Guo Feilong was overjoyed upon hearing this.
He immediately infused 3,000 auspicious clouds into the head-sized red-hot iron and simultaneously forced a drop of his lifeblood essence from his left middle finger, which fell into the iron like a glowing red sun.
He was momentarily unsure of what shape to forge this high-temperature red iron into.
One thing was certain: lifebound sacred treasures could only be crafted by Golden Elixir stage grand cultivators. Those in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages were not qualified to forge lifebound sacred treasures.
As the name implies, a lifebound sacred treasure is as important as a cultivator's second name, perfectly capable of carrying one's divine soul and golden elixir.
If a cultivator's physical form is destroyed and they cannot find a vessel to carry their divine soul in time, their soul will dissipate into nothingness.
However, if a cultivator possesses a lifebound sacred treasure, their divine soul can enter it when their body is destroyed, making it a second body.
In the future, if they obtain heavenly materials and earthly treasures capable of regenerating flesh, the cultivator can even rebuild their physical form.
Guo Feilong hadn't expected that in his attempt to forge a metal capable of upgrading and self-repair, he would create a metal that could directly become a lifebound sacred treasure.
Logically, since he was skilled with flying swords, he should forge his lifebound sacred treasure into a flying sword.
But he didn't like fighting with others, as the saying goes, "If you walk by the river often, your shoes will get wet." Constant fighting could lead to disaster if he encountered a formidable opponent.
"Why not forge this iron into a shield?" Guo Feilong thought for a moment but quickly shook his head and abandoned the idea.
Various different instruments flashed through his mind, and Guo Feilong finally decided to forge this new metal into a human shape.
If one day his body was destroyed, his divine soul could enter this humanoid lifebound sacred treasure.
With determination, he set to work.
Moments later.
Using his mystic power, he molded the head-sized new metal into a two-foot-tall iron figure resembling his younger self, with arms and legs spread wide, and even a slightly open mouth with teeth and a tongue, detailed to perfection.
Next, he began inscribing various rune scripts onto the iron figure. Only with rune scripts could it become a spiritual instrument or sacred treasure; without them, it was just scrap metal.
Inscribing rune scripts onto a spiritual instrument or sacred treasure is the most crucial step in refinement, and there can be no carelessness. The functions of the spiritual instrument or sacred treasure are determined by the inscriptions.
For example:
To refine a Soul Suppressing Bell, it must be inscribed with soul suppression and sound wave scripts.
To refine a defensive shield, it must be inscribed with defensive rune scripts to possess the shield's capabilities.
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To refine a flying sword, it must be inscribed with scripts to enhance sharpness and speed.
To refine a guard tower, it must be inscribed with defensive rune scripts and other combinations of scripts.
The path of refinement is vast and profound, with over ten thousand different functional rune scripts, and the effects of the same script vary depending on the refinement material.
Guo Feilong inscribed many sturdy and speed-enhancing rune scripts, among others, onto his humanoid lifebound sacred treasure.
It took him a full seven days and nights to complete the final rune script. At the moment his lifebound sacred treasure took shape, a terrifying aura from the heavens suddenly descended.
Startled, Guo Feilong asked the Artifact Spirit of the Family Fortune Cauldron, "Little Cauldron, what's happening?"
"Congratulations, Master. This is the tribulation brought by the completion of your lifebound sacred treasure. Once it overcomes the tribulation, it can give birth to an Artifact Spirit and may even gain other incredible abilities. This is a good thing."
Hearing the Artifact Spirit Little Cauldron's words, Guo Feilong became worried.
The tribulation is a double-edged sword.
Even though it's the treasure undergoing the tribulation.
He knew,
The lifebound sacred treasures of those Golden Elixir stage grand cultivators undergoing tribulation.
If they pass, the benefits are immense.
If they fail, they shatter into pieces.
He asked the Artifact Spirit Little Cauldron, "Is there a way to increase the success rate of my lifebound sacred treasure's tribulation?"
"Don't worry, Master," the Artifact Spirit Little Cauldron replied. "During the refinement of your lifebound sacred treasure, it absorbed over 3,000 auspicious clouds.
Auspicious clouds are the blessings of heaven and earth, beloved by the heavens, like the children of the world.
