Refining the Restriction

At this moment, Yan Chihuo stepped through the air, treading upon several giant boulders as he lunged forward to deliver a fierce sword strike. He knew that if he remained on the ground, his opponent would surely cast Imprisoning Earth, leaving him at the mercy of his foe; thus, he took the risk to launch an aerial assault.

Zhong Yun felt the ground beneath him soften and realized his opponent was employing Imprisoning Earth. Without dodging or retreating, he held his giant axe horizontally. Just then, a cascade of boulders plummeted from the sky—it was Yan Chihuo's Falling Rock Art!

Zhong Yun let out a loud shout, and a wave of boulders surged up from the ground to meet the attack head-on; his own Falling Rock Art could actually be deployed in reverse!

The two piles of boulders collided. One was backed by deep cultivation, the other by the momentum of the air, making it difficult to determine the victor. With a deafening crash, rubble flew in all directions, and immediately after, both Yan Chihuo and Zhong Yun emerged from the debris.

Yan Chihuo looked at Zhong Yun from a distance and said, "Senior Brother Zhong, thank you for holding back. You allowed me to barely survive the time it takes for this incense to burn. Had it lasted a moment longer, I would have been unable to hold on."

Zhong Yun was slightly stunned. He looked back and saw that the incense stick planted in the ground had indeed burned out. He had no choice but to retract his giant axe and say, "Junior Brother Yan is too modest. You are truly worthy of being called an expert who slew the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon."

Yan Chihuo cupped his hands and turned to leave. Hong Lie, feeling that he had lost face, said sourly, "That Yan Chihuo just got lucky."

Zhong Yun turned his head and asked Hong Lie, "Do you really think Yan Chihuo's performance was just luck?"

Zhan Qing also walked up and said, "Actually, Yan Chihuo's mastery of earth-attribute spells is quite average. Not to mention compared to you, Senior Brother, even compared to me, he is not much better."

Zhong Yun shook his head and said, "Junior Brother Zhan, I am not as skilled as you in artifact refining, but when it comes to cultivation, I still have more experience than you."

Zhan Qing forced a smile and said, "We are all brothers here; please speak your mind, Senior Brother Zhong."

Zhong Yun said, "As you said, his cultivation and spell proficiency are not much higher than yours, perhaps even inferior. However, this man has extremely rich combat experience. He always casts the most appropriate spell at the perfect moment. Based on this alone, Junior Brother Zhan, if you were to fight him, you would be defeated within ten breaths, and your life might even be in danger."

Zhan Qing felt a bit unconvinced, but upon reflecting that he had indeed been defeated by Yan Chihuo in less than ten breaths, he couldn't help but say, "But he was in a sorry state under your hand, Senior Brother. Just as he said, if it had lasted a moment longer, he surely would have collapsed."

Zhong Yun shook his head and said, "Although I held the upper hand, it would not be easy to defeat him completely. If it were a life-or-death struggle, my win rate would only be sixty or seventy percent; I dare not claim certain victory. Furthermore, he has not been cultivating for long and does not possess many talisman artifacts. Once some time passes and he advances to the late stage of Body Forging, or acquires a few more talisman artifacts, it will be even harder to say."

Hong Lie asked, "I wonder what he did before joining the sect? Could it be that he spent every waking moment fighting others?"

Zhan Qing replied, "I have heard that before joining, he was a famous assassin in the underworld. Although he didn't know spells, he often walked on the edge of life and death, which is why his ability to adapt to enemies is so strong."

Zhong Yun pondered, "That barely makes sense. But if he didn't know spells before, how could he master the timing of casting to such a degree? If he had known spells beforehand, why would an assassin often find himself walking on the edge of life and death, and why would his combat adaptability be so exceptional?"

Ignoring the three of them discussing him behind his back, Yan Chihuo returned to his cave dwelling. He first took out the Soul-Breaking Sword and examined it carefully before putting it down. He then retrieved the snake scale from his bosom. The restrictions on this scale were nearly formed, but Yan Chihuo knew deep down that his initial understanding of artifact refining had been superficial. By carving it haphazardly, he had taken a wrong path; even if he managed to complete it later, the restrictions would not exceed ten layers.

He extended his left hand, and a faint black mist emerged, wiping gently across the snake scale. The restriction patterns immediately vanished. This method of cleansing restrictions was vastly different from what Wu Yunhe had taught. According to Wu Yunhe, one must use specific methods within an artifact refining furnace.

Wu Yunhe had passed down the technique, but how could Yan Chihuo obtain such a furnace? A furnace could not be bought for a mere hundred Jade Crystals. Yan Chihuo could only think of this method: using the Poison Dissolving Art to wash away the restrictions.

This method had never been used by anyone, and Yan Chihuo could not guarantee success. Even if he could wash away the restrictions, he worried about damaging the Talisman Artifact Primordial Embryo. Therefore, he used this snake scale as a test.

The effect of the Poison Dissolving Art in removing the restriction patterns exceeded his expectations. Because he was extremely cautious, he did not cause any damage to the snake scale.

He looked at the scale. According to standard refining methods, it should first be purified, but that also required a furnace. Yan Chihuo thought to himself, This snake scale is not actually a precious item. The snake demon back then was just an ordinary poisonous snake that had gained sentience, not a rare creature of heaven and earth. If the purification is insufficient, the future potential of the talisman artifact will be limited, but it is not impossible to refine. I will just use it to practice.

Thinking of this, he silently recited a mantra and extended his right index finger, quickly carving several cloud patterns onto the scale. His technique was extremely complex yet perfectly orderly. If Wu Yunhe were to see this now, he would surely be shocked, as this technique was three parts more advanced than what he usually displayed.

Yan Chihuo's fingers moved, and one cloud pattern after another emerged. In a short while, he had carved the first layer of restrictions. He did not stop, his fingers moving as if cloud energy were flowing beneath them. After carving a full fifteen layers of restrictions, he finally stopped.

Yan Chihuo looked at the snake scale in his hand with great satisfaction. When he was carving the restrictions just now, he had entered a state of selflessness. For an artifact refiner, this state is extremely rare; not only are the carved restrictions more detailed and in harmony with their true nature, but one's level of skill is also significantly improved.

However, Yan Chihuo felt a bit of regret. While his skill level had improved significantly after entering this state, it would be impossible to reach that level of selflessness again unless his overall skill improved drastically. The quality of this snake scale was truly mediocre; carving such high-level restrictions on it was a bit of a waste.

The restriction carved onto this snake scale was precisely Earth Shrinking Step. Yan Chihuo had long craved this spell, but his cultivation had been insufficient. Although he had memorized the incantations by heart, he had never formally cast it.

He silently recited the incantation and channeled his magic power into the snake scale. His feet moved, and with a sudden flash, he arrived at the wall, nearly crashing into it before catching himself just in time.