Chapter 420: Massive Upgrade (1)

Redstone City, Wild Ancestor Tribe.

Before Tianyu, countless Shamans were jostling one another, their roars, growls, and shouts intermingling. They tossed immortal silver, ore, beast bones, and various medicinal herbs into the empty carts before carrying away bolts of Ning Brocade.

Tianyu stood expressionless, watching as cartload after cartload of Ning Brocade vanished at breakneck speed, while the empty carts carrying various goods gradually filled up. It wasn’t until the very last cart of cloud brocade had been carried away that his tribesmen finally dispersed.

Tianyu suddenly slapped himself hard across the face. Only then did his face finally show some expression.

He dragged the large cart to the ancestral temple in the city center. Moments later, he knelt before an old Shaman whose skin was as wrinkled as tree bark.

Although the Shaman was old, his frame was unusually massive. He could easily grab Tianyu’s head with a single large hand. If he were to stand up, Tianyu would likely not even reach his shoulder.

A young Shaman ran over and whispered something to the old shaman.

The old Shaman nodded, ran his hands over Tianyu’s entire body, then picked up a golden jar from nearby. He poured out three pills the size of chicken eggs and placed them before Tianyu.

Tianyu was speechless with astonishment. He was so overcome with excitement that he could not stop kowtowing to the old Shaman for a time.

The old Shaman said slowly, “You have shown sufficient devotion. These three Great Wild Pills should be enough to allow you to cross that blurred boundary and perceive the power of the Great Wilderness. Go now, child.”

Upon returning home, Tianyu placed the three Great Wild Pills on the table and gazed at them silently for a very long time.

The Great Wild Pills were sacred elixirs for Strength Shamans. Three of them were enough to allow even a Strength Shaman of average aptitude to sense the power of the Great Wilderness, thereby paving the way to become a Great Shaman.

Tianyu had always considered himself a genius, and those around him agreed. His own family background was quite respectable as well. However, for all his advantages, the Great Wild Pill was something he normally could never have afforded. In the past, he wouldn’t have dared to dream of possessing even a single one.

And now, there were three of them right in front of him.

In the Realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan was meticulously examining the spoilers of this western expedition item by item, paying particular attention to those of unknown purpose. Unfortunately, his inspection yielded little of value. All he had found was a small box of black crystals in the priest’s quarters in Rainmaple City, which appeared to have originated from the Realm of Coldbelow. Aside from that, he found no other items from that realm.

Wei Yuan hadn’t forgotten that the Coldbelow contained treasures capable of improving one’s Dao Foundation. However, he had only ventured there a few times before encountering Yin Yang. Since then, he hadn’t been able to go there.

One of his objectives behind his meticulously planned surprise attack on Rainmaple City was to acquire treasures from the Coldbelow. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Shamans living in Rainmaple City were not qualified enough to possess more than that single box of black crystals across the entire city.

Wei Yuan left one of the crystals with Yu Zhizhuo. He then left the Realm of Qingming to return once more to the northern mountain gate.

By now, the Palace of Absolute Beginning had shifted its core to the northern mountain gate completely. It was where most of the sect’s True Lords were stationed these days. The journey passed without incident, and a few days later, Wei Yuan arrived at the northern mountain gate once again.

Wei Yuan first paid his respects to Founder Xuan Yue, then presented the black crystal and the mystic treasure-grade storage artifact he had obtained from Dragonhawk. However, Xuan Yue had only a superficial understanding of artifact-forging and did not recognize what the black crystal was.

Furthermore, to Wei Yuan’s great surprise, even True Lord Xuan Yue was unable to open the storage artifact, though he did detect that it was sealed with immortal energy.

Fortunately, the Hallmaster of the Mastercraft Hall was also present at the northern mountain gate. If even he could not open the storage artifact, then no one in the Palace of Absolute Beginning could.

Therefore, after bidding farewell to Xuan Yue, Wei Yuan set out to pay his respects to the Hallmaster of the Mastercraft Hall.

The hallmaster’s name was True Lord Jin Shi[1]. He happened to be taking a break from forging mystic artifacts and received Wei Yuan. He was a handsome man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and he naturally exuded an air of honesty and integrity from head to toe, much like Yu Zhizhuo.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan, his first question was about Yu Zhizhuo and the disciples who had accompanied him. They spoke for nearly an hour on the subject.

Upon hearing that Yu Zhizhuo had obtained the Essence of Metal, True Lord Jin Shi finally cracked a small smile and said, “Zhizhuo has always been a bit one-track-minded and lacked a certain flexibility. But now, the gap has been filled, and his path to immortality is finally clear. Who knows, perhaps one day he’ll succeed me. This is no trivial debt; it is only natural that I express my sincere gratitude for your aid.”

