I Can See Through Everything-Chapter 335

【Magic Treasure Gourd: A prototype of a high-grade treasure, with boundless potential.】

【Originally crafted by the Nascent Soul cultivator Plague Elder as an evil Dao magic treasure, later purified of its restrictions and re-refined into a treasure prototype.】

【This magic treasure contains Chaotic Divine Iron, capable of accommodating all things and absorbing any type of power.】

【Multiple restrictions with various elemental attributes were refined into this treasure, forming a complete Five Elements cycle, wondrous beyond compare.】

...

As Lu Qing observed the gourd, with its radiating purple glow and the detailed information displayed, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

This was his first official attempt at refining a magical artifact. Although he had simulated and pondered over it many times using his abilities, succeeding on the first try with almost no mistakes was still something to be happy about.

"From now on, you’ll be called the Five Elements Gourd," Lu Qing said as he named the treasure in his hand. Then, he tossed the gourd, which floated in front of him. He sprayed a mouthful of his vital essence onto it.

After crafting the treasure's restrictions, the next crucial step was the recognition of the master. For a life-bound magic treasure, the recognition process was far more complex than that of ordinary treasures. One must continuously refine it using their vital essence and soul power until the treasure and the cultivator's mind were in perfect harmony, becoming one and as easy to control as an extension of one’s body.

In the next stage, the treasure would be nurtured with the cultivator’s essence, qi, and spirit to develop its own consciousness, elevating it to the level of a spiritual artifact.

The Plague Elder had easily abandoned his body and seized the gourd to become its artifact spirit because he and the gourd shared the same origin. Otherwise, transforming from a human into an artifact spirit while retaining one’s true spirit would not be so simple.

"Young Master’s cultivation technique turns out to be the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】, and he has already reached the level where his body emits a radiant glow!"

Yan, seeing the vital essence sprayed by Lu Qing and the five elements he commanded during the process, was astonished when his body began to shimmer with faint light.

Ever since Lu Qing refined the Li Huo Cauldron, he had sealed off the restrictions, preventing Yan from knowing much about him, including his cultivation technique. Previously, when Lu Qing helped destroy the Plague Elder, he had only used the power of the array in the cave and hadn’t revealed his own spiritual energy.

Thus, Yan had only now realized that Lu Qing was cultivating the ancient technique 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】, a practice from the ancient Immortal Era that few cared about.

"What was the Young Master thinking, cultivating such a technique? Could it be that the only inheritance he received from the Li Huo Sect was this method? Or does he not know about its flaws?" Yan was puzzled.

The 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 was not considered an advanced technique. Its cultivation speed was notoriously slow, and its upper limit was also low. Even the cultivator who created it had only reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

That Lu Qing chose this technique was beyond Yan’s expectations. However, Yan knew this was not the time to ask, so he remained silent and continued watching Lu Qing refine the treasure.

With each breath of vital essence Lu Qing sprayed, the Five Elements Gourd was gradually marked with his essence, becoming his life-bound magic treasure. Once the mark was imprinted, the gourd turned into a stream of light and merged into his body, settling in his Dantian.

It absorbed all the five-element spiritual power within Lu Qing’s Dantian, circulated it inside itself, and then released it back. This process repeated continuously, purifying the spiritual power within his Dantian each time.

Lu Qing was pleasantly surprised. He knew that his cultivation technique, the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】, required him to continually temper his body with his own spiritual power. As his physical strength increased, the purity of his spiritual power needed to rise as well. Now that the Five Elements Gourd could purify his spiritual power, it effectively aided his cultivation at all times, significantly accelerating his progress.

"It seems that refining the Five Elements Gourd as my life-bound treasure was the right choice. Even in its initial form, its effects are already so profound. Once it fully matures and becomes a spiritual artifact, the benefits I will gain are unimaginable!"

Currently, Lu Qing had only refined a single layer of restrictions into the gourd, which formed a Five Elements array. He had combined the inheritance of the Divine Rune Sect with the artifact refining methods of the Li Huo Sect to create it.

