Chapter 171 - 118: Martial Uncle’s Opportunity

Chapter 171: Chapter 118: Martial Uncle’s Opportunity

In Xuanzhen Temple, inside Mu Xiaoyu’s Artifact Refining Room.

A cluster of Three Yang Spirit Fire hovered before her. Under the guidance of her Divine Sense and Artifact Manipulation Skill, several molten drops of the Fire Seed gradually merged together.

After making up her mind to forge a Lower Grade Magical Artifact within a month and a half, she begged her senior martial brother to allocate another room to her and converted it into an Artifact Refining Room. This made it much more convenient for her Artifact Refining.

Li Yinsheng naturally had no reason to refuse his junior martial sister’s proactive efforts. Besides, if there was one thing Xuanzhen Temple did not lack, it was rooms.

Once she had her own Artifact Refining Room, Mu Xiaoyu practically lived in it, endlessly refining artifacts all day long. More than half a month later, she took it a step further, sleeping directly in the Artifact Refining Room at night and resuming her work the moment she woke up the next day.

Only one motivation sustained her—

To trick her senior martial brother out of his Fire Seed while Shangguan was still around, and then have Shangguan help her refine it!

Of course, no matter how hard she worked during this period, she still went to her senior martial brother every day to collect her Cultivation Fruit. Artifact Refining was important, but skipping out on eating her Cultivation Fruit was out of the question.

After several materials condensed into shape, Mu Xiaoyu continuously formed hand seals for her Technique, embedding Restrictions one after another into the unfinished Magical Artifact. As the number of Restrictions increased, the roughly formed Magical Artifact became increasingly unstable until it suddenly shattered, scattering all over the floor.

Mu Xiaoyu adjusted her breathing, completely undeterred, and pulled new materials from her Qiankun Bag.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she clenched her fists and cheered herself on, "Almost there, almost there. I’m already very close to success now. If I just try a few more times...

"At this rate, I won’t even need a month and a half. In just about a month, I’ll be able to forge my first Lower Grade Magical Artifact!"

Meanwhile, in Jiang Ningzhi’s bedroom.

"Sigh, Miss Shangguan still went back. She only stayed for a month this time," Li Yinsheng said, sitting by the bed and shaking his head with a sigh.

Under the earnest entreaties of him and his Martial Uncle, Shangguan Ling’Er hadn’t left immediately; instead, she stayed at Xuanzhen Temple for a month. However, she had finally returned this morning. According to her, if she delayed any longer, she would truly miss the cultivation arranged by her master.

Given that, neither he nor his Martial Uncle could force her to stay.

After agreeing to meet her at the Dharma Vein a month before the Dao examination, Li Yinsheng saw Shangguan Ling’Er off, then came to find his Martial Uncle.

"What? Ling’Er just left and you’re already missing her?" Junior Martial Uncle Jiang asked, sitting on the bed with a faint, unreadable tone.

Li Yinsheng nodded. "Yeah. It would have been great if Miss Shangguan could have stayed a bit longer."

"Oh?" Junior Martial Uncle Jiang’s tone lifted slightly.

"She has incredible accomplishments in the Path of the Five Elements. While she was here, I asked her a lot about the Magic Techniques of the Six Interpretations of Life and Death," Li Yinsheng lamented. "During her visit this time, I also sought her guidance on how to wield the Three Yang Spirit Fire. I benefited immensely."

Speaking solely of the Six Interpretations of Life and Death, he had attained a profound understanding of it after over a century of arduous cultivation. Yet, Shangguan Ling’Er’s insights still held immense value for him. After all, she studied under an Imperial Decree Daoist, and her family possessed many elders with profound Cultivation. Her sheer vision and breadth of knowledge were far beyond what Li Yinsheng could compare to.

Furthermore, Shangguan Ling’Er had been an even greater help to him regarding the application of the Three Yang Spirit Fire. After all, the most profound Fire Technique he had ever come into contact with before was the Burning Wind Skill, enhanced by the Qingxuan Divine Light. As for his experience in wielding Fire Techniques, it had been strictly limited to boiling water, cooking meals, and burning away the Chongyun at Bamboo Forest Peak.

During Shangguan Ling’Er’s month at Xuanzhen Temple, he had discussed the Dao with her almost every day. His understanding and application of Fire Techniques had progressed by leaps and bounds.

