201: Chapter 201 Witnessing the Divine Axe, Forging a New Heaven

After finishing the business at the battle stage, Yuan Feng intended to head to the Western Border, but he received a message from Ghost Axe.

This True Monarch of the Artifact Dao sent word that the pseudo-magic treasure that Dou Zhan True Monarch had entrusted him to repair was now fully restored. It had absorbed those few Geng Metal Golden Natures, passed the Magic Treasure Heavenly Tribulation, and evolved into a true Magic Treasure.

Furthermore, Heaven Forger, who had merged with the Giant Bronze Cauldron to become its artifact spirit, had also awakened.

Upon receiving the message, Yuan Feng opened a Domain Gate and quickly traversed millions of miles to arrive outside the Qi Xuan Sect.

The moment he stepped out of the Domain Gate, a crimson path extended from deep within the Qi Xuan Sect, filled with billions of rays of immortal radiance and countless auspicious clouds, as if welcoming a deity.

"Respectfully welcoming Dou Zhan True Monarch!"

Yuan Feng took a step forward, moving along the crimson path as if shifting stars, and instantly arrived at the core area of the Qi Xuan Blessed Land, the residence of Ghost Axe.

"Fellow Daoist Dou Zhan, long time no see."

Ghost Axe was bare-chested, his muscles as sturdy as rising mountains, giving him the oppressive presence of an ancient savage bear.

He held a crimson great hammer, swinging it down to strike a piece of material that had been heated red by Bing Fire. The clanging sound was deafening, and countless sparks splashed outward.

"Fellow Daoist Ghost Axe is in high spirits. No wonder you were able to reach the Realm of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster before becoming a Golden Core, and could forge a Magic Treasure with a False Core body."

Yuan Feng offered a compliment.

Back then, Ghost Axe, who had not yet formed his Golden Core, dared to attempt to repair the xuan shu thunder punishment seal, an incomplete Immortal Artifact. Perhaps that was the reason he could achieve such great success in the Artifact Dao.

High skill brings boldness; in the path of Artifact Refining, the timid need not apply.

Half of the Magic Treasures and Immortal Artifacts in the world were said to come from the hands of Golden Core and Nascent Soul Cultivators, while the other half came from Artifact Refining Grandmasters and Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters.

However, the path of Artifact Refining suffered heavy losses after the Ancient Eras Final Tribulation.

The inheritance of Artifact Refining in the world had decreased by ninety percent.

Even the Heavenly Craft Pavilion, the premier Artifact Refining power in the current Luotian Realm, was excavating ancient Artifact Refining ruins, hoping to discover ancient refining techniques different from those of the present day.

It is said that in the ancient era, there were Great Masters occupying the positions of the Artifact Dao, and the difficulty of refining Magic Treasures and Immortal Artifacts was far lower than in the current era.

Therefore, in the ancient era, one could truly say that Magic Treasures were everywhere and Immortal Artifacts were as common as hair.

Of course, Immortal Artifacts also had distinctions in strength and Rank.

Ordinary Immortal Artifacts were naturally inferior to the life-bound Immortal Artifacts of a Nascent Soul Earth Immortal.

Not to mention the heavenly immortal artifacts used by the Great Honored Immortal, which required far more resources and time to refine than ordinary Immortal Artifacts.

Going higher, there were the great Immortal Artifacts whose status was equivalent to that of an Immortal Lord.

To refine a supreme Immortal Artifact of this level, one needed to borrow the power of a dao position.

Either the Immortal Lord occupying the position would personally sublimate their own life-bound Immortal Artifact, or a great person sitting on the Artifact Dao position would use the power of the position along with various precious and rare immortal materials to forge it.

Throughout history, the number of great Immortal Artifacts created by Artifact Refiners in the Luotian Realm was few, far less than the number of Immortal Lords.

When the Realm reaches a certain height, the Artifact Dao is also restricted.

A Dao Lord sitting on an Artifact Dao position might be able to create dao soldiers for their own path, but the resources consumed would undoubtedly be massive; even scouring the Upper Vault Azure Fall and the Yellow Springs might not be enough to gather them.

The Artifact Dao is a very special path, focusing on the "artifact," on Artifact Refining.

Without corresponding resources, even if your Artifact Refining skills reach the pinnacle, it is still useless.

"Fellow Daoist Dou Zhan is joking. If one lacks the ambition to forge even higher-ranked Magical Artifacts, how can one advance courageously in the path of Artifact Refining?"

