Chapter 141 - 97: The 1st Magical Artifact, the 1st Fire Seed

Chapter 141: Chapter 97: The 1st Magical Artifact, the 1st Fire Seed

Mu Xiaoyu swore that starting today, she would respect her own intuition. Wrapped in a cluster of bright red flames, she made this vicious vow in her heart. When learning the Three Yang Spirit Fire Technique, she had harbored a baseless suspicion that her senior brother would set her up, and that the Refinement of the Fire Seed would be incredibly painful. However, since she had already agreed and received the Technique, she couldn’t back out halfway. Furthermore, it was ultimately just an unfounded suspicion without any proof. Thus, after only a moment of hesitation, she tossed the thought to the back of her mind. That was until she learned the Technique, sat cross-legged, and Daoist Yanyu ignited a tiny, wick-like Fire Seed at her fingertips.

This Three Yang Spirit Fire’s Fire Seed was truly tiny. Any oil lamp with a bit more oil would produce a much larger flame. However, the moment this wisp of Fire Seed entered her body, Mu Xiaoyu—who had already grown somewhat accustomed to the searing pain of the Blood Refining Core—was instantly in too much pain to speak. She had swallowed the Fire Seed. At first, when it entered her mouth, she felt nothing, but the moment it dropped down her throat, she felt a blazing, fiery heat spread wherever it passed. This scorching heat felt as if it could burn her entire being from the inside out, turning even her internal organs into charcoal. She tried mobilizing her Magical Power to resist the searing pain, but even the Magical Power of the Qingxuan Scripture felt as if it were being "incinerated."

In truth, if her internal organs had genuinely been scorched black, she wouldn’t have felt such immense pain, as the destroyed parts would lose all sensation. But Shangguan Ling’Er had long since protected her internal organs, meridians, and Dantian with a profound stream of Water Element Magical Power. Her control over her Magical Power was incredibly exquisite. It was neither too little, which would result in Mu Xiaoyu suffering burns, nor too much, which would damage the Fire Seed. The only trade-off for not harming the Fire Seed was that she could only provide just enough protection to keep Mu Xiaoyu from being injured; she couldn’t go a step further to reduce the scorching pain. Otherwise, if the Water Qi in her body became too dense, it would suppress or even harm the Fire Seed.

As the Fire Seed entrenched itself in her Dantian and constantly released heat to the surrounding meridians and organs, Mu Xiaoyu could only grit her teeth, circulating her Magical Power and attempting to refine it with the corresponding Technique. A sliver of Daoist Yanyu’s Magical Power guided things within Mu Xiaoyu’s body. To ensure that Mu Xiaoyu could use the Fire Seed as easily as wielding her own arm after the Refinement, Daoist Yanyu couldn’t overstep and use her own Magical Power to refine it on Mu Xiaoyu’s behalf. However, she could use her Magical Power to instruct and guide Mu Xiaoyu’s, allowing the inexperienced girl to refine the Fire Seed in a skilled, veteran manner. This not only made the Refinement more efficient but would also make the flame easier to wield afterward.

It was just that Mu Xiaoyu’s own Magical Power was still somewhat lacking at her current stage. Even with Daoist Yanyu’s guidance, the Magical Power consumption required to refine the Fire Seed was too immense for her. If she continued depleting it like this, she definitely wouldn’t last long. Thus, Li Yinsheng continuously transferred his own Magical Power to Mu Xiaoyu, helping her recover and sustain the Refinement. Although his Qingxuan Scripture had already transitioned to the Six Interpretations of Life and Death, he possessed three hundred years of cultivation experience, and the Qingxuan Scripture was far simpler. He knew the inner workings of his junior sister’s Qingxuan Scripture like the back of his hand. Even using the Magical Power of the Six Interpretations of Life and Death, he could still help her recover. Furthermore, since his junior sister’s Cultivation was low, he could only continuously and slowly transfer minuscule amounts of Magical Power. Therefore, he even had the time to first convert his Magical Power into a state better suited for recovering the Qingxuan Scripture before transferring it.

Thanks to her good senior brother’s help, Mu Xiaoyu—who could originally hold out for a quarter of an hour at most—continuously refined the Fire Seed for two hours without pause under the unending support of Magical Power. Although the process was somewhat grueling, relying on her unyielding perseverance and the slight assistance of the three seniors, Mu Xiaoyu finally managed to thoroughly refine the Fire Seed. The bright red flames rising from her body instantly dissipated, revealing a blank and dazed Mu Xiaoyu inside.

