“Little Friend Li, what are you planning to do next? Would you be willing to visit the Central Plains Spirit Domain? I happen to have an Opportunity to offer you!” Celestial Venerable Tian Shang asked Li Mu with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu’s heart stirred, and he frowned in thought.
Li Mu’s original plan was to return to Yin Yang Valley, plant Spirit Plants, continue to improve his Cultivation, and research some Plant Spiritual Roots to undergo the Seven-rank True Spirit Thunder Tribulation, assisting the Azure Jade Ginseng King in Undergoing Tribulation, and then refine a batch of Spirit Swords and Spirit Treasures.
This unexpected battle resulted in heavy losses for Li Mu; Myriad Swords Mountain was severely damaged, and while the core Artifact Spirit suffered no losses, many Spirit Swords were lost during the escape.
Also, when setting up the Five Elements Grand Formation with the four Beast Companions, the five-tier Little Gold and Little Tile were far from strong enough, and the Crimson Refining Fire Phoenix’s growth still couldn’t keep up, making it impossible to fully unleash the power of the six-tier Five Elements Array Instrument.
They all needed time to settle and continue to Breakthrough their Cultivation.
Moreover, Li Mu had always been less interested in exploring Immortal Cave ruins, adventuring for treasures, or traveling thousands of miles to the Central Plains Spirit Domain for Opportunities.
“Thank you for the Senior’s guidance, but next, I plan to enter seclusion to recuperate for a period and make up for my deficiencies in Cultivation. As for going to the Central Plains Spirit Domain, I think I’ll pass!” Li Mu said, politely declining with an apologetic look at Celestial Venerable Tian Shang after thinking it through.
…
Upon hearing this, everyone present exchanged glances, their feelings inexplicably complex.
Li Mu was already so strong, yet he still felt his own shortcomings and needed to enter seclusion to Cultivate. How could they possibly compare?
Compared to him, their many years of Cultivation seemed to have gone to waste!
“Little Friend Li, don’t be so quick to refuse! You haven’t even heard what kind of Opportunity it is!” Celestial Venerable Kun Ling looked at Li Mu, urgently trying to persuade him.
“Uh! What kind of Opportunity is it?” Li Mu asked with a chuckle, playing along with Celestial Venerable Kun Ling’s words.
Celestial Venerable Kun Ling took a breath, looked at Li Mu, and transmitted a detailed explanation: “The Eight Great Families of the Central Plains Spirit Domain have been able to continue for so many years primarily because they control the Cang Yuan Secret Realm. This is a Small World extremely rich in high-grade auxiliary Cultivation Materials, possessing the most important Spirit Medicine for Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators to advance to Soul Transformation Stage—the Tuoluo Spirit Flower, which is the main Material used to refine the five-tier Soul-Calming Soul Transformation Stage Pill. In addition, there are also the Jade Void Spirit Ganoderma and Purple Firmament Spirit Flower required for six-tier Spirit Pills, and six-tier Sky Burning Stone, Seven-Star Golden Jade, and so on, these high-grade Spirit Plants, Spirit Ores, and Spirit Woods.”
“In short, the Cang Yuan Secret Realm, this Small World, holds Opportunities beyond our world’s imagination. If one gains anything from entering it, the success rate of advancing to Soul Transformation Stage can increase by at least 30%.”
“By controlling the Cang Yuan Secret Realm for nearly 20,000 years, the Eight Great Families of the Central Plains have produced nearly a thousand Transformation God cultivators, thus establishing the Foundation of Great Families.”
“The Cang Yuan Secret Realm is just a Small World and cannot withstand battles between high-level Cultivators within it. It is only suitable for Nascent Soul Realm and Golden Core Realm Cultivators to enter. Therefore, the Eight Great Families have agreed upon a quota distribution…”
“Little Friend Li possesses unparalleled strength, and we intend to recommend you to enter the Cang Yuan Secret Realm under the name of an external guest of the Kun Family to acquire resources and help you advance to Soul Transformation Stage as soon as possible…”
Celestial Venerable Kun Ling’s Divine Thought transmission, in just a few breaths, clearly introduced the information related to the Cang Yuan Secret Realm.
Li Mu was slightly stunned, not expecting Celestial Venerable Kun Ling to trust him so much as to recommend him to enter such a high-grade resource-rich Small World. He couldn’t help but feel a little tempted.
For other Nascent Soul cultivators, if they heard about the five-tier Soul-Calming Soul Transformation Stage Pill, they would probably drop whatever they were doing immediately and try to acquire the Tuoluo Spirit Flower!
