Chapter 140: Spirit Pattern Compendium
Late January.
Nighttime.
Fang Yun had been flipping through books since night fell.
Today, these weren’t books on Artifact Refining, Alchemy, or planting, but rather Cultivation Miscellaneous Books. They covered a wide range of topics, including history, travelogues, and more.
There were many Cultivation Miscellaneous Books that Inner Sect Disciples could borrow for free.
Fang Yun naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. He read some of these miscellaneous books every month to broaden his knowledge, even though they couldn’t earn him any Talent Points.
’It’s about time.’
When the time came, Fang Yun closed the Cultivation Miscellaneous Book and opened the light screen.
——
...
Defeated Qi Refining Ninth Layer Cultivator x3, Talent Points +54.
Defeated Qi Refining Tenth Layer Cultivator x3, Talent Points +75.
Top 8 in the Inner Sect Grand Tournament (Celestial Cloud Sect), Talent Points +1150.
...
Sect Influence: 26%
Regional Influence: [Not Unlocked]
Talent Point Bonus: 198%
Settlement: Talent Points +11,292.
——
After the Inner Sect Grand Tournament ended.
In the three subsequent Magical Combat spars, his opponents had been two Senior Brothers at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer and one Senior Sister at the Peak of Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
According to the Talent Point settlement, the "peak" of a Realm was not calculated separately.
The Talent Points gained from defeating Qi Refining Tenth Layer cultivators were slightly more than Fang Yun had expected.
’The Talent Points from the Inner Sect Grand Tournament...’
For reaching the top eight, he had received far more Talent Points than he had anticipated.
With no frame of reference, he had estimated it would be around five hundred Talent Points.
Fang Yun thought for a moment about how the Talent Points from the Inner Sect Grand Tournament were calculated, but then he gave up.
Compared to the rankings on the Spirit Plant List, at least the Talent Point reward for the Inner Sect Grand Tournament wasn’t in the single digits. But even so, he still couldn’t figure out the pattern.
He would need to compare the Talent Points from two different Inner Sect Grand Tournaments, and his final rankings in both couldn’t be too far apart.
Boosted by the Talent Points from the Inner Sect Grand Tournament, his monthly settlement had once again exceeded ten thousand. Of course, the increase in Sect Influence was also important.
His Sect Influence was now at 26%. He was only 4% away from his goal of raising it to 30% before he reached the true Peak of Qi Refining.
’Just as I thought, the Spirit Plant List didn’t give any more Talent Points.’
Settlements for lists like these were probably all handled according to the Celestial Cloud Sect’s rules, happening once a year.
When the sect distributed its rewards, the list’s settlement would automatically occur at the beginning of the following month.
The 692 Talent Points left over from last month, when added to the remainder from this month’s settlement, still didn’t reach a thousand. Fang Yun found this a bit of a shame.
But he was satisfied with having eleven draws for Combat Talents this month.
He switched to the Combat Talent interface.
With a thought, Fang Yun spent the points, leaving him with 984 Talent Points.
The eleven draws for Combat Talents began.
Shield Talent Fragment x4
Shoe Talent Fragment x4
Sword Type Talent Fragment x3
The fragments for the three major Combat Talents began to increase.
The numbers on the Combat Talent interface changed:
[Artifact] Shield Talent ★★ (19/24)
[Artifact] Sword Type Talent ★★ (16/24)
[Artifact] Shoe Talent ★★ (14/24)
Looking at the Combat Talent interface on the light screen, he saw that the Shield Talent was only five fragments away from an upgrade.
’The Shield Talent should be ready to upgrade by early April,’ Fang Yun thought.
In another two months, he could probably have a three-star Combat Talent. Fang Yun hoped his luck wouldn’t be too bad; if he received too many Sword Type and Shoe Talent fragments in the next two months, it would mean fewer Shield Talent fragments.
That would force him to wait another month.
’...After I wake up, I can make a trip to the Library Pavilion.’
With that thought, Fang Yun drifted off to sleep.
He rested for quite a while this time, mainly because he hadn’t rested at all the day before.
In the morning, Fang Yun headed to the Library Pavilion.
Upon entering the Library Pavilion, Fang Yun went directly to the third floor.
The first and second floors of the Library Pavilion were open to Outer Sect Disciples, but the third floor required one to be an Inner Sect Disciple to enter.
The fourth floor was also open to Inner Sect Disciples. However, entering the Fifth Layer required someone of an Elder’s status.
Fang Yun searched the third floor but couldn’t find the book he was looking for, so he immediately went up to the fourth floor.
He found it.
The *Spirit Pattern Compendium*!
This was the book Fang Yun wanted.
To refine Spiritual Artifacts, one first had to master Spirit Patterns.
The fundamental building blocks of Spirit Patterns were the patterned symbols carved into Magical Artifacts.
After refining all sorts of Upper Grade Magical Artifacts with various functions, Fang Yun already knew these patterned symbols like the back of his hand.
Much of the experience he had accumulated from refining Upper Grade Magical Artifacts served as the foundation for refining Spiritual Artifacts.
After finding the *Spirit Pattern Compendium*, Fang Yun didn’t linger in the Library Pavilion. He paid the borrowing fee for the book and quickly left.
He now needed to prepare for refining a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact.
As for the main Spiritual Material for the Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact, he had already decided long ago to use the most common material: Lower Grade Profound Crystal.
Within the category of Profound Crystals, there were also lesser profound crystals. These were byproducts from unformed profound crystals in the mines and were often used as auxiliary materials for refining Upper Grade Magical Artifacts.
Although Lower Grade Profound Crystal was the most common main Spiritual Material for refining Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts, it was still very difficult for the current Fang Yun to obtain.
After leaving the Library Pavilion, he appeared in the Disciple Marketplace.
There was a small chance he could find some Lower Grade Profound Crystal here.
Even if he couldn’t, Fang Yun wanted to buy the auxiliary materials needed for refining a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact. Compared to Lower Grade Profound Crystal, these auxiliary materials were much easier to gather.
"Junior Brother Fang, what can I get for you?"
Seeing Fang Yun walk up, the Senior Brother at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer who ran the stall asked proactively.
"Senior Brother, do you have any Lower Grade Profound Crystal for sale here?"
"Lower Grade Profound Crystal... Junior Brother, you’re already planning to refine a Spiritual Artifact." When the stall owner Senior Brother heard what Fang Yun was asking for, he immediately thought of Spiritual Artifacts.
Fang Yun’s talent for Artifact Refining was already famous. The disciples who were lucky enough to acquire an Upper Grade Magical Artifact from him all knew that the quality of his work was excellent.
"Yes, I’m starting to prepare," Fang Yun nodded.
"Junior Brother, you’re only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer... huh? Junior Brother, you’re already at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer!"
The stall owner Senior Brother had been about to say that even with his high talent for Artifact Refining and his ability to produce many good Upper Grade Magical Artifacts, it was still too early for a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator to refine a Spiritual Artifact.
The Qi Refining Eighth Layer was a significant improvement over the Seventh Layer, but it was still a major stretch to attempt refining a Spiritual Artifact.
With Fang Yun’s talent for Artifact Refining, it would be better for him to wait until the Qi Refining Ninth Layer to start. An Artifact Refiner with normal talent would need to be at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer at the very least.
"That’s right, I broke through," Fang Yun nodded again.
Not many disciples knew the news of him reaching the Qi Refining Eighth Layer yet.
Once the disciples active in the Disciple Marketplace learned of his breakthrough, the news would definitely spread quickly.
Once most of the disciples learned that his Realm had advanced, his influence within the sect might increase by another one percent.