Cultivation Starts from Killing Pigs-Chapter 256 - 254: Secrets of the Starship, Soul-Suppressing Fire Refining

Before long, the sand and mud were washed away, and the ancient ship drifted with the waves on the sea. The fine rain washed the deck, silent and still, as if telling an ancient legend.

Zhang Kui's figure flashed, and he appeared on the deck, carefully examining up and down, left and right.

The battle at the time was undoubtedly very fierce. Not only was it charred black inside, but everywhere there were frames left from melted metal, and the hull had been clawed out with several large holes by the giant dragon.

Yet still, many things could be discerned.

First was the exterior structure. Zhang Kui only then realized that aside from the giant dragon's holes, the hull was completely sealed, even the ship's towers had neither doors nor windows.

Zhang Kui had a realization. In the Star Sea, the spiritual energy is violent and ancient, with countless strange Evil Gangs, and not all crew members possess Immortal Bodies.

Moreover, even if they were Immortals, they probably wouldn't want to face so many dangers constantly.

But to be able to navigate through the Star Sea, it cannot be just that. Zhang Kui's eyes moved as he instantly entered the ship's interior.

This giant ship, over a thousand meters long, was already a mess inside, with huge cavities formed everywhere from the melted metal frames.

Zhang Kui wasn't surprised. The Ancient Bronze Hall on Profound Yin Mountain was likely also from the starship. Being able to build a Divine Temple on the ship, one could imagine the size required.

"Too chaotic..."

Zhang Kui shook his head slightly, then suddenly his eyes moved slightly. He pinched a spell and waved his hand to scatter a swath of moonlight.

The Moon-taking spell not only could track and explore but also could trace back past images. If he could see the situation back then, wouldn't that be wonderful.

Unfortunately, perhaps because too much time has passed, the Moon-taking spell could not see anything at all.

Zhang Kui felt a bit regretful. Perhaps only by learning the Returning to Heaven and Returning to the Sun from the Celestial Gang Skill, Insight into All Heavens, and All-Pervading Yama World, could he see the situation back then.

Failing to cheat, he could only search diligently.

Zhang Kui's purple Sword Light flickered, carefully splitting open the charred clumps to observe, which were full of colorful metals and broken crystal stones.

To be part of a starship, these things must have been extraordinary; unfortunately, they had long lost their Spirit Charm and turned to mundane items. Some even crumbled into powder at a light touch.

But even so, Zhang Kui gradually discerned some clues. Many of these things had traces of Arrays, and they seemed to be part of a whole, forming the framework of the starship.

Zhang Kui recalled the massive dragon bone beneath the Dragonbone Divine Ship, combining power, attack, and defense. Could it be inspired by such starships?

In one day's time, Zhang Kui carefully cleaned the inside of the starship. Although many things had been completely destroyed, he still gained quite a bit.

Then came the violent disassembly.

Although the materials of these starship outer shell decks were hard, even his Sword Light struggled to split them, they were not a single piece but rather pieced together, which, upon close inspection, was very similar to the structure of scales.

Having found the method, Zhang Kui did not bother to waste time. With a shake of his body, hundreds of clones appeared instantly.

"No fight to be had, why summon me!"

"How about some drinking fun?"

"Wowowow..."

Zhang Kui immediately felt a headache. These clones were all projections of his inner personalities, each one as boisterous and noisy as the next, truly annoying. Fortunately, all actions happened in the blink of an eye.

"Shut up and get to work!"

With Zhang Kui's command, all the clones immediately got into action, pulling and kicking, causing a rumbling chaos.

The more clones, the smaller their abilities, but fortunately, Zhang Kui's physical strength was immense, and each of these guys was full of brute strength, beginning with the ship's tower, they gradually disassembled the whole giant ship.

The Treasure Toad enlarged its body, hopping in the cabin, swallowing all the dismantled materials into its belly.

Now Zhang Kui had two Treasure Beasts, and having more was unnecessary, so he devised a distribution plan.

He fed all the Divine Artifacts acquired during this time to the Treasure Toad, allowing it to relinquish the Ancient Artifacts in its stomach to the Dragon Turtle.

