Chapter 381: Reforging the Tian Luo Umbrella, Tian Yan Wu De, Returning to Jiankang

The peacock, with its five-colored divine light pressing upon its body, had swept across more than half of the Qiongming Realm; most of the realm's accumulated treasures had been sealed within its five-colored divine light, now belonging to Brother Qian Chen.

Yet most of the Qiongming Realm's magic treasures were forged through sheer time and brute force, their quality inferior. Had this been the Divine Immortal Realm of Shenzhou, the peacock's magic treasures—so long as he wasn't slain—would have been ten times superior; yet precisely because of this, apart from the Phoenix-Wing Purple Gold Mallet, the peacock had relied solely on his five-colored divine light during his battle with Brother Qian Chen, never once using another magic treasure.

Brother Qian Chen lifted the Phoenix-Wing Purple Gold Mallet levelly; its shaft, forged from Yangji Purple Fire Copper, was unnaturally heavy.

He weighed it lightly, estimating its total weight at thirteen thousand jun—nearly four hundred thousand jin. Though Yangji Purple Fire Copper was several grades lower in quality than the Xuanzhen Taiyi Xuanzhen Taiyi Yuanjin used to forge "Youqing" and "Wozhi," it was still a supreme celestial metal, a treasure of the highest order.

Xuanzhen Taiyi Xuanzhen Taiyi Yuanjin excels in sharpness; swords demand piercing keenness above all, so the nine finest materials in the universe for forging swords are all chosen for their innate toughness and edge, capable of cleaving through the myriad worlds.

To forge a heavy weapon like the Phoenix-Wing Mallet with it would be like casting pearls before swine.

Moreover, who in the universe could even muster three hundred thousand jin of Xuanzhen Taiyi Xuanzhen Taiyi Yuanjin?

Brother Qian Chen could tell this divine weapon, the Phoenix-Wing Mallet, had been refined to perfection; even if "Youqing" and "Wozhi" were not suppressed by the five-colored divine light, they likely couldn't scratch its surface.

"This divine weapon is of exceptional quality—the most precious in the peacock's possession. Just the material alone is priceless. Unless one were an avatar of fortune like the peacock, and cultivated the all-encompassing five-colored divine light, no one else could possibly gather three hundred thousand jin of Yangji Purple Fire Copper."

"This copper is condensed from the essence of Zi Ji Heavenly Fire; it has never existed in large quantities, only in fragments of meteorites. These three hundred thousand jin must be the entire accumulation of the Qiongming Realm since its creation," Brother Qian Chen marveled.

Si Princess Qingcheng shook her head, her face grim. "Too heavy!"

Ning Ning Qingchen nodded in agreement. "Indeed too heavy! Cultivators and Qi Refiners have frail bodies; unless one is an ancient beast like the peacock with extraordinary physical strength, only practitioners of the demonic path with their immortal demonic bodies, Buddhist cultivators with their indestructible golden bodies, or martial cultivators wielding martial divine forms could even lift and wield it…"

Seeing Yan Shu frowned. "And this divine weapon has no seals—it relies entirely on its innate power. Aside from you, brother, how many cultivators casually carry two divine weapons around?"

"'Youqing' in the umbrella, 'Wozhi' in the zither—how useful they are! They've fought countless enemies with me, always perfectly responsive, and they make me look elegant and composed, highlighting my noble bearing. Brother, you're just jealous…"

Brother Qian Chen hefted the Phoenix-Wing Mallet, shaking his head. "What a pity! When swung, it carries the posture of a phoenix spreading its wings, and its entire body radiates Zi Ji Heavenly Fire—its power is immense. In the peacock's hands, it had the might to slay gods and Buddha alike…"

The others recalled the scene of the Kong Que Great King wielding the Phoenix-Wing Mallet, his demonic flames raging like a god or demon, and all felt a chill run down their spines.

This divine weapon was priceless in the peacock's hands—and now, in theirs, it was truly wasted.

Compared to it, the bamboo staff formed from the bamboo bear's spirit bamboo suited them far better.

Too bad it belonged to one of their own.

Brother Qian Chen sighed. "I wonder if I can refine it into the Zhu Que Fire-Tipped Spear. One is a magic treasure, the other a divine weapon—there are many difficulties. How to preserve the Zhu Que treasure's seals while integrating the divine weapon… requires careful thought."

Seeing Yan Shu smiled, then saw Brother Qian Chen pull five more magic treasures from the five-colored divine light.

His eyes widened like copper rings, his lips trembling. "Brother Brother Qian, you said 'a few magic treasures'—and you really pulled out a few!"

