Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1520: 822: Refusing to Refine the Small Wind Stabilizing Pearl and Approaching Danger_2

With these thoughts in mind, he grabbed the Heavenly Jade first, followed by the dark meteorite and the Stone Sword.

"Then… until we meet again!"

Having stored the treasures, Zhao Sheng clasped his hands towards the Stone Spirit and the black-robed monster, bidding farewell.

With those words spoken, his entire form vanished into nothingness.

Once Zhao Sheng departed, the Stone Spirit halted abruptly, murmuring darkly: "Old bones, do you believe that boy has his doubts about us?"

"…" The black-robed monster remained mute, his robe drifting softly to the floor as if empty, the figure within having slipped away to an unknown location.

In that instant, boundless darkness roared forth, swallowing the entire Inverted Mountain whole.

…

High above in the vast skies, the boundless Cloud Sea stretched endlessly, gleaming with radiant golden hues beneath the sun's rays.

A massive silver-white vessel glided swiftly over the Cloud Sea, racing towards the distant horizon.

Within the uppermost cabin of the vessel, the He Family Ancestor sat in meditative pose upon the Magic Platform, his Divine Thought merged seamlessly with the ship's command core.

At this time, the silver-white giant boat's scanning formation hummed to life, sending out unseen ripples that spanned seven to eight hundred miles across the nearby emptiness.

The vessel pressed on rapidly, traversing more than forty days of flight without a single mishap.

As the Sky Rift Valley loomed just three days ahead, the He Family Ancestor gradually eased his guarded vigilance.

This journey back and forth had proceeded flawlessly, yielding substantial merit points as well.

His mind wandered to the array of priceless treasures displayed on the merit exchange list, igniting a fervent excitement in the He Family Ancestor's chest, prompting him to resolve upon return to push the younger generation harder in their extraction efforts.

Unbeknownst to the He Family Ancestor, immersed in his reflections, watchful eyes had already fixed upon him.

Over the Cloud Sea, where the heavens shone a brilliant jade-green, sunlight cascaded across the cloudy expanse.

Concealed within those sunbeams, a bird crafted from translucent glaze hovered silently, gazing down upon the Cloud Sea far below.

Its eyes sparkled with crystalline purity, like twin brilliant jewels.

As the silver-white giant boat hurtled forward, its path was silently captured within the bird's gaze.

The glazed bird observed the silver-white giant boat darting swiftly into the distance and abruptly dove downward.

In the following moment, an enchanting spectacle unfolded.

The bird transformed into a streak of brilliance, blending wordlessly into the sunlight and vanishing entirely.

Simultaneously, far off in the Cloud Sea, a enormous beast burst from the clouds—a majestic Roc boasting azure wings and snowy plumage, its frame rivaling a mountain's bulk.

Perched upon the Roc's crown was a youth with slit-like eyes and a hooked beak of a nose, clad in a robe adorned with azure plumes, exuding an icy demeanor.

Circling him were seven or eight shimmering glazed mirrors, each the size of a platter, projecting vivid images from thousands of miles distant.

Within one such mirror, the thousand-foot silver-white giant boat appeared in sharp, lifelike detail.

"Hehe, spotted yet another scurrying rodent. Aurora, stay on its tail! I need to uncover the den of this little pest."

With his command uttered, a sharp avian cry echoed from the glazed mirror: "Chirp chirp, your wish is my command, master!"

When the He Family Ancestor finally arrived back at the Heavenly Rift Valley in high spirits, he remained oblivious to the looming disaster drawing near.

…

To the southwest of the Heavenly Rift Valley.

Jagged cliffs rose steeply, towering nearly a thousand feet from the valley base, carving out a spacious indentation that created a innate cavern in the mountain.

Deep within that cavern's wall, a sturdy stone portal stood firmly embedded.

Soon enough, the stone door creaked open, and Zhao Sheng emerged, gripping a reddish-brown elongated blade.

He advanced to an outcropping of verdant rock, flicked his right hand, and slashed the blade sideways.

Yet even before the blade made contact with the green stone, the outcrop imploded strangely, crumbling into fine dust in an instant.

Zhao Sheng arched a brow, loosening his right grip abruptly, allowing the long sword to drop straight down.

Once more, a wondrous sight revealed itself.

The very second the long sword met the earth, the surface split apart, and the weapon plunged through the fissure, burying itself deep underground.

