CHAPTER 269: CHAPTER 256: LIFEBOUND SPIRITUAL ARTIFACT! [REQUEST FOR SUBSCRIPTION]

Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, as the name suggests, is a type of artifact closely linked to a cultivator’s life.

This artifact has many advantages, such as its rank and power can increase along with the cultivator’s cultivation, its spiritual nature far exceeds ordinary artifacts of the same tier, it has a strong "automatic protection" ability, and can even unleash power far beyond its tier when a cultivator uses essence blood to activate it.

Of course, nothing in the world is perfect. While the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact has many advantages, it also has unavoidable drawbacks.

The drawback of the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact is that because it is closely linked to a cultivator’s life, if it is damaged, the cultivator may not perish, but their realm will drop, their primordial qi will be severely wounded, directly affecting their future cultivation path.

Additionally, the spiritual objects required to refine a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact are rare and hard to find, and the more powerful the artifact, the rarer and harder to find the refining materials.

Generally speaking, cultivators will choose to refine Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts compatible with their cultivation techniques.

Usually, high-tier techniques that can be cultivated to the Nascent Soul Stage will include one or several methods for refining Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts, and once cultivators reach the Golden Core Stage, they can seek materials and refine Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts according to the methods recorded in their techniques.

However, the materials for refining Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts are hard to find, and it’s rare to see cultivators who wait until forming their Golden Core to start considering seeking materials for refining Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts.

Most cultivators begin to pay attention to collecting materials for refining a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact after they open up their Purple Mansion, and if they can gather enough before forming their Golden Core, they can immediately begin refining their Lifebound Spiritual Artifact afterwards.

For Golden Core Stage cultivators, the sooner they refine their Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, the stronger it will be in the future.

An artifact just refined, no matter how remarkable the refining method, or how rare the materials, if it hasn’t been nurtured long enough, its power cannot compare to those nurtured for hundreds of years by Golden Core Stage cultivators.

The "Qianyang Immortal Scripture" was created by the Tribulation Crossing True Immortal "Master Qianyang". When he created this technique, he referred to numerous magical artifacts, and created four lifebound spiritual artifacts compatible with the technique.

These four lifebound spiritual artifacts are the "Qianyang Golden Lamp", "Qianyang Treasure Pearl", "Qianyang Golden Tower", and "Qianyang Treasure Mirror".

Among them, Zhouyang has a "Qianyang Treasure Pearl" in his body, which was refined by "Master Qianyang".

However, lifebound spiritual artifacts refined by others, no matter how great the power, after the original owner’s passing, others can hardly unleash more than thirty percent of their true power.

Because the four lifebound spiritual artifacts each have unique uses, Zhouyang doesn’t know which one he should choose to refine as his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact.

So he can only secretly remember the materials needed for refining the four lifebound spiritual artifacts, and plan to refine whichever he can gather the materials for first.

Originally, at this time, Zhouyang should continue to retreat and cultivate those four magical techniques.

But due to time constraints, he can only temporarily suppress that idea and leave seclusion first.

Calculating time, he spent half a year studying the insights of predecessors, several months in seclusion to open up his Purple Mansion, over a year enhancing his magical cultivation, and now there’s just over three years left until the agreed date of his Dao Heart Oath.

This amount of time is just enough for him to master one of the four magical techniques, and even if he masters the most powerful "Qianyang Divine Thunder", he couldn’t rely solely on this technique to strike Luo Yunqing down.

Therefore, he must find something he can truly rely on.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou came out of seclusion so quickly? Zhang had thought you would remain in seclusion for a few more years!"

At Yellow Sand Sect, when Zhang Yunpeng received news of Zhouyang leaving seclusion and hurried over, he blatantly began talking as soon as he saw him.

He too had been through this and knew what cultivators do right after opening their Purple Mansion.

Back then, after he successfully opened his Purple Mansion, he stayed within the sect’s cave dwelling for the first ten years diligently cultivating magical techniques.

Facing Zhang Yunpeng’s probing question, Zhouyang replied with a smiling face: "Since I’ve already succeeded in opening my Purple Mansion, isn’t it the same wherever I retreat? I think it’s better to return to my clan and reassure my family first."

"Is that so?"

Zhang Yunpeng looked at Zhouyang’s face, which had become much younger due to extended lifespan, not believing his explanation.

But since Zhouyang wasn’t willing to reveal the truth, he naturally wouldn’t press him, as Zhouyang was now a cultivator at the same Purple Mansion Stage as he was.

He took a deep look at Zhouyang, nodded lightly, and said: "If that’s the case, then Fellow Daoist Zhou should accompany Zhang, let us fulfill the agreement made with the Master before his portrait!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Yunpeng led Zhouyang to the Ancestor Hall of Yellow Sand Sect, and before Cao Wenjin’s portrait, he presented the blood contract made with half of Cao Wenjin’s divine soul before his demise, and handed it to Zhouyang.

Zhouyang received the blood contract, his eyes scanning over it; the terms were indeed identical to the agreement he had originally discussed with Cao Wenjin.

Seeing this, he hesitated not at all, immediately dripping his essence blood onto the contract and signing his name.

