Artifact Spirit Path

The members of the Drunken Feast Group continued spending money to support Li Tie, who was determined to defeat the Strength Savage Axe.

They bought Sacrificial Power from Li Zheng and the other Bricklayer players at a rate of 50:1, then transferred it to Li Tie through their portable Guides.

This delighted Li Zheng and the others.

As they mined, they discussed the matter again in the party chat:

Murderous Intent Awakened: I just checked the battle livestream. Thinking about Brother Li's explanation made me burst out laughing. You could totally describe their situation as a bunch of youngsters using Pay-to-Win to help an old grandpa beat a Soulslike.

Gold-Farming Gamer: Stop laughing and get mining. Every piece of ore brings us several hundred in earnings.

Leopard Head, Zero Spender: I heard of this Drunken Feast Group in Conquest, a game I played before. They're a very strong gaming guild. Apparently, all their members come from rich families. Hopefully, we can keep working with them long-term.

So Poor I Eat Dirt: Just dug up another Energy Stone. Extra food tonight, hahahaha.

Family-Sharing Godfather: Guys, I suggest saving up for a good Mining Pickaxe before we keep digging. Don't sell your Sacrificial Power as soon as you get it. We can only earn more later if we grow stronger quickly.

Just as the party chat was celebrating the Drunken Feast Group's behavior, a notification suddenly popped up in the Region Channel.

[Challenger Prompt (Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region): Player "Blacksmith" has successfully contained the Primordial Monster Strength Savage, exclusively earning a reward of 10,000 Sacrificial Power and permission to unlock a second Star Meridian Inlay slot for free.]

"Holy shit!"

The Hardcore Grinder Group players, still mining, all blurted out exclamations.

Opening the Star Meridian interface, they discovered another monster Life Soul available for inlay.

The Life Soul was a battleaxe, crimson all over, with red light flowing across its surface. Its blade gleamed coldly, and ghostly patterns were carved into its handle, entwined with intricate totems. It looked imposing.

[Strength Savage (First-Generation Primordial)]:

Monster trait: All physical attacks carry the "Brute Strength" effect, increasing damage by 50%.

Purchase cost: 1,000 Sacrificial Power.

Looking at the newly added Life Soul option, the Hardcore Grinder Group players suddenly could not laugh anymore.

Cheers rang out nearby. Clearly, the Drunken Feast Group members were celebrating Li Tie's success.

"Damn... he really won." Eat Dirt exclaimed in amazement.

"That's normal. Isn't this just the health-whittling tactic we suggested earlier? Keep mining. We'll stop selling Sacrificial Power for now. Hunting monsters is clearly the best way to produce it. We still need to get stronger."

Li Tie's success spurred the Hardcore Grinder Group players, giving them the idea of no longer selling Sacrificial Power and improving their strength first.

Five hours later.

Another swarm of Iron-Shelled Insects arrived. The Hardcore Grinder Group players, who had been mining hard, promptly withdrew alongside the Drunken Feast Group.

The Insect Tide was a frequent occurrence in the Dark Cavern.

Mining Pickaxes repeatedly striking the rock walls would attract the Cavernfolk from deep underground, bringing large numbers of Iron-Shelled Insects with them.

Their current strength was insufficient to defeat the army of Iron-Shelled Insects controlled by the Cavernfolk. Retreating was the best choice if they wanted to avoid a one-hour respawn cooldown.

They could only enter again once the swarm had receded.

Outside the cavern, the world remained a gloomy dark red. There was no distinction between day and night here, only an eerie crescent moon hanging high in the sky.

Just as the players prepared to head to the Blood Plains to hunt monsters and Evil Spirits, another regional notification appeared.

[Challenger Prompt (Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region): Player "Blacksmith" has successfully contained the First-Generation Primordial Shatter, exclusively earning a reward of 10,000 Sacrificial Power and permission to unlock a third Star Meridian Slot for free.]

The sudden notification stunned every player.

Only a few hours had passed, yet this player called Blacksmith had contained a second Primordial Monster entirely on his own.

Spurred on, many players began searching for Primordial Monsters in the Blood Plains and Ancient Battlefield regions, hoping to earn lavish rewards by hunting them.

Time passed into the early hours of the next morning.

Another regional notification appeared:

[Challenger Prompt (Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region): Player "Blacksmith" has successfully contained the First-Generation Primordial Soul-Severer, earning a reward of 10,000 Sacrificial Power and permission to unlock a fourth Star Meridian Slot for free.]

This notification instantly drove the players wild, and they flooded the Region Channel with questions:

Gold-Farming Gamer (Blood Plains): Brother Blacksmith, are you taking disciples? Bring us along to fight Origin Primordials!

