Times had changed. This was the Mortal Domain's era.

"Thank you, Domain Lord."

Zhao Shengping took a deep breath and said in a serious, hoarse voice, "I don't live for many more years. If the Domain Lord doesn't mind, I want to work in the Mortal Domain until I die, and do my best to train these good-for-nothing disciples behind me before I die."

"Just don't live to see four years from now. Don't tough it out; if you have to go, then go."

"Otherwise, I'll have to give you some of the Heavenly Dao's Blessing."

After making a casual joke, Chen Fan pointed to the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion and began to introduce it with a serious expression.

"This is the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion."

"Special building."

"It can increase the success rate of crafted items, and there's a low probability that the Spirit Treasure created here will be upgraded by one grade. This Heavenly Artifact Pavilion is what I prepared for you."

"The Heavenly Artifact Pavilion?"

Zhao Shengping was slightly taken aback, then looked at the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion, which was clearly different from ordinary Artifact Workshop, and murmured, "I can't believe I'm able to stay in the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion again in my lifetime."

"This is already the best Artifact Refining building among the White-Grade Building."

"There's something even better?" Chen Fan raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't heard of any Artifact Refining buildings in the Green Grade, but there is a Yellow Grade Artifact Refining building called 'Myriad Weapons Pavilion,' which is extremely powerful."

Have you used it?

"No, I've only heard about it."

"Um.

Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully. At that moment, Little Qiu walked over carrying a pile of clothes and Token.

Let me introduce myself.

He took the clothes from Little Qiu's arms and said, "Little Qiu, he's the Pavilion Master of the Logistics Pavilion Mortal Domain. You can ask him for any logistical or daily needs. After nightfall, the core members of the Mortal Domain will return to their Camp, Crippled Monkey will introduce you to them then."

There were no Artifact Refiner in the Mortal Domain before.

"Today, the 'Artifact Pavilion' is established. The disciples behind you have joined the Artifact Pavilion with you. You are the first Pavilion Master of the Artifact Pavilion, but this is only temporary."

Chen Fan took out a Token symbolizing his status as the Pavilion Master from his pocket.

Rectangular format.

The front is engraved with the characters "Mortal Domain), and the back is engraved with the characters " Artifact Pavilion " (器阁).

"It contains a special aura from the Mortal Domain for anti-counterfeiting verification. If you can feel the warmth of the token when the two Tokens are brought close together, it means the Token in the other party's hand is genuine."

"There's another department in the Mortal Domain called the 'Shadow Pavilion,' which is responsible for assassinations and intelligence gathering. You won't be able to meet the Pavilion Master the Shadow Pavilion for the time being; he's out on official business."

"There's a batch of Earth Gold in the Warehouse. You need to craft it into Dagger and Night Garment suitable for the Shadow Pavilion. For now, craft thirteen sets."

Zhao Shengping accepted the Token representing his identity as the Pavilion Master the Artifact Pavilion with both hands, examining it closely. Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, he carefully chose his words and whispered, "Domain Lord, crafting the Night Garment Earth Gold is very resource-intensive..."

"If you only have a small piece of Earth Gold, you can forge thirteen daggers with Earth Gold Dagger. They will also have some shield-breaking effect, although not as good as those made entirely of Earth Gold, but they are very cost-effective."

"If it's a complete project... it will require a large amount of Earth Gold."

Those who work in his line of work.

One of the main tasks is to let the boss know the specific process of Artifact Refining. Otherwise, you'll end up like this: the boss gives you a small piece of Earth Gold and asks you to craft thirteen sets of Night Garment. Even if you're Level-9 Artifact Refiner, you can't do it, let alone Level 90.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice.

"The quantity should be sufficient. The Shadow Pavilion Master has assessed it and believes it's more than enough to create."

Chen Fan didn't say much, just casually said, "You've just joined the Mortal Domain today, so don't rush. Get familiar with the environment first. After the Pavilion Master 'Heavenly Storehouse Pavilion' returns tonight, go to him to apply for Earth Gold, then see what auxiliary materials you need, report to King Mazi, and have him go to Mortal City to purchase them."

"Once the auxiliary materials are secured, that's all."

"Craft these Dagger and Night Garment."

"Yes!"

Zhao Shengping reluctantly agreed, and for a moment he regretted joining the Mortal Domain. This Domain Lord seemed to know absolutely nothing about Artifact Refining. Even though the Shadow Pavilion Master had evaluated him, the Shadow Pavilion Master didn't know anything about Artifact Refining. What could he possibly know?

Earth Gold is an extremely Rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Where the hell am I supposed to find Earth Gold that can craft 13 Night Garment?!

Even in the West Pass Plains, you can't find it at all.

"There's one more thing."

Chen Fan paused for a moment before continuing, "Did you make the Beggar's Chicken you ate at the city gate yourself?"

"Ah? Uh, it was me who made it..."

"Once the braised Braised-Food Room is all set up, make one for me too. I'll try it; it looks good, quite juicy."

"No problem!"

