Born with immortal seed

Chapter 276 Spring and Autumn Cicada Refines the Longevity Sword

"Another top-grade magic weapon. Why do I feel like my talent for weapon crafting is not as good as my talent for array formation?"

Bai Zichen tossed aside the newly formed bronze hammer with disdain.

One advantage of having the mid-stage Core Formation realm condescend to refine a low-grade spiritual weapon is that one doesn't have to worry about insufficient true essence.

Even if a low-grade spiritual weapon is refined until the earth fire is exhausted, it won't last until the true essence is depleted.

Therefore, Bai Zichen started refining very quickly and without stopping. In any case, the complexity of low-grade spiritual artifacts was not a problem for his powerful divine sense.

Two hundred sets of materials were used up in just over a month.

However, the final results were not satisfactory. Excluding the more than thirty attempts that failed completely, only about fifty finished products were successfully made.

The remaining achievements were all due to improper application of techniques, resulting in them being downgraded into top-grade magical artifacts.

If it were an ordinary weapon refiner, they would have already lost a fortune, and no sect would be willing to continue training them.

Only someone as wealthy and powerful as Old Ancestor Bai, who wasn't after money but only wanted to hone his crafting skills, would not care.

He collected all the refined low-grade spiritual artifacts and top-grade magic weapons into a storage bag, threw it out of the courtyard, and it landed steadily on a jade plate.

The designated disciples will come to collect the materials, hand them over to the Refining Hall, and then retrieve a new batch of refining materials.

"I might as well be a little shameless and call myself a second-tier low-grade weapon refiner... Anyway, I'm not looking for a high return. I'll start trying to refine mid-grade spiritual weapons tomorrow. If the success rate is low, I'll just increase the quantity."

Bai Zichen changed his crafting target and prepared to start crafting a mid-grade spiritual artifact bronze mirror.

A normal weapon refiner will definitely hone their skills to a high degree of proficiency and only seek a breakthrough after they have sufficient confidence in refining spiritual weapons of their current level.

However, his starting point was different. He tried to refine spiritual weapons that were beyond his control, which was actually very beneficial for improving his weapon refining skills.

They can learn some exquisite crafting techniques and how to process higher-level spiritual materials and minerals in advance.

Once you succeed and gain experience, you can quickly break through to the next level.

The only price to pay is the constant failures in the early stages, turning a large amount of precious spiritual materials into a pile of waste.

Despite sparing no expense and working backward from his mid-stage Core Formation cultivation level to refine his weapon-making skills, he finally forged his first high-grade spiritual weapon in less than a year.

"It's a pity I don't have enough spiritual materials, otherwise I could have started refining a second-tier flying sword..."

Before the New Year, Bai Zichen reviewed the achievements of the Bai family members. Perhaps because the time was too short, not a single Sacred Sound Bamboo had appeared among the tens of thousands of spirit bamboos.

As for the other second-tier flying sword, the Tianxin Sword, its main material, elite white iron, requires three years of tempering with alchemical fire to be completed.

Given his current success rate in sword forging, he wouldn't have any hope of success without preparing at least a dozen or twenty sets of forging materials.

There's no time to slowly refine so many elite white iron pieces.

However, while organizing the third-tier sword-refining materials on his person, he found a piece of material that he had carefully put away—

The items that he considered important were stored in the high-grade storage bag he obtained from the cultivator from Youlongmen.

Half of it is evergreen and lush, while the other half is rotten and brittle.

It is the remains of the second-order spring and autumn cicada, one of the five great strange insects.

Although it was only a second-tier high-grade spirit insect in its previous life, it held a much more important place in Bai Zichen's heart than a third-tier demon beast.

An ice cellar was specially built in the main hall, filled with millennia-old ice jade, and an array was set up to store thousands of kilograms of the flesh and blood of the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King.

Every so often, I would cut off ten pounds, thaw them, and feed them to Gun Gun.

With the Black Mountain Range at his back, the flesh and blood of third-tier demon beasts were not scarce for him.

But even with exorbitant prices, it's difficult to find this rare insect, the cicada.

"If it can only be used to refine spiritual artifacts, then I might as well keep it. Being able to use insects of the Five Great Strange Insects level as specimens is much more valuable than a spiritual artifact."

Bai Zichen gently stroked the body of the cicada, half of which was as elastic as jelly, as if it were not yet dead.

The other half is like a piece of dead wood, as if afraid that if it exerts too much force, it will turn into dust.

Even if he could use this cicada's body from the Spring and Autumn Period to forge an extremely powerful spiritual weapon, he would not be tempted.

After all, his own theory of alchemy was inspired to some extent by the cicada of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Keeping it has sentimental value and is a rare specimen.

"The main problem is that the Spring and Autumn Cicada appears too infrequently, so there's little opportunity for cultivators to study how to utilize it..."

When Bai Zichen's finger touched the cicada's wing on its back, it suddenly vibrated, and the power of time inexplicably appeared in the air.

The emerald green half of the insect's body became increasingly vibrant, yet it continued to shrink.

The decaying half exudes a desolate feeling, with dust constantly falling from the insect's body, as if it had been dead for millions of years.

"It's not shrinking, it's reverting to a larval state... The other half has been eroded into powder by time, and can no longer even maintain its most basic form!"

Bai Zichen didn't know why he had touched the power of time within the long-dead Spring and Autumn Cicada, but he suddenly felt an intense yearning coming from something in his dantian.

The Supreme Pure Sword Box burst forth, opened, and a burst of lightning leaped up, directly meeting the remains of the Spring and Autumn Cicada.

