Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

When he circulated the Star Sword Essence Technique, his Magical Power became incredibly sharp, making it especially suitable for using Sword Control to slay enemies.

His Magical Power alone could now slice through iron.

Strictly speaking, his Magical Power at this point should be called Sword Essence.

According to legend, the Magical Power within a true Sword Cultivator’s body is Sword Essence, which is one of the main reasons for their immense Combat Power.

Of course, the Star Sword Essence Technique had a high threshold for Cultivation, requiring a Sword Dao genius with a special Physique.

However, this threshold also had a downside. Forcibly cultivating the technique without meeting the requirements would cause immense harm. Not only would one’s progress be slow, but the Cultivator’s soul could even be shattered.

Thus, the Jade Pendant had helped Zhang Chi bypass this requirement, while the Elemental Transformation Technique allowed him to directly master this Sword Dao Cultivation Technique, saving a massive amount of time.

After perceiving the differences between the techniques, Zhang Chi immediately made a plan.

From now on, he would use the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique for Cultivation and breakthroughs.

For combat and Alchemy, he would use the Myriad Manifestations Li Fire Scripture.

And if he encountered a truly powerful foe, he would use the most destructive of them all: the Star Sword Essence Technique.

Furthermore, once his Cultivation was high enough and he had perfected the Great Dream Heart Scripture, he could even attempt to fuse the three Cultivation Techniques. That would be far more convenient and even more powerful.

However, this would be no easy task.

It was certainly impossible at his current Golden Core Cultivation, and for now, simply switching between the three techniques was more than enough. He was in no rush.

Finally, there was the Extreme Rejuvenation Technique. This Cultivation Technique was quite mystical and far easier to cultivate than the Great Dream Heart Scripture.

Zhang Chi quickly reached the Entry Level with it. The effects were just as good as he’d hoped, giving him another ace up his sleeve.

With this Demon Technique, his endurance would be far greater when using techniques like Blood Escape and the Asura Blood Burning Technique, or even just fighting with Magical Power.

When injured, he would also recover faster by combining its effects with Elixirs.

While practicing his various Cultivation Techniques, Zhang Chi also focused on accelerating his progress in Artifact Refining and Alchemy.

The latter was crucial for creating Tier Three Spiritual Pills.

After all, Tier Three Spiritual Pills were precious and he consumed them at a high rate, so it was essential for him to learn how to refine them himself.

The former, Artifact Refining, was even more important to him than Alchemy.

For the time being, he could get by with purchasing Spirit Pills, but it was clearly better to refine his own Magical Treasures.

Moreover, Zhang Chi planned to refine a Lifebound Magical Treasure.

A Lifebound Magical Treasure could grow stronger as its owner’s Cultivation increased, and its Mighty Power far surpassed that of ordinary Magical Treasures.

However, Lifebound Magical Treasures had their drawbacks. First, they were intrinsically linked to a Cultivator’s life—hence the name "lifebound." If a Lifebound Magical Treasure was damaged, the Cultivator would suffer a severe backlash.

Second, a Cultivator could generally only have one. Once chosen, it was nearly impossible to replace.

Forcibly replacing one would cause severe damage to the Cultivator’s Divine Soul and Magical Power, and could even cause their Golden Core’s quality to degrade or shatter entirely.

Fortunately, Zhang Chi had the protection of the Jade Pendant and was not bound by this restriction.

Even if his Lifebound Magical Treasure was damaged or replaced, his foundation would not be harmed.

Furthermore, he should be able to possess multiple Lifebound Magical Treasures simultaneously.

The first Lifebound Magical Treasure Zhang Chi chose was the Magical Treasure Star Sword, recorded in the Star Sword Manual.

First, this Flying Sword had immense Mighty Power. It could be used to form a Sword Array, worked in concert with the Star Sword Essence Technique and Star Sword Control Technique, and he could continuously increase the number of swords.

Second, existing refining diagrams were available for this Flying Sword, making it relatively easy to begin the Refining process.

The only problem was that the Flying Sword required Star Divine Iron—and the more, the better. That part would be difficult.

Over the past two years, Zhang Chi had made discreet inquiries, even indirectly questioning Master Jian and other Golden Core Cultivators. The answer was always the same: because Star Divine Iron was a Tier Four material, the Sect had none in stock.

Even if it did, it would surely be in Lu Daoyi’s personal collection.

