The giant snakes gathering ahead were increasing in number, seemingly attracted by something, moving in a certain direction.
The Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon and Little Gold’s group were drawn by the strange movements of the giant snakes and the fragrant scent, and they all rose into the air.
As far as the eye could see, countless giant snakes were gathering from all directions towards one spot; the snakes varied in form, some as thick as barrels, some as slender as vines, some brightly colored and highly venomous… They all shared one commonality: their eyes were blood-red, and they eagerly rushed towards a single location, as if vying for some treasure, disregarding any hierarchy and even ignoring the presence of the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon and Little Gold.
“Let’s go, let’s take a look!”
The Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon felt a burst of heat throughout his body and suggested to Little Gold and the Gibbon Ape.
Soon, an incredible scene came into view.
Ten thousand snakes gathered in a giant deep cave, surrounding a peculiar spiritual flower in the center of the spiritual cave; it was pale red all over, ethereal in form, as if composed of countless spiritual lights, with nine petals and a pistil as round and bright as a pearl; the entire spiritual flower was enveloped in pink spiritual mist, and a faint fragrance emanated from its stamens, attracting countless giant snakes to gather.
That spiritual flower seemed to possess endless vitality, emitting a faint pink spiritual mist that spread out, driving the giant snakes into a frenzy, causing them to circle the snake cave; their forebodies stood erect, their snake tongues constantly flicking out to inhale the spiritual mist, and their bodies continuously writhed, as if performing a mysterious ritual, emanating a foul, hot aura.
Not long into the ritual, the giant snakes began to intertwine in pairs, ten thousand snakes coiling together, creating an extraordinarily magnificent sight!
Little Gold and Little Wa were utterly stunned by this scene.
However, just at this moment, the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon suddenly went berserk and charged directly towards that spiritual flower.
The giant snakes, in their revelry, were interrupted by this sudden change and collectively fell into a frenzy, baring their fangs and lunging at the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon with extreme ferocity, fearless of death!
“Wah! Nearly a hundred six-tier giant snakes, such a massive snake group, and he’s still going for it! I must complain to master!”
Little Gold, Little Wa, and the Azure-Eyed White Ape were on the verge of tears, forced into the battle, releasing their innate Spirit Treasures to assist the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon in attacking the snake group.
…
On another note.
Spring passed and autumn arrived; Years flew by like a shuttle.
The leaves of the towering ancient trees in Yin Yang Valley began to yellow, and a gentle breeze blew, causing them to fall like snowflakes; however, the valley was protected by a large defensive formation, and swirling currents of Qi lifted the leaves, repelling them and preventing them from entering the core area of the Spirit Valley.
In the core area of the Spirit Valley, where all the Spiritual Qi of the entire valley gathered, sat a square courtyard; not far from the courtyard, large tracts of spiritual fields had been cultivated, presenting a different scene under the Yin Yang Mixed Yuan Formation.
The Yin and Yang Qi appeared in two colors, a vibrant red and a grayish-silver, incredibly mystical; tender purple Ganoderma seedlings and Yin Soul Fruit saplings shrouded in Yin mist were growing exceptionally well, nourished by the purple yang jade, Tai Xuan Moon Dew, and the combined Yin and Yang Qi.
In the courtyard, the stone table in the pavilion was laden with spiritual cuisine: stewed spiritual chicken, steamed spiritual mushrooms, stir-fried spiritual venison… five dishes and one soup, and a large pot of spiritual rice, their fragrance wafting everywhere, making one’s mouth water.
“Lord Li, why are you cooking today! It smells so good!” Xue’er sniffed the aroma of the dishes vigorously, looking at Li Mu with pleasant surprise as she asked.
“Sit down and eat! After you eat, I have something to discuss with you!” Li Mu smiled and gestured.
“You tell me first, then I’ll decide whether to eat!” A hint of cunning flashed in Xue’er’s eyes; she wouldn’t fall for Li Mu’s trick, saying with a beaming smile.
