Zhang Fan was not particularly bothered by his refusal. After all, his master had left this task solely to retaliate against the Jiuyay star domain. While those chosen to enter the third level undoubtedly possessed great potential, achieving the Deity Transformation realm posed no significant difficulty as long as their hearts were free of inner demons.
However, they were still far from posing a threat to a high-level star domain like Jiuyay.
Cultivators like Zhang Fan and Liu Mu, who could enter the third level of the Great Luo Hall, were merely seeds casually sown by the Lord of the Great Luo Realm. The hope of them growing into towering trees on the perilous path of immortal cultivation was slim.
Luo Xiaoxiao, however, was different. After tens of thousands of years of waiting, she, as the innate Dark God Body, was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate to inherit her master's dao. Such a prodigy was rarely seen even in high-level star domains like Zixiao, let alone in this barren, resource-poor savage star domain.
Since he was here, the Great Luo Artifact Spirit naturally would not give up.
Although he was an artifact spirit, he had existed for hundreds of thousands of years and understood a thing or two about human affairs.
To win over Luo Xiaoxiao, he had to start with Zhang Fan.
"Do you know that even cultivators in the Deity Transformation realm desperately desire a supreme treasure of the Great Dao? You, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, have this opportunity. How can you bear to refuse?" the Great Luo Artifact Spirit asked with a hint of confusion.
Zhang Fan smiled and said, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be given up; it's just that the price is not enough."
"Perhaps for other Nascent Soul cultivators, they would gamble with their lives. But for me, a supreme treasure of the Great Dao is not worth sacrificing my freedom, even if it is only temporary freedom."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit could not refute Zhang Fan's words. Every cultivator had their own pursuits, and indeed, one could not be forced.
"You have a point, but..."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit suddenly thought of something. With a wave of his sleeve, supreme treasures emanating the aura of the Great Dao appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Six supreme treasures of the Great Dao?"
Liu Mu's gaze was instantly captivated, his bright eyes shimmering with a fervent light.
Zhang Fan's gaze swept swiftly over the supreme treasures, finally resting on a three-legged, two-eared cauldron that was entirely black.
"You collected many parts of the Myriad Beast Cauldron on the second level of the Great Luo Hall. Don't you want to obtain the complete Myriad Beast Cauldron?" the Great Luo Artifact Spirit said with a smile, staring at Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan did not reply. His eyes were fixed on the black cauldron. The cauldron was covered with numerous bas-reliefs of exotic beasts. Although they were extremely small, only the size of ants, the eyesight of a Nascent Soul cultivator was astonishing, and he could still see them clearly.
On the black cauldron, merely a foot in diameter, were densely carved nearly ten thousand bas-reliefs of exotic beasts. Each one was lifelike. As he focused his gaze, the forms of various exotic beasts flooded into Zhang Fan's mind. In that instant, Zhang Fan felt as if countless exotic beasts were roaring in his mind.
Some were ferociously tyrannical, some chillingly sinister, and others gentle as water. Various emotions filled Zhang Fan's mind.
"Is this the Dao of Myriad Beasts?"
Zhang Fan forcefully expelled the various emotions from his mind, then waved his hand to take out the black artifacts he had obtained. Drawn by an invisible force, they floated towards the black cauldron involuntarily.
Zhang Fan did not stop them, watching silently as the black artifacts, pulled by the Myriad Beast Cauldron, slowly merged into the cauldron's body, transforming into bas-reliefs of exotic beasts.
"This is not an ordinary supreme treasure of the Great Dao, is it?" Zhang Fan asked.
Although his current realm was low, his eyesight was still exceptional. When he saw this black cauldron, he felt it was fundamentally different from other Great Luo supreme treasures.
"Oh?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in the depths of the Great Luo Artifact Spirit's eyes. He had not expected a mere Nascent Soul cultivator to see through it.
