Chapter 976: Refining the Holy Artifact

On the other side of the Heavenly Lake Elysium before True Immortal Tang Yu’s arrival

...

Shang Xia knew that a Divine Artifact had its own spirit as he used to own it. He knew how important it was for the Artifact Spirit to recognize him in order for him to raise his own combat abilities.

A Holy Artifact was one grade higher than a Divine Artifact!

Shang Xia understood that like a Divine Artifact, Holy Artifacts also had a spirit. Moreover, the Artifact Spirit already developed sentience. One would be able to communicate with their Holy Artifact to a certain extent.

If one wanted to properly control a Divine Artifact, all they needed to do was to refine it with their inner qi as that would slowly raise the compatibility with the treasure.

However, to properly control a Holy Artifact was a different story altogether. Other than refining it with one’s inner qi, they needed to gain the approval of the Holy Artifact Spirit. In other terms, that was called getting the Holy Artifact to ‘recognize its owner’.

In Shang Xia’s eyes, both artifacts didn’t seem too different. A Holy Artifact was just a slightly more advanced Divine Weapon to him. No matter what type of artifact it was, forcefully refining it would only damage the Artifact Spirit and cause the artifact to grow weaker. The gains wouldn’t make up for the losses.

As such, Kou Chongxue once warned Shang Xia that if he ever got his hands on a Holy Artifact, he couldn’t act recklessly. He had to try his best to communicate with the Holy Artifact Spirit.

There was also no need to mention the fact that he hadn’t entered the Martial Void Realm and couldn’t threaten the Holy Artifact Spirit with his Void Origin. The most important thing would be to communicate with the spirit to allow it to understand that it could be nourished to grow even stronger!

Shang Xia naturally took his advice to heart. As he tried to refine the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar, his divine will attempted to communicate with the Holy Artifact Spirit.

It didn’t seem as though the Holy Artifact Spirit was interested in Shang Xia, or it might just be disgusted that Shang Xia was an outsider who was trying to steal the Holy Artifact from the Heavenly Lake Elysium. It hid deep inside the treasure and refused to come into contact with Shang Xia’s divine will at all! No matter how hard Shang Xia tried, he failed to communicate with the Holy Artifact Spirit.

Without its recognition, he would be unable to refine it quickly! Also, he would be able to utilize its true power if the Holy Artifact Spirit wouldn’t recognize him as its owner!

All of a sudden, Shang Xia felt movement coming from the island in the middle of the Heavenly Lake Elysium. From the fluctuations in the air, he could tell that the person holding the treasure was trying to tear open space to leave his position.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

It seemed as though the person on the island couldn’t hold on any longer and had to group up with Lou Yi and the rest.

Shang Xia understood what happened after observing the situation for a short while. At the same time, he also understood that the experts of the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake might head over to where he was to try to retrieve the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.

Unlike Lou Zhe, Huang Yu, Shan Yunchao, and Dai Yikong, Shang Xia wasn’t feeling much pressure.

Other than the fact that he was at the grand completion stage of the Five Element Realm and had combat abilities far surpassing cultivators of the same level, the most important reason he was devouring world origin at a terrifying speed with the help of the Crimson Soul Tablet! The area around him was void of world origin and the moment the experts of the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake entered that region, they felt a state of weakness.

They might have gotten weaker, but Shang Xia’s combat capabilities weren’t affected! With his increasing refinement of the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar, he was able to draw more power from the Elysium and grow even stronger!

His Five Element Origin was also slightly strange. It resonated with the world and expanded its influence to the region void of world origin around him. It weakened experts within the area even further, and before they could even get to him, they would retreat in fear.

As such, Shang Xia was able to remain at an advantage despite facing multiple enemies.

Of course, it wasn’t as though Shang Xia would be able to hold off an infinite number of enemies. As the number of experts increased, he was getting close to his limit. A good portion of his attention was placed on the Crimson Soul Tablet while also refining the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.

The next second, the Heavenly Lake Elysium experienced a massive change!

A powerful aura descended and practically froze the space in the Elysium. The power of the Elysium was also suppressed and as the aura expanded, almost everyone within the Elysium seemed to succumb to its strength.

Shang Xia wasn’t a part of them and even under the terrifying pressure, his divine will stood firm. The Five Element Origin in his dantian fought against the powerful aura and even showed signs of pushing it back.

