My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

"Are you deliberately flaunting your wealth to bait people into attacking you?" Zhao Zuo saw through Shen Yunjiao’s intentions at a glance. He guessed it was to feed the `Taotie Giant Beast` within her.

"I have no choice. Normal resources are nowhere near enough for my `Cultivation`," Shen Yunjiao sighed.

"`Cultivators` of the `Taotie Secret Technique` are meant to devour one another to increase the volume of their `Taotie True Blood`. That’s the true path," Zhao Zuo reminded her.

"That’s a problem for the future. Right now, the focus is on cultivating step-by-step."

Shen Yunjiao’s tone was inscrutable. She took a few more sips of `Cold Thorn` tea before asking another question.

"Have you succeeded with the `Soul-Forging Technique`?"

"No. At the start of the `Cultivation`, you go through two trials: `Soul`-burning flames and an `Immortal Sound` piercing your ears. I can only resist for a few hundred breaths before I’m hypnotized and fall asleep," Zhao Zuo answered truthfully.

"Is that so?" Shen Yunjiao tapped her finger against her teacup, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I’ve tried a few times, but I always fail. I can’t resist the force that pulls me into sleep." Zhao Zuo sighed softly. The matter was vexing, but he was confident he would one day decipher the secrets held within the jade slate.

"Have you ever considered that you’re not supposed to resist that `Energy`? Perhaps you should submit to it," Shen Yunjiao said.

"Submit?"

"If you intend to learn that `Cultivation Technique`, you must allow yourself to be moved by it, to be drawn into its world. Only then can you glimpse the true essence of the `Soul-Forging Technique`," Shen Yunjiao continued. "When I was learning the `Taotie Secret Technique`, I was controlled by the powerful will of the Taotie, which is how I passively absorbed its contents."

What surprised her was that Zhao Zuo could actually resist the power of the technique’s inherited will. ’To do that,’ she thought, ’he must have a terrifyingly strong `Soul`, maybe even on par with a `Cultivator` at the `Foundation Establishment Stage`.’

"So you’re saying I fall asleep because my `Soul` is trying to protect itself?" Zhao Zuo mulled over her words, a new possibility dawning on him.

Shen Yunjiao’s words were a revelation. He had never once considered submitting to the golden flames or the shifting music.

"Exactly," Shen Yunjiao said.

’If that’s true, then the only way to learn is to submit.’ Zhao Zuo felt there was merit in what she said. His heart stirred, and he decided to try it at once.

"I’m going back to my room to try it now." Zhao Zuo drained his tea in one gulp and stood up to leave.

"Alright. With your talent, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Just don’t be too hasty. Be careful not to overdo it, or you might needlessly injure your `Soul`," Shen Yunjiao advised, clutching her teacup.

"Right. I understand."

The warm sunlight fell on Zhao Zuo, filling him with warmth. His mood brightened, and he felt a surge of confidence in his ability to master the `Soul-Forging Technique`.

In his bedroom, Zhao Zuo took out the jade slate and set it in place. He then lit a stick of `Concentration Incense` and began to read the slate’s contents.

’A `Cultivation Technique` that directly tempers the `Soul`... truly amazing.’

’The Way of the `Soul`...’

’Supreme over all techniques, wielding the great power of heaven and earth.’

As Zhao Zuo read the slate, committing it to memory and trying to understand, the golden flames appeared within his `Soul` once more. The fire licked at his `Soul`, but it wasn’t scorching hot.

At the same moment, music arose from all directions, enveloping and invading his `Soul`. The scene was just like his previous attempts at `Cultivation`; soon, he would lose awareness of his surroundings and fall into a deep sleep.

He controlled his `Soul`, forcing it to be still. He stopped fighting the flames and the pleasant music, patiently and calmly trying to perceive any inheritance or text hidden within the melody.

A mere three seconds passed before Zhao Zuo’s head slumped to the side and he was asleep.

This time, he slept far longer than usual. Clearly, Shen Yunjiao’s advice was not the solution; in fact, it seemed to make him sleep even longer.

’In that case, confrontation is the only path left.’ Zhao Zuo looked at the jade slate.

This time, he didn’t listen to the music or let the flames burn his `Soul` unchecked. Instead, he began to transform his own `Soul` into flames to fight back against the golden fire.

After a few attempts, his `Soul` transformed from a placid, silver lake into a raging silver inferno. The gold and silver flames were like two generals at war, clashing back and forth, igniting a prolonged battle within his `Sea of Souls`.

