Second Refinement of the Golden Sand Diagram

Li Mo's act of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys instantly cowed the crowd of rogue cultivators.

The Serpent Head still rolled across the ground, its blackened blood staining the floor tiles red.

Li Mo had naturally done this deliberately. Since he planned to sell magic tools through a stall, if he couldn't make the rogue cultivators fear him, endless trouble would come knocking.

Because of the Golden Sand Diagram, the rogue cultivators called Li Mo the "Golden Sand Daoist."

Li Mo walked through the stalls as if no one else was there. The number of prying gazes dwindled, and some cultivators even deliberately avoided him.

He swept his eyes over the spirit materials on the stalls and noticed that, due to the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm, Metal-Earth Attribute spirit materials were flooding the market.

For Li Mo, this was certainly a good thing.

Not only were the prices cheap, but the uneven quality of the materials also left room for finding bargains.

Li Mo already knew how to enter and leave the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm, and Contain Toxin and Digest Poison could guarantee his safety.

He suddenly recalled the strange stirring from the Book of Fortune when he was inside the secret realm. Could it be that there was a way to increase the number of blank pages?

It seemed that once preparations were complete, a trip there was necessary.

Moreover, the blood from the Bizarre Beast Corpse was also a resource for Li Mo, crucial for drawing the Primary and Secondary Tattoos in the future.

Li Mo bought some spirit materials and, without realizing it, spent several more Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

He didn't care about the quality of the materials; after all, the magic tools he refined would be sold to others.

But for the Golden Sand Diagram he used himself, the quality of the Second Refinement Spirit Materials had to be top-notch, or it would inevitably affect the subsequent refining.

Depending on the different spirit materials fused into a magic tool, its functionality could become vastly different.

Li Mo examined the various kinds of spirit materials, occasionally bending down to pick one up and scrutinize it. The function of the Book of Fortune was immediately highlighted.

Most of the spirit materials had existed in the ancient Immortal Cultivation World. By relying on the information provided by the Book of Fortune, Li Mo could determine their properties.

Li Mo quickly gathered enough materials to refine five First Refinement Golden Sand Diagrams, and even collected a third of the resources needed for the Primordial Acquired Dao Body at the Heart Beast Black Market.

Only the Second Refinement Spirit Materials for the Golden Sand Diagram remained elusive, with no suitable ones to be found.

Just as Li Mo was about to leave for the time being, he suddenly noticed a newly set-up stall in front of the tavern door, crowded with people.

The stall owner was dressed in a black robe, constantly taking items out of a Storage Bag.

Besides spirit materials, there were even Spell Bone Scrolls and Magic Tool Catalogues, though they were stained with spots of blood, their origins clearly suspicious.

Li Mo recognized the female cultivator. He had seen her once before when he first arrived at the black market.

The female cultivator had her arms crossed over her chest, her half-exposed face covered in Beast Fur, and there were many unhealed wounds visible on various parts of her body.

From the rogue cultivators' chatter, Li Mo learned that the female cultivator's Dao name was "Qingqiu Daoist." She was extremely ruthless and most enjoyed killing people and seizing their treasures.

When several cultivators saw Li Mo approaching, they made way for him.

Qingqiu Daoist cast a cold glance at the crowd, skillfully bandaged her wounds, and said in a deep voice, "Only trade for Pills, not sold for Spirit Stones."

Ignoring the curious stares of the surrounding cultivators, Li Mo began to browse the stall.

The Spell Bone Scroll was ruled out first. The spells inside were rather ordinary and came with drawbacks that affected one's foundation. Only rogue cultivators would consider it.

But he did find something among the spirit materials.

Li Mo picked up a piece of Earth Attribute Spirit Material. It looked like withered moss, its texture extremely tough, and the Spiritual Qi it emitted was somewhat restrained.

According to the information surging from the Book of Fortune, the material was called Bitter Year Root.

Using Bitter Year Root for the Second Refinement would not only make the Golden Sand Diagram tougher but also give it the ability to stretch and contract freely.

Li Mo toyed with the Bitter Year Root and grew interested in a Low-grade Magic Tool Catalogue on the stall.

"May I look at the catalogue?"