With the current capability of the human race, those who could use Divine Artifacts were few and far between, while Ancient Artifacts were more practical, and the Dragon Turtle had no limitations on Ancient Artifact usage, using them at will.

With the founding of a sect soon approaching, a Treasure Beast was naturally needed to guard the gates. Henceforth, the Dragon Turtle would remain within the mountain gates as a treasury, while the Treasure Toad would accompany him as a Storage Spiritual Artifact.

Two days later, the Ancient Ship was completely dismantled, and Zhang Kui sailed away from this sea area on the Dragonbone Divine Ship.

The sea surged violently, and perhaps years later, people would have forgotten that this was once the famed site of the East Sea Water Mansion...

...

Spiritual Sect, Ten Thousand Demons Cave.

Since Chi Lin thoroughly ravaged this place, the original Defense Array gradually failed, and passing fishermen discovered the sudden emergence of a massive island.

However, upon climbing the island out of curiosity, they were scared half to death by the demons all over the mountains. Fortunately, Bao Wuxin exercised restraint, and no harm came to them, only warning them that this was a crucial place for the new dynasty, not to be approached casually, and gradually no one came anymore.

At this moment, the island had been simply cleared. After all, there were still many palace stone materials and scattered treasures. Bao Wuxin abandoned the old ways, using a human city layout, and the outline of an overseas demon city was gradually emerging.

There would also be a demon city established in Quanzhou. After everything stabilized, it would gradually open to ordinary people.

At the center of the island stood a massive bronze tower, a hundred meters high. The tower body was mottled, full of ancient charm. Yet within several kilometers surrounding it, even those in the Divine Travel Realm were unwilling to approach.

The copper bells on it, merely swayed by the wind, gave a terrifying feeling of one's Divine Soul being extracted.

Sitting cross-legged, Zhang Kui's eyes spun like the sun and moon light wheels, carefully feeling every detail of this Soul Suppressing Tower.

Only Chi Liyan, the third princess of Chai Kingdom, who was at the Divine Travel Realm, couldn't withstand the power of the tower and left. Only Bao Wuxin stood by, watching Zhang Kui with great interest.

She already knew about the leveling of the General's Tomb and wasn't surprised, having witnessed Zhang Kui's abilities long before. She just didn't expect that this seemingly brave and straightforward True Man Zhang would also possess the delicate skills required for artifact refining and alchemy.

Innate Divine Being, terrifying indeed...

After observing for a while, Zhang Kui's eyes flashed with a trace of doubt, "Fellow Daoist, in the Underworld, is there a lot of this item?"

Bao Wuxin nodded slightly, "As long as there are ruins, there are Soul Suppressing Towers. However, some have infinite power, some are just heaps of scrap iron, and others are completely damaged."

"That makes sense..."

Zhang Kui seemed thoughtful, "If I'm not mistaken, those that are still functioning must have transformed into Ancient Artifacts."

Bao Wuxin's eyes lit up, nodding with a smile, "True Man Zhang guessed correctly. This Soul Suppressing Tower is considered a significant treasure in the Underworld. Many Forbidden Lands even compete for them, placing them within safe outposts that they developed."

Then, Bao Wuxin curiously asked, "Fellow Daoist, did you discover something?"

Zhang Kui shook his head slightly, "Nothing much, just proved a long-standing hypothesis about Ancient Artifacts."

"I initially wanted to analyze the array in the Soul Suppressing Tower, but found that, like those small Ancient Artifacts, I couldn't find it at all."

"I have a theory that perhaps these Ancient Artifacts were once ordinary Magical Treasures, but after a certain event, the array completely integrated into themselves, becoming something akin to low-end Innate Spiritual Treasures."

"But this transformation doesn't happen to every Magical Artifact, which is why some Soul Suppressing Towers in the Underworld gradually get damaged over time."

"True Man Zhang speaks the truth..."

Bao Wuxin nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. The origins of Ancient Artifacts have been the subject of much speculation, but comparing them this way certainly fits Zhang Kui's explanation.

"I truly wonder what kind of change in the world, with such a far-reaching impact..."