Family-Sharing Godfather (Blood Plains): That's insane. Soloing three Origin Primordials? He's stronger than our whole party.

Cute Kid (Ancient Battlefield): Can I ask where Brother Blacksmith found so many Primordial Monsters? Our team wants to give it a try too.

Marble (Ancient Battlefield): We ran into a First-Generation Primordial just now too, but its Hunting Level was 27. It wiped us out immediately. The Primordial Monsters Blacksmith encountered must be low-level ones, right? I'm so jealous.

Drunken Milk (Ancient Battlefield): He's probably in Weapon Spirit Valley, the region that just appeared on the map. We're heading over now.

Faced with the questions in the Region Channel, Li Tie, who was busy fighting, did not even glance at them.

Just then, he received a video call from his granddaughter.

Once the call connected, his granddaughter, still in the form of a little turkey, said excitedly:

"Grandpa, we want to watch you challenge the Artifact Spirits."

"All right." Li Tie nodded and waved a hand, hiding the video call window floating before him.

He was preparing to challenge the fourth Artifact Spirit.

Before beginning the challenge, Li Tie summoned the Star Meridian Enhancement panel.

He spent 1,000 Sacrificial Power to remove his starting Gargoyle Life Soul, then inlaid the three monster Life Souls-Strength Savage, Soul-Severer, and Shatter-into his Star Meridian in turn.

Then he spent all his remaining 30,000 Sacrificial Power on raising his Body Tempering level.

Each level cost 10,000 Sacrificial Power.

After three successive flashes of white light washed over him, his Body Tempering level reached 3, allowing him to inherit the full attributes of three monsters simultaneously.

Li Tie stepped forward, entering the Artifact Spirits' detection range.

Immediately, the remaining Sweeping Sword and Netherghost Staff shot toward him.

Li Tie lightly tapped his right foot against the ground. Phantoms of the three Artifact Spirits inlaid in his Star Meridian appeared behind him and circled his body.

The traits of their three abilities surfaced in his mind.

[Strength Savage Lv1]:

Monster trait: All physical attacks carry the "Brute Strength" effect, increasing damage by 50% and greatly enhancing the user's strength.

[Soul-Severer Lv1]:

Monster trait: All physical attacks carry the Soul-Severing effect, dealing a Mental Impact to the target and leaving a continuously burning Soul-Refining Brand.

[Shatter Lv1]:

Monster trait: All physical attacks carry piercing and shattering effects.

Guide notification: Evolution Points earned by hunting and killing monsters in the main body form are shared among all Monster Forms.

Facing the incoming Sweeping Sword.

Li Tie reached out and grasped, and the Strength Savage Axe fell into his hand.

Crimson light rapidly spread from his right hand across his body. Strength Savage's trait effect surged into him, and Li Tie clearly sensed a substantial increase in his strength.

"Kill!"

The Strength Savage Axe cleaved forward, meeting the Sweeping Sword head-on.

Metal clashed, and the Sweeping Sword was sent flying with a single blow.

But Li Tie did not press his advantage. He released the Strength Savage Axe, which immediately turned into a phantom and resumed circling his body.

This time, the Soul-Severing Spear appeared in his hand.

The long spear was made of neither gold nor iron. Deep blue-violet throughout, it seemed formed from condensed stars. Its shaft was slender, its tip gleaming coldly.

A low howl could faintly be heard from within the spear.

The Sweeping Sword attacked again.

"Break!"

The spear thrust out, its tip meeting the Sweeping Sword's point. It knocked the Sweeping Sword flying once more and left a deep-blue mark on its blade.

Without the Strength Savage Axe's strength-enhancing trait, the spear-wielding Li Tie also slid two meters backward.

After steadying himself, Li Tie released his grip, and the Soul-Severing Spear floated free of his hand.

This time, he did not switch to the Shatterblade to fight. Instead, he had the three Artifact Spirits merge in midair, transforming into a Golden Battleblade.

Seeing this, the Drunken Feast Group members watching the livestream erupted in exclamations over the voice channel:

Late Nights and Midnight Snacks: Aaaah, Grandpa Tie is so cool! No wonder he's been my idol for years. He even dismantled his starting Monster Form. Is he planning to take the Artifact Spirit Path?

Shrimp with a Heart: That's so damn cool! I want to follow the Artifact Spirit Path School too. How could a Black-Armored Snake look as cool as an Artifact Spirit? Even switching weapons looks cool, never mind how they look after their weapon traits merge!

Is This a Beaver: This game finally has a Star Meridian school I like. The Artifact Spirit Path is way cooler than that Bonefire + Eagle-Headed Demon long-range detection-and-strike build.