Chapter 135 - 93: Vein Casting Rope, Daoist Breakthrough

Chapter 135: Chapter 93: Vein Casting Rope, Daoist Breakthrough

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Yinsheng settled into Zulu Temple alongside Mu Xiaoyu and Shangguan Ling’Er. The guest courtyards they resided in were built next to one another. Every day, after Zhao Xuan’s great-niece came looking for Li Yinsheng, she would go to the adjacent courtyard to teach Mu Xiaoyu Artifact Refining. With nothing else to do, Li Yinsheng simply tagged along to audit the lessons.

Shangguan Ling’Er, seemingly fond of the lively atmosphere, also started auditing from the second day onward. After a few days of listening in, Li Yinsheng gained a basic understanding of Artifact Refining.

There were three most crucial factors in Artifact Refining. The first, naturally, was Magical Power and Divine Sense. The second was one’s own Artifact Refining attainments and Techniques. While knowledge could be learned, Techniques almost exclusively relied on years of accumulated practice. As for the third, it didn’t surprise Li Yinsheng at all: one needed a Fire Technique suitable for Artifact Refining.

Whether it was Alchemy or Artifact Refining, neither could be done without fire, but the flames required for each were different. Alchemy focused more on whether the flame was easy to control, while Artifact Refining prioritized its sheer power. After all, compared to Alchemy Masters who mainly extracted from herbs and Spirit Plants, Artifact Refiners had to deal with various ores, metals, or the skeletons of monsters and Exotic Beasts—none of which were easy to undergo Refinement. Only with a highly destructive flame could one effectively eliminate impurities and reforge the materials, paving the way for the subsequent shaping and crafting of Restrictions.

The female Steward teaching Mu Xiaoyu had Zhao Xuan’s authorization to directly impart a Flame Technique that was reportedly quite excellent within Zulu Temple. Li Yinsheng learned it along with her. There was nothing flashy about this Technique; its defining characteristic was simply its immense power. At the very least, Li Yinsheng felt it was far more powerful than his Burning Wind Skill.

Shangguan Ling’Er, whose Major Cultivation was the Five Elements, naturally had no interest in a Fire Technique of this caliber.

Having studied under the female Steward for five days, Mu Xiaoyu could be considered a Beginner. She was already able to use flames to purify and undergo Refinement of some basic ores, as well as shape metals. According to the Steward, Mu Xiaoyu possessed considerable talent in Artifact Refining. While not an unparalleled genius, she was definitely top-tier among the disciples of her generation at Zulu Temple.

At her current pace, it would likely take her three to four years to refine the simplest Inferior Magical Artifact. In truth, this speed wasn’t considered slow. The female Steward was forty-eight this year and had studied Artifact Refining for forty years. She had refined an Inferior Magical Artifact in less than four years, a Lower Grade Magical Artifact in ten, a Middle Grade Magical Artifact in twenty, and an Upper Grade Magical Artifact in thirty-eight—already cementing her position as the number one talent among her peers in the temple.

Even though Mu Xiaoyu lacked a Cultivation Root Device, her talent in Artifact Refining couldn’t be considered poor by any means. It was just that in the face of the absurd requirements set by the Cultivation Aspiration, her progress was far from enough. If she continued at this rate, it was highly unlikely she would refine a Lower Grade Magical Artifact even ten years from now. Li Yinsheng couldn’t think of a way to accelerate his junior martial sister’s progress for the time being, and since she was just a Beginner, there was still very little she could access.

In addition, he also asked about the "Quasi-Magical Treasure."

The female Steward was quite surprised to hear this question, astonished that someone who knew almost nothing about Artifact Refining would be aware of something as obscure as a "Quasi-Magical Treasure."

Quasi-Magical Treasures were incredibly rare because they were relatively impractical. When Artifact Refiners crafted a Magical Treasure, they needed a precious Spiritual Object imbued with Spirituality as the main material, to which they would add a large amount of valuable but non-spiritual materials. If a Magical Artifact was refined using a roughly equivalent scale of valuable but non-spiritual materials, it was called a "Quasi-Magical Treasure."

Because the form of such a Magical Artifact was already set, it couldn’t be upgraded into a true Magical Treasure later by melting down and fusing it with a Spiritual Item; fundamentally, it remained a Magical Artifact. However, due to the precious nature of the materials and the use of partial Magical Treasure crafting Techniques during its creation, its power far exceeded that of an Upper Grade Magical Artifact, earning it the title of "Quasi-Magical Treasure."

