Mysterious Fragmentary Jade

BOOM!

After a burst of lightning and thunder, a torrential downpour suddenly fell outside the window.

Chen Heng looked up at the curtain of rain beyond the window, then placed the fragmentary jade stone in his hand back on the desk. Supporting his forehead with one hand, he frowned deeply.

This fragmentary jade stone, which had caused a faint stir in the [Water-Fire Harmony] talisman script within his sea of consciousness, seemed to have merely been an illusion.

After that, whether he stirred his true essence and poured mana into it, or probed it with his spiritual awareness,

it was like a clay ox sinking into the sea—there was no reaction whatsoever.

He refused to believe it, yet whether he hacked at it with blades and axes or soaked it in water and burned it with fire, exhausting every method he could think of, it remained completely unresponsive.

Chen Heng even tried dripping blood on it to claim it as its master, but there was still no reaction.

The only conclusion he reached was that this fragmentary jade stone was extraordinarily tough.

After enduring all manner of torment, it still retained its original appearance without showing the slightest sign of damage.

With that thought, Chen Heng cautiously put it back into his storage pouch. Perhaps once his cultivation realm rose in the future, he would be able to uncover the mystery behind this fragmentary jade stone.

"Better look at this Crimson Flame Profound Crystal wrapped in volcanic ash first. Of everything here, this is the one I'm most confident about."

Chen Heng held two fingers together like a sword. True essence gathered at his fingertips, mana surged forth, and fire condensed into a thread as he cast the first-rank mid-grade spell—Flame Heart Finger.

He began peeling away the volcanic ash encasing the Crimson Flame Profound Crystal, as though drawing silk from a cocoon.

As black, fine powder fell in soft rustling streams, the fist-sized chunk of black raw ore shrank until only an egg-sized piece remained.

By then, Chen Heng could clearly sense the fluctuations of fire spiritual power emanating from within.

"It really is a Crimson Flame Profound Crystal. What a killing!"

The corners of Chen Heng's lips rose slightly as he began removing the final thin shell.

With the rise and fall of Flame Heart Finger, an oval piece of fiery red metal appeared in his palm.

Its surface was as smooth as water, marked by clear gradient patterns resembling dancing flames.

Chen Heng examined it carefully and murmured, "If I take a suitable treasure material from the storehouse, I should be able to refine a first-rank mid-grade defensive artifact."

The clan had actually prepared a first-rank top-grade defensive artifact for him—the Profound Water Shield.

Fifth Elder Chen Xingjiang had personally handed it to him when sending him to Southern Foothills Market.

As for first-rank top-grade offensive and defensive talismans, he had ten of each. For fights at the Qi Refinement realm, that could only be called sufficient.

Still, he needed a regular defensive artifact as a backup for ordinary times.

Besides, he could continue honing his artifact-refining skills.

With that thought, Chen Heng stored away the Crimson Flame Profound Crystal and turned his gaze to the shattered shield, its artifact patterns dim and its cracks savage.

Two-thirds of the defensive artifact patterns upon it had already faded. Its surface was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and not a trace of spiritual radiance remained within it.

If such a battered artifact were tossed into the Rogue Cultivator residential district at the outermost edge of Southern Foothills Market, no one would likely spare it a second glance.

The reason Chen Heng had spent ten spirit stones to buy it was because the defensive artifact patterns on it were somewhat profound. In his view, they had at least been inscribed by a second-rank artifact refiner.

Although the artifact patterns on this shield had nearly been obliterated after suffering the attack of some overwhelmingly powerful spell,

he should still be able to deduce them by following the principles behind their inscription.

Chen Heng then closed his eyes and steadied his mind. His fingertips brushed bit by bit over the traces of those remaining patterns, and a defensive artifact pattern gradually took shape in his mind.

He had reproduced it within his sea of consciousness using that innate thread of spiritual awareness.

It was also a common method among Qi Refinement cultivators.

If spiritual awareness transformed into divine sense, there would be no need for such trouble. A few sweeps of the eyes would imprint it in the mind, making one practically unforgettable at a glance.

However, deducing a damaged artifact pattern still required quite a bit of time.

As the defensive artifact pattern interwoven with water and wood gradually became complete, Chen Heng grew increasingly certain that it was an artifact pattern combining the defensive traits of both water and wood.

This artifact pattern was exceedingly profound, blending water's pliancy with wood's solidity. If it were inscribed upon a suitable artifact, its defensive effect should be quite remarkable.

Who knew how much time passed.

Only then did Chen Heng slowly open his eyes, while the damaged shield in his hand shattered apart.

However, he had already fully memorized this defensive artifact pattern. Those ten spirit stones had absolutely been worth every last one.

He took out a jade slip and imprinted the defensive artifact pattern from his sea of consciousness onto it for safekeeping.

After all, he had merely memorized it for now and could not yet inscribe it in its entirety. He would still need frequent practice and contemplation in the days ahead.

Finally, he fixed his gaze on the gray stone, deathly still and shaped like an ordinary rock.

Both the mysterious fragmentary jade and the damaged shield had given him a great surprise. Chen Heng was likewise full of anticipation for this stone.

According to his deduction, this stone was very likely like the Crimson Flame Profound Crystal, perhaps wrapped in a layer of hard rock that blocked spiritual awareness from sensing it.

After all, how could something appearing on a cultivator market stall possibly be a mundane object without even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power?

This was also why the item had caught Chen Heng's attention.

A moment later.

He held two fingers together like a sword, condensed fire into a thread, and cast Flame Heart Finger, carefully slicing apart the gray stone bit by bit.

Yet contrary to Chen Heng's expectations, even after he split the stone completely into two halves, he found nothing worth mentioning.

Its exterior truly had been covered by a layer of rock that blocked detection, but inside was merely an ordinary piece of jade containing no spiritual qi.

If Chen Heng was not mistaken, this should have been a stone specially forged for stone gambling.

It was not even as good as some raw ores produced by mines.

Stone gambling involved certain mines taking out some difficult-to-smelt stones and selling them directly. As for whether treasure materials could be cut from them, that depended on one's own ability.

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators were willing to buy such stones from mines and take a gamble.

After all, if one truly cut out a high-rank treasure material, it would be a killing.

Chen Heng recalled that he had bought this item from the stall of an old cultivator who looked honest and simple. Back then, he had inspected it carefully and decided it was strange before buying it.

He had not expected to be led around by the nose. He had lost five spirit stones badly.

"That person most likely worked at a mine doing this kind of business forging stones. Otherwise, he couldn't possess such brilliant counterfeiting methods."

Chen Heng was not angered by being deceived, nor did he intend to seek out the man and hold him accountable.

Instead, he greatly admired the man's craftsmanship. In his eyes, that too was a skill.

After all, Chen Heng considered his own eye quite good. Otherwise, he would not have found the Crimson Flame Profound Crystal and the defensive artifact pattern. For that man to deceive his eyes, his ability was indeed worthy of praise.

Although the gray stone had somewhat exceeded Chen Heng's expectations, his gains today were still rather good. His stroll had not been in vain...