"Cultivators in the outer seas outnumber those in the Central Lands by a hundredfold. Even so, after killing many demonic cultivators and making many enemies, I've seen no magic treasures except those held by the Dragon Palace princes. The Wise Zhi Zhi Lang Wang cultivated seven yin spirits and still owned only one blood-refined demonic stupa. The White Bone King was so poor he had no magic treasure at all—how did you acquire so many?"

"There were only a few great demons and cultivators in the Qiongming Realm. The Kong Que Great King had five-colored divine light—why would the Wise Zhi Zhi Lang Wang and White Bone King bother forging magic treasures? Afraid the peacock wouldn't take them?"

Brother Qian Chen couldn't help but complain: "Besides, as for magic treasures, the human cultivators naturally had more. An entire realm's cultivators must have accumulated a few! The peacock fought humans repeatedly; whether the human yin spirits escaped or not, whenever they encountered the five-colored divine light, they always dropped several magic treasures or artifacts. And this is even the lesser amount—I suspect the lower-quality ones were all dissolved by the peacock's five-colored divine light."

He set down the pouch, the grappling hook, the golden mallet, the small axe, and the wooden ruler.

One by one, he explained: "This pouch contains a spirit-severing Three-Flavor Wind—a fusion of two sinister Gangsha: the Brother Qian-Xun Nine-Flavor Divine Wind Gang and the Soul-Scattering Confused Light Sha. It targets the soul and spirit. In battle, releasing this yin wind silently knocks down entire groups. Directly blown upon, it seals the five senses, severs the soul, and even a brush of it leaves one dazed and confused. An excellent tool for ambushes… and the pouch is exquisitely embroidered; no one would suspect it holds such a deadly artifact. A truly practical magic treasure—even an ordinary Core Formation cultivator could use it to ambush a yin spirit. With luck, even a yang spirit could be caught off-guard!"

Seeing Yan Shu shook his head. "This doesn't suit my nature."

Si Princess Qingcheng also shook her head. "I don't like it…"

Ning Ning Qingchen smiled. "Then give it to me! I've been needing a magic treasure that activates silently but delivers immense power."

Brother Qian Chen handed her the pouch, taught her the refining incantation, then picked up the grappling hook. "Qiyin Ice Blood Claw—a heretical magic treasure imbued with extreme cold, capable of stealing blood and soul. It excels against large, slow-moving beasts. Likely forged by some rare weasel demon using its own claws and fangs."

This time, none of them showed interest; the artifact radiated heavy demonic aura, unsuitable for human cultivators.

"Fragrant Strike Bell Mallet—a bell mallet refined from Dragon-Subduing Wood. Its exotic fragrance dispels heart demons, calms the mind, and can transform into a hundred-zhang giant mallet to smash seals and destroy spells."

This artifact suited Si Princess Qingcheng, who favored talismans, and she liked the fragrant scent of Dragon-Subduing Wood, so he gave it to her.

The remaining item was the Flowing Light Chasing Star Axe—a hidden weapon that, when activated, moved like a meteor chasing the moon, swift enough to pierce through a cultivator's protective artifacts and cleave their flesh.

Brother Qian Chen gave it to Ning Ning Qingchen, perfect to pair with the Three-Flavor Wind: release the yin wind to stupefy enemies, then launch the spinning axe to sever their heads—a cold-blooded assassin's unique allure.

Seeing Yan Shu didn't lack such lethal methods; Si Princess Qingcheng's Core Formation domain effortlessly crushed lesser foes, and she already had suitable weapons for direct combat—so all agreed to give them to Sister Ning.

The final small ruler could summon the Nine Heavens' starlight for protection—it was a magic treasure of the Qingxu Sect, one of the three major sects of the Qiongming Realm.

Brother Qian Chen gave it to Seeing Yan Shu, whose strength lay in offense but weakness in defense. Though Seeing Yan Shu always insisted that killing the enemy first ensured his own safety, this time he'd been forced into life-or-death situations where he had no choice but to use his life-essence sword embryo. Aside from sheer desperation, he had no other options. Besides the peacock's overwhelming power, this revealed Seeing Yan Shu's lack of versatility.

Beyond swordplay, he needed other artifacts to compensate.

All accepted the magic treasures, yet noticed Brother Qian Chen's hands were empty. Seeing Yan Shu asked anxiously: "You gave us everything—what about you, brother?"