Li Mu glanced at Xue’er, expressionless, and helped himself to a bowl of spiritual rice, eating on his own without paying her any mind.
Watching Li Mu pick up piece after piece of tender, smooth meat and put it into his mouth, with the dishes diminishing rapidly, Xue’er licked her lips and couldn’t help but grow anxious.
“Alright! Alright! I’ll eat then! But, I haven’t agreed to anything yet!” Xue’er mumbled, gesturing to Li Mu.
With that, Xue’er plopped down in front of the stone table, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and quickly joined the scramble for meat.
Li Mu gave her an exasperated look; not agreeing? How could she have the nerve to eat?
After a while, the two had ‘swept through’ the table, leaving only a pile of leftovers from the delicious spiritual cuisine.
“Lord Li, what did you want to discuss with me?” Xue’er burped, looking at Li Mu with concern as she asked.
“Your third uncle should be arriving soon. You stay and guard the Spirit Valley. I need to go out for a trip and will be back in a few days!” Li Mu instructed Xue’er.
“Excuse, definitely an excuse! My third uncle doesn’t even know when he’s coming, can’t you take me with you?!” Hearing this, Xue’er immediately grew anxious and grabbed Li Mu’s arm.
Having anticipated Xue’er’s reaction, Li Mu smiled broadly and appeased her: “Having you stay in the Spirit Valley is, firstly, because your third uncle might visit, or perhaps other Seniors, who will need you to receive them. Secondly! I just finished refining a Spirit Treasure for you; these next few days you need to stay in the valley to properly refine and learn to control it.”
As his voice fell, Li Mu waved his hand, summoning a bell; the next second, the bell’s Spirit manifested as a palm-sized red fox cub, its round, dark eyes darting around as if searching for an opportunity to escape.
Xue’er’s mother, Senior Jin Ling, thinking of her daughter, had given Li Mu a large quantity of six-tier Artifact Refining Materials of excellent quality before she left, entrusting him to refine a suitable innate Spirit Treasure for her daughter.
Some six-tier Materials containing the Dao of Years and the Dao of Illusion, Li Mu had originally not been confident in refining.
Fortunately, having comprehended the artifact patterns of the seven-rank dao tool, the gilded azure light cup, this time, coupled with his understanding of Dao laws and divine inscriptions from the Divine Inscription True Explanation, Li Mu finally had a bit of confidence to refine an innate Spirit Treasure containing special Dao laws for Xue’er.
Seeing the cute appearance of the transformed Spirit, the little fox, Xue’er’s eyes lit up, and she instantly fell in love with it.
“What kind of Spirit Treasure is this! So cute!”
Xue’er was filled with joyful surprise, extending her hands to Li Mu to ask for it.
The little fox in Li Mu’s hand watched Xue’er warily, sniffing with its small nose; it inexplicably felt a sense of closeness to her. It looked at Li Mu with reverence, as if seeking his opinion.
Seeing Li Mu’s smiling lips and no intention of refusing, the little fox pushed off with its four paws and joyfully leaped into Xue’er’s palm, a hint of triumph flashing in its dark, round eyes.
However, at this very moment, Li Mu made his move; his palm, like a swift bolt of lightning, struck the back of the little fox’s head, causing it to revert from its Spirit form.
“You!” Xue’er looked at Li Mu in confusion.
The bell jingled, releasing a powerful soul-shaking force, but this force was dispelled by Li Mu’s palm before it could fully manifest.
“Little girl, this is a newborn Spirit. You dare to take it without refining it? Are you tired of living?” Li Mu chuckled, lecturing her.
Xue’er, instead of being upset by the scolding, was delighted, looking at the small bell in Li Mu’s hand with immense fondness; such a powerful Magic Treasure was now hers.
“I know I was wrong! Lord Li, what should I do next?” Xue’er sweetly admitted her mistake to Li Mu, asking impatiently.
“Staying in the Spirit Valley for a few days, no problem, right?” Li Mu chuckled, teasing Xue’er.
