Chapter 581

384. Himeko: You cultivators, stop talking about hundreds of thousands of years at every turn.

Jiang Yan looked at the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements in Ei's hand with a hint of emotion.

"The overall situation is much the same as what has been passed down in the cultivation world. I suppose some predecessor simply didn't want to write much after retrieving the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and just added a few casual annotations."

"This Divine Machine Hundred Refinements is indeed a quite powerful technique, but the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements on its own certainly isn't of a very high level. The 'Mysterious Grade High-Tier' rating is not wrong."

"Divine Machine Hundred Refinements is a powerful artifact-refining technique, but most of those who practice this art are disciples of Wind-Return Peak."

"As for controlling objects... the Shushan Sword Control Art is stronger than any method of controlling objects."

Ei was stunned for a moment, then said with some hesitation:

"Sect Master, then this Divine Machine Hundred Refinements I'm holding..."

"Rest assured, it is still a very powerful technique."

Jiang Yan smiled and added:

"The power of Divine Machine Hundred Refinements is beyond doubt. At the very least, even for those at the Spirit Refinement and Void Return stage, it is well worth obtaining."

"From the perspective of artifact-refining, this is even more true."

"But for true powerhouses, the strength of Divine Machine Hundred Refinements stems from the Eight Wonders."

"Ningguang should be clear about this point; having collected several of the Eight Wonders, she can intuitively feel their power."

Ningguang nodded, acknowledging this.

Jiang Yan continued:

"Speaking of the Eight Wonders, their origins are significant. It is said that the unification of the Eight Wonders is the ultimate of arithmetic, originating from the ancient great god Fenghou."

"Fenghou was a close minister to the Human Emperor Xuanyuan. Before Fenghou, arithmetic was boundless; after Fenghou, he became the ultimate of arithmetic."

"Therefore, the power of the unified Eight Wonders is something no one can fathom, but since ancient times, apart from Fenghou, no one has been able to master all eight simultaneously."

"Mastering just a few of the Eight Wonders is enough to be called a great power in the cultivation world."

"If one can master other Eight Wonders and combine them with Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, one can fully unleash even greater strength from Divine Machine Hundred Refinements."

"Therefore, Divine Machine Hundred Refinements is still quite worth pursuing for you, Ei. Furthermore, with Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, you can continue to search for other Eight Wonders."

"Just like Ningguang."

Hearing this, Ei nodded thoughtfully, keeping Jiang Yan's words in her heart.

Turning the topic, Jiang Yan continued:

"Speaking of the Body-Refining Furnace, this thing has extraordinary effects, but it is truly not as powerful as you imagine."

"As for the claim that the Dao does not allow such things to exist, that is also nonsense."

"Only those at the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage can barely touch the shadow of the Dao; only true immortals can be valued by the Dao."

"When the Elder of the Divine Machine Sect refined the Body-Refining Furnace, he was only at the late stage of Spirit Refinement and Void Return. If what he refined could cause the Dao to fluctuate, then the Immortal World would truly have to tremble."

"The so-called destruction of the Body-Refining Furnace by the Dao was only because the Great Elder of the Divine Machine Sect died suddenly for no reason, and after the Divine Machine Sect was destroyed, the Body-Refining Furnace disappeared without a trace."

"People in the cultivation world searched to no avail and could only believe such rumors."

"But there were hidden circumstances regarding the events of that year, which any major sect with a bit of foundation knows."

Hearing this, Venti immediately perked up, keenly sensing that there were still some stories worth hearing here.

He looked at Jiang Yan with anticipation, already prepared to record his new ballad of the cultivation world.

Seeing that everyone was curious, Jiang Yan didn't hold back and said leisurely:

"About three hundred thousand years ago..."

Himeko pursed her lips, her mood complex. Even after starting cultivation, she still found it difficult to adapt to the time spans recorded by cultivators.

"At that time, the three giants—Shushan, Little Leiyin Temple, and Jixia Academy—had already dominated the cultivation world for a long time."

"Many small sects were attached to these three leaders, and naturally, many peerless geniuses among the disciples would choose to join these three sects first."

"But there were also some sects that were unwilling to give up and wanted to carry forward their own heritage, so they adopted some special means."

