Chapter 836 - 672: Five Thunders True Law
Such an arrangement naturally couldn’t escape the eyes of everyone on the island.
Soon, the news that the Island Master planned to build a new city on Starlight Island spread like the wind among the cultivators.
In the tea shed by the dock, a few acquainted loose cultivators gathered together and spoke in hushed tones.
"Have you heard? Even the ’Mountain Shield’ and ’Liuyun Brick’ from the Thousand Mechanism Sect have been brought here. Those aren’t trivial items."
"If it really was to return Starlight Island to the Profound Celestial Sect, why go to such lengths? I think the Island Master had long been planning this."
"The disciples of Profound Celestial Sect looked displeased when they left a while ago. Now, after so long, there’s been no movement at all..."
The group exchanged glances, their meaning clear without needing to be spoken.
A few days later, a Golden Core Refining Spirit True Master from the Thousand Mechanism Sect personally arrived at Starlight Island.
On the day of the groundbreaking, dozens of construction magical artifacts operated simultaneously, spiritual light surged, and the rumbling noise resonated throughout the entire Starlight Immortal City.
The foundation, reinforced and expanded under the enhancement of spells, took shape quickly, indeed presenting the semblance of an immortal city.
The various rumors about the Profound Celestial Sect on the island gradually subsided unnoticed.
The Profound Celestial Sect became an unspeakable taboo, never to be mentioned openly again.
Shen Xuan often appeared on the construction site, standing shoulder to shoulder with that Golden Core True Master from the Thousand Mechanism Sect, occasionally offering layout advice, at times engaging in light banter, appearing composed and without a trace of unease.
On this day, a new notice appeared on the announcement wall of Starlight Immortal City.
The golden characters were resplendent and clear.
It stated that Starlight Island would establish the "Starlight Research Institute."
It would have several subdivisions, including Pill, Artifact, Array, Talisman, Plant, and Sword, and was now publicly recruiting faculty for these subdivisions.
The requirements included having Foundation Establishment cultivation, at least mastery of one Tier Two cultivation technique, and a clean background, adhering to the island’s laws.
The final assessment would be personally conducted by the Island Master.
The most eye-catching were the last two lines: once hired, the annual salary would start at three thousand spirit stones, and family household registration on Starlight Island could also be settled.
A crowd quickly gathered in front of the notice.
"The annual salary is quite substantial..."
A middle-aged loose cultivator pondered aloud.
Someone nearby immediately added, "It’s not just about spirit stones! Did you see the part after? Settling family household registration! That’s far more important than spirit stones!"
"If one could take root here, future cultivation, livelihood, and even the prospects of descendants, would truly have a promising future."
A Foundation Establishment cultivator quietly said to his companion, "My wife and child are still living in the hometown market. If I get selected, I could apply to move them here together..."
There was a strange sparkle in his eyes.
The crowd whispered among themselves, with many eyes lingering back and forth on those lines of text.
While spirit stones were important, for many loose cultivators who had wandered for half their lives, a stable, promisingly hopeful academy was truly an irresistible offer.
The sea breeze swept past the announcement wall, gently stirring the edges of the paper.
The rumbling from the distant construction site could faintly be heard.
...
After the news spread, many of the Foundation Establishment loose cultivators who were staying on Starlight Island started contemplating, beginning to practice their skills behind closed doors.
Soon, people often practiced cultivation techniques alone in the secluded areas of the island.
Many dusted off old Jade Scrolls and buried themselves in reading.
Those Tier Two cultivation skills, half-learned in the past, were now earnestly picked up again.
They hoped to be selected as faculty for the research institute and gain a new identity and a secure livelihood.
Some Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were already quite skilled, suddenly found themselves surrounded by a lively crowd.
Their previously quiet residences were frequently visited for various reasons.
Some claimed to be distant relatives, while others sent greetings through intermediaries.
The conversations subtly inquired whether they had a Daoist partner and who else was in their family.
Shrewd matchmakers flitted about the island, visiting with polite words and smiling eyes.
Within a few days, there was whispered conversation in the streets.
A cultivator skilled in refining magical artifacts met with a female cultivator from Emerald Smoke Island.
A cultivator adept with spirit plants was simultaneously approached by two cultivation clans.
Previously rootless, wandering Foundation Establishment artisans became excellent choices in many people’s eyes.
The names of female disciples from a few small sects nearby also quietly appeared on matchmakers’ lists.
Starlight Island visibly became bustling.
New flying ships docked at the port daily, with Foundation Establishment loose cultivators arriving from all over upon hearing the news.
They disembarked the gangplank and looked up at the emerging outlines of buildings on the island, their eyes filled with hope.
The long street on the island gradually became crowded, and conversations in tea houses and taverns invariably revolved around the selection of faculty for the research institute.
Luckily, the selection was scheduled to take place in two years.
This gave these people ample time to prepare.
Moreover, it was said that there were many openings.
By then, the Starlight Research Institute would have already been completed.
...
Within the Cold Ice Cave, in the practice room.
Shen Xuan sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, with his divine sense immersed in a purple Jade Scroll.
It was the Artifact Refining Inheritance of the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
His brows occasionally furrowed, sometimes relaxed.
The content within the Jade Scroll unfolded in vast star maps within his sea of consciousness.
From the most basic identification of materials and refinement techniques to the intricate molding by True Flame, divine soul inscription spells, and even the nurturing secrets of artifact spirits, progressing in depth and complexity.
He saw phantom images of artifact refining failures exploding in his consciousness, and also saw how the final formed spiritual treasure could invoke the spiritual mechanism of the heavens and earth.
After a long time, Shen Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes.
The turbid air condensed into a wisp of white mist in the cold air, then quietly dispersed.
"The way of artifact refining encompasses all aspects."
He murmured to himself, his voice particularly clear in the stone chamber.
The inheritance from the Divine Weapon Pavilion followed the orthodox path of the Mystic Sect, emphasizing a solid foundation and proceeding step by step.
Material refinement demanded patience to remove every ounce of impurity; the shaping by True Flame required extremely precise control of divine sense; the final inscription of the rune array was such that the slightest deviation would render all previous efforts in vain.