Some tyrannical Quasi-Magical Treasures, when wielded by a Daoist, could even trade a few blows with another Daoist’s true Magical Treasure. Though ultimately no match, they wouldn’t be left entirely defenseless. In fact, if a Cultivator whose Cultivation was extremely close to that of a Daoist managed to launch a successful sneak attack using a Quasi-Magical Treasure, they could pose a slight threat to a Daoist.

However, apart from their exorbitant crafting costs, Quasi-Magical Treasures also had very strict Cultivation requirements. An Upper Grade Magical Artifact only required thirty to forty years of Cultivation to be barely usable, and could be wielded effortlessly with sixty to seventy years of Cultivation. For a Quasi-Magical Treasure, seventy years of Cultivation was only enough to barely activate it, and even with eighty or ninety years of Cultivation, one might not be able to command it with ease.

For Cultivators with hope of breaking through to become a Daoist, instead of refining a Quasi-Magical Treasure, it was better to save those talismanic coins to refine a true Magical Treasure in the future. Cultivators with no hope of breaking through would barely have any lifespan left by the time they reached the Cultivation required to activate a Quasi-Magical Treasure, making it pointless to purchase something meant for Magical Combat. Quasi-Magical Treasures couldn’t be left for future generations either, because if their descendants didn’t have seventy years of Cultivation, harboring such a treasure would only invite disaster.

Those who truly wanted to leave an inheritance for their descendants had far better options. Therefore, the existence of Quasi-Magical Treasures was exceedingly rare—even rarer than true Magical Treasures.

Shangguan Ling’Er actually owned one, though she claimed it had basically never seen any use; the elders of her family had simply given it to her just in case. Later, when she broke through to become a Daoist and obtained a true Magical Treasure, she tossed the item to the back of her mind.

Li Yinsheng could only sigh at how generous the Grotto Heaven was. Because the Quasi-Magical Treasure tier actually existed, even though neither he nor his junior martial sister knew about it, the Grotto Heaven still counted it in the reward criteria. If the "Quasi-Magical Treasure" tier hadn’t existed, they would have flat-out lost a reward of one hundred and twenty years of Cultivation.

On the evening of the fifth day, the female Steward concluded her lesson with Mu Xiaoyu.

Mu Xiaoyu packed away the ores she had melted into bizarre shapes, stored them back in her Qiankun Bag, and stretched lazily, planning to head back to cultivate. Even though she didn’t want to cultivate, she didn’t dare stop. However, she could feel that the nearly solidified energy inside her body had already been half refined over the past three months. If she could just hold out for another three months, she wouldn’t have to cultivate so hard anymore! She would be able to slack off and relax!

Yet, even if she wouldn’t need to cultivate intensely after three months, Mu Xiaoyu still felt her future was bleak. After all, Artifact Refining was incredibly exhausting too! The step of tempering and purifying materials required using fierce flames to undergo Refinement while simultaneously using Divine Sense to precisely peel away impurities. Sustaining a fierce flame consumed a massive amount of Magical Power, and extracting impurities was a massive drain on Divine Sense—it was a double exhaustion. She even felt that Artifact Refining was more tiring than practicing the sword. At least sword practice mainly drained Magical Power and rarely taxed Divine Sense.

"Senior Martial Brother~" Mu Xiaoyu tugged at Li Yinsheng’s sleeve. "I really don’t think I’m suited for Artifact Refining. Maybe I should learn something else in the future~"

Something like Alchemy or Drawing Talismans, which sounded much easier.

"How could you not be suited for it? Shen even said you have a lot of talent," Li Yinsheng said, glancing at the female Steward. "Right, Shen?"

"Elder Li is correct," the female Steward agreed. "Fellow Daoist Mu’s talent in Artifact Refining surpasses eighty or ninety percent of the disciples in our temple."

Mu Xiaoyu’s face crumpled in misery. This was her biggest regret. When she first came into contact with Artifact Refining and learned a new Fire Technique, she found it somewhat interesting, so she studied attentively. By the time she realized how exhausting Artifact Refining was, the female Steward had already praised her for having "a lot of talent." It was too late for her to pretend she lacked the aptitude.

Just as Mu Xiaoyu was fiercely cursing her past self in her mind, a crimson Escape Light landed in the courtyard.

Zhao Xuan stepped out of the Escape Light, gestured for his bowing great-niece to rise, and walked toward Li Yinsheng with a hearty laugh. "Fellow Daoist Li, look what this is!"

He raised his hand, revealing a coiled, snow-white rope. The rope was likely thirty to forty feet long, yet less than half an inch thick. Li Yinsheng glanced at Shangguan Ling’Er’s hand; her fingers were already remarkably slender and long, but this rope was even thinner than her pinky.