Ghost Axe said, stopping his actions, then changed the subject: "On the contrary, it is you, Fellow Daoist, who surprises me. How many years has it been, and you have already entered the Middle Stage Golden Core, making me feel ashamed."

Yuan Feng was a bit surprised upon hearing this and asked: "Fellow Daoist Ghost Axe, how did you see that I have entered the Middle Stage Golden Core?"

His Aura was restrained, his nine and a half Golden Natures were in a dormant state, and he was not a Cultivator of the Yin and Yang, Five Elements, or Four Symbols paths, so it shouldn't be so easy to tell.

"Fellow Daoist Dou Zhan follows the Way of Battle. The intent of Dou Zhan on a Cultivator of this path cannot be concealed; it is as conspicuous as a torch in the dark night."

"Even if you do not awaken your Golden Nature and conceal your Aura, one can still feel that peerless, domineering Concept of Dou Zhan that suppresses all paths from you."

"Furthermore, upon reaching the Golden Core Realm, one interacts with a dao position, and naturally exudes an Aura related to the path one practices. This represents the status of a Golden Core True Monarch, which a Purple Mansion True Person does not possess."

Ghost Axe explained one by one.

The Qi Xuan Sect had been wealthy in the past; their understanding of the Golden Core Realm was far beyond that of nouveau riche families like the Chen Family.

Gui Li had never mentioned this to Yuan Feng, perhaps because in her eyes, the Golden Core Realm was nothing significant.

As for the books left behind by the Xuan Yuan Sect, Yuan Feng had no time to read them; after achieving Golden Core, he either went into seclusion or traveled outside the world.

"Then, Fellow Daoist Ghost Axe, is there a way to hide one's Aura and Aura field?"

Yuan Feng asked.

Although he didn't really want to be a "hidden expert," being too conspicuous was not a good thing; after all, the nail that sticks out gets hammered, and it was easy to attract others' wariness immediately.

"Naturally, there is. With your talent, Fellow Daoist, you can learn it in an instant."

After Ghost Axe finished speaking, his Golden Core Divine Sense spread out and transmitted a Cultivation Technique to Yuan Feng.

《True Monarch Qi Concealment Art》

"Fellow Daoist Ghost Axe, this Cultivation Technique wouldn't only be usable at the Golden Core level, would it? Once I reach the Nascent Soul Earth Immortal Realm, would I need to change to another technique?"

Yuan Feng always felt he had overlooked something.

"That is correct. This is a special method for True Monarchs to hide their Aura and Aura field, limited to use by Golden Core True Monarchs."

Ghost Axe looked as if he were stating the truth.

"Right, how did I forget the Breath Concealment Art on the Panel!"

Yuan Feng's thoughts stirred. He only then remembered that there was a Breath Concealment Art in the Spell section of the System Panel.

This was a Spell he had since activating the System, and it would improve along with the improvement of his Realm.

After Foundation Establishment, he rarely used this Spell.

Quietly operating the Breath Concealment Art, Yuan Feng's entire presence became plain and unremarkable. Even if a True Monarch with a higher Realm than him scanned him with Divine Sense, it would be difficult to detect his true Realm without careful and serious inspection.

"This is the Magic Treasure you entrusted me to upgrade. The Artifact Refiner's Primordial Spirit inside has awakened. Thanks to the power of the Magic Treasure, the power he can exert is completely comparable to a False Core Cultivator."

Seeing that Yuan Feng had learned the 《True Monarch Qi Concealment Art》, Ghost Axe took out the Giant Bronze Cauldron.

Before this pseudo-magic treasure was promoted to a Magic Treasure, it had incorporated two Golden Natures, belonging to the Xu Earth and Yi Wood paths.

Adding the three Geng Metal Golden Natures provided by Yuan Feng, this Magic Treasure contained a total of five Golden Natures, making it a cut above ordinary True Monarch Magic Treasures.

Now, this Magic Treasure could no longer be called the Giant Bronze Cauldron; it would be more appropriate to call it the Golden Bronze Cauldron.

The cauldron's body was golden and brilliant, with profound and exquisite patterns covering it, forming a magnificent landscape painting.

The sun, moon, and mountains reflected the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and its boundless heavy Aura was like an ancient star rotating, pressing down on the heavens and earth.

