Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 258 The Seven Divine Trees Enhance the Spiritual Artifact

During the journey, to avoid possible spying, Lin Changheng directly used a section of the [Earth Escape Demon Technique], traveled about ten miles, then adjusted his appearance again, took off into the air, and rode away in the escape light.

He could have flown directly back to Jade Belt Lake and left the area of ​​[Azure Cloud Gate].

But since he had promised Wu Jiu Daoren and there was something he truly needed, he decided to stay a few more days.

After slightly adjusting their direction, they returned directly to the market town.

Inside the Immortal Inn, Lin Changheng did not first recover his magical power, but instead took out two storage bags and began searching.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these are two cultivators who have undergone tribulation; they may have a gang or supporters behind them.

Just like the remnants of the Chen family, the Xu family's mortal enemy last time, they were formed and grew stronger with the support of the Qiu family.

Later, the Qiu family also supported a group of cultivators who ran rampant outside, seized profits, and used them to benefit the family.

Therefore, this possibility exists, which may bring potential risks.

Lin Changheng violently broke open the storage bag's seal and began examining each item one by one.

Anything that seems slightly off is burned.

……

A quarter of an hour later.

Lin Changheng looked at the pile of magical artifacts laid out in front of him.

There are five items in total!
Two of them are top-grade spiritual artifacts.

They are a ghost-head sword and a skull.

Especially the latter, Lin Changheng has confirmed that it is indeed an evil spiritual artifact.

Evil and evil are inseparable. Evil paths still have room to survive in Song, but demonic paths are different. Everyone hates them and wants to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Lin Changheng toyed with the ghost-head sword and the skull in his hands, pondering which one he should refine.

Now his spiritual sense and magical power far surpass those of ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, allowing him to barely use a second-tier high-grade spiritual artifact.

However, it will consume a lot of resources, so the duration and opportunities for use need to be carefully managed.

Use the best steel on the blade.

After some deliberation, Lin Changheng still chose the evil spiritual artifact, which he named the "Ten Thousand Poison Skull".

After all, he already has many offensive magical artifacts and a variety of methods, so adding another one wouldn't significantly increase its effectiveness.

The Ghost Head Knife is an example of this.

But evil magical artifacts are different.

As far as we know, it can release toxic smoke, which has a certain limiting and control effect. If someone gets hit by it, their combat strength will be greatly reduced.

Moreover, without the [Crimson Sky Profound Flame] to restrain him, it would be difficult to get rid of him for a while.

With his plan set in mind, Lin Changheng would begin refining the [Ten Thousand Poison Skull].

……

Lin Changheng acquired three second-tier mid-to-low-grade spiritual artifacts.

A palm-sized, gray-black shield; a short, jet-black blade, thin as a cicada's wing and almost non-reflective; and a jade bracelet shimmering with emerald light.

Lin Changheng first picked up the small gray-black shield that he had obtained from the tiger-faced cultivator.

This shield, no bigger than the palm of his hand, was incredibly heavy. Its surface was engraved with intricate tortoise-shell patterns, radiating spiritual light, and felt cool and tough to the touch. With the slightest activation, it instantly began to spin rapidly around him, exceptionally agile, automatically defending itself, with defensive capabilities far exceeding those of the bronze bowl and cloth he had used before.

It is a fine example among mid-grade spiritual artifacts.

It can replace Lin Changheng's previous defensive magical artifact.

"Good shield!" Lin Changheng nodded in satisfaction. This item perfectly made up for the lack of defensive magical artifacts he had.

Then he looked at the two relics of the rat-faced monk.

First, there was that pitch-black short blade.

It is called the [Hidden Void Blade].

This blade exudes no aura whatsoever; in fact, holding it in one's hand evokes a peculiar sense of "emptiness," as if it could absorb light and divine sense. Its blade is extremely thin and incomparably sharp; with a gentle stroke, it silently cleaves a piece of first-tier ore in two, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut.

"It's actually a mid-grade spiritual weapon specializing in stealth and assassination!" A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Changheng's eyes.

Although this short blade is only a mid-grade second-tier weapon and not of premium quality, its special material and crafting techniques make it valuable in certain situations, even surpassing some high-grade spiritual weapons.

It is perfectly suited for his "Shadow Escape Technique".

Now that he has mastered the "Shadow Escape Technique," if he were to encounter the ambush situation outside Jade Belt Lake again, he wouldn't even need to use so many methods; he could get very close and kill the cultivator silently.

Finally, his gaze fell on the shimmering jade bracelet.

This bracelet is a second-tier low-grade defensive spiritual artifact, and it also has some effect in trapping enemies.

