Lin Lei's brow furrowed involuntarily when he heard those words.
Basic knowledge about divine artifacts? Important for cultivation?
"A divine artifact is nothing more than a weapon — how could it affect cultivation?" Lin Lei wondered internally, but he kept quiet and simply listened as
This Muba's visit today felt far too peculiar.
As far as Lin Lei knew, in the Four Supreme High Planes and other major planes, powerhouses killed each other without any semblance of courtesy or politeness. But since Muba had come offering such courtesy, Lin Lei naturally received him politely and listened carefully to what he had to say.
"I trust that Mr. Lin Lei already knows that divine artifacts are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade. Different divine artifacts do differ somewhat in power." Muba looked at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei smiled. "Though I don't know exactly how many grades divine artifacts are classified into, I at least know that there are higher and lower tiers. But what exactly are you getting at, Mr. Muba?"
Muba chuckled. "Let's set aside the ranking for now. First, let me ask you, Mr. Lin Lei — do you know how divine artifacts are forged?"
"I don't," Lin Lei answered bluntly.
Lin Lei grew more and more confused about what Muba was driving at.
"Lin Lei, what I want to tell you is this: in truth, when a high-grade divine artifact and a low-grade divine artifact are first forged, there's no difference between them," Muba said with a calm smile, carefully watching Lin Lei's expression. Sure enough, just as he'd expected— Lin Lei was visibly shocked.
"How can there be no difference?" he asked, thoroughly puzzled.
On the Yulan Continent, weapons forged from ordinary ore versus precious ore naturally differed in quality. But divine artifacts…
"The materials used in a divine artifact may vary, but the differences are generally minor," Muba explained in detail. "What determines the grade of a divine artifact isn't its 'birth' — it's the 'experiences' it goes through after being forged."
"Experiences?" Lin Lei didn't quite understand.
Dilia, who had been standing beside them in silence the entire time, listened with equal attentiveness.
"That's right. Take a common divine artifact that has just been forged — it's ordinary, unremarkable. But if it falls into the hands of a highgod, and that highgod treats the artifact like a family member, frequently nourishing it with divine power and soul power, and uses it in battle — well, after, say, a hundred million years, once this artifact has slain millions of divine-level powerhouses, you'll find that it has actually become a high-grade divine artifact."
Muba smiled at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei listened, then fell into contemplation.
"Do you have any thoughts?" Muba asked with a smile.
Lin Lei had a vague understanding of Muba's earlier statement — 'what determines a divine artifact's grade isn't its birth, but what comes after.' "When forged from precious ores, how much difference can there really be between two divine artifacts? The killing intent and spiritual nature that a divine artifact possesses — those can only be gradually nurtured through the experiences the artifact accumulates over time. They cannot be bestowed by lifeless ore," Muba continued.
Lin Lei was beginning to grasp the meaning.
"Killing intent… spiritual nature?" Deep down, he was starting to agree with Muba's reasoning.
"We cultivators, from the moment we set foot on the path of cultivation, should know full well that this road is extraordinarily difficult. Becoming a god already represents a significant degree of success," Muba said with a sigh. "However, in the Seven Divine World Planes and the Four Supreme High Planes… gods of our level are a dime a dozen."
"A divine artifact is the means by which we protect ourselves and slay our enemies," Muba added gravely.
Lin Lei nodded in agreement.
The soul is the foundation of a god!
But for a divine-level powerhouse, what he truly relies on is his comprehension of laws and a divine artifact suited to himself. Using both artifact and law comprehension to deal with enemies and protect himself.
"Truly achieving a deep spiritual bond with a divine artifact isn't so simple," Muba went on. "Do you really think, Lin Lei, that merely dripping a single drop of blood on a divine artifact is enough to make it fully yours to command?"
Lin Lei looked at Muba with a puzzled expression.
Blood-binding was common knowledge!
"Blood-binding merely signifies that the artifact belongs to you. But achieving true resonance of mind and will? That's far more complicated. You must understand… a divine artifact, especially one that has endured through ages, possesses a spiritual nature of its own."
Muba spoke with solemn care. "As a powerhouse grows, his divine artifact grows along with him on his journey. We must treat our divine artifacts as our own kin — attuning our spirits to them over time. The more divine beings this artifact kills, the stronger its spiritual nature becomes, and the easier it will be for you to wield."
"For example, a powerhouse who cultivates the Path of Destruction uses an ordinary divine artifact, but after wielding it for tens of millions of years and slaying countless gods, that artifact will come to embody the essence of destruction. Merely infusing it with divine power would cause the artifact to vibrate so intensely that it warps space itself, producing spatial blades."
A shudder ran through Lin Lei's heart.
The Purple Blood Soft Sword!
That was exactly what the Purple Blood Soft Sword did. Simply by infusing it with divine power, it not only shook space but also produced sword hums that shook the soul of anyone nearby. Lin Lei had always been puzzled by this — divine artifacts were forged from nothing more than ore, so why did they possess such extraordinary properties?
Now it all made sense. It was what Muba called 'spiritual nature.' And compared to the Purple Blood Soft Sword, the Black Titanium Heavy Sword was lacking in that regard by a wide margin.
Lin Lei was starting to believe what Muba was telling him.
"Let me offer an analogy: a freshly forged divine artifact is like an infant. What that infant will grow into depends on the experiences it has going forward. Our task is to nurture and cultivate it!" Muba said. "Lin Lei, if you possess a formidable divine artifact, then what you must do is earn its recognition."
A chill ran down Lin Lei's spine.
What does this Muba mean? Could it be that he already knows I have a powerful divine artifact? Lin Lei had been suspicious of Muba's visit from the start, and now, hearing him speak like this, his guard rose even higher.
"Mr. Muba, you said — recognition?" Lin Lei looked at Muba.