Chapter 97: Magic Treasure Puzzle

Two days later, in the morning, the atmosphere at Treasure Gathering Workshop visibly stirred; early that morning, many Qi Condensation Great Perfection cultivators, either alone or in groups, had already left.

In a certain inn's courtyard, Wang Ping leisurely lay on a grand master's chair placed in the pavilion, with a jade slip affixed to his forehead; that jade slip was exactly the Introduction to Artifact Refining.

Over the past six years, he had long lost count of how many times he had flipped through it, but whenever he had free time, he would still take it out to read; each time he encountered certain passages in the jade slip, he gained a different understanding.

Listening to the commotion outside, he knew where those cultivators had gone.

Today is the day the Gulan Ruins open again.

The Gulan Ruins lie in a canyon on the border of the Jin State, only thirteen hundred li from here.

At Wang Ping's speed, he could get there in at most half an hour, so he didn't need to rise early like those cultivators and rush there.

As for the outside commotion, he merely glanced at it, then immersed himself again in the Introduction to Artifact Refining.

In the Introduction to Artifact Refining, regarding the formation of heavenly and earthly patterns, the seniors of the Artifact Sect had their own unique understanding.

He believed that the heavenly and earthly pattern on a magic treasure consists of a single line from beginning to end.

Each pattern that appears on a magic treasure is a piece of a complete pattern puzzle.

Why do supreme magic treasures all have ten patterns, yet their power varies greatly?

The greatest possibility is that the pattern completed by the cultivator is a universal solution.

It combines two, three, or even four related but missing key patterns to complete them.

Thus, several patterns linked together may reach half or more of the complete design; depending on the degree of completion, this yields supreme magic treasures of varying power.

It must be said this hypothesis is very plausible; he also proposed that the key to a magic treasure advancing to a spiritual treasure lies in that complete pattern puzzle.

As long as the patterns that appear sequentially on a forged magic treasure are related, then at the moment the pattern forms, the treasure possesses the possibility of advancing to a spiritual treasure; the rest is merely a matter of time.

Finally he argued that the so-called view of classifying magic treasures by patterns is incorrect; it should be classified by degree of completion.

Most patterns on magic treasures are useless, but his view lacks any actual examples to support it!

Therefore, in the final years of his life, he devoted himself to finding a puzzle to prove the correctness of his view.

Yet even after he vanished, he never found a complete pattern puzzle.

Actually, the idea of a magic treasure puzzle had appeared early in the cultivation world, but the Artifact Sect seniors put it forward as a theory.

Regarding the view proposed by the Artifact Sect seniors, Wang Ping deeply agreed with it.

Although he had never forged a magic treasure, he had studied the Introduction to Artifact Refining countless times; moreover, he had once been fortunate to participate in the forging of an imitation spiritual treasure, and the forging methods he had not understood at the time became clear after reading the Introduction to Artifact Refining.

The materials for forging a magic treasure are refined from various heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Forging a magic treasure is not like forging a magic artifact, which can be done roughly.

Before forging each magic treasure, one must carefully consider how the various materials mixed together will produce the function desired by the artifact refiner or the client.

The failure rate for forging magic treasures is too high: there are exploded furnaces, results with completely different effects, and outcomes that fall short of expectations.

If analyzed using the magic treasure puzzle pattern, it can be explained very well.

The exploded furnaces result from condensing two patterns with utterly opposite attributes, such as water and fire; at the moment they form, they produce a violent repulsion, causing the explosion.

The effect being another kind naturally means the generated pattern is different; for example, intending to forge an extremely sharp blade-type magic artifact, the resulting blade turns out to be astonishingly sturdy.

However, this situation is extremely rare, and artifact refiners capable of forging magic treasures seldom make such a mistake.

For the above to happen, there must be a problem with the materials, just as a pile of fire-attributed materials, no matter how forged, cannot produce an earth-attributed magic treasure.

As for falling short of the expected effect, naturally the generated pattern is insufficient.

Although the cultivation world still lacks direct examples proving the existence of the magic treasure puzzle, over thousands of years of development, with this theory at its core, they have greatly enhanced the power of magic treasures according to the law of mutual generation and restriction of all things in heaven and earth.

The most effective achievement is a magic treasure that can amplify the power of Dao arts.

It is just like an ordinary swordsman obtaining a peerless treasure sword, thereby greatly increasing his attack power.

Such magic treasures are easiest to forge in the form of blades, swords, staffs, or clubs, because they essentially require sharpness, sturdiness, and weight.

These are easily achieved.

Although the artifact refining world has not yet found a complete pattern puzzle, they have certainly accumulated many fragmented ones.

For example, regarding the fragmented sharpness-attributed pattern, some artifact refiners can already skillfully control the timing of its appearance through forging techniques and fusion sequence.

This requires a thorough understanding of the materials.

But this is relatively simple; if it concerns the five elements of heaven and earth, light and darkness, wind and thunder, and the like, wanting to master their patterns is extremely difficult.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping increasingly feels that the path of artifact refining is vast and profound.

A detailed understanding of material properties, comprehension of the heavenly and earthly great Dao, forging techniques, experience, and exploration of heavenly and earthly patterns—each requires calm, focused study.

If Wang Ping were willing to be an ordinary artifact refiner, he wouldn't mind.

But thinking of the Vajra Pestle, he refuses to allow any mishap; currently, the heavenly and earthly five-element patterns, as well as sharpness, sturdiness, and gravity patterns, are his current research directions.

So he purchased Red Yang Iron and Black Essence Iron at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion; they respectively possess the water-metal and fire-metal attributes of the five elements.

Wang Ping's contemplation had already lasted half a day; had he not inadvertently seen the sun, he would likely have missed the time to enter the Gulan Ruins.

Fortunately, the ruin appears near dusk, giving him ample time.

After putting away the formation, Wang Ping rose and left the inn, heading toward the market gate.

A thumb-sized flying disc landed on his shoulder.

This is precisely the Trace-Seeking Butterfly; after it fully recognizes its master, it must be made to devour the vital essences of various living beings.

The Trace-Seeking Butterfly is still in its juvenile stage; the breaths it has devoured can be remembered for half a year, but if used now to seek cultivators, it can only locate a rough position.

Whoosh!

Wang Ping flew at extreme speed through the air; only then did he realize he should forge a flying magic treasure.

Otherwise, rushing like this would consume too much energy, or he could simply buy one.

After half an hour, Wang Ping arrived before a great canyon; this is where the ancient ruins open.

By the time he reached the surroundings of this canyon, there were already many cultivators present, with more still on their way.

Wang Ping simply found an ancient tree around the canyon and sat down.

Around the valley there are not a few Foundation Establishment cultivators like him; everyone knows the ruins' opening will last an hour, and since two batches of cultivators have already gone inside and the peripheral resources have been pretty much scavenged, nobody is in a rush—only the Qi Refining cultivators are anxious.