Five Metals Gathered, Taibai Refined Gold

Fang Xiao encountered nothing along the way and soon returned to Heavenly Outer Peak. Nothing had changed there either; even Qing Feng had not moved from his original spot. Fang Xiao was starting to suspect that Qing Feng had not moved at all since he left.

"Martial Uncle Qing Feng, I'm back."

"That was quick. Here are the pills you wanted. Also, you refined Spirit Essence Pills very quickly, so I prepared some Heavenly Star Pills with stronger medicinal effects for you. Take them as you see fit."

Qing Feng handed him a Storage Bag containing the pills.

"Thank you, Martial Uncle."

"Your Master has returned and is inside the hall. Go on."

Fang Xiao cupped his hands in acknowledgment and headed straight into the hall.

"Disciple Fang Xiao pays respects to Master."

"You've returned. I heard from Qing Feng that you awakened the Primordial Sword Body. Very good. But do not grow overly arrogant. These are some insights I gained while cultivating the sword path. Take them back and study them carefully."

A Jade Slip and a jade box flew from Ling Taichu's hand and stopped before Fang Xiao.

"Also, the item in this jade box is something I sought from the sect on your behalf. You handed over the Five Qi Cultivating Immortal Scripture, so you should naturally be rewarded. But the family lineage always likes to sing a different tune from us. I had to spend quite some effort persuading them."

"Essence of Five Metals?"

Fang Xiao opened the jade box. Inside lay five metal spheres of different colors, arranged in a row—the Essence of Five Metals.

"Not bad, right? Since I bestowed the Great White Sword Pellet upon you, I naturally know best what you need. The Essence of Five Metals is a treasure for Sword Cultivators, and the sect does not have much of it in reserve. If I had not insisted on having it, the sect would never have been willing to take it out."

"Master, you have troubled yourself. With this Essence of Five Metals, this disciple's Great White Sword Pellet will be nearly perfected. Once I inscribe a single Earth Fiend Restriction, it can become a Low-grade Magic Treasure. Then I will have greater confidence for the journey to the Taibai Ruins."

Fang Xiao was overjoyed and spoke openly to his Master.

"You intend to inscribe an Earth Fiend Restriction? You have never wielded a Magic Treasure, so you do not yet understand its power. If the Great White Sword Pellet becomes a Magic Treasure, your spiritual energy and Spiritual Sense may not be able to bear its burden. It would be best to wait until you reach the Golden Core Stage, when your spiritual energy has transformed into magical power."

Ling Taichu promptly cautioned Fang Xiao. He could not rush things, or the Great White Sword Pellet would not bolster his combat strength—it would instead become a burden.

"This disciple was somewhat reckless. Please rest assured, Master, I will focus on cultivation. Whether magical artifacts or Magic Treasures, their ultimate purpose is to protect the Dao. This disciple understands. I will not do such a thing as forsaking the root to chase the branch."

Though Fang Xiao had obtained two Magic Treasures, he had never attempted to wield either. Since beginning cultivation, he had surpassed those of the same realm in every respect, and had indeed grown somewhat too arrogant. Had his Master not awakened him to it, he might very well have tried to push the Great White Sword Pellet into becoming a Magic Treasure.

"If you possess such awareness, then your comprehension will certainly not be inferior to your aptitude. You must remember: no matter how strong your talent, aptitude, and comprehension may be, they are only your potential. You must walk every step well and steadily. Cultivation is like a chess game—once a piece falls, there is no taking it back. One wrong move, one misstep, and the entire board may be lost. Thus, you must never pull up seedlings to help them grow, nor chase quick success and immediate gain."

"Yes, this disciple understands."

"Then go."

Ling Taichu had said all that needed saying. What to do next was up to Fang Xiao himself.

Deep in thought, he made his way back to his Cave Dwelling without even bidding Qing Feng farewell.

Inside the cultivation room, Fang Xiao felt that his Master's words made great sense. He still needed to place cultivation first. The Great White Sword Pellet, after fusing with the five metals, was already sufficient for his use. In terms of quality, it even surpassed Low-grade Magic Treasures and some Medium-grade Magic Treasures.

