March

"Li Mo has passed the First-Rank Junior Artifact Refiner assessment at the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall's Fragrant Spring Road branch. This certificate is hereby issued as proof."

--Above this were the date and the signature of the assessment host, Yan Jin.

Wu Tao looked at the Artifact Refiner Certificate in his hand and thought, I'm a certified person now.

During the assessment, the Artifact Refining Hall had been very strict. It required engraving restrictions five times and refining a First-Rank Level 3 Magic Tool once. Any mistake or exceeding the time limit would result in failure, as determined by Yan Jin.

Out of the sixteen people who took the assessment, only six were successful.

Nine people succeeded in the refining test, but the One Thousand Basic Knowledge of Artifact Refining test eliminated another three.

Wu Tao, with his steady artifact refining skills, became one of those six.

After obtaining the Artifact Refiner Certificate certified by the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall, Wu Tao truly felt the benefits of having a certificate. When he sold his magic robes, all he had to do was show the certificate, and the Loose Cultivators who came to buy them had no excuse to haggle.

Moreover, they seemed to genuinely believe in the quality of the magic robes from the bottom of their hearts.

He kept two of the Small Spirit Shield Robes he had refined for himself and sold the rest. He could sell them for one to three more Spirit Stones each and still find buyers.

In just a few transactions, coupled with a 20% tax reduction and a 20% reduction in stall fees, he had already earned back the 30 Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the assessment fee.

Of course, Wuquan Mountain offered even greater profits.

Building a Cultivation City, with tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators working for Wuquan Mountain.

Three days later, at the Devilish Cultivator "Beheading" Assembly, countless Loose Cultivators swarmed in. A Loose Cultivator he knew from setting up a stall invited Wu Tao to watch the Demon Slaying Hall publicly execute a Devilish Cultivator.

Wu Tao refused without hesitation.

His experience from his previous life told him that curiosity killed the cat, and those who usually went to watch the excitement rarely ended well.

As expected, just as the Demon Slaying Hall was preparing to reduce the Devilish Cultivator to ashes, three hidden Devilish Cultivators in the crowd suddenly attacked, attempting to rescue him. A fierce Spell Battle ensued. Although the three Devilish Cultivators who "hijacked the execution ground" were also killed on the spot by the Demon Slaying Hall, over a hundred Loose Cultivators watching the spectacle died.

The Loose Cultivator who had invited Wu Tao to watch the excitement did not escape either.

When Wu Tao heard this news, a hint of lingering fear appeared on his face. Fortunately, he hadn't gone; otherwise, he would have been among the dead.

"Low profile, low profile, that's how you live forever."

He reaffirmed his Dao Heart.

"The Devilish Cultivators of Ghost Dao Sect are too audacious! Why do I feel like a storm is brewing? Could it be that the Righteous-Demonic War is about to begin?" Wu Tao's thoughts drifted, and he made a guess.

This region hadn't experienced a Righteous-Demonic War for several hundred years.

Once war broke out, not only would Immortal Dao Great Sects like Wuquan Mountain and Azure Spirit Sect be unable to escape, but Loose Cultivators would suffer even more tragically in the war.

"I hope I'm just guessing."

Comforting himself this way, Wu Tao also made some developmental changes. He decided to refine more Small Spirit Shield Robes, purchase pills for cultivation, and quickly improve his cultivation.

The Body Tempering Art and the Three Yang Technique progressed hand in hand, and the required Spirit Stones represented a massive expenditure.

He chose a type of pill called the Qi Condensation Pill for his cultivation. This pill was suitable for cultivators below the Late-Stage Qi Refining realm. A bottle of pills cost thirty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones and contained ten pills, with one taken at a time. In a month, this would amount to one hundred and five Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

If Wu Tao were to cultivate using Spirit Stones, at his current absorption rate, he could absorb at most a little over ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month. Thirty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones could sustain him for several months of cultivation.

However, pills were advantageous due to their ease of absorption and acceleration of cultivation progress. Cultivators valued their lifespan the most, and spending Spirit Stones to extend it was the most welcome action.

If one was unwilling, it was surely because they were poor.

The Body Tempering Art consumed more Spirit Stones than the Three Yang Technique. One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone only lasted for five days of medicinal baths, which amounted to six hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month. At Wu Tao's current earning rate, he simply couldn't afford it.

Therefore, he decided to take a medicinal bath every other day. With his income, he could afford this and still have some Spirit Stones left to purchase new formations and Formation Practice Boards.

When calculated precisely, his life was still quite tight.

Time passed slowly according to his plan, and three months flew by in the blink of an eye.

On this day.