Brother Qian Chen smiled. "Brother, don't you know how many techniques I have? Besides, I already have too many artifacts—I need to refine one or two deeply, not hoard more. Now that I've refined the peacock's perfected five-colored divine light into a Five-Glory Divine Sword, it surpasses everything you've received combined."

Saying this, he summoned the Wheel of Rebirth's jade tablet, placed the Hun Tian Qing Luo Umbrella upon the cloud platform, and unleashed a beam of Central Wu Earth Divine Light…

"Wheel of Rebirth! Refine the Wu Earth Divine Light into the Hun Tian Qing Luo Umbrella…"

The Brother Qian Tian One-Qi Pure was pure celestial energy; the Central Wu Earth Divine Light was condensed turbid energy—both among the strongest defensive elemental forces in heaven and earth.

Merged together, pure and turbid unified, like the membrane of heaven and earth's embryo! Now, when the Tian Luo Umbrella unfurled, it truly possessed a hint of invulnerability to all arts. Of course, refining Wu Earth Divine Light had a drawback: had this been done before, the umbrella would have been suppressed by the five-colored divine light, making it disadvantageous against the peacock.

But now that I've cultivated the five-colored divine light myself, I have no such concern!"

Upon the cloud platform, a column of light descended; pure and turbid energies rotated, merging into a murky, grayish chaos. Though its color was unappealing, Brother Qian Chen felt its defensive power had vastly surpassed its former state.

As the chaos suddenly contracted, the pure energy rose to become the azure sky, the turbid energy sank to form mountains and peaks.

Finally, the azure sky descended, restoring the umbrella's pure blue canopy, while the Wu Earth Divine Light condensed internally into a jade staff. The reformed Tian Luo Umbrella returned to Brother Qian Chen's hand, once again appearing as an unremarkable oil-paper umbrella.

Slowly, he inserted "Youqing" into the umbrella's handle; the Xuanzhen Taiyi Xuanzhen Taiyi Yuanjin's sharpness was effortlessly absorbed, even gently nourished and cultivated. Brother Qian Chen felt the Tian Luo Umbrella had become a self-contained world—when opened, it shielded him as if in another realm, invulnerable to all arts, and even peculiar causal, fate, or occult techniques struggled to penetrate its protective domain.

In a small world like Qiongming, the Tian Luo Umbrella, when unfurled, could nearly obscure the laws of life and death, placing its user between yin and yang realms, concealing their lifespan.

"It is said magic treasures have different tiers—what tier is the Tian Luo Umbrella now, after its reforging?"

Brother Qian Chen mused, holding the umbrella.

Seeing Yan Shu pointed at the umbrella. "According to ancient texts, magic treasures are divided into four stages: Awakening Spirit, True Form, Soul Transformation, and Pure Yang. But these only measure how close a treasure is to becoming a spiritual treasure. Many magic treasures are powerful yet lack spiritual depth. Thus, by pure power alone, they're further divided into six tiers: Mountain-Crushing, Sea-Overturning, Star-Falling, World-Breaking, Annihilation, and Creation."

"The current Tian Luo Umbrella can repel even the floodwaters of four seas—yet whether it can withstand a falling star is uncertain. It's likely a Sea-Overturning treasure. But in terms of spiritual depth, it's still at the Awakening Spirit stage. You must refine it carefully; only when its spirit grows strong enough to take form will it reach True Form."

"I dare not entrust spirit refinement to the Wheel of Rebirth!" Brother Qian Chen chuckled. "This is no quick task—it requires centuries of gentle nurturing before even a sliver of chance arises to awaken the treasure's true spirit."

Brother Qian Chen then took out the Great Sage Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Zither, added the Bodhi Heart of the Dragon Tree King, and fused it with seven luminous strings refined from the five-colored divine light, again summoning the Wheel of Rebirth. The Great Sage Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Zither was re-refined: the Dragon Tree King's Bodhi Heart was originally ideal for Buddhist magic treasures, but its pure Buddhist power had been corrupted; Brother Qian Chen had to purify it countless times with Zi Xiao Divine Thunder before fully cleansing it, replacing the now-degraded ten-thousand-year willow heart that had dragged down the artifact's tier.

The ten-thousand-year willow heart was at most several thousand years old; this Bodhi Heart from the Golden Vajra Temple, however, was transplanted from beyond heaven by its founding master, truly aged tens of thousands of years.

This time, the Wheel of Rebirth demanded a thousand moral merits to re-refine the Great Sage Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Zither into a magic treasure.

Brother Qian Chen's cheeks trembled with pain.