After a sigh, Bao Wuxin suddenly frowned upon noticing something, "True Man, what is an Innate Spiritual Treasure?"

"A frightening treasure."

Zhang Kui did not elaborate much further, as such things might not even exist in this world.

Bao Wuxin dared not ask for details, only secretly noting it down. She suddenly had a feeling as if she had uncovered some of the most terrifying secrets of the world, suppressing the inexplicable horror that arose in her, and changed the subject, "Since it's an Ancient Artifact, can True Man still refine it?"

Zhang Kui laughed heartily, "If it were any other Ancient Artifact, it would be like performing in a snail's shell—very troublesome and not necessarily successful. But this thing is so large, it's enough for me to handle, though ordinary materials might not work."

With that, he focused his mind and took out the strange crystal stone that had been spat out by the Longevity-devouring Demon Banner.

This thing emanated a dim and bright glow, capable of dissolving not just surrounding materials, but even Divine Souls, making it perfect to integrate into the Soul Suppressing Tower.

To work with Ancient Artifacts, and refine them into Magical Treasures, the best approach is to set up an array with the same attributes, and maximize its original abilities.

Thinking of this, Zhang Kui was lost in thought.

Seeing this, Bao Wuxin quietly left to guard from afar, instructing no one to approach.

The sun set, the moon rose, and the sea tides connected the horizon.

Suddenly, Zhang Kui looked up at the Soul Suppressing Tower under the moonlight, having already made his calculations.

Since this tower is called Soul Suppressing, its suppression of the Divine Soul should be pushed to the limit. In Array Formation Skill, there is a Nine Nether Soul Suppressing Array, and there are plenty of talismans used for sealing and slaying Divine Souls...

Acting on his thoughts, Zhang Kui immediately used the Sun Divine Fire to melt the strange crystal stone, then inscribed arrays and talismans layer by layer on the Soul Suppressing Tower with the crystal stone liquid, continuously filling it with Divine Materials scavenged from the East Sea Water Mansion.

Refining an Ancient Artifact into a Magical Treasure is something no one had ever attempted before, even Zhang Kui was being very cautious.

The Soul Suppressing Tower was eroded by the crystal stone liquid, its Spirit Charm continually weakening. Zhang Kui's task was to maintain its Spirit Charm as much as possible while setting up the Grand Array and merging it with the tower.

Unnoticeably, three days and nights passed.

In the distance, Bao Wuxin sat cross-legged, sensing the weakening aura of the Soul Suppressing Tower, and couldn't help but shake her head slightly.

It seemed to be a failure.

Just then, Zhang Kui completed the last stroke of the array, then activated a spell, causing a golden stream of True Sun Fire to rise into the sky, completely enveloping the entire Bronze Tower.

Red Lotus Karmic Fire was not suitable for refining, but True Sun Fire was grand and fierce. Although the Bronze Soul Suppressing Tower had infinite power, it owed this to its huge structure, equivalent to countless Ancient Artifacts combined. It wasn't even a Divine Artifact, unable to withstand the fire, and soon, it emitted black smoke.

Zhang Kui's expression remained unchanged, he could feel that these were impurities within the Soul Suppressing Tower, and its overall structure was instead gradually undergoing a transformation.

When the True Sun Fire ignited, Bao Wuxin's expression changed, and she quickly retreated. All the demons on the island were trembling.

Finally, the aura of the Soul Suppressing Tower completely vanished, and Bao Wuxin heaved a sigh of relief.

It finally failed. To release True Sun Fire on the Ten Thousand Demons Island, only this True Man Zhang could think of that. Countless demons were so frightened they abandoned the city, leaping into the sea.

Failure was good, after all, that Underworld is strange and fraught with danger, there aren't so many shortcuts to take.

At that moment, Bao Wuxin suddenly felt her scalp tingle, feeling an unnerving aura brewing within the True Sun Fire.

Simultaneously, the sky suddenly clouded over, rumbling with thunder, leaving everyone dumbfounded. Fatty Tiger cheered, drooling as he leaped off the Dragonbone Divine Ship.

For the first time on the Central State land, someone refined an artifact and triggered Tribulation Thunder...