Another three years passed. This was already the tenth year of Jiang Chen's seclusion.
Since breaking through to the Third Level of the Divine Path three years ago, the past three years had been spent in a routine of refining the Grand Glazed Light during the day and studying those three treasures in his spare time.
On this day, a detail from his past life finally surfaced in Jiang Chen's memory. He recalled that once, in his previous life, he had discussed the various methods of artifact refinement with his father.
He vaguely remembered that his father had once mentioned a technique called "mortalizing."
"Mortalizing… Could it be that Father had forged these three treasures using the mortalizing technique from the very beginning?"
A flash of excitement shot through Jiang Chen's mind, and his enthusiasm became impossible to contain.
"Perhaps my thinking has been wrong all along these three years. I assumed Father had used sealing methods to hide the treasures' true nature. But perhaps that wasn't the right approach. Treasures forged with the mortalizing technique would appear no different from ordinary objects — unassuming and inconspicuous. But activating a mortalized treasure requires a unique method. As long as one masters that method, one can transform the mundane into the divine."
The thought sent Jiang Chen into a state of pure exhilaration.
Following this line of reasoning, Jiang Chen found that the supporting evidence grew more convincing with every turn.
He placed himself in the role of the Celestial Emperor, his father, and the more he considered it, the more likely it all seemed.
If his father had foreseen the Great Tribulation of the Heavens, if he had long planned to send Jiang Chen into the cycle of reincarnation to escape the Tribulation, then all these arrangements must have included contingencies — escape routes.
These treasures were undoubtedly the escape routes his father had left for him.
Think about it: if secrecy was the goal, his father would never have sealed his most famous weapons or the treasures renowned throughout the Heavens within his divine consciousness.
For one thing, that would have been too conspicuous — too easy for someone to notice.
Only truly unremarkable treasures, invisible to gods and ghosts alike, could deceive everyone.
Perhaps his father hadn't even confided in his closest subordinates about all this. After all, these items had been part of Jiang Chen's everyday life in his previous world — always within sight, yet utterly unremarkable.
A ruler used to discipline him. A belt. A mirror.
Even in the midst of the Great Tribulation of the Heavens, if these went missing, no one would think twice. No one would chase after them. Supreme treasures of the Heavens, on the other hand — if their whereabouts became unknown, that would raise suspicion.
But who would care about these things?
No one would care.
Joy flooded Jiang Chen's heart. With each piece of evidence reinforcing his hypothesis, his conviction only grew stronger. He decided to test this theory.
The mortalizing technique for artifact refinement — he and his father had discussed it, even sparred with each other over it.
He had some knowledge of how to activate mortalized treasures. In truth, activating a mortalized treasure was more difficult than wielding other artifacts.
The process of transforming the mundane into the divine required a complex and elaborate procedure.
But once that procedure was initiated, the resulting treasure would possess truly heaven-defying combat power. More importantly, in battle, such a treasure could catch opponents completely off guard, leaving them utterly defenseless.
Jiang Chen began his attempt.
To activate a mortalized treasure, the first step was to communicate with it using the most tranquil state of mind — like simmering soup over a gentle flame, it was all about mastering the right heat.
When Jiang Chen tried following this method, something miraculous happened.
Before long, the treasure actually began to respond, slowly but surely.