Then, the silhouette of the Sword Elder vanished from the spot, taking the jade box with him.
"Spirit Treasure!" Li Yuanba murmured to himself.
He picked up the jade scroll, placed it on his forehead, and scanned its contents, making a backup on the IBMz15 as well.
Within the jade scroll, there was a âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Method,â which wasnât a secret technique for sword cultivators, but a general technique for controlling and nurturing spirit treasures, with the ability to hide the aura of the treasure being merely supplementary.
This âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ was even more precious than what Sword Elder had mentioned; it seemed that the fourth-grade spirit tea was indeed not given in vain.
In addition to the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Method,â there was also an introduction to spirit treasures.
This introduction was much more detailed than what Sword Elder had mentioned; Li Yuanba guessed that Sword Elder must have added it to the jade scroll at the last minute.
In normal circumstances, only great cultivators of the Mahayana Realm would possess spirit treasures because fifth-grade refining materials are exceedingly scarceâso scarce that even great cultivators of the Mahayana Realm cannot obtain much, with just enough for a single spirit treasure.
The reason only great cultivators of the Mahayana Realm possess them is due to the near impossibility of finding fifth-grade refining materials in the cultivation world.
In the grotto heaven opened by great cultivators of the Mahayana, extremely rare fifth-grade materials are nurtured in the core of their abodes. In their lifetime, a great cultivator can produce just enough fifth-grade materials to forge a single spirit treasure.
This showcases the rarity and preciousness of spirit treasures. Most great cultivators, when their life span nears its end or before an unexpected demise, would disperse their spirit treasures within their grotto heaven, using them to stabilize the realm, ensuring its continuity through time.
Thus, even if a great cultivator falls, few spirit treasures are released.
Reading this, Li Yuanba broke into a cold sweat, finally understanding the danger of rashly showing his Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi to the Sword Elder.
He had truly underestimated the value of the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi. Even if its power was halved in the hands of others compared to a spirit treasure, its value would still be enough to tempt a great cultivator of the Mahayana Realm.
No wonder Sword Elder gifted him the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ without directly mentioning the value of a spirit treasure; if mentioned face to face, he might suspect Sword Elder intended to seize his spirit treasure.
This also showed that Sword Elder was quite kind to him, not pressing him about the artifact refiner who enhanced the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi.
An artifact refiner capable of upgrading a top-level fourth-grade magical treasure to a spirit treasure would be highly sought after by every great cultivator in the entire cultivation world. Besides forming connections, there are other, less friendly methods.
In fact, Sword Elder regarded that artifact refiner as a great Mahayana artifact refiner; since this refiner was willing to form a bond with Li Yuanba, it was a great thing. Sword Elder himself had no desires concerning spirit treasures, thus he wouldnât risk offending a great Mahayana artifact refiner by forcibly establishing contact.
"I must be careful when refining spirit treasures in the future!" Li Yuanba thought to himself.
Fortunately, only Lu Wei and the Sword Elder had seen his Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi; all other cultivators who had seen it had perished.
Lu Wei clearly didnât recognize the spirit treasure; plus, having saved Lu Weiâs life, he wouldnât reveal any suspicions he might have.
As for Sword Elder, itâs needless to sayâthe jade scroll with the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ speaks volumes about his attitude.
Li Yuanba delved into the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ; this secret method concerning spirit treasures included ways of nurturing the artifact spirit, much superior to anything he could figure out on his own.
The artifact spirit of the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi, or the Sword Spiritâthanks to the cultivation method in the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodââwould advance the time for Xingyi to perform long-range attacks by a significant margin.
Of course, the current focus remained on the secret method of hiding the spirit treasureâs aura found within the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Method.â Holding the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi was like a child dangerously holding gold in a bustling market.
The secret of hiding the spirit treasureâs aura wasnât that difficult, relatively speaking. The challenging part was an exceedingly complex pattern that needed to be swiftly constructed using the spirit to cover every part of the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi.
Even for a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator with great memory and control over their body, mastering this intricate pattern in a short time was not easy.
However, after Li Yuanba connected with the IBMz15, this task became exceptionally simple.
IBMz15 scanned the hidden diagram for the spirit treasure, and then transmitted the information first to Li Shimingâs main body. The special link between Li Shimingâs main body and the lifebound artifact IBMz15 allowed him to instantly grasp the hidden pattern.
Subsequently, Li Shimingâs main body shared the hidden treasure pattern with Li Yuanba. Though the process seemed complex, it actually took only a few breaths to complete.
Li Yuanbaâs fingers swept across the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi, with the intricate pattern manifesting under his touch on Xingyiâs surface.
As his fingers traveled from the swordâs hilt to its tip, the previous terrifying aura of the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi vanished, leaving only a top-level fourth-grade flying sword aura.
Out of curiosity, he used his divine sense to probe the Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi; as long as he didnât use the connection with his Lifebound Flying Sword, merely scanning with divine sense would reveal no anomalies in Xingyi.
He chuckled wryly and shook his head. Sword Elder had said that it was to prevent great cultivators of the Mahayana Realm from detecting the aura of a spirit treasure; how could he, a mere Nascent Soul Middle Stage practitioner, possibly detect anything amiss?
"Hold on, what realm is Sword Elder at?" He suddenly thought of a question.
The âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ provided by Sword Elder was meant for great cultivators of the Mahayana Realm; thus, Sword Elderâs realm was likely that of a great cultivator of the Mahayana Realm.
He had speculated about Sword Elderâs realm before, but never imagined that a true great Mahayana being, capable of possessing an independently existing grotto heaven, was right beside him. Hence, he always regarded Sword Elder as someone stronger than a great cultivator but weaker than a Mahayana being.
But today, he overturned his previous judgment, suspecting that Sword Elder was indeed a genuine great Mahayana cultivator.
"Never mind, focusing on closed-door cultivation is the main thing!" He dismissed the thoughts from his mind, knowing what he needed to do the most.
As for enhancing the âTen Thousand Sword Peak,â those matters did not require much of his deliberation; they were best left to Li Shimingâs main body to research, aided by the IBMz15âfaster and more comprehensive than his lone contemplation.
He took out a fourth-grade advanced cultivation assistance spirit pill for Nascent Soul Middle Stage, swallowed it, let his mind fully sink, and began cultivating the âSky-Surging Sword Intent Technique.â
With the operation of the âSky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,â he noticed differences from before.
After advancing to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, he had engaged in short bouts of closed-door cultivation to accumulate some spiritual power.
But his cultivation speed back then, practicing the âSky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,â was nowhere near todayâs paceânot just the effects of the fourth-grade advanced cultivation assistance spirit pill he had ingested.
Being an Alchemy Master, he had a clear and accurate assessment of the cultivation effects of taking fourth-grade spirit pills.
His cultivation pace was noticeably influenced by another factor beyond just the advanced cultivation assistance spirit pill for the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, enhancing his cultivation speed significantly.
"Itâs Xingyi!" He slightly sensed and swiftly discovered the reason.
It turned out that the energy materialized Lifebound Flying Sword Xingyi in his Nascent Soul hand had a sword spirit capable of accelerating the energy flow within him and simultaneously creating purer spiritual power.
Whether the cultivation technique operated faster or the spiritual power generated was purer, both significantly enhanced his cultivation efficiency, yielding greater effects within the same cultivation period.