Success

In the quiet little room.

On the hardwood bed lay a grass-woven prayer mat. Wu Tao sat cross-legged upon it, his eyes shut, Five Hearts Facing Heaven. He lightly held a Low-Grade Spirit Stone in his right hand. As he circulated the Sanyang Technique, the Spiritual Charm on the stone gradually dimmed.

At last, the Spiritual Charm on the Spirit Stone faded completely, meaning that all the Spiritual Power within had been absorbed by Wu Tao.

Opening his eyes, Wu Tao looked at the Spirit Stone in his hand, now devoid of Spiritual Power. With a light squeeze, it crumbled into powder, spilling from between his fingers and scattering across the bed like fine sand.

"Damn these itchy hands!"

Wu Tao muttered. With a Cleaning Spell, the Spirit Stone fragments on the bed swirled up and flew precisely into the trash bin beside it.

"Having just finished cultivating, my Essence, Qi, and Spirit are full. This is the perfect time to refine the Small Spirit Shield Robe."

A flicker of realization rose in Wu Tao's heart. Without further delay, he immediately took out the Starfire Stones, Demon Silkworm Silk, and book.

He had spent Twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones to buy another twelve Starfire Stones and four pounds of Demon Silkworm Silk. After lending one Spirit Stone to Daoist Duocai and using one for cultivation, he had only four left on him.

Just as he had expected, Daoist Duocai had promised to repay him the next day, yet he was nowhere to be seen the following day. Several days passed in a row, and there was still no sign of him.

If one day he came across Daoist Duocai's corpse somewhere, Wu Tao would not find it strange at all.

Casting aside those irrelevant thoughts, Wu Tao picked up Methods of Refining First-Grade Dharma Robes and Five Types of Restrictions and began studying it carefully. For a Tier 1 Level 3 Small Spirit Light Magic Robe, the amount of Demon Silkworm Silk was half a pound more, and its structure was different.

After studying for an hour, Wu Tao began the refining work only once he was sure there were no problems.

Sitting cross-legged before the earth pit, with every preparation in place, Wu Tao slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. His condition could not have been better.

"Begin!"

Two Starfire Stones dropped into the earth pit. With a touch of Spiritual Power, flames slowly rose.

The initial steps of breaking down the Demon Silkworm Silk cocoons were more or less the same. Wu Tao had long become familiar with them through repeated practice. He would no longer make mistakes, and his speed had improved considerably.

Soon, countless strands of Demon Silkworm Silk floated above the Starfire Stones, glimmering with a silver-gray radiance.

Continue.

Step by step, the entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water. But when it came time to inscribe the Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction, his speed visibly slowed, and Wu Tao's expression became utterly focused.

The Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction was far more complex than the Wind-Speed Restriction. The Essence, Qi, and Spirit it required were simply beyond comparison.

Moreover, this was Wu Tao's first time refining a Small Spirit Shield Robe. He had to be cautious, and rigor was the work ethic he upheld.

Time passed slowly. Wu Tao could feel the Spiritual Power in his dantian beginning to give out, and his mind was growing weary as well. He felt the difficulty, but fortunately, the refinement was nearly complete. He could still hold on.

"The final step."

"Melt."

"Refine."

Before the final word, "combine," could leave his mouth, Wu Tao's expression changed. He only felt his Spiritual Power slip, his hand technique moving one beat too quickly. As the entire Restriction fused, it suddenly collapsed.

He withdrew his focus and let the ruined Magic Robe fall onto the Starfire Stones, where it burned to ash.

"At the end, it felt like neither my Spiritual Power nor my mental strength could hold out, but they were actually enough to see the refinement through. I was too impatient at the end, seeking speed during the melting and refining process. It wasn't refined thoroughly enough, which caused the final fusion to fail."

It was a bit like driving a screw. Go too fast, and the screw would strip instead.

Wu Tao quickly found the key to his mistake. In truth, it was because he lacked confidence. He had believed that, with his Second Level of Qi Refining cultivation, refining a Tier 1 Level 3 Magic Tool would be difficult to sustain in terms of Spiritual Power and mental strength. That subconscious thought had taken root, then quietly erupted at the critical moment, resulting in this miserable failure.

Wu Tao did not appear dejected by this failure. This was not his first failure, and he had already found the reason for it.

The next day.

"It worked!"