"This is indeed not an ordinary supreme treasure of the Great Dao. It is a magical artifact refined by a mighty cultivator in the Dao Integration stage. Although it is a semi-finished product, it is not something an ordinary Great Luo supreme treasure can compare to."
"If the reward is this Myriad Beast Cauldron, I can agree to your conditions," Zhang Fan said, his eyes fixed on the Great Luo Artifact Spirit.
Seeing Zhang Fan nod, the Great Luo Artifact Spirit breathed a sigh of relief. Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Fan swore an oath with the Heavenly Dao as his witness.
Liu Mu naturally had no reason to refuse. Killing ten Deity Transformation cultivators was something he had great confidence in.
Although this meant they would be destined to stand in opposition to the Jiuyay star domain, as a high-level star domain, Deity Transformation cultivators were as common as blades of grass, and it would not attract the attention of their powerful beings.
Just as Luo Xiaoxiao was excitedly about to choose her own supreme treasure of the Great Dao, she was stopped by the Great Luo Artifact Spirit.
"You don't need to choose," the Great Luo Artifact Spirit said to Luo Xiaoxiao with a smile.
"Why?" Luo Xiaoxiao was stunned.
"Because everything in this Great Luo Hall will belong to you."
"Of course, you must first complete the inheritance of my master's dao."
"Don't I need to swear an oath?" Luo Xiaoxiao had not expected such good fortune.
"Haha, from the moment you inherit the Great Luo Realm, the Jiuyay star domain will be your mortal enemy. Even if you don't seek them out, they will find you."
Luo Xiaoxiao couldn't help but cast her gaze towards her master. Seeing Zhang Fan wave his hand, he said, "Go, this is your opportunity. As for what comes after, it's not something you should worry about now."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit transported Luo Xiaoxiao to another space, where she would receive the complete dao inheritance of the Lord of the Great Luo Hall.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fan and Liu Mu began to study the newly acquired supreme treasures of the Great Dao.
Zhang Fan held the Myriad Beast Cauldron in his palm, his divine sense penetrating into it, attempting to find the artifact spirit and refine it.
However, before his divine sense could penetrate deeply, it was shattered by the roars of various exotic beasts, and his soul suffered minor damage.
"There are nearly ten thousand primordial spirits of exotic beasts sealed within?" After stabilizing his mind, Zhang Fan finally understood why this cauldron was called the Myriad Beast Cauldron and why the Great Luo Artifact Spirit had said it was a semi-finished product.
The fact that over nine thousand primordial spirits of exotic beasts were refined and merged into the cauldron meant that in order to refine this Myriad Beast Cauldron, the refiner had captured nearly ten thousand exotic beasts in the Deity Transformation realm. This was undoubtedly a grand undertaking.
"It seems my soul strength is still too weak. Not to mention refining it, I can't even awaken the artifact spirit."
Zhang Fan shook his head. His current cultivation was only in the early stage of the Nine Tribulations realm, and his soul power was only slightly stronger than that of an ordinary peak Nascent Soul cultivator. He estimated that to refine this Myriad Beast Cauldron, he would need to at least reach the stage of fusing his soul with the laws and fully enter the Half-step Deity Transformation realm.
With this thought, Zhang Fan stored the Myriad Beast Cauldron in his Starry Image Space, then took out a large number of sealed demonic beast primordial spirits, preparing to cultivate and attempt to break through to the mid-stage of the Nine Tribulations realm.
Although he had only recently entered the Nine Tribulations realm, Zhang Fan had no limitations regarding his cultivation. As long as he had sufficient resources, he could reach the peak of the Nascent Soul realm in a very short period.
However, this was also what troubled him the most. The white immortal infant was like a bottomless pit, and each step forward consumed resources that would drive cultivators of the same realm mad.
Fortunately, in the previous beast tide, Zhang Fan had acquired a large number of demonic beast primordial spirits, including several from peak Nine Tribulations realm demonic beasts, which gave him the confidence to advance to the mid-stage of the Nine Tribulations realm.
...