Chapter 402: Method to Break Through to the Ninth Tier

Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor.

Xu Jin's consciousness sank into the Seven-Star spirit armor before him; after refining it slightly, he gained some understanding.

A mid-tier Seven-Star spirit treasure.

It was a bit inferior to the Seven-Star Huang Long Armor worn by Emperor Qian'an, but it was sufficient.

Even as a mid-tier Seven-Star spirit treasure, it was far stronger than the sixth-tier supreme-grade Fire Ox Armor.

With this precious armor, it would be difficult for an average seventh-tier expert to injure Xu Jin.

If combined with the Rain Curtain Golden Bell, Roots of the Earth, and various other defenses, he would even have a possibility of surviving an encounter with an eighth-tier expert.

Furthermore, with this armor, Xu Jin's plan to enter the sixth-tier star domain to search for and rescue his teacher, Qi Shanye, and his junior uncle, Mo Ji, could be moved up on his schedule.

Within a sixth-tier star domain, there would be no fewer than ten seventh-tier experts.

The difficulty would be extremely high.

At that moment, Xu Jin, delighted by the treasure, immediately began refining the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor. The instant his divine soul power and star power poured in like a flood, a giant fire rhinoceros suddenly let out an angry roar, its flames transforming into a massive, sky-covering mouth that bit toward Xu Jin's star power and divine soul power!

Although this was his first time refining a Seven-Star spirit treasure, Xu Jin had long known about this.

A Seven-Star spirit treasure—the so-called "spirit" in the treasure referred to exactly this.

Every spirit treasure was refined with a remnant spirit, which is why it was called a spirit treasure.

This was also the reason why Seven-Star spirit treasures were extremely rare.

To refine a Seven-Star spirit treasure, the requirements for raw materials were extremely high. For instance, this Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor required not only the hide of a seventh-tier Fire Rhinoceros tribe member at minimum, but also a wisp of the Fire Rhinoceros tribe's primordial spirit.

Among seventh-tier alien races, those capable of condensing a primordial spirit were extremely rare; even those who could condense a rudimentary form of one were very uncommon.

Such a complete set of materials was too hard to come by.

After the complete set of materials was refined into a spirit treasure, the spirit would retain a trace of its instinctive ferocity; to refine it, one had to use power to suppress this remnant spirit.

Many people refining Seven-Star spirit treasures relied on the help of sect elders to suppress the ferocity of the remnant spirit.

Xu Jin, however, had no such need.

Watching the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit pounce, Xu Jin let out a cold snort, and a burst of thunder exploded, directly shattering the sky-covering remnant spirit, which instantly transformed into a small, Q-version rhinoceros shadow with flames rolling over its body.

It looked at Xu Jin with extreme fear, appearing pitiful.

Xu Jin's star power and divine soul thought power surged forward instantly, beginning the refinement.

During the refinement process, Xu Jin discovered that the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit was absorbing a tiny bit of his divine soul thought power to strengthen itself.

It was also absorbing his Profound Extreme Heavenly Fire.

The amount absorbed was very small, but Xu Jin still sensed it.

Xu Jin understood that this was the growth potential of a Seven-Star spirit treasure.

By continuously absorbing the refiner's power, it could grow and increase its rank, and could even break through its rank.

The key depended on the quantity and quality provided by its master.

Xu Jin's heart stirred, and he actively began to feed it.

For others, divine soul power recovered relatively slowly, but for Xu Jin, it took only half a quarter of an hour.

Almost as soon as Xu Jin willed it, the amount of divine soul power and fire-type star spirit absorbed by the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit increased by four or five times.

The previously weak remnant spirit began to grow visibly to the naked eye.

Xu Jin was just thinking that if he could keep feeding it, he would try to persist for a month to see if he could elevate the mid-tier Seven-Star spirit armor to a high-tier one.

But after feeding it for only two quarters of an hour, the Fire Rhinoceros remnant shadow's form grew a size larger, but it acted as if it were drunk, swaying and unable to absorb even a fraction more.