It may seem the most unremarkable, but Lin Changheng knows it has considerable defensive power. Once Yan Mingyi breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he can give it to her for self-defense.

Then there were also many other spiritual materials, spiritual medicines, talismans, etc.

Including the number of spirit stones, it exceeded 30,000 spirit stones.

Of course, the value of all the magical artifacts is not included.

However, considering the immense resource consumption capacity of Foundation Establishment cultivators, having this much is not bad.

"what……"

Lin Changheng casually fiddled with the pile of spiritual materials that had been taken out and gathered together, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Then his sharp gaze fixed on the item.

What you see is a black, grayish-brown piece, about the size of a palm, irregularly shaped, with an extremely rough surface, as if it were a piece of "coke" picked up from some corner. It stands out from the pile of glittering spiritual materials and is completely inconspicuous.

They couldn't even sense the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy.

When I was taking stock of the spoils earlier, my attention was drawn to the magical artifacts and spirit stones, and I almost overlooked it.

But upon touching it, its peculiarities were discovered.

Heavy! Extremely heavy!
Carefully, I took the long strip of "coke" about the length of a baby's arm into my hand. The moment I touched it, an indescribable heaviness came over me, as if I were holding a boulder instead of a piece of wood!
Caught off guard, my wrist suddenly sank, making it difficult to even hold on.

"This thing is strange."

Lin Changheng was taken aback.

Clearly, Lin Changheng has never encountered anything like this since he entered the world of cultivation.

Immediately, Lin Changheng's divine sense directly entered and attempted to discern the source.

They quickly discovered that the interior of this object was incredibly dense, impenetrable to needles and water, and impossible for even divine sense to penetrate.

"Weird thing!"

Lin Changheng couldn't help but give his evaluation again, his eyes beginning to gleam with light. Pale gold, clear, and gray light intertwined and swirled, like divine light, looking straight ahead.

Trying to see through something.

They were still blocked outside, unable to penetrate even a fraction of an inch. Lin Changheng's current [Insight] ability could see through even an iron plate, but it couldn't do that now!
Half an hour later, Lin Changheng finally gave up in despair.

After closing his eyes to soothe his swollen gaze, Lin Changheng felt that all his methods were now ineffective against this piece of charcoal, which was neither gold nor wood. Whether it was probing with his divine sense, nurturing it with his magic power, or conducting in-depth observation using the [Insight] technique, none of them could budge it in the slightest.

It is like a real, unchanging, lifeless object, silently resisting all external exploration.

After a moment of contemplation, a resolute glint flashed in Lin Changheng's eyes.

Since gentle exploration is useless, let's try a domineering approach!
With a thought, a wisp of incredibly refined [Crimson Sky Profound Flame], faintly dark gold in color, slowly extended from his fingertip, cautiously approaching the charred fragments.

The flames did not burn fiercely, but rather, like the finest carving knife, concentrated an extreme heat into a single point, tentatively burning a seemingly tiny protrusion on the edge of the fragment.

zizi...

A strange sound arose, like grease dripping into a fire, but even more muffled.

Under the scorching heat of the Crimson Sky Flame, its charred exterior finally... showed an extremely subtle reaction!

It was neither burning nor melting, but the scorched spot became even deeper in color, revealing a dark blue hue, as if all the impurities had been instantly refined and purified by the extreme high temperature, revealing its more essential form!
Furthermore, a faint, almost imperceptible, cool, distant, and desolate aura dissipated as this point was burned!
Although it was only a trace, it greatly invigorated Lin Changheng!
"efficient!"

"And...this aura is..."

Lin Changheng continued to intensify his attacks.

The strange fire could slowly refine the outer "charred shell" of the object!
He immediately focused his mind and manipulated the wisp of crimson flame, patiently and meticulously burning the surface of the fragments bit by bit, as if embroidering.

This process was extremely slow, and Lin Changheng prevented the temperature from getting too high and damaging the interior.

Time passes little by little.

Lin Changheng quickly discovered that the contents inside did not seem to be affected by the flames, because he had been momentarily distracted and burned the inside, yet not a trace was left.

It's like they've become immune!
Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Lin Changheng's forehead, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

As the charred outer shell was gradually removed, its dark blue color became more pronounced, and some extremely complex, naturally formed wood grain patterns even began to emerge on the surface. For some reason, looking at these patterns for a long time could make people feel dizzy.

And that wisp of desolate aura that was emanating from it became even clearer.

"As expected... this thing is actually a piece of wood. I don't know which tree it fell from, or whether it was taken apart by external force."

