Chapter 36: The Heart-Infusion Method

Ji Ning's heart leaped with joy.

The World God Northrest had expended so much effort to nurture a successor; what he left for his successor should be far better than what Ji Ning had obtained from the 'Drowning Moon Island' in the Moon Under the Abyss.

'The most precious treasure in the entire Moon Under the Abyss, and also the greatest reliance that allowed my master to escape with only a sliver of his soul after being heavily wounded and besieged back then, is this sword,' said the golden-armored woman, pointing at the tattered blood-colored thin sword beside her. Ji Ning was stunned. Such a battered sword?

Even if it had been extremely powerful and remarkable in the past, it was now broken to this extent.

'Don't underestimate it. Don't be fooled by its current shabby appearance,' the golden-armored woman said coldly. 'The entire Three Realms combined is not worth as much as this tattered sword before you.'

Ji Ning was shocked.

The entire Three Realms combined wasn't worth it?

'The most precious thing in the Three Realms is the 'Worldheart,' and it will only condense and be born after the Three Realms are destroyed. But even that Worldheart... is far inferior to this divine sword,' the golden-armored woman sighed. 'Even though it is now extremely damaged, it is still beyond your imagination.'

'So powerful?' Ji Ning was astonished.

'Powerful?' The golden-armored woman sneered. 'World Gods and Chaos Immortals are all incredibly powerful, roaming the endless Chaos. For them, accelerating the destruction of a Chaos World and then obtaining its 'Worldheart' is not difficult.'

Ji Ning nodded.

Indeed, at the level of World Gods and Chaos Immortals, they could destroy a Chaos World. The ancient catastrophe was caused by the 'Lord of All Things'; if it had been caused by a World God, they probably wouldn't have given Nuwa a chance to break through and would have swept everything away.

'Although the Worldheart is a valuable treasure to World Gods and Chaos Immortals, they can obtain it with some effort. But this sword...' The golden-armored woman sighed. 'It is enough to drive any World God mad and make them risk their lives. My master obtained it only with the help of many companions from the Skylight Palace and his own strength. He paid an endless price for this divine sword, but it was all worth it—he obtained this divine sword, 'Ziguangqiong.'

'So precious?' Ji Ning looked at the tattered 'Ziguangqiong' with great doubt. 'What is its origin? You should know, right?'

'I don't know.'

The golden-armored woman shook her head, somewhat ashamed. 'Back then, Ziguangqiong fled with my master's remnant soul, suffering severe damage, and even its original artifact spirit dissipated. My master then placed 'Ziguangqiong' in the Moon Under the Abyss, stabilized the divine sword's origin, and gradually nurtured a new artifact spirit, which is me.'

Ji Ning understood. An artifact's master could even directly kill the artifact spirit and nurture a new one.

'But what I needed to know, my master told me before his death, and everything was arranged,' the golden-armored woman said, looking at Ji Ning.

'From what you say, this divine sword should be more powerful than a Chaos treasure?' Ji Ning asked.

'Powerful.'

The golden-armored woman said, 'What you in the Three Realms call Chaos treasures are generally used by Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. World Gods, even bare-handed, are not inferior to Chaos treasures; they have even more powerful divine weapons. As for this divine sword... among the weapons used by World Gods and Chaos Immortals, it is considered the very pinnacle.'

Ji Ning frowned. 'Can I refine it?'

After soul-searching the prisoners of the Nine Chaos Regions, Ji Ning had learned some information. In the Nine Chaos Regions, True Gods and True Immortals generally used Protocosmic spirit-treasures, while Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals used Chaos treasures. The Nine Chaos Region Lords were said to use... even more terrifying treasures, which supposedly required at least the strength of an Ancestral God or Ancestral Immortal to refine.

And this tattered divine sword, if it was at the very pinnacle among weapons used by World Gods and Chaos Immortals, how could he, a mere Celestial Immortal and True God, refine it?

'This weapon generally requires the level of a World God to refine,' the golden-armored woman said, looking at Ji Ning. 'But since my master left this divine sword for you, there is a reason. In the Skylight Palace, there is a secret and special refining method recorded in the 'Eight Directions Secret Scrolls.' Though casually recorded, it is extremely profound. This method is called the 'Heart-Infusion Method.' With this method... you can completely refine this divine sword. Only after refining it can its oppressive aura be fully restrained and its appearance and color change. Otherwise, if you take this weapon out... anyone would know its power.'

