Chapter 275 : Refining Treasure, Destroying Formation

Chapter 275: Refining Treasure, Destroying Formation

“This blade is quite arrogant.”

Chen Beiwu’s gaze burned as he stared at the floating Trident Twin-Edged Blade, radiating its full might.

He reached out with an empty grasp. His internal mana transformed into an invisible hand, attempting to subdue it and establish a connection before slowly refining it.

“Clang!”

The Trident Twin-Edged Blade suddenly quaked. Sharp blade aura rippled outward like waves, instantly tearing apart Chen Beiwu’s mana restraints.

Chen Beiwu’s brows furrowed slightly. Forming hand seals, the vast mana in his dantian sea surged forth in full force, trying to forcibly suppress the weapon.

“Boom!”

But this Trident Twin-Edged Blade was no pushover. With a tremble, it launched an attack—three golden blade lights formed a triangle as they slashed toward Chen Beiwu.

As a Third-Tier Superior-Grade Artifact, its spirituality was equivalent to that of a five-year-old child.

Even without a wielder's mana, unable to unleash its full might, it could still easily crush anyone below the Golden Core realm.

Chen Beiwu, merely a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, was far from being recognized by the Trident Twin-Edged Blade.

Only a true powerhouse could become its master.

Facing the blade aura, Chen Beiwu did not react. Instead, he allowed Golden Egg to charge ahead, using its Gilded Body to block the attack, then getting knocked back three steps.

“Very well.” Chen Beiwu’s gaze sharpened.

With an artifact this arrogant, subduing it was simple—just beat it into submission.

Of course, some artifacts had eccentric temperaments and would rather die than yield.

Considering that Qian Buhuan had never used this Trident Twin-Edged Blade during their battle, Chen Beiwu saw two possibilities.

Either Qian Buhuan had underestimated him and never got the chance to use it—or the artifact’s nature was so proud that it even refused to recognize its former owner, who had been turned into a Golden Armored Corpse.

“Very well then, let’s play.”

A slight smile appeared on Chen Beiwu’s lips. With a wave of his finger in the air, a scroll of the Landscape Diagram of Heaven-Reaching Tree, All-Encompassing River, Ascending Profundity, and Five Elements Unified Dragon Transformation slowly unfolded, pouring a surge of immense “Intent” into Golden Egg’s body.

“Roar.”

Golden Egg let out a long howl. Its scales shattered inch by inch, but instantly reformed. Then its body swelled, transforming into a majestic golden flood dragon.

Unlike previous battles, this time Chen Beiwu deliberately controlled the strength of the beast-taming landscape’s support. Thus, Golden Egg did not grow four claws beneath its belly, and its aura only faintly surpassed that of a False Core.

But this had its benefits—by limiting the intensity, Golden Egg would not fall unconscious from a single Companion Beast Transformation.

Even after the fight, it would retain some combat power, making the transformation a regular tactic.

“Clang!”

Sensing the pressure, the Trident Twin-Edged Blade flashed with fierce golden light, refusing to back down. Its battle intent surged like a tide, eager to clash with the golden flood dragon—perhaps even slay it.

“Very good. Then let me shatter your pride head-on.”

Chen Beiwu formed a “Soldier” seal with his left hand and drew a “Dissolve” character in the air with his right. Then, bringing both hands together, he pressed a finger to Golden Egg’s forehead.

“Form follows intent. Companion Beast Weapon Transformation.”

“Clang!”

As the blade rang out, a sudden change occurred.

A Trident Twin-Edged Blade, approximately nine feet four inches long, structured like the character ‘Mountain’ (山), slowly emerged.

Its appearance was identical to the Mountain-Splitting Blade, except for some added dragon patterns on the blade’s surface. One could say it was a perfect replica.

“Chaaang—!”

The moment Golden Egg completed its Weapon Transformation, the original Trident Twin-Edged Blade erupted like an enraged master swordsman, unleashing blinding blade force.

“Those who learn from me live; those who imitate me die.”

For a golden flood dragon to dare transform into its likeness—undoubtedly courting death.

Ignoring the weapon’s furious reaction, Chen Beiwu clenched his five fingers around the blade’s shaft. A sudden intuition surged within him.