In the Cultivation Room, Wu Tao sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, circulating the Three Yang Technique and refining the Qi Condensation Pill within his body. The Qi Condensation Pill was refined into spiritual energy, which he then channeled into his Dantian.

As the Qi Condensation Pill was refined, its volume decreased, and the spiritual energy in his Dantian became increasingly abundant.

Half an hour later.

The Qi Condensation Pill was completely refined by him.

Wu Tao slowly concluded his practice and slowly opened his eyes. A hint of joy flashed in his gaze as he said, "If I were to refine a Qi Condensation Pill three months ago, it would have taken two Shichen. But with the improvement of the Body Tempering Art, this refining time has become shorter and shorter."

"Over these three months, although I haven't reached the Third Level of Qi Refining, my overall strength has greatly improved."

He extended his Spiritual Sense into his Dantian and saw that the Dantian was filled with swirling spiritual energy, on the verge of accumulating enough.

"Soon. In three to five days at most, I will be able to Breakthrough to the Third Level of Qi Refining."

He opened his Personal Status and carefully scanned through each item. These data provided a more precise assessment of his strength.

[Name: Wu Tao] [Lifespan: 25/83] [Realm: Second Level of Qi Refining] [Cultivation Technique: Three Yang Technique: Qi Refining Chapter (Second Layer): 98%]

[Spells: Fireball Technique Novice (95%), Cleaning Spell Novice (10%)]

[Divine Abilities: None]

[Primary Profession: Artifact Refiner]: Mastered Restrictions: First-Order Level 1 Cooling Restriction, First-Order Level Two Wind-Speed Restriction, First-Order Level One Dust-Repelling Restriction, First-Order Level 1 Rain-Repelling Restriction, First-Order Level 3 Small Spirit Light Shield Restriction, First-Order Level 4 Spirit-Absorbing Restriction (95%)

[Secondary Profession · Body Cultivator: Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art: Flesh Refining (45%), Dragon Spear · Fire Sweep Proficiency (22%), Dragon Spear · Wind and Thunder Proficiency (35%)]

"With only two percent more progress, I can break through to the Third Level of Qi Refining. Without using pills, my calculations estimated it would take nine months to break through. By using pills, I've directly shortened the time to just over three months."

"Of course, the Body Tempering Art also deserves credit. The Body Tempering Art strengthens the body, enhancing the Five Senses and Six Perceptions, making me more sensitive to spiritual energy."

Wu Tao's gaze swept over the lines of data. After using medicinal baths for body tempering, the progress of Fire Sweep and Wind and Thunder also accelerated. Both had now reached the proficient stage.

With Wind and Thunder unleashed, Wu Tao was confident he could defeat hundreds of his past selves.

After all, the original owner was such trash that he couldn't even properly practice the Fireball Technique.

In these past three months, he had also purchased a Tier 1 Level 4 restriction.

The Spirit-Absorbing Restriction, as the name suggested, could absorb a certain amount of spell damage. The lower the quality of the spell, the more damage it absorbed. The higher the quality of the spell damage, the less damage would be absorbed.

Of course, if the opponent's realm was several levels higher than yours, no matter how much damage you absorbed, you would still inevitably die.

The absorption limit was twenty percent.

A Tier 1 Level 4 restriction that could absorb twenty percent of spell damage was already top-tier.

In three months, after spending hundreds of Formation Practice Boards, he had engraved it to ninety-five percent progress. With another ten days to half a month, Wu Tao was confident he could fully master this restriction.

Wu Tao put away the panel, recalling the past three months. Although he had been exhausted from earning spirit stones, this exhaustion felt very fulfilling.

Fortunately, no major incidents had occurred during these three months.

Life had been simple and unadorned.

He did, however, encounter Daoist Duocai once while setting up a stall. Seeing Daoist Duocai then, with his ornate magic robe and ever-present smile, Wu Tao thought the old daoist had struck it rich at the casino.

Daoist Duocai saw Wu Tao and, with a condescending attitude, immediately produced two Low-Grade Spirit Stones, saying the extra was interest.

He acted as if bestowing a favor.

Wu Tao happily accepted. Without needing to ask, given Daoist Duocai's boastful nature, he knew the old daoist had reported a devilish cultivator of Ghost Dao Sect and received a substantial reward from Demon Slaying Hall.

"This person is not far from death! I must stay away!"

Wu Tao immediately had this thought.

Indeed, three days later, when he went to the market, he saw Daoist Duocai's corpse on the street. He had died miserably, utterly dismembered. His flesh and essence had been gnawed away by something unknown, his ornate magic robe had been stripped off, and his eyes were wide open, his face filled with injustice.

Wu Tao guessed that Daoist Duocai had been retaliated against by the devilish cultivator.