Chapter 224 - 178: Body Refining Breakthrough, Tier Two Spirit Furnace
Chapter 224: Chapter 178: Body Refining Breakthrough, Tier Two Spirit Furnace
Lü Tong was the first to speak. "I’ve brought Alchemist Lin here because he wishes to have a Tier Two Artifact refined."
Artifact Master Guo turned to look at Lin Changheng.
"That is correct."
Lin Changheng smiled faintly and sent a voice transmission. "I would like to ask Artifact Master Guo to help me refine a Low-Grade Spiritual Flying Sword."
Lü Tong didn’t find this strange in the slightest; cultivators valued their privacy, so such behavior was perfectly normal.
He simply went back to sipping his tea.
"Do you have any requirements?"
Artifact Master Guo asked as was customary, indicating he had accepted the commission.
"Extreme speed."
Lin Changheng stated his only requirement. Through his dealings with Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he had realized his Divine Sense was much stronger than that of a typical cultivator at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. If he augmented an extremely fast Flying Sword with this power, he might be able to launch a surprise attack to kill or injure an opponent.
"Oh?"
A flicker of light passed through Artifact Master Guo’s eyes, but he showed no surprise. ’He’d seen it all before. These cultivators who came to him for artifacts had all sorts of wild ideas. Many wanted an item that could do it all—attack, defend, control, and bludgeon. They wanted everything. Listening to them, you’d think they were asking me to refine an Immortal Artifact...’
In comparison, Lin Changheng’s request was quite reasonable.
"Over the next few days, I will find time to draft a basic design. Alchemist Lin can come to confirm it then, and we will proceed with the refining afterward," Artifact Master Guo said after a moment of thought.
"That works. I’ll have to trouble you then, Artifact Master Guo."
The two then discussed other details like materials and pricing, quickly reaching an agreement.
Lin Changheng had a variety of Tier Two Spirit Ores in his possession, received as gifts from the various factions that had visited him. While he didn’t have a large amount of any single type, he had a wide selection. He would choose a portion of these to serve as the base materials.
This would also keep him from hoarding too many materials.
Artifact Master Guo would provide the rest of the required materials.
The fee for firing up the furnace was three thousand Spirit Stones.
Adding in some of the supplementary materials, the total came to about three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.
Overall, this arrangement made it a fair bit cheaper.
...
After they finished discussing the artifact refining, Artifact Master Guo also asked Lin Changheng for a pill.
It turned out he also owned a shop in the Immortal City’s Inner City.
It was managed by his eldest son, who was currently stuck at Middle Stage Qi Cultivation, unable to advance. He was hoping to obtain a Realm-Breaking Pill for him.
To this, Lin Changheng replied that it was certainly possible. He could refine the pill as long as Artifact Master Guo provided the Pill Formula and the necessary Medicinal Materials.
Artifact Master Guo immediately expressed his gratitude, and everyone parted ways in high spirits.
...
Five days later, Lin Changheng made another trip to confirm the design blueprint for the Flying Sword.
Once Artifact Master Guo finished the Spiritual Artifact he was currently working on, he would soon begin work on Lin Changheng’s.
All he had to do now was wait.
Over the next few days, Lin Changheng received two successive letters, both from Mo Zhaoli.
In the first, she said she would soon be coming to the area around the Immortal City for a mission to hunt down a Tribulation Cultivator, and they could meet then.
Lin Changheng naturally welcomed this news.
The two had not seen each other in over three and a half years, since they parted at the Purple Extreme Sect.
Though they kept in touch through letters, how could that compare to meeting in person?
The second letter was a follow-up, adding one more detail:
That "Senior Brother Feng" would also be coming along for the mission. She had found out suddenly after sending her first letter and now wondered if she should still visit.
She was afraid it might cause trouble for Lin Changheng.
In response, Lin Changheng sent a letter back telling her not to worry and that she was welcome to visit.
...
Besides Mo Zhaoli’s letters, Tantai Feiyue and Xu Fugui also wrote to him regularly each year, though Tantai Feiyue’s were a bit more frequent.
In her seven letters over the years, Tantai Feiyue had only mentioned three major events.
First, she had indeed followed Lin Changheng’s advice, spending a year in seclusion to consolidate her realm before returning to the Black Water River. The Qiu Family Ancestor, who had originally planned to fight the Xu Family to the bitter end, immediately ceased all hostilities upon learning the Xu Family now had two Foundation Establishment cultivators. He no longer dared to scheme any further and decisively implemented a strategy of having his entire clan withdraw and turtle up.
They slowly gave up their various outlying resources to avoid war.
Now, the Xu Family had taken over many of those resource points and was slowly assimilating them, showing clear signs of prosperous growth.
The second event was that in the second year after Lin Changheng left the Xu Family, Xu Qianyan had successfully refined a Tier Two Elixir, officially becoming a Tier Two Alchemist.
The Xu Family’s alchemy business had completed the first step of its transformation.
The third was that she, too, had successfully advanced to become a Tier Two Talisman Master six months ago.
As a Tier Two Talisman Master and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, her status in the Xu Family was now almost unmatched.
However, she was intentionally curbing her influence, focusing on the Talisman Dao and her own cultivation. She started making fewer public appearances to avoid getting too involved in clan affairs.
She also mentioned that she would have a surprise for him the next time they met.
After hearing this news, Lin Changheng was filled with emotion. ’As long as the Xu Family remains cautious, steadily digests its gains, and avoids reckless expansion by sticking to a firm and steady strategy, the family’s future will be limitless.’
...
Xu Fugui’s letters were also quite cheerful.
He shared a piece of great news:
His third son’s youngest child had been born with an Upper Grade Spirit Root. Barring any accidents, the boy had a high probability of reaching Foundation Establishment after joining one of the Sects and Daoist Schools.
Xu Fugui was now agonizing over which of the Sects and Daoist Schools would offer his grandson the most promising future.
...
Lin Changheng had also asked Tantai Feiyue about Xu Fugui’s two children with Middle Grade Spirit Roots. The answer was that the fifth child, a son, was now forty-two years old and at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.
Although he had been stuck at a late-stage bottleneck for a while, he still had the potential to break through to Foundation Establishment.
He had also been accepted into the Xu Family’s core training program.
The eighth child, a daughter, was now thirty-four or thirty-five and had reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
Her progress was slower than her brother’s, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t surpass him later.
Lin Changheng sighed with emotion. ’Fugui might never reach Foundation Establishment himself, but his descendants are growing more talented with each generation. In a way, he’s achieving his dream indirectly.’
...
「Three months passed in the blink of an eye.」
A Dharma Ship flew in from the horizon and landed before Cave Mansion No. 98.
A female Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a gentle, graceful bearing stepped off the ship. She wore a flowing Immortal Skirt and had a single Cinnabar Seal between her brows.
"Elder Mo."
The main gate opened, and Yan Mingyi immediately offered a respectful bow.