"That's it?"
A question mark popped up in Chu Mo's mind. Aside from the information above, it also mentioned that a Life-bound Magical Treasure was extremely important to Opening the Estate, but gave no explanation why.
Oh, right. It also threw in a recipe for a Foundation Establishment Pill and thoughtfully recommended several second-tier alchemists from the Hezhen Society.
"It didn't explain how to achieve Receiving the Register either." He scratched his head, thinking in frustration, And I still haven't figured out what the instances are all about...
This Foundation Establishment Essentials: Part One was like a tempting piece of bait. It whetted his appetite, only to stop abruptly at the crucial point.
As for the other two texts, their prices ran into the thousands-money that would be anything but easy to earn.
Was he supposed to go back to robbing people on the road?
Chu Mo imagined the scene and shuddered. "I've still got a few Storage Bags collected from the Savage Realm. Selling those should bring in some Spell Coins."
But... with a thought, he sank his Divine Sense into the token again and soon found what he was looking for:
[Basic Artifact Refining Lecture. Cost: 110 Spell Coins. Capacity: 30. Currently registered: 24.] [Location: Artifact Hall, Fire Chamber C-3] [Time: Three days from now, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.]
Below was a brief introduction: [Lecturer: Chi Lian. Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Early Stage. Proficient in Artifact Refining, particularly skilled in the Fire Refining Method.]
One hundred and ten Spell Coins was not especially expensive.
Alchemy, talismans, artifacts, and formations were the four great arts of cultivation. Only within the Deliverance Sect could Chu Mo purchase their teachings directly with Spell Coins.
Among Rogue Cultivators or small sects in the outside world, any one of these arts was considered a closely guarded secret, never lightly taught to anyone other than a chosen successor.
"Only six spots left..." He hesitated no longer, immediately locking onto the listing with his Divine Sense and confirming payment.
He had Myriad Forms Treasure Qi and a Mutated Flood Dragon Pearl on hand, both excellent spirit materials for refining the Profound Scenery Refining Truth Banner. He urgently needed instruction in Artifact Refining to get started.
The token in his hand exerted its pull again, and he deftly took out the required Spell Coins.
As the Spell Coins disappeared into the token, a new message appeared: [Registration successful. Present your token at Artifact Hall, Fire Chamber C-3, at the specified time.]
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Before seven in the morning, Chu Mo set out for the Artifact Hall.
The Artifact Hall stood on an Immortal Peak of its own. Unlike the sulfur and fiery baleful energies everywhere that Chu Mo had imagined beforehand, the place was utterly ordinary, with nothing unusual about it.
By the time he arrived, quite a few disciples were already waiting.
Chu Mo slipped unobtrusively into the crowd, ready to wait for Chi Lian's arrival.
"Hey, junior brother." A cultivator beside him with thick eyebrows and large eyes greeted him. "First time attending an Artifact Refining lesson?"
[Level 8 · Deliverance Sect Grunt]
"Yes, senior brother." Chu Mo responded politely, then turned back around, with no intention of chatting further.
"Then you've come to the wrong place. Martial Uncle Chi Lian is terribly cold."
The large-eyed cultivator was rather familiar with strangers. Unbothered by Chu Mo's cool response, he instead opened the floodgates and launched into an endless stream of chatter:
"He teaches entirely according to his own train of thought, without ever considering whether the disciples can understand him. And he never repeats anything he's already covered. For someone like you with no foundation at all, understanding it in one sitting? Good luck!
"You'll have to come several times at least before you learn..." He babbled on for ages, then suddenly paused, glanced furtively around, and switched to transmitting his voice through Divine Sense:
"If you ask me, he just wants to squeeze a few more rounds of registration fees out of us!"
Chu Mo's eyes flickered, and he asked curiously through voice transmission, "Senior brother, aren't you afraid Martial Uncle Chi Lian will notice you talking about him behind his back? Eavesdropping on voice transmissions shouldn't be difficult for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, should it?"
"Heh, my father's Daoist name is Qing Song." The large-eyed cultivator raised an eyebrow, a sly look crossing his face.
