Translator: AnubisTL
This was where the benefits of cultivating two different systems became apparent.
The truth rune operated autonomously, continuously absorbing elemental power, transforming it into true essence to replenish what was being consumed.
As for precise guidance and control... Jieming's first self-constructed Witchcraft Model had been alchemy!
Of course, even with such advantages, he had to maintain absolute focus.
Any lapse in concentration, any loss of conceptual control, could not only shatter the instrument embryo but also damage his mental sea itself.
After successfully integrating the first portion of Morning Haze Crystal Sand into the instrument embryo, its golden-red radiance dimmed slightly, but the surface cracks became more pronounced, radiating an unstable aura.
Next came the second material—Rainbow Radiance Spirit Dew.
The seven-colored spirit dew was introduced into the mental sea. The moment it entered the instrument embryo, it clashed violently with the morning glow concept within.
Rainbow Radiance's ethereal nature and the morning glow's sharpness seemed as incompatible as water and fire. The instrument embryo trembled violently, on the verge of shattering!
Jieming once again channeled true flame and divine sense, stabilizing both forces while simultaneously attempting to harmonize the concepts.
This was a conceptual battle.
He wasn't merely melting materials; he was harmonizing intentions, properties, and rules.
Failure!
The instrument embryo shuddered violently, cracks spreading across its surface before it shattered explosively within Jieming's mental sea!
"Cough! Cough!"
Jieming suddenly coughed violently, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.
Agonizing pain tore through his mental sea, his soul feeling as if it were being ripped apart—the backlash from his failed artifact forging attempt.
He collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
"I was too hasty," he gasped, struggling to his feet. "The conflict between concepts was far greater than I anticipated... and I didn't fully grasp the connections between them."
Concepts originate from the consciousness of living beings, making their manipulation inherently subjective.
Resolving conflicts between concepts was less like working with different materials and more like tackling a complex reading comprehension exercise.
"Damn it! Reading comprehension is my worst subject!" Jieming sighed, glancing into his mental sea.
The interior of his mental sea had been severely shaken, but thankfully, the truth rune quickly restored stability. However, the damage sustained would take time to heal.
The instrument embryo had completely shattered, and a significant portion of the mental shock Jieming had suffered stemmed from its destruction.
The concept of light, however, remained unscathed. After overflowing the embryo, it coalesced into radiant orbs, each emitting a different iridescent glow.
If an ordinary cultivator were to encounter this situation, their next steps would be to first repair the damage to their mental sea and then spend another year or two condensing a new instrument embryo.
"They say you can refine a magic artifact in the late stage of qi refining, but this thing is completely in the territory of 'technically possible'!"
Jieming now understood: any normal cultivator in the late stage of qi refining who dared to refine this magic artifact alone would be utterly ruined.
As for Jieming...
"Let's see... a third-tier Soul Restoration Potion. It can perfectly repair all damage to the soul and is only effective on beings below the level of a third-tier formal wizard... Just 10,000 merit points per vial? Buy!"
"No, to be safe, I'll get five at once!"
Less than a minute after placing the order on the magic network, Jieming received the potions via the laboratory's teleportation platform.
He decisively grabbed a vial, drank the potion in one gulp, and closed his eyes in satisfaction, feeling the cool sensation spreading through his soul.
With the aid of his "money" ability, Jieming went from injured to fully recovered in a mere one minute and twenty seconds.
As for the shattered instrument embryo...
Jieming's consciousness reappeared in his mental sea. He gestured toward the nearby truth rune, and immediately over a dozen small points of light floated toward him.
For Jieming, the most challenging part of refining the instrument embryo was finding the right model within the structures of the truth runes.
The advantage, however, was that once he found the correct "point," the rest became a streamlined process.
With practiced ease, Jieming assembled the tiny points of light, and another flawless instrument embryo materialized in his hand.
Thus, after failing for the first time at one minute and thirty seconds, Jieming began his second attempt at artifact forging.
Jieming wasn't particularly skilled at reading comprehension, but he figured he could just keep trying until he found the perfect method.
After several more days of refinement, he successfully introduced the five concepts of light into the Heart Mirror Artifact Embryo, one by one. Under the tempering of true flame and the guidance of his divine sense, he fused them within the embryo.
Finally, after all the light concepts had been successfully introduced and initially fused, the embryo underwent its final transformation.
It trembled violently within his mental sea, followed by a powerful inward pull.
Not an outward attraction for spiritual energy, but an inward absorption!
It began drawing upon Jieming's pure true essence and the very essence of his soul.
This was the crucial step in magic artifact refining—establishing a connection with the master's mind and spirit, drawing upon their power as the foundation for its growth.
As the true essence and soul essence were absorbed, the embryo's radiance intensified while its volume began to shrink. Simultaneously, its form began to shift.
The ethereal spiritual form, having absorbed its master's power and merged with the concept, began to materialize into a tangible form!
Jieming felt a peculiar connection forming between himself and the instrument embryo.
Following the guidance of the Great Dao Library Pavilion, he drew the materializing embryo from his mental sea and guided it toward the Laogong Acupoint in the center of his palm.
The Laogong Acupoint, a vital point on the body's meridians, serves as a crucial nexus for condensing and releasing true essence and magical power.
Many similar magic artifacts choose this location to manifest during their initial formation.
A warm sensation spread across Jieming's palm as the swirling, multicolored light gradually solidified into a tangible form.
At first, only a hazy outline appeared, but the details soon sharpened.
Finally, as the light receded completely, a small, palm-sized, thin, circular mirror lay in his hand.
This mirror was made of a peculiar material, neither metal nor jade, yet translucent and warm to the touch like jade.
Its surface was as smooth as water, without any sharp edges, and the frame was seamlessly integrated into the whole.
Within the mirror, five distinct colors and shapes of light swam slowly like living creatures, intertwining and swirling to create a dazzling and mysterious spectacle.
This was the instrument embryo form of the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror, Jieming's lifebound magical treasure—the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror itself!
An intangible concept, through the vessel of the instrument embryo and the refinement by true flame and divine sense, had finally condensed into a tangible artifact!
Of course, at this stage, it lacked the ability to transform into light and travel at will; it was merely a nascent embryo.
But this marked the completion of the most arduous and fundamental step in refining the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror!
Jieming gazed at the small, round mirror in his palm, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
Now, all that remained was the methodical process of nurturing it.
(End of the Chapter)