The success rate of Nascent Soul advancing to Soul Transformation Stage is much lower than Foundation Establishment advancing to Golden Core, with eight or nine out of ten failing and being trapped in the Nascent Soul Stage for life. If assisted by the Soul-Calming Soul Transformation Stage Pill refined from the Tuoluo Spirit Flower, the success rate increases to 30%.
This Opportunity held a fatal attraction for any Nascent Soul cultivator.
This was probably also the main reason why the Eight Great Families could establish themselves in the Central Plains Spirit Domain. The long lifespan and powerful strength of Transformation God cultivators were the basis for the next advancement, which was the Foundation of a Family.
However, for Li Mu, relying on Plant Spirit Absorption and Identifying Myriad Spirits, these two Heavenly Talents, and a proficiency panel, Nascent Soul Breakthrough to Soul Transformation Realm was a certainty and did not require other Spirit Pill assistance.
He only needed to stay in Yin Yang Valley and continue planting Spirit Plants; there was no need to participate in this Opportunity and risk potential dangers.
However, the high-grade Spirit Materials and Spirit Plants in the Cang Yuan Secret Realm attracted Li Mu.
Li Mu frowned deeply, weighing the pros and cons, and for a moment, he hesitated, unable to make a decision.
“Little Friend Li, with your Artifact Refining skill, you can indeed easily acquire some auxiliary Cultivation resources, and you don’t value Opportunities much. However, Cultivation, you know! It’s not just about Cultivating.” Celestial Venerable Tian Shang looked at Li Mu, indicating.
After a pause, Celestial Venerable Tian Shang looked at Li Mu with a smile and added, “Moreover, this Opportunity is not urgent; there are still thirty-three years. With so much time, if Little Friend Li wants to enter seclusion to improve, it should be enough!”
Upon hearing this, Li Mu’s eyes lit up. So much time left, why didn’t he say so earlier! He thought the Cang Yuan Secret Realm was about to begin!
Thirty-three years would be enough for Li Mu to plant another batch of four-tier Five Elements and Yin and Yang Spirit Plants. By then, his Cultivation could rise another level, and refining new Spirit Swords and Spirit Treasures would completely elevate his strength another notch.
There was no temporal conflict between the two.
Li Mu was no longer troubled and nodded decisively at Celestial Venerable Tian Shang: “Then there should be no problem! At that time, I will presumptuously disturb Senior!”
“Haha! That’s good!” Celestial Venerable Tian Shang burst into happy laughter, delighted to have Li Mu as an ally.
Seeing that they had settled the matter, Qingwei Venerable and Venerable Lei Hong, who had been waiting impatiently without intervening, were finally able to speak.
“Due to the recent incident with the Wu Tian Demon Ancestor, the Five Sect Alliance now only has Yu Ling Sect left. When the Nine Demon Sect certainly won’t give up on its sect, Little Friend Li, would you be able to trouble you to re-refine our sect’s protective Array Instrument?” Qingwei Venerable looked at Li Mu, indicating.
“That’s naturally no problem. I wonder if Senior has prepared the Artifact Refining Materials?” Li Mu nodded cheerfully, looking at Qingwei Venerable and Venerable Lei Hong as he asked.
He owed Qingwei Venerable a great debt for arriving in time to save his life this time. Helping to upgrade the Thunder Hammer for the protective Thunder Formation was a simple matter for Li Mu.
“Yes, yes! For the Purple Firmament Spiritual Hammer, we gathered a large amount of six-tier lightning-attribute Spirit Materials with the full power of our sect. Great Master Li, please take a look, are these enough!” Venerable Lei Hong nodded excitedly, pulling out a storage ring from his bosom and handing it to Li Mu.
Li Mu took the storage ring and immersed his Divine Sense into it.
“Six-tier Thunder-Shaking Crystal, six-tier Purple Firmament Thunder Stone… the quantity and quality of these Spirit Materials are sufficient! Senior Lei, you’ve worked hard!” Li Mu ‘saw’ the Materials inside the storage ring and couldn’t help but look at Venerable Lei Hong with renewed respect, exclaiming in surprise.
“Hehe, many of them I searched for on Myriad Thunder Island. As long as the Spirit Materials are enough, it’s good. Great Master Li, I trouble you!” Venerable Lei Hong explained happily and entrusted the task.
“Give me the three Array Instruments of the Thunder Prison Grand Formation! I need to study them further and try to establish a connection between them, making them a single entity.” Li Mu nodded, looking at Venerable Lei Hong.
Venerable Lei Hong nodded understandingly. The next second, he waved his hand, and three Spirit Treasures emitting lightning glows—two six-tier spirit treasures, a Formation Plate and a pagoda, and one five-tier Acquired Spirit Treasure, the Purple Firmament Spiritual Hammer—appeared before Li Mu.
