Chapter 27: Entering Sainthood Through a Great Dream?

Manager Li smiled, his impression of Qin Ming greatly improved. He had expected Qin Ming to rely on his status as a Daoist to pull some wild stunt, yet he remained remarkably calm.

"In that case, let us arrange for Daoist Qin Ming to use the Heaven-Class No. 2 Refinement Chamber. This chamber allows one to tap into the Abyss Exotic Flame, which is highly beneficial for artifact refinement..."

Seeing Manager Li preparing to boast further, Qin Ming hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt.

"By the way, do you have any ancient texts on artifact refinement here? Preferably something that goes from beginner to advanced?" Qin Ming asked.

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding cultivators all chuckled. Their lingering anxiety finally vanished. Beginner to advanced? He hadn't even stepped through the door yet! They had initially been unsure of Qin Ming's strength, fearing that he had truly undergone a transformation, excelling in both cultivation and artifact refinement.

Hearing this, Manager Li shook his head, though he maintained a polite demeanor. After finalizing the payment arrangements, he had a delicate-looking maid lead Qin Ming to the library.

As she led the way, the maid remarked, "The path of artifact refinement requires smelting divine materials, forging them into shape, and then inscribing divine patterns. Only then can a magical treasure be crafted. The requirements for one's soul are extremely high, and most people cannot meet the standard."

Qin Ming listened, nodding, but offered no response. Having lived two lives, his soul strength far exceeded that of ordinary people. Furthermore, he possessed the hundred-fold time acceleration of the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron. In other words, in the same amount of time, while others could only perform a task once, he could perform it at least a hundred times. He could study the same ancient texts a hundred times over.

Genius is not terrifying. What is truly terrifying is a genius who is not only more gifted than you but also works harder and possesses cheating methods you lack.

Qin Ming’s silence caused the maid to look down on him even more. He was indeed handsome, but he was too arrogant and unwilling to listen to advice. She didn't want to say anything more; once he hit the wall, he would naturally feel the pain.

"Young Master, this is the library of our Tianbao Pavilion." The maid performed a formal bow and left.

An elderly guardian of the scriptures sat on the first floor. He glanced at Qin Ming without even lifting his eyelids. As a matter of routine, he had Qin Ming register. After registration, he told Qin Ming to proceed, informing him that he could browse from the first to the ninth floor, but the tenth floor was closed to the public.

Qin Ming cupped his hands in thanks and walked inside. The library was filled with numerous scriptures. From the first to the ninth floor, there were many secrets and techniques belonging to master-level craftsmen. Generally, places like libraries and scripture halls were protected by arrays; if one attempted to copy the texts, the array would destroy the manuscripts. But there were no such protections here.

It seemed that these refinement techniques and methods were not feared to be leaked. This indirectly showed that the path of artifact refinement had a very high threshold. This discipline was far too dependent on talent. Without talent, even if you were given the complete heritage, you would be unable to craft anything. Since that was the case, why bother with protection?

Immediately, Qin Ming produced a jade slip. The jade slip hovered behind him, automatically collecting the contents of the library. Although Qin Ming’s behavior was eye-catching, the elderly guardian only took one look, shook his head, and lost interest. He was used to it. Over the years, there had been no shortage of laymen who liked to collect the artifact refinement methods and techniques of their Tianbao Pavilion. They thought that by gathering these things, they could become refiners, not realizing that these materials had almost negligible impact on one's ability to become a master.

Artifact refinement first required talent; everything else was secondary.

Qin Ming quickly moved from the first floor to the ninth, his jade slips filling up to more than a dozen. There was no one else on the ninth floor. Finding a corner, he sat cross-legged and entered the inner space of the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron. The time flow inside the cauldron was a hundred times faster than the outside world. A hundred days here was only one day outside.

Wasting no time, Qin Ming began his study. He became completely immersed in the insights of the refinement path. He roamed through the scriptures and ancient texts, dedicating himself entirely to reading.

Soon, a year passed. It had to be said that Qin Ming's talent was indeed terrifying, and his comprehension was shocking. In just one year, he had read all the scriptures from the first to the ninth floor. His understanding of artifact refinement had leapt from that of a layman to a level of proficiency. However, it was not yet thorough. His eyes flickered with a mix of confusion and enlightenment. He pondered and explored, continuing to immerse himself in his study.

Soon, the second year passed. Compared to the first, the sense of clarity in Qin Ming's eyes grew stronger. It was as if he were wandering freely through the path of refinement, exchanging ideas with many sages of the past. He did not know what stage his refinement skills had reached, but he knew they were certainly not weak.

If the refiners outside knew of Qin Ming's current state, they would be green with envy. This was the "Enlightened" state, something that could be met but never sought. To be "Enlightened" meant, as the name implied, entering a great dream to exchange insights with ancient sages.

Waking from his meditative state, Qin Ming silently calculated the time. He realized he had been immersed in the way of artifact refinement for two years. During these two years, he had been single-minded and devoted. The gains were immense. Fortunately, only about seven or eight days had passed in the outside world.

Qin Ming tossed the dozen jade slips into the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron. With a thunderous roar, a flicker of curiosity crossed his eyes. He wondered what kind of skill could be refined from so many refinement scriptures.

A moment later, information tempered and forged from thousands of profound mysteries emerged in his mind.

"Ten Thousand Revolutions Heaven-Mending Art!"

Qin Ming recited the technique that had been smelted out. This was a refinement technique capable of "correcting mistakes." During the process of artifact refinement, errors were inevitably made. If these errors accumulated, they would lead to the failure of the final product. The Ten Thousand Revolutions Heaven-Mending Art, however, provided the opportunity to fix those mistakes. It was, frankly, heaven-defying. Unfortunately, the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron had only refined the first three revolutions. In other words, he could only correct his mistakes three times.

"Such a technique is truly heaven-defying. If it could be used in combat, it would be a lethal trump card." Qin Ming shuddered at the thought. I have countless chances to make mistakes, while you only have one!

"Hoo!"

Qin Ming put away the Nine Dragons Heaven-Burial Cauldron, left the ninth floor, and headed for the Heaven-Class No. 2 Refinement Chamber.

The elderly guardian watched Qin Ming’s retreating figure, his expression dazed. "How has this fellow's aura changed? He has cultivated an 'Intent of the Artifact'."

Immediately, he shook his head. In his entire life, he had only ever seen the Intent of the Artifact in nine-level master refiners! The path of refinement was divided into apprentices, refiners, master refiners, grandmasters, and supreme masters. It was said that beyond the supreme masters were the Heaven-Refiners. There wasn't a single nine-level master refiner in the entire Qing Province. Even in the Central Province, they were rare.