Li Mu was unaware of the impact he had caused; after leaving Wanbao City, he piloted the Earth Element Spirit Ship back to Seven Profound Sect.
This trip to Wanbao City was very fruitful for Li Mu; he obtained a large quantity of high-grade spiritual materials, some for repairing the Painting World Treasure Mansion, some suitable for refining Dao Artifacts and Puppets, and for drawing high-grade spiritual talismans.
Upon returning to Seven Profound Sect, Li Mu immediately secluded himself in the Sect Leader's Mansion's cultivation chamber, then entered the Painting World Treasure Mansion to begin refining Dao Artifacts.
Xue'er possessed the Nine-tailed Bloodline and an Ice Heavenly Spiritual Root; her Aptitude alone meant her Cultivation speed was not slow. However, her comprehension of Ice Law was still lacking, so Li Mu prepared to custom-make a supplementary Dao Artifact for her, hoping to help her advance further on her Cultivation path and solidify her Foundation.
Li Mu sat in the center of the Artifact Refining Room, his mind calm. Three masses of Heavenly Fire—Extreme Yang Heavenly Fire, Earth Vein Heavenly Fire, and Yin Yang Lightning Fire—responded to his call, encircling his body, each emitting its unique radiance.
Li Mu quickly formed hand seals, and the Eightfold Heavenly Fire Tempering Method began to circulate. The vast and boundless True Qi of his Refining Void Middle Stage surged forth, activating the Artifact Refining Divine Ability—Heavenly Fire as Furnace.
The next moment, the three masses of Heavenly Fire instantly merged, transforming into a majestic three-colored Skyfire Refining Furnace. The furnace body was towering, nearly three zhang tall, suspended in the air.
Taking a deep breath, Li Mu calmed his mind and formed seals again, guiding the three types of Heavenly Fire within the furnace.
Under Li Mu's control, the flames within the three-colored Skyfire Refining Furnace churned rhythmically, forming a giant three-colored flame vortex, like a tornado, frantically drawing in the spiritual energy within the Artifact Refining Room, further increasing the furnace temperature.
Li Mu's Divine Thought stirred slightly, and the storage ring on his finger automatically opened. Pieces of seventh-grade Artifact Refining spiritual materials flew out like shooting stars: ten-thousand year cold crystal, Ice Soul Spiritual Crystal, Profound Yin Essence Gold… These precious cold-attributed seventh-grade spiritual materials were devoured by the three-colored Heavenly Fire as soon as they entered the furnace, rapidly melting.
However, this was just the beginning. Under the refining of the three-colored Heavenly Fire, the various spiritual materials quickly turned into viscous liquid. As Li Mu's Divine Thought stirred, they continuously rotated and purified, with Impurities and flaws being removed one by one.
Li Mu's Divine Thought was as fine as silk, precisely controlling every wisp of flame, employing the Eightfold Heavenly Fire Tempering Method and the Artifact Refining Divine Ability—Heavenly Fire Spirit Casting, to fuse the essence of the spiritual materials into one, giving them a completely new form.
Li Mu was single-minded, fully concentrating on circulating the Yin Yang Five Elements Scripture. His Divine Thought, like silk, delved deep into the Skyfire Refining Furnace, employing the Divine Ability of the Eightfold Heavenly Fire Tempering Method—"Heavenly Fire Spirit Casting"—to accelerate the condensation of the artifact embryo. His Divine Thought was like a highly skilled craftsman, guiding the ice-blue liquid within the furnace to slowly flow according to his will, gradually condensing into the prototype of a hair crown.
As time slowly passed, the hair crown embryo in the Skyfire Refining Furnace gradually revealed its outline, emitting faint, chilling aura of ice.
Li Mu's nerves relaxed slightly; the ice-attributed Dao Crown's artifact embryo had taken initial shape. Next, he needed to engrave artifact arrays, condense artifact patterns, and imbue it with unique Dao essence and spirituality.