Compared to swords or spears, the Trident Twin-Edged Blade was the true form most compatible with Golden Egg’s Companion Beast Weapon Transformation, granting him the strongest possible support.

“Boom!”

Just by grasping the hilt, the Trident Twin-Edged Blade in Chen Beiwu’s hand let out an earth-shaking dragon roar.

The dragon patterns on its surface seemed alive, writhing and pouring into his body, achieving perfect resonance between man and beast. Their combined mana erupted with the pressure of a Golden Core True Person.

‘This power…!’

Chen Beiwu raised his head, eyes filled with a trace of surprise.

If the power boost from transforming into a simple blade was tenfold—allowing him to rival the Golden Core realm—then transforming into the Trident Twin-Edged Blade offered a fifteenfold, perhaps even twentyfold, increase.

At this moment, even if a Golden Core Early-Stage cultivator stood before him, Chen Beiwu had full confidence he could cut them down with a single strike.

All the more so when his opponent was merely an unbound Third-Tier Superior-Grade Artifact.

With that thought, Chen Beiwu lifted his gaze toward the oncoming, pure blade force.

Although the narration of the beast-taming landscape and weapon transformation sounded lengthy, in reality, it had occurred in an instant.

Some high-level Immortal Alliance cultivators could seize such a fleeting moment to launch a counterattack—but Southern Wastes cultivators could not, let alone a mere artifact.

“Boom!”

Chen Beiwu neither dodged nor flinched. The golden flood dragon blade in his hand slashed down violently, striking faster than the incoming blade force and tearing it apart head-on, causing the Trident Twin-Edged Blade to emit a pained cry under the pressure.

“One last chance. Submit—or be destroyed.”

Chen Beiwu pointed the blade tip at the Trident Twin-Edged Blade, his voice cold.

Yet, it answered only with a crisp, unyielding ring—and even fiercer blade force.

“In that case, die.”

This time, Chen Beiwu held nothing back. The golden flood dragon blade fell, forming a hundred-zhang-long blade shadow that pierced through the Trident Twin-Edged Blade with overwhelming force.

“Buzz!”

A mournful cry rang out as the artifact’s spirituality was completely extinguished by Chen Beiwu’s strike. Its former sharpness was gone, and it finally crashed to the ground.

“Phew.”

Chen Beiwu exhaled a long breath, withdrawing both the landscape boost and the weapon transformation. Golden Egg reappeared at his side.

This Trident Twin-Edged Blade was truly stubborn. Even in defeat, it believed he had not won fairly, instead blaming the golden flood dragon form for being too strong.

Defeat is defeat. This world has no room for “what ifs.”

“Gurgle.”

Golden Egg shook its head, slightly dizzy.

Chen Beiwu had only swung the blade twice, yet its mana and divine sense were nearly depleted. Fortunately, it wouldn’t fall asleep this time.

“Woof.”

Iron Egg let out a low growl, feeling it was a pity.

With the Trident Twin-Edged Blade’s spirituality gone, its power would greatly diminish.

Moreover, without the artifact’s cooperation, Chen Beiwu would need to expend more mana to wield it in the future.

‘Who said I was going to refine this Trident Twin-Edged Blade?’ Chen Beiwu smirked, stroking Iron Egg’s chin.

Iron Egg tilted its head, not quite understanding what Chen Beiwu meant.

‘One Trident Twin-Edged Blade is enough. Having more is pointless.’ Chen Beiwu chuckled.

The blade’s unyielding nature made it too risky to use in battle.

If it ever turned against him mid-fight, it would be a classic case of “artifact devours master”—and cost him his life.

As for retaining its spirit and slowly taming it, that too posed a lurking danger.

Chen Beiwu didn’t have time or energy to suppress a Third-Tier Artifact.

Besides, having perused the Yuqing Immortal Sect Archives, he knew certain Immortal Alliance secrets.

For example, a beast-tamer’s contracted metal Companion Beast could devour the aura of similar artifacts to enhance itself—or even consume artifacts with identical Weapon Transformation types to boost its transformation power.

True, Chen Beiwu didn’t know how to cultivate such a weapon-devouring secret art, nor was his contracted beast metal-type.

But Golden Egg possessed the All Rivers Embraced treasure art—it could steal the power of creation itself to refine and nourish its own immortal metal nature.

