Spirit Artifact

"What has the young master been doing lately... Why does he always put up a sign like this at the door?"

Two Xiao Clan servants passed by Xiao Yan's courtyard and saw a sign reading "Do Not Disturb" standing outside his room. A simple fence made of wooden strips had even been set up around it.

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Such an out-of-place scene had become nothing unusual in the eyes of the Xiao Clan servants. Over the past two months, they would occasionally see Xiao Yan put up this sign, then shut himself in his room for an entire day without coming out.

"Do you think it could be some kind of barrier?" The other servant's imagination ran wild. "Could the young master be slaying demons and protecting the peace of the Xiao Clan?"

He deliberately put on a horrified expression and said to his companion, "Strange sounds always come from the young master's room!"

Bang! Xiao Yan's door was suddenly flung open, and a lightning-fast figure rushed out in a blur.

"Waaah—!" The two servants clung to each other in terror, their souls nearly leaving their bodies.

Only after the figure had gone far away did they finally let out a breath.

"Hurry and report this to the clan head!"

"What if it isn't a ghost?"

"Are you stupid? Who else could be in the young master's room? The young master must have recovered his Dou Qi!"

Xiao Yan ran to Huo Yuhao's door. Just as he was about to barge in, he suddenly thought of something, slammed on the brakes, barely stopped in front of the door, and knocked.

"Knock, knock!"

"Come in."

As he pushed open the door, a wave of heat hit him head-on. Xiao Yan saw Huo Yuhao and Yao Chen studying a piece of metal in front of a forging furnace.

"Master, I... What are you doing?"

Yao Chen glanced up at Xiao Yan, then lowered his head and continued studying the metal before him. He said, "You've used up the medicinal liquid, right? I'll refine more for you later."

Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, Xiao Yan felt a little annoyed. He walked over to the furnace, intending to see what had them so engrossed.

Yao Chen tapped the refined steel in front of him and carefully examined it with his spiritual power. "It's now not much different from rare metals with spirituality."

"Mm." Huo Yuhao nodded. "Forging techniques can indeed imbue ordinary metals with spirituality, but that normally requires Myriad Forging. I didn't expect that your spirit-imbuing method, Teacher, could achieve it after compressing and purifying the metal."

"That was a method I came up with when I was researching ways to improve the quality of medicinal pills." Yao Chen stood with one hand on his hip, looking rather pleased with himself. As he bragged, he prepared medicinal ingredients capable of drawing in spiritual energy and told Huo Yuhao, "After the next few steps are complete, this Spirit Artifact will be finished."

"Alright!"

Huo Yuhao focused, pushed Xiao Yan's head aside, wrapped the forging hammer in Dou Qi, and began striking the refined steel. Before long, a short blade took shape.

"Now!" Huo Yuhao shouted softly. A carving knife appeared in his left hand, wrapped in Dou Qi, and he inscribed Spirit Runes onto both sides of the short blade, as well as its edge and hilt.

"Is this the hand speed of thirteen years of being single?!" Amid Xiao Yan's teasing, intricate patterns emerged across the blade.

At the same time, Yao Chen summoned the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. The medicinal ingredients liquefied and fused within the fire. After ten breaths, a sky-blue medicinal liquid was refined. Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to guide the liquid into the newly inscribed Spirit Runes while controlling the flames and lowering the temperature.

Once every pattern on the short blade had turned blue, Huo Yuhao extinguished the flames, waited for the blade to cool, and infused it with Dou Qi.

As Dou Qi entered it, the Spirit Runes on the short blade shone brightly, drawing in the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Qi and continuously absorbing it into the blade.

Xiao Yan discovered in amazement that the once-clear boundary between the patterns and the blade gradually blurred. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again. The patterns no longer appeared to have been inscribed afterward; they looked as though they had naturally grown from the refined steel itself.

"It worked!" A faint smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's lips as he swung the short blade. Whoosh! A blade aura nearly two meters long emerged from the weapon, though the blade itself was less than half a meter in length.

"According to the ancient records, this blade has reached the required standard in spirituality, power, and its ability to draw upon Heaven and Earth Origin Qi. Yuhao, congratulations on becoming an artifact refiner!" Yao Chen's expression was solemn as he sincerely congratulated Huo Yuhao.

"Teacher—"

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say something, Yao Chen's taut expression suddenly vanished, replaced by a ridiculous grin.

"Hoho! Although you're a genius, Little Yuhao, it's still all thanks to my guidance! It seems that not only am I the continent's number one alchemist, I'll also become the continent's number one artifact refiner's—teacher."

