“Exactly. An external avatar involves attaching a split spirit and nascent soul to an avatar. To achieve unity between the two, one must prevent the avatar from backfiring on the original body, and also completely merge the split spirit and nascent soul with the avatar. To achieve these two things is extremely difficult… well, absolutely not easy.” Long Shi originally wanted to say extremely difficult, but seeing Xiao Wenbing’s dismissive expression, he immediately changed his words.
Xiao Wenbing hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was true, and asked, "Is it that difficult?"
“Indeed, that is why the three days mentioned by Old Dragon is already too short.” Long Shi paused. He said, “The avatar chosen by Fellow Daoist Xiao has lost its mind at this moment, but its spiritual power has not dissipated. If it is refined immediately, it can achieve twice the result with half the effort. But if it is delayed for too long, then this avatar is better off not being used.”
Xiao Wenbing's eyes immediately showed a strange look. Was this old dragon exaggerating? Why was his tone so different from the Mirror God's? According to the Mirror God, using the Dark Infant as a catalyst to create an external avatar was an extremely simple matter. The implication was that as long as you handed over the item, one day later, he guaranteed to give you a lively and energetic external avatar.
These two people have completely contradictory opinions, and I really don't know who to listen to.
Suddenly, recalling how the Mirror God had once been so keen on operating on him, wanting to condense his divine essence through surgery, Xiao Wenbing began to suspect that this guy was simply driven by curiosity and wanted to conduct an experiment.
Long Shi waited a moment. Seeing that Xiao Wenbing was still hesitant, he finally sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, although the technique of creating an external avatar is indeed powerful, it is ultimately not the righteous path. You should think twice before acting."
"Huh...really?" Xiao Wenbing knew in his heart that the old dragon would never lie to him about this matter, but to say that the Mirror God would harm him was even more unbelievable.
"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Xiao, since you began your practice, how many cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage have you seen choosing to cultivate the technique of creating external avatars?"
“This…” Xiao Wenbing gave a wry smile. He really had never seen it before. A thought struck him: could there really be something wrong with doing this?
"An avatar isn't actually a particularly complex spell. In terms of power, it's passable, not inferior to some high-level magical artifacts. However, there are several drawbacks to creating an avatar." Long Shi coughed and explained in detail, "Firstly, avatars are hard to come by. If the avatar's original body isn't strong enough, then all the hard work in creating one will not only be useless but will become a burden. As for..."
Old Dragon glanced at the Heavenly Void Ring in Xiao Wenbing's hand and said, "As for good incarnations, like this demon, a Tribulation Transcending expert, those are things that can only be encountered by chance."
Xiao Wenbing nodded. That was natural. If it weren't for this fortuitous opportunity, would he have been asked to go out of his way to capture a top-tier expert in the Tribulation Transcending stage? That would have incurred the wrath of both heaven and man.
"Secondly, refining an external avatar requires a split nascent soul. The nascent soul splits into two bodies, which is extremely risky. If not done well, the nascent soul will dissipate and the person will die."
"No way," Xiao Wenbing said in surprise. "I've seen it before; for those seniors in the Nascent Soul stage, separating their nascent souls doesn't seem to be a difficult task at all."
“Differentiating the Nascent Soul is not difficult, but to separate the Nascent Soul into an external avatar, about 30% of the Nascent Soul's energy must be separated. Whether it can be successful or not is another matter. Just from the perspective of cultivation, the cultivation level of the original body will have to decline to a certain extent. Therefore, refining an external avatar may not be a worthwhile thing.”
"Ah, I understand." Xiao Wenbing nodded repeatedly. It turned out that they needed at least 30% of the energy of their original nascent soul to refine an external avatar, which was no small amount.
However, he himself was completely different. Since the Dark Infant was a copy, his energy was not consumed at all. The connection between him and the Dark Infant was only a wisp of divine thought.
For him, the Dark Infant was less a differentiation of the Nascent Soul and more a magical artifact.
Therefore, whether or not he refines it, it will not affect his physical cultivation level. In this respect, he is probably the only one in the entire cultivation world who can do this.
After explaining at length, Long Shi saw that Xiao Wenbing finally understood, so he asked, "Now that Fellow Daoist Xiao understands, shall we stay here for three days?"
"No need, we'd better get going sooner rather than later," Xiao Wenbing said immediately.
Long Shi smiled with relief and said, "Fellow Daoist Xiao is wise. It's best not to refine this external avatar for now."
"at present?"
“That’s right. If you ascend to the Immortal Realm in the future and master the Immortal Spirit Qi, you will have fewer concerns. It’s not too late to refine it then.”
Xiao Wenbing smiled and said, "The Immortal Realm is too far away."
Since Xiao Wenbing had no intention of lingering, the group once again used the Starry Sky Illusion to conceal themselves and headed towards the teleportation array. Their reason for stopping was actually to see if they could extract anything useful from this demon. But that was obviously impossible now.
