Vessel of Worlds

Murder had taken root in Andy's heart, though not a trace of it showed on his face. This was a skill he had cultivated since arriving on the Tianyuan Continent—a new kind of training in its own right.

Cultivation had always demanded a calm mind and a neutral countenance. In the cultivation world, people who wore one face while harboring another were as common as dirt.

The two of them arrived at Gulian Spring. Andy extended his spiritual sense to its fullest, sweeping the area carefully. Only after confirming that not a soul was within ten li did he and Jian Xin'er sit down on the rocks beside the spring. As an added precaution, he cast a Sound Barrier around them.

Seeing Andy take such elaborate measures, Jian Xin'er's eyes widened with curiosity. What could Brother Wugen possibly have to tell me that requires this much secrecy? Unless he's going to… The thought brought a flush of pink to her cheeks.

Andy hadn't noticed any of this. He tapped his storage pouch, and after a flash of white light, several boxes appeared in his hand—one wooden, three jade. He passed them all to Jian Xin'er.

She opened the wooden box first, her face alive with curiosity. What followed was a rapid succession of expressions—surprise, then elation, then a tight-browed look of disbelief, and finally, something deeply moved.

The cause of all these shifting emotions was a single pill inside the box.

In color, spiritual energy, and fragrance, it was virtually identical to the Perpetual Youth Pills that had sold for nine hundred spirit stones each at the Guling Street trading meet.

"Is this a Perpetual Youth Pill?" Jian Xin'er's voice caught. This was a pill she had dreamed about for ages. Last time she had only managed to get a few sub-grade ones, and even that had left her over the moon. Now she was holding the real thing, and the wave of emotion was almost too much.

Andy watched her with a quiet smile, thinking: Sometimes happiness arrives so suddenly that people don't quite know what to do with it.

This pill was, of course, the product of nurturing a Perpetual Youth Sub-grade pill in the bowl. He had taken one himself. The sub-grade pills, ironically, were the very ones he had swiped from Jian Xin'er's box over a year ago.

Consider it returned to its rightful owner, Andy thought. He had deliberately waited over a year before giving her this pill. With that much time having passed, she would never connect it to those sub-grade pills.

"That's right—a genuine Perpetual Youth Pill. It took me a great deal of effort to get. Take it in secret and don't tell anyone," Andy cautioned.

"Perpetual Youth Pills are so expensive—where did you get the spirit stones?" Jian Xin'er wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and, once she had steadied herself, couldn't help voicing her question.

Andy chuckled mysteriously. "Open the other three boxes and you'll understand."

Jian Xin'er did as he said. The three jade boxes contained a small sword, three small rings, and an octagonal shield—all magical artifacts, every one of them gleaming with golden light. From the spiritual energy they radiated, there was no question: they were all upper-grade artifacts.

"Upper-grade artifacts!" Jian Xin'er gasped. A moment later, in an even more astonished tone: "Did you—did you forge all of these yourself, Brother Wugen?"

Andy threw his head back and laughed with unconcealed pride. "Every last one. They're all for you. Practice with them well and prepare yourself for the Foundation Establishment Trial in a few months!"

He then walked her through the uses and properties of each artifact in detail.

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The small sword and octagonal shield were straightforward enough—standard offensive and defensive artifacts, nothing unusual. But the three refined copper rings were Andy's masterwork. They were a matched set—three rings designed to be used together as a coordinated group.

Matched-set artifacts had a particular advantage, and it came down to the spiritual sense required to control them. Cultivators used spiritual sense to manipulate their artifacts, and doing so fluently required both practice and a certain expenditure of spiritual sense. Generally speaking, a high-stage Qi Refinement cultivator's spiritual sense was only sufficient to operate two artifacts simultaneously. Beyond two, control became sloppy and erratic. Only the rare cultivator with an innately powerful spiritual sense could barely manage three. Foundation Establishment cultivators, with their vastly stronger spiritual sense, could handle considerably more.

This was why cultivators always prioritized quality over quantity in their artifacts. Matched-set artifacts partially transcended this limitation. With this three-ring set, for example, the spiritual sense required for operation was not three times that of a single artifact, but only marginally more. The advantage was obvious.

Andy put it in simple terms: "Imagine two mortals fighting. One has two hands, the other has four. Who has the advantage?"

Jian Xin'er nodded. The analogy wasn't perfectly precise, but it captured the essence of why matched-set artifacts mattered for Qi Refinement cultivators.

Forging a matched set, however, was extraordinarily difficult. Not only did the process require laying down a corresponding formation, but all three rings had to be successfully forged in a single session. If even one failed, the final formation enhancement couldn't be completed, and the set would be ruined. Andy had only managed to produce this single matched set during the final stage of his forging practice, when his skills were at their peak.

Jian Xin'er listened attentively as Andy explained the various offensive and defensive applications of the ring set, and before either of them realized it, most of the day had passed.

"All right, Xin'er," Andy said, ready to leave. "Practice with these in secret when you get back. Don't let anyone see them—it'll give you a bigger edge in the trial. And don't tell anyone I forged them. I'd rather not become famous in the Taixu Sect."

If Jian Xin'er spread the word that Andy could forge upper-grade artifacts, it wouldn't directly harm him, but it would inevitably draw attention. He might even be singled out as a "forging prodigy" and groomed accordingly—all of which could interfere with his future cultivation. Better to stay under the surface.

"I understand—Brother Wugen doesn't want the attention getting in the way of his cultivation." Jian Xin'er nodded, then flashed a mysterious smile. "I actually have something for you too, but after seeing everything you've given me—these incredible pills and artifacts—I'm almost embarrassed to bring it out." She produced a wooden box and handed it to Andy.

Andy opened it. Inside was a single red pill. He had never taken one before, but he knew it by reputation—the Tendon-Transforming Pill, the very thing he had been searching for everywhere without success.

"This is the last of three Tendon-Transforming Pills that Senior Uncle Sun gave me as a reward. I used the first two to break through the eleventh-layer bottleneck. This is the only one left, and it's nothing compared to what you've given me. Please don't think less of it, Brother Wugen." Jian Xin'er saw the delight on Andy's face and knew her worry about him refusing was unfounded.

The Tendon-Transforming Pill was a potent elixir that could meaningfully boost the cultivation of any cultivator at the eleventh layer or above. Any high-stage Qi Refinement cultivator who obtained