The Path to Another World

"Aren't all weapons made from soulless things? How can inanimate objects possess spirit?" Mentioning magical treasures, Ye Fan couldn't help but think of the peach wood sword he'd finally managed to borrow from his grandfather. A hundred-year-old peach wood, engraved with hundreds of formations—it should be pretty good, right? It should be a decent magical treasure! He happily untied the peach wood sword he never parted with from his back and carefully handed it to Qinglong. Curious, he asked, "Master, let me see what you think of this? This is our family heirloom, said to have been used exclusively by ancient immortals!"

Seeing Ye Fan's solemn expression, Qinglong curiously took the peach wood sword, sensed its material, and then casually glanced at the array patterns on it. He asked doubtfully, "Are you sure this was passed down from your ancestors? Or is it a magic weapon used by an ancient immortal?" Looking at Qinglong's strange expression, Ye Fan couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. He replied guiltily, "My grandfather told me! He shouldn't be lying to me, right?" He was somewhat unsure of himself.

"Pfft! You call this a magic weapon?" Qinglong burst out laughing at Ye Fan's words, then added with utter contempt, "What a joke! You're practically defiling the magic weapon! This sword is made entirely of peach wood that's only a few decades old. It hasn't even been tempered by true fire; it'll break in two with a single touch. And the arrays on it are extremely rudimentary and basic, with dozens even drawn incorrectly. Aside from providing a slight boost to attack and blessings, they're completely useless. This wooden sword can only be called a magical artifact, not a magic weapon! A magic weapon is made by gathering the essence of hundreds or even thousands of materials and tempering them countless times with true fire. It's engraved with at least hundreds of different..." A magical artifact needs to be nurtured with one's own essence and Dao power to potentially transform into a treasure artifact. When a treasure artifact possesses its own soul, or spirit, it can be considered a celestial artifact. A celestial artifact with a soul and the ability to continuously upgrade can be called a divine artifact. Divine artifacts are generally very difficult to forge by human effort, as ordinary materials are simply not worthy of them. Most divine artifacts are gifts from heaven and earth; for example, this bronze Bagua (Eight Trigrams) is a naturally formed Bagua image, possessing boundless power. "Do you understand?" He casually tossed the wooden sword that Ye Fan had always treasured like a family heirloom back to him like trash. In fact, in Qinglong's eyes, this magical sword was not much different from an ordinary piece of firewood.

"Wow, there's so much to learn here! What's the essential difference between them?" Ye Fan quickly and carefully took the peach wood sword. Although he now knew it wasn't a valuable treasure, his grandfather had always treated it as a family heirloom. He couldn't bear the old man's wrath if he broke it, so he asked admiringly.

"The most fundamental difference is their attack power. Ordinary magical artifacts can only fool uninformed ordinary people when performing sacrificial rites or small-scale spells. Treasure artifacts, on the other hand, have a certain attack power, which can be amplified by 10% to 20%. Immortal artifacts can not only amplify combat power by 50%, but also have other uses, such as flight. Divine artifacts are the most magical. In addition to their attack power that can burn mountains and boil seas, and their unique abilities, the most important thing is that they possess their own mature and complete soul. They also have their own extra-dimensional space. The space of a demigod-level divine artifact is relatively small and can only store inanimate objects, while a top-level divine artifact can hold living people. The space inside is vast, forming its own world, which is incredibly magical! I was fortunate enough to see it once." Qinglong said with a look of nostalgia for the past.

Listening to Qinglong's explanation of the different levels of magical artifacts, Ye Fan and Tian Jun were practically drooling. They couldn't help but imagine themselves wearing incredibly imposing, unparalleled divine artifact armor, with two necklaces around their necks, ten rings of various attributes—one for attack, one for defense, and even a spatial ring... They looked like wholesalers of magical artifacts, how incredibly smug! "Master, do you know how to refine artifacts?" Ye Fan asked, drooling.

"That's right. Most cultivators know a little about weapon crafting, but it depends on each person's fortune, just like their interests and hobbies. So, their level of expertise in this area varies. Otherwise, some highly skilled cultivators would live for at least several thousand years. Besides cultivation, they would also need to find something they enjoy to do. So, my weapon crafting skills are quite good," Azure Dragon said proudly.

"Hey, you collected so much ore during the last meteor shower, just make me three or five immortal artifacts, I don't need any divine artifacts. Otherwise, with my low strength and no decent magical treasure, it'd be so embarrassing to go out like this, and you'd lose face too, right, Master? Besides, I'll be avenging you in the future, so I'll need some good weapons, won't I?" Ye Fan asked with a grin, and Tian Jun nodded vigorously in agreement. Even a broken magical artifact in Ye Fan's possession was treated as a family heirloom; let alone an immortal artifact, even a treasure would be enough to be passed down for generations.

"Get lost! You two bastards, all you know is how to use me as a tool. You want this today, that tomorrow, do you think I run a general store? Besides, do you think immortal artifacts are so easy to forge? For cultivators, magical artifacts are life-and-death companions, like children. Only by growing alongside them and forging them yourself can you truly understand their capabilities. That's how you get the most suitable magical artifact. What others forge for you can only be considered divine weapons at best. You think forging magical artifacts is so easy? It requires a massive amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth as a prerequisite. In my current state, forging a top-grade magical artifact would probably take me several thousand more years of recuperation. If it's an immortal artifact, the heavenly tribulation would be enough to shatter my body. You want a magical artifact or your master? The choice is yours!" After saying this, Qinglong closed his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to these two greedy fellows.

"Master, what do you take us brothers for? A teacher for a day is a father for life. Of course, you're the most important person to us! What are immortal artifacts? We'll steal a whole bunch of divine artifacts to present to you later! You've really hurt our feelings!" Seeing that Qinglong had seen through their thoughts at a glance, Ye Fan, somewhat embarrassed, patted his chest and boasted arrogantly. Seeing that Qinglong had no reaction, he could only disappointedly beckon Tian Jun to go to another corner to sit and cultivate quietly.

The Azure Dragon, who had been feigning sleep with its eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A ray of divine light shot out from its eyes, and its divine sense had already observed the starry sky hundreds of kilometers away. Suddenly, its face turned pale, and it staggered, its face filled with shock and disbelief.

;