Ji Ning nodded.

The oppressive aura emitted by this tattered divine sword was even more terrifying than that of Human Sovereign Fuxi; indeed, anyone could see its power at a glance.

Ordinary Pure Yang treasures and Protocosmic spirit-treasures also had oppressive auras, but after being refined, they could be restrained to appear like ordinary weapons.

'This is the Heart-Infusion Method.' The golden-armored woman waved her hand, and a bamboo scroll appeared in midair.

'It's actually a method of the Three Realms.' Ji Ning smiled.

The method of storing techniques within treasures differed between the Nine Chaos Regions and the Three Realms. After the World God Northrest possessed Fuju Daozu, he also used bamboo scrolls to seal techniques.

Ji Ning took it skillfully and extended his divine sense into it.

A flood of information surged into his mind.

It stopped after just two breaths. It was a relatively simple method. Although simple, even if World Gods and Chaos Immortals deliberately tried to think of it, it would be difficult. This method... was somewhat like the ancient nobles and royalty on Earth who were buried with jade artifacts. Those burial jades, after being stained with soil for hundreds or thousands of years, would have dirt and traces infused into them when unearthed.

On Earth, it was impractical to forcibly infuse jade with soil unless high-tech methods were used. This was similar to World Gods and Chaos Immortals using their powerful strength to refine this divine sword.

But when jade and soil merely touch each other, over a long period of time, the infusion happens naturally. This was the 'Heart-Infusion Method.'

'What?' Ji Ning's expression changed. 'That long? A thousand years?'

'Is a thousand years long?' The golden-armored woman looked at Ji Ning with confusion. 'You, a True God and True Immortal, only need a thousand years to refine such a divine weapon, and you think it's too long? This method is already very powerful... this is already a very short time.'

Ji Ning was anxious.

He didn't have time to slowly refine it here.

Now, with the calamity descending outside, he had already been in the Moon Under the Abyss for over a hundred years. Naturally, the sooner he got out, the better.

'Can I take this divine sword out and refine it slowly outside?' Ji Ning asked.

The golden-armored woman shook her head. 'You can try. If you can lift it, go ahead.'

'Oh?'

Puzzled, Ji Ning stepped forward and reached out to grab the tattered divine sword. Since the golden-armored woman didn't stop him, it meant there should be no danger in touching it.

'Bang!'

The moment Ji Ning's hand was about to touch the divine sword, an invisible force erupted, and Ji Ning was sent flying like a meteor.

After a moment, he flew back.

'This, this...' Ji Ning entered the Azure Jade Hall again, staring in shock at the tattered divine sword. Despite being so broken, it still possessed such power.

'Even if you could take it out, without refining it, if the Ancestral Gods or Ancestral Immortals of the Three Realms discover it, you're finished,' the golden-armored woman shook her head. 'I heard you say in the Moon Under the Abyss that the Three Realms are currently at war between two major factions. If you go out and a powerful figure from the Outlands takes this treasure, you would be a sinner.'

Ji Ning understood her point, but did he really have to be trapped here for a thousand years?

'You only have two avatars here,' the golden-armored woman said with a smile. 'Identical avatars—this kind of avatar technique is unlikely to produce only two. You should have other avatars outside, right? In that case, your other avatars can handle matters in the outside world.'

Outside, Ji Ning had sixteen avatars of his true body and eighteen avatars of his second soul.

'Moreover, this divine sword is too severely damaged. As you can see, it's almost shattered, only its origin is intact. You should find it easier to refine it. It will take at least five hundred years, at most a thousand,' the golden-armored woman said. 'Oh, besides this most important treasure, my master also painstakingly recorded all the techniques he could pass on to you.'

With that, the golden-armored woman waved her hand.

In midair, bamboo scrolls appeared one after another, nearly piling up into a small mountain.

'Some techniques cannot be taught due to the rules of the Skylight Palace. All that can be taught are here.' The golden-armored woman pointed at this small mountain of bamboo scrolls.