“No problem, no problem, quickly teach me how to refine it.” Xue’er nodded exasperatedly, urging him impatiently.
Looking at Xue’er’s anxious expression, angry yet helpless, Li Mu couldn’t help but laugh happily, feeling smug; no matter how proud a four-tailed fox you are, you can’t escape my grasp!
“Your Realm is too low, so refining it with your Magic is difficult. Give me three drops of essence blood, and I’ll help you refine it with blood!” Li Mu smiled and gestured.
Without hesitation, Xue’er took out a short sword from her storage bracelet, slashed her hand, forced out three small drops of essence blood, and presented them to Li Mu.
Li Mu couldn’t help but pause, somewhat surprised and startled by Xue’er’s ruthlessness.
“Lord, is the essence blood not enough?” Xue’er looked at the dazed Li Mu, stopped bandaging her wound, and asked uncertainly.
“Enough! Enough! Actually, just transforming your finger to get three small drops would have been fine, no need to cut your arm!” Li Mu said faintly as he collected the essence blood.
Hearing this, Xue’er, who was on the verge of tears from the pain, paused slightly, and tears fell continuously like a broken string.
“Lord, you’re so mean! Why didn’t you say so earlier! Such a big wound, it hurts so much!” Xue’er looked at Li Mu with a tear-streaked face, blaming him.
“You acted too fast, I didn’t have time!” Li Mu replied while gathering the Five Elements Spiritual Fire to refine the essence blood into the ‘bell’.
“Liar! With your cultivation, how could you not stop me!” Xue’er angrily exposed him.
“Alright! By putting in more essence blood, you will control this Artifact more smoothly. That’s why I didn’t stop you! Alright! Take it! Remember to refine and nurture its Spirit day and night, and quickly imprint your Soul Power into its formation.” Li Mu smiled slightly, handing the blood-refined bell to Xue’er.
Xue’er nodded happily, quickly reached out to take the bell, and immediately felt a sense of Bloodline connection.
The small and exquisite, golden bell, after blood refining, was tinged with a hint of blood red; however, the bell’s surface gathered spiritual light, emitting a powerful and incredibly mystical aura, clearly not an ordinary Spiritual Artifact at first glance.
“Lord, what’s its name?” Xue’er, overjoyed, wiped away her tears, looked up with a tear-stained face, and asked Li Mu.
“This Artifact is refined from six-tier Profound Bird Years Gold, six-tier Illusory Moon Stone, six-tier Ancestral Lone Tribulation Bone… It has many functions such as illusion, invisibility, delayed and instantaneous changes, and the ability to transform into illusory and real Incarnations. Let’s call it: Illusory Moon Bell!” Li Mu replied with a smile.
With that, Li Mu continued to encourage her: “It will likely take some time for you to fully refine this Artifact and familiarize yourself with all its functions. I’ll temporarily leave the Spirit Valley under your management. The valley protection formation will remain active, making it difficult for even ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivators to forcibly break through. If anyone visits, tell them to wait seven or eight days, and I will return.”
As he became a Grandmaster Refiner, there were countless Soul Transformation Cultivators, like Saintess Lian Yue, who sought him out to refine Spirit Treasures. Li Mu himself had promised many Artifact Refining commissions; for instance, the Snow Fox Clan, Yu Ling Sect, and several Soul Transformation Seniors from the previous trade fair all knew he was temporarily residing in Yin Yang Valley.
After appeasing Xue’er, Li Mu took out his Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, flew out of Yin Yang Valley, and headed towards Barren Ancient City.
It had been a while since he last saw Lin Baoqing of Wanbao Pavilion; he wondered what surprises this meeting would bring.
Half an hour later, the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship appeared at Barren Ancient City - Floating Air Port.
The constant flow of Spirit Ships, warships, and cargo treasure ships completely filled the entire Floating Skyport; though it hadn’t been long since his last visit, the Floating Skyport seemed to have expanded, yet it still appeared insufficient to meet the mooring demands of the warships and treasure ships.