As everyone drifted towards the teleportation array, Xiao Wenbing gave an instruction to Die Xian, then focused his mind on the Heavenly Void Ring to watch the Mirror God refine his external avatar.
An external avatar is clearly not something that is easy to create; one only needs to look at the solemn expression on the Mirror God's face to know this.
Looking around but not seeing the demon's body, Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise, "Mirror God, where is the avatar?"
“There it is.”
Following the Mirror God's finger, Xiao Wenbing was startled. There stood a cauldron. This thing was familiar; it was the Earth Vein Jade Cauldron he had obtained from Elder Huipu.
But……
Xiao Wenbing asked hesitantly, "Mirror God, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Of course not," Mirror God said firmly.
Xiao Wenbing's lips twitched. How could the Mirror God have managed to stuff such a huge body into the cauldron? Could it be that it's already a bloody mess inside? Just thinking about it made his mouth feel sour, and it seemed like even his stomach acid was rising.
However, the Mirror God did not notice the change in his expression, and instead explained, "Although this demon's body is relatively tough, it is not much stronger than the Dark Infant, and its spiritual power is also insufficient. Therefore, it needs to be trained again. Otherwise, after combining with the Dark Infant, it will not only fail to enhance its strength, but will also reduce its combat power."
"Refine...humans?"
"Exactly."
"How to refine it?"
"It's very simple, just add divine power."
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback and asked, "Where did you get your divine power?"
The Mirror God pointed to the mountain of spirit stones in the mustard seed space and said, "Just use the Spirit Gathering Platform to transform them, and that will do."
Xiao Wenbing suddenly realized that this method worked. However, looking at the countless spirit stones, he still felt a great sense of accomplishment.
I remember when they were about to leave at the Jade Cauldron Sect, I suddenly asked for a large amount of spirit stones.
As a result, Sect Master Huizhe opened the Jade Cauldron Sect's inner treasury without saying a word.
Only then did Xiao Wenbing truly understand the extent of the Jade Cauldron Sect's wealth. There, piles of top-grade spirit stones were casually placed. What ordinary cultivators considered treasures were, in the eyes of these masters of artifact crafting, no different from ordinary pebbles.
Xiao Wenbing refused the top-grade spirit stones recommended to him by Hui Zhe and others, telling them frankly that his only purpose in needing a large number of spirit stones was to use them as consumables. Ordinary first and second-grade spirit stones were sufficient; anything higher would be a pure waste.
Although they didn't understand what Xiao Wenbing was trying to do that required such a large amount of resources, Hui Zhe and the others still followed his instructions and stuffed a small mountain of first-grade spirit stones into the Heavenly Void Ring.
Because Hui Zhe and Hui Pu were among the very few who knew the true purpose of their trip, they were very clear that if Xiao Wenbing and the others failed in their mission, the entire cultivation world would come to an end.
Under such circumstances, let alone if Xiao Wenbing only needed some first-grade spirit stones, even if he wanted to take all the stock in the Jade Cauldron Sect's treasury, Hui Zhe and the others would not even bat an eye.
After all, if the cultivation world is destroyed, what use are these spirit stones?
Therefore, when Xiao Wenbing led everyone away, half of the space in his Heavenly Void Ring was already filled with endless spirit stones.
According to the Mirror God's estimation, if all these spirit stones were used as raw materials for energy conversion, then no matter how extravagantly he spent them, completing this feat within a hundred years would still be extremely difficult...
Volume Four: The Divine Artifacts - Chapter 286: Forging (Part Two)
------------------------
Xiao Wenbing was not worried about the outside world. With the Starry Sky Illusion Realm in Butterfly Fairy's hands, plus the guidance of an old and shrewd person like Long Shi, unless they were extremely unlucky and encountered a top-level being with a divine status or a magic weapon that countered theirs, their whereabouts would be very difficult to be discovered.
Therefore, he stayed safely inside the Heavenly Void Ring, watching the Mirror God's strange techniques.
The Mirror God's methods differ greatly from the refining methods prevalent in the cultivation world. But thinking about it, it makes sense; given its high level of understanding, how could it possibly use methods from the lower realms to fool people?
Previously, Xiao Wenbing's own strength was low, and even if the Mirror God wanted to help, it would be like a skilled cook without ingredients. But now, not only does he have the Spirit Gathering Platform, but he also has an inexhaustible reserve of energy. Under such circumstances, the Mirror God is naturally going to show his skills.
Inside the Earth Vein Jade Cauldron, the demon's body was shrunk to an enormous size by the Mirror God's magic. He lay half-reclined inside the cauldron, his entire body enveloped in a golden light.
Beneath the jade cauldron, the red earth vein fire had reached its maximum extent, with powerful fire energy flowing and raging unchecked within the demon's body.
