📖 Chapter 947 - This Seat Wants It, Go Get It for Me!

26 Apr, 2023

“Although there are some restrictions on this technique, once you succeed… you can plunder someone’s ownership of an artifact. However, this technique defies the heavens, so once you use it, it will summon heavenly tribulation. Although I can help you avoid some of it, you’ll still have to withstand a large portion by yourself.” As it spoke, the paper human cutout lifted its right hand and pointed to a spot between Wang Baole’s brows.

Wang Baole hesitated for a moment before stopping himself from dodging. As the paper human cutout’s finger fell between his brows, a wave of divine will immediately entered his mind, turning into a series of hand seals as well as an artifact refinement technique.

This technique was completely different from anything he had come into contact with before, but it was also different from the techniques of the Starfall Empire. Wang Baole couldn’t pinpoint its origin, but that didn’t stop him from understanding that this artifact refinement technique was… incredible!

“Many thanks, Senior!” Wang Baole's eyes lit up. He cupped his fists and bowed deeply.

After running over the technique in his mind, Wang Baole had his own unique understanding of this so-called grafting technique.

‘How is this grafting? This is no less than a divine ability for thieves and scoundrels, a technique for stealing someone else’s efforts!’ The more Wang Baole thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. He had been immersed in artifact refinement for many years, and by now, his attainments in the field were extremely high. Thus, he was all the more able to understand that the technique the paper human cutout had taught him was extremely formidable!

The part he liked the most was how insidious this technique was… Just imagine, you painstakingly refined an artifact and made it acknowledge you as its owner, but at the moment of completion, the artifact suddenly disappeared and appeared in someone else’s hands. If something like that happened, anyone would cough up three liters of blood.

And when he thought about how he would be using this technique against that hateful bell girl, Wang Baole became even happier. His heart was full of expectations.

“Hmph, that naughty little girl wants me to be her war slave?” Wang Baole snorted. After glancing at his surroundings, his body flickered and he shot straight to an area to the right of the ten furnace mountains. It was neither a mountain nor a hill, but a flat plain.

Although it was a little remote, its openness made it a suitable place to cast the technique of Grafting a Flower onto a Tree. After all, if a thunder tribulation were to descend, an open space provided more room to dodge around.

Of course, Wang Baole had also thought about whether he should cast the technique right near the bell girl. If he did that, she might be dragged into his thunder tribulation. However, considering that he might be ganged up on if he tried getting closer, Wang Baole could only choose this spot as the next best option.

Sitting down cross-legged, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as his divine sense spread out. While making sure to pay attention to every change in his surroundings, Wang Baole quickly formed a series of hand seals according to the paper human cutout’s teaching. He began trying to activate the technique of Grafting a Flower to a Tree.

The crux of this technique lay in understanding the theory. Although some problems might crop up in the actual refining process, they wouldn’t be difficult to resolve with Wang Baole’s current prowess in artifact refinement. All he had to do was adjust his mindset a little.

This technique, Grafting a Flower to a Tree, was quite unique. It used thunder tribulation to stir the power of the void and created fluctuations with the same frequency as the refinement of the target artifact, like a mirror image. In the end, it would turn that mirror image into reality. And this was where the greatest difficulty lay.

“It’s almost like creating something from nothing…” Wang Baole’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. However, he didn’t have time to study the theory carefully. What he had to do right now was operate the technique according to what he had been taught without any mistakes.

For others, this might not be easy to do, but Wang Baole only had to try it a few more times if he failed. Thus, after repeated attempts, thunder gradually appeared all around him two days later.

When the thunder first appeared, it wasn’t very noticeable. However, it soon became louder and louder, and thunderclouds even started appearing in the sky above Wang Baole’s head.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of the Chosen on the ten furnace mountains, and they all turned their heads to look below the dark clouds at… the plain where Wang Baole was.

“What’s he doing?”

“Is he trying to interfere with us?”

“Courting death!” The bell girl’s eyes seemed to contain a sneer. She was very willing to see Wang Baole make such a stupid move that was tantamount to hindering everyone’s great opportunity. This way, not only would he fail to obtain a drumstick, even his life might be in danger if he drew the ire of the others.

Once that moment came, the only way for him to survive would naturally be to bow his head and obediently submit.

“If he still remains stubborn at that time, then I can only give up.” The bell girl snorted coldly. All her life, she had never failed to obtain a war slave that she’d set her sights on. And the matter of taking in war slaves was also related to her cultivation technique; the stronger the war slave, the greater the benefits it would have to her cultivation. In the end, she would break through to a new realm and reach the pinnacle of the world.