Normally, a single restriction layer would only produce a basic treasure of the lowest grade. However, the foundation of the Five Elements Gourd was exceptional. The Plague Elder had invested his entire life’s accumulation into refining this life-bound treasure, even accidentally incorporating a piece of the legendary Chaotic Divine Iron.

Because of this, even without any restrictions, the Five Elements Gourd, based on its material alone, could be classified as a high-grade treasure. In time, as Lu Qing continued to refine it and add restrictions, it would inevitably evolve into a spiritual artifact. At that point, as its master, Lu Qing would undoubtedly benefit greatly.

"Congratulations, Young Master, on successfully refining your life-bound treasure," Yan said, congratulating Lu Qing after the gourd had been absorbed into his body. At the same time, Yan marveled at Lu Qing’s remarkable fortune.

Even though Lu Qing was only at the Qi Refining stage, he possessed not just one but two spiritual artifacts, and now he had successfully refined a life-bound treasure with the potential to become a spiritual artifact. Such luck was almost unheard of, even in the ancient Immortal Era. Yan had lived for tens of thousands of years and had never encountered anything so extraordinary.

"It’s only a single layer of restriction for now. There’s still a long way to go," Lu Qing replied, shaking his head. Given his current cultivation level, refining a single restriction was his limit. To continue refining it, he would need to achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation.

"With your talent, Young Master, it won’t be long before you reach the level required to refine a second layer of restrictions," Yan complimented.

"However, there’s something I don’t quite understand. May I ask for clarification, Young Master?"

"What is it, Senior Yan?" Lu Qing asked casually, aware of Yan’s change in attitude but not addressing it directly.

"Earlier, I noticed that the cultivation technique you are practicing is the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】. May I ask why you chose this method for cultivation? Are you unaware of its flaws?"

"Which flaws are you referring to, Senior?"

"The 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 requires cultivating all five elements simultaneously. Cultivating one unit of spiritual power with this technique takes more than five times the effort of other methods. This makes it notoriously slow. Moreover, its upper limit is low. The cultivator who created this technique only reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm before his lifespan ran out, and he perished. Did you not know this, Young Master?"

"Ah, you mean those flaws?" Lu Qing smiled. "Of course, I’m aware of them. However, they don’t pose a problem for me. The 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 is perfectly suited for my needs, and I carefully selected it after much consideration. There’s no need for concern, Senior."

Lu Qing didn’t elaborate on why this technique suited him.

"I see. My apologies for asking too much," Yan replied, realizing that Lu Qing didn’t want to discuss the matter further. Despite his curiosity, Yan refrained from pressing the issue.

By now, Yan had some understanding of Lu Qing’s personality. Although young, Lu Qing was meticulous and ruthless, never doing anything that would harm himself. Since he had chosen to cultivate this technique, he must have had his reasons.

"By the way, Senior Yan, I’ve often heard you mention the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man. Could you explain in more detail what this tribulation is?"

Yan’s expression immediately turned serious.

Earlier, Lu Qing had asked about this, but Yan had used it as a bargaining chip during their negotiations. Now that Lu Qing was asking again, Yan dared not play any more games.

"The Great Tribulation of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man refers to a catastrophic event that occurred at the end of the previous Immortal Era. The spiritual energy rules were collapsing, and the laws of heaven and earth were changing, triggering this great tribulation.

"This tribulation primarily targeted cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, with little effect on those at the lower levels. As the laws of heaven and earth evolved, the world could no longer support powerful cultivators. Especially those at the Golden Core stage and beyond.

"Even without doing anything, their cultivation and souls would gradually deteriorate under the influence of the changing laws of heaven and earth. For those powerful cultivators, their realms and life spans were earned through countless years of hard cultivation. Their very survival depended on their cultivation.

"Once their cultivation and souls weakened to a certain point, they would display the symptoms of physical and soul decay. At that stage, not only would their cultivation dissipate, but even their true spirit would collapse. This is the so-called Great Tribulation of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man. It was the ultimate disaster faced by all the powerful cultivators at the end of the Immortal Era."

