyes.

In the past six years, Su Ninglong has helped Funi recall the appearance of objects many times, but this is the first time she has cast a spell directly in front of her assistant like today.

"Meow~" After a short while, a faint ripple appeared in the space.

Qi Rui's figure solidified again and landed steadily on the ground.

The backtracking plate, which was not much smaller than its body, was cleverly fixed to its back by a sturdy strip of cloth.

The fluffy big cat lazily twitched its ears, spun around in place, and showed off what it was carrying on its back.

"Who tied this to your body for you?" Su Ninglong couldn't help but smile as she looked at its comical yet practical design.

Qirui tilted its fluffy head proudly, raised one front paw, and gestured seriously. First, it pointed to the top of its head, and then it drew its paw downwards in the air, simulating the appearance of long hair.

"Qingya?"

The cat immediately nodded, confirming her guess.

Lei Qingya has actually returned.

She thought Lei Qingya was going to follow the people from the inner courtyard on a long-term mission.

This news surprised her somewhat, but now was clearly not the time to investigate further.

Funi exclaimed, "Qirui is becoming more and more skilled at spatial travel."

"With Ollie as its guide, its progress is inevitable." The intelligence of a navigator dog is comparable to that of a human. Except for not being able to speak and not having the dexterity of a human's fingers, it is just as good as a human.

Calming her mind, Su Ninglong quickly got into the zone.

She picked out the three largest fragments of the holy relic from the box; these were the best-preserved parts that could be found so far.

She placed them with extreme care in the pre-set grooves on the backtracking board.

Next, he took several special materials that he had prepared in advance from his tool bag and carefully placed them around the backtracking plate in a specific position and order to form a miniature energy guiding array.

Upon seeing this, Funi immediately sprang into action. She quickly adjusted the angle and focus of a nearby precision recorder to ensure that the entire playback process could be captured.

Out of a researcher's sense of rigor and for backup purposes, she also picked up a high-magnification camera and focused intently on the direction of the retrospective plate.

Su Ninglong took a deep breath, closed her eyes slightly, and then slowly opened them, her gaze becoming incredibly focused and profound.

Her lips parted slightly, and a string of ancient, obscure incantations with a strange rhythm flowed out in an extremely low voice:

[Tracing back to the source, the universe is the furnace, creation forges the soul; the primordial chaos has not yet dissipated, yin and yang are reunited; the formless condenses light and gathers spiritual essence, revealing the true nature sealed for millennia.]

Her voice was so faint that even Funi, who was standing right next to her, couldn't make out the specific syllables. She could only feel a deep and mysterious power quietly spreading through the air.

As the incantation was performed, strange changes began to occur on the surfaces of the three largest fragments of the sacred artifact on the retrospective plate.

A faint halo, seemingly emanating from the depths of time, enveloped them, blurring the edges of the fragments as if they were about to dissolve into the light.

Then, an amazing sight appeared.

As if manipulated by an invisible, skillful hand, they begin to deconstruct layer by layer, peeling away the dust of time and the traces of destruction, and then, under the guidance of some mysterious law, are reconstructed and recombined.

The light gradually intensifies, then suddenly recedes at a certain moment.

In the center of the retrospective panel, where the three fragments were located, a clear and coherent outline of an object appeared, which was exactly what this sacred artifact looked like before it was destroyed.

Each time she witnessed this magical process of regression, Funi felt a profound sense of awe.

This is not merely the ingenuity of magic, but also a magnificent manifestation of the profound knowledge inherited by Su Ninglong, as if it directly touches upon some fundamental rules of creation and time.

While Funi was completely absorbed in the moment, Su Ninglong's thoughts were also wandering.

To date, only Lei Qingya has truly embarked on her path of cultivation and achieved any significant success.

Su Ninglong had long understood the key to this.

The reason why Lei Qingya was able to become the only "exception" lies in that special mark, a soul contract.

This mark acted like an invisible gravitational field, causing Lei Qingya's soul frequency to unconsciously approach and resonate with Su Ninglong, ultimately triggering the opportunity for cultivation and leading him onto this extraordinary path.

