Outside Refining Lake, on a small island, a spirit boat hurriedly carried five people ashore.
"Thanks to Big Brother Li." The Seventh Prince, Changqin Wuming, gazed across the vast lake, still shaken.
He had been prepared for the dangers of Refining Lake. He hadn't expected to encounter three waves of aquatic beasts in less than half a day after entering the outer lake.
Fortunately, they had come as a group, led by their big brother Li Sheng, who could recover discarded qi. That was how they had reached the island where they planned to gather pearls.
"Don't let your guard down. There could be danger even on the island. Rest for half an hour, then get ready to dive for pearls."
Li Sheng was tall and lean, with dark skin. His sixth level of Qi Refining cultivation spread out as he surveyed the area.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
"Something's over there!"
The five immediately formed up and moved toward the direction Li Sheng had sensed.
Whoosh!
A streak of pale blue light suddenly plunged into Refining Lake and raced away, parting the waves.
"Huh?"
Changqin Wuming froze.
"What is it?" Li Sheng asked with a frown.
"Nothing..." Changqin Wuming watched the streak of light, puzzled.
Just now, he had sensed Shen Yue's aura.
But this was the outer lake of Refining Lake. Even with ten lives, Shen Yue couldn't have made it here.
Besides, that person's speed was no slower than Captain Li's.
"Looks like some pearl-gatherer passing by stopped to rest here for a while."
Seeing that the person had left of their own accord, Li Sheng relaxed a little. He told everyone to continue preparing to dive for pearls, then walked over to Changqin Wuming.
"I heard from Little Five and the others that you came out to gather pearls this time to help someone buy a Breakthrough Pill?"
Changqin Wuming nodded.
"Cultivation is hard enough as it is. You should put yourself first." Li Sheng shook his head.
The outer lake was dotted with rocky islets, its waters surging. Ten li from the island where Changqin Wuming and the others were, a blue sphere had come to a stop.
The sphere was enormous, no less than two meters in diameter, and its entire surface shimmered with a faint mist of water.
Shen Yue sat cross-legged atop it, slowly restoring his spiritual power.
"This Tide Rising Pearl is truly wondrous. Too bad I can only use it temporarily..."
That morning, Chen Qiaoqian hadn't made an issue of things. Instead, to his surprise, she had given him this first-grade, mid-tier Tide Rising Pearl for protection.
The pearl could control currents, serving both as an attack and a means of travel. Without it, he might not have made it to the outer lake so smoothly.
He had used it to leave the island in an instant earlier. Otherwise, if Changqin Wuming had seen him, it would have meant trouble.
After recovering, Shen Yue's dantian brimmed with spiritual power. He focused his mind and reached out to the [Nine Heavens Profound Mirror]. Ripples immediately spread through the space around him.
Ancient Wei Territory.
Green trees stretched toward the sky, blocking out the sun. The heavens and earth brimmed with the spiritual energy of wood and earth.
Shen Yue concealed himself above the dense forest, releasing his spiritual sense to survey the surroundings.
Birds and beasts, branches and leaves—everything within a hundred meters lay clear before him. It was entirely different from last time.
"Linjiang Immortal City is to the east..."
There were several jade slips in the Wu woman's storage bag, recording all sorts of information.
Linjiang Immortal City was the nearest major cultivation city to the Wu Family and Black Soil Fortress.
After identifying his direction, Shen Yue sped east.
With the help of his spiritual sense, he reached Linjiang Immortal City in half a day.
A broad avenue paved with bluestone could accommodate thirty-six carriages abreast. Shops lined both sides like halls of jade.
Shen Yue had three main objectives on this trip. First, to sell the two portions of [Star Flow Sand] he had collected during this time. Second, to buy the next part of [Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique]. Third, to obtain a method for artifact refining or alchemy.
The Wu woman's storage bag had mentioned artifact refining and alchemy in this world. They were different from the methods found in Chusheng Market and seemed more profound.
For instance, the Wu Family had its own wood-based method of alchemy, something the people at Chusheng Market had never even heard of.
"I'll buy the technique first..."
Half an hour later.
Shen Yue arrived at a shop called the "Thousand Treasure Pavilion."
The cultivation techniques of Ancient Wei Territory were bizarre and unpredictable. Some were traps that turned people into someone else's doppelgängers or even refined them into human pills. Fortunately, the Wu woman had mentioned that this shop had a good reputation.
"What can I get for you, Daoist?" The greeter was a young woman with braided hair who looked quite capable.
"Do you have the second part of [Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique]?" Shen Yue asked.
"We do." The young woman walked over to a nearby shelf and brought back an ochre-gold booklet. "Ten spirit stones."
"Could I trade for it with goods instead?" Shen Yue took out two jade vials.
"Star Flow Sand?" The young woman merely uncorked them and sniffed to identify what was inside. "Fifteen for one portion, thirty spirit stones for both."
Thirty!
Shen Yue's heart stirred.
Now that he had entered the Qi-Fueling stage, he could gather one portion of [Star Flow Sand] every ten days or so. In other words, he could earn forty-five spirit stones a month just by gathering qi.
