Fate-Forging Gathering
A cultivator's strength rested on three things: cultivation, Law Artifacts, and Law Techniques.
Cultivation was the foundation. No matter how good a Law Artifact or Law Technique was, it could not unleash much power if its user's cultivation was insufficient.
Law Artifacts were the key. Anyone with two or three high-grade Law Artifacts at their side was a formidable figure among Qi Refining cultivators, someone no one would dare provoke lightly!
Law Techniques were a means to an end. Though not as convenient to use as Law Artifacts, they were indispensable. Once certain Law Techniques had been cultivated to a masterful level, they could even wield unimaginable power!
The original owner of this body had only cultivated three common low-grade Law Techniques: Wood Shield Technique, Fireball Technique, and Geng Metal Finger. Their upper limits were too low, so Mo Wen had not cultivated them since transmigrating. He intended to find a few higher-grade Law Techniques with special effects to cultivate after reaching Foundation Establishment.
Although Mo Wen was now at Qi Refining Peak, his combat strength was woefully lacking. If he could buy one or two high-grade Law Artifacts, he might be able to bring his combat strength up to a normal level.
"I might as well visit the Hundred Treasures Hall and ask about the Fate-Forging Gathering while I'm there."
With that thought, Mo Wen changed his robes and used the Hundred Transformations Heart Sutra to alter his build and appearance, then headed for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Business at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was as good as ever. The people coming and going were all among the market's upper-tier cultivators, and the occasional disciple of an immortal sect would appear.
After entering the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Mo Wen stated his business directly.
When the maid who greeted him heard that Mo Wen wanted to buy high-grade Law Artifacts, her face lit up with delight. She led him to a private room rich in Spiritual Qi.
The room's furnishings were simple and of common styles, but each piece glimmered faintly with treasure light. Clearly, none were ordinary objects.
Before long, the maid returned with an old man who had white hair and a youthful face.
Mo Wen rose and exchanged greetings with the old man, followed by a few pleasantries.
"Fellow Daoist, this catalog contains nineteen high-grade Law Artifacts, all of them the finest of the finest and absolutely worth more than their price. Of course, if none of them suits you, you can also commission a custom order from our pavilion. We guarantee your satisfaction."
Mo Wen took the catalog and looked through it carefully. Just as the old man had said, the Law Artifacts in it were all excellent. Not only had ample materials gone into them, but they were also quite powerful, making them some of the finest of their kind.
Mo Wen considered the descriptions in the catalog and asked the old man about a few details before finally settling on three Law Artifacts.
"Fellow Daoist, this Vast Yang Bell is a masterpiece by Master Chihuo, refined entirely from vast yang copper essence. To improve its toughness, Master Chihuo also used the Metal-Melting Technique to fuse three taels of soft jade silver into it, making its defensive power comparable to that of a top-grade Law Artifact. For that reason, the Vast Yang Bell is worth a little more than an ordinary high-grade Law Artifact. The price is three thousand six hundred Spirit Stones."
"The Purple Star Sword is a high-grade Law Sword made by Sword Refining Valley. Its main material is purple jade silver star sandalwood, refined together with several rare spirit metals. It has both metal and wood attributes and is incomparably sharp. Its price is two thousand seven hundred Spirit Stones."
"The Flying Cloud Shuttle is a high-grade flight Law Artifact, priced at four thousand two hundred Spirit Stones. This treasure is extremely fast. When driven at full power, it can match the flight speed of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator!"
"The three Law Artifacts come to ten thousand five hundred Spirit Stones in total. I have the authority to waive the remainder, so you need only pay ten thousand Spirit Stones, Fellow Daoist!"
Mo Wen thought for a moment, then said, "I don't have enough Spirit Stones. Could I use talismans to cover part of the cost?"
Delight appeared on the old man's face. "So you're a talisman master as well, Fellow Daoist. My apologies for failing to recognize it."
"Not at all. I'm just a mid-grade talisman master, hardly worth mentioning." After the polite reply, Mo Wen took a stack of Spirit-Concentrating Talismans from his Storage Bag, exactly one hundred in all.
