Chapter 17: Emulating the Supreme to Refine the Stone Monkey

Ye Fan's injuries were not difficult to resolve; the vitality of the Desolate Ancient Holy Body was excessively powerful, and among Jiang Yifei's apologies, there were many medicinal treasures for healing.

Five days later, Ye Fan awoke from his recuperation. He saw Qin Sheng tempering divine patterns, shaping them into the form of another object.

He was no stranger to such cultivation; this was the process of "sacrificing" a tool. Ye Fan himself was currently refining his own "tool."

However, after observing for a while, he became very confused.

"Immortal Qin, what kind of tool are you sacrificing?"

Qin Sheng's divine patterns had been hammered into a rectangular cuboid, the size of a fist, radiating brilliant divine light. Ye Fan truly could not tell what it was.

Could it be some unique secret weapon?

Qin Sheng smiled and carefully controlled his "tool," allowing it to separate into two halves.

It turned out this cuboid consisted of two parts: one was a lid, and the other was the main rectangular body, which was hollow inside.

"This is..." Ye Fan had a strong sense of déjà vu.

"A coffin," Qin Sheng provided the answer.

"Huh?"

Ye Fan froze, a look of disbelief on his face.

"One can use a coffin as a tool?"

"Why not?"

Qin Sheng asked back, "Have you forgotten how we arrived here? What did you think of that coffin?"

Recalling the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, Ye Fan had to admit it was indeed terrifying. He felt that even the weapons of the Demon Emperor might not surpass it.

"But using a coffin as a tool... this still looks too strange, doesn't it?"

"A tool is something that accompanies you for your entire life. One cannot be careless; you must choose a tool that best suits you and is most dear to you," Qin Sheng said.

"Only then can you achieve perfect fusion with it, where the tool and the heart become one. If a person loves the sword but is forced to forge a hammer, they will surely struggle to go far in the future."

*I understand the logic, but why on earth do you like coffins?!*

"What tool are you forging?"

Ye Fan replied, "A tripod, a round cauldron with three legs and two handles."

"The Dao produces one, one produces two, two produces three. Three produces all things. Your tool is good and suits you very well; in the future, it will surely weave a trajectory of the Dao."

Qin Sheng expressed his affirmation of Ye Fan's choice, then added

"The power of a cauldron is indeed great, but that is your path. My path is the coffin."

Ye Fan was puzzled. "Forging a coffin to bury all enemies and pursue extreme offense?"

Looking at the small coffin before him, Qin Sheng gave a mysterious smile.

"This coffin of mine does not just bury enemies; more importantly... it buries myself."

This made even less sense to Ye Fan.

"The mortal world is vast, and time is like a blade, cutting down geniuses with every stroke."

Qin Sheng continued, "Even the greatest heroes grow old. Neither ancient nor modern times have seen an immortal."

"This coffin will bury one 'me' after another. Those are the versions of me that perish within the passage of time. Their deaths will bring me rebirth."

"Seeking life within a coffin? Rebirth through extreme death?"

"You could understand it that way."

Forging a coffin—this was a decision Qin Sheng had made the moment he stepped onto the path of cultivation back on Earth.

When he first contemplated what tool to forge, this answer had surfaced in his mind.

Across the myriad heavens and worlds, one Qin Sheng after another would die, keeping a thin coffin ready to bury his own body, giving countless versions of himself a final resting place.

Death was not the end; instead, it would make Qin Sheng even stronger.

Reviving from ruin, rising from annihilation!

Do not think the coffin is an omen of ill fortune; that is a worldly perspective. In the world of *Shrouding the Heavens*, it is actually a symbol of great fortune.

It is a destination, a peace, an end, and also a source.

Do you not see that before ancient history, at the source of time, it was something that buried that "Sick Person."

The *Shrouding the Heavens* trilogy?

The Coffin Trilogy!

Qin Sheng's forging of the coffin not only aligned with his own path but also conformed to the "meta" of the world.

The thought of having already reached the end made him hum softly.

"Yezi, don't overthink it. Everyone has their own ideas. Stay firm in your convictions," Qin Sheng smiled.

Ye Fan nodded and asked again, "You have been cultivating for so many years, why haven't you forged a True Tool yet?"

"The scriptures I practiced on Earth were quite ordinary; they didn't have the method of unifying the four realms to specialize in one tool. I only completed the scriptures in this regard after arriving at Beidou."