"Is this Fellow Daoist Zhao Xuan’s Vein Casting Rope?"

Li Yinsheng took the snow-white rope and enveloped it with Magical Power. Crafted from Metal Qi, the object had no physical form and felt completely weightless in his hand. At first glance, it appeared entirely snow-white, but in reality, it was translucent. Similar to the Blood Refining Core, if it wasn’t continuously encased in Magical Power, the Metal Qi within would slowly dissipate. However, the Metal Qi inside was far denser than the C Fire Qi of the Blood Refining Core; even if left alone, it would likely take over a decade to fully dissipate.

"This item is similar to the Blood Refining Core," Zhao Xuan explained. "It merges into the body, mimicking the meridians to distribute across your entire form, assisting in Tempering Body during cultivation. The only difference is that the Blood Refining Core uses C Fire Qi, causing the agony of immolation when used. This Vein Casting Rope uses Metal Qi, so it brings the pain of being pierced by swords and blades, or even the torment of death by a thousand cuts."

Zhao Xuan cautioned, "Fellow Daoist Li, act within your limits. Do not let it interfere with your normal cultivation."

"I understand," Li Yinsheng nodded.

Shangguan Ling’Er widened her eyes, thinking, "So this is the kind of thing you bought! Isn’t your cultivation method a bit too suicidal?!"

Just as she was about to speak, an extremely tyrannical aura suddenly erupted from the southeast corner of Zulu Temple. The aura was fierce and explosive. Once it rose, the surrounding temperature spiked noticeably, even affecting this courtyard despite the considerable distance.

"Senior Martial Sister!" Zhao Xuan’s eyes lit up. His face brimmed with excitement, and he practically danced with joy. "Senior Martial Sister is finally going to break through to the Divine Travel Realm!"

The Divine Travel Realm?

Li Yinsheng paused in surprise. Was breaking through to the Divine Travel Realm supposed to cause such a massive commotion? When he broke through to the Divine Travel Realm himself, although it happened inside the Grotto Heaven and was disconnected from the outside world, it had still been completely silent.

After waving his arms around a few times, Zhao Xuan caught himself and looked at Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er with some embarrassment. "I have lost my composure; please do not take offense, fellow Daoists. Ever since Martial Uncle Huoyun passed away, our Zulu Temple has been without a Grand Daoist overseeing it. With my senior martial sister’s breakthrough this time, I became a little too overly excited..."

"Understandable, understandable," Li Yinsheng smiled. "Congratulations to you, Fellow Daoist Zhao Xuan, and congratulations to Zulu Temple."

"To our mutual joy!" Zhao Xuan beamed. With a Grand Daoist in their ranks, they would be able to stand much firmer when negotiating with Shouyi Temple over cinnabar in the future.

While Zhao Xuan was brimming with excitement, he noticed Shangguan Ling’Er staring in the direction of the eruption. Her brows were tightly knit, showing not a hint of joy on her face.

"Something’s wrong," she murmured, her brows practically locked together. "That aura... is on the verge of losing control."

She looked at Zhao Xuan. "Does your senior martial sister practice the kind of Fire Element Technique that is extremely explosive?"

"Yes, she is also an Artifact Refiner..." Zhao Xuan replied.

"How much lifespan does she have left?" Shangguan Ling’Er interrupted, pressing him for an answer.

Zhao Xuan’s joyful expression froze. After a moment’s hesitation, he answered truthfully, "My senior martial sister entered life-and-death seclusion this time precisely because her lifespan is nearing its end. She wanted to risk it all on one final attempt. If she can break through, her lifespan will increase significantly."

"Her lifespan is insufficient, her Three Treasures are weakened, and her Cultivation Technique is far too explosive," Shangguan Ling’Er stated gravely. "If this continues, before she can even break through, her Cultivation Technique will spiral out of control, causing her to suffer cultivation deviation, or perhaps even..."

Zhao Xuan’s face turned completely pale.

Shangguan Ling’Er didn’t continue, but the consequences weren’t hard to imagine. At the critical juncture of a breakthrough, losing control of such an explosive Fire Element Technique would result in spontaneous combustion at best, and self-detonation at worst.

"Weakening of the Three Treasures caused by insufficient lifespan?" Li Yinsheng patted Shangguan Ling’Er on the shoulder. "Miss Shangguan, what do you think about..."

He still had a small portion of his Withering and Flourishing Spiritual Breath left, and Shangguan Ling’Er naturally knew exactly what kind of effects it possessed.

She immediately understood what Li Yinsheng meant, her eyes brightening. "It’s worth a try!"