Li Mu collected them, immersed his Divine Sense, and began examining their Artifact Runes one by one.
Six-tier Artifact Refining Skill endowed Li Mu with knowledge of six-tier spirit treasure Artifact Runes, Artifact Aura, Artifact Nature, Artifact Formations, and many other aspects.
With the Artifact Runes and Artifact Formation templates of two six-tier spirit treasures as reference, Li Mu’s understanding of lightning-type Spirit Treasures and lightning-type Array Instruments rapidly strengthened.
Seeing Li Mu fully engrossed in the study of Artifact Refining, as if no one else was around, Qingwei Venerable, Venerable Lei Hong, and the other four exchanged glances and tacitly left the main hall, leaving the place to him.
“With this level of dedication, it’s not surprising at all that Great Master Li can Breakthrough to Grandmaster Refiner.”
After everyone left the main hall, Qingwei Venerable looked at Li Mu, who was focused on studying the Spirit Treasures, and said with emotion.
“Indeed, Little Friend Li, with this Heart-Nature and Aptitude, I fear he won’t be long before he surpasses us!” Celestial Venerable Kun Ling said with emotion.
“Isn’t that too soon! Great Master Li is still only a Nascent Soul cultivator!” Venerable Lei Hong looked at Celestial Venerable Kun Ling in disbelief. Were these words spoken by a Void Refining Cultivator?
“Lei Sect Master, you really shouldn’t disbelieve. This battle completely showed us what a Prodigy is. What I just said was not a single false word. He was on the battlefield, using his own power to slay four Nascent Divinity Demon Lords, and they were all Late Stage Demon Lords, old-timers like Nine Bones, Blood Slaughter, and Corpse Dock. Furthermore, Buddha Subduer was so frightened by his single move that he fled in disarray.” Celestial Venerable Kun Ling looked at Venerable Lei Hong, saying with emotion.
“Indeed. If it weren’t for Little Friend Li’s final warning, we might have fallen into the hands of the Wu Tian Demon Ancestor. I don’t know how he saw the change in Wu Tian!” Qingwei Venerable nodded in agreement, saying with lingering fear.
Venerable Lei Hong nodded blankly, still somewhat disbelieving. He hadn’t expected that Great Master Li was not only formidable in Artifact Refining but also as strong in combat as his Artifact Refining Skill?
“This old man’s injuries have not yet healed. I will recuperate in your sect for a period and leave with Great Master Li.” Celestial Venerable Tian Shang coughed lightly, indicating.
“Good, good! Senior, please follow me to the back mountain. There happens to be a quiet Cultivation spot suitable for Senior to recover from injuries.” Venerable Lei Hong made an inviting gesture and led the way.
The Kun Family was one of the Eight Great Families of the Central Plains Spirit Domain, with extraordinary strength. Currently, the Nine Demon Sect in the Southern Wilderness Spirit Domain was gradually gaining momentum, acting recklessly, often destroying sects and slaughtering clans. Yu Ling Sect needed a fallback, and the Kun Family was a good choice.
Venerable Lei Hong warmly entertained the two Kun Family Elders, hinting at the idea of relocating the sect and seeking a patron.
Seven days passed in a flash.
Yu Ling Sect, Yu Feng Mountain.
“Boom!” A thunderous roar, countless thunder clouds, and violent thunder Origin Qi gathered, causing the sky and earth to darken.
Qingwei Venerable and Venerable Lei Hong arrived swiftly, appearing in the main hall, followed closely by Tian Shang and Kun Ling.
Entering the main hall, they saw Li Mu accompanied by three small, spiritualized Artifact Spirits: a purple-blue Thunder Tiger, a purple Thunder Roc, and a purple-green Thunder Dragon. They chased and played with each other, lively and incomparably joyful. They emitted Purple Firmament Thunder Origin Qi of the same attribute, yet somehow seemed similar but not quite.
“Lei Sect Master, this Artifact has been refined. Please inspect it.” Li Mu looked at the four people entering and smiled slightly, signaling to Venerable Lei Hong.
“Good, good! Excellent! The Purple Firmament Spiritual Hammer is definitely fine, and it’s rare for the Purple Firmament Thunder Pagoda and Purple Firmament Formation Plate to also manifest their Artifact Spirits!” Seeing this scene, Venerable Lei Hong was overjoyed and said with full confidence.
As soon as his words fell, the Thunder Roc and Thunder Dragon immediately discovered their master. They excitedly flew over, circling around Venerable Lei Hong. The purple-blue Thunder Tiger looked hesitant, unable to let go of its two brothers, and walked hesitantly towards Venerable Lei Hong, yet seemed respectful and fearful, not daring to approach.