It seemed that elevating the rank of a Seven-Star spirit armor could not be rushed.

It would require the work of accumulating over time.

With the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit fed, Xu Jin also thoroughly refined the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor.

With a thought, the sixth-tier supreme-grade Fire Spirit Armor flew out from his body and was stored by Xu Jin into his Sumeru space; subsequently, the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor covered Xu Jin's entire body.

With a flash of fire, the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor covered Xu Jin, and behind him, a phantom of a fire rhinoceros emerged, glaring in all directions.

At the same time, Xu Jin also thoroughly understood the many functions of the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor!

The first major function was active defense.

If subjected to a surprise attack, even if Xu Jin did not activate it himself, the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor would trigger on its own; this was the important role of the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit.

The second was that the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit could automatically absorb fire-type star power from all directions to replenish star power and itself, especially during battle, enhancing recovery capabilities.

The third was that the Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit could launch star arts.

After being refined by a master artifact refiner, this Fire Rhinoceros remnant spirit still remembered two star arts, one defensive and one offensive.

They were respectively Fire Rhinoceros Disk Armor and Fire Rhinoceros Charge.

As long as Xu Jin willed it, he could activate them.

The instant-cast kind.

It was equivalent to being able to stack another layer of defense outside the Seven-Star spirit armor.

If he had possessed this armor when he encountered Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang previously, Xu Jin would not have vomited blood and been injured.

After refining the Seven-Zhou Xinghuo Rhinoceros Armor, Xu Jin looked at the other two Seven-Star spirit treasures.

One was the Huang Long Sword.

It was a high-tier Seven-Star spirit treasure with extraordinary power.

The Huang Long remnant spirit inside knew three star arts, one of which was named Mountain Moving.

It could make the Huang Long Sword weigh billions of jun in an instant, as if moving a mountain.

Xu Jin liked this innate star art very much.

Because it paired perfectly with Xu Jin's special star art, Flowing Shimmer.

The lethality brought by extreme speed combined with extreme weight was simply unimaginable.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called Huang Long remnant spirit inside was not a real dragon, but a type of snake-like alien race with horns on its head.

With this Huang Long Sword, Xu Jin's future combat power would naturally increase greatly.

However, Xu Jin could not use this Huang Long Sword casually at the moment.

Because many experts knew this thing was Emperor Qian'an's treasure; if Xu Jin were to display it blatantly, wouldn't that be declaring that Xu Jin was the regicide?

That would be a blatant declaration, which could very likely bring endless trouble.

Therefore, although Xu Jin had refined the Huang Long Sword, he would not use it easily in front of others.

If used, it must kill!

The third Seven-Star spirit treasure was a fan, wind-type, named Wind Luo Fan, a mid-tier Seven-Star spirit treasure.

Xu Jin did not cultivate many wind-type star arts.

So he did not refine it but kept it.

Having taken so many treasures from Emperor Qian'an, he had to share some with the Grand Master; Xu Jin prepared to gift this Seven-Star spirit treasure, the Wind Luo Fan, to the Grand Master.

He continued to inventory the treasures in Emperor Qian'an's Sumeru space.

The first major harvest was sixth-tier star jade tablets, totaling over four hundred!

Good heavens, he was worthy of being an emperor.

When Xu Jin swept through a fifth-tier star domain, he obtained anywhere from a few to dozens of sixth-tier star jade tablets; Emperor Qian'an had over four hundred and fifty here.

Immediately, Xu Jin moved over one hundred and forty of them into the Arena, letting the Arena absorb them.

Among the conditions for the fifth-tier Arena to ascend to the sixth tier, the requirement of three hundred and sixty sixth-tier star jade tablets was met!

He continued the inventory.

There were over twenty types of fifth-tier earth-type heavenly materials and earthly treasures, all of which went to Xu Jin.

The next instant, Xu Jin's eyes lit up: a thousand-year turtle shell, a large piece!

It was the complete kind.

A large, complete piece of thousand-year turtle shell, a meter square, covered with fine grid patterns.