Back when he recycled scrap, he could earn at most three spirit stones in a month.
And that was only [Star Flow Sand]. What about higher-grade spiritual qi?
"Does your pavilion happen to sell [Thunder Wood]?"
"Thunder Wood?" The young woman shook her head. "You must be joking, Daoist. Linjiang Immortal City lies in the Azure Ancient Forest, where earth- and wood-based spiritual materials are abundant. Fire-based materials are rare. Unless an outside merchant caravan comes through, you can't normally buy any here."
"What about [Thunder Wood]?" Shen Yue asked, keeping his expression neutral.
Like [Fire Flowing Sand], this wood was third-grade.
"We have some. It'll cost a hundred spirit stones. Are you sure you want it?"
[Thunder Wood] was a rare treasure, so the Thousand Treasure Pavilion didn't display it openly.
Shen Yue's heart stirred.
If this wood cost a hundred spirit stones, then the even rarer [Fire Flowing Sand] had to be worth more.
He really did have one portion, but there was no way he'd sell it on a whim.
"I'll think about it. Let's trade for the technique first."
"Sure." The young woman made a copy of [Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique] on a jade slip and handed it to Shen Yue along with twenty spirit stones.
"Come again if you need anything, Daoist."
With a small fortune in his pocket, Shen Yue left the Thousand Treasure Pavilion.
"Next, an artifact-refining method."
The Wu woman had mentioned a family called the Chehou Family, which was quite skilled at artifact refining. They were right here in Linjiang Immortal City.
Half a day later, Shen Yue arrived at another shop.
"Our shop has spirit artifacts of every kind, all in stock. Feel free to look around, Daoist."
There was only one person in the shop: a red-faced young man whose features were crowded together. He seemed quite casual.
"Lin Yan?"
Shen Yue froze on the spot.
This man was none other than Lin Yan, the monkey-faced young man from the battle between the Wu Family and Black Soil Fortress.
Chehou Yan also paused. "You're still alive?"
Black Qiu's [Shadow Candle Mayfly Sand] was so powerful that even late-stage Qi-Fueling cultivators wouldn't dare take it head-on. Chehou Yan had survived only because of the [Life-Replacing Golden Cicada] his family had given him.
That this man was still alive was truly unexpected.
"You're still alive too?"
Shen Yue was just as surprised. He hadn't felt how powerful that attack had been at the time, but now he needed to put on a show and raise his standing to make what came next easier.
Chehou Yan fell silent.
This man had escaped Black Qiu's clutches, so he was clearly no ordinary cultivator. He must have mastered some remarkable concealing art that hid his cultivation.
"What do you need, Daoist? A spirit sword, spirit boat, seal, treasure basin..."
"An artifact-refining method." Shen Yue cut Chehou Yan off.
"What?" Chehou Yan almost thought he'd misheard.
Someone had actually dared come to the Chehou Family to buy an artifact-refining method. It was like trying to poach the family's people to their faces.
But after thinking it over, Chehou Yan realized that this man was formidable. If he dared ask for the method so openly, he must have something to rely on.
"The Chehou Family only sells spirit artifacts, not methods." Chehou Yan's expression darkened. "But if you need one, I could give you one as a personal gift."
He'd actually given way.
Shen Yue kept his expression neutral. "Go on."
"Come with me to Black Soil Fortress." Chehou Yan took out a spirit sword and stared intently at the runes engraved on it.
During the last battle between Black Soil Fortress and the Wu Family, he had wanted to seize the Wu Family's alchemy method. But Black Qiu had seen through him at the last moment, ruining everything and bringing shame upon him at home.
He had plotted for a long time to probe Black Soil Fortress again. Now, all he lacked was a strong ally.
"Fine, but give me the artifact-refining method first." Shen Yue agreed without hesitation.
"The method first?" Chehou Yan studied Shen Yue's expression but saw not the slightest ripple.
It seemed to him that breaking into Black Soil Fortress would be a simple matter.
Chehou Yan was secretly alarmed.
This man had plenty to rely on.
He took out a jade slip and smiled. "This slip contains the Chehou Family's artifact-refining method. Have a look."
Shen Yue sent a thread of spiritual sense into it. Sure enough, he found instructions on artifact refining, but only half the contents were accessible.
"Three days from now, come with me to Black Soil Fortress. Then I'll unlock the rest. That way, we'll both have some assurance."
Chehou Yan naturally couldn't hand over the Chehou Family's artifact-refining method so easily. The first half of the jade slip covered only the basics and was of little consequence.
"Fine." Shen Yue took the jade slip.
Three days later, under the dark, windy night sky.
Two dark figures lay in wait outside Black Soil Fortress.
"Don't rush, Daoist. Let me scout out the situation inside." Chehou Yan took out a formation plate and pretended to probe Black Soil Fortress, a sinister smile flickering across his lips.
He didn't really need help. He needed a powerful decoy to draw the fortress's experts toward him.
And he had tampered with the jade slip. One thought would make it explode.
It would destroy the object—and kill the person.
That was precisely why he had given Shen Yue the Chehou Family's artifact-refining method.
"Daoist, it's clear. Go!"
"Where is he?!"
Before you continue