novelraw Chapter 337 - 198: Rebirth and Transformation
Chapter 337 - 198: Rebirth and Transformation
Compared to the newly refined Demon-Catching Tripod, the old one, despite its exquisite exterior, had internal Restrictions that looked as if they were slapped together by a child.
Thinking Yang Jing was about to replace it, the tripod emanated a wave of grievance.
Yang Jing forcefully patted the body of the tripod.
"What are you so upset about? This new tripod was forged for someone else. There’s a saying, ’Clothes are best when new, but friends are best when old.’ Why would I replace you for no reason?"
Hearing Yang Jing’s assurance, the Demon-Catching Tripod finally expressed a sense of elation.
"However, the Artifact Refiner who forged you had techniques that were far too crude. It will be incredibly difficult to upgrade you to a Tier Four Magical Treasure in the future. I will give you a new body,"
Yang Jing said.
Perhaps because it had refined so many Outer Celestial Demons, the Demon-Catching Tripod’s Artifact Spirit was far more intelligent than other Spiritual Artifacts of the same tier.
For an ordinary Spiritual Artifact, one would only need to follow the steps of the Rebirth Transformation Technique. But with the Demon-Catching Tripod’s intelligence, it might overthink things, leading to an accident during the Rebirth and Transformation.
As a fellow Demon-Catching Tripod, the Artifact Spirit naturally knew how outstanding the new one was and immediately radiated waves of ecstatic emotion.
Satisfied, Yang Jing placed both Demon-Catching Tripods into his Storage Bag.
「A few days later」
The two met in a teahouse to trade the Demon-Catching Tripod.
Yang Jing confidently closed his eyes to rest, allowing Wei Ying, who sat opposite him, to inspect the Demon-Catching Tripod carefully.
As a True Disciple of the Dark Spring Demon Sect, Wei Ying had naturally seen several Demon-Catching Tripods, most of which were Magical Treasures belonging to the sect’s Golden Core Demon Cultivators. But in his eyes, none of those Tier Three Demon-Catching Tripods could even compare to this one.
This secretly astonished him. He never thought Yang Jing would possess such astounding skill in refining Demon Sect Artifacts.
"Are you satisfied with this tripod?"
Yang Jing opened his eyes and spoke to Wei Ying, who was circling the Demon-Catching Tripod.
"Satisfied. Very satisfied,"
Wei Ying said repeatedly.
The Three Corpses Bone Demon he had bought from Yang Jing was unruly and defiant. Now, with this Demon-Catching Tripod, he could imprison it inside, break its spirit, and then place it under complete Banishment.
Once he had complete control over this Three Corpses Bone Demon, the increase in combat power was secondary. The key was that he could sell the Three Corpses Bone Demon’s Demonic Qi to the Dark Spring Demon Sect disciples who cultivated the White Bone Divine Demon Scripture, creating a new source of income out of thin air.
"I wonder how many High Tier Celestial Demons like the Three Corpses Bone Demon you have, Fellow Daoist Yang Jing. Instead of letting your Demon-Catching Tripod refine them for nothing, why not hand them over to me? I can rent them out to the Four Demon Sects. A single High Tier Celestial Demon can be rented out for over two thousand Spirit Stones a year. If it’s a Rare Celestial Demon like a Moon Demon or Sun Demon, the price could be several times higher."
Previously, since Wei Ying was not a Golden Core Demon Cultivator, he wouldn’t have been able to place so many Celestial Demons under Banishment to sell their Demonic Qi. But with this Demon-Catching Tripod, things were different.
It was an eye-opener for Yang Jing.
However, Demon Cultivators did need to absorb the Demonic Qi of corresponding Celestial Demons for their cultivation. Their reliance on Demonic Qi far surpassed a Cultivator’s reliance on their Golden Core. So, the emergence of a Celestial Demon rental business wasn’t entirely strange.
After some thought, Yang Jing shook his head and refused.
These days, ordinary Celestial Demons would turn into Essence Qi within forty-five minutes of entering his Demon-Catching Tripod. The ones still alive inside, yet to be refined, were all High Tier Celestial Demons.
