The Earth Fire Chamber was pitch-black, save for the dim, fluorescent glow of the Night Light Stones on the walls.
Zhao Zuo placed the Clear Heart Jade Pendant in the center of the advancement materials. The pile looked unremarkable, but it had cost him an entire month's savings. All he had left were two repaired Lower Grade Magical Artifacts.
The Gathering Spirit Jade among the materials was a uniform white, resembling Top Grade "mutton fat" jade. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, with high translucency and a pure, unblemished color.
It had been shaped into a rectangular block to facilitate further carving. Gathering Spirit Jades of this kind were typically fashioned into decorative pieces engraved with small Spirit Gathering Spirit Patterns, selling for around twenty Spirit Stones.
Zhao Zuo took a moment to take stock of his current assets. Among them... he had no intention of selling the Golden Light Mirror, which was a Defensive Magical Artifact. In fact, he was already planning its upgrade.
Adding the eight Spirit Stones in his bundle, that was the entirety of his current savings. After half a lifetime of work, he still had nothing to show for it.
"Please, Clear Heart Jade Pendant, don't let me down," Zhao Zuo murmured, stroking its surface with his right hand. His gaze softened, like a father watching his child with hopeful expectation.
[Level: Lower Grade Magical Artifact +3 · Clear Heart Jade Pendant]
[Experience: 13550/1000]
[Status: Ready for Advancement]
[Creation Points: 16.8]
Even though he hadn't been able to gather the advancement materials for the Clear Heart Jade Pendant until now, its experience had been steadily climbing by five to six hundred points per day. The accumulated total had reached an absurdly high amount.
'Sky-Breaking Saber, oh, Sky-Breaking Saber... if only you'd pull your weight and gain experience a little faster!'
[Sky-Breaking Saber: You're blaming me for your lack of stamina?]
'Advance.'
Zhao Zuo no longer hesitated, his finger lightly tapping the option to advance.
In an instant, a wave of gray light emanated from the Clear Heart Jade Pendant. It formed a sphere that enveloped both the Gathering Spirit Jade and the pendant itself. The gray orb floated quietly in mid-air, seeming to devour the scarce remaining light in the room.
Yet, the gray light didn't obstruct Zhao Zuo's vision. He could see the Clear Heart Jade Pendant at the sphere's very core. It extended several invisible tentacles, linking to the other advancement materials, and then began to devour them.
Streams of Spiritual Light surged from the advancement materials and flowed into the Clear Heart Jade Pendant. In turn, the materials lost their Spiritual Light, their spirituality, and all their essence, leaving behind nothing but useless dregs. The pendant at the center, however, began to brim with Spirit Charm, and the engraved Qilin became increasingly lifelike.
'So the essence of advancement isn't fusion, but consumption.'
During the advancement, the Clear Heart Jade Pendant occasionally expelled a few dim, sesame-seed-sized crystals—the few useless impurities from within. Meanwhile, the pendant itself was rapidly approaching perfection.
After about three minutes, the advancement materials were completely consumed. The useless residue turned into fine particles that broke away from the gray sphere. They fell onto the bed, scattering like fine, multicolored sand in a faint breeze.
'Now those tracking methods are completely useless.'
Zhao Zuo stared intently at the gray sphere, losing all track of time.
The Clear Heart Jade Pendant remained at the center of the gray sphere, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic light like the breathing of a living creature. It began to devour the surrounding Spiritual Power, and the gray sphere gradually shrank from its original half-meter diameter until only a thin layer remained, nourishing the pendant's surface.
Zhao Zuo couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety, but all he could do was wait patiently.
'It has to succeed.'
Another ten minutes or so passed. The gray light on the surface of the Clear Heart Jade Pendant had become incredibly faint, while the pendant itself had taken on a more subdued, pure black hue, as if it could swallow all light.
A gleam of Golden Light suddenly shot out from between Zhao Zuo's eyebrows, striking the surface of the Clear Heart Jade Pendant. In the blink of an eye, it merged with the pendant as seamlessly as a raindrop meeting the surface of a lake, causing no strange phenomena.
The next moment, the gray light vanished completely, and the Clear Heart Jade Pendant slowly floated toward Zhao Zuo.
Zhao Zuo instinctively reached out his right hand, and the Clear Heart Jade Pendant landed in his palm. As he looked down, his gaze seemed to penetrate the pendant's surface and reach its core. Inside, golden threads were extending and growing, attempting to construct a new Spirit Pattern Path, but they had only completed about a fifth of the work.
Zhao Zuo instantly understood. 'So these golden threads are the true function of the Creation Points! The Clear Heart Jade Pendant will only undergo a fundamental transformation after future advancements complete the golden threads and finish the Spirit Pattern Path.'
The material of Clear Heart Jade cannot be melted, which makes it impossible to easily embed Spirit Patterns within it. The only method is to use a carving knife and Spiritual Liquid to engrave the patterns on the surface. This, however, places a requirement on the initial volume of the raw material.
For example, there was the Gathering Spirit Jade Plate in the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, which sold for eight hundred and eighty-eight Spirit Stones.
'But the Creation Points shattered that restriction, allowing a new Spirit Pattern Path to grow on its own.'
[Advancement Description: The Clear Heart Jade Pendant's three effects—Nourishing Meridians & Body Protection, Divine Thought Defense, and Spiritual Power Gathering—have all been moderately enhanced.]
After a few seconds, the text faded and was replaced by a new message.
[Level: Middle Grade Magical Artifact · Clear Heart Jade Pendant]
[Experience: 12550/2000]
[Status: Upgradable]
[Creation Points: 6.8]
Since he had enough experience, Zhao Zuo didn't hesitate and immediately selected "Upgrade."
Gray light spread as the Clear Heart Jade Pendant began to purge its impurities. Ten-odd minutes later... Upgrade complete!
[Upgrade Description: The Nourishing Meridians & Body Protection effect has been greatly enhanced.]
His remaining experience was 10,550 points. He could upgrade again, and the next one would cost 4,000 experience.
[Upgrade Description: The Divine Thought Defense effect has been greatly enhanced.]
His experience dropped to 6,550 points. The next upgrade would cost 8,000, which he didn't have enough for.
After two upgrades, the Clear Heart Jade Pendant's appearance and color hadn't changed much, but its abilities had improved tremendously. Its level settled at Middle Grade Magical Artifact +2.
With each of the two consecutive upgrades, two more gleams of Golden Light merged into the Clear Heart Jade Pendant. His Creation Point balance was now down to 2.8, as each upgrade had cost 2 points.
'In the future, countless Magical Artifacts will need to be upgraded and advanced. Creation Points are going to become extremely scarce.'
'But forging a single piece of Spirit Iron only yields 0.05 Creation Points. To get a large amount, I'll have to spend more time forging, which will cut even further into my time for Cultivation.'
Acquiring Creation Points had clearly become a major problem he would need to solve.
Zhao Zuo secured the Clear Heart Jade Pendant against his skin, cleaned up the residual dust from the materials, and then eagerly sat cross-legged on his bed. He entered a meditative state and cleared his mind, ready to experience the effects of his newly advanced pendant.
Threads of cool energy flowed through his body, and the stray thoughts in his mind rapidly dissolved. He quickly entered a deep meditative state, forgetting both himself and the world, so calm that even the sky falling wouldn't have startled him.
The Spiritual Power of the world became clearer than ever before, tangible without him even needing to guide it.
As he sank into meditation, the Clear Heart Jade Pendant began to work. It formed a two-meter-diameter Domain around him, trapping all the ambient Spiritual Power from the surroundings inside it. Zhao Zuo's Cultivation began to rise at an incredible speed.
...