Therefore, it would be incredibly difficult for Zhang Chi to acquire any.

Fortunately, Zhang Chi had the Star Divine Iron Token. He could use a smaller amount from it to refine a few swords to start with.

Besides the Star Sword, Zhang Chi had several other options.

One was his Furnace Carbon. Since he had added the Demon Flame Crystal, it could be further upgraded into a Low Grade Magical Treasure.

If he added Star Divine Iron, he could even use it as a Star Sword.

The Flying Sword would be very suitable for everyday use.

Besides, it had been with him for many years. He was comfortable using it and was reluctant to simply cast it aside.

The second option was the Celestial Corpse Coffin.

This object could also be nurtured as a Lifebound Magical Treasure.

If he managed to collect the other Celestial Corpse Coffins in the future, it could even become a legendary Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure.

However, this coffin couldn’t be shown in public, and it wasn’t an offensive or defensive treasure, so it was only a backup option.

His final option was the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure Flying Sword in the Cangwu Sect’s Sword Testing Valley.

This sword could also be used as a lifebound treasure, but its Level was simply too high. Even without its Artifact Spirit, it was still considered a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure Level item, so it wasn’t his first choice either.

’A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. First, I’ll upgrade Furnace Carbon, then I’ll refine the Star Sword. And that Demon Snake Spine... I can refine it into a Magical Treasure Long Whip for close-quarters combat...’

Three months passed in a flash. Zhang Chi had finally advanced his Artifact Refining Skill to Tier Three, and he had also finalized his plans for his Lifebound Magical Treasure.

At this moment, he took out a Black Cauldron, ignited a flame, and placed his Flying Sword, Furnace Carbon, inside to be intensely burned.

Soon, the Flying Sword liquefied. Then, Zhang Chi used a Secret Technique to melt a piece of Star Divine Iron into a large droplet of liquid, which he added to the mix.

Before the molten Flying Sword could solidify, Zhang Chi’s hands flew through a series of seals, casting one profound seal after another into it.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

With every seal that was imprinted into the body of the Flying Sword, it would emit a resonant, metallic clang.

Soon, eighteen seals had been successfully imprinted. Then, Zhang Chi bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of pale golden blood mist.

TSSSSSS...

The blood mist fell upon the Flying Sword, which instantly solidified. In the process, it forged a direct connection with Zhang Chi’s mind, completing the initial Refinement.

This Artifact Cauldron was the very same Artifact Refining Treasure that Zhang Chi had acquired in the Heaven Mending Celestial Monarch’s Cave Mansion.

The blood mist was Zhang Chi’s Lifebound Essence Blood.

The seals came from the Star Sword Manual and were specifically designed for forging swords.

Eighteen seals was the most basic requirement. Successfully embedding them would produce a Low Grade Magical Treasure Star Sword.

Beyond that, there were tiers of thirty-six, seventy-two, one hundred and eight, and even three hundred and sixty-five seals.

These corresponded to Middle Grade, Upper Grade, and Top Grade Magical Treasures, as well as the legendary Celestial Grade Magical Treasure.

The final Level, however, was basically a legend. Even the Sword Manual stated it was only theoretically possible.

As for Zhang Chi, with his limited Cultivation, skill in Artifact Refining and Arrays, and the limited quality of the materials for the Flying Sword, he could only achieve the Low Grade level for now.

He had only managed this much because his Divine Thought was powerful, he possessed a Top Grade Golden Core, and his Magical Power was exceptionally dense. Otherwise, even refining a Low Grade Magical Treasure would have taken decades of effort and many failures.

Of course, in the final stage of refining a Magical Treasure Flying Sword, one could use other Spiritual Objects, like Spiritual Eye Spring Water, as a substitute.

However, the effect would be far inferior to using his own Primordial Essence Blood, which was one of the reasons Zhang Chi chose to refine this Magical Treasure himself.

SWOOSH!

At that moment, Zhang Chi raised his hand. The Magical Treasure Flying Sword instantly flew into his palm, moving so fast it seemed to teleport.

The sword’s appearance was not much different than before, still pitch-black all over, but now with faint specks of starlight hidden within. It radiated a subtle pressure and a sharp, scorching aura, making it countless times more powerful than before.

Zhang Chi immediately used his Sword Control Technique. The Flying Sword transformed into a dazzling Sword Light, zipping back and forth like a bolt of lightning, moving as if it were an extension of his own arm.