Crane's Beak

Fang Yu walked into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and looked around. Its decor and layout were much the same as those of the branch in East Spirit Mountain Market, though it looked somewhat larger.

"Fellow Daoist..."

A familiar voice rang out. It was still the shopkeeper he knew, Huang An, but what Huang An said next took Fang Yu slightly by surprise.

"I am Huang An, the pavilion's third shopkeeper..."

How did Huang An get demoted after coming to the new shop?

Fang Yu muttered inwardly and put on a guileless smile. "I wanna buy an artifact-refining inheritance. Ya got one here?"

Huang An was momentarily taken aback. Then he smiled and said, "What tier of artifact-refining inheritance are you looking for, fellow Daoist?"

"The higher the better, of course!" Fang Yu hollered.

"Our shop does have a First-Tier Superior-Grade artifact-refining inheritance, though it's a little expensive," Huang An said with a smile.

"How many Spirit Stones?" Fang Yu looked over at him.

Huang An held up two fingers. "Only twenty thousand Spirit Stones."

"Why don't you just rob me?" Anger appeared on Fang Yu's guileless face. "Will ya take five thousand? If not, forget it!"

"Well..." Huang An immediately shook his head. "A late first-tier artifact-refining inheritance is..."

Before he could finish, the guileless-looking man turned and walked away, muttering, "What kinda shady shop is this? Chargin' so much for an inheritance that can be copied..."

Seeing that Fang Yu was about to leave the shop, Huang An called out to stop him. "You've misunderstood, fellow Daoist. This inheritance isn't just Jade Slips and books."

Fang Yu stopped and turned around. "What do you mean?"

Huang An said, "The Dao of artifact refining is extremely difficult. Without guidance from a renowned master, a single mistake in practice can ruin your spiritual materials and cost you everything you've invested. That's why the inheritance sold by our shop includes three sessions of guidance from a renowned master. If a customer doesn't need guidance and only buys the Jade Slips and books, the price can naturally be much lower."

"I don't need any guidance. I just want the Jade Slips and books. Just tell me, will ya sell 'em for five thousand Spirit Stones or not?" Fang Yu's External Alchemy Technique had long since reached the peak of Profound Grade; it could even be called quasi-Earth Grade. Naturally, he had no need for a master's guidance.

Although he had never encountered Great Scarlet Heaven's artifact-refining techniques, both involved refining Law Artifacts and spiritual objects. He figured they couldn't be all that different from his External Alchemy Technique.

"Of course!" Huang An immediately nodded.

"Then hurry up and bring 'em over!" Fang Yu urged.

A short while later, Fang Yu left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and disappeared into the bustling crowd. As he inquired about local prices, he used his Divine Sense to browse his newly purchased artifact-refining inheritance.

Great Scarlet Heaven's Dao of Qi Refining shared a great deal of its artifact-refining methods with the Dao of Qi Ingestion's External Alchemy Technique in certain respects, but it also had its own distinctive aspects. In particular, its handling of various spiritual materials was more meticulous and specialized-or rather, more standardized-and comparatively easier.

It had major drawbacks, however. With array patterns, for example, artifact refiners here didn't need to understand the principles behind them. Instead, they were given several array patterns with fixed effects. All they had to do was familiarize themselves with the fixed runes, then craft and engrave them as needed.

This saved a great deal of effort. By the same token, anyone who wanted to adjust an array pattern could only seek out an array master to work with.

The Dao of Qi Refining had four great crafts: arrays, pills, artifacts, and talismans. Array masters, who specialized in studying array patterns, ranked first. Artifact refiners and spiritual talisman masters also dealt with array patterns, but they did not study them in depth, learning only fixed patterns. This made it easy to produce specialists.

By contrast, the Dao of Qi Ingestion's External Alchemy Technique required not only knowledge of the properties of spiritual materials but also mastery of array patterns. Only then could one adjust and modify the patterns in real time to suit different materials. That was how he could ensure that every Flowing Flame True Fire Sword he refined reached Profound Grade.

At the same time, the External Alchemy Technique was not limited to refining artifacts. It could also be used to draw talismans, refine pills, and set up arrays. It could be said to combine arrays, pills, artifacts, and talismans into one, developing them in tandem.

In short, the Dao of Qi Ingestion's External Alchemy Technique was a comprehensive craft that required an external Alchemist to know a little of everything. As a result, advancing in it was more difficult.

The Dao of Qi Refining, on the other hand, had specialized, separating arrays, pills, artifacts, and talismans. This greatly reduced the difficulty of practice, but it also sacrificed some flexibility.

After making several rounds of the market, Fang Yu gained a basic understanding of prices in Autumn Moon Mountain Market: they were inflated. All kinds of goods, especially Law Artifacts, spiritual talismans, and other supplies that could improve combat strength, sold for far more than their true value.

That was only natural, though. With the mine nearby, Spirit Stones were relatively devalued.

Under these circumstances, if he had also come to dig holes, it would have been greatly disadvantageous. But he had never planned to mine. He was here to sell Law Artifacts, and the more Spirit Stones depreciated, the more it benefited him. He could earn more of them to aid his cultivation.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, he arrived at the Steward's Hall in the heart of Autumn Moon Mountain Market. He went inside for a short while and came back out with a cave abode token in hand.

Following the directions on the cave abode token, he came to a mountain range near the mine and found a very crude cave abode.

Aside from a number plate, the cave abode had only a door. Inside, it was completely empty. At a glance, it was just a mine tunnel.

Well, it probably had been a mine tunnel to begin with.

"This free cave abode really isn't much!"

After that complaint, Fang Yu immediately set about furnishing the cave abode. At the very least, he needed warning restrictions and furniture, and he certainly couldn't do without a tea table.

After half a day of work, the bare cave abode had been simply furnished and was barely fit to live in.

Fang Yu closed the cave door, activated the restrictions, and sat down cross-legged in the crude meditation room.

Although conditions here were somewhat harsh, the cave abode sat atop a Spirit Stone mine, after all. The Spiritual Qi was naturally much denser than in his cave abode at East Spirit Mountain Market, so cultivating here would save him quite a few Spirit Stones.

After finishing a pot of tea, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was back in his new cave abode in Heavenly Craft Valley.

He left the abode and came to the Accumulated Fire Pool.

The roiling lava in the pool continuously bubbled, giving off astonishing heat.

Fang Yu extended a hand and gently grasped. Like an azure dragon drawing water, he pulled lava from the pool, forming a fire dragon.

The wondrous power of his Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation activated. Flowing Flame True Fire surged from within him and merged with the fire dragon.

Streams of black smoke rose as metallic and mineral residue rained down. A short while later, a metal and stone billet appeared in his hand.

He had extracted the billet directly from the roiling lava of the Accumulated Fire Pool, so he could have as much of it as he wanted.

For Law Artifacts sold in the Dao of Qi Refining, it's best to forge them using artifact-refining methods, so no one spots anything unusual. Their grade will also be easier to determine that way.

As he considered this, Fang Yu began crafting a first-tier Law Artifact.

He had spent a fortune on the artifact-refining inheritance to reduce the chance of exposing himself. The Law Artifacts he had sold before had been assorted odds and ends, sold under different identities, so it hadn't mattered.

Now, however, he intended to do business for the long term and establish his own brand. He therefore had to be more careful. Naturally, the Law Artifacts he crafted had to follow the Dao of Qi Refining's methods.

Before long, the billet in his hand had taken the form of a pickaxe, engraved with several small array patterns he had specifically designed and optimized for mining, making it better suited to the task.