"I’ve joined the Hall of Artifice and need to refine materials for Spirit Treasures."
"As long as you’re willing to work with long-term, you can na your conditions."
Wei Chi Gong understood that Jia Ren was his hope for staying in the Hall of Artifice, where he could learn the coveted thods of Spiritual Treasure and Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure crafting. He couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity, no matter what.
Long-term cooperation? Jia Ren was very interested in this.
Refining materials for Spirit Treasures was much more cost-effective than for Magical Treasures. There would be a certain degree of material loss during refinent; with his own skills, he could legitimately take away so of the ’loss’. The amount didn’t need to be too much to avoid attracting trouble. As long as it was accounted for as reasonable Fire Wasting, by saving little by little, it wouldn’t be difficult to accumulate enough materials to craft a Spiritual Treasure over ti. Not to ntion, there was room for negotiation.
He had found leads for both the Demon Soul Refining Art and Spirit Treasure Inscriptions.
Hu San’s face turned green. If the two struck a deal, would he, the middleman, be silenced to keep it secret? Taking advantage of their conversation, he slipped away.
A golden rope flew out, binding Hu San.
Hu San, his face deathly pale, realized with misfortune that Jia Ren’s words had co true. "I haven’t divulged anything! I’ll keep your secret!"
Wei Chi Gong paid no attention to Hu San, still awaiting Jia Ren’s reply.
A Nascent Soul Cultivator, and a Corpse Guardian at that; the situation is too peculiar. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. A highly skilled refinent artisan, buried away here. Background prevailed over effort; if this person were a disciple of the Lingbao Sect, with his Refining Level, he would have joined an inner hall long ago instead of guarding corpses here.
Entering the Hall of Artifice was a chance to change his own destiny, and Wei Chi Gong was willing to pay any price to secure it.
"Agreed!" This arrangent was beneficial to Jia Ren; there was no need to refuse.
"Working with , you cannot refuse any material refining tasks. I’ll pay you five Superior Grade Spirit Stones monthly, and I’ll cover all the Elixirs you need for cultivation." Wei Chi Gong continued, "Besides that, any reasonable requests can be made, and I’ll do my best to fulfill them."
Talented individuals naturally received better treatnt. The amount of Spirit Stones and Elixirs was substantial, surpassing the benefits most Lingbao Sect disciples received.
"I’m very interested in Refining Demon Souls. I hope, Daoist Wei Chi, that you won’t be stingy with your guidance in Artifact Refining later on." Jia Ren hesitated for a mont and didn’t ntion Spirit Treasure Inscriptions. After Hu San’s reminder, I know this person hasn’t studied Spirit Treasure Inscriptions in the outer hall, so Wei Chi Gong couldn’t fulfill this request. As long as I maintain close contact, using Artifact Refining guidance as a pretext, once Wei Chi Gong learns Spirit Treasure Inscriptions, I will find a way to learn them too.
Wei Chi Gong quickly agreed. "The Demon Soul Refining Art of the Lingbao Sect must not be leaked. Many Artifact Refiners have different versions of Demon Soul Refining Secret Techniques that are not restricted. If you perform well, I won’t be stingy. This is a spirit pact; this matter must not be disclosed."
A verbal agreent wasn’t enough to put one’s mind at ease, so Wei Chi Gong had prepared a spirit pact in advance. The spirit pact had no issues; its content was the sa as what Wei Chi Gong had stated.
Jia Ren and Wei Chi Gong signed the spirit pact, reaching an agreent.
"This material I entrust to you for refinent. It’s very precious; I don’t want excessive loss..."
He presented his Refining Level as flawless; an excessive loss of Spirit Treasure materials would surely lead to problems. Wei Chi Gong still had many hidden issues to resolve and couldn’t afford any problems that would prevent him from bringing out Spirit Treasure materials in the future.
"No problem!" Jia Ren took the Spiritual Materials, a smile appearing on his face. "Give a manual of Spiritual Materials. Based on the materials’ properties, I guarantee the refinent will have no loss."
