Chapter 154: The Divine Refiner’s Hand

In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed. In the world of the Love Apartment, Xiao Xie had only half a month left. During these last days, he stayed by Bby's side. Beautiful moments are always fleeting; the travel ticket to the Love Apartment world inevitably expired, and Xiao Xie, wrapped in a swirl of white light, departed from that world.

"I'm back," Xiao Xie sighed, feeling the battle energy thick in the air. With a thought, he entered the Worship Space and immediately summoned the Prize Wheel. Now, his total Worship Points had reached over one hundred and thirty-three million—a truly tremendous harvest from his journey to the Love Apartment.

"Master, let's start the lottery!" Xiaoxiao perched on Xiao Xie's shoulder, her face full of anticipation.

"Alright," Xiao Xie nodded and began the draw: one level-nine spin, three level-eight spins, and three level-seven spins. He decided to save the remaining five hundred thousand Worship Points for emergencies.

From the level-nine draw, he obtained the Hand of Divine Refinement.

The Hand of Divine Refinement originated from a Chinese online game world—a god-level skill. It could condense a treasure chest from the just-deceased body of any creature, and the items within were randomly extracted from that being: bloodline, abilities, soul, lifespan, and so on. Anything the creature possessed might appear.

From the three level-eight draws, the prizes were: the Hogyoku, the Earth Spirit Pearl, and the Rat Talisman.

The Hogyoku came from the world of Bleach: a gemstone shimmering with blue-black light, it possessed self-awareness. It could absorb and manifest the desires of anything within its vicinity, and protected its host with immortality. When the host reached the limits of their power or faced mortal danger, the Hogyoku could force the host to endlessly evolve to higher dimensions. According to Aizen, Kisuke Urahara believed the Hogyoku he created could break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow, but in truth, since that was his wish, the Hogyoku manifested it accordingly. Its true power is to manifest whatever one most desires, so long as the power to achieve it exists. The Hogyoku not only breaks the limits between Shinigami and Hollow but also grants the host perfect regeneration and immortality.

The Earth Spirit Pearl was from the world of Chinese Paladin III. It is one of the Five Spirit Pearls, imbued with infinite earth-elemental power, crafted by the Nuwa goddess from the five great natural forces: water, fire, thunder, wind, and earth. The essence of these elements was absorbed by the colored stones left after Nuwa repaired the heavens, forming the Five Spirit Pearls—the most powerful force in the human world.

The Earth Spirit Pearl allows its user to return to any previously visited location. It can also be used to summon the Mountain God for a single attack. However, it can only summon the Mountain God three times; after that, no more summoning is possible.

The Rat Talisman came from the world of Jackie Chan Adventures. The Rat Talisman embodies the power of life, granting motion to the inanimate. When Shendu was cursed into a statue by Lo Pei's spell, only the Rat Talisman could restore his form. Initially, Jade used it unintentionally on a toy, but the talisman can even resurrect the dead.

The three level-seven draws yielded: the Kido #90 Black Coffin Skill Card, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal Skill Card, and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Bloodline Card.

The Kido #90 Black Coffin Skill Card originated from the world of Bleach. Black Coffin is the ninetieth and highest-level destructive spell; its power far exceeds lower-level kido. When cast, a massive black cube traps the target, who is then assaulted by thousands of blades—no matter how tough, even someone like Komamura emerges covered in wounds.

The incantation: "O seething crest of filth, mad heat furnace! Mallet of pain, renounce all restraint! Wake upon the hill, and bear witness to the end! Black Coffin of the Ninetieth Destructive Spell!"

The Black Coffin's power increases with the user's strength.

The Dead Demon Consuming Seal Skill Card originated from the game world where Naruto battles the Pirates. It is an extremely powerful sealing jutsu from the Uzumaki Clan. After forming a series of hand seals, the caster summons the Shinigami, who severs and devours the target's soul, sealing it within itself; the size of the soul sealed depends on the caster's will. However, in completing the ritual, the user also contracts to give their own soul to the Shinigami—so after the target's soul is consumed, the caster's soul is as well. Both are then locked in eternal struggle and hatred within the Shinigami's belly, never to reincarnate. However, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal can be undone.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Bloodline Card came from the game world where Naruto battles Bleach. The Mangekyō Sharingan is an evolved form of the ordinary Sharingan, unique to each user. Typically, the three tomoe merge into intricate patterns, and each individual's eyes awaken special abilities. The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan is obtained by transplanting the eyes of a close relative, granting the user even greater visual prowess, retaining all original ocular jutsu, and ensuring the eyes never again lose sight. It also greatly reduces the physical strain of using the Mangekyō.

"A pretty good haul," Xiao Xie nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed his rewards.

First, the Hand of Divine Refinement was akin to a harvesting skill in games. While its full use was yet unclear, if Xiao Xie were to defeat a powerful foe in the future, he could potentially obtain their abilities. Imagine taking down Tathāgata and gaining his powers—that thought alone was enough to make his heart race, though for now, it was just a dream.

Xiao Xie immediately learned the skill cards for the Hand of Divine Refinement, Kido #90 Black Coffin, Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Bloodline. For others, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal might be a mutually destructive technique, but not for Xiao Xie—after all, he possessed the Nine Lives Mysterious Cat's power. He could simply use one of his souls as a substitute, avoiding the seal himself.

After using the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Bloodline Card, Xiao Xie felt a tingling in his eyes. When he opened them, his irises had turned red and the pupils had become a black triangle, resembling three shuriken intertwined.

Exploring his new powers, Xiao Xie quickly discovered the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan: Tsukuyomi in his left eye, Kamui in his right.

When Tsukuyomi is activated, as long as he makes eye contact, the target is drawn into an unknown world. In that world, all variables—time, place, conditions—are under the caster's control, inflicting devastating psychological torment.

Xiao Xie was quite pleased with Tsukuyomi. In the original work, Uchiha Itachi possessed this ability, but clearly never used it to its fullest potential. Now that Xiao Xie wielded it, he would certainly surpass Itachi; after all, in his previous life he was from China, and the legendary Eighteen Levels of Hell were not just stories. Mountains of blades, seas of fire, flaying, tendon extraction, oil frying, and branding—these punishments were not for the faint of heart.

Within the world of Tsukuyomi, Xiao Xie had set up not only the Eighteen Levels of Hell for torment, but also thirty-six layers of blissful paradise. If the hells were for cruel torture, then the paradises were for indulgence and pleasure—designed to erode one's will. Once someone fell into this gentle, boiling-frog trap, they would be lost forever.

Kamui, in Naruto, was the signature ability of Uchiha Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan, and also used by Kakashi Hatake, who possessed Obito's left eye. Kamui is a highly advanced space-time ninjutsu, allowing the user to transfer themselves or other objects between the real world and a different dimension at will.