Not to mention, this business would be completely dependent on Wei Ying. All the Celestial Demons would be under Wei Ying’s Banishment. If Wei Ying decided to turn on him, Yang Jing would have no way to counter it. For a business worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones a year, there were too many risks. The current Yang Jing simply looked down on it.
Besides, those who needed to borrow High Tier Celestial Demons to cultivate Demon Skills were all True Disciples of the Four Demon Sects. Renting out Celestial Demons would help these True Disciples advance their Cultivation, which would inevitably put pressure on the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion.
Seeing that Yang Jing didn’t agree, Wei Ying shook his head with some regret and put the Demon-Catching Tripod into his Storage Bag.
"If you need any Spiritual Materials, just contact me directly with the Communication Mirror."
Yang Jing nodded. The two had been trading for nearly three years, so there was at least that much trust between them.
After returning to his residence, Yang Jing immediately began the process of replacing the Demon-Catching Tripod’s body using the Rebirth Transformation Technique.
Although Seven-Sectioned Divination Grass was precious, it could still be purchased on the market if one was willing to spend Spirit Stones. Through Yang Jingxu, Yang Jing acquired enough of the grass from the Alchemy Cauldron Sect at a very reasonable price.
Using a special technique, Yang Jing wove the Seven-Sectioned Divination Grass into a straw replica of the Demon-Catching Tripod. Then, with a Vermilion Pen and special pigments, he painted the tripod’s various Restrictions onto the woven form.
This way, the Fetal Model made of Seven-Sectioned Divination Grass could temporarily house the Demon-Catching Tripod’s Artifact Spirit, preventing it from being startled by Celestial Thunder or harmed by Yin Fire in the interim when the old tripod was destroyed and the new one was not yet complete.
The Artifact Spirit of a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact was simply too fragile. The slightest disturbance could pose the risk of its soul scattering.
After he finished weaving the Fetal Model, Yang Jing didn’t immediately begin melting down the Demon-Catching Tripod’s body. Instead, he tossed the block of Demon Gold into the Profound Celestial Furnace and began calcining it with Profound Evil Yin Fire.
This piece of Demon Gold was originally the Dragon Bone of a Tier Three Flying Boat from the Eastern Demon Sect. After being possessed by a Human Demon with a Nascent Soul Cultivation, it gained a trace of Divine Intent. Canyuan True Monarch then used his Great Magical Power to refine the Dragon Bone, which was dozens of zhang long, into a piece of Demon Gold the size of a water vat.
Such a history was impossible to replicate, making this Demon Gold a unique Tier Four Spiritual Material.
A Spiritual Material of this caliber could not be refined by ordinary means.
Relying on his authority, Yang Jing drew over all the Profound Evil Yin Fire from the entire earth meridian, only then feeling confident that he could refine this Demon Gold.
The sapphire-blue Profound Evil Yin Fire transformed into a sea of flames within the Profound Celestial Furnace’s core.
The five Five Ding Divine Craftsmanship spirits went about their respective tasks. Some protected the furnace body from being damaged by the blazing Profound Evil Yin Fire. Others fanned the Yin Fire, concentrating the inferno’s full heat onto the Demon Gold. Still others manipulated the Restrictions, continuously expelling impurities and impure qi refined from the Demon Gold to prevent re-contamination.
With the help of these five spirits, Yang Jing’s Artifact Refining became much easier.
The Demon Gold was exceptionally stubborn. Yang Jing had to calcine it with Profound Evil Yin Fire for over a month before the entire block began to soften. It was still a long way from being completely melted into a liquid state.
However, under the constant calcination of the Profound Evil Yin Fire, all the various impurities and impure qi within the Demon Gold had been burned away. It became brilliantly golden, shimmering with a metallic luster inside the furnace core as if it were a block of true gold.
Yang Jing took out the Demon-Catching Tripod. With a pat on its body, Celestial Demons were drawn out one by one and pulled into the furnace core.
These Celestial Demons had been undergoing Refining in the Demon-Catching Tripod for many days and were already on the verge of death. Some of the weaker ones turned into Essence Qi the moment the Profound Evil Yin Fire touched them. Yang Jing formed a Spell, driving the Essence Qi into the Demon Gold.
Some Celestial Demons that still had the strength to struggle tried to escape the Profound Celestial Furnace, but they were all forced back by Yang Jing’s Celestial True Gang.