Seeing this scene, Venerable Lei Hong was incomparably joyful. With his Innate Thunder Spiritual Root and Cultivation of lightning-attribute Cultivation Technique, he clearly felt the extraordinariness of the Thunder Tiger.
After passing through Li Mu’s hands, the Purple Firmament Spiritual Hammer successfully ascended to a six-tier spirit treasure. Cooperating with the other two Artifact Spirits, Venerable Lei Hong was eager to test how much the power of the complete Thunder Prison Grand Formation, arranged by the three six-tier Artifact Formations, could be enhanced.
Venerable Lei Hong exuded a powerful thunder Origin Qi aura. The Purple Firmament Spiritual Hammer finally couldn’t resist the persuasion of its two companions and actively threw itself into his arms, accepting his refinement.
Venerable Lei Hong held the three six-tier Array Instruments. With every gesture, violent thunder Origin Qi poured forth, as if a Thunder God had descended, majestic and awe-inspiring, drawing envious glances from the three Venerables present.
“Congratulations, Lei Sect Master! With the help of these three treasures, you should be able to advance to Void Refining within a hundred years!” Celestial Venerable Tian Shang congratulated Venerable Lei Hong with a face full of envy.
Celestial Venerable Tian Shang also extremely liked the Grand Earth Two Forms Ring that Li Mu had refined for him, as it perfectly matched his Dao attribute. However, compared to the other party’s three Array Instruments, it was significantly inferior.
The three six-tier lightning-attribute Array Instruments continuously absorbed thunder Origin Qi at all times. Even after Venerable Lei Hong’s advancement, his future Cultivation would receive immense assistance. Once he comprehended a deeper lightning-type Dao through this, it was not impossible for him to cross another major Realm in a short period.
“Haha! Thanks to Great Master Li, this Artifact Refining skill is truly outstanding; the three Array Instruments merge seamlessly!” Venerable Lei Hong laughed heartily, looking at Li Mu with sincere gratitude and admiration.
“Not at all! The Artifact Refining Materials provided by Lei Sect Master were excellent, plus the inherent power of the two Spirit Treasures themselves. I also gained a lot from refining this treasure!” Li Mu smiled humbly and replied.
“Little Friend Li, when do you have time to also help me refine a Spirit Treasure! In this battle with the old demon Wu Tian, if I had a handy Spirit Treasure, I might have been able to defeat him.” Qingwei Venerable looked at Li Mu, speaking urgently.
“Senior, if you gather all the Artifact Refining Materials, we can start anytime?” Li Mu smiled slightly and replied.
“Good! I’ve already gathered quite a bit, but I’m still missing two items: Blue Wind Spirit Crystal and Star Wind Spirit Rock. I’ll find a way to get them as soon as possible!” Qingwei Venerable replied with some impatience and helplessness.
“Senior, I have some Blue Wind Spirit Crystal here. You only need to get the Star Wind Spirit Rock. Also, I promised to help Senior Xuan Ling refine two Spirit Treasures. Has he prepared all the Materials?” Li Mu responded with a smile, then thought of something and asked Qingwei Venerable with concern.
The clue about another Heavenly Fire related to Xuanling Venerable was always on Li Mu’s mind!
“Thank you, Great Master Li. At that time, I will make up for it with other Materials. As for Xuan Ling, he has been out for a while, so we’ll have to wait until he returns to know the result. However, Hundred Refinements Sect’s treasury should be enough to support his Artifact Refining!” Qingwei Venerable smiled slightly and replied.
“Hmm! I plan to return to Barren Ancient City with the two Seniors first. If the Materials are gathered, please bring them to Yin Yang Valley to find me for Artifact Refining!” Li Mu indicated.
“Alright!” Qingwei Venerable thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
“Two Seniors, please wait for me a moment longer.” Li Mu suddenly thought of something and looked at Celestial Venerable Tian Shang and Celestial Venerable Kun Ling, indicating apologetically.
The two smiled and nodded, not taking it to heart. They had waited seven days, so a little longer wouldn’t hurt.
Li Mu looked at Venerable Lei Hong, who was in high spirits, and asked, “Lei Sect Master, has the Divine Beast Senior returned? May I pay it a visit? This junior has something to ask it!”
“Naturally, no problem. It’s resting in the Thunder Pool. I’ll take you there!” Venerable Lei Hong readily agreed.
Soon, Venerable Lei Hong led Li Mu to the Thunder Pool Holy Land in the back mountain to pay respects to the Seven-rank True Spirit, the Purple Firmament Azure Thunder Beast.