"Moreover, only a strange fire like the Crimson Sky Profound Flame can slowly refine away its accumulated 'dead shell' and reveal its true nature!" Lin Changheng realized in his heart.

Although at this rate, it would take an unknown amount of time and effort to completely refine this fragment, we have finally found the right method and seen hope!

He was no longer in a hurry and withdrew the flames.

This cannot be rushed. It requires patient and meticulous work.

"Now that we've confirmed it's wood, then..."

Then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and the true meaning of the [Rongsheng Divine Power] was activated.

It was washed away and emerged.

Slowly, from beneath that charred, deathly silence, one could catch a faint, yet incredibly ancient and vast, origin that seemed to come from the very beginning of time!

This primal essence, restrained to its extreme, has already vanished, yet it carries an indescribable weight and nobility!
Lin Changheng's heart skipped a beat.
He focused his mind and fully activated the true meaning of the [Rongsheng Divine Power] to sense the broken piece of wood.

Soon, in his "vision," the charred and rough outer shell seemed to become transparent.

Its interior was not completely lifeless, but rather presented an indescribable, incredibly complex wooden structure, so fine that it contained patterns that seemed to embody some profound truth, far surpassing any spiritual plant he had ever seen!
【Rongsheng Divine Power】The true meaning carefully permeates, attempting to touch and nourish.

There was no response; I was still refused entry.

This is clearly a rare and miraculous tree!
Lin Changheng can basically make this judgment.

"It doesn't seem to correspond to the Seven Divine Trees in the cultivation world."

Lin Changheng also collected a lot of information, especially about spiritual materials.

Because people often generously offer him valuable gifts, it's easy for a pearl to be obscured if one doesn't recognize its worth.

Therefore, I specially collected some notes and catalogs as backup.

Among the wood-based spiritual materials, there are seven top-grade divine woods that are sought after by cultivators. They can be refined into the embryos of magical treasures or directly refined into magical treasures.

It possesses formidable power and a variety of miraculous effects.

But only a few people can obtain it by chance.

But after Lin Changheng took out the catalog and compared it carefully, he found that... none of them matched.

It is clearly not one of the "Seven Divine Trees".

It should be noted that the Seven Divine Trees were originally compiled by a Nascent Soul cultivator who was deeply versed in this field, after traversing the entire cultivation world.

Later, after being replaced and supplemented by several great figures, the number "seven" was still maintained.

For thousands of years, cultivators have held this belief without a doubt.

Its occasional appearances have indeed shocked the region.

It is said that the Lingfeng Zhenren of the South Palace, who was the True Core cultivator who led the team to the Jiazi Secret Realm last time, has a wooden whip magic weapon made of laurel wood, which is especially effective against fire-type and extremely yang magic weapons and spells.

He once unleashed his fighting technique and forcefully killed a Core Formation cultivator of the same level.

Its power is evident!
……

Below the seven divine trees, there are twenty-three kinds of "miraculous trees," which are also very powerful and sufficient as the main materials for the embryo of magical treasures.

Unfortunately, they are rarely seen.

"I don't know what this wood is for..."

Lin Changheng was also puzzled, looking at the piece of wood in his hand, "Could it be that it's one of the fish that slipped through the net in the records, or has this wood undergone some kind of mutation?"

With no conclusion reached, Lin Changheng decided not to dwell on it any longer. He simply put the wood away, picked up the [Ten Thousand Poison Skull] and the [Hidden Void Blade], and began to refine them one by one.

……

time flies.

After refining the two spiritual artifacts, Lin Changheng went out again and went to the Spirit Wine Pavilion where he had first met Wu Jiu Laodao.

It was the same spot as last time, a high-rise building with a railing. This time, I only ordered a pot of spirit wine.

He began to pour himself a drink.

Just as a pot of wine was about to be finished.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, won't you leave this old Daoist a cup?"

The familiar laughter rang out again, and a withered hand reached in, gently beckoning the wine jug that Lin Changheng was trying to pick up.

Hold it in your hand.

Then an old man with black hair and beard, wearing a shabby Taoist robe and a large vermilion wine gourd hanging from his waist, peeked in again with a smile in the same posture.

"Fellow Daoist, you seem to be quite familiar with me."

Lin Changheng glanced at the other person and said irritably.

"Hehe, it's not that I'm being overly familiar, but rather that Fellow Daoist Lin is kind-hearted and charitable."

Seeing that Lin Changheng didn't stop him, Wu Jiu Laodao poured himself a cup, took a sip with relish, and said, "But these past few days, I've been waiting with great impatience..."

(End of this chapter)