I Was Forced to Marry a “Trash” Cultivator, But She Turned Out to Be a Reborn Empress!

Chapter 278: The City Shakes; A Spectacle of Artifact Refining

The news of the Luo family’s contract with the Duobao Workshop tore through the Holy City like a hurricane.

“Have you heard? Master Wang is actually attempting to refine a True Spirit Treasure!” inside a teahouse within the Heavenly Crafts Workshop, a cultivator slapped his table in excitement. “And he’s using the Luo family’s *Millennium Cold Marrow*!”

An elder at the adjacent table let out a derisive sneer. “The ignorance of youth knows no bounds. They speak of the heavens without ever having left the ground! I have lived for five hundred years, and I can count the number of fifth-rank artifact refiners I’ve met on two hands. Which one of them isn’t a white-haired ancient?”

Inside the branch of the Hundred Arts Sect, several artifact refiners gathered, their expressions a volatile mix of anxiety and disdain.

“Preposterous!” A gray-robed elder smashed his teacup against the floor. “Even Master Shen You wouldn’t dare guarantee success with such materials. On what basis does Wang Yu, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, think he can succeed?”

Shen Xian’s meteoric rise had threatened too many established interests. While some offered respect, others harbored deep resentment.

It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that refining a True Spirit Treasure was inextricably linked to the Power of Laws. To control these Laws, one needed to be, at the very minimum, a Soul Formation cultivator.

The other party was only at the Nascent Soul stage. By all logic, he should be incapable of manipulating the fabric of reality required for such a feat.

However, a colleague beside the angry elder seemed lost in thought. “Do not forget… he has already shattered two records held by the Hundred Arts Sect…”

***

On the top floor of the Heaven-Reaching Chamber of Commerce, Zhao Wuchen paced back and forth, his grip tightening until the intelligence jade slip in his hand nearly crumbled to dust.

“Madness… absolute madness…” he muttered to himself. “If he fails, the reputation of the Duobao Workshop will be obliterated…”

Suddenly, he halted. A sharp, calculating light flashed in his eyes. “No. Master Wang does not gamble on uncertainties.”

“Perhaps… there really is a possibility.”

“If that is truly the case, then the Chamber has stumbled upon a diamond in the rough!”

“Attendants!” Zhao Wuchen spun around, his voice booming. “Prepare a generous gift. I am going to the Duobao Workshop to observe this in person!”

Meanwhile, in another part of the city.

Zi Chen stood before Venerable Zi Yun. “Grandfather, I wish to witness this.”

“Very well. I shall contact Master Wang,” Venerable Zi Yun nodded, his expression doting.

Throughout the Holy City, undercurrents surged.

Some watched with anticipation, others with jealousy, but the majority watched with skepticism. Was this Master Wang, who had appeared out of nowhere, truly a grandmaster of his craft, or merely an arrogant fool courting death?

***

Inside the Duobao Workshop, Shen Xian remained indifferent to the storm of gossip raging outside.

He stood in the center of the refining chamber. Before him floated the chunk of *Millennium Cold Marrow*, surrounded by a constellation of high-grade auxiliary materials. In his eyes, lightning and fire danced in a complex rhythm.

“Master…” Su Mu hesitated, looking at Shen Xian’s back.

Shen Xian didn’t turn around. His voice was calm, devoid of doubt. “Seal the entrance. Engage the maximum-security protective array.”

“This time, I will ensure the entire Holy City…”

“…remembers the name of the Duobao Workshop.”

Outside the refining chamber, the heavyweights of the city had already assembled.

Zhao Wuchen of the Heaven-Reaching Chamber of Commerce and Master Shen You secured the prime vantage points, with Young Master Zi Chen from Venerable Zi Yun’s estate standing beside them. In the corner, several master refiners from the Hundred Arts Sect stood with complicated expressions, while the Luo family members guarded the door, their nerves taut as bowstrings.

Further out, dozens of cultivators who had rushed over upon hearing the news gathered like moths to a flame. Some set up recording jade slips, others calibrated their Qi-observing compasses, terrified of missing a single detail.

The entire Heavenly Crafts Workshop focused its collective gaze on that tightly closed door.

A grand event, destined to be etched into the annals of the Holy City’s history, was about to commence.

Everyone waited with bated breath, wondering if this upstart could truly refine a True Spirit Treasure in a single attempt.

***

Inside the sealed chamber, Shen Xian stood motionless for a long time, his gaze shifting between the *Millennium Cold Marrow* and the *Burning Heaven Cauldron*.

The key to a True Spirit Treasure lay in the Laws…

He raised a hand, his fingertip lightly tapping the center of his brow. The *Li Fire True Seal* slowly emerged, a strand of pure, unadulterated Fire Dao charm flowing from his finger.

This was the primordial essence of fire, containing not a single speck of impurity. The *Li Fire True Seal* was, in itself, a physical manifestation of the Fire Law.

His gaze then turned to the Turtle-Snake Lamp on the workbench. Within the lamp’s flame, the phantoms of a turtle and a snake intertwined, emitting a faint, rhythmic pulse of the Water Dao.

Although incomplete, it harbored a trace of the Water Law.

*If I can complete this lamp in the future, I will master the embryonic forms of both Water and Fire Laws,* Shen Xian calculated. *But for now, I can mobilize a fraction of its power.*

Fire governs destruction; Water governs preservation.