This cultivation technique had no name, and it didn’t even come from the Nine Phoenix Sect. Some years ago, the bell girl had come to accept a mysterious female cultivator as her second master, and it was she who taught her the technique.

After cultivating it for the first time, the bell girl had immediately become aware of the exquisiteness of this cultivation technique. At the same time, she found that she wasn’t the only disciple of that mysterious female cultivator. She sensed the existence of a large number of other people who were cultivating the same technique.

“Raising gu… or perhaps this is a necessary process to break through after this technique has been cultivated to a certain level?” Although she had many doubts, this cultivation technique had brought her many benefits. The reason the bell girl had been able to become the Saintess of the Nine Phoenix Sect was also related to this cultivation technique.

Thus, she naturally wouldn’t give it up. At that moment, while hastening her drumstick’s materialization, she narrowed her eyes and looked at Wang Baole.

As thoughts churned in her mind, Wang Baole became more and more proficient at the refinement process. After failing several times, he had finally grasped some of the rhythm, and the sound of heavenly thunder exploded beside him.

The dark clouds above his head grew denser and denser, and it was even possible to see streaks of lightning swimming about within. This was different from the lightning that usage of the wishing bottle caused. That lightning seemed to have its own will, but the lightning in the dark clouds seemed lifeless. Nevertheless, it clearly contained astonishing might.

A bolt of lightning fell and landed a few zhang from Wang Baole’s location, causing the earth to rumble. Feeling the destructive power contained in that lightning, Wang Baole’s heart skipped a beat, but the arrow was already on the bowstring. Gritting his teeth with a ferocious expression, he continued to form hand seals without pausing. Bolts of lightning continued to fall all around him, causing the earth to shake as they struck the ground.

Thunder rumbled in all directions, and even those Chosen on the mountains couldn’t help but tremble. However, after looking closely, they realized that the terrifying lightning was only falling in a range of a hundred zhang around Wang Baole, with no signs of going beyond that. Once they realized it wouldn’t affect them, although they remained vigilant, they also breathed sighs of relief.

After all, the most important thing for them was to get a drumstick. As long as no one tried to interfere with that, they wouldn’t make a move. Right now, it was best to have one fewer thing to worry about.

Although no one came to trouble him, Wang Baole’s heart was shaking. More and more bolts of lightning were striking the ground all around him. The rumbles of thunder became louder and louder, and the power within became more and more terrifying. A pond of lightning appeared all around him, and lightning bolts danced along the ground, even coming to strike Wang Baole.

Although the paper human cutout was secretly diverting most of the lightning, the remaining portion still caused Wang Baole to tremble as it coursed through his body. However, he had a ruthless personality, and when he looked past the surrounding lightning over to the mountain the bell girl was on, a cold light flashed in his narrowed eyes.

“The aura on that bell girl makes me feel uncomfortable…”

With that thought, Wang Baole gritted his teeth again. His hands blurred as he formed hand seals faster and faster, and the area within a hundred zhang of him completely filled with heavenly lightning. Finally, after barely enduring it for two hours, a buzzing sound reverberated through his mind!

At that exact moment, his divine sense seemed to be bolstered by some force from beyond the heavens, suddenly expanding and sensing the ten drumsticks that were materializing on the furnace mountains!

As soon as he sensed them, Wang Baole had a strange feeling. It was as if… with a thought, he could change the position of the magical artifact he was staring at. He could cause it to disappear from its spot and reappear in his hands, like grafting a flower to a tree!

Wang Baole immediately grew excited and suddenly cast his gaze upon… the bell girl’s mountain!

After the bell girl had ceaselessly used her cultivation base for the past few days, the drumstick was already about 90% materialized, and it seemed that it wouldn’t be long before it completely solidified!

The scholarly young man and the masked woman were the same as her. As for the black-clothed youth and the little girl who knew the Underworld Law, they were slightly slower but had still reached 80% materialization. The rest were even slower than them, with their drumsticks mostly around 60% or 70% materialized.

“Perfect timing!” Wang Baole grinned, and a strange light flashed in his eyes. As soon as he turned his gaze to the bell girl, she turned her head abruptly and glared at him with killing intent in her eyes. A contemptuous expression appeared on her face, and she was about to speak up, but her drumstick suddenly emitted strong rays of light. Clearly, it was about to fully materialize.

Wang Baole lifted his right hand and pointed.

“Divine Might Devil Exterminating Thunder, this Seat wants that drumstick! Go get it for me!”