The tribulation is both a punishment and a reward from the heavens. In this world, what parent would kill their own child?
The tribulation will only bestow endless benefits upon your lifebound sacred treasure and will not cause it any harm."
With the Artifact Spirit Little Cauldron's reassurance, Guo Feilong felt at ease. With a thought, his humanoid lifebound sacred treasure flew out of the cave to the outside.
At this moment, high above in the sky.
Tribulation clouds were spreading at a terrifying speed.
Within the dark clouds, lightning flickered like thousands of thunderous serpents slithering through the clouds.
All beings in the world feared the heavenly thunder of the tribulation, for it could destroy not only the physical body but also the intangible soul.
As the tribulation clouds appeared, all the fairies with souls and consciousness in the small world of the Dark Forest's Heavenly Abode concealed their presence, becoming like ordinary creatures.
Those fairies comparable to the Golden Elixir stage were all terrified and hid, some retreating into caves, some burrowing into the earth, and others sinking to the riverbeds.
Boom!
A thunderbolt as thick as a barrel descended from the tribulation clouds.
Like an angry thunder dragon, it struck the metal figure.
Crackle~
Crackle~
The metal figure absorbed the lightning.
Boom!
Another tribulation thunderbolt struck down.
The metal figure continued to absorb the power of the tribulation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One thunderbolt after another descended from the tribulation clouds.
A total of eighty-one thunderbolts struck.
Only then did it end.
Buzz~
At that moment, his lifebound sacred treasure, the metal figure, suddenly shone brightly, revealing numerous mysterious rune scripts on its surface.
Each rune script seemed like a heavenly book, and after staring at them for a while, Guo Feilong felt dizzy and lightheaded.
Knowing he couldn't continue looking at the rune scripts, he immediately closed his eyes. After more than a minute, the dizzy feeling completely subsided.
When he opened his eyes again, a smaller metal figure's light shadow appeared on his lifebound sacred treasure, the newly born Artifact Spirit.
The Artifact Spirit curiously observed its surroundings, and Guo Feilong felt an indescribable connection with it, as if he were the Artifact Spirit and the Artifact Spirit were him. This was the bond between a lifebound sacred treasure and its master.
Swish!
The lifebound sacred treasure, the metal figure, flew to his front, then, along with the Artifact Spirit, transformed into a beam of light and entered his body, finally settling into his energy core, becoming very small, sitting atop his spiritual root, absorbing the mystic power from the spiritual root like a person cultivating.
In fact, this was a form of cultivation for the lifebound sacred treasure, known professionally as nurturing the lifebound sacred treasure.
The longer the nurturing period, the higher the compatibility between the lifebound sacred treasure and its master, and the greater its power.
Meanwhile, Guo Feilong's divine soul consciousness entered the energy core, intending to converse with the lifebound sacred treasure sitting on the spiritual root to discover its special abilities. It couldn't have absorbed the tribulation lightning for nothing.
But before he could inquire, the Artifact Spirit of the lifebound sacred treasure spoke in a childlike voice, "Master, I'm so sleepy. I'm going to take a nap."
Then, Guo Feilong sensed that the Artifact Spirit of his lifebound sacred treasure had fallen asleep, so he could only have his divine soul enter the metal figure of the lifebound sacred treasure.
In the next moment, Guo Feilong's divine soul felt as if it had returned to his body. When he wanted to raise an arm, the lifebound sacred treasure's arm lifted.
Whatever action his divine soul wanted to perform, the lifebound sacred treasure would execute.
Swish!
In the next moment, Guo Feilong controlled the lifebound sacred treasure's form, appearing outside his body, establishing a faint connection with the spiritual root in his energy core.
Even though his divine soul was outside his body, he could still mobilize the mystic power from the spiritual root, seemingly unaffected by spatial distance.
Swish!
Guo Feilong's divine soul controlled the metal figure, flying to a low mountain two to three hundred meters high, and punched the mountain.
With a thunderous boom, the mountain crumbled under the metal figure's punch, sending countless rocks shooting in all directions, an incredibly terrifying display of power.
Guo Feilong gasped at the result, realizing that this punch could shatter any top-tier defensive spiritual instrument.
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