After Qingqiu Daoist gave her permission, Li Mo pressed the bone scroll containing the catalogue to his forehead and memorized all its contents within a few breaths.

Low-grade Magic Tools were bizarre and varied, most of them rather useless, but they could fill the gaps in Li Mo's meager knowledge of tool refining.

For Li Mo, there was no need to sell too many types of magic tools.

After all, being proficient in refining the Golden Sand Diagram was a completely different concept from being proficient in refining Low-grade Magic Tools. He didn't want to attract too much attention.

But one Low-grade Magic Tool catalogue was somewhat interesting. The tool was called "Bird in a Cage."

Bird in a Cage was a magic tool specifically used to raise spirit beasts. If one was far from civilization, it could be used to supplement Beast Blood.

Li Mo, satisfied, asked, "For Spirit Guiding Pills, how many for one magic tool catalogue?"

"Two. The spirit material can be thrown in as a bonus."

Li Mo handed the pills to Qingqiu Daoist, picked up the Bitter Year Root, pushed his way out of the crowd, and disappeared into the deep black mist.

After purchasing the materials needed for Bird in a Cage, he headed straight for the inn.

Li Mo rested for a while in the guest room, then began the Second Refinement of the Golden Sand Diagram. The steps were nearly identical to the First Refinement—all involved grinding the spirit materials into powder.

Li Mo was extremely cautious while drawing, afraid that a mistake would ruin the Golden Sand Diagram.

The result was still smooth, but the Second Refinement was indeed more tedious. Every stroke he made could not have the slightest error, or the entire effort would be lost.

Even though Li Mo's spiritual power was deeper than others at the same realm, it still required painstaking, meticulous work.

At this moment, the advantage of the Leakless Body became clearly apparent, allowing his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to remain vigorous for an extended period.

Only after Li Mo completed the second refinement did he recover from his state of full concentration.

The Golden Sand Diagram appeared largely unchanged, yet in truth, the Quicksand River within it had grown more natural, and withered trees transformed from Bitter Year Roots now lined its banks.

This added a touch of vitality to the desolate yellow sands of the vast desert.

When the artifact was activated to release sand and dust, the area covered more than doubled, and within it were mixed hard, gritty particles.

"Withdraw."

The Golden Sand Diagram wrapped around Li Mo's body, this time no longer limited to his head. The Bitter Year Root allowed the artifact to extend its length, instantly covering every inch of skin without leaving any gaps.

To distinguish it from other Golden Sand Diagrams, Li Mo named the artifact the "Desert Diagram."

He did not expect the Desert Diagram to be used against enemies; all subsequent refining would lean toward defense, making it his first protective artifact.

However, the third refinement would have to wait—he could not yet guarantee a high enough chance of success.

The refining of the Bird in a Cage followed closely after.

Unfortunately, the primary spiritual material for the Bird in a Cage had to be metal, and Li Mo's spiritual power leaned toward the earth and water elements, so he could only spend fifteen Mid-grade Spirit Stones to purchase a first-refinement Artifact Refining Furnace.

The Artifact Refining Furnace was shaped like a Three-legged Bronze Cauldron; injecting spiritual power into it generated flames.

Li Mo threw the Golden Essence into the Artifact Refining Furnace. Under the scorching heat, the spiritual material gradually melted into a liquid state, and impurities vanished.

He guided it with his consciousness, but to his surprise, the Artifact Refining Furnace was even harder to control than he had imagined.

Puff~

A puff of black smoke rose from the Artifact Refining Furnace. The Golden Essence was completely ruined, and a pungent, unpleasant smell spread through the air.

Li Mo had anticipated this. Without metal-attributed spiritual power, the difficulty would undoubtedly increase severalfold. Fortunately, he had purchased enough Golden Essence.

He steeled his patience, and only after five consecutive furnace explosions did he barely manage to refine an Artifact Embryo.

As its name suggested, the Bird in a Cage resembled an ordinary birdcage. The first refinement required drawing patterns on its surface, using "Sumeru Stone" as the spiritual material.

Sumeru Stone was the main spiritual material for refining Storage Bags, capable of constructing a Mustard Seed Space.