"Celestial Demon Sacrificial Iron! Kid! Where did you learn this technique?!"
Among the many Celestial Demons, the Human Demon’s aura was the strongest. It shrieked as it was burned by the Profound Evil Yin Fire.
This Celestial Demon Sacrificial Iron technique was, of course, recorded in the Demon-Catching Tripod’s Refining Atlas.
It was just that this technique was intensely hated by Celestial Demons. If an artifact forged with this method was discovered by an Outer Celestial Demon, they would stop at nothing to destroy it and then torture the Demon Cultivator who used it to death with a thousand torments.
This was why Demon Cultivators didn’t dare use the Celestial Demon Sacrificial Iron technique.
But Yang Jing had no such concerns. He couldn’t refine the Celestial Demons in his original Demon-Catching Tripod fast enough anyway, so he might as well use them all for the sacrificial iron—a good use for waste.
"Let me out! I have a secret stash in the Northern Continent! It has hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones, not to mention all the Divine Skills and Techniques, Magical Treasures, and Spiritual Artifacts I’ve collected over the years! If you let me go, I’ll tell you the location!"
The Human Demon shrieked mournfully as it begged for mercy.
Yang Jing turned a deaf ear, even increasing the intensity of the fire.
’Canyuan True Monarch had already used the Celestial Mirror to see every memory in this Human Demon’s Divine Soul. This story about a secret stash is almost certainly a lie. And even if it were true, would I, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, travel thousands of miles across the sea to the Demon Sects’ territory in the Northern Continent to search for it? Isn’t that just courting death?’
The Human Demon tried to break out of the Profound Celestial Furnace several times, but Yang Jing forced it back with his Celestial True Gang each time.
Under the searing heat of the Profound Evil Yin Fire, it finally transformed into a stream of Celestial Demon Essence Qi, which was absorbed by the Demon Gold.
After completely absorbing all the Celestial Demon Essence Qi, the Demon Gold was calcined in the Profound Evil Yin Fire for another five days before it finally melted into a liquid.
Yang Jing nodded, using his Magical Power to draw the Demon-Catching Tripod into the Profound Celestial Furnace.
The Spiritual Materials used for the Demon-Catching Tripod were far inferior to the Demon Gold. Under the heat of the Profound Evil Yin Fire, it quickly became red-hot. In less than two hours, the Restrictions within the tripod began to collapse under the Yin Fire’s searing heat, bursting into brilliant clusters of Spiritual Light inside the furnace core.
To a Spiritual Artifact, these Restrictions were the equivalent of a Spirit Root to a Cultivator. But during the Rebirth and Transformation, they became shackles preventing the Artifact Spirit from leaving the tripod’s body.
To allow the Artifact Spirit to separate completely from the Spiritual Artifact, these Restrictions had to be destroyed first.
This step was a great test for an Artifact Refiner. If the control of the Spiritual Fire was even slightly off, the Artifact Spirit would be burned away along with it, and all the effort would be for naught.
Of course, if the Artifact Spirit didn’t cooperate with the Artifact Refiner and became agitated, it would also be destroyed.
With the aid of the Five Ding Divine Craftsmanship, even though Yang Jing had not personally refined this Profound Evil Yin Fire, he could still control it as if it were an extension of his own limbs. Wisps of Yin Fire drilled into the tripod’s body, precisely incinerating the Restrictions within without harming the Artifact Spirit in the slightest.
Yang Jing slowly exhaled, his mind stretched taut. He even used his mastery of the Five Thunders Divine Techniques to check the celestial phenomena outside. Only after confirming there were no gathering thunderclouds did he form a Spell and urge the Yin Fire into the tripod’s body.
As the Yin Fire burned away at it, the final Restriction disintegrated.
The Demon-Catching Tripod’s Artifact Spirit immediately flew out of the tripod. Because it had not yet reached Tier Three, it was just a somewhat illusory, tripod-shaped form. At this moment, the Artifact Spirit was exceptionally fragile; the slightest touch from the Yin Fire would cause it to be annihilated.
Yang Jing immediately activated the Restrictions of the Profound Celestial Furnace, instantly extinguishing and clearing away the Yin Fire around the Artifact Spirit. He then drew it into the woven Fetal Model.