Northern Border.
Qi Tian, in his "laboratory," observed his creation.
"Not bad, not bad... it seems there's real hope now." A satisfied smile graced his face as he looked at a newly crafted item before him.
The object was an arm-like contraption. From the outside, it appeared to be a right arm, indistinguishable from a normal one.
The only difference, if one had to point it out, was the absence of flesh and blood at the severed end of the limb.
This was what Qi Tian had worked on tirelessly over the past two days.
It was also the closest he had come to forging a spiritual artifact.
He had figured it out.
Since refining spiritual artifacts now led to the destruction of his hands, he simply forged himself a new hand.
His previous hand was nearly ruined.
For him, that was merely the beginning.
Afterward, when his hand became unusable, he would replace it with a pre-forged new arm. More importantly, if one day he could forge spiritual artifacts, he would officially begin to practice the methods described in the "Hundred Refinements Divine Mechanism," which could only be learned at a realm beyond the divine.
Body Tempering.
As the name suggested, it involved treating one's own body as a spiritual artifact to be refined, ultimately transforming the entire body into a spiritual artifact!
At that point, every inch of his skin, every muscle, every bone would be a spiritual artifact.
In the "Hundred Refinements Divine Mechanism," this was merely a cultivation method, but from the moment Qi Tian read it, he had made it his lifelong goal.
Hundred Refinements Divine Mechanism, to ultimately become a deity through a hundred refinements!
He looked at the arm forged from Unmelting Bone. This was his first attempt at forging an arm, and prior to today, it had been the closest he had come to a spiritual artifact.
But today, the closest spiritual artifact arm had changed.
It was now this newly forged arm.
His technique was still immature, and he could only rely on such prosthetics to enhance his arm's strength. This was a mere side path, but he knew clearly that without this side path, he currently had no opportunity to touch the great path.
Therefore, he intended to constantly advance his side path before pursuing the great path.
He detached the Unmelting Bone arm and fitted the brand-new one.
The primary material for this arm was still the Unmelting Bone physique, but it incorporated many new components with better toughness, higher extensibility, and most importantly, the ability to withstand higher temperatures during the forging process.
The temperatures required for forging spiritual artifacts were even higher.
After he finished fitting the new arm, he stretched it, confirming there were no abnormalities, and nodded with satisfaction.
It truly lived up to being his best work yet. With this, he believed he would definitely be able to forge a spiritual artifact within two years!
Suddenly, he lowered his hand and looked towards the doorway.
A shadow on the ground merged with the room's dimness.
"Shadow Assassin?"
Qi Tian blurted out instinctively.
"Young Sect Master's perception is indeed formidable, his eyesight is extraordinary."
The Shadow Assassin's voice echoed in the room, emanating from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its origin.
This was also what made Shadow Assassins so difficult to deal with. Once they merged with shadows, no one could track their whereabouts.
"Here to make a trade with me?"
Qi Tian asked, as the patterns on the arm he had just fitted receded into invisibility.