Despite having the feeling that he would be able to shake off the suppression of the powerful aura anytime he wanted to, Shang Xia forced himself back. He knew that it wasn’t time to reveal his true strength.

Martial Void Realm... Did Lou Yi already enter the Martial Void Realm?

Shang Xia guessed, but he quickly realized that it might not be the case. It wasn’t the first time he came into contact with Martial Void Realm experts and he was no stranger to their aura. Even though the aura that appeared in the Elysium might seem powerful, it was far from the aura of a True Immortal!

Shang Xia deduced that it was probably the transition between the Martial Dipper Realm to the Martial Void Realm!

As he thought to himself, he realized that if things kept up, Lou Yi would most likely be able to complete the transformation and enter the Martial Void Realm for real!

He couldn’t help but panic slightly upon the discovery. The moment Lou Yi entered the Martial Void Realm, he would most probably be able to control the Heavenly Lake Elysium.

When that happened, Shang Xia would most likely be able to escape unscathed, but he wouldn’t be able to obtain further benefits.

Without mentioning anything else, at the very least, he wouldn’t be able to take away the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar without being noticed by a True Immortal.

As he continued to refine the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar, he discovered that it seemed to be transforming even further!

Shang Xia was sure that when he obtained the treasure, the Holy Artifact Spirit was hiding deep inside and refused to communicate with him. He didn’t expect it to emerge from its hiding spot to interact with him on its own accord!

He was bewildered by the turn of events. However, he didn’t hesitate as he established an initial connection with the Holy Artifact Spirit. As soon as he did, he understood why it wasn’t willing to interact with him before.

“The corrosive ability of your inner qi is too powerful! For you to refine the treasure so quickly, I felt threatened and thought you were trying to wipe me out of existence!” The Holy Artifact Spirit’s voice rang in Shang Xia’s mind. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the discovery.

“Why are you showing yourself now?” Shang Xia replied.

“That’s because an even greater danger is about to arrive...” The Holy Artifact Spirit said.

Shang Xia felt that the artifact was most likely because it felt Lou Yi’s ascension and was feeling threatened. He could tell that with Lou Yi’s aggressive absorption of world origin and the power of the Elysium, great damage was caused to both the Origin Holy Artifact and the Heavenly Lake Elysium.

If Shang Xia’s Five Element Origin gave the Holy Artifact Spirit of the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar a sense of threat, Lou Yi’s ascension didn’t just threaten the Origin Holy Artifact he was using. He was actually damaging it!

“Moreover... You don’t seem like that guy...” The Holy Artifact Spirit of the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar said again. On one hand, Shang Xia hadn’t broken through to the Martial Void Realm. Lou Yi was about to complete the ascension and the spirit was far less afraid of Shang Xia than Lou Yi.

It seemed as though he was the lesser of the two evils.

Shang Xia shook his head helplessly as his divine will continued to communicate with the Holy Artifact Spirit. “I hadn’t even completed too much of the refinement... Why did you think I would hurt you?”

After he spoke, his Five Element Origin sank into the treasure again. This time, the Holy Artifact Spirit didn’t resist. It finally merged with Shang Xia’s Five Element Origin and with its help, he managed to further refine the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.

As his control over the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar reached a certain level, he understood how he would be able to use it and its abilities. He could clearly feel the connection between the Heavenly Lake Elysium and the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.

“Looks like if I bring this out, the Heavenly Lake Elysium will actually collapse...” Shang Xia mumbled to himself.

In fact, anyone who first heard of the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar would understand its uses for an Elysium. However, only when one refined it would they truly know its importance.

At that moment, even though Shang Xia refined the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar to a certain degree, it was still difficult for him to use it.

When he was thinking about how he should utilize the treasure, another change happened...

The spatial barrier around the Heavenly Lake Elysium was torn and a lustrous mist poured into the Elysium. A powerful divine soul swept through the region.

That was a True Immortal alright! There was actually another Martial Void Realm expert who entered the scene before Lou Yi could complete his transformation!

Shang Xia felt a chill down to his bones as the situation spiraled out of control. He was also sure that the moment the True Immortal arrived, everything he was doing was discovered.

However, the first thing the other side did wasn’t to act against him even though he refined the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar. Instead, the True Immortal’s attention turned to Lou Yi who was about to break through!

Of course, there might be another reason the True Immortal paid more attention to Lou Yi than himself. That was because, with their presence, everything was under control. They might feel that Shang Xia wouldn’t be able to do anything or threaten their interest even if he refined the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.