Of course, since it was a discussion of the Dao, both parties naturally reaped benefits.

His comprehensions and experiences regarding the Six Interpretations of Life and Death were something Shangguan Ling’Er—who merely used it as a reference—could hardly match. After he unreservedly shared these insights and experiences, Shangguan Ling’Er also made significant progress in the Path of Wood.

Additionally, although he lacked experience in utilizing Fire Techniques, when it came to nurturing Spirit Fire and strengthening flames, he far surpassed Shangguan Ling’Er. Thus, after their Dao discussions, her gains in both the Fire and Wood Paths were considerable.

During this period, she sighed in awe more than once, marveling that Li Yinsheng had the talent of a Demon. This was because he was not only able to elevate his mastery of the Six Interpretations of Life and Death and the Three Yang Spirit Fire to such a high level in a short time, but he could also articulate it with utmost clarity.

It was worth noting that many Cultivators with exceptional talent, herself included, would often rely purely on their innate gifts and intuition to brute-force their way past hurdles and bottlenecks while practicing Cultivation Techniques. As a result, even though they wouldn’t get stuck by the bottlenecks themselves, they would find it incredibly difficult to explain to others exactly how those bottlenecks were supposed to be broken through.

In the end, it would often boil down to a simple, "That’s just how it is. It’s so obvious; why can’t you understand?"

She and Jiang Ningzhi were just like that. In the past, they had tried explaining the Path of the Five Elements and the Path of Sword Cultivation to each other. The result was that Jiang Ningzhi failed to comprehend a fair portion of the Path of the Five Elements she spoke of, while she completely failed to grasp the vast majority of the Path of Sword Cultivation that Jiang Ningzhi described. And back then, the content they had been explaining to each other was what they considered to be relatively elementary.

However, when she discussed the Dao with Li Yinsheng, this problem didn’t exist.

He would explain things with meticulous detail, clear logic, and flawless reasoning. Shangguan Ling’Er suspected that even Cultivators with average—or outright poor—talent would easily be able to follow along.

This proved that his understanding of the laws he cultivated had already reached a microscopic level of detail. Even for those hurdles he could have easily bypassed with his innate talent and intuition, he made sure to completely comprehend them, refusing to be the slightest bit careless. Moreover, he could easily achieve this in an incredibly short span of time.

Other prodigies had neither this level of talent nor this dedication to constant perfection. Even someone as proud as Shangguan Ling’Er could only sigh in absolute admiration at this.

Faced with her sincere and heartfelt admiration, Li Yinsheng could only respond with silence and change the subject. There was no meticulous detailing or dedication to constant perfection on his end; he was merely cultivating step-by-step according to the system.

"It’s a pity that Miss Shangguan stayed for too short a time. There’s still so much I haven’t learned from her," Li Yinsheng sighed, shaking his head.

He thought, "Hopefully, by the time I visit the Dharma Vein at the end of the year, Miss Shangguan will have finished her secluded meditation so we can continue our Dao discussions.

"Huh? Speaking of which, doesn’t that mean I’ll also be meeting her master, the Imperial Decree Daoist who also cultivates the Path of the Five Elements?

"If that’s the case, I could seek guidance from her master too. My gains will definitely be even greater!"

"So, Yin Sheng, you had your eyes on Ling’Er’s accumulated foundational knowledge." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang’s brows relaxed as she nodded. "Your cultivation progresses too quickly. You do indeed need to discuss the Dao more often to make up for your lack of foundation.

"Unfortunately, although we are both Sword Cultivators, the path you walk focuses heavily on technique rather than intent—the exact opposite of mine."

A hint of regret appeared on her face. "Your Sword Technique in the Great Zhenren Realm has already reached Mastery. The only things I can teach you are some of the more foundational aspects among Daoist Sword Cultivators."

Besides, even if Li Yinsheng walked the path of Sword Intent, there wouldn’t be much she could teach him. After all, the path of Sword Intent was far too individualized; the differences between distinct Sword Intents were astronomical.

"What you’ve taught me has already been very useful, Martial Uncle," Li Yinsheng smiled.

The Heavy Sword Intent and the Heavy Sword Technique were admittedly different paths, but their foundations were ultimately connected.

"Speaking of which, while I can’t offer you any help regarding Sword Techniques, there’s another matter where I might be of assistance," Junior Martial Uncle Jiang suddenly smiled.