The "Nether Blood Contract" was not something he was signing for the first time, but it was the first time he had seen such a high-tier "Nether Blood Contract" being signed.

After signing his name, the blood contract instantly burned with blazing blood flames, which then transformed into a series of blood-colored runes that quickly penetrated the Shenting Acupoint of both him and Zhang Yunpeng, directly branding onto their Divine Souls.

In that moment, Zhouyang knew he absolutely must not violate the blood contract he had signed today, or he would surely face disaster.

He raised his hand and gently touched his forehead, then looked at Zhang Yunpeng and asked, "Alright, Fellow Daoist Zhou has signed the blood contract, so when can Sect Leader Zhang fulfill the agreement and hand over Red Tiger Mountain Oasis to our Zhou Family?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunpeng promptly responded, "If Fellow Daoist Zhou is eager to move, it can be done now. However, I suggest you wait until the situation stabilizes before relocating your clan’s foundation."

"I will consider Sect Leader Zhang’s suggestion. If our Zhou Family does decide to relocate, we will certainly notify Sect Leader Zhang first."

Zhouyang nodded with satisfaction, feeling content with Zhang Yunpeng’s straightforwardness.

Without saying much more, he simply clasped his hands and said, "In that case, I shall take my leave now. Three years from now, I will lead all Foundation Establishment cultivators and numerous Qi Cultivation cultivators from the Zhou Family to assist Fellow Daoist Jiang at Luofeng Mountain, and we shall meet again then!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunpeng’s face broke into a bright smile, and he clapped his hands in laughter, saying, "That would be wonderful! With Fellow Daoist Zhou’s assistance, we will surely be able to eliminate the traitors and bring peace to the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm!"

After bidding farewell to Zhang Yunpeng, Zhouyang had originally planned to visit his cousin Zhou Yuanchen, but Zhou Yuanchen had already been rotated to the front line at Luofeng Mountain, so he could only leave the Yellow Sand Sect with regret.

Upon leaving the Yellow Sand Sect, Zhouyang first flew towards Baisha River Oasis for a distance, and only after confirming that no one was following him did he change direction and fly to the oasis where the Yin Puppet Sect ruins were located.

He was now at the Purple Mansion Stage, and the treasures of Blood Nether at the Yin Puppet Sect ruins could finally be put to use.

He dared to take the Dao Heart Oath back then, claiming he would slay Luo Yunqing within fifteen years, and the true reliance was on those treasures.

Those were the relics and treasures of "Golden Light Ascendant" and Blood Nether, both Golden Core cultivators, and would surely contain Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts.

If he could obtain those Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts, even if he didn’t find other treasures to help him defeat Luo Yunqing, he could use the Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts to exchange for Tier Four Puppet Beasts at the Yellow Sand Sect.

By that time, as long as he exchanged for two or three Tier Four Puppet Beasts and set them with the top-grade Spirit Stones he had excavated from the Rhino Horn Continent Oasis, would he still need to fear a mere Luo Yunqing?

The Zhou Family had long since gathered information and thoroughly investigated the location of the Yin Puppet Sect ruins over the years. Zhouyang, flying with Sword Control at his Purple Mansion Stage, took only two or three days to arrive at the oasis where the ruins were located.

Once there, he first located the place where Blood Nether had exploded his Golden Core, and then, using the memory fragments obtained from Blood Nether, he searched the surrounding area and eventually succeeded in finding the treasure location after spending most of the day.

The situation was quite urgent at the time, and Blood Nether had little time to cover anything up, only using a magic artifact capable of concealing the treasure’s aura to wrap two storage rings and throw them on the ground.

This magic artifact capable of hiding the treasure’s aura was a silver-white handkerchief, originally a Tier Three Top-grade Spiritual Artifact used by cultivators to conceal their own aura.

Zhouyang, recalling his memory, found the silver-white handkerchief by eye, uncovered it, and saw the two storage rings wrapped within.

The two storage rings, one faint gold, belonged to "Golden Light Ascendant," and the other, blood-red, was owned by Blood Nether.

Though they appeared different in color, Zhouyang knew that both rings were refined from the same Tier Five Spiritual Object, "Void Stone."

The "Void Stone," although not as precious as the "Profound Crystal Stone" used in setting teleportation arrays, was a rare space attribute material valued at over ten thousand Spirit Stones for a fist-sized piece.

Generally, only Golden Core cultivators would be willing to purchase storage rings refined from "Void Stone."

Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, even if they had Spirit Stones, would save them for later purchases of auxiliary spiritual objects for Core Formation, and would rarely spend tens of thousands of Spirit Stones on storage spiritual artifacts whose functions overlap with storage bags.

If Zhouyang hadn’t come across these two storage rings for free now, he would never have been willing to spend his Spirit Stones on them.

He excitedly and eagerly wore the two storage rings, rubbing them for quite a while, before murmuring to himself as he looked at the gold and red rings:

"Although my Divine Sense should be sufficient to erase the spiritual marks of Golden Core cultivators from the two storage rings, the time it would take won’t be short. To avoid arousing Zhang Yunpeng’s suspicion, I should visit Baisha River Oasis first, and only when I return to the clan will I open the storage rings."