Finally, he infused the previously un-upgraded Tai Shang Ba Jing Furnace with the Eight-Phase Law Seals he'd exchanged from the Wheel of Rebirth, planning to refine it slowly himself, gradually freeing himself from reliance on the Wheel of Rebirth.

The remaining perfect artifacts—the Magnetic Light Vase and Thunder Flash Lightning Cord—Brother Qian Chen shattered many thunder-elemental celestial treasures and nurtured them with his mastery of the Five Thunder Great Art; in roughly thirty years, they would have the chance to ascend to magic treasure status. The Dragon-Phoenix Ring, now replaced by the Tianxin Yang Ring, didn't need urgent ascension. The Xiao Xie Xuan Huang Yellow Ruyi required Xiao Xie Xuan Huang Qi, which only existed at creation—its exchange price on the Wheel of Rebirth made Brother Qian Chen's heart race; even all his gains from this mission wouldn't cover it—he dared not even consider it.

The Flying Cloud Satchel was nearly fully refined.

And the next mission wouldn't come for fifty years. During that time, Brother Qian Chen could easily refine these perfect artifacts into magic treasures himself—why seek the Wheel of Rebirth?

Thus, he had nearly two thousand five hundred moral merits left. After much searching on the exchange list, he selected one item from the talisman section: the Hua Lun Hui Gui Talisman, which could anchor time and space, granting one extra reincarnation mission. And the《Tian Yan Wu De Xiao Xie Jiutian Xuan Jing》, originally from Zou Yan, the founding master of the Yin-Yang School.

Even the abridged version of the《Xiao Xie Jiutian Xuan Jing》cost him two thousand moral merits. This scripture was the family heirloom of the Qinghe Cui Clan, the cornerstone text of the Great Expansion Five Elements Sect, and one of the few lineages in the Divine Immortal Realm capable of cultivating the Five Elements Great Escape and forming the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Pill.

It was extremely beneficial for Brother Qian Chen's cultivation of the five-colored divine light.

In ancient times, the Daoist sects clashed over Five Elements versus Yin-Yang!

The Three Pure Ones were all of the Yin-Yang lineage, while ancient cultivators were mostly of the Five Elements lineage. The fundamental nature of heaven and earth—was it Yin-Yang or Five Elements? This was a great doctrinal dispute that once sparked bloody wars. As a direct disciple of the Three Pure Ones, Brother Qian Chen naturally followed the Yin-Yang lineage, grounding his Dao arts in Yin-Yang principles.

He had already formed the Primordial Taiji Primordial Pill, and had countless Dao scriptures to reference. But for the other pill—the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Pill—he lacked sufficient methods.

Brother Qian Chen wished to merge Yin-Yang and Five Elements, harmonize creation and transformation—he needed to fill this gap.

Seeing Yan Shu, Ning Ning Qingchen, and the others also made their exchanges. Unconsciously, Brother Qian Chen had secluded himself in the Pinghu Blessed Land for six years, refining his Dao arts to perfection.

During this time, besides crafting a Bing Po Han Guang spiritual talisman for Ning Ning Qingchen using the Wise Zhi Zhi Lang Wang's Yin Essence, he also refined her internal elixir into a Body-Divination Elixir, now still being nurtured in the furnace. Otherwise, Brother Qian Chen devoted himself entirely to cultivation, artifact refinement, and scripture study—returning to the most traditional life of a cultivator.

Ten days in the Wheel of Rebirth equaled one day in the Divine Immortal Realm.

The Wheel's mission timeline followed the cultivator's own time flow, but with fifty years until the next mission, Brother Qian Chen had no fear of accelerating six or ten years. Until this day, when countless radiant lights flashed within the Tai Shang Ba Jing Furnace and its lid trembled violently—a body identical to Brother Qian Chen's former physical form emerged from the swirling elixir mist. Brother Qian Chen stretched, then called back the Ear God and the Gold and Silver Children, who had been playing wildly in the Pinghu Blessed Land.

"No wonder I'm me—even this borrowed body is handsome."

The primordial spirit avatar bore his original grown appearance—strikingly beautiful, with a face like polished jade, sword-like brows and starry eyes, elegant yet brimming with heroic spirit. Only a slight difference remained from his pre-transmigration look.

Brother Qian Chen admired it for a moment, then stepped into the avatar.

The two bodies merged as one, now revealing the new face to the world.

"I've been gone for years—how is Jiankang now? Should I go back and trouble Master Sima Shi?" Brother Qian Chen picked up the mundane iron blade, stepped out of the Wheel of Rebirth, and arrived aboard the fishing boat that had drifted for years on Xuanwu Lake.