With a casual count, Xu Jin discovered that this entire piece of thousand-year turtle shell, if divided, would yield several hundred pieces. With a thought, he once again absorbed it into the Arena.

In an instant, nearly half of this entire thousand-year turtle shell disappeared.

Another condition for the Arena's fifth-tier to sixth-tier ascent was completed.

The next instant, Xu Jin gasped as he looked at the bundles of Red Sparrow Feathers.

At the auction in the Star River Battlefield, Red Sparrow Feathers were traded by the feather, but here at Emperor Qian'an's, they were measured by the bundle.

There were seven bundles, with ten feathers per bundle!

Xu Jin roughly understood why Emperor Qian'an had so many Red Sparrow Feathers.

Because Emperor Qian'an primarily cultivated the earth-type, mainly using fifth-tier earth-type heavenly materials and earthly treasures to strengthen his star patterns; besides the earth-type, he used fewer of the other types.

Therefore, in Emperor Qian'an's Sumeru space, among the fifth-tier heavenly materials and earthly treasures, the earth-type were the fewest, the gold-type were next, and the water, wood, and fire types were abundant.

These Red Sparrow Feathers were a bargain for Xu Jin.

With a thought, he immediately moved thirty Red Sparrow Feathers into the Arena; another condition for the Arena's fifth-tier to sixth-tier ascent was met.

This made Xu Jin inexplicably happy.

【Can ascend tier: requires 100,000 wisps of starlight, 360 sixth-tier star jade tablets, 10,000 catties of copper essence, 10,000 taels of gold, 100 catties of star-fallen iron, 100 pieces of thousand-year turtle shell, 30 Red Sparrow Feathers, one piece of Earth Core Fire Marrow, one Fire Spirit】

Among the conditions for the Arena's fifth-tier to sixth-tier ascent, it appeared that more than half were currently satisfied.

Copper essence, gold, and star-fallen iron had been completed previously while sweeping through star domains.

Three more items were completed just now.

Now, only three items remained: 100,000 wisps of starlight, Earth Core Fire Marrow, and one Fire Spirit.

Among them, the 100,000 wisps of starlight were not far off.

If Xu Jin had the opportunity to sweep through two or three more fifth-tier star domains, it would be about enough.

The truly difficult ones were the Earth Core Fire Marrow and the Fire Spirit.

Xu Jin knew that Earth Core Fire Marrow was a sixth-tier fire-type heavenly material and earthly treasure, found only in sixth-tier or higher star domains.

But as for the Fire Spirit, Xu Jin was still clueless.

Surely it wasn't the Fire Spirit tribe?

Could it be the so-called remnant spirit like the one in the Seven-Star spirit armor?

Besides this, Xu Jin also found two fifth-tier divine soul-type spirit medicines, hundred-year Yin Spirit Crystals.

One such treasure might not be enough to allow a peak fourth-tier ninth-layer primordial spirit expert to break through, but two would absolutely suffice.

If you also count the century-old infant-faced spirit ginseng that this foolish emperor previously used to trade for the Myriad Spirit Blood Elixir, there are six items in total.

There was also the sixth-tier divine soul spirit medicine, Water Cloud Soul Marrow.

Such a treasure, he would rather let it gather dust than bestow it to allow the experts of Great Chen to improve their strength.

One can only say he deserved it!

If he had given even half of these spirit medicines to the Grand Master, he wouldn't have ended up where he was today.

Besides this, there were some rare and exotic items.

Finally, there were over a dozen jade tablets.

Xu Jin's consciousness sank into them one by one, his face showing shock.

These dozen jade tablets were all recorded with text.

Two jade tablets recorded information related to the Blood God Sect's Blood Refining Great Art.

Five more were intelligence related to Great Chen's high-ranking officials, including their weaknesses, privacy, preferences, and so on.

Four more recorded the life stories, hobbies, and behavioral patterns of the top existences in the current world.

Including Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang, Tianyang Xingjun Cangming, Tianyang Xingjun Zhen'e, Star River Battlefield Grand Marshal Wei Xu, former Marshal Cai Shu, and so on.