"The Lucky Bonus didn't trigger, yet it succeeded on the second refinement. It seems that as I refine more artifacts, my experience and handling techniques have become much more seasoned."

Wu Tao held the Small Spirit Shield Robe in his hands, his face brimming with delight.

Next came the testing.

Wu Tao refined the Restriction within the Magic Robe, then put it on. As he activated the Restriction with Spiritual Power, a pale red light shield appeared around him.

Because the Sanyang Technique he cultivated belonged to the fire element, the defensive light shield it activated was red in color.

Wu Tao formed a Fireball Technique and slapped it against the light shield. The shield did not budge in the slightest, while the fireball scattered and vanished.

"Not bad. It passes. If I fully activate the Small Spirit Shield Robe, it should be able to withstand attacks from the Fourth Level of Qi Refining to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

Of course, if I encounter an immortal cultivator stronger than myself, running away is still the best choice. Otherwise, once my Spiritual Power is exhausted and I can no longer activate the Small Spirit Light Shield, the only path left will be waiting for death.

Once I become more practiced, I should wear a Small Spirit Shield Robe myself as well."

He was already wearing a Wind-Speed Magic Robe.

As an Artifact Refiner, he could not be stingy with himself.

After finishing the test, Wu Tao saw that he still had enough materials to refine one Wind-Speed Magic Robe. After resting his mind for a while, he easily succeeded in refining it.

"Tomorrow, I'll set up a stall. The Small Spirit Shield Robe will definitely be a hot seller."

Among low-level rogue cultivators, defensive Magic Tools and Magic Tools for escaping were more valuable and popular. Offensive Magic Tools were instead worth somewhat less, because low-level rogue cultivators were not very strong, and few were keen on Spell Battles.

Besides, the Immortal Dao valued life. The path of preserving one's life was the supreme choice.

The next day, Wu Tao walked through the Marketplace. He was going to rent a stall. Shops lined both sides of the street, but their rent was higher, and they could only be rented by the year.

As he looked at the shops, he could not help wondering when he would be able to own one himself.

Suddenly, before the Dasheng Gambling House, a figure was thrown out by two burly men, accompanied by curses. "Get lost! You dare gamble here without Spirit Stones? You owe this gambling house Twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. If you can't pay them back in three days, you'll repay them with your life!"

Passersby all turned to look. The man wore a tattered dark-blue Daoist Robe, his hair hanging loose. Limping on one leg, he got to his feet and spat viciously at the gambling house entrance. "Once this old daoist gets some Spirit Stones, I'll win every last Spirit Stone in your gambling house."

With that, he limped away.

Wu Tao concealed himself within the crowd like a transparent man. Watching that limping figure merge into the stream of people, he frowned deeply.

I thought Daoist Duocai was a swindler. I never expected he was also a gambling dog. Gambling dogs all deserve to die. Besides, I swore that in this life, I would be irreconcilable with gambling and drugs.

The traits of a gambling dog are madness, being hard to deal with, and being beyond saving. If this gambling dog has no Spirit Stones, he'll definitely come borrow from me again. If I refuse, there's no telling what outrageous thing he might do.

"After all, once a gambling dog goes mad, he recognizes neither kin nor friend."

Wu Tao pondered for a while and quickly made a decision. "After selling these two Magic Robes, I'll move tonight. I don't want to get entangled with a gambling dog. Staying far away from gambling dogs is the supreme choice."

His furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

After renting a stall, Wu Tao laid out the Magic Robes. Before long, rogue cultivators came over to ask the price.

Wu Tao had set the price at Forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Lowering it by one or two stones would not be impossible. Besides, he did not have certification yet, so guests would certainly use that to bargain down the price.

For Tier 1 Level 3 defensive Magic Robes, the higher the grade, the more the price doubled.

Once they reached the Tier 1 Advanced grade, the unit of measurement would no longer be Low-Grade Spirit Stones, but Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

The first rogue cultivator did not have that many Spirit Stones, but he really wanted to buy it and proposed exchanging other items. Wu Tao only lacked Spirit Stones right now, so he refused.

Half an hour later, the Small Spirit Shield Robe was bought by a Mid-Stage Qi Refining rogue cultivator for thirty-nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Sure enough, that one-Spirit-Stone discount was still because of the certification issue.

Haven't I still not finished grinding through the questions? Once I'm done, I'll immediately go take the certification exam.

Wu Tao made the decision firmly in his heart.