*If I can force them into equilibrium…*

Shen Xian took a deep breath and pressed his hands into the void.

*BOOM!*

Spiritual Qi erupted like a volcano. The primordial fire swelled, pouring into the *Burning Heaven Cauldron* and intertwining with arcs of lightning. The *Millennium Cold Marrow* rose into the air, suspended within the inferno.

The icy-blue patterns on the surface of the Cold Marrow did not melt under the assault of the flames. Instead, they glowed with increasing clarity—a testament to the profound mystery of elemental convergence.

Time slipped away unnoticed amidst the dancing flames.

Shen Xian focused his entire being on manipulating the thermal dynamics within the *Burning Heaven Cauldron*. The *Millennium Cold Marrow* rotated slowly, caught in the crossfire of lightning-fire and earth-fire.

Seven days passed. The rare material had only softened by thirty percent.

*It is indeed more stubborn than anticipated…*

And this was with the continuous, high-octane support of the earth fire array.

Watching the material slowly smelt, Shen Xian drew upon his fifth-rank artifact refining knowledge and recalled the Dao of the Five Elements he had once taught his disciple.

He tapped the air, drawing a thread of Water Dao charm from the Turtle-Snake Lamp. With surgical precision, he guided it to integrate into the icy-blue veins of the Cold Marrow.

Two diametrically opposed Laws collided within the cauldron, bursting forth with a blinding spiritual radiance.

*Just as I thought!*

Shen Xian’s heart trembled. It felt as if a light had been switched on within his Sea of Consciousness.

*Laws oppose each other, yet they also beget one another!*

This comprehension was a hundred times more profound than the simple act of tempering a treasure.

Holding his breath, he wove this enlightenment directly into the refining process.

The *Li Fire True Seal* blazed at his brow; the Turtle-Snake Lamp burned silently at his side. Under his absolute control, the two opposing Laws formed a delicate, terrifying balance within the core of the Cold Marrow.

On the thirteenth day, the Cold Marrow finally achieved total liquefaction.

Shen Xian’s Divine Sense dove into the molten sphere, instantly feeling as though he were being torn between a glacial hell and a solar inferno.

*These golden patterns…*

*They are the primordial script of the Laws!*

Ignoring the stinging pain lashing his Sea of Consciousness, he traced the trajectory of every Law vein.

The sensation of facing the Source caused his understanding of the Laws to skyrocket at an astonishing speed.

*If I can refine a few more of these…*

*I might forcibly pry open the gates to the Soul Formation Realm while still in the Nascent Soul stage!*

As the shaping phase began, Shen Xian’s movements became fluid, almost trance-like.

Every artifact rune he carved was imbued with a deepening understanding of the natural order.

He discovered, with a surge of delight, that the bottleneck of his artifact refining realm was loosening.

This improvement…

It was entirely derived from his own comprehension!

For the first time, Shen Xian felt the profound satisfaction of a breakthrough achieved through sheer personal effort.

Although the process was somewhat straightforward, if this actually pushed him to become a sixth-rank artifact refiner, it would be an incredibly satisfying victory.

***

Outside the refining chamber, the atmosphere had grown heavy, the air thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Fifteen days have passed…” a refiner from the Hundred Arts Sect muttered, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

The Qi-observing compass in his hand trembled, displaying the Spiritual Qi fluctuations bleeding from the room—fluctuations laced with the unmistakable rhythm of Laws.

“Impossible!” The gray-robed elder stared fixedly at his detection artifact, his voice trembling with denial. “How can a Nascent Soul cultivator invoke such pure Law power? It defies all logic!”

Master Shen You stood at the forefront, a sharp, predatory light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

As a fifth-rank refiner, he understood better than anyone what those fluctuations signified.

*Water and Fire in harmony… Law Resonance…*

*This kid… he has actually touched the threshold of the Laws!*

Shen You subconsciously clenched his fists, a storm of shock and awe raging in his heart.

Young Master Zi Chen was practically vibrating with excitement. “This! This is the path of refining I seek!”

Zhao Wuchen stared at the vortex of Spiritual Qi forming above the refining chamber—a vortex split perfectly down the middle, half crimson flame, half abyssal blue water, rotating in a slow, hypnotic rhythm.

Such a phenomenon…

It was a clear manifestation of the Laws!

He took a deep breath, refusing to blink.

The Luo family members were paralyzed with tension, afraid that breathing too loudly might shatter the moment.

Luo Tianxiong stared at the closed door with a burning intensity, his heart a mix of wild hope and terror.

*If he succeeds…*

*My Luo family must secure an alliance with him at any cost!*

The cultivators who had come to witness a humiliation fell into a stunned silence.

Smirks vanished. Mockery was replaced by calculation. Many were already mentally drafting plans to curry favor with the Duobao Workshop.

In the corner, the refiners from the Hundred Arts Sect looked as if they had swallowed flies.

“Smoke and mirrors!” The gray-robed elder gritted his teeth, though his confidence was fracturing. “So what if he can stir up the Laws? The final step—Law Solidification—is the true test…”

But his voice grew quieter until it faded into nothingness.

Because everyone saw it.

The Spiritual Qi vortex above the refining chamber was coalescing into a perfect, rotating Tai Chi diagram.

At that moment, a pin drop could be heard in the Heavenly Crafts Workshop.

The realization hit them all simultaneously:

That young man named Wang Yu was not just refining an artifact; he was birthing a miracle.