Qin Sheng said, "Currently, I am re-refining this tool in pursuit of perfection."

A cultivator can refine a tool in each of the four realms—Bitter Sea, Life Spring, Divine Bridge, and Other Shore—but they can also choose to abandon three to focus on one.

Only such a tool is the most powerful and possesses the greatest potential.

Once it reaches Great Completion, it is enough for a single tool to break ten thousand laws.

However, the method of "Four Tools as One" is only recorded in Emperor Scriptures; Qin Sheng didn't know it before.

Only after obtaining the *Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art* did he have the opportunity to undergo such cultivation.

"As for a True Tool..." Qin Sheng shook his head.

"I haven't found suitable materials yet. Yezi, take my advice: the materials that carry the divine form of the tool must never be handled carelessly."

The tool of divine patterns is the Tool Spirit.

The tool of metal and stone is the Tool Body.

Only when the spirit and body merge does it become a True Tool.

"What are the best materials?" Ye Fan asked.

"Immortal Gold, or the Mother Qi of All Things, or immortal treasures nurtured within Chaos Stones, etc. These are all sacred items exclusive to Great Emperors. They are hard to find in the Desolate Lands, and I've never heard of anyone possessing them."

Ye Fan laughed heartily. "Don't worry, Immortal Qin. If I encounter any Immortal Gold in the future, I'll definitely save a portion for you."

In truth, he didn't even think he would encounter such an opportunity; after all, he was just an ordinary Holy Body.

"Then I shall be waiting," Qin Sheng smiled brightly.

"Immortal Qin, what are your plans for later?"

"You cultivate first."

Qin Sheng's expression turned mysterious. "In a while, I'll take you to pull off something big."

Ye Fan felt both anticipation and worry.

"Will it be dangerous? My cultivation is far inferior to yours; I might hold you back. Why don't you go alone?"

"It's fine. That path has low risk and high profit. It's very stable."

Just kidding—Ye Fan was the insurance Qin Sheng had prepared; how could he not go?

This time, Qin Sheng's departure from the Yaoguang Holy Land was not just to participate in the attack on the Azure Emperor's Tomb; he had other things to do.

...

Half a month later, Qin Sheng felt a movement in his heart.

In the world of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, he had basically ended the era of chaos. The essence of the "Three Kingdoms Qin Sheng" was flowing into his body.

"I'm going out for a bit," Qin Sheng said.

Ye Fan was confused. They were cultivating in the middle of the wilderness; what was there to avoid?

However, Ye Fan also knew that Qin Sheng had secrets. After all, being able to cultivate to the Other Shore realm on Earth was inherently unbelievable.

But he would not pry, nor would he covet.

Moving away from Ye Fan, Qin Sheng operated his demon art to digest this essence.

The phenomena of the demon art became increasingly startling, and the power of devouring became more terrifying. If Qin Sheng had not intentionally controlled it, the trees and animals around him would have had their life force sucked dry instantly.

Every time the *Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art* devoured essence, it would reach a new level. This didn't necessarily mean an increase in cultivation level, but also included personal transformation and comprehension of Heaven and Earth.

The essence of the postnatal state continuously transformed, nourishing the divine treasury of the kidneys and strengthening the divine spirit.

Qin Sheng's kidney health was getting better and better.

For a Dao Palace cultivator, deep cultivation was not something that could be finished in a day or two, especially with the vast amount of comprehension Qin Sheng was gaining.

After he finished digesting the gains from the Three Kingdoms Qin Sheng, another half month passed.

When he returned to that forest, Qin Sheng froze.

Ye Fan was gone again!

He observed the surrounding environment and found traces of a fight—an imbalanced fight, the kind where one side was utterly crushed. Ye Fan had likely been captured.

Qin Sheng was speechless. Why did it feel like the whole world was conspiring against Yezi?

"Let me think... after the trouble with the Jiang Family knights was resolved, what danger would Ye Fan face at this point in time... oh, it was him."

Qin Sheng knew who had targeted Ye Fan. He identified the direction and flew through the air.

A day later, Qin Sheng arrived before a cliff, where there was a stone cave on the cliff face.

Ye Fan was inside, and besides him, there was a gloomy, elderly man.

The old man was surnamed Han, an elder of the Lingxu Cave Heaven. Because his lifespan was running low, he coveted the divine fruit Ye Fan had eaten.