Li Mu once again employed the Artifact Refining Divine Ability—"Divine Refinement Weapon Pattern"—using his Divine Thought as a brush and spiritual energy as ink, he began to engrave intricate artifact arrays within the hair crown embryo, marking out precise artifact pattern grids.
Time flew by. Li Mu expended a vast amount of Divine Thought, outlining an artifact array within the hair crown embryo based on the "Cold Ice Sealing Domain Great Array." The array patterns of this artifact array intertwined and interlocked, forming a structure that was both profound and stable within the embryo. It was not only the core of the hair crown embryo but also contained profound ice Laws, serving as the Foundation for the spiritual nurturing of this Dao Artifact.
Once the hair crown embryo gradually stabilized under this precise construction, Li Mu proceeded to the next step of refining, employing the Artifact Refining Divine Ability—"Divine Refinement Weapon Pattern"—fully outputting spiritual energy to condense exquisite artifact patterns onto the hair crown embryo.
Twenty-eight artifact patterns would gradually form around the previously engraved artifact array, ultimately creating a single-attribute ice-attributed Dao Crown.
The first artifact pattern—"Ice Body Protection"—bestowed a layer of ice armor upon the Dao Crown wearer, capable of resisting external attacks and protecting the wearer from harm.
The second artifact pattern—"Ice Seal Thousands of Miles"—allowed the Dao Crown to release an extreme cold Qi, freezing everything around it. Whether it was enemies or the environment, all would be frozen by it.
The third artifact pattern—"Ice Blade Storm"—enabled the Dao Crown to release an ice blade storm. Sharp ice blades would sweep over enemies like a gale, causing devastating damage.
The fourth artifact pattern—"Ice Swiftness"—allowed the wearer to move like lightning on ice, doubling their speed, gaining the initiative whether pursuing or escaping.
The fifth artifact pattern—"Ice Element Regeneration"—granted the Dao Crown the ability of self-repair. Even if damaged in battle, it could quickly absorb surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy to self-repair, maintaining optimal combat status.
...
Using the seventh-grade Ice Soul Spiritual Crystal as the Foundation of the Dao Artifact, the Ice Soul Spiritual Crystal contained pure ice elemental power, making it an excellent choice for refining ice-attributed Dao Artifacts. In addition to the Ice Soul Spiritual Crystal, Li Mu selected ten-thousand year cold crystal, Ice Heart Jade Marrow, and other rare high-grade spiritual materials to construct a Dao Artifact capable of forming an ice domain.
Days passed, and Li Mu immersed himself entirely in the refining process, forgetting the outside world's disturbances. Under his meticulous refining, an ice-attributed auxiliary Dao Artifact emitting a faint chill gradually took shape. This Dao Artifact not only contained profound ice Laws but also perfectly resonated with Xue'er's spiritual energy, greatly enhancing the power of her ice-attributed Spells.
Holding the Ice Hair Crown, Li Mu's figure flickered, appearing outside a cultivation chamber on Five Elements Spirit Mountain.
"Xue'er, come out quickly." Li Mu's voice held a hint of excitement and anticipation as his Divine Thought probed into the cultivation chamber, calling out to Xue'er.
A moment later, the door of the cultivation chamber slowly opened. Xue'er, dressed in plain clothes, was exquisite and ethereal, like a Fairy from ice and snow. She walked out slowly, her eyes filled with curiosity, looking at the Ice Hair Crown in Li Mu's hand. At that moment, it was as if the whole world stood still.
"Li Dage, what is this?" Xue'er asked softly, her tone barely concealing her surprise.
Li Mu smiled slightly, gently handing over the Ice Hair Crown, and said, "This is an ice-attributed auxiliary Dao Artifact I refined for you—the Ice Hair Crown. It uses a seventh-grade Ice Soul Spiritual Crystal as its Foundation, and also incorporates ten-thousand year cold crystal, Ice Heart Jade Marrow, and other rare high-grade spiritual materials. It was meticulously constructed to form an ice domain, to aid your daily Cultivation."