A notion flashed through his thoughts; his Divine Sense delved immediately, perceiving how the earth and stone parted before the sword's advance, parting to create a tunnel for its passage.

A flicker of astonishment crossed Zhao Sheng's features as his Divine Thought enveloped the stone long sword, a mental pull summoning it back.

In a flash, the long sword erupted from the soil, returning meekly to his grasp.

Zhao Sheng inspected the stone sword clutched in his hand, his Divine Thought probing every inch of its length, yet detecting nothing unusual.

This stone sword bore no signs of forging, as if birthed by nature itself.

Moreover, with his keen sight, he failed to identify the material composing the stone sword.

It resembled ordinary rock, yet acted as the nemesis to all earth and stone.

Without seeing it personally, Zhao Sheng would have struggled to believe such a reality-bending artifact existed in this realm.

The deeper his scrutiny, the more he sensed the sword's exceptional nature.

Recalling the earlier occurrences, a faint intuition stirred within him—the Stone Spirit's motives seemed far from straightforward, as though deliberately entrusting this stone sword to his care.

For now, Zhao Sheng couldn't unravel the reason behind the entity's actions, but that was of little consequence.

Regardless of the adversary's aims, the truth would surface in due time.

With this in mind, Zhao Sheng gave the stone sword a casual flick, sending a gust of blade wind slicing across the adjacent rock face.

The wall crumbled soundlessly, carving out a trench two yards deep and seven or eight yards wide, its boundaries as sleek as if sliced through soft bean curd.

Satisfaction gleamed in Zhao Sheng's eyes as he nodded; his silhouette blurred, morphing into a burrowing ray of light that shot miles distant in a heartbeat.

…

Three days onward, the silver-white giant boat plunged from the heavens, hurtling into the Heavenly Rift Valley and vanishing from sight.

Shortly thereafter, the He Family Ancestor arrived safely at the outpost. Upon settling in, he promptly dispatched summons to the leaders of the other two clans.

Ere long, Zhao Zhuanggong, Zhao Yongxian, He Chong, Wei Shu, and the top figures from the three families rushed to the outpost.

Following a brief council, the Zhao, He, and Wei Families settled on the "allocation of assets."

The Zhao Family claimed the central stretch of the Heavenly Rift Valley, focused around the Three Yin Evil Acupoints.

The He Family seized the southern extremity of the Heavenly Rift Valley, intent on erecting a fortified city at that vast breach.

The Wei Family, as the feeblest, settled for the resource-scarce northern zone.

Of course, such "scarcity" was merely comparative; the northern Heavenly Rift Valley's cultivation resources far surpassed those of the Wei Family's homeland.

In a mere ten days, the He and Wei Families pulled out from the outpost in succession, marching south and north respectively.

In the interim, Zhao Zhuanggong dispatched a group of workers to bolster the outpost's defenses, while the rest ramped up their extraction operations.

Zhao Sheng, the Master of Hundred Arts, handled not just ore refinement but also grew intrigued by the wings harvested from Two-winged Giant Lizards.

Besides processing ores, he devoted some of his mental energy to forging wings from Golden Core-level giant lizards into distinctive sword wings.

Sword Wings constituted a rare breed of flying sword Magical Treasure, merging the strengths of flight blades and earth-piercing capabilities.

In a surge of inspiration, Zhao Sheng wove sword escape Divine Skills directly into the Sword Wings.

Every sword plume embodied not only a standalone flying sword but also an embedded sword escape Divine Skill.

Empowered by the Sword Wings, even a Golden Core expert could flee unharmed from the chase of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

No sooner had the Sword Wings been completed than they sparked a frenzy among Zhao Yongxian and Master Ming Yue.

Even the elusive Zhao Zhuanggong made a rare personal visit to discuss terms, his manner warmly amicable.

Grasping their desires, Zhao Sheng consented without hesitation. Yet, the Sword Wings would only transfer upon fulfillment of specific conditions.

Items like Top-grade Spirit Stones, Pocket World Jade, Ten-thousand-year-old Elixirs, Wind Cores… alongside various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

On this front, Zhao Zhuanggong proved remarkably lavish, agreeing outright with scant negotiation.

He recognized full well the vital importance of a Refining Master to the clan's endeavors during this era of Outer Domain expansion.

Soon, several Golden Core Masters of the Zhao Family each obtained a premium Sword Wing, treasuring them dearly and diving straight into secluded refinement sessions.

Just as the Zhao Family's Golden Core Masters immersed themselves in treasuring their new artifacts,