The next moment, she fell backward, sprawling out like a starfish. Sweat surged from her entire body in a mad rush. In just a dozen breaths, her Daoist Robe and hair were completely drenched, making her look as if she had just been fished out of a lake.

"Senior... Senior Brother..." Lying on the ground, Mu Xiaoyu lightly gritted her molars and looked toward Li Yinsheng. She swore that if she weren’t completely drained of every last ounce of strength, she would definitely pounce on him right now and bite her senior brother a hundred times! Unfortunately, she didn’t even have the strength to clench her teeth anymore.

Fortunately, it was all over. Feeling the warmth spreading out in her Dantian, Mu Xiaoyu felt slightly comforted. At least she hadn’t suffered this ordeal in vain. She could sense that the Fire Seed within her body had transformed into a cluster of flames. Although it was just burning quietly now, as long as it was activated by Magical Power, it would undoubtedly unleash an incredibly tyrannical might. Currently, her Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword only had thirty-one Sword Lights. Under these circumstances, the might of the Profound Evil Sword should be quite a bit lower than the Three Yang Spirit Fire. She just didn’t know if the Profound Evil Sword could advance another step and become more powerful once she reached thirty-two Sword Lights. Looking on the bright side, though it hurt a lot, exchanging that pain for the Three Yang Spirit Fire was worth it. Mu Xiaoyu consoled herself in her heart. Besides, she only needed to endure the pain this once. Later on, when she cultivated the Three Yang Spirit Fire on her own, although it would be a slow process, it wouldn’t hurt anymore.

"The little girl is exhausted," Shangguan Ling’Er said, lifting Mu Xiaoyu with Magic and looking toward Li Yinsheng. "It’s getting late. I’ll give her a bath and let her sleep first. We can test the might of this Spirit Fire tomorrow."

"Sorry to trouble you, Miss Shangguan," Li Yinsheng nodded.

Suspended in the air, Mu Xiaoyu used her last ounce of strength to look at Li Yinsheng. Her voice was weak as a thread, yet she spoke with hopeful anticipation. "Senior Brother... are you... going to refine... the Fire Seed too...?"

What she truly wanted to ask was: Are you going to go through this excruciating pain in a moment as well? As long as Li Yinsheng nodded, she would throw a tantrum and refuse to leave just so she could stay and watch her senior brother finish refining before going back to bathe. This was her care for her senior brother as his junior sister!

Li Yinsheng shook his head. "Currently, the last Fire Seed has already been given to you, Junior Sister. So, I will follow the Technique and cultivate a stream of Three Yang Spirit Fire within my own body to become a Beginner through that method."

After Li Yinsheng finished speaking, Mu Xiaoyu closed her eyes peacefully and was carried off by Shangguan Ling’Er to bathe.

The next morning, in Mu Xiaoyu’s guest courtyard, the female Steward who had previously instructed her stood waiting in the corner. Li Yinsheng, Shangguan Ling’Er, and Daoist Yanyu stood in front of Mu Xiaoyu. By now, Mu Xiaoyu had completely recovered her form. In truth, she hadn’t been injured or exhausted of her Magical Power last night. Up until the very end, Li Yinsheng had been helping her restore her Magical Power. Her fatigue stemmed primarily from the massive drain on her Heart and Spirit while refining the Fire Seed. Thus, she was fully revived after just one night’s rest.

After recovering, she pondered for a long time and finally gave up on the idea of biting Li Yinsheng. Mainly because her senior brother had told her that he minored in Body Refining. She also remembered him saying he would find a chance to collect some Body Refining Herbs so she could minor in Body Refining too, which would make her look better. Now that only her senior brother was engaged in Body Refining, she was afraid that not only would she fail to bite into him, but she would also end up hurting her own teeth. So, she kept a record of this grudge in her heart. Once she achieved success in Body Refining in the future, she would definitely give her senior brother a vicious bite! Well... maybe not too vicious. A regular bite would do—just enough to make her senior brother feel some pain without actually injuring him.

Mu Xiaoyu formed an unmentionable long-term goal in her heart.

"Junior Sister," Li Yinsheng spoke.

Mu Xiaoyu subconsciously shivered.

"Try out the Three Yang Spirit Fire," Li Yinsheng said, pointing to a row of ores in front of her. Most of them were the teaching materials the female Steward had previously used to teach her how to refine and purify materials. However, there were also a few higher-quality pieces that her past self could never have refined, no matter what.