Only then did Wei Yuan broach the reason for his visit.

Upon seeing the black crystal, the hallmaster looked visibly moved. He flicked his finger, peeling off a particle smaller than a speck of dust from the crystal, then sliced that tiny particle further into 1,000 pieces with a flick of his Dao energy. Wei Yuan strained his eyes as much as he could, but could only vaguely make out that each piece was a small, square block.

Next, a ball of vibrant, five-colored flame rose up, consuming all 1,000 samples at once.

Even with Wei Yuan’s current eyesight, he could only discern that the flame actually contained many different types of energy. Some were searingly hot, and others were ice cold. There were over 100 different kinds of acid alone. Wei Yuan knew there were distinctions between each kind of acid, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what they were.

If Wei Yuan were still at the Dao Foundation stage, he would have seen nothing more than a ball of flame appearing and extinguishing, and thought to himself: What a beautiful flame!

After the colorful fire died down, the hallmaster fell into deep thought for a moment. Finally, he said, “This old Daoist was conducting an examination of this object’s properties just now. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, this object originates from the Realm of Coldbelow and falls under the category of nether-soil crystals. A single piece is worth an entire region of nether soil.

“This object should have been a priceless treasure, but since you donated a large amount of nether soil not long ago—enough to sustain the Palace for over three hundred years—it is currently of little value. That said, this old Daoist has only conducted a rough examination. To truly understand it, a detailed examination is required.”

True Lord Jin Shi took a small piece of black crystal and said, “A piece of this size would suffice for the examination.”

Wei Yuan asked what a detailed examination entailed. These days, the study of material properties was becoming increasingly important in the Realm of Qingming. Even the mortals in the Great Realm were beginning to engage in such research. That was why Wei Yuan was eager to learn and ask about everything.

True Lord Jin Shi explained that, by dividing the black crystal into countless small pieces and testing them using various methods, a comprehensive and detailed analysis of its properties could be derived. What he had performed just now was a rough examination, which tested only a total of 999 physical properties. On the other hand, a detailed examination currently involved 10,086 tests.

Only then did Wei Yuan realize that specialization is key. The reason the Mastercraft Hall was able to lead in the field of artifact-forging seemed to stem from their unrivaled dedication to the study of material properties.

While deeply impressed, Wei Yuan no longer harbored any hopes for the black crystal. After all, he already had plenty of nether soil.

As for the storage artifact, the hallmaster spent a full ke studying it before finally discerning a clue. Frowning, he said, “This is an ancient immortal treasure and quite difficult to handle. One wrong move could destroy it along with everything inside. Do you still possess the soul of this treasure’s former owner?”

Wei Yuan shook his head while feeling a headache coming on.

If Dragonhawk hadn’t been a bloodline descendant of the True Dragon, it would have been a different story. But the problem was that he was, and he had been completely transformed into a Dragon Guard. From that moment on, his soul had effectively been totally annihilated, leaving not even a trace behind.

The hallmaster sensed Wei Yuan’s dilemma and said, “Leave this item with me for now. Ancient immortal treasures are simply obscure; it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re particularly difficult to unlock. With some immortal spirit qi as the aid, it’ll only take a little time to open it.”

Wei Yuan also needed to exchange a batch of mystic robes, armor, and mystic-artifact-grade storage artifacts suitable for Avatars from the sect.

On the one hand, Wei Yuan currently had 15,000 Heaven Merits on hand. On the other, the payment for his previous training of Dao Soldiers for the Palace of Absolute Beginning had not yet been settled. So, the hallmaster took Wei yuan directly to the mystic artifact vault and let him choose whatever he wanted.

In the end, Wei Yuan chose a True Lord-grade defensive inner armor capable of withstanding three strikes from a True Lord. He also picked up a True Lord-grade storage jade pendant. Everything else he selected were ordinary Avatar-grade mystic treasures. Generally speaking, he had completely replaced his entire set of gear.

Now, Wei Yuan would no longer turn stark naked every time he ran into a True Lord.

After advancing to the Avatar-stage, the Immaculate Pure Land had fallen somewhat behind his cultivation. So, the hallmaster took it and instructed Wei Yuan to return seven days later to retrieve it.

After wrapping up his official business, Wei Yuan headed to Zhang Sheng’s small courtyard.

It had been a while since they’d last met, and Zhang Sheng’s aura had declined almost imperceptibly once again. When she saw Wei Yuan, she exclaimed with a bit of surprise, “Why are you here again?”

“A day apart from you feels like three autumns.”

Zhang Sheng raised her scroll as if to strike him, chiding, “Be serious!”

1. Meaning Gold/Metal and Stone. ☜