Much of this intelligence had been personally annotated by Emperor Qian'an after being collected.

All were extremely valuable!

They were of great help to Xu Jin, though they should be of even greater help to the Grand Master.

Xu Jin planned to copy them all and hand them to the Grand Master.

Besides this, there were two jade tablets titled "Secret Notes," which recorded secret events that had occurred in the current world, or rather, Emperor Qian'an's own views.

In particular, a record regarding the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace piqued Xu Jin's interest.

【The Spirit Chronicle Star Palace is suspected to possess a secret inheritance method for breaking through the ninth tier.】

Xu Jin hadn't paid attention to this line at first.

Breaking through the ninth tier.

The four great star palaces of the current world should all have it.

But until now, not a single top existence from the four great star palaces had broken through to the ninth tier.

Just as he was about to skip it, Xu Jin suddenly reacted.

Breaking through the ninth tier!

Not breaking through *to* the ninth tier!

Which meant that even above the ninth tier, one could still break through!

And the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace possessed a secret inheritance method for breaking through the ninth tier.

Subsequent records also verified Xu Jin's guess.

【The Great Elder of the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace said that after breaking through the ninth tier, one can leave this world, or perhaps there is a method for longevity; the Master of the Star-Plucking Tower of that year, the Extreme Dao Emperor, walked this path.】

【The fifth Spirit Chronicle Tianyang Xingjun of the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace is suspected to have left this world; how they left is unknown.】

Xu Jin looked at the many records in the "Secret Notes," shocked beyond measure.

The content recorded here directly opened up a new world for Xu Jin.

He thought of countless possibilities!

There was a method to break through the ninth tier!

The method to break through the ninth tier could actually allow one to leave this world!

Did that mean that after breaking through the ninth tier, one would have the ability to roam the starry sky?

Did that mean that if Xu Jin could break through the ninth tier in the future, he could roam the starry sky, or even return to Blue Star?

At this thought, his mind was filled with myriad thoughts.

You could say that Xu Jin's current desire to transmigrate back had long since faded, or even vanished!

To put it bluntly, if he were to soul-transmigrate back, Xu Jin's original body would have long since rotted.

What would he go back for, to be a lonely ghost?

Now, Xu Jin had basically established himself in this world and had even cultivated extraordinary power; he really didn't want to go back that much.

But what if, after breaking through the ninth tier, he could go back with this extraordinary power?

Xu Jin felt a bit of anticipation!

Only, would the Blue Star of that time still be the Blue Star he knew?

Who knows how many years would have passed in the vicissitudes of life!

However, he finally had a thought to hold onto!

If there was an opportunity in the future, he could try.

Perhaps he really could do something!

Furthermore, through Emperor Qian'an's "Secret Notes," Xu Jin confirmed one thing.

The Spirit Chronicle Star Palace had only been forced to lock its gates after being slaughtered.

It had not perished!

This was somewhat similar to the previous Wood Spirit Palace and the Sumeru Palace.

Whether it was the Wood Spirit Palace, the Sumeru Palace, or the various great star palaces, they all had a base camp that was like a small world.

The truth behind the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace being forced to lock its gates was that, under the extreme siege of the three great star palaces and on the verge of being wiped out, the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace had proactively isolated the small world where the Star Palace's foundation resided from the current world.

The kind of direct physical isolation.

While suffocating a portion of the Star Palace's experts, it also completely severed contact with the current world.

Like the Wood Spirit Palace and the Sumeru Palace, they had channels connecting to the current world.

But the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace had nothing left!

At the very least, the small world where the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace resided could no longer communicate with the current world to establish a connection channel.

However, Emperor Qian'an's "Secret Notes" recorded that he believed the current world could proactively establish a channel toward the small world where the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace resided.

One important prerequisite was having the star domain coordinates of the small world where the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace resided!

And the last jade tablet in Emperor Qian'an's Sumeru space contained the refined star domain coordinates of the small world where the Spirit Chronicle Star Palace resided!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 403 =====