If fully activated, this Magic Treasure could become as huge as a star, and the Divine Might of its suppression would make even ordinary Early Stage Golden Core True Monarchs have to face it with caution.

"Not bad."

Yuan Feng nodded with satisfaction.

Although the Chen Family now had the heavenly immortal artifact Gui Li to suppress their Luck, they did not have a single Magic Treasure that could be used to increase the Family's foundation.

With the Golden Bronze Cauldron, the confidence of Chen Family Cultivators when venturing out for training would also increase significantly.

One only needed to imprint the Golden Bronze Cauldron Magic Treasure on one's body to activate the imprint in times of crisis and summon the power of the Golden Bronze Cauldron to resist danger.

Moreover, the artifact spirit of this Magic Treasure was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, who could guide Chen Family disciples in Artifact Refining when free. In terms of functionality, it was far superior to ordinary Magic Treasures.

"Thank you, Dou Zhan Demon Lord. Without you, Heaven Forger would have likely completely perished and returned to the heavens."

At this moment, the figure of Heaven Forger manifested, bowing remotely to Yuan Feng.

"Heaven Forger, no need for formalities. Without you risking your life to protect it, the Chen Family might not have lasted until the moment I came out of seclusion."

Yuan Feng raised his hand slightly, and an invisible wind gently lifted Heaven Forger up.

"Since I have enjoyed the offerings of the Chen Family, Heaven Forger will naturally not abandon the Chen Family."

"This time, I have also turned a misfortune into a blessing. Having this Magic Treasure as a body is of great help to my path."

Heaven Forger said.

The path he walked was named the Heaven Forger Dao, also known as the Heaven Casting Dao in ancient times, the most special of the four major skills of the Artifact Dao.

What is Heaven Casting?

Using the great universe as a furnace, various Daos as firewood, and oneself as the kindle, igniting the firewood to forge a supreme treasure of exquisite craftsmanship.

This path is about treating oneself as a Magic Treasure to be refined; the higher the grade refined, the higher one's own Artifact Refining skill.

If one wants to sit on the Heaven Forger position, one needs to refine oneself into a great Immortal Artifact.

When Heaven Forger sacrificed himself and activated the Giant Bronze Cauldron to the extreme, he accidentally swallowed the artifact spirit of this pseudo-magic treasure and took its place.

In other words, the current body of Heaven Forger is a Magic Treasure, and his Artifact Refining skills can be elevated to the level of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster.

It can be considered a shortcut.

However, every major Realm improvement in the Heaven Casting Dao requires passing through terrifying tribulations.

If you pass, the sea is wide for fish to leap, and the sky is high for birds to fly.

If you don't pass, everything turns to ash.

Fortunately, when passing the Magic Treasure Heavenly Tribulation earlier, Heaven Forger passed the shackles of the Golden Core level along with it.

He can now be considered a Golden Core True Monarch, a special True Monarch who needs to borrow the Magic Treasure body to exert Golden Core level combat power.

Afterward, the two of them and the ape chatted for a long time until the sun set behind the western mountains, and Yuan Feng rose to take his leave.

"Fellow Daoist Ghost Axe, has the Great Qi Imperial Family sent anyone to the Qi Xuan Sect to ask you to go to the Western Border to hold the line?"

Before leaving, Yuan Feng asked.

"I am just an Artifact Refiner, what combat power do I have? It is you, Fellow Daoist Dou Zhan, who is skilled in Dou Zhan. I suppose the Great Qi Imperial Family has sent someone to find you, right?"

Ghost Axe shook his head. He had ascended to Golden Core only a few years earlier than Yuan Feng and was still lingering in the Early Stage Golden Core; going to the Western Border wouldn't be of much use, just icing on the cake.

"I was not in Luotian before. The lobbyist sent by the Great Qi Imperial Family was True Monarch Liaoyuan. Her attitude toward my Chen Family was good, and she did not make any hard demands."

Yuan Feng said.

"True Monarch Liaoyuan, ah. She is already in the Late Stage Golden Core. If True Monarch Burning Absolute succeeds in reaching Nascent Soul, she will likely go on a long journey outside the world to seek the Golden Core Peak."

Ghost Axe had some understanding of True Monarch Liaoyuan and the Zhiyang Sect.

"Speaking of outside the world, do you know about the Heaven Mending Plan, Fellow Daoist?"

A gleam flashed in Yuan Feng's eyes, and his Golden Core Aura spread out, isolating the area.