"Uh." Huo Yuhao gave him a deadpan stare and swallowed his thanks. He lowered his head and continued studying the newly refined weapon, no longer paying attention to his showboating teacher.

Once they were done, Xiao Yan stepped forward and carefully examined the blade in Huo Yuhao's hand. "Is this the Spirit Artifact Master mentioned? How is it different from the Soul Tools you made before, Yuhao?"

Huo Yuhao explained, "It does use a great deal of Soul Tool knowledge, but Spirit Artifacts and Soul Tools are still different."

"First, Spirit Artifacts are forged as a single whole, so with the same materials, they are far sturdier than Soul Tools. Second, Spirit Artifacts have lower requirements for their users. Soul Tools require learning specific methods of use, while most Spirit Artifacts only need Dou Qi infused into them. Third, Soul Tools are powered by energy stored within themselves and by the user's energy, so they are difficult to use without sufficient cultivation. Spirit Artifacts, however, can use Spirit Runes to draw upon Heaven and Earth Origin Qi. Insufficient cultivation only reduces their power."

Huo Yuhao paused before continuing, "According to the records, high-grade Spirit Artifacts can recognize a master and may even grow alongside their owner."

"That powerful? Then what grade is this Spirit Artifact?"

"This is a First-Grade Spirit Artifact," Yao Chen answered. "Just like alchemy, first grade is the lowest, while ninth grade is the highest."

"Not entirely." Huo Yuhao replied, "We took a shortcut. According to the records, shaping, inscribing Spirit Runes, and integrating the core should all be completed in a single refinement process. By separating the steps and combining them afterward, it may have reached the standard of a First-Grade Spirit Artifact in power, but it can only be considered a defective product."

"By the way, what did you come here for, Xiao Yan?" Yao Chen asked as if he had only just noticed Xiao Yan, leaning his face close.

"Tch!" Xiao Yan pushed Yao Chen's big face away and snapped, "Didn't you just say it? The Foundation Establishment Elixir is used up. Should I continue using it for my later cultivation, or what?"

Yao Chen was pushed until he felt a little dizzy. He shook his head, rummaged through the Ancient Flame Ring, and took out a scroll.

"You can use the Foundation Establishment Elixir until you become a Dou Zhe. Next, I'll teach you a Dou Technique to speed up your Dou Qi cultivation. Yuhao can learn it too. Also, you can start preparing the medicinal ingredients listed on this scroll."

Xiao Yan's attention was immediately drawn to the Dou Technique. He took the scroll but did not open it right away, instead asking eagerly, "What grade is this Dou Technique? Anything Master teaches me must be amazing, right?"

Yao Chen showed a nostalgic look and sighed. "Black Grade High Level. Back then, if that person hadn't begged me with tears in his eyes, I wouldn't have bothered taking it. Sigh..."

Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan both gave Yao Chen deadpan stares without responding.

Yao Chen stretched out both hands and pressed a finger against Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan's foreheads. "Don't move. Calm your minds and focus your spirits. I'll pass it on to you..."

"Wow, my head feels like it's going to burst!" Xiao Yan clutched his head in pain. Yao Chen looked at the unresponsive Huo Yuhao, then at Xiao Yan, who was yelping and howling, and said irritably, "That's what you get for not cultivating your spiritual power properly. That Spirit Condensation Formula of Yuhao's is a huge help even to me."

"Hiss—alright, alright. I'll definitely cultivate my spiritual power properly when I go back." After recovering, Xiao Yan asked in confusion, "But how does this Dou Technique speed up Dou Qi cultivation?"

Yao Chen said seriously, "Eight Extremes Collapse is a Dou Technique with low requirements for Dou Qi, but extremely high requirements for physical strength. If you force yourself to use it, your body will give out first."

"Then what should I do? Do I have to wait until I'm fully grown before I can cultivate it?"

Yao Chen shook his head. "Of course not. Dou Qi is the most suitable energy for tempering the body. The stronger your Dou Qi, the stronger your body will become. Conversely, strengthening your body will also speed up your Dou Qi cultivation."

"I have a..." After understanding the basic principles of Eight Extremes Collapse, Huo Yuhao came back to his senses and was about to say that he had a suitable body-tempering technique when Yao Chen suddenly interrupted him.

"Unlike you, Yuhao, Xiao Yan can't run multiple cultivation techniques at the same time." A sly grin appeared on Yao Chen's face. "So I prepared a more suitable training method for him."