Chapter 271 - 192: Magical Treasure Advancement

Chapter 271: Chapter 192: Magical Treasure Advancement

"AWOOOO!!"

A sharp, ear-piercing howl tore through the night sky, but the cry was filled with terror and despair. Immediately after, a large amount of blood gushed from its body, dyeing the surrounding ground red.

Zhao Zuo meticulously skinned the One Tier High-Level Demon Beast, pulled its tendons, and removed its bones. He collected all the valuable materials before finally extracting a bright red Demon Heart the size of a basketball.

Zhao Zuo had reached a point where he could advance no further. No matter how much Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power he absorbed, or how many Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects he consumed, he couldn’t increase his Mana by a single sliver. This wasn’t a bottleneck... it was the upper limit of what a human could achieve. Breaking through would require other means... like the Cloud Manipulation Art.

Since absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power no longer increased his strength, Zhao Zuo’s evenings were free. He decided to use this time to hunt Demon Beasts and earn Spirit Stones. He needed to upgrade his Black Flame Saber and Spirit Wood Bead as soon as possible; in fact, all his Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects needed an upgrade.

These Demon Beast materials were worth roughly six to seven thousand Spirit Stones. Zhao Zuo found a tree hollow, crawled inside, and swallowed a Pill Medicine to restore his Mana. He planned to hunt one more time, rest for two two-hour periods, and then get back to Artifact Refining, grinding for experience, and more Artifact Refining.

To guarantee his success rate, Zhao Zuo split his daily task of refining three Middle Grade Magical Artifacts into two sessions in the morning. He would then spend several hours recovering his mental energy before attempting the third refinement. While refining three times a day was still taxing, his success rate had improved considerably.

Combined with his Demon Beast hunts, the number of Spirit Stones in Zhao Zuo’s possession was increasing at an incredible rate. He had already gathered enough Spirit Stones to upgrade the Black Flame Saber, and the other two Artifact Refining materials he needed were on their way.

Next month, two of his Magical Artifacts would be upgraded.

About half an hour passed, and Zhao Zuo crawled out of the tree hollow. The sky was still dark. The snow underfoot showed signs of melting, but it remained thick. Many ravenous Demon Beasts lurked around the four major districts of the Moyun Workshop.

Zhao Zuo easily found a target. He first used the Breath-Concealing Ring to approach stealthily. Once within five meters, he activated the Sky-Breaking Saber and swung his Black Flame Saber. The former was faster and ideal for a sneak attack, while the latter’s overwhelming power could draw the enemy’s attention head-on.

The azure beast’s muscles bulged as it roared and lunged at Zhao Zuo. A foul wind swirled around it, threatening to tear him to shreds. Its blue fur was interspersed with black patterns, and a thick mane covered its chest and neck, giving it the appearance of a giant lion.

"SHING!"

The Sky-Breaking Saber’s speed was extraordinary, yet it created no turbulence. It left no trace in the darkness of the night... as if it didn’t exist in this space at all.

The Sky-Breaking Saber was currently moving at nearly ten times the speed of sound.

It pierced straight through the beast’s forehead, penetrating the skull and instantly turning its brain to pulp. Zhao Zuo immediately dispersed the Energy surrounding his Black Flame Saber and began expertly stripping the valuable materials from the Demon Beast. He also carved out several hundred pounds of Demon Beast meat before stopping.

In fact, Zhao Zuo had five Storage Bags in total, three of which were filled with Demon Beast meat. To keep it from spoiling, he had specifically dehydrated the meat, making it into five-spice jerky.

Zhao Zuo turned and left, returning to a safe house he had prepared in the outer region. There, he changed out of his dark clothes into a gray Taoist Robe, used a Cleaning Talisman to remove any lingering scents, and activated his Hundred-Change Mask to alter his aura.

After leaving, Zhao Zuo periodically altered his aura. He was being so cautious because he had learned from Liu Heng, who had just come out of seclusion, that the Mutual Aid Association had put out a bounty on him. The price for his location was twenty thousand Spirit Stones. Clearly, Chu Yijie wasn’t going to let him go.

That was why Zhao Zuo was so cautious. After all, compared to Chu Yijie, he was still relatively weak, disadvantaged in both status and influence.

’I’ll keep gathering strength, then turn the tables and crush them,’ Zhao Zuo thought, clenching his fist. After quickly leaving the safe house and returning home, he once again threw himself into grinding for experience and practicing Artifact Refining.

In the blink of an eye, early April arrived. The Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s Flying Ship reached the Moyun Workshop as scheduled. Zhao Zuo gazed at the colossal Flying Ship hovering in mid-air. It was about a hundred meters long and seven meters wide. Its hull was semi-circular, with no visible seams, looking as if it had been carved from a single, ancient tree.

The upper section resembled a ship from Zhao Zuo’s memories, yet it was vastly different. It consisted of rows of small, exquisite cabins stacked three stories high.

The decorations on the First-Layer and Second-Layer were simple, emphasizing practicality. The rooms weren’t large... merely places for a simple rest.

The Third-Layer, however, was far more luxurious. It held only two palace-like residences, each about a hundred square meters, located at the front and back of the Flying Ship.

On the platform between the two palaces stood three enormous sails. The tallest was about forty meters high and over ten meters wide, clearly designed to harness the airflow during flight and reduce Energy consumption.

Most of those residences were occupied; only a few had unlit nameplates by their doors. As for cargo, it was transported entirely via Storage Bags.

Zhao Zuo watched as three figures on the Flying Ship transformed into streaks of light and flew toward the Moyun Sect. Several others descended toward the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, while some people with tickets boarded the ship.

The Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s Flying Ship would only stop at the Moyun Workshop for twenty minutes.

Sure enough, after twenty minutes, the Flying Ship began to rise. Even from several kilometers away, Zhao Zuo could feel the powerful Wind Series Energy lifting the heavy vessel like a giant, causing it to accelerate steadily.

It eventually shrank in Zhao Zuo’s vision until it was just a dot. He stood, paid for his tea, and immediately headed for the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. The Flying Ship’s arrival meant the Artifact Refining materials he needed had finally arrived. The upgrade for his Qilin Seal was at hand...

Just as Zhao Zuo had expected, the materials for the Qilin Seal’s upgrade had been gathered. After he paid the remaining balance, all three materials were in his hands.

The first was the Soul-Clearing Spirit Nourishing Jade, a crystal-clear, light-green crystal. Inside it, several streams of dark-green vapor constantly swirled, emitting a faint chill. Even a simple touch was enough to invigorate one’s mind. The second was the Obsidian Spirit Gathering Stone, a black polyhedron that could gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power.

The last item was the Hundred-Year Spirit Stone Marrow, a silvery liquid typically found at the core of Spirit Stone veins. It had no special properties of its own but could amplify the effects of other materials, essentially acting as a booster. For this reason, it was added during the refining of most Magical Treasures.

With all his preparations complete, Zhao Zuo eagerly returned to his residence.

....

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