Zhang Yu's gaze flickered. He could sense that, in that instant just now, Cang Lu had recalled the avatar he had left at Lou Lodge. At the same time, he once again felt that unusual aura from the man.
And now, he could finally confirm what it was. Looking at those strange eyes, he slowly said, "An evil god."
Though Cang Lu had undergone sinister changes, he himself still appeared perfectly lucid. He did not hide it in the least. "An evil god."
Zhang Yu looked at him. "You have drawn an evil god's power into your body? To people like us, that is nothing but foul, defiling qi. Why would you do this?"
Cang Lu answered frankly, "There is nothing I cannot say. I merely did it to refine an artifact."
"Refine an artifact?"
Cang Lu looked upward. Another current of air swept into the open-sided Dao palace, issuing a low, mournful howl. He danced amid the wind and light, and even his shadow drifted and swayed in waves.
He said slowly, "Yes. Fellow Daoist Zhang, as Guardian of Rectitude, you must have read my records. They should state that I excel at the Extreme Astral Baleful Art, as well as the art of ritual refinement.
"But few know that artifact refinement is in fact the foundation of my cultivation, and also my opportunity to attain the Dao. If my cultivation is to advance further, I must refine an artifact unlike any the world has ever seen.
"Yet the requirements are extraordinarily harsh. Not only must the materials have never been used by anyone before, but even the method of refinement must differ from all previous methods.
"Over the years, I fought foreign enemies at Lou Lodge, using that as a pretext to continuously borrow artifacts from the Profound