As Jiang Chen refined the Mingtuo Relic, he seemed to relive the emotions of its former master once more — cycling through life and death all over again.
Without realizing it, his martial dao state of mind had undergone a marked improvement.
It took a full three days before Jiang Chen had absorbed every last drop of essence from this Martial Dao Relic. The Mingtuo Relic dissolved into a faint, crystalline glow and slowly dissipated within his palm.
It was the complete passing of one life, and the evolution of another.
Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes, savoring the martial dao enhancement the relic had brought him. There was no wild ecstasy in his heart — only a deeper, steadier composure.
"A Martial Dao Relic really is extraordinary. If a peak Sovereign-realm expert merely had their true essence absorbed by someone else, the improvement would be quite limited. But when it's refined into martial dao essence, nearly all of it can be assimilated."
The gap between the two methods was staggering.
This was his first time refining a Martial Dao Relic, yet he immediately understood why, across the myriad worlds, many powerful cultivators liked to condense their martial dao essence into relics before they perished.
It was undoubtedly to ensure their martial dao essence would not go to waste. These relics were typically left for younger generations.
And those fortunate enough to receive such a relic were truly blessed — they could walk the same path of genius laid down by their predecessor and soar above the winds and clouds.
Of course, not every warrior chose to refine a Martial Dao Relic. The process of condensing one was itself a profound and demanding art.
Moreover, some selfish cultivators simply refused to benefit others. As a result, genuine Martial Dao Relics that survived through the ages were exceedingly rare.
Sensing the powerful transformation the relic had wrought, Jiang Chen realized that his martial dao realm had, without his noticing, broken through to the ninth level of the Sovereign realm — hovering right at the cusp of its peak.
"A Martial Dao Relic truly defies the heavens." Jiang Chen was well pleased. The changes it had brought exceeded his expectations.
He was also very satisfied with the solid foundation he had built. No other genius in the world could have refined this Mingtuo Relic in a mere three days. Most would have needed a year, or even a decade or two.
The reason he had managed it in three days came down to two factors. First, his cultivation was already at the seventh level of the Sovereign realm, on the verge of the eighth. Second, he possessed memories from his previous life, giving him a foundation unlike anyone else's.
Only the combination of these advantages had produced the miracle of a three-day refinement.
Jiang Chen was not satisfied yet — he wanted to press on and charge straight into the Emperor realm. But after a brief attempt, he realized his current state was not quite mature enough. His Sovereign-realm foundation still needed further consolidation.
In other words, the timing to assault the Emperor realm was not yet ripe.
Jiang Chen was not the sort to be stubborn about things he knew were beyond his current reach, so he set the impulse aside. On the path of cultivation, there was always time — the key was steady, incremental progress.
Compared to others, his cultivation journey was already blazingly fast.
"Fine. The Emperor realm is only a single step away. There's no need to rush." Having quelled that impulsive thought, he reached into his own Storage Ring and pulled out two others.
"Heh heh — Shu Wanqing and Xiahou Jing. One a reclusive human powerhouse, the other a scion of a major family on the Myriad Abyss Island. There must be plenty of treasures in their Storage Rings."
The last time he had obtained these rings, Jiang Chen had tried to force them open but found he fell just short. Even with a few secret techniques at his disposal, he had been unable to unlock them.
Now, with his breakthrough pushing him to the very peak of the Sovereign realm, he wanted to try again.
Last time he had been a hair's breadth away. What about now?
Jiang Chen employed his secret technique, channeling his spiritual sense to slowly work through the seals on Shu Wanqing's Storage Ring.
Every Storage Ring bore its owner's imprint. Once the owner died, most of that imprint would fade, but the locks the owner had set were generally still extremely difficult to breach.
Jiang Chen, however, possessed many secret techniques for this sort of thing.
"Hm? Last time I got stuck right at this step. Looks like Shu Wanqing set up a powerful lock here. That old man really was cautious. Even in death he wouldn't let anyone take advantage, huh?"
Jiang Chen was undeterred and continued probing.
Click!
Suddenly, inspiration struck. The next layer of the Storage Ring's seal snapped open under his touch.
"Good — with this layer gone, fully opening the ring shouldn't be far off."
A sense of urgency welled up in his chest. He was burning to know whether this old hermit had stashed some heaven-defying treasure inside.
After all, the Storage Ring of a reclusive Heavenly Seat powerhouse was well worth the anticipation.
These Heavenly Seat experts were likely over ten thousand years old. The eras they had lived through dwarfed anything the current human territories could boast. Whatever they had collected would surely be astonishing.
Jiang Chen's wealth was already staggering — ransacking the Windcloud Cult had yielded a vast fortune. But for top-tier treasures, the more the merrier.
Crack!
Delight surged through him. The final lock shattered completely.
Shu Wanqing's Storage Ring lay fully exposed before Jiang Chen's eyes.