Chapter 295: Refining the Ultimate Treasure

For several hundred consecutive years, Xiao Yu has been starting from the most basic refining materials. Previously he relied solely on self‑study; now, with an experienced elder guiding him, he naturally needs to lay a solid foundation.

At the deepest bottom of Jiang Shen Mountain's interior, a roughly three‑meter‑tall object of entirely black, strange substance, shaped like a gourd, hovers; its mouth points upward, spewing endless flames.

Beside the flames stand two rock giants, one large and one small; the tall one is about ten million kilometers high, the short one still over thirty thousand kilometers tall. These two are Jiang Shen and Xiao Yu.

Jiang Shen's disciples and grandchildren generally cannot enter the deepest part of the mountain; only Jiang Shen's Ninth Disciple, the Universe Overlord who can refine High-level Treasures, can get here.

At this moment Xiao Yu is enveloping a mass of Tianhuan Nine Sun Water with Void Divine Power, extracting its essence using the endless flames.

"Sancai, Tianhuan Nine Sun Water is the hottest liquid in the Primordial Universe; the higher the flame temperature used for extraction, the easier to draw out its essence, but one cannot simply crank up the heat. Your temperature‑control technique still lacks; at your current method you'll lose 20% of the essence, you should do it as I do," Jiang Shen says while refining, guiding. He teaches by example, truly devoting himself.

Xiao Yu listens attentively, while continuously adjusting his refining technique within his consciousness.

"How is it? One more time?" Jiang Shen asks.

"Hmm, I'll try again, Jiang Shen, take another look," Xiao Yu says, nodding.

Soon, Xiao Yu again draws ten thousand cubic kilometers of Tianhuan Nine Sun Water from the World Ring, imitating Jiang Shen's refining method, adding his own understanding of the process and his grasp of the fire timing.

"Sancai, operate boldly and confidently; I've got everything covered," Jiang Shen says. Over several hundred years, the two have been both master and friend, forging a deep friendship.

Xiao Yu's progress on the path of artifact refining is truly peerless, comparable to his own cultivation talent.

When Tianhuan Nine Sun Water meets the endless flames, it immediately emits nine‑colored phantasms, and each drop gradually turns into a nine‑colored liquid, which becomes extremely viscous.

"Hmm, your cultivation of the 'Divine Artisan' secret method is also decent; you can now start refining Ultimate Treasures," Jiang Shen says.

Jiang Shen now feels a bit regretful, wishing he had forced Xiao Yu to become his disciple back then.

This is Xiao Yu's first time refining an Ultimate Treasure, and Jiang Shen did not let his own disciples observe.

Xiao Yu and Jiang Shen appear beside the endless flames above the gourd's mouth.

"Great!" Xiao Yu laughs joyfully; after several hundred years, he has finally solidified his foundation and can now formally refine Ultimate Treasures.

"Hmm, not bad, good progress; you can now extract over 95% of the essence," Jiang Shen exclaims. Guiding Xiao Yu has been the most hassle‑free part of Jiang Shen's teaching career.

"Jiang Shen, I can refine Ultimate Treasures now, right?" Xiao Yu asks.

For the next month, Xiao Yu neither studied treasure‑refining techniques nor taught Jiang Shen the Secret Pattern, but instead lounged in his own palace, resting indulgently and adjusting his mood.

Usually a single technique, with at most three demonstrations, can be mastered. When encountering particularly difficult materials, even those never taught before, one can achieve over 60% purity on the first try, and with a little guidance exceed 90%.

"Don't worry, Lao Shan, I never undertake anything I'm not sure of," Xiao Yu laughs. Jiang Shen is, after all, a mountain incarnate, without father or mother, without surname or given name; since becoming a Universe Venerable he has been called Jiang Shen, and after endless ages, even though in his youth he gave himself a name, he has long forgotten it.

……

Thus Xiao Yu calls him Lao Shan, and Jiang Shen doesn't find it odd; rather, he feels a sense of familiarity.