Under such high temperatures, without the protection of that divine power, this demon would have been completely obliterated long ago.
However, at this moment, under the nurturing of the earth's vein fire, that layer of golden power was gradually seeping into the demon's body. Xiao Wenbing watched for a long time and finally understood that the Mirror God used earth fire as a catalyst, and it was probably only under such intense high temperatures that the divine power could slowly merge with the demon's body.
The Mirror God is not the Baby God, after all. What the Baby God can do easily doesn't mean the Mirror God can do the same. Therefore, while both can integrate divine power, the Baby God can directly infuse energy into the Dark Infant's body, but the Mirror God would have to go through a much more complicated process to achieve the same result.
I watched from the sidelines for a while. The Mirror God seemed quite interested, and kept changing the posture of the demon in the jade cauldron so that the divine power could be distributed as evenly as possible to every corner of his body.
With a sigh, both in Mirror God's eyes and in the eyes of Long Shi and the others, this unfortunate demon was clearly not a "person," but rather an object. Perhaps the only difference was that this object possessed some value.
After an unknown amount of time, the furnace fire gradually dimmed. Xiao Wenbing understood, of course. This wasn't due to the earth's vein fire running out of steam, but rather because the Mirror God was consciously controlling the intensity of the fire. Because, within the jade cauldron, the golden light had almost completely dissipated.
Sure enough, a moment later, a flash of red light appeared, and the earth's vein fire was completely sealed off.
Its movements were incredibly fluid, as if every action had been rehearsed hundreds of times beforehand, giving the viewer a pleasing experience. Xiao Wenbing was greatly impressed; perhaps this was the true power of a divine artifact's spirit.
The Mirror God pointed a finger. The demon immediately flew out of the jade cauldron. Once out of the cauldron, the demon's body began to grow longer, becoming larger the further it moved from the cauldron.
Finally, when the magic surrounding the demon completely disappeared, the demon transformed into a tall, burly man radiating golden light. After undergoing this tempering process, the demon's body not only showed no signs of shrinking but actually grew even larger.
Xiao Wenbing looked at the person with a blank stare with a solemn expression, and a chill suddenly ran through his heart.
This demonic figure gave him a powerful sense of shock. Because, emanating from him, Xiao Wenbing sensed a peculiar aura. He had once fought a life-or-death battle with the owner of this aura, so he was absolutely certain he wouldn't mistake it.
"How was it?" Mirror God asked smugly.
Xiao Wenbing opened his mouth, but ultimately no sound came out.
"Alright, the refining is complete, Dark Infant, this body is now yours."
As soon as the Mirror God finished speaking, the demon's body trembled. After a long while, he slowly raised his head. His eyes were no longer dull and idiotic, but instead flowed with a faint dark gold.
“The Dark God…” Xiao Wenbing murmured. This appearance did indeed bear many similarities to the Dark God he had fought before.
“No,” Mirror God said decisively.
"What's wrong?"
"This is not the Dark God."
"Is that so?"
Xiao Wenbing glanced at the demon again. Ever since the Dark Infant officially took over this avatar, the pale gold color on the demon's body had begun to subtly change, seemingly dimming considerably. How unlike the color it had been during the great battle against the Dark God!
"Yes, this guy's power is decent, but compared to the Dark God, it's nothing." The Mirror God sighed slightly. "Actually, my original intention was to create a master of the Dark God's caliber, but that's too difficult, at least not now, unless..."
Xiao Wenbing was startled. Could it be that the Mirror God really had a way to create the Dark God? He pressed further, "Unless...?"
What?
"Unless we use someone of the level of the Food King or Long Shi as the avatar, and with the great help of the Treasure God, well, we only need to squeeze out seventy or eighty percent of its divine power." The Mirror God pondered for a moment and said.
Xiao Wenbing gasped; this guy's standards were really high...
Is that all?
"If that's the case, I'm confident I can forge a super strong individual with three to five tenths of the Dark God's strength." Mirror God suddenly raised his head, his small eyes narrowing as he chuckled, "So, are you interested?"
"No way." Xiao Wenbing refused decisively. He was joking; could the Food King and Long Shi really be used to refine an external avatar? If they did, how could the Dragon Clan and the Divine Tree Ancestor possibly let it go?
Moreover, to expect the precious god to voluntarily contribute 70-80% of its divine power is, as anyone can imagine, absolutely impossible.
The Mirror God shrugged, clearly knowing that this was essentially an impossible task, and thus only mentioned it briefly without any hope. Perhaps, when Xiao Wenbing has mastered his own divine power, that will be the time for it to truly unleash its potential.
"Alright, I've finished crafting the avatar. Now it's up to you to control it." The Mirror God had completed its task. With a shudder, it returned to the small bronze mirror and didn't come out again.
Xiao Wenbing walked up to the demon and gently touched the dark golden light on its body. The aura containing slaughter and violence seemed to become even more intense.