Chapter 476 - 445: Unexpected Guests

Chapter 476: Chapter 445: Unexpected Guests

"Of course."

Given how wholeheartedly he had taught the master-disciple pair, Jia Chaoyuan and Liang Yuan, it was highly unlikely that Chen Che would refuse his request.

Yu Qian was overjoyed.

Cultivators naturally kept their Magical Artifacts hidden and would not easily reveal them to others. However, he had heard about several of Chen Che’s major battles and learned of this Gourd’s accomplishments.

As an Artifact Refiner, he was truly curious.

"This Gourd is anything but ordinary."

He carefully took the Gourd, and its terrifying weight almost made him drop it. He quickly used both hands to support it, examining it closely. After a long while, he finally nodded, having gotten a measure of it.

The Gourd itself wasn’t heavy; it was quite unremarkable.

What was heavy was the ’shell.’

Seeing everyone ask what was so unusual about it, he explained:

"I can’t see through this item, nor do I know its origin. I can’t even tell its Grade. If I’m not mistaken, this is definitely an Innate Spiritual Treasure. I must say, Valley Master Chen’s luck is truly enviable."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Innate items were formed by the great power of heaven and earth through serendipitous chances; most were one-in-a-million treasures.

Most of what everyone knew came from rumors and ancient texts. The fallen ancestor of the Yu Family, who founded the Star-Picking Sect, had possessed a "Cyan Leaf"-type Innate Treasure that was invincible in battle.

If he hadn’t fallen, not only would the Star-Picking Sect have never fallen into the hands of the Du Clan, but the several major Golden Core powers nearby would have eventually been swallowed up by the Star-Picking Sect as well.

After he finished speaking, Yu Qian again examined the Gourd’s exterior, tapped it with his hand, and asked curiously, "But speaking of which, what’s with the Jade Marrow and Celestial Profound Secret Gold on the outside of this Gourd, and this rope?"

"I was bored, so I modified it a little."

Chen Che explained his idea.

"Valley Master Chen, you’re quite ingenious."

He had thought Yu Qian would think he was wasting a priceless treasure, but unexpectedly, the man’s eyes lit up after hearing his explanation.

"Normally, when an item like this is brought out, everyone is on guard against its special abilities. But who would pay attention to its weight? To suddenly hurl it out... no wonder Lu Wanli was sent coughing up blood in a single move back then."

"It’s just that the craftsmanship is a bit poor..."

Yu Qian added.

Chen Che gave an embarrassed smile.

He wasn’t a professional Artifact Refiner, after all. He was lacking by more than just a little in that department.

"Valley Master Chen, would you allow me to modify this Gourd?"

Seeing Chen Che’s confusion, Yu Qian continued, "Don’t worry, I don’t intend to alter the Gourd’s main body. Besides, I don’t have the ability to modify an Innate Treasure. I’m planning to remake the Gourd’s outer shell..."

"That’s not a problem."

It was just a small project; of course Chen Che wouldn’t refuse.

"This is the list of materials needed to modify the Gourd Shell. Please take a look, Valley Master Chen."

With a flick of his two fingers, Yu Qian materialized a list with his True Essence.

Chen Che took it and glanced over it, his eyelids immediately twitching.

’Good heavens, more than seventy different materials!’ he thought. He had originally assumed it would just be a simple reforging of the Gourd Shell. But the materials on the list were substantial—enough to forge two or three Tier Three High Grade Magical Artifacts.

There was even a good amount of Tier Four Ore. It would be impossible to gather these things in a short amount of time. The difficulty was no less than searching for a Qingxu Guiyuan Pill.

"This..."

Chen Che looked up, curious.

"It was you who inspired me, Valley Master Chen."

Seeing Chen Che’s puzzlement, Yu Qian said with a smile:

"Simply reforging the Gourd Shell is easy, it wouldn’t take more than three to five days. But why not make the shell into a Magical Artifact as well? Imagine, when others are guarding against the Gourd’s Suppressing Power, you suddenly throw the Gourd itself at them. Who could possibly withstand that?"

"Moreover, we can set up an Array on the shell to enhance the Gourd’s own power, creating a ’Mother-Child Type’ Magical Artifact."

Chen Che, who had been hesitant, immediately cast his doubts aside.

So-called ’Mother-Child Type’ Magical Artifacts were typically a set of two, one large and one small. In such artifacts, the mother and child components supported each other, and their combined power far surpassed other artifacts of the Same Tier. At the same time, they could be used to catch an opponent off guard.

Moreover, he still hadn’t been able to fully unleash the power of this Yellow Gourd. He wondered to what level it would be elevated if it were made into a Mother-Child Type Magical Artifact.