Zhao Shengping's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded confidently. "Domain Lord, just watch, it's a taste you've never had before!"

Compared to confidence in Artifact Refining.

He is more confident in his Braised Delicacies.

In this industry, he's the undisputed master. He's been around for so long and has never seen anyone who can make it better than him. He's the absolute authority in the Braised Delicacies world. And he doesn't just love eating Braised Delicacies; he loves making Braised Delicacies even more.

Especially when he sees others eating his braised Braised Delicacies, they show that satisfied and enjoyable expression.

This also made him extremely satisfied.

His sense of self-worth is primarily rooted in Braised Delicacies; Artifact Refining is merely his job, Braised Delicacies is his life.

Chen Fan chuckled lightly before turning to the group of disciples behind Zhao Shengping: "The position of Deputy Pavilion Master of the Artifact Pavilion is currently vacant. We will be evaluating your performance over the next few days and will select Deputy Pavilion Master from among you."

After saying that, he didn't linger.

As he turned around, the eyes of Zhao Shengping's disciples following behind him lit up; clearly, this news was a pleasant surprise for them.

Deputy Pavilion Master...

A fairly important position.

These people are all Zhao Shengping's disciples. Although they have joined the Mortal Domain, they will definitely obey Zhao Shengping's orders.

But what he wanted was not for these people to obey him simply because they obeyed Zhao Shengping.

The best approach is to select a Deputy Pavilion Master from among these people, Deputy Pavilion Master will then represent him in managing the other Artifact Pavilion members.

Some differentiation is necessary; it's one approach to management.

We can't be too united.

If the Artifact Pavilion is united from beginning to end, then what need is there for him to exist? He might as well just go it alone with Zhao Shengping.

It's late at night.

This is the first day of Mortal City's opening. So far, they haven't recovered a single piece of the Eerie Stone, as traveling back and forth takes quite a bit of time.

Some Mortal Domain Member remained in the Mortal City.

The Mortal Domain Core all rushed back to the Camp. Monkey led Zhao Shengping on a tour of the Camp while introducing the core members of the Mortal Domain: "That guy sitting there scratching his face is King Mazi, the Pavilion Master the Mortal Domain's 'Commerce Pavilion,' responsible for the Mortal Domain's foreign trade and acquisitions. He's also been the main person in charge of Mortal City recently."

"The Middle-Aged Man sitting cross-legged in the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion is Zhou Mo, the Pavilion Master of the 'War Pavilion' in the Mortal Domain. He's in charge of external operations and patrols within his territory. In other words, he's the one who picked out your sycophantic disciples from the crowd."

"The Spirit Pavilion...?"

Zhao Shengping stood frozen in place, stammering, pointing to the Spirit Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion.

Monkey was used to it; everyone who saw Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion for the first time had the same expression. He didn't know whether to say that these people were too inexperienced or too knowledgeable, but somehow they could all recognize Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion.

They had no idea it was the Spirit-Nurturing Pavilion at first; they only found out after the Young Master told them.

"This is the Warehouse."

"There are five areas in total, one of which is the Mustard-Seed Room. Most people get their supplies here. The man standing at the entrance of the Mustard-Seed Room, organizing the supplies, is Wang Kui, the 'Heavenly Storehouse Pavilion' Pavilion Master. You need his approval for any Artifact Refining materials you require."

"Pavilion Master King."

The Crippled Monkey, standing at the Warehouse entrance, looked at Wang Kui, who was busy at work, and said with a smile, "Young Master asked me to take out all the Earth Gold and give it to Pavilion Master Zhao, so that Pavilion Master Zhao can make Special Armament and Night Garment for Shao Qiu others."

"Pavilion Master Zhao"

Upon hearing this, Wang Kui strode out of the Warehouse and looked at Zhao Shengping, who was standing at the Warehouse door, and said seriously, "Welcome to the Mortal Domain. You only need to be glad and regret one thing now."

"I'm glad you joined early enough."

"It's a little too late to regret joining."

Then he couldn't help but laugh, "Come this way, please. Let me get you the Earth Gold. From now on, we're all family, so please take good care of me."

"Definitely, definitely."

Zhao Shengping hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist salute, his face beaming with smiles. So far, the core members of the Mortal Domain have been treating him quite well. However... the Mortal Domain's foundation is much deeper than he imagined. This is yet another Green Grade Warehouse building.

Is this truly a force that could emerge from Jiangbei?

Soon, Wang Kui stood at the entrance of the Mustard-Seed Room, Proficiency manipulating the emerald green mist to envelop all the Earth Gold stored Mustard-Seed Room and place it on the Handcart at the Warehouse entrance.

"It's all here, Pavilion Master Zhao. Please. I'll send someone to deliver it to the Heavenly Artifact Pavilion later."

Zhao Shengping's pupils shrank, and he stood frozen in place, his face full of disbelief. After a long while, he looked up at the others with some disbelief before rushing over and picking up pieces of Earth Gold to examine them. Finally, he came to a terrifying conclusion.