One month later.

Jiang Shen nods slightly, steps back a distance of ten million kilometers.

Xiao Yu draws a massive amount of materials from the World Ring, most of which are G-level Metal, along with some time‑attribute and space‑attribute materials.

These extremely precious materials were partly collected from the Ancestor Divine Secret Realm, and some were exchanged with Jiang Shen.

Each material is placed into the endless flames for roasting, occasionally hammered and tempered with refining hammers and other tools.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

"Not bad, technique is very proficient, not like a first‑time Ultimate Treasure refinement," Jiang Shen says from afar, nodding with satisfaction. Over these several hundred years he has learned the way of Secret Patterns from Xiao Yu, gaining much, especially the combination between Void‑Real Secret Patterns, which has propelled him further on the path of refining Ultimate Treasures.

He feels that soon he will break through the bottleneck and refine a Strongest Supreme Treasure, and when that happens, the Mount‑Dwelling Master will surely acknowledge his disciple.

For countless eons, Jiang Shen's sole wish has been for the Mount‑Dwelling Master to recognize his disciple, even as a named disciple, but it has never been fulfilled; he has always regarded the Mount‑Dwelling Master merely as his teacher.

The massive precious materials, under Xiao Yu's hands, are continuously plastically formed into numerous small Ultimate Treasure components.

Each Ultimate Treasure component matches exactly the design schematics in Xiao Yu's mind.

Refining an Ultimate Treasure is not arbitrary; it must be pre‑designed. It is not a single‑piece creation— even a simple battle sword must be divided into countless parts, then linked together using law‑level Secret Patterns and the like, to unleash its great power.

Now Xiao Yu is refining a Sealing Ultimate Treasure, which possesses dual binding forces of spatial and temporal restraint, and not only can bind but also can prohibit spatial Instant Teleport, time‑speed alteration, and similar abilities.

These abilities are manifested in the material properties and the Secret Patterns etched onto each piece.

"These Secret Patterns are truly strange, appearing both exceedingly complex and utterly simple," Jiang Shen marvels. After several hundred years, he has only scratched the surface of the Void‑Real Secret Pattern path.

One sees Xiao Yu make only a single stroke of the pattern on some components, yet when he sets the component down, the several‑meter‑long piece is densely covered with an overwhelmingly intricate Secret Pattern.

"Perhaps this is the great way of simplicity!" Jiang Shen, from afar, continuously appraises it, while openly learning from him.

Three years later.

When Xiao Yu inscribes at least several tens of thousands of Void‑Real combined Secret Patterns onto the final component, whose diameter is only one‑third that of an atomic nucleus,

Immediately, billions of components before Xiao Yu instantly auto‑assemble, each piece tightly fused with seamless joints, so that even divine power infiltration cannot detect any trace of connection.

Naturally perfect!

Truly flawless!

At once, waves of Ultimate Treasure aura emanate from that square ruler.

"Not finished yet," Xiao Yu thinks to himself; the aura emitted by this square ruler Ultimate Treasure is still not perfect.

Immediately, Xiao Yu proceeds to embed tens of thousands of Void Secret Patterns into it consecutively.

The aura from this ruler suddenly shifts; its strength nearly rivals that of a High-level Treasure. Moreover, it is a Sealing Ultimate Treasure.

"Not bad," Xiao Yu admires.

The square ruler before him measures about one million kilometers in length, roughly one hundred thousand kilometers in width, and about sixty thousand kilometers in height.

"Not bad, not bad. For a first‑time Ultimate Treasure refinement, to produce such a perfect Sealing Ultimate Treasure, and it's almost indistinguishable from a High-level Treasure," Jiang Shen appears behind Xiao Yu, praising.

"Haha, just luck," Xiao Yu smiles faintly.

From then on, Xiao Yu can call himself a Treasure Refining Master, and even claim he could truly found a sect within the Human Race.

(End of Chapter)