Li Mu surprisingly put away his Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship and flew into the city, heading towards the Wanbao Pavilion in the Floating Skyport.
Along the way, Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators rose and fell, coming and going, creating a lively scene; however, teams of patrolling guards led by Nascent Soul cultivators repeatedly came and went, questioning meticulously and being extremely strict.
Li Mu was stopped by a patrol team, questioned thoroughly about his background, and after passing the patrol’s special assessment methods, he paid 50 medium spirit stones and received a pass token.
With the pass token, Li Mu then entered the city without hindrance and arrived at Wanbao Pavilion.
Upon learning of Li Mu’s arrival, Lin Baoqing hurried, his face full of fawning smiles, and jogged into the inner hall’s reception room.
“Master Li, you’re finally back! If you hadn’t returned, I would have been driven mad!” Lin Baoqing exclaimed excitedly, gripping Li Mu’s arm as if he had seen his savior.
“Manager Lin, you’re exaggerating, aren’t you! Who would dare to coerce the dignified Great Grandmaster of Wanbao Pavilion!” Li Mu chuckled, disbelievingly.
“Of course, it’s the customers! Many of them have pre-ordered Spirit Treasure refining commissions from you. These are serious matters, and since you weren’t back, I didn’t dare to privately agree to them on your behalf. You could at least set a list for you to choose from. When the list wasn’t set for a long time, they definitely blamed me for being inefficient, hounding me day and night, using threats and inducements. These days have been so difficult for me!” Lin Baoqing said with a mournful face, recounting his hardships to Li Mu.
“So that’s it! Such impatient people, daring to coerce Manager Lin, then we won’t help such people refine treasures, will we!” Li Mu looked at Manager Lin, teasingly.
Hearing this, Manager Lin turned pale with fright, not expecting to flatter but to hit a raw nerve; now he was in trouble!
Seeing the smile on Li Mu’s face, Lin Baoqing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, saying with a wry smile: “Master Li, you’re joking, right! You scared me to death!”
With that, Lin Baoqing took out a white Jade Slip from his embrace, presented it with both hands, and introduced: “Master Li, this is the list of Artifact Refining commissions I accepted for you, including the types of Artifacts to be refined and the remuneration they paid for the Artifact Refining. Please take a look.”
Li Mu nodded, took the Jade Slip, immersed his Divine Sense, and began to read it carefully.
Venerable Qingxia, affiliated force: True Yang Sect, refining demand: wood-element Spirit Treasure, to enhance the power of wood-element magical techniques, for binding and restraining, to assist large-scale magical techniques, refining Materials: six-tier: Azure Yuan Spirit Crystal, six-tier: Wisdom Yuan Wood Heart, six-tier - Dragon-Breaking Wood Marrow… remuneration: a set of identical six-tier spirit treasure Artifact Refining Materials.
Venerable Xuan Shuang, affiliated force: Xuantian Sword Sect, refining demand: ice-element six-tier Spirit Sword, refining Materials: six-tier - Profound Ice Soul Stone…
Venerable Zi Yang, affiliated force: Sang Xiu, refining demand: space Spirit Treasure with a purple yang spiritual domain…
…
Li Mu’s Divine Sense swept across the Jade Slip, and he frowned, falling into contemplation, remaining silent for a long time.
“Master Li, can these Artifact Refining commissions be accepted? Is there a problem?” Lin Baoqing looked at Li Mu nervously, asking with concern.
“No problem, I’m just curious why the vast majority of the remuneration they submitted used six-tier Artifact Refining Materials for trade. The quantity of seven-tier Artifact Refining Materials and five-tier Artifact Refining Materials is very small, almost no seven-tier ones!” Li Mu frowned, asking in confusion.
Hearing this, Lin Baoqing couldn’t help but smile; the reason for this was very simple, and he quickly began to explain it to Li Mu. (End of Chapter)