Su Ninglong's gaze deepened.

She couldn't bring herself to inflict the same mark on Xingyuan and Zou Shuyi.

Those were her family members whom she regarded as her closest relatives. This kind of "forced assimilation" was too outrageous for her and a desecration of family affection itself.

Moreover, the path of cultivation may not be a blessing for Xingyuan and Zou Shuyi.

This path, defying the heavens, is filled with dangers and alienation that are unimaginable to ordinary people.

Forcing oneself into cultivation with the mindset of an ordinary person will not prolong life; on the contrary, it will hasten their demise in this familiar world.

To confirm this completely, Su Ninglong solemnly asked them if they desired a lifespan of a thousand years, possessing power and time beyond the mortal realm. The answer was clear and firm: they did not.

They certainly yearn for longevity and good health, but this longevity must be a gift from nature, a peaceful extension of life flowing downstream in the river of time.

What they resist is precisely the distortion and cost that inevitably come with "going against the will of Heaven".

Like those powerful superintelligent beings, their lifespans are indeed astonishingly long, but behind this immortality lies a heavy price: the alienation of emotions, the loneliness of existence, and the deviation from the original form of life.

As Xingyuan and Zou Shuyi worried, the path of cultivation does indeed come with a price that cannot be ignored.

As cultivation deepens, a cultivator's emotions gradually become indifferent. The once fervent love and hate are covered by ice and snow. The core and body are constantly transforming, moving towards the inhuman "divinity." Once this process begins, it is irreversible.

What is most disheartening is the complete change in the perception of time.

For a cultivator, a long period of seclusion to comprehend the Dao may simply be a moment of deep meditation, where they close their eyes, concentrate their mind, and contemplate the mysteries of the Dao.

But when she opened her eyes again, the world outside the cave might have changed drastically, with decades passing by in the blink of an eye.

Once inseparable relatives, separated by the long passage of time, grow old, their memories fade, and they may eventually become strangers who do not recognize each other when they meet.

And old friends may have long since turned to dust and disappeared into the dust of history.

The irreparable alienation and loss brought about by time itself is the most profound loneliness on the path to immortality.

As the rewind ended, the light faded, and the phantom of the remnant artifact vanished.

Su Ninglong let out a soft breath, pulling her wandering thoughts back to reality.

Funi quickly checked the recorder and high-powered camera, confirming that the entire playback process had been perfectly captured, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you so much, Ninglong! You've been a great help this time. It's getting late, would you like to stay for dinner? I know a nice new restaurant that opened nearby."

"No," Su Ninglong shook her head and began to pack up the time-travel board and the remaining materials with deft movements. Qi Rui also obediently came to her side. "Now that Lei Qingya is back, I'd like to go back and ask her about the details of her business trip."

Phoenix nodded understandingly and didn't try to stop her: "Alright. I'll see you out."

She accompanied Su Ninglong to the laboratory door, watching the figures of the woman and cat disappear at the end of the corridor before turning back.

Inside the laboratory, Assistant Zhou was already at the control panel, carefully playing back the video that had just been recorded, while also backing up the data.

Assistant Sun also went over, picked up his equipment, and took a few photos of the frozen retrospective image on the screen.

A moment of silence filled the air. When Funi returned to the studio, Assistant Sun finally couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Teacher, regarding the research on the 'Key of Prophecy,' are you really not planning to publish any preliminary results? Even just a small part?"

As Funi was sorting through the box containing the fragments of the sacred artifact, she didn't pause at all upon hearing this and said matter-of-factly, "It's still incomplete. We haven't even fully grasped its core functions and complete form yet. What's the point of releasing it? It will only cause unnecessary speculation and misunderstanding."

"You're still the same..." Assistant Sun's voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed grievance and a sob, her eyes instantly reddening. "We've invested almost ten years in it, a full ten years of hard work. So many resources, so much energy, don't you ever think about... what is the point of it all?"

Funi suddenly raised her head, her gaze calm yet unusually firm: "The truth itself, and the process of seeking the truth, is the greatest significance."