Chapter 296: Ten Thousand Years of Treasure Refining (Part 1)

Deep within the belly of Jiang Shen Mountain, above the endless flames.

"Has this treasure been named?" Jiang Shen asked.

Only the refiner has the right to name a treasure; it is the privilege every master who has painstakingly refined a treasure should have.

"I haven't decided yet," Xiao Yu said with a smile, "I've thought of two names: one is Zhen Tian Chi, the other is Suo Tian Chi."

"Your treasure is of the seal-type, so whether it's Zhen or Suo, both are straightforward and fine," Jiang Shen tasted the two names and thought they were both acceptable.

"Then let's call this treasure Zhen Tian Chi!" Xiao Yu said casually.

"Alright," Jiang Shen nodded in agreement.

Immediately, Xiao Yu projected divine energy onto the Zhen Tian Chi; the energy seeped into it, and on its front two Secret Patterns formed the characters 'Zhen' and 'Feng'.

"This round of treasure refining went well; go rest for now, then review what you've gained—have the materials' properties been pushed to their limits? Is there a better combination?" Jiang Shen patted Xiao Yu's shoulder and added, "As for my Secret Pattern studies, they can be postponed; I've already entered the basics and have been pondering on my own lately."

Refining artifacts is a skill honed by practice; because the materials and purposes differ, almost no two artifacts share identical performance.

Unless they're the mass‑produced junk items.

This also shows that Xiao Yu holds a higher standing in his eyes than the disciples.

At the same time, Xiao Yu is designing his second treasure to refine.

After being reinforced with Void‑Real Secret Patterns, its power stands out, placing it among the top tier of High-level Domain Treasures.

This massive palace was specially prepared by Jiang Shen for Xiao Yu; it sits beneath his own palace yet above the palaces of his disciples.

Refining brings improvement, but reviewing yields even greater gains; any earlier procedural mistakes were spotted during the review and Xiao Yu corrected them one by one.

This High-level Domain Treasure was forged using the completely opposite core materials Tianhuan Nine Sun Water and Cold Whale Nine Color Water; both were purified and amplified, their scorching heat and extreme cold strengthened by thousands to tens of thousands of times.

"Thank you," Xiao Yu expressed sincerely, then sheathed the Zhen Tian Chi, left the mountain's belly, and appeared inside a colossal palace atop the peak whose diameter exceeds a million kilometers.

Xiao Yu named this treasure "Illusory Cold Nine Heavens".

Time passed; a hundred years slipped by in an instant.

Within the massive palace.

Xiao Yu carefully reviewed the just‑completed refining process.

"Sancai, your progress in treasure refining is truly defiant of the heavens; now you can even forge High-level Treasures," Jiang Shen said, eyeing the High-level Domain Treasure in Xiao Yu's hand that resembled a battle array.

Three months later, Xiao Yu resumed work, began lecturing Jiang Shen, constantly pointing out the imperfect details where Void‑Real Secret Patterns and other patterns were combined.

"The materials I've gathered can at most make three treasures; beyond that I have none," Xiao Yu thought. Earlier, within the Ancestor Divine Secret Realm, he had collected hundreds of precious materials, over a dozen of which could serve as core components for treasures.

For several consecutive months, the harvest was substantial.

Three months later, Xiao Yu began following Jiang Shen again, occasionally joining his treasure‑refining tasks, mainly as assistance.

"Alas, the many relics I gathered in the Ancestor Divine Secret Realm are all used up," Xiao Yu sighed.

"You've done well; in less than a thousand years of exploring the Ancestor Divine Secret Realm you amassed five treasures, and only Mad God Armor and Zhen Tian Chi are Initial-level Treasures, with Zhen Tian Chi even comparable to a High-level seal-type treasure," Jiang Shen said with a hint of envy. "The other three are all High-level Treasures: one High-grade Treasure God‑Weapon Armor, one Mind‑force Weapon‑type High-level Treasure Weapon called World‑Turning Seal, and another High-level Domain Treasure, Illusory Cold Nine Heavens."

These five treasures constitute Xiao Yu's century‑long refining.

Without relying on a system and crafting treasures by hand, the higher the treasure's rank, the longer its forging takes.

"Lao Shan, isn't it a pity I have no materials? You have so many; can you lend me some?" Xiao Yu said with a mischievous grin.

"Get out of the way!" Jiang Shen pretended to scoff.

"Don't, Lao Shan." Xiao Yu and he had grown accustomed to each other's temperaments.

"Alright, here's a tip: now that you can refine treasures, you can take some jobs down the mountain," Jiang Shen said with a smile.

At the foot of the mountain, tens of thousands of Universe Venerables and Universe Overlord-level Strongmen are constantly waiting, offering abundant precious materials in hopes Jiang Shen can forge a treasure for them.

Naturally, it's not free assistance.

The fees are often steep, albeit invisible; for example, hiring a master to refine a treasure requires at least two sets of Top-level Set Heavy Treasure materials to produce a single ordinary treasure.

In reality, forging an ordinary treasure may need at most the materials for one Top-level Set Heavy Treasure, and sometimes even less than half a set.

This relates to the Treasure Refining Master's ability.

Thus one can imagine how Jiang Shen acquired so many treasures.

It also explains why the mountain‑dweller can prepare countless Strongest Supreme Treasures for his disciples, while he himself possesses innumerable treasures.

"Great!" Xiao Yu also wanted to give it a try.

"At your refining speed, from now on, you may take orders once every hundred years, up to three per session, no more!" Jiang Shen smiled.

"What? Lao Shan, are you afraid I'll take all the orders?" Xiao Yu shouted.

"Refining is just to hone your skill; learning is what matters most. I'm wondering when you'll be able to forge a Top-level Treasure," Jiang Shen said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Lao Shan, I won't forget my roots," Xiao Yu declared solemnly, "I will only take treasure orders, preferably those for High-level Treasures."

"Honestly, the Universe Overlords at the mountain's base usually only commission a rare Initial-level treasure," Jiang Shen said casually, "Most High-level and even Top-level treasures are commissioned by the Lord of the Universe or whole clans."

"I understand, hope I get a chance!" Xiao Yu nodded.

"Rest for a month; after that I'll announce it, and you can start taking orders. But public is public, private is private—on Jiang Shen Mountain you must pay for equipment and venue rental," Jiang Shen sneered.

"Shady merchant!" Xiao Yu spat casually, then left the mountain's belly and returned to the palace.

……

Xiao Yu intends to take orders beneath Jiang Shen Mountain; Jiang Shen still needs to inform a few of his senior disciples, lest they feel uneasy.

"Master, Yan Sancai has only studied for a few hundred years; how can he start taking orders? If he fails to forge a treasure, won't it tarnish the reputation of our Jiang Shen Star?" the Ninth Disciple spoke first.

"What can one learn in a few hundred years? Can he even refine various Heavy Treasures?"

The other disciples also voiced objections.

"Hmph!" Jiang Shen snorted coldly, "Do you think everyone is as useless as you? Sancai can already refine High-level Treasures!"

(End of Chapter)