"The Great Elder of the Divine Machine Sect was one of them."

"The Divine Machine Sect was a medium-sized sect in the cultivation world, with only one Sect Master at the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage."

"But the Divine Machine Sect was skilled in deducing heavenly secrets, and they had a great reputation in the cultivation world."

"When a person possesses a reputation that does not match their strength, they must either use that reputation to transform into strength, or... it is the beginning of destruction."

"You should be able to guess the general events."

Zhongli nodded slightly and said subtly:

"Fame is also a poison..."

"Correct."

Jiang Yan nodded.

"The Divine Machine Sect gathered the strength of the entire sect to deduce the location of Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and Dual-Handedness, and also inferred the existence of the Body-Refining Furnace."

"The Divine Machine Sect considered itself to have the opportunity to join the ranks of large sects. After spending a great deal of manpower to find them, they handed the two Eight Wonders to the Great Elder who had mastered the Qi-Body Origin Flow."

"Eight thousand years later, that Great Elder of the Divine Machine Sect successfully created the Body-Refining Furnace using Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and Dual-Handedness."

Looking at Ei's blank expression, Jiang Yan chuckled:

"In fact, the Body-Refining Furnace does not require the Qi-Body Origin Flow; as long as there are cultivators with strong physical bodies, one can also rely on Dual-Handedness to construct the core."

"After the birth of the Body-Refining Furnace, the Divine Machine Sect revered it as their sect-protecting treasure, calling it a divine object that could change the pattern of the entire cultivation world, and even the entire cultivation world itself."

"The Divine Machine Sect recruited disciples widely, and on the day of their mountain-opening, in front of envoys from countless sects, they improved a disciple with medium-grade dual spiritual roots into one with high-grade single spiritual roots."

"Even a Divine Machine Sect disciple was improved to have a special physique through the Body-Refining Furnace."

Hearing this, Baizhu and the others' breathing became heavier.

But the keen Himeko sensed the key to the problem and said thoughtfully:

"There's a problem, right?"

Jiang Yan nodded slightly.

"Correct. A special physique is a gift from the Dao; how could it be created so easily? If they really had such ability, the giants of the Immortal World wouldn't be able to sit still."

"Then that disciple's special physique was..."

Lisa seemed to have thought of a possibility and was somewhat disappointed.

"Just as you thought."

Jiang Yan said softly:

"It was merely activating a hidden special physique. It was something they already possessed; the Body-Refining Furnace only activated it for them."

"Of course, one cannot say the Body-Refining Furnace is poor. If it weren't for the Body-Refining Furnace, that disciple might never have awakened their physique in their entire life."

Lisa shook her head with regret, but overall she was still looking forward to it, after all...

She had an unawakened special physique, and the Body-Refining Furnace would also be of great use to her.

"Such things were obvious to any cultivator at the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage at the time. The three giants like Shushan did not have a high demand for the Body-Refining Furnace."

"But one must admit that the Body-Refining Furnace is indeed a heaven-defying treasure."

"By consuming a certain amount of resources, cultivators below the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage can cleanse their true spirits, and those below Heavenly Spiritual Roots can improve their spiritual root grade."

"Although there are other treasures in the cultivation world that can improve aptitude, no treasure is as simple as the Body-Refining Furnace, and it can be used repeatedly."

"The consumption is also quite small."

"The Divine Machine Sect became famous in one battle and was hailed as the most likely major cultivation sect to become second only to the three giants in that era."

After saying this, Jiang Yan stopped talking and quietly observed everyone. Venti and the others were just amazed, but Himeko and the others frowned.

Jiang Yan nodded with satisfaction.

"It seems you have already thought of the result."

Himeko nodded heavily.

"Killing with kindness..."

"Correct."

Jiang Yan sighed.

"Don't forget, I said that the strongest person in the Divine Machine Sect was only a Sect Master at the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage."

"Fame that does not match one's own strength is a slow-acting poison, but possessing treasures that do not match one's own strength is a death warrant."

"After obtaining the Body-Refining Furnace, the arrogant Divine Machine Sect ultimately met with disaster..."

385. Cultivators also care about being afraid of brothers driving Land Rovers.

"Although it's not very good to say it like this, but..."

Jiang Yan shrugged helplessly.