The cicada's body, which was undergoing a strange transformation, collided with the lightning and merged together in an extremely harmonious way.

Within a few breaths, both the evergreen half and the decayed, ashes-covered half disappeared completely.

Only a few fragments remained, slowly falling from the air.

"So you ate the cicada?"

Bai Zichen clearly sensed that the suddenly appearing spacetime power had completely disappeared; it had not dissipated but had been swallowed up by the lightning.

He reached out and summoned Lei Mang, but the information he received from the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo, which conveyed the feeling of being overwhelmed by the delicious food, left him stunned.

Immediately, it was discovered that the state of the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword had undergone a tremendous change.

"The Purple Star Thunder Sword Embryo devoured the remaining power of time in the molted remains of the Spring and Autumn Cicada. Although it was weak and almost non-existent, it was a gift from heaven and earth... It directly acted on the Azure Emperor Longevity Sword, shortening the sword's concealment time by a full sixty years!"

As long as Bai Zichen grasps the lightning bolt, he can sense the progress of the Hidden Sword technique, which has only twenty-nine years left.

The Spring and Autumn Cicada truly lives up to its reputation as one of the Five Great Mythical Insects. Born from the long river of time, this mere second-tier spirit insect has come into contact with the power of time.

The mere remains of the deceased reduced the time required to conceal the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword, this supreme divine power, by more than half.

"If I could kill several Spring and Autumn Cicadas and keep them on my body, wouldn't I have a chance to fulfill the dream of the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Fish and Dragon Sect and continuously unleash the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword!"

Bai Zichen immediately considered this possibility, but quickly shook his head and gave up.

The one I encountered might be the only one in Liang Guozhong, and I haven't heard any news of the Spring and Autumn Cicada for many years.

However, if anyone comes across cicada remains from the Spring and Autumn Period that were sold a long time ago, we should try our best to acquire them, no matter how high the price is.

"Of course, the fundamental solution is to truly master the Dao of Time..."

According to the speculation of the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Fish-Dragon Sect who obtained the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword, the true use of this great divine power probably does not require the step of hiding the sword for a hundred years.

Only when every sword strike contains the power of time can it be called a true sword of time, each strike aging one prematurely.

However, that level of attainment requires extremely high standards from cultivators; even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot achieve it.

The fact that the Azure Emperor's Longevity Sword's storage time had been shortened to less than thirty years greatly excited Bai Zichen.

If Blood God True Man had been a little slower, he might have actually had time to master this sword technique and invite a Nascent Soul True Monarch to appraise it.

The Purple Star Thunder Sword Embryo, having eaten its fill, returned to its sword box and transformed into a beam of mysterious light, flying back to its dantian.

"The Supreme Pure and Subtle Sword Box is indeed of great benefit to nurturing flying swords. Last time, the Moon Whirl Sword was damaged in its source power, but it has almost recovered in the short time it has been in the sword box... And the Purple Star Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo is also about to truly awaken, no longer just a sword embryo, but a real flying sword!"

The original level of the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo is unknown, but when I held it in my hand just now, I could feel the sword body reassembling.

The awakening of this sword is of great significance. It is not simply a matter of the natal flying sword's power greatly increasing, but rather the opening of the possibility of returning to its peak.

As long as Bai Zichen's cultivation continues to improve, the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo will one day be able to recreate the glory of the ancient Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword and be upgraded to a fourth-order flying sword, or even a fifth-order flying sword!

The improvement of weapon crafting skills had to be temporarily halted due to a lack of materials for sword forging.

After all, all he wanted to do was be a swordsmith and satisfy his own needs for flying swords.

However, if you don't want to become a master weapon refiner, you need to be proficient in various weapon refining techniques.

Bai Zichen walked to the stream, grabbed a handful of spirit rice and fed it to the happily swimming little fish, then sat quietly for half a day.

He walked back to his thatched hut, sat cross-legged on a futon, closed his eyes and calmed his mind. The five crystals on his body shone brightly, illuminating several feet and forming a hazy ball of light that surrounded him.

……

“Nephew Li, I understand your desire to become a disciple of Ancestor Bai, but Ancestor Bai lives in the main hall and never comes out, so you won’t even have a chance to meet him. It would be better to wait until you achieve Foundation Establishment, at least then you’ll have more opportunities to visit him.”

Huo Feiyan earnestly advised the young man in front of her not to keep getting stuck in a rut.

The main reason was that this handsome young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was indeed exceptionally talented; otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to say anything more to a Qi Refining disciple.

"This disciple naturally understands this principle, but I can't give up if I don't come every few months. Maybe the Ancestor will be in a good mood and willing to see me when he comes out of seclusion."

Li Guizhen was the disciple with the unique lightning-type spiritual root, who traveled thousands of miles from other prefectures to seek out the name of Master Bai.

In just a few years, he successfully became a true disciple. He was willing to give up a third-tier spiritual land to cultivate on Thunder Cliff, just so he could be closer to Ancestor Bai.

Every two or three months, he would try to go to the main hall at the top of the cliff to request an audience.

He also deliberately befriended members of the Bai clan, hoping to have the opportunity to meet with the Bai patriarch.

Although Patriarch Bai has only one disciple so far, perhaps he will make an exception after meeting him and taking pity on his sincerity and good aptitude.

"I'll ask Senior Brother Lu for you when we meet again, but don't get your hopes up too high."

If possible, Huo Feiyan herself would like to become a disciple of Bai Laozu.

Asking questions on behalf of Li Guizhen is actually asking questions on behalf of himself, so as to know whether Bai Laozu has any intention of taking on disciples.

(End of this chapter)