Xue'er took the Ice Hair Crown, feeling a refreshing and crisp aura flow into her. A faint chill circulated on the hair crown, containing endless power of ice and snow. She examined it carefully, seeing delicate artifact patterns carved on it, each revealing Li Mu's painstaking effort and exquisite skill.
"It's truly beautiful, Li Dage, thank you." Xue'er's voice trembled slightly. She could feel the profound ice Laws contained within this Dao Artifact, and its perfect resonance with her own spiritual energy. She knew this was not just a Dao Artifact, but also Li Mu's deep affection and care for her.
"Quickly refine it and put it on so I can see your grace." Li Mu smiled gently, his eyes full of anticipation.
Xue'er nodded lightly. Following Li Mu's guidance, she began to refine the Ice Hair Crown. As her spiritual energy infused it, the Ice Hair Crown seemed to respond to her call, emitting an even denser chill, intermingling with her spiritual energy and echoing each other.
A moment later, Xue'er successfully refined the Ice Hair Crown. With a gentle lift of her hand, the artifact patterns on the Ice Hair Crown seemed to come alive, flowing with a faint glow, perfectly integrating with her aura, as if they were one.
Xue'er placed the Ice Hair Crown on her head. Instantly, a cold and pure power surged from the hair crown, circling around her, forming rings of ice-blue halos. Her temperament at this moment seemed even more ethereal and aloof, like a queen of the ice and snow world, exuding an indescribable charm.
"Li Dage, look." Xue'er turned around, her eyes sparkling with excitement and joy. Her body was enveloped in a faint mist of ice. Every wisp of cold Qi seemed to contain endless power of ice and snow, making her appear like a goddess from the ice and snow world, ethereal and mysterious.
"How does it feel?" Li Mu asked with concern.
Xue'er smiled slightly, her eyes flickering with ice-blue light. She softly said, "It feels very good, Li Dage. I can feel the profound ice Laws contained within the Ice Hair Crown. It seems to have merged with my own spiritual energy, making my control over ice Spells even more effortless. Moreover, this power is pure and strong."
"Mm, wear it and Cultivate well, strive to transcend to True Spirit soon." Li Mu looked at Xue'er and instructed her.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of determined light flashed in Xue'er's eyes. To be with Li Mu for a long time, she had to Cultivate even harder and improve her strength.
"Li Dage, don't worry, I will Cultivate well." Xue'er tightly held Li Mu's hand, her voice full of determination and conviction.
After speaking, Xue'er turned and walked towards the Cultivation room.
Li Mu smiled slightly. After watching the door of the Cultivation room close again, he continued to refine the next Dao Artifact.
However, just as Li Mu was preparing to start refining the next Dao Artifact, Seven Profound Sect welcomed some unexpected visitors—Sword Master Feng and Sword Master Chen. The sudden arrival of these two prominent figures, who usually kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public, shook the entire Seven Profound Sect.
Upon learning of the two Sword Masters' visit from his Puppet clone, Li Mu immediately left the Painting World Treasure Mansion, hurriedly exited his cultivation chamber, and headed to the Sect Main Hall to greet them. At the same time, he secretly wondered why these two Sword Masters would suddenly personally visit Seven Profound Sect? And what business did they have with him?
When Li Mu rushed to the Sect Main Hall, he saw Sword Master Feng and Sword Master Chen already seated at the head of the hall. They were curiously examining the Puppet clone, seemingly researching something, while waiting for his true body to appear.
Li Mu quickly stepped forward to bow and respectfully greeted them, "I apologize for not being able to welcome you, two Sword Masters, upon your grand arrival. Please forgive me."
"Elder Li, there's no need for such formality. This Puppet clone of yours is truly a marvel of craftsmanship, lifelike and with an aura that completely deceives. If we weren't familiar with you, and if it weren't for the flaw of insufficient Soul Power, we would have almost thought it was you yourself here." Sword Master Feng looked at Li Mu, his eyes unable to hide his admiration.