Not all material refinents are suited for Forge; many are suitable for Shuilian, Thunder Forging, and more... If I could snag a manual of Spiritual Materials for free, all the better. Such an item couldn’t be bought with Spirit Stones outside...
"This is a manual of Spiritual Materials I traded for from a fellow sect mber. The Demon Soul Refining Art will need to be obtained from soone else; I’ll give it to you in a few days." The manual of Spiritual Materials was already prepared, and he took it out on the spot. Acquiring the Demon Soul Refining Art was unexpected; he would have to trade for it from another Artifact Refiner.
"Daoist Jia, save !" Hu San despaired upon hearing their agreent. He knew too many secrets and was unlikely to escape his fate. After getting no response from Wei Chi Gong, he could only look to Jia Ren with pleading eyes.
"Don’t worry, I won’t kill him!" Wei Chi Gong said. "I have a Forgetfulness Pill that makes one forget recent mories." Wei Chi Gong wasn’t sure of the relationship between the two and didn’t dare take drastic asures. Releasing Hu San was not an option; he could only make him forget the relevant mories.
With the spirit pact completed, Wei Chi Gong didn’t linger, taking Hu San with him as he left.
Jia Ren picked up the manual of Spiritual Materials and retrieved the materials Wei Chi Gong had given him. This item was called Green Spirit Divine Gold, a type of Spiritual Material used to craft spirit swords. Swords crafted from it were extrely sharp and possessed swift flight.
In the manual, he found the Spiritual Material discovered in the Black Gold Desert. It was known as Blazing Sun Spirit Jade; it embodied extre yang giving birth to yin, and was remarkably rare. Its effect was singular: significantly enhancing the power of fire.
Great stuff! When upgrading to a Spiritual Treasure, if I were to refine Blazing Sun Spirit Jade into the Demon-Sealing Tower, could it enhance the power of the tower’s Wicked Fla? If the Wicked Fla beca more powerful, the daily yield of Sacrificial Fire would also increase. Refining it into the Heavenly Fire Nether Lamp could also enhance the killing power of the fla-based Magical Treasure. Currently, without the thod for advancing Spiritual Treasures or the Spirit Treasure Inscriptions, this can only be put aside.
Jia Ren prioritized refining the Green Spirit Divine Gold. Under his Technique-Nearing-Dao level Purple Sun Divine Fire, he quickly lted the Green Spirit Divine Gold, painstakingly removing impurities bit by bit. Though it was his first ti refining this Spiritual Material, there was no challenge at all.
Besides myself, who else could achieve refinent without any loss? One percent of the Spiritual Materials taken as Fire Wasting—such a trivial loss, others wouldn’t find fault.
「Seven days later,」
Wei Chi Gong personally arrived, bringing the promised Demon Soul Refining Art. This secret technique was known as the Green Gourd Soul Refining Art.
To refine Demon Souls, one must first craft a Demon Refining Pot. As long as enough Demon Souls are collected and thrown into the Demon Refining Pot, one can automatically refine higher quality Demon Souls. The effectiveness of Refining Demon Souls depends on the quality of the Demon Refining Pot. This thod is the simplest among Demon Soul Refining Arts. Compared to other secret techniques that require a long ti to slowly sacrifice and refine, the Demon Refining Pot thod relies on the power of Magical Treasures and Spiritual Treasures.
The only downside is its slowness... The advantage is that it saves ti. There’s no need for laborious effort; one simply needs to follow this thod to craft the Demon Refining Pot and throw in Demon Souls.
Wei Chi Gong didn’t want Jia Ren to waste too much ti on the Demon Soul Refining Art, fearing it would affect the refinent of his materials, so he specifically acquired this thod for him.
Jia Ren wasn’t aware of Wei Chi Gong’s ulterior motives, but the Demon Refining Pot suited him well. It was a ’lazy person’s’ Magical Treasure that could save considerable ti and effort. To improve the quality of the refined Demon Souls, I could enhance the Magical Treasure’s quality, add Inscriptions of Fire Transmission, and incorporate it into the Demon-Sealing Tower system.
"Not bad! My thanks, Daoist Wei Chi." Once the Demon Refining Pot is crafted, I’ll no longer have to worry about having a large number of useless Demon Souls on hand.
