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

With that in mind, Zhao Sheng grabbed the Heavenly Jade first, followed by the dark meteorite and the Stone Sword.

"Then… until we meet again!"

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

With those words, his entire figure vanished into thin air.

Once Zhao Sheng had departed, the Stone Spirit halted abruptly, murmuring darkly: “Old bones, do you believe that young one has grown suspicious of us?”

“…” The black-robed monster remained silent, its robe drifting softly to the ground, the figure within having vanished to an unknown location.

In that instant, boundless darkness rushed in, swallowing the Inverted Mountain whole.

…

High up in the vast sky, the boundless Cloud Sea stretched endlessly, gleaming with 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 a cross-legged position on the Magic Platform, his Divine Thought fully merged with the boat's control hub.

At this time, the silver-white vessel's detection array operated at full capacity, sending out unseen fluctuations that spanned seven to eight hundred miles across the nearby void.

The vessel continued its swift journey, covering more than forty days of flight without any incidents.

As the Sky Rift Valley drew near, now just three days away, the He Family Ancestor gradually eased his guarded thoughts.

This journey back and forth had proceeded remarkably well and even yielded substantial merit points.

Contemplating the array of treasures displayed on the merit board, the He Family Ancestor's heart surged with excitement, prompting him to plan on pushing the younger generation to hasten their mining efforts upon arrival.

While the He Family Ancestor pondered deeply, he remained oblivious to the eyes already fixed upon him.

Over the Cloud Sea, the sky shone with a jade-like green, sunlight cascading across the Cloud Sky.

Hidden within that sunlight, a bird crafted from glazed substance hovered silently, gazing down at the Cloud Sea underneath.

The bird's eyes sparkled with clarity, resembling a duo of brilliant jewels.

As the silver-white giant boat dashed forward, its path secretly entered the bird's sight.

The glazed bird observed the silver-white giant boat zooming past and abruptly dove downwards.

In the following moment, an enchanting spectacle unfolded.

The bird morphed into a streak of radiance, seamlessly blending into the sunlight without a sound, vanishing entirely.

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

Standing upon the Roc's crown was a youth with slit eyes and a hooked beak-like nose, clad in azure feathered robes, exuding a frosty aura.

Encircling him, seven or eight glazed mirrors orbited steadily, each the size of a platter, faithfully displaying views from thousands of miles distant.

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

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

As his voice faded, a sharp avian cry echoed from the glazed mirror: “Chirp chirp, your wish is my command, master!”

When the He Family Ancestor arrived back at the Heavenly Rift Valley in high spirits, he was utterly unaware of the looming disaster.

…

To the southwest of the Heavenly Rift Valley.

Rough cliff faces rose steeply, nearly a thousand feet from the valley base, carving out a vast indentation that created a natural cavern in the mountain.

Deep within the cavern's wall, a massive stone gate stood embedded.

Soon enough, the stone gate creaked open, and Zhao Sheng emerged, gripping a reddish-brown longsword.

He advanced to a jutting slab of green stone, flicked his right hand, and slashed the longsword sideways.

Yet prior to the longsword making contact with the green stone, the stone inexplicably crumbled, dissolving into fine dust in a flash.

Zhao Sheng arched his brow, abruptly loosening his right hand, sending the longsword dropping straight down.

Once more, a wondrous sight revealed itself.

The instant the longsword met the earth, the surface split apart, allowing the longsword to slip through the fissure and plunge into the depths below.

A notion flashed through his mind; his Divine Sense delved in immediately, perceiving the earth and stones parting as the sword advanced, naturally hollowing a path for its passage.

Surprise flickered across Zhao Sheng's features; he enveloped the stone longsword with his Divine Thought, willing it to return with a mere idea.

In a heartbeat, the longsword erupted from the ground, settling back into his grasp submissively.

Zhao Sheng inspected the stone sword held in his palm, his Divine Thought probing every inch of its form, yet detecting nothing unusual.

This stone sword bore no signs of forging, as if it had formed through natural means.

Moreover, even with his keen vision, he couldn't identify the material composing the stone sword.

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

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

The deeper he studied the sword, the more its exceptional nature revealed itself to him.

Recalling the earlier occurrences, a faint hunch stirred within him—the Stone Spirit's motives seemed far from straightforward, deliberately passing this stone sword into his possession.

For the moment, Zhao Sheng couldn't decipher the reason behind the other's actions, but it held little concern.

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

With this realization, Zhao Sheng swung the stone sword gently, its blade wind slicing across the adjacent stone wall.

The wall crumbled noiselessly, carving a cleft over two yards deep and seven or eight yards wide, its borders as sleek as if sliced through soft curd.

Satisfied, Zhao Sheng nodded, his form blurring as he transformed into a burrowing ray of light, vanishing miles away in an instant.

…

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

Shortly after, the He Family Ancestor made it back to the base without issue. Upon return, he promptly dispatched communications to the leaders of the other two families.

It wasn't long before Zhao Zhuanggong, Zhao Yongxian, He Chong, Wei Shu, and the top figures from the three families rushed to the base.

Following a brief council, the Zhao, He, and Wei Families settled on their “resource allocation.”

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

The He Family seized the southern tip of the Heavenly Rift Valley, intending to erect a fortified city at that enormous breach.

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

Of course, “scarce” was a relative term; the northern region's cultivation resources far exceeded those of the Wei Family's homeland.

Within a mere ten days, the He and Wei Families pulled out from the base in succession, moving south and north respectively.

In the interim, Zhao Zhuanggong assigned a group of workers to bolster the base's defenses, while the rest ramped up extraction efforts.

Zhao Sheng, the Master of Hundred Arts, handled not just ore refinement but also grew fascinated with the Two-winged Giant Lizard's wings.

Besides processing ores, he devoted some of his Heart Power to fashioning wings from Golden Core Level giant lizards into distinctive sword wings.

Sword Wings constitute a unique flying sword Magical Treasure, merging the strengths of flying swords with earth-travel capabilities.

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

Every sword feather embodied not only a flying sword but also embodied a 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.

The moment the Sword Wings were completed, they sparked immediate frenzy among Zhao Yongxian and Master Ming Yue.

Even the seldom-seen Zhao Zhuanggong showed up in person to discuss terms, his demeanor remarkably amiable.

Grasping their aims, Zhao Sheng consented without hesitation. Yet, he stipulated that the Sword Wings would be provided only upon fulfillment of specific requests.

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

On this matter, Zhao Zhuanggong displayed remarkable liberality, agreeing virtually on the spot with scant negotiation.

He understood full well the vital importance of a Refining Master to the family amid the Outer Domain expansion era.

Before much time elapsed, several Golden Core Masters of the Zhao Family each obtained a premium Sword Wing, treasuring them dearly and swiftly retreating into seclusion to refine them.

Just as the Zhao Family's Golden Core Masters immersed themselves in refining their treasures,