Zhang Fan did not particularly care about his refusal. After all, his master had left this task solely for revenge against the Nine Prefectures Star Domain. Although the cultivators chosen to enter the third level all possessed great potential, and crossing into the Nascent Soul stage would be relatively easy for those without inner demons, it was still far from enough to threaten a high-level star domain like the Nine Prefectures Star Domain.
Zhang Fan and Liu Mu, cultivators 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 growing into a towering tree on the perilous path of cultivation was slim.
However, Luo Xiaoxiao was different. After hundreds of thousands of years of waiting, as a naturally born Dark God Physique, Luo Xiaoxiao was undoubtedly the most suitable inheritor of his master's dao. Such a genius was rarely seen even in high-level star domains like the Purple Firmament Star Domain, let alone in this resource-scarce, desolate barbaric star domain.
Since he had come, 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 human affairs.
To win over Luo Xiaoxiao, he had to start with Zhang Fan.
"Do you know that even Nascent Soul cultivators desperately desire a Grand Dao Secret Treasure? You, a mere Core Formation cultivator, have this opportunity. How can you bear to refuse?" the Great Luo Artifact Spirit asked doubtfully.
Zhang Fan smiled and said, "There is nothing in this world that cannot be relinquished, only that the price is not enough."
"Perhaps for other Core Formation cultivators, they would risk their lives for it. But for me, a Grand Dao Secret Treasure is not worth sacrificing my freedom, even for a brief moment."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit could not refute Zhang Fan's words. Every cultivator had their own pursuits, and they could not be forced.
"What you say is very reasonable, but..."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit suddenly thought of something. With a wave of his sleeve, secret treasures radiating the charm of the Grand Dao appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Six Grand Dao Secret Treasures?"
Liu Mu's gaze was instantly captivated, his bright eyes flashing with fervent light.
Zhang Fan's gaze quickly swept over the several Grand Dao Secret Treasures, finally resting on a black, three-legged, two-handled cauldron.
"You collected many parts of the Myriad Beast Cauldron in the second level of the Great Luo Hall. Don't you want to obtain the complete Myriad Beast Cauldron?" the Great Luo Artifact Spirit stared at Zhang Fan and smiled.
Zhang Fan did not answer, his eyes fixed on the black cauldron. The black cauldron was covered with numerous reliefs of exotic beasts. Although they were extremely small, only ant-sized, the eyesight of a Nascent Soul cultivator was astonishing, and he could still see them clearly.
On the black cauldron, only about a foot in diameter, were densely carved reliefs of nearly ten thousand exotic beasts. Each one was lifelike. Focusing closely, the figures of the exotic beasts flooded into Zhang Fan's mind. In that instant, Zhang Fan felt countless exotic beasts roaring within his mind.
Some exuded immense ferocity, some were chillingly sinister, while others were as 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 and took out the black artifacts he had obtained. Pulled by an invisible force, they floated towards the black cauldron involuntarily.
Zhang Fan did not stop them, watching silently as the black artifacts, drawn by the Myriad Beast Cauldron, slowly merged into the body of the cauldron, transforming into reliefs of exotic beasts.
"This is not an ordinary Grand Dao Secret Treasure, is it?" Zhang Fan asked.
Although his current cultivation was low, his eyesight was still extraordinary. The moment he saw this black cauldron, he felt that it was fundamentally different from other Great Luo Secret Treasures.
"Eh?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in the depths of the Great Luo Artifact Spirit's eyes. He had not expected that a mere Core Formation cultivator could discern its true nature.
"This is indeed not an ordinary Grand Dao Secret Treasure. It is a magical artifact refined by a mighty being in the Dao Integration stage. Although it is a semi-finished product, it is not comparable to ordinary Great Luo Secret Treasures."
"If the reward is this Myriad Beast Cauldron, I can agree to your condition," Zhang Fan said, his eyes fixed on the Great Luo Artifact Spirit.
Seeing Zhang Fan nod, the Great Luo Artifact Spirit felt a slight sense of relief. Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Fan, with the Heavenly Dao as his witness, made his vow.
Liu Mu naturally had no reason to refuse. It was merely a matter of killing ten Nascent Soul cultivators, and he had great confidence in himself.
Although this meant they were destined to stand in opposition to the Nine Prefectures Star Domain, as a high-level star domain, Nascent Soul cultivators were as numerous as cow hair, and it would not attract the attention of their powerful beings.
Just as Luo Xiaoxiao was eagerly about to select her own Grand Dao Secret Treasure, 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 my master's dao inheritance."
"Don't I need to make a vow?" Luo Xiaoxiao had not expected such good fortune.
"Haha, from the moment you inherit the Great Luo Realm, the Nine Prefectures 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. She saw Zhang Fan wave his hand and say, "Go. This is your opportunity. As for what comes next, it is not something you should be considering 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 Grand Dao Secret Treasures.
Zhang Fan held the Myriad Beast Cauldron in his palm, his divine sense penetrating it, intending to seek out the artifact spirit and refine it.
However, before his divine sense could delve deeper, it was shattered by the roars of exotic beasts, causing minor damage to his soul.
"There are nearly ten thousand exotic beast souls 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 called it a semi-finished product.
The nine thousand-plus exotic beast souls being refined and integrated into the cauldron meant that the refiner had hunted nearly ten thousand Nascent Soul stage exotic beasts to forge this Myriad Beast Cauldron. This was an absolutely grand undertaking.
"It seems my soul's 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 still at 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 realm of half-step Nascent Soul, when he began to fuse his soul with the rules.
With this in mind, Zhang Fan put the Myriad Beast Cauldron into his Star Constellation space, then took out a large number of sealed demonic beast Nascent Souls, preparing to cultivate and attempt to break through to the middle stage of the Nine Tribulations Realm.
Although he had only recently entered the Nine Tribulations Realm, for Zhang Fan, there were no boundaries to his cultivation. As long as he had sufficient resources, he could attempt to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage in an extremely short time.
However, this was also what troubled him the most. The white immortal infant was like a bottomless pit; the resources required for each advancement were enough to drive cultivators of the same realm to madness.
Fortunately, in the previous beast tide, Zhang Fan had obtained a large number of demonic beast Nascent Souls, including several peak Nine Tribulations Realm demonic beast Nascent Souls, which gave him the confidence to advance to the middle stage of the Nine Tribulations Realm.
...