He had deliberately destroyed the blade’s spirit to make it easier for Golden Egg to devour it and use this Third-Tier Superior-Grade Artifact as nourishment for growth.

“Gurgle.”

Hearing this, Golden Egg’s eyes lit up. Activating the All Rivers Embraced treasure art, it swallowed the fallen Trident Twin-Edged Blade in one gulp and burped contentedly.

Its master was truly generous—just handing over a Third-Tier Superior-Grade Artifact.

Compared to Iron Egg, it seemed it was the one closer to the emperor’s heart.

Seeing this, Chen Beiwu nodded slightly.

Everything came down to cost-effectiveness.

Metal begets water, fire begets earth.

Unlike the Trident Twin-Edged Blade, due to elemental incompatibility, it was extremely inefficient for Golden Egg to use the All Rivers Embraced treasure art to devour the Third-Tier Artifact [Chixiao Flowing-Flame Spear]. It would consume a vast amount of time while yielding little benefit—making the devouring highly cost-ineffective. As a result, the Chixiao Spear had long been gathering dust in Chen Beiwu’s storage ring.

“How does it feel?” Chen Beiwu asked.

“Gurgle.”

Golden Egg nodded at first, then shook its head.

It felt great—its cultivation was increasing every moment—but the growth was a bit slow.

“That's normal. With your late Foundation Establishment cultivation, fully refining a Third-Tier Superior-Grade Artifact will take years, perhaps even decades,” Chen Beiwu said calmly, his divine sense continuing to search the storage ring.

The Trident Twin-Edged Blade seemed to be the last pleasant surprise. Chen Beiwu checked through everything—what remained in the storage space was all miscellaneous junk, nothing that caught his eye.

“Hmm?”

Chen Beiwu’s eyes flickered as he pulled out a yellowed beast-hide booklet from the ring.

This book didn’t even qualify as an artifact. What caught his attention was its content.

‘Who keeps a diary? Especially a Golden Armored Corpse.’

Chen Beiwu shook his head and flipped to the first page of the beast-hide booklet.

The diary was full of scattered thoughts. Qian Buhuan jotted down whatever came to mind. Skipping over the vain boasting, Chen Beiwu eventually found some useful information.

【Year 9392 of the Taiyuan Era, Grain Rain】

“Today, I attempted once more to break through to Late Golden Core—and failed. I am now nine hundred seventy years old. My life-extending pills are exhausted, and white hairs have appeared at my temples.

If my cultivation does not progress further, I will fall and die within two hundred years. But I refuse to believe in fate!”

【Year 9395 of the Taiyuan Era, Heavy Snow】

“Traveled with Daoists Sun, Li, and Heavenly Silkworm, attempting to leave the Southern Wastes Earth Proliferation Territory for the Eastern Lands.

Just as a cultivator’s lifespan has its limits, so too does the Boundless Sea. But the barrier between worlds cannot be breached by a mere Golden Core cultivator. How hateful!”

【Year 9400 of the Taiyuan Era, Awakening of Insects】

“Hahaha, Heaven blesses this old man! In the Sky-Gifted Sea Secret Realm, I actually found a Golden Armored Corpse King Pill. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged. I wonder what kind of powerful foe it encountered.

But that’s fine—had the pill been fully intact, I likely would have died on the spot.”

【Year 9410 of the Taiyuan Era, Ghost Festival】

“Heh heh, after ten years of researching the Corpse King Pill, I finally found a way to restore its power—Blood Sacrifice.

Daoist Li, I’m sorry. Your lifespan was nearly exhausted anyway. Rather than dying pointlessly, better to die by my hand to help me ascend as a True Monarch.”

Chen Beiwu’s eyes narrowed.

Qian Buhuan was truly ruthless. To survive, he had even turned on a sworn companion who had shared life and death in battle.

【Year 9415 of the Taiyuan Era, Winter Solstice】

“Why still no success? I, with exceptional talent and aided by the Corpse King Pill, why can’t I break through to Late Golden Core?

Forget it. So be it. If I can’t continue as a human, then after death I shall become the King of Corpses and live again.”

At this point, the diary had several blank pages. Chen Beiwu flipped through dozens more before he found the next entry.

It was said that between life and death lies true terror.

