Spirit Spring Market on Spirit Spring Mountain was larger than the market at Mist Spirit Mountain. It was jointly controlled by three Golden Core powers: the Crimson Firmament Sect, the Spirit Creek Sect, and the Xiao Household.
Golden Core cultivators were stationed there permanently, making it extremely safe.
It could be considered the largest cultivation market within a thousand li.
A mere batch of first-tier Law Artifacts would certainly attract no attention if sold there.
Lu Changgeng nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Spirit Spring Market was just a little far away, though, so the round trip would certainly take longer.
Lu Changfeng felt somewhat uneasy.
"Xuanming, go with Changgeng so you can look out for each other."
It was better to be a little more careful and cautious.
Listening from the side as the three old men discussed their arrangements, Lu Chenxing could not help marveling inwardly at their caution.
Sure enough, the real cultivation world was nothing like the novels.
Where would so many fools come from?
Those who could live for hundreds or thousands of years had all grown shrewd with age.
At the same time, he had learned a great deal from their experience and was slowly growing and transforming.
"I'll guard the lineage with Grandpa Patriarch!"
His words brought smiles back to all three faces. Lu Changgeng stroked Lu Chenxing's head and said fondly,
"All right, then sorry for the trouble of looking after the Lu Household, Little Chenxing."
"Be good and cultivate at home, Little Chenxing. We'll bring you back some nice things this time."
It was a rare trip to a larger market.
The Lu Household also needed to exchange some resources.
Especially now, with the surrounding powers-particularly the Wang Household-watching them like hungry tigers.
Lu Changfeng needed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage as soon as possible.
They therefore needed to purchase some second-tier cultivation pills.
Spirit Establishment Pills, which could directly increase Spiritual Power once refined, and Mystic Spirit Pills, which could increase cultivation speed.
These two pills were the ones most commonly used by Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
All four of the Lu Household's Foundation Establishment cultivators could use them.
Before Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming left, Lu Chenxing specifically asked them to buy a second-tier artifact cauldron on this trip.
He was preparing to try his hand at artifact refining.
Half a month later.
Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming returned, bringing the second-tier artifact cauldron Lu Chenxing needed, along with the artifact-refining materials needed in Great Xia. There were even more materials this time, mostly first-tier materials, with a small quantity of second-tier materials and a flying sword that was a low-grade Spirit Artifact.
There were only thirty Spirit Stones, all high-grade.
Converted, they totaled three hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
"Little Chenxing, the Spiritual Qi contained in high-grade Spirit Stones is purer and easier to absorb and refine. Since we aren't short of resources now anyway, you can use high-grade Spirit Stones to cultivate from now on."
Lu Chenxing nodded lightly.
Then he continued looking through the other things.
As usual, Lu Changgeng had purchased quite a few inheritances, insights, and accounts of experience relating to auxiliary disciplines such as pill refining, artifact refining, talismans, and formations. A copy would be made and kept at the Lu Household, while the originals would be given to Lu Chenxing to send back to Great Xia.
Besides these basic resources,
there were also pills.
Three bottles of Spirit Establishment Pills, totaling thirty pills.
Ten bottles of Mystic Spirit Pills, totaling one hundred pills.
"Patriarch, you and Little Chenxing will each take fifteen Spirit Establishment Pills. As for the Mystic Spirit Pills, the four of us will each take twenty-five." No sooner had Lu Changgeng finished than Lu Changfeng objected.
"Give all the Spirit Establishment Pills to Little Chenxing."
Lu Chenxing truly did not know what to say about his grandpa patriarch.
Sometimes, spoiling children too much was wrong.
What if they were spoiled rotten?
"Grandpa Patriarch, we'll still need you to do the heavy lifting if we want to demand justice from the Wang Household, so don't refuse. We aren't short of resources now, and there will be more Spirit Establishment Pills. Let's divide them as Grandpa Changgeng suggested!"
As he spoke, Lu Chenxing went ahead and took his own share first.