Lu Qing now understood why Yan had been so shocked when he learned that the Plague Elder’s true spirit had survived

. This tribulation affected all powerful cultivators.

"And what about artifact spirits like you, Senior Yan? Don’t you need to face the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays?"

"Indeed, we artifact spirits have true spirits, but since we are bound to magic treasures and lack physical bodies, we don’t decay. Therefore, we are not affected by the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays. However, the depletion of spiritual energy still weakens our true spirits, forcing us into a state of dormancy. The Plague Elder chose to seize his life-bound treasure and become its artifact spirit to avoid this fate."

"Is there truly no way to resist this Great Tribulation? The ancient Immortal Era was filled with mighty beings; surely they wouldn’t sit idly by and await their doom?" Lu Qing asked.

"Of course not!" Yan sneered. "Cultivators cherish their lives more than anything, especially the old monsters who have lived for so long. They are the most afraid of death! When the Immortal Era first entered its decline and the changes in the laws of heaven and earth began, those old monsters had already predicted this tribulation and started preparing early.

"The conflicts between various sects and the battles for resources that followed were all orchestrated by them from behind the scenes. Their goal was to consolidate the entire cultivation world's resources for their plan to avoid the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays."

"What was their plan?" Lu Qing asked.

"There were many rumors at the time. Some said they intended to create a secret realm where they could hide from the laws of heaven and earth and wait for the revival of the next Immortal Era. Others claimed they were gathering all the resources of the cultivation world to forge an unprecedented magic treasure capable of breaking through the boundaries of this world. Still, others believed they were collecting spiritual herbs to refine supreme-grade pills that would enhance their cultivation to its peak and allow them to ascend through tribulation.

"In any case, no one knows for sure. Before the Great Tribulation arrived, my Li Huo Sect was already annihilated in a war with its enemies."

"Creating a secret realm to avoid the disaster?" Lu Qing mused. "Senior, today, there are several secret realms in the world that are said to have existed for tens of thousands of years. Could they be related to the ones you mentioned?"

Lu Qing then shared what he knew about the four great secret realms with Yan.

"Xuankong Mountain, Yunshui Secret Realm, Qingyang Temple, Cold Water Palace?"

Yan’s expression turned puzzled. "These sects were indeed prominent during the ancient Immortal Era, but with their foundation, they shouldn’t have been capable of creating secret realms that could avoid the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays. Could it be that something happened in the cultivation world after I fell asleep?"

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"Are you saying that sects like Xuankong Mountain don’t have the foundation to create secret realms that could last tens of thousands of years?" Lu Qing asked.

"Not exactly. In the ancient Immortal Era, there were many secret realms that existed, dependent on the spatial laws of this world. If a sect was willing to pay the price, they could merge a powerful spiritual artifact into the secret realm to stabilize the space, allowing the realm to persist for a long time without closing.

"At that time, the most powerful sects all had one or two secret realms as a fallback. But as I said, secret realms are tied to this world’s spatial laws and would still be affected by the Great Tribulation of the Five Decays. The only way to avoid it would be to completely isolate the secret realm from the outside world’s laws, which would require an unimaginable amount of resources—far beyond the capability of any single sect.

"So, even if these four secret realms have indeed existed for tens of thousands of years and originated from the ancient Immortal Era, the disciples inside have surely changed countless times. There’s no way any of the old monsters from that era could have survived."

"What if some of them, like the Plague Elder, managed to survive by seizing an artifact spirit?" Lu Qing asked.

"That’s possible, but rare. Spiritual artifacts are scarce, and if it’s not a life-bound treasure, there’s great risk involved in the process. Even if one succeeds, they would be trapped in a prison of their own making. Not everyone has the resolve for that. So, while there may be a few such ancient monsters still alive, they would be few and far between—probably no more than two or three."

Lu Qing felt a bit relieved upon hearing this.

Yan, noticing this subtle change in Lu Qing’s demeanor, couldn’t help but ask, "Why, Young Master, do you have a grudge against these secret realms?"

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