Chapter 296: Chapter 283: Advancing to 4th Rank Artifact Refiner
Zhouyang returned safely, bringing relief to Zhou Guangxiang and Xiao Ying, who had stayed behind on Red Tiger Mountain.
Although he had only been gone for a few days, the absence of Zhouyang, the family’s main support, left both his stand-in, Zhou Guangxiang, and his Dao Companion, Xiao Ying, feeling uneasy and worried about him facing any trouble alone.
Now that he’s back safely, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ying’Er, this is the ’Purifying Blue Lotus Flame.’ Try and see if you can refine it."
In "Qianyang Cave," upon returning, Zhouyang waved his hand to release the ’Fire Separation Vermilion Bird Furnace,’ revealing the ’Purifying Blue Lotus Flame’ inside to the light once again.
"Is this the ’Purifying Blue Lotus Flame’? How beautiful!"
Xiao Ying exclaimed softly with joy as she gazed wide-eyed at the lotus-shaped, azure-purple flame in the furnace.
Then, recalling Zhouyang’s instructions, she began to cast Fire Control Techniques at the azure-purple flame, attempting to refine it.
Yet, the magical power she cast upon the flame was quickly absorbed and refined by it, and she was unable to establish any connection.
After several such attempts, Xiao Ying ceased her efforts, shook her head in disappointment, and said, "It’s no use; my cultivation is too low. You should refine this Spiritual Fire yourself, Zhou Lang!"
Seeing this, Zhouyang embraced his dear wife, comforting her softly, "It’s alright. Just because it’s not possible now doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future. When your cultivation reaches the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment, try again, or perhaps when you open your Purple Mansion, it will certainly work!"
The ’Purifying Blue Lotus Flame’ is a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire most suitable for Alchemists, and no Alchemist would not desire such a flame. Hearing Zhouyang’s comforting words, Xiao Ying felt a sense of delight.
She gently nestled her head into Zhouyang’s embrace with a soft "Mm," not mentioning it further.
After spending some time in each other’s company, Zhouyang relocated the ’Purifying Blue Lotus Flame’ to the Earth Fire Chamber within the cave residence, where it could absorb and refine Spiritual Qi from Red Tiger Mountain’s Spirit Vein and Fire Vein Spiritual Qi from the Earth Fire Opening to sustain itself.
He then placed the empty ’Fire Separation Vermilion Bird Furnace’ in front of him and began to temper the black-red stones he had collected, using intense fire.
True gold forged by fierce flames.
After spending half a month in the Earth Fire Chamber, Zhouyang finally tempered all the collected black-red stones into ’Fire Separation Essence Gold,’ weighing a total of nineteen pounds, seven ounces, and three fifths.
This amount of ’Fire Separation Essence Gold’ would fetch twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones just selling it as raw material, enough to purchase a portion of "Purple Heart Jade Marrow" to aid opening a Purple Mansion!
Initially, Zhouyang felt it was costly to spend a Foundation Establishment Pill just for information, but now he wore only a smile.
"With so much Fire Separation Essence Gold, refining twelve or thirteen flying swords won’t be difficult when adding other materials. Soon, I’ll have flying swords for my Great Derivation Sword Technique!"
Zhouyang’s smile lit his face, as the exhaustion from half a month without rest was wiped away by this achievement.
Of course, he did not immediately start refining the Tier Four Spiritual Artifact, but instead set the materials aside, left the Earth Fire Chamber, and returned to his bedroom to rest.
After several days of recuperating, achieving full restoration, Zhouyang entered the Artifact Refining Chamber to begin refining the Tier Four Spiritual Artifact.
He chose flying swords to refine, a type of Magical Artifact he was most adept with, ensuring higher success rates compared to other artifacts.
Being the first refinement, he didn’t use precious materials such as ’Taiyi Essence Gold’ or ’Star Meteorite Iron,’ but opted for regular Tier Four materials instead.
Despite dedicating his full effort into refinement, he unsurprisingly failed in the arrangement of the Magic Ban for the artifact.
The higher the rank of the Magical Artifact, the more complex the Magic Ban within becomes, challenging the Artifact Refiner’s skill profoundly.
The process not only relies on Divine Sense and Magical Power but also tests the refiner’s innate talent and understanding.
Much like those master painters, a true master could create astonishing works with mere charcoal and paper.
Only when an Artifact Refiner or Alchemist reaches Tier Four are they rightfully called "Master."
Craftsmen below Tier Four, no matter how skilled, cannot earn the title "Master."
Zhouyang’s aspiration to advance from Artifact Refiner to Artifact Refining Master is undoubtedly difficult.
Fortunately, he wasn’t eager for immediate success; he would analyze and learn from failure, derive successful methods from setbacks.
Every Artifact Refiner finds success through countless failures, with the number of failures marking the difference between exceptional and mediocre refiners.