Fifteen Spirit Establishment Pills and twenty-five Mystic Spirit Pills.
His open, natural ease rubbed off on Lu Changfeng, who stopped being reluctant.
Spirit Establishment Pills.
Precious pills like these were worth a considerable sum.
In the past, they had always been distributed one or two at a time.
Now he had received a full fifteen at once!
Lu Changfeng involuntarily tightened his grip on the pill bottle.
Once the resources had been distributed, the four Foundation Establishment cultivators went their separate ways again.
Lu Chenxing went to the only Alchemy Chamber the Lu Household had built. It had already stood abandoned for some time.
Lu Changfeng had originally wanted to train an Alchemist of the Lu Household's own.
Unfortunately, the results had not been ideal.
He could only give up.
Now it was just right for Lu Chenxing to test artifact refining.
He moved the original first-tier Pill Furnace aside, took out his artifact cauldron, and set it in place.
Then he ignited the spirit wood beneath the cauldron.
He used a fire-control technique to drive the flames hotter.
Just then, all manner of insights, experience, and even scenes related to artifact refining suddenly surfaced in Lu Chenxing's mind.
He was immediately overjoyed.
It seemed that artifact refining over in Great Xia also counted as cultivation and could provide experience feedback.
This was simply too satisfying.
It meant that not only could his cultivation grow stronger while he lay back and did nothing, but the hundred cultivation arts and three thousand Great Daos could all grow stronger along with it.
Wouldn't he eventually grow into an all-round monster without any weaknesses or openings?
Lu Chenxing did not remain immersed in his artifact-refining insights for long.
He soon emerged from them and began his first attempt at artifact refining.
He melted the spiritual materials into liquid, then fused the various different but compatible spiritual liquids. After that came shaping, condensing the blank, infusing it with Spiritual Power, inscribing it, and finally bringing the Law Artifact to completion.
Lu Chenxing performed every step very carefully.
At critical moments, flashes of inspiration lit up his mind, guiding him toward the correct, perfect course.
About five hours passed.
Drenched in sweat, Lu Chenxing looked at the masterpiece before him and smiled in satisfaction.
"Not easy. This really was no easy feat!"
Artifact refining was not as easy as he had imagined.
Instead, it was more like physical labor.
It took an enormous toll on his stamina.
After finishing, he still had to spend some time regulating his breathing and restoring himself to peak condition before he could refine the next Law Artifact.
Otherwise, if the artifact refining failed because of his own condition,
he would not only lose materials and resources but also waste a great deal of time.
The losses would far outweigh the gains.
Of course, if the artifact refining succeeded, then it would all be worthwhile.
On his very first attempt, Lu Chenxing had successfully refined a mid-grade Law Artifact. Its quality was slightly inferior to the sample, but it had reached mid-grade nonetheless, so its price would not be much lower.
Compared with the raw materials he had consumed,
he had certainly earned several times their value.
The resources earned in a mere two hours might equal what an ordinary cultivator gained from risking life and limb and planning for days to kill a Demon Beast.
That was the allure of the hundred cultivation arts.
No matter which world one was in, as long as one had a skill to rely on, one would certainly have food to eat.
The more refined the skill, the tastier the meal.
Lu Chenxing, too, had secured himself a bowl of rice as an artifact refiner.
After regulating his breathing and cultivating for an hour, he immediately began his second attempt at artifact refining without pausing.
He succeeded again, taking seven and a half minutes less and expending much less stamina as well.
Practice made perfect.
As he grew more proficient, artifact refining would certainly become easier and easier.
Until he could do it effortlessly.
And so, Lu Chenxing plunged headfirst into the makeshift artifact-refining chamber temporarily converted from the abandoned Alchemy Chamber, staying there for nearly twenty days.
Had the cooldown for the passage between the two worlds not ended,
he would probably still have been immersed in the pleasure of continually producing results.
"To be opened respectfully by Great Xia."