Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng had returned to his cave dwelling.
His trip to the East Sea had been quite successful.
He could say he'd obtained the Jiao Dan and the corpses of the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons without suffering so much as a scratch.
And he had Huanglong Zhenren to "thank" for that.
Last time, Huanglong Zhenren had helped him deal with Xuan Sha Mang at Lingganhu. This time, he'd helped him kill the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons in the East Sea.
Huanglong Zhenren really was a "good person."
The only slight disappointment was that Huanglong Zhenren didn't have any decent magic treasures.
Otherwise, how nice it would have been to defeat Huanglong Zhenren and take a magic treasure from him at the same time.
If Huanglong Zhenren knew what Lu Changsheng was thinking, he'd probably have been so enraged that he'd faint on the spot, rather than cough up blood.
But jokes aside,
Lu Changsheng was still quite aware of the dangers around him once he'd calmed down.
With the methods he had now, surpassing Dingguang Xian in the future wouldn't be a problem.
But Dingguang Xian was far from being his only opponent.
He had taken magic treasures from Huanglong Zhenren twice. Huanglong Zhenren hated him to the bone.
There was no way to resolve the grudge between them.
Though Huanglong Zhenren didn't know his identity yet, Lu Changsheng couldn't keep it hidden for long.
Once Huanglong Zhenren discovered who he was, he'd have to deal with more than just Huanglong Zhenren.
He had to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible!
Lu Changsheng took out the Yin Yang Jiao Dan.
In an instant, one half of the cave dwelling became scorching hot, while the other turned bitterly cold.
"System, what do I do next?"
He now had all the materials needed to refine the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill.
The rest was up to the system.
[Would the Host like to consume the Yin Yang Jiao Dan to refine the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill?]
[Based on the Host's current cultivation, the success rate for refining the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill is 80%.]
Lu Changsheng hesitated slightly.
Eighty percent? That meant there was still a twenty percent chance of failure.
If it failed, wouldn't his Yin Yang Jiao Dan be wasted?
But he only hesitated for two breaths.
What was there to hesitate about? Other than refining the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill, did he have any other way to quickly raise his cultivation?
Besides, obtaining the Yin Yang Jiao Dan hadn't taken much effort.
Refine it!
[Refining the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill for the Host. Please wait...]
A wisp of Spiritual Light enveloped the Yin Yang Jiao Dan in Lu Changsheng's hand.
A little less than a quarter of an hour later, the Spiritual Light faded.
A pill the size of a dragon's eye, black and gold in color, appeared before Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng was stunned. It was done already?
At the same time, the system prompt rang out.
[As this is the first pill you have refined, the pill's quality is increased by one level.]
[Pill refining complete. Congratulations, Host! You have obtained one Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill (Perfect Quality).]
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly. What a pleasant surprise.
He wondered what level a Perfect Quality Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill would rank among Honghuang pills.
After a brief moment of reflection, Lu Changsheng put the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill away.
He intended to take it, but not now.
There was one more thing he had to do before beginning his next closed-door cultivation.
He left his cave dwelling and leaped up to the summit.
"System, can the magic treasure's appearance be based on what I have in mind?"
[Yes.]
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lu Changsheng immediately took out the corpses of the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons.
He was going to use their corpses to forge a magic treasure!
This was another part of his plan.
He knew very well that if he wanted to raise his cultivation quickly, he had to make the most of the system.
System rewards were essential.
As things stood, there were only a few ways to get system rewards.
He could increase his own cultivation, Yunxiao's cultivation, or Yunxiao's favorability through a breakthrough to the next stage.
Yunxiao had already reached the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Peak. She probably wouldn't be able to break through to Daluo Golden Immortal anytime soon.
As for her favorability, it had been stuck at fifty, in the neutral stage, for quite some time.
That left only one option.
He could gamble on the system triggering a Gift Critical Rebate!
In the original Honghuang, Tongtian Sect Leader had forged the corpses of the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons into the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and bestowed them on Yunxiao.
This time, he would also use the corpses to forge something for Yunxiao.
If he managed to trigger the system's Critical Strike Rebate, all the better.
Even if he didn't, he could still raise her favorability.
He couldn't compare to Tongtian. There was no way he could forge a Houtian Supreme Treasure like the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors.
So he'd have to think about what sort of magic treasure to make.
A moment later, Lu Changsheng had an idea.
"System, forge a magic treasure based on what I'm thinking of now."
[Forging a magic treasure according to the Host's request. Please wait...]
The process was much the same as when he'd refined the Yin Yang Spirit Merging Pill.
A mysterious light enveloped the corpses of the Yin Yang Twin Flood Dragons.
Once again, about a quarter of an hour passed.
The corpses vanished, replaced by a golden orb of light.
Lu Changsheng beckoned with his right hand, and the orb flew into his palm.
The next moment, the light faded, revealing the magic treasure within.
It was a golden hairpin.
The hairpin was long, slender, and exquisitely crafted, engraved with intricate patterns and giving off an air of mystery.
Two tiny Flood Dragon heads were intertwined at its tip.
They gave the hairpin an added touch of elegance.
The corner of Lu Changsheng's mouth lifted. The system's Artifact Forging Function really was impressive. It had perfectly recreated what he'd imagined.
Before he could use Insight to examine the hairpin, the system prompt rang out.
[As this is the first magic treasure you have forged, its grade is increased by one level.]
[Artifact forging complete. Congratulations, Host! You have obtained one Houtian Lingbao.]
Lu Changsheng was delighted. It was a Houtian Lingbao!
At first glance, a Houtian Lingbao might not seem like much.
After all, among the many types of magic treasures, Houtian Lingbao were close to the weakest tier.
But that was only among magic treasures.
In Honghuang, there were plenty of magical implements that didn't even count as magic treasures.
Lu Changsheng hadn't expected much from this attempt at forging a magic treasure.
After all, he was only a Mysterious Immortal.
He'd have been satisfied with forging a decent mundane implement.
He hadn't expected to get a Houtian Lingbao thanks to the first-forging bonus.
It was an unexpected delight.
[This magic treasure has not yet been named. Please name it.]
Lu Changsheng thought it over.
He decided to call it the Golden Flood Dragon Hairpin.
He had his gift. Next, he'd make a trip to Three Immortal Island.
Since forging it had already brought an unexpected bonus, it wouldn't be unreasonable for giving the gift to trigger a Critical Rebate too.
Lu Changsheng put away the Golden Flood Dragon Hairpin and set off for Three Immortal Island.
Three Immortal Island.
Yunxiao glanced at Bixiao and Qiongxiao, who were cultivating nearby. A trace of worry appeared in her delicate eyes.
Since returning from Golden Ao Island, she hadn't been able to settle into cultivation.
Part of it was that breaking through to Daluo Golden Immortal was simply difficult.
But the main reason was Lu Changsheng.
Although she'd given Lu Changsheng the Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid, even after a hundred years he could at most break through to Mysterious Immortal.
His opponent was Dingguang Xian.
Dingguang Xian would also make preparations for this battle.
So Yunxiao was growing increasingly worried.
In truth, she regretted it a little.
Had she been right or wrong to arrange a duel between Lu Changsheng and Dingguang Xian?
Even if Lu Changsheng was confident, there was still a gap in cultivation between him and Dingguang Xian.
Just then, Yunxiao suddenly sensed something.
Her Spiritual Sense stirred.
Could it be...?
The next moment, her eyes widened.
Lu Changsheng had actually come to Three Immortal Island?!
Before you continue