However, since the fruit had already been eaten by Ye Fan, Elder Han had come up with an idea after much deliberation.

Using Ye Fan as the primary medicinal ingredient, supplemented by other spiritual herbs, to refine a Human Pill.

There were too many "idea geniuses" in the world of *Shrouding the Heavens*.

In Qin Sheng's perception, Ye Fan was currently being refined inside a pill furnace.

"Unlucky kid."

Qin Sheng entered the stone cave. The area was covered in Dao patterns to mask its aura, making it difficult for those in the Sea of Qi realm to detect.

But Qin Sheng was in the Dao Palace realm.

Elder Han, with disheveled hair, guarded the furnace and stared at Qin Sheng.

"Who are you?"

*Ssh!*

Qin Sheng glanced at the old fossil. Divine light erupted from his eyes, piercing through Elder Han at a speed the old man couldn't react to.

"I don't feel like answering that question."

Elder Han drew his last breath; an elder of the Lingxu Cave Heaven had died just like that.

"I feel like a superhero right now," Qin Sheng lamented.

Then he walked over, patted the pill furnace, and shouted

"Yezi, are you dead yet?"

Ye Fan's weak voice rang out, "Not yet, but my eyes hurt a bit."

Qin Sheng laughed. "That's a good sign. It means you're about to refine the Fiery Eyes of the Great Sage. You're getting to experience the Great Sage's journey. Yezi, this is an auspicious omen!"

"Just let me out!" Ye Fan wanted to cry. How could he be so unlucky?

Qin Sheng inspected the furnace. Instead of lifting the lid, he sat cross-legged, drawing out the Fire Fiends from beneath the ground to continue the refining process.

Since Elder Han's unfinished business was here, let me complete it!

The reason Elder Han had established a cave dwelling here was because of the presence of Fire Fiends, which possessed divine energy and were perfect for alchemy.

"Ah!"

Ye Fan screamed, "Immortal Qin, what's happening? The temperature in the furnace is getting higher and higher!"

"Oh, nothing much. I've drawn in more Fire Fiends; you might find it a bit hot," Qin Sheng said.

"But don't worry, it'll be over soon."

Qin Sheng exerted his magic power, increasing the heat. *Burn, burn, burn!*

Let Ye Fan suffer a little more; let Elder Han take the blame for the bad reputation!

Anyway, Elder Han certainly wouldn't have any objections; if you don't believe me, ask him.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Ye Fan yelled.

"Master Ye, don't talk. Focus on your cultivation; this is a rare opportunity."

"Experience the spiritual energy contained within the Fire Fiends, use them to break through the seals on your body, and then circulate the Dao Scripture."

Qin Sheng smiled. "If the Great Sage can be refined this way, a Holy Body can too. I think you're no worse than a monkey."

"You freak!"

Ye Fan understood Qin Sheng's meaning and began to follow his guidance.

Elder Han was only in the Divine Bridge realm; what good spiritual herbs could he have collected? But Ye Fan was only in the Bitter Sea realm, so these herbs were truly beneficial to him.

Absorbing various spiritual herbs through the method of pill refining was far more effective than normal consumption.

A moment later, the sound of ocean waves and the blooming of golden light echoed from the furnace, accompanied by a rumbling sound.

Qin Sheng nodded. "Not bad. This is clearly the phenomenon of a top-grade pill forming. A peerless pill that would shock heaven and earth!"

This was entirely accurate. Ye Fan was absolutely the best "pill" Qin Sheng had ever refined.

Even if he only refined a pill once in his life, it was destined to be a myth in the history of alchemy.

In ten thousand or a hundred thousand years, if anyone asked Qin Sheng about his achievements in the path of alchemy, he could confidently say that he had refined a future Heavenly Emperor!

The combat record was verifiable!

Well, Elder Han contributed one percent, and Qin Sheng contributed ninety-nine percent.

Elder Han, do you have any objections to this distribution of credit?

Silence is consent.

"Immortal Qin, I've realized you have some very specific hobbies. You authors are the biggest freaks!" Ye Fan accused.

Qin Sheng silently increased the heat and sighed deeply.

"In ancient times, Taishang refined the Stone Monkey; today, Immortal Qin refines the Holy Body."

"The Old Lord and I are truly two towering peaks that complement each other on the path of alchemy!"