He employed every strategy he could think of: long-snake formations, encirclements, and tactics for ambushing reinforcements.

Zhao Zuo threw every tactic he knew into the fight against the golden flames. The silver fire of his `Soul` became a thundering legion under his command.

The golden flames, as if provoked, swelled in response, becoming a sea of fire that closed in from all sides to crush Zhao Zuo’s `Soul Fire`. Initially, he held his ground, but once the mysterious music joined the fray, he was quickly forced onto the defensive.

One by one, the silver flames flickered and died. Zhao Zuo felt that familiar wave of drowsiness wash over him. He lasted for about thirty more seconds before his head slumped, and he once again fell into a deep sleep.

「In the blink of an eye, the sun had set, and the moon had climbed into the sky.」

A new cycle began. A new day dawned.

The morning sun streamed through a crack in the window, falling upon Zhao Zuo’s face.

His eyes snapped open, and he immediately recalled the events of the previous day.

He had lost again, but it wasn’t a total defeat. A new segment of memory regarding the `Soul-Forging Technique` now existed in his mind. His resistance, his battle from the day before, had allowed him to obtain a fragment of the inheritance.

Unfortunately, it was a fragment with no beginning or end. To obtain the rest, he would have to continue his struggle against the golden flames, surviving longer under their combined assault with the music.

The inheritance of the `Soul-Forging Technique` wasn’t about submission. It was about defiance, resistance, and battle.

Zhao Zuo found that his spirit was full, showing no signs of `Soul` depletion, which put him at ease. He took two `Communication Jade`s from his `Storage Bag`.

First, he sent a message to `Liu Heng`, telling him not to wait for him at the `Earth Fire Chamber`. Then, he informed `Shen Yunjiao` that he intended to wrestle with the jade slate to the bitter end over the next few days.

After settling those two matters, Zhao Zuo picked up the jade slate once more and resumed reading, studying, and comprehending it.

Golden flames erupted within his `Sea of Souls`, and Zhao Zuo immediately commanded his own `Soul` to transform into writhing silver dragons, which he sent to attack the sea of golden fire.

Initially, Zhao Zuo held a slight advantage. But then the golden flames also took on animal forms. Countless bird-shaped golden beasts began to gnaw at his silver dragons. The tide turned from his favor to a stalemate, and finally, with the music’s intervention, to a complete rout.

When he woke from his slumber, the sky outside was already dark.

Another portion of the `Soul-Forging Technique`’s inheritance had been added to his mind.

He got up, took care of his business, and immediately went back to wrestling with the slate.

One battle, two battles... all the way to twenty-eight.

Zhao Zuo spent fifteen days and finally managed to inherit the `Soul-Forging Technique` in its entirety. Now, when he perused the jade slate, the golden flames, musical notes, and other strange phenomena no longer appeared.

Now, the complete general principles and the first layer of the `Soul-Forging Technique` were stored in his mind.

The general principles stated that the `Soul-Forging Technique` had ten layers in total. The higher the layer, the more terrifying the `Soul` requirements became. Each layer corresponded to a `Great Realm` of `Cultivation`, and the `Second-Layer` required the `Soul` strength of a `Foundation Establishment` `Cultivator` to even begin learning.

Upon reaching `Perfection` in the `Third Layer`, sixth layer, ninth layer, and tenth layer of the `Soul-Forging Technique`, a `Cultivator` could forge a `Lifebound Soul Soldier` from their very `Soul`. This meant that by mastering the technique, one could possess a total of four `Lifebound Soul Soldier`s.

The `Cultivator` could determine the form of their `Lifebound Soul Soldier`—it could be a cluster of silver needles for area-of-effect attacks, a shield or barrier for defense, or a sword or saber for single-target offense, among other things.

Zhao Zuo had already attempted his first `Cultivation` session with the `Soul-Forging Technique`. He visualized a great hammer in his mind and used it to repeatedly strike his own `Soul Body`.

He had failed dozens of times just to successfully visualize the great hammer.

Furthermore, cultivating for too long at one time would weaken his `Soul`. After several tests, he determined the optimal duration was about half an hour.

Now that he had successfully obtained the `Soul-Forging Technique`, Zhao Zuo planned to address the main reason he had come down the mountain.

To sell `Magical Artifact`s... and get upgraded `Magical Artifact`s!

.......