Plus, he had already tasted the sweet success of his sneak attack on Lu Wanli. Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for him to defeat Lu Wanli within ten moves. But on Celestial Beam Mountain, a single strike from the Gourd had heavily injured him.

It had completely awed the spectating Golden Core True Masters.

"Alright."

Chen Che folded the list and put it away. "Once we’re out of here, I’ll release this list and have people gather the materials."

He was already starting to look forward to the modified Gourd. "As payment for modifying my Gourd, I will also refine a cauldron of Pills for the Yu Clan, free of charge."

When doing things, it was natural to have give and take.

After all, modifying the Gourd was not part of their previous agreement; it was an extra item. Chen Che, who disliked taking advantage of others, naturally took the initiative to mention it.

"Does that include the Qingxu Guiyuan Pill?" Yu Yunko’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Of course."

Chen Che nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Valley Master Chen."

Yu Yunko couldn’t hide her joy and cupped her hands in thanks.

The value of advancement Pills was self-evident; they were indispensable for all Cultivators. But such Pills were monopolized by the major powers. The rare one or two that leaked out would cause various factions to fight over them.

The reason the Yu Race had produced so many Golden Core True Masters was due to the accumulation of their early ancestors.

In fact, the clan’s supply of Qingxu Guiyuan Pills had been depleted two hundred years ago.

During this period, several clan members had failed in their attempts at forced Core Formation without advancement Pills. The lucky ones managed to form a Fake Pill; the unlucky ones were reduced to ash under the Celestial Tribulation.

The Pill that Yu Yunfei had used was one she and several other Golden Core True Masters of the clan had fought to the death for. If they could open up a stable path to obtaining advancement Pills, it would be a joyous occasion of immense proportions for the Yu Race.

"It’s a matter of mutual benefit."

Chen Che replied with a smile.

Now that the Magical Artifact was forged, the group couldn’t just stay cooped up in the back mountain. They walked and laughed as they left the forbidden area.

As they passed through the forest, all the Liu Clan Members bowed their heads.

...

As for "the Scissors," very few In the Valley could use them. After all, the item was of a rather high Grade; even the old master could barely manage a single strike with it.

So, the item was temporarily kept in Chen Che’s possession.

Fortunately, the Scissors were not difficult to use. It only required a bit of Sacrificial Refinement to be put to use.

As for gathering the materials, it went far faster than expected. The broken Magical Artifacts obtained from the battle against Yu Zhen and the others contained more than half of what was needed. He just had to melt them down, which he didn’t mind at all.

The rest would have to be collected slowly.

The leftover materials from the Duster were given to Li Changqing to make into a Talisman Brush.

Meanwhile, Yu Yunko and Xiao Chan were getting along very well.

She also came to understand why Xiao Chan had always remained indifferent to the Yu Race’s attempts to recruit him.

「As time went on.」

The aftershocks of the great battle at Faqian City gradually dissipated, and the world of Cultivators slowly settled down. However, Jinyun Valley gained a new disciple in his fifties: Li Cang, the man Xiao Chan had brought back from the White Lion Dynasty.

For most people, it was far too late to start Cultivation at this age, and his future achievements would be limited.

He was even subjected to a fair bit of ridicule.

However, when some disciples learned that Li Cang was a Registered Disciple of "Hermit Fushan," they immediately apologized in a panic. Although Hermit Fushan was only a Tributor In the Valley, he was a Golden Core True Master, after all.

Even a Registered Disciple held an extraordinary status.

But Li Cang remained unfazed by all this.

He had, after all, once been a secular Emperor and had passed Xiao Chan’s test. Of course he wouldn’t care about such matters; he just focused on his daily Cultivation in peace.

Of course, the various subordinate families under Jinyun Valley’s jurisdiction couldn’t help but quietly turn their attention to Chen Che. This was because most of the Valley’s Chiefs and other important high-ranking members already had disciples. When would this Valley Master finally take a disciple of his own?

However, that was as far as their thoughts went.

After all, anyone who could catch the Valley Master’s eye would probably need to have unparalleled talent.

The talk both inside and outside the Valley served as a reminder for Chen Che. Jinyun Valley’s ’source of students’ was truly limited, making it difficult to find disciples with superior Spiritual Roots. So, he simply posted a long-term, repeatable quest in the mission hall:

Talent Search!

The minimum requirement was a Middle Spirit Root. For every such person brought back, a reward would be given.

Of course, the higher the Spirit Root Level, the greater the reward.

As long as they could bring back a few disciples with Upper Spirit Roots, or even higher, it would be a massive gain.

After several days of rest, just as Yu Qian was preparing to continue forging the next Magical Artifact, an unexpected guest arrived at Jinyun Valley:

The Hong Alliance Leader, and Zhao Shifeng, the man who had once tried to force his way into the valley and was now wanted.