After inspecting the Spirit-Concentrating Talismans, the old man let out a long breath. "One hundred Spirit-Concentrating Talismans, all of excellent quality. Our pavilion can buy them for twenty-eight Spirit Stones apiece. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"
"That works." Mo Wen nodded his agreement, then took out another seven thousand two hundred Spirit Stones and handed them to the old man.
Spirit-Concentrating Talismans could assist cultivation and had always been in short supply at Red Leaf Market, with a market price of around thirty-two Spirit Stones. The Hundred Treasures Pavilion's offer of twenty-eight Spirit Stones was a fair price.
Before long, the three high-grade Law Artifacts were brought into the private room. Mo Wen examined them one by one and found nothing amiss, so he put them into his Storage Bag.
"Fellow Daoist, you've spent more than ten thousand Spirit Stones at our pavilion in a single visit, so you qualify as a first-tier honored guest. This is your honored guest token. Please accept it." The old man took out a token gleaming with silver light and handed it to Mo Wen.
Mo Wen took the token and turned it over carefully in his hands. He found that it had been smelted from several kinds of spirit metal and was quite valuable.
The front of the token bore a tall building blazing with treasure light, while the back bore the character for "one." He examined it thoroughly with his spiritual sense and only relaxed when he found no trace of spiritual power on it.
"What does this token do?" Mo Wen asked curiously, weighing the honored guest token in his hand.
"Fellow Daoists who hold an honored guest token receive a five percent discount on purchases from our pavilion. They may also attend the Fate-Forging Gathering held by our pavilion," the old man said.
"The Fate-Forging Gathering? I've long heard that Foundation Establishment Pills are sold there. Is that true?" Although Mo Wen no longer intended to use a Foundation Establishment Pill to reach Foundation Establishment, he still had to keep up appearances.
"Well, I can't reveal that just yet. However, there are many fortuitous opportunities at our pavilion's Fate-Forging Gathering. It certainly won't disappoint you, Fellow Daoist," the old man replied.
"When will this year's Fate-Forging Gathering be held?" Mo Wen asked.
"On the Double Ninth Festival, beginning at the hour of the snake. Our pavilion recognizes the token, not the person. Please remember that, Fellow Daoist," the old man said.
"Understood." Mo Wen put the token away and, without lingering, rose and left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
After leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he wandered around the market for quite a while. Only after finding that no one was following him did he return home at an unhurried pace.
Over the days that followed, Mo Wen divided his time between cultivation and refining the three Law Artifacts he had just acquired. All three were high-grade, and it would take hard work to refine them until he could wield them as easily as his own arms. It took him nearly a month to gain a preliminary grasp of all three.
It was worth mentioning that, after this period of cultivation, his Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique had finally advanced to the proficient level!
Cultivation Methods: Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique: (Proficient 1/1000000) Azure Wood Instruction (Major Success 4276/10000) Hundred Transformations Heart Scripture Qi Refining Chapter (Major Success 1024/10000)
With the advancement of the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique, Mo Wen's lifespan had increased to one hundred and thirty-four years. The limit of his Qi and Blood had now been pushed back to at least a hundred years of age, and his body had returned to the robust condition of a man in his forties. Fortunately, he had the Hundred Transformations Heart Sutra and could change his appearance at any time. Otherwise, some of his acquaintances would have been shocked.
He was also taking the first steps toward Limit Breaking. At first, he had not understood how to go about it. But as he circulated the Azure Wood Instruction to absorb Spiritual Qi, he discovered that once the Spiritual Qi flowed into his Qi Sea, it would automatically condense into an extremely pure, special primordial liquid.
This special primordial liquid could actually improve Mo Wen's body, spiritual sense, and Law Power all at once. Although the improvement was very slight, as it accumulated day after day, a fundamental transformation would occur sooner or later.
The process of Limit Breaking was automatically controlled by the panel, so Mo Wen did not need to concern himself with it. He only had to circulate the Azure Wood Instruction as usual to keep the process going.
As a result, Mo Wen devoted most of his attention to Limit Breaking, even setting aside the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique. He only took time to draw a few Wood Armor Talismans to fulfill his supply obligations to the Wondrous Talisman Studio.