From the following entries, Chen Beiwu saw how Qian Buhuan gradually succumbed to madness in his quest to live—selling everything he had, consuming the Essence Blood of a Flood Dragon, switching to the Corpse Dao, and abandoning his own cultivation clan entirely.

【Early Yuanfeng Era, Yin Moon】

“By harnessing the power of a Dragon Vein, I finally refined myself into a Golden Armored Corpse. My fingernails are a bit too long—I scratched an itch and nearly pierced my own skull.

But it doesn’t matter. This kind of wound heals in a blink. What matters is eternal life. I’ll never die of old age.”

【Year 500 of the Yuanfeng Era, Blood Moon】

“As expected, I am the King of Corpses. In less than a thousand years after switching to the Corpse Dao, I’ve reached Late Golden Core. If I cultivate another thousand years, won’t I ascend to become a Golden Armored Corpse King?”

【Year 625 of the Yuanfeng Era, Earth Dragon Turns Over】

“Today, a Golden Core Mid-Stage cultivator came to die on his own—just what I needed! I truly am favored by fate. That nonsense about Dragon Vein Backlash must be a myth.

No matter. The more Golden Core blood food I consume, the faster I refine the Corpse King Pill. Perhaps I can even transform the outer formation of the Corpse-Refining Ground into the Three Calamity Coffin Formation to lure more Golden Core cultivators.”

“As for the stubborn Mountain-Splitting Blade, for old time’s sake, I’ll spare it…”

Reaching the last page, Chen Beiwu immediately took out a blank jade slip and recorded Qian Buhuan’s detailed map to the Eastern Lands and the Sky-Gifted Sea Secret Realm.

According to the diary, the Sky-Gifted Sea Secret Realm was a legacy site left behind by the ancient demonic sect, the Xuan-Yin Corpse-Refining Sect, in the Southern Wastes.

It was filled with priceless treasures—perhaps even the legendary Nascent Soul Pill. Unfortunately, a cultivator could only enter it once in their lifetime.

Because of this, the Sky-Gifted Sea Secret Realm was strictly controlled by top-tier cultivation sects of the Southern Wastes, with no outsiders permitted.

Qian Buhuan had been lucky. By chance, he had discovered an ancient relic that bypassed the control of those major sects and allowed direct teleportation into the secret realm.

But Chen Beiwu had no interest in exploring it—he only recorded the information.

For one simple reason: he wasn’t strong enough yet.

“The path of cultivation—one misstep, and it’s eternal doom. No wonder every cultivator who forms a Golden Core is not to be underestimated.”

Chen Beiwu slowly closed the diary and murmured.

Perhaps his recent streak of success had inflated his ego, making him forget his earlier caution. He had trusted True Person Yu’s opinion, dismissing an unformed Golden Armored Corpse as insignificant—only to nearly lose everything.

‘With this predecessor's cautionary tale, perhaps I should reconsider destroying the Dragon Vein.’

Stowing the diary, Chen Beiwu lowered his gaze, peering through earth and stone at the Vein-Breaking Shuttle deep below.

Even Qian Buhuan could not withstand the backlash of Heaven’s fate. Was it really worth risking the destruction of a budding Dragon Vein just to study the power of the Nine-Breath Chaos?

Even if the Nine-Breath Chaos was his greatest hope of achieving immortality.

After a brief hesitation, Chen Beiwu formed hand seals—not to destroy the Dragon Vein, but to guide the Vein-Breaking Shuttle to first dismantle the Three Calamity Coffin Formation arranged within the Corpse-Refining Ground.

“Roar!”

Soon, tremors came from deep within the earth. The grand formation crumbled.

Freed from the corrosion and pollution of multiple Third-Tier Demonic Formations, the suppressed Fate Golden Dragon surged upward like a trapped dragon ascending to the heavens, diving into the sea. The Purple-Black Filth writhing beneath its Reverse Scale dissipated.

Chen Beiwu lowered his head and glanced at his chest.

As expected, the budding Dragon Vein had not collapsed. The Dragon Vein Qi had not leaked. Naturally, the Nine-Breath Chaos remained inactive.

Yet in the next moment, Chen Beiwu’s expression shifted slightly—he sensed a strange anomaly within the Chaos World.