Curious, Li Yinsheng asked, "What matter are you referring to, Martial Uncle?"

"A few days ago, didn’t you mention that your body has an extreme affinity for the Metal Element, making it very suitable for wielding Metal Element treasures?" she asked. "I just thought of a place that might allow you to obtain a Metal Element treasure."

Li Yinsheng’s interest was immediately piqued. "Please elaborate, Martial Uncle."

"When I first became a Daoist, I once obtained a precious Spiritual Object highly suited for Sword Cultivators. Its foundation lies in the Metal Element, and it brims with Spirituality. It was also perfect for bearing Sword Intent, which is why I refined it into my Lifebound Treasure."

"The White Rainbow Sword?" Li Yinsheng asked.

"Exactly. It was Bai Hong." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang nodded with a smile. "However, when I found Bai Hong, I also sensed another, much purer streak of Metal Element Qi.

"That streak of Metal Element Qi was almost too pure, making it less suitable than Bai Hong for bearing Sword Intent. Even if I had obtained it, I still would have used Bai Hong to forge my Lifebound Treasure.

"But the wisp of Metal Element Qi I sensed was incredibly pure and abundant—an absolute treasure that was in no way inferior to Bai Hong. In fact, it might have even surpassed it.

"Since I had stumbled upon it, I naturally had no reason to let it go.

"Unfortunately, the Metal Element Qi seemed to be obscured by something. It vanished in a flash.

"I scoured the surroundings afterward and spent several months searching, but I came up completely empty-handed.

"It just so happened that Ling’Er came looking for me to explore an ancient ruin cave dwelling, so I had to memorize the location and temporarily leave.

"After that, I ran into quite a few other matters and never found the time to return and investigate, but I remember the location of that place very clearly.

"Previously, your Major Cultivation was the Wood Element. Although you’re a Sword Cultivator, you had no involvement with the Path of the Metal Element, so I never brought it up to you.

"But since you now have an affinity for the Metal Element, there’s no harm in going to explore it. Who knows, you might just reap an Exotic Treasure!

"Moreover, since you mainly cultivate Sword Techniques and don’t focus on Sword Intent, refining this Metal Element treasure into a Flying Sword would suit you perfectly."

Li Yinsheng’s eyes lit up brilliantly, unapologetic excitement plastered across his face. If it weren’t for the boundaries between men and women, he would have loved nothing more than to throw his arms around his Martial Uncle and plant a kiss on her.

He knew all too well how incredible the foundation of the White Rainbow Sword was. And this Metal Element Exotic Treasure was actually superior to Bai Hong before it was refined into a Magical Treasure? If this treasure was refined into a Flying Sword, it would undoubtedly be incomparably precious and formidable!

But after calming down a little, he felt a pang of concern.

"Martial Uncle, that was so many years ago. Are you sure the Exotic Treasure is still there? Could it have already been taken by someone else who was fated for it?"

Jiang Ningzhi coughed lightly. "The exact number of years isn’t important, nor do you need to worry.

"That place is in the Mortal Realm. You could say it’s such a remote place that no one would ever notice it. Even I only stopped to search because my Sword Intent was triggered while passing by; that’s how I found Bai Hong in the first place.

"I figure unless our luck is exceptionally terrible, it shouldn’t have been discovered by anyone else."

Li Yinsheng felt somewhat relieved.

"However, that place is in the Mortal Realm, which isn’t close to Xuanzhen Temple. If you decide to go, it’ll likely be the farthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

"Although, for a Grand Daoist, it can’t exactly be considered very far," Junior Martial Uncle Jiang chuckled.

"Further is fine. It’ll be the perfect chance to test out my newly cultivated Escape Skill," Li Yinsheng smiled. He had completely mastered the Meteor Escape and had been fretting over the lack of a proper opportunity to put it to use.

"That’s good then." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang nodded, then added, "However, while I remember the location, I can’t exactly draw a detailed Geomancy Map for you by hand.

"Go to Baoguang Temple and buy a ready-made Geomancy Map that includes that area. Get the most detailed one you can find, and I’ll mark the location for you."

Li Yinsheng nodded and asked, "Martial Uncle, a Geomancy Map of which area do I need to buy to make sure it includes that place?"

"Hmm..." Junior Martial Uncle Jiang thought for a moment before speaking, "Just buy a map of the Dayong Dynasty in the Mortal Realm."