These Earth Gold are actually real!

So much Earth Gold?

He has more than enough to craft 13 sets of Night Garment and Special Armament. If you entrust the crafting to him, given his control over material waste, he can craft up to 30 sets!

How can there be so much Earth Gold?

He strongly suspected that the combined reserves of all the forces in the West Pass Plains might not even equal the amount of Earth Gold stored here.

"Please."

Wang Kui chuckled, his face expressionless, but a surge of secret pleasure welled up inside him Level-9 Artifact Refiner —he used to not even have the right to meet such a person, but things were different now.

Times have changed.

This is the era of the Mortal Domain.

You old folks should see what it means to use Earth Gold.

"Call..."

After a long pause, Zhao Shengping took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and said, "Alright, then I'll trouble Pavilion Master King."

He suddenly realized that while the outside world said the Mortal Domain was already very strong, the actual Mortal Domain was even stronger than the outside world claimed.

This is not a force that can only stay in Jiangbei.

This is essentially a force lying dormant in Jiangbei.

We'll just have to wait until that day.

Soaring into the sky.

He became famous overnight.

What about that one?

Zhao Shengping, who was familiarizing himself with the Camp with the Crippled Monkey, pointed to Qi Yue, who was standing in Open Ground outside the Cave with her eyes closed as if resting. "This person doesn't look like an ordinary person."

"Him."

The Crippled Monkey clicked its tongue and pulled out Message Talisman from its pocket. "Pavilion Master Qiu, isn't Qi Yue's robe finished? Why is he wearing his old robe?"

Little Qiu's voice soon came through the Message Talisman.

"Palace Pavilion Master, the Domain Lord hasn't assigned Qi Yue a position, and I... I don't know which one to take."

"Okay, I'll ask later."

Looking at Qi Yue's retreating figure, the Crippled Monkey sighed, "He should be the strongest in the Mortal Domain right now, but who is stronger between him and Shao Qiu is unknown. They've never fought. Yi San has a very famous name: the Jiangbei Old Devil."

"So it was him." Zhao Shengping's expression turned serious upon hearing this.

"You know him?"

"He came to the East River a few years ago and killed many people. On September 9th, East River East River Market," the Market Master, who was a Level 4 Builder at the time, died by his sword. On the same day the following year, he stormed the East River One Sword Sect, killing many disciples and an Elder.

"It is said that he is only one step away from becoming Martial King."

"It's because of the old devil's reputation."

The monkey clicked its tongue and said, "A few years ago, we were just one step away from becoming a Martial King. Now we're just one step away. That step is just too difficult to take."

"He's joined the Mortal Domain now, and it seems he's currently cultivating and comprehending something, so I won't be taking you with me. You can go on your own later..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Suddenly, I felt a rush of air in my throat, and I couldn't say a word.

Qi Yue, dressed in Green Robe and with her eyes closed, stood on the Sinkhole Surface. At that moment, her robe fluttered even though there was no wind.

"Clang!"

The Pocket Green Edge hovering around it was now vibrating frequently, emitting a buzzing sound.

The next moment -

Qi Yue's spirit tablet surged from the earth within her body and transformed into dozens of swords made of the spirit tablet in the air. Immediately afterward, these swords pierced towards Qi Yue at great speed.

"Sizzle."

A faint sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard; this was the sound of Myriad Swords Piercing the Heart.

Each sword pierced through the body.

Each time it pierces through, it brings out some black mist.

Although no blood was visible, Qi Yue's contorted and grotesque expression revealed the immense pain Qi Yue was enduring.

The commotion startled Chen Fan and the others inside the Cave, and they all came out.

"This is the Ten Thousand Swords Tempering the Heart!"

He's breaking through to the Martial King!

Zhao Shengping immediately assessed the woman's condition and said in a somewhat panicked and flustered manner, "This is a special method for breaking through to the Martial King level. The danger level is extremely high. Only by enduring the Ten Thousand Swords Tempering the Heart' can one break through to the Martial King."

"But one"

"While those sword strikes won't cause external injuries, they inflict immense mental anguish while cleansing impurities from the body. Most people simply can't withstand it, and the result is often madness."

He never expected that the Jiangbei Old Devil was actually Demonic Cultivation!

This is a typical tactic of Demonic Cultivator.

To break through to the Martial King, one needs to completely eliminate all impurities from the body. Ordinary people can only do this slowly, which is a long process. Demonic Cultivator, on the other hand, can do it much more efficiently.

Directly Ten Thousand Swords Tempering the Heart.

Remove impurities from your body before using the sword.

Is it fast or not?

That will definitely be fast!

It's like one person pooping with their buttocks, while another person cuts open their buttocks to get the poop out; in terms of speed, the latter is definitely faster.

But the latter also died quickly.

Such a breakthrough method, risking one's life, is something only Demonic Cultivator would dare to try. But with the current potential and foundation of the Mortal Domain, there's absolutely no need for them to go to such lengths. Steady development is all they need to become stronger.

What if he/she dies?