"This is the Green Spirit Divine Gold." Jia Ren handed over the Green Spirit Divine Gold. Wei Chi Gong took out a Magical Treasure resembling a balance scale and placed the Green Spirit Divine Gold on it. Spiritual Materials were of great importance, so he had to be cautious. The Green Spirit Divine Gold had minimal loss and top-notch quality, leaving no room for anyone to find fault.
"Do you have any interest in becoming my Protector?" Wei Chi Gong had not been idle these past few days. Previously, he had hurriedly signed the spirit pact to resolve an urgent matter. During this ti, he had been investigating Jia Ren, learning he was a Protector candidate, though unsure why Jia Ren had co here to be a Corpse Guardian. This also gave Wei Chi Gong the idea of making Jia Ren his Protector. This way, their relationship would beco unbreakable, making it much harder for his own secrets to leak. He would also personally handle various related matters.
A normal cultivator would eagerly agree upon hearing this offer, but Jia Ren was different: "No need. This place is quite tranquil and suits well."
With nothing troubleso happening on Xiao Mang Mountain, I can cultivate peacefully. I’ve already obtained the Soul Refining Secret Art, and there’s hope for acquiring the Spirit Treasure Inscriptions and their refining thod. Relying on this place, the day will eventually co when I obtain a cultivation thod that utilizes treasures. Whatever I desire, I can obtain with a little ti. In that case, why should I bind myself to Lingbao Sect cultivators? A Protector’s duty isn’t just to protect; they also gain resources from the Lingbao Sect. This ans risking one’s life to guard the cultivator. Jia Ren was very satisfied with his current situation and had no thoughts of leaving Xiao Mang Mountain.
Wei Chi Gong didn’t force him. "You should know," he offered, "if you follow in the future, I will help you beco a Lingbao Sect disciple!"
This was Wei Chi Gong’s trump card. After all, most Nascent Soul Cultivators who wanted to beco Protectors did so primarily to beco Lingbao Sect disciples.
Wei Chi Gong has backing, a promising future; he might actually achieve it soday. Jia Ren scoffed inwardly at this statent. Moreover, I know his greatest secret. How could he possibly allow to smoothly beco a Lingbao Sect disciple? Is he not afraid his own secrets will be exposed? When the birds are gone, the bow is stored away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked. Once Wei Chi Gong’s Artifact Refining Level is high enough for him to stand firm in the Hall of Artifice, he’d probably want to kill to keep his secret safe.
Seeing Jia Ren’s clear disinterest, Wei Chi Gong didn’t linger. "If you change your mind, you can contact at any ti!" he said, then quickly departed.
Jia Ren wasn’t concerned about the matter and began looking for suitable materials to craft the Demon Refining Pot. He wasn’t short of materials, and refining an ordinary Magical Treasure wasn’t difficult. The Demon Refining Pot he intended to craft would be different from the usual ones; it required improvents.
In the following days, life returned to its normal routine. He cultivated daily. Wei Chi Gong would bring two portions of Spiritual Materials each month for him to refine. Refining each batch of Spiritual Materials didn’t take very long, and each ti he finished, he would conveniently deduct so as ’Fire Wasting’.
In the short term, the benefits weren’t obvious, but over a century, this would amount to enough for twenty-four portions of Spiritual Materials. Each portion of Spiritual Material was expensive and couldn’t be bought with Spirit Stones. To obtain them so easily was simply exhilarating.
Wei Chi Gong, wanting to maintain a good relationship with Jia Ren, specially sent over an artifact refining thod. Although it wasn’t an orthodox Lingbao Sect technique, it could be used to refine treasures up to the Soul Transformation Treasure level. It recorded many refining Inscriptions, far more complex and profound than the artifact refining traditions from the Sealed Land. Using it as a reference proved to be very beneficial.
「Three months later,」
Jia Ren formally erged from seclusion, a small, dark green pot resting in his hand, his face brimming with unconcealable joy.
The Demon Refining Pot is finally crafted! I can now refine Demon Souls and allow Soul Transformation Treasures to possess Spiritual Nature!
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