Therefore, after refining the Sword Pellet, he planned to cultivate diligently for the next two years. But first, he had to place Maoqiu in the Spirit Beast Room, where it would be better suited. Worth mentioning was that Maoqiu, who usually disliked pills, showed considerable desire upon seeing the Spirit Feeding Pills. As expected of the Beast Taming Sect—if Maoqiu reacted this way, the Spirit Feeding Pills would surely be greatly beneficial to it.

After settling Maoqiu in the Spirit Beast Room and leaving behind enough Spirit Wine and Spirit Feeding Pills, Fang Xiao did not have to worry about it overeating. Once its spiritual energy was saturated, it would know to digest it, and he would come check on it from time to time anyway. There was nothing to worry about.

After soothing the little furball, he thought that once it grew a little bigger and became more sensible, he could let it roam freely within the Cave Dwelling. It could even begin doing some simple tasks.

Returning to the cultivation room, he opened the jade box on the table and controlled the Essence of Five Metals to float into the air. They rose and fell above his palm, circling and spinning. The more Fang Xiao looked at them, the more he liked them.

All of a sudden, True Fire surged from Fang Xiao's palm, refining the Essence of Five Metals amid the blazing flames. The time and spiritual energy required to refine all five metals at once were unimaginable. An ordinary cultivator might run out of spiritual energy before even seeing the five metals melt.

Even though his spiritual energy far surpassed those of the same realm, he did not dare guarantee that he could endure it. Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand. As soon as his spiritual energy fell below one-third, he began swallowing pills and drinking Spirit Wine.

After an unknown amount of time, the five metals in his hand finally showed signs of melting. Unlike last time, when he had completely refined the Gold Essence before merging it into the Sword Pellet, this time the Great White Sword Pellet, radiating five-colored light, had long since become impatient. The moment Fang Xiao released it, it flew from his body and entered the midst of the five metals.

At times, it spun along with the five metals; at others, it remained at the center, surrounded by them. During this time, the liquid five metals silently fused into the Great White Sword Pellet, while the unmelted metals also melted and fused in at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the end, all the Essence of Five Metals vanished, leaving only the Great White Sword Pellet rising and falling within the True Fire. Fang Xiao did not immediately withdraw the flames. At this moment, the Sword Pellet's colors shifted unpredictably, changing from a single hue until all five colors were present.

The five-colored Sword Pellet grew and shrank in his hand, as though the colors within were repelling one another. The time had come. Fang Xiao simultaneously activated the sword-refining methods of the Taibai Sword Art and the Taibai Soaring Sword Canon, tempering the Sword Pellet.

The sword-refining method of the Taibai Soaring Sword Canon had been derived from the Taibai Sword Art. The two shared the same root and origin, so they did not conflict.

Under the effects of the two sword-refining methods, the Sword Pellet went from stillness in the True Fire to gradually turning, until it spun at high speed. The five colors within the Sword Pellet slowly faded away, until only white remained.

The Great White Sword Pellet abruptly stopped spinning, and sword light shot straight toward the ceiling of the Cave Dwelling. Had a top-tier Golden Core Stage formation not been set up within the Cave Dwelling, it would likely have become an open-air plaza by now.

The sword light gradually receded, revealing the Great White Sword Pellet's true form. The pristine white Sword Pellet hovered in the air like a bright moon, truly living up to the saying: the bright moon over the sea shines upon heaven and earth.

The Great White Sword Pellet had fused with the Essence of Five Metals extremely smoothly. Through the sword-refining methods of the two techniques, Fang Xiao successfully reverse-refined a trace of Taibai Refined Gold from the Essence of Five Metals. Once Taibai Refined Gold appeared, all the metals in the world would become nourishment for it. The remaining refined metals within the Sword Pellet were all devoured by the Taibai Refined Gold.

He tried driving the now-complete Great White Sword Pellet with all his strength. The magical artifact he used as a target was pierced by a streak of White Light and directly turned into nothingness.

Yet Fang Xiao, as the Sword Pellet's master, could sense that all the spirit metal within the destroyed magical artifact had been completely absorbed by the Great White Sword Pellet.

Fang Xiao was overjoyed. The quality of a Magic Treasure determined how many restrictions it could bear. Though he still did not know how many restrictions the Great White Sword Pellet could hold, this trait of independently devouring spirit metal to improve its quality would save him the effort of upgrading it before inscribing restrictions. Moreover, its ability to devour on its own would also be highly beneficial to a Magic Treasure developing spirituality.