Under Daoist Yanyu’s guidance, Mu Xiaoyu first picked up an ore she had refined before. The ore was only the size of a fist, but previously, she had needed to refine it for nearly an hour just to extract a thumb-sized piece of usable material. Mu Xiaoyu formed a hand seal with both hands, and a cluster of bright red flames spat out from her mouth, enveloping the ore. The ore was refined at a speed almost visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, it had completely turned into liquid.

"Alright, alright, hold back some of your Magical Power, or you’ll ruin it in a moment," Daoist Yanyu chuckled. "When using the Three Yang Spirit Fire to refine such low-grade materials, you must restrain your strength."

Mu Xiaoyu immediately restrained her Magical Power, causing the firelight to dim a bit, and then separated the material from it under Daoist Yanyu’s guidance. A moment later, a small glob of indigo liquid separated out and gradually solidified into a smooth piece of metal. Compared to the metal she had purified previously, it was two sizes smaller—only the size of a pinky joint—but its indigo color was much denser.

Daoist Yanyu nodded. "The quality is quite decent. Being able to achieve such results your first time refining materials with the Three Yang Spirit Fire is enough to prove Mu’s talent. Once you get used to wielding the Three Yang Spirit Fire, your Refinement results will be far better.

"From now on, you’ll follow me to learn Artifact Refining.

"Once you learn how to fuse different materials together, give form to a Magical Artifact, and carve Restrictions during the shaping process, you’ll be able to refine the first Magical Artifact of your life.

"I estimate that with your talent, coupled with the Three Yang Spirit Fire and my guidance, it should only take about a month."

"Thank you, Senior!" Mu Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up. Although Artifact Refining was exhausting, she felt it was much easier now that she had the Three Yang Spirit Fire. Hearing that she could personally refine her first Magical Artifact within a month filled her with anticipation.

Over the past month, Mu Xiaoyu’s primary focus had been on cultivation, sword practice, and learning Artifact Refining from Daoist Yanyu. Regarding her sword practice, the repaired White Rainbow Sword guided Mu Xiaoyu much faster than before, especially when combined with Li Yinsheng’s pointers. Even though Mu Xiaoyu had only spent two hours a day practicing the sword this month, she still managed to increase her count to forty-two Sword Lights.

Li Yinsheng had also claimed the reward of sixteen years of Cultivation when she cultivated thirty-two Sword Lights. However, although condensing the Three Yang Spirit Fire could be done simultaneously while cultivating, it was still far too difficult. By the time he condensed his first stream of Three Yang Spirit Fire in his body, his closed-door cultivation in the Grotto Heaven was nearly over. Therefore, he didn’t have much time to nurture his own Three Yang Spirit Fire, let alone birth a Fire Seed.

Fortunately, his junior sister seemed highly enthusiastic about "refining the first Magical Artifact of her life," and her progress while learning from Daoist Yanyu was never slow. Or perhaps, because she had gone through so much hardship to refine the Three Yang Spirit Fire, she felt that utilizing it more would make the effort worthwhile. In any case, after studying Artifact Refining under Daoist Yanyu for a month, Mu Xiaoyu indeed successfully refined her very first Magical Artifact.

When she succeeded for the first time, both Li Yinsheng and Shangguan Ling’Er were present. Her face brimming with excitement, Mu Xiaoyu rushed forward and hugged them both.

The first Magical Artifact she forged was a solid black bracelet that slowly twinkled with bright silver, starlike specks. It was an Inferior Defensive Magical Artifact, which perfectly covered her shortcomings for the Shifeng Conference she was to attend in two months. It was exceptionally nice.

However, Li Yinsheng felt a slight imperfection: the bracelet was quite large. It was completely unsuited for his junior sister’s dainty wrist, and Inferior Magical Artifacts didn’t seem to possess the ability to resize themselves at will. It wasn’t until Mu Xiaoyu grabbed his wrist with one hand while holding the bracelet in the other to compare sizes, then nodded in satisfaction, that Li Yinsheng realized the bracelet was actually for him.

He wasn’t overly sentimental about it. He ruffled his junior sister’s hair, thanked her, and slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. Although, strictly speaking, this Defensive Magical Artifact was akin to a fragile item that needed careful handling for him, he had absolutely no intention of refusing it.

Besides, he happened to have a return gift for his junior sister. Just as Xiaoyu refined the first Magical Artifact of her life, the Artifact Refining Master Cultivation Aspiration had also settled its first tier. Li Yinsheng gained another ten years of Cultivation from it. And coincidentally, he had also just condensed the first Fire Seed of his life.

Using his first Fire Seed as a return gift for his junior sister’s first Magical Artifact was simply perfect. Li Yinsheng was thoroughly satisfied.