At that, Chu Mo understood at once. If he remembered correctly, the name of the lowest-ranked Foundation Establishment cultivator who had overseen the Savage Realm assessment was [High Person Qingsong].
So he's a second-generation cultivator.
The large-eyed cultivator looked even smugger. "Besides, Martial Uncle Chi Lian reached Foundation Establishment by taking a Foundation Establishment Pill. Since he never opened his Dharma Estate, his Divine Sense hasn't transformed into Divine Thought. Unless he's deliberately targeting us to listen in, it'll be hard for him to catch our voice transmissions."
"Divine Thought?"
Seeing that Chu Mo did not understand, he explained directly:
"After a cultivator successfully achieves Receiving the Register and reaches Foundation Establishment, their formless, insubstantial Divine Sense transforms into Divine Thought, which possesses form and substance.
"Without relying on spells, they can directly move and seize objects, or even unleash tangible attacks. Its mysteries and power are as far apart from Divine Sense as heaven and earth. The two can't be spoken of in the same breath."
"I see. Thank you for clearing that up, senior brother," Chu Mo said gratefully. This senior brother might be a chatterbox, but he was a good man.
With that thought, he took the initiative. "I'm Chu Mo. May I ask your name, senior brother?"
"I know you." The large-eyed cultivator waggled his eyebrows. "Martial Uncle Yuan Bai is an old friend of my father's. I've heard him mention you. He said you were an interesting lad."
"Uh..." Understanding dawned on Chu Mo. So that was it. No wonder this senior brother had approached him.
"My surname is Ji, and my given name is Qing. Just call me Senior Brother Ji," Ji Qing said readily.
"Senior Brother Ji." Chu Mo cupped his hands in greeting.
He was about to say something else when the fire chamber's door opened with a boom, and a wave of heat washed over them. A stern-faced cultivator in crimson robes stood inside.
[Level 14 · Artifact Master Chi Lian]
"Those who registered may enter with their tokens." His voice was not loud, but its stiff cadence reached everyone's ears.
The crowd filed inside, each presenting a Hezhen Token.
Chi Lian nodded slightly, feeling quite satisfied. These people were all his "Spell Coins." If each attended at least three times, that would amount to a very considerable sum.
His gaze swept over the crowd. When it landed on Ji Qing at the back of the line, he snorted, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.
In truth, he had been monitoring the activity outside with his Divine Sense all along. Naturally, he had heard Ji Qing's voice transmissions too, but his father's status made it awkward to act on his displeasure.
He resolved to make today's lecture a little more obscure. He could not let the boy learn it too easily; at the very least, he had to make him come a few more times.
As for what would happen to the other disciples? That was outside his consideration. They could listen or not, as they pleased.
The fire chamber was spacious, with a massive furnace at its center. Beneath it, deep blue flames burned quietly in an Earthfire vent, radiating astonishing heat.
"Choose your own spots." Chi Lian kept it brief.
Once everyone had chosen a place and settled in, Chi Lian walked to the central furnace and went straight to the point:
"In the art of Artifact Refining, fire control comes first. A hair's breadth of error in the heat will send the properties of your spirit materials and the inscription of your formations a thousand miles astray. At best, the artifact's grade will fall. At worst, the artifact will be destroyed and the materials ruined..."
He spoke at a measured pace and explained the principles fairly clearly, but the entire lecture was nothing but talk, without any physical demonstrations or step-by-step breakdowns. This made the already obscure material twice as difficult to understand.
Many disciples listened with tightly furrowed brows, lost in clouds and fog. Some even began scratching their heads and ears. Ji Qing looked equally bewildered as he struggled to keep up.
Catching sight of Ji Qing's expression, Chi Lian felt thoroughly pleased. He made his lecture increasingly "profound and mysterious," casually tossing out specialized terms and theories until everyone's heads ached even more.
[Artifact Master Chi Lian teaches you [Fire-method Artifact Refining].] [You listen to Artifact Master Chi Lian's instruction. Artifact Refining experience +1.]