"Elder Li, did you refine this Puppet clone yourself? Are you also proficient in the Dao of Puppets? You are truly an unparalleled talent!" Sword Master Chen seriously examined Li Mu and asked curiously.
It was already rare for an ordinary Cultivator to be proficient in one skill, but Li Mu had such deep attainments in Artifact Refining, formation arranging, and the Dao of Puppets, which was truly uncommon.
"Sword Master Chen, you flatter me. This Puppet clone is indeed a small trinket I refined in my spare time. Compared to the true Dao of Artifact Refining and formation arranging, this Puppet art can only be considered a small hobby of mine." Li Mu humbly replied.
Upon hearing this, Sword Master Feng and Sword Master Chen exchanged glances, impressed by Li Mu's talent. This Puppet also had the potential for Major Achievement. To gain such a talent was truly a blessing for Xuantian Sword Sect. They couldn't help but value Li Mu even more.
"Two Sword Masters, may I ask if there is any important matter you need to convey by personally visiting Seven Profound Sect this time? If there is anything you require, Li will certainly do his utmost."
Facing the scrutinizing gazes of the two Sword Masters, Li Mu didn't want to dwell on the matter of the Puppet Dao and quickly changed the subject.
"Elder Li, the Wanbao Pavilion Auction event this time, did it offer five Dao Artifacts?" Sword Master Feng nodded slightly, his expression becoming serious as he looked at Li Mu and asked.
"Uh! That's right, three Dao Artifacts were previously commissioned by Wanbao Pavilion for me to refine, and the other two Dao Artifacts were fortuitously refined by me and entrusted to Wanbao Pavilion for Auction, in exchange for some high-grade spiritual materials." Li Mu answered frankly, though he had already anticipated the potential stir this might cause. After all, the appearance of Dao Artifacts often meant a fierce competition, not to mention Dao Artifacts personally refined by him, whose uniqueness and power were naturally extraordinary. However, with Xuantian Sword Sect as his backing, this matter should not be a big problem, right!
"Sword Master Feng, Sword Master Chen, you came today for this matter?" Li Mu paused for a moment, looking at Sword Master Feng and Sword Master Chen, asking in surprise.
"It is indeed related to this matter!" Sword Master Feng nodded, looking at Li Mu with a solemn expression and saying, "Elder Li, the Dao Artifacts you refined have already attracted the attention of many major powers. The cross-domain Auction event by Wanbao Pavilion has always been a place where the Spirit Realm's influential figures gather, and the Dao Artifacts you entrusted for Auction this time are even more of a focal point."
"Elder Li!" Sword Master Chen took over the conversation, looking at Li Mu and indicating, "We received news that several major powers are eyeing the Dao Artifacts you refined. They are not only powerful but also act aggressively, and it is very likely they will resort to some extreme measures at the Auction. We came this time, firstly, to remind you to be careful and wary, and secondly, to discuss countermeasures with you. Can you cancel the Auction of the two Dao Artifacts? Whatever high-grade spiritual materials you need, our Sect will do its best to gather them for you."
Upon hearing this, gratitude surged in Li Mu's heart, knowing that the two Sword Masters' suggestion was out of concern for his protection and consideration for the Sect. He also knew that the two Sword Masters' worries were not unfounded, but having just received benefits from Wanbao Pavilion, turning around and breaking his promise was something Li Mu truly couldn't bring himself to say.
However, a hint of difficulty appeared on Li Mu's face as he gently refused, "Sword Master Feng, Sword Master Chen, I understand your concerns and appreciate Xuantian Sword Sect's protection of me. But regarding these two Dao Artifacts, I am indebted to Wanbao Pavilion. This Auction is a promise as an Artifact Refiner, and I'm afraid it would be difficult to cancel."
Sword Master Feng and Sword Master Chen exchanged glances, revealing a hint of helplessness. (End of Chapter)