An excellent artifact refiner might only fail three to four times, five to six times, before finding the cause of failure for improvement, thus achieving success.
Whereas those mediocre artifact refiners might have to fail a dozen times, dozens of times, before they possibly improve on their failures and succeed.
Zhouyang’s aptitude in artifact refining might not be top-notch, but it’s definitely not poor, and with his grasp of knowledge from two worlds, he surpasses most artifact refiners in terms of understanding.
Moreover, he possesses hardware advantages that other Tier Three refiners absolutely cannot have, whether it’s the "Qianyang True Flame" or the "Fire Separation Vermilion Bird Furnace," both are greatly beneficial for artifact refining.
Therefore, after nearly a year-long retreat, failing six times in succession, Zhouyang finally succeeded in refining his first Tier Four Spiritual Artifact on the seventh attempt.
This artifact is a Tier Four Lower Grade Flying Sword, with its main material being a fire attribute material "Flame Crystal Iron," Zhouyang also mixed in a few taels of "Fire Separation Essence Gold" to enhance the sword’s power.
So although this is his first work as a new Tier Four refiner, this flying sword’s might does not pale compared to any flying sword refined by veteran Tier Four refiners of the same tier.
"From now on, I’ll call you ’Li Yang Sword’!"
In the artifact refining chamber, Zhouyang gently caressed the flying sword that had just come out of the furnace, and with a delighted expression, he named the sword.
Many artifact refiners have the habit of treating the first spiritual artifact refined after breaking through in artifact refining skill as a collectible. For them, this first artifact holds special commemorative significance, and they don’t want it damaged in magical combat.
Zhouyang is no exception.
The artifact "Vermilion Bird Ring" he refined upon advancing as a Tier Three refiner is now worn by his Dao companion, Xiao Ying. This artifact Xiao Ying may never use, but it is a testament to their relationship.
And now, this "Li Yang Sword," he also plans to store it in the treasure chamber of his cave dwelling as a collectible.
Originally, advancing to become a Tier Four refiner is an event worth celebrating extensively.
However, considering he recently hosted a Purple Mansion celebration, and now with few high-tier cultivators in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, there’s essentially no one in need of refining from this Tier Four refiner, Zhouyang merely informed the Zhou Clan members to spread the news.
It has been seventeen years since Zhouyang successfully built his Purple Mansion, during which his cultivation has seen little improvement due to his focus on cultivating divine techniques and enhancing artifact refining skills, remaining at the First-Layer of the Purple Mansion.
This situation has never occurred before, prompting his renewed thoughts of heading to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm after his breakthrough in artifact refining skill to Tier Four.
No one better than Zhouyang understands his situation; his cultivation was able to advance quickly in the past mainly because he could continuously consume elixirs to enhance his cultivation.
But now, with his cultivation advancing to the Purple Mansion Stage, finding Tier Four Spirit Pills for consumption in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm is essentially impossible.
The Yellow Sand Sect, which has these Tier Four Spirit Pills, barely has enough for its own sect cultivators, so why would they be willing to give him any?
On another note, he still lacks some rare Tier Four materials to refine a set of Tier Four Flying Swords, materials which can only be swiftly gathered in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.
Moreover, with his cultivation breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Stage, preparations should be made for Core Formation, whether for auxiliary spiritual objects for Core Formation or spiritual objects for refining Lifebound Spiritual Artifact post-Core Formation, neither can be collected within the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.
And then there’s the tree of "Yuan Condensing Fruit" discovered back in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, awaiting him to pick the spirit fruit from it.
Each of these issues leaves him restless, unable to remain at Red Tiger Mountain in closed-door cultivation.
Yet, as the clan leader and pillar of the Zhou Clan, the idea of going on a distant journey doesn’t allow him the freedom that a loose cultivator with no ties can enjoy.
Before setting off, he must ensure that all aspects are arranged properly, guarantee that the Zhou Clan does not fall into chaos due to his departure, and ensure that should the Zhou Clan face danger after he leaves, someone will guard them.
"Ah! I guess I’ll wait a few more years!"
"In a few more years, Ying’Er can attempt to ascend to Tier Three High-grade Alchemist, and the ’Purple Cloud Fruit’ at Purple Cloud Cave will mature in a few years as well."
"This time heading to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, who knows how long I’ll stay, before leaving, no matter what, Ying’Er must refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills for the clan to exchange and use."
Shaking his head, sighing!
Zhouyang then collected his thoughts and began practicing the third layer of the "Golden Cicada Concealment Technique."
To go to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, he must first traverse the Broken Cloud Mountain Range.
Although the Yellow Sand Sect will prepare "Hidden Spirit Incense" for him, the incense cannot guarantee he won’t be discovered by demon beasts; should any unforeseen incidents occur inside, this secret technique will be his vital means of survival.