Since that was the case, it was time to take away the other opportunity here and see if it could bring him some surprises.
"Screech!"
His Life-Bound Sword shot out from his dantian, flashing away in an instant and plunging into the earth beneath the cold pool. At last, from the underground water veins formed by the earth veins, it swept up an inconspicuous bluish-black stone and brought it out.
That was it!
Observing it up close with his Fiery Golden Eyes, Jiang Ming could finally see it more clearly.
It was a fist-sized piece of Pure Source, containing a pebble-sized chunk of Purple Copper.
The amount of Purple Copper his Life-Bound Sword had absorbed last time had been too little.
This time, with such a large chunk of Purple Copper supporting it, it would surely be refined into a Supreme Spirit Artifact.
Purple Copper was originally one of the finest materials for Dao Palace Realm cultivators to refine treasure artifacts with. It could even be used all the way through the Four Extremes Secret Realm without issue.
Even some cultivators in the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm used treasure artifacts made from heavenly materials similar to Purple Copper.
After all, artifact-refining materials were exceedingly precious. Not everyone could be like Ye Fan, possessing Extreme Dao Treasure Material such as the Root of the Mother Qi of All Things from the very beginning of forging a weapon.
Even materials capable of forging Heritage Saint Weapons were difficult to obtain even in a single piece.
For the current Jiang Ming, Purple Copper was already the best artifact-refining material.
Even so, he was immensely satisfied.
Jiang Ming cut open the bluish-black stone, nearly as large as a millstone, and extracted the Variant Cold Source within. The Variant Cold Source contained exceedingly frigid essence energy and vigorous life essence, with energy like blue mist and crystalline radiant clouds flowing within it.
It could be said that after the Purple Copper was removed, there was not much Variant Cold Source left. Yet the essence it contained exceeded even the flesh-and-blood treasure medicine hotpot Jiang Ming had eaten earlier.
Sources were divided into impure Sources containing impurities.
Pure Source.
And Variant Source.
Variant Source was the finest ordinary Source below Divine Source.
Jiang Ming took out the Variant Cold Source. Every piece was crystalline like fragments of blue sapphire, circulating with brilliant radiance, and he stored them all within his Sea of Bitterness.
Next, his Life-Bound Sword pierced into the Purple Copper. Accompanied by the sound of dragon-and-phoenix cries, Jiang Ming swiftly formed restriction after restriction with practiced ease. Cooperating with his divine sense, he rapidly inscribed Dao Patterns, helping the Life-Bound Sword advance quickly.
"Screech!"
Accompanied by a dragon's roar, purple treasure light flowed across the Life-Bound Sword, which resembled red crystal. It effortlessly transformed into a Supreme Spirit Artifact.
In theory, a Supreme Spirit Artifact was already the finest treasure artifact that a Dao Palace Realm cultivator could refine.
For it to transform further, a cultivator had to enter the Four Extremes Secret Realm.
As for the Variant Cold Source, he would let his Sea of Bitterness absorb it slowly.
The Variant Frost Source contained pure power that could be directly absorbed and transformed into a wellspring of divine power or true essence within the body. When true essence ran short in battle, it was even more useful than a restoration pill.
He had only just broken through to the eleventh level of the Qi Refining Stage, so there was no need to rush another breakthrough.
Recently, his cultivation speed had risen as if he were riding a rocket.
Next, he needed to search for the ingredients of a Foundation Establishment Pill and refine one for himself as a backup.
Although Jiang Ming felt that with his current physique, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage would likely be far easier than in his previous life, and a Foundation Establishment Pill might be unnecessary.
He still had to prepare one. It could go unused, but he could not go without it.
Before long, the Life-Bound Sword had devoured the entire chunk of Purple Copper. Some purplish-black powder remained on the ground, impurities left behind after the sword consumed the essence.
The Life-Bound Sword had changed from its original crimson color to crimson-purple. It had once resembled red crystal, but now it possessed an added metallic chill.
The defining traits of Purple Copper as a treasure material were that it better supported Dao Patterns, was sturdier and more durable, and carried a trace of the Dao charm of the purple qi of heaven and earth. That was its most precious quality.
When cultivators practiced, they would capture that trace of purple qi between heaven and earth at sunrise to strengthen their Dao foundation.
Using Purple Copper to forge a treasure artifact would also benefit a cultivator's own cultivation over time.
The matters here had come to an end.
Since this was Old Cold Chi's territory, and his temperament was poor, no savage beasts or exotic birds within a hundred-mile radius would dare come here to provoke him.
Jiang Ming had unknowingly been sitting here for three days.
Cultivation knew no years; the boundless Dao was too void.
The closer one came to home, the more timid one became.
Jiang Ming thought again of his daughter Tingting standing guard at the doorway, her little eyes full of longing for her parents' return. To him, that gaze was too scorching. He did not even dare look at it.
His heart hurt too much.
Tingting was only a little over three years old.
For a child that age, companionship was the most precious gift.
In the past, even though Jiang Ming and Lingzhi were cultivators, they would return home every few days to visit Tingting and spend as much time with her as possible.
If he could obtain an Emperor Armament, it would surely be able to suppress the backlash brought by his three-star Fate Pattern.
Jiang Ming suddenly thought of a solution. Even if he himself did not enter the Saint Realm, he could still interact normally with his daughter: he only needed an Emperor Armament to suppress his Fate Pattern.
But where could he get an Emperor Armament?
In truth, half an Emperor Armament would do as well.
The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Canopy.
Jiang Ming immediately thought of the Depraved Daoist he had encountered recently. That fellow was not doing his proper work; keeping the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Canopy in his hands was a waste.
There was also storming Yaoguang Sacred Land and taking away the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Cauldron.
Yaoguang Sacred Land lacked sufficient foundations. It was clearly an easy target.
Right, and Yan Ruyu, along with the Demon Emperor's Armament.
If he slept with Yan Ruyu and made her his Dao companion, then half of the Demon Emperor's Primal Chaos Azure Lotus would count as his too.
Jiang Ming was nearly insane now. He did not care whether plotting for these things made him shameless, despicable, or righteous.
As a man who had once fallen into demonic cultivation, he had long since gone mad. The only reason he did not act recklessly was because he knew he was still human.
Demons were also a kind of Dao.
Becoming a demon did not mean one had to commit every evil, plague all living beings, and slaughter the world.
He needed time!
And he was not powerful enough yet.
Without sufficient strength, everything was empty talk.
After accumulating strength for a while and obtaining some heavenly treasures, he could play it safe and strike for the twelfth level of Qi Refining, condense the Foundation Establishment Dao Platform, and begin breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
He would set aside the Shrouding Method for now.
He would focus on the Chinese Paladin Method. Once his cultivation was powerful enough, he could truly let those who became rich first help those who came after.
The road was blocked and long; he would trace the current upstream.
In this life, the Heavenly Tyrant Body would charge into the Forbidden Zone, become "brothers" with those old ghosts of the Forbidden Zone, borrow his "brothers'" Absolute Beginning Fate Stones for cultivation, use his "brothers'" lives to cultivate, and squeeze every last bit of value from his good "brothers."
The Ancient Mine of Absolute Beginning, Undying Mountain—
His "close friends" were spread throughout the Life Restricted Zones.
As for where he should go now?
First, he would go to Taixuan Sect and meet Hua Yunfei, to see whether they could become good brothers.
It just so happened that he could slay demons and exterminate monsters along the way.
First become friends with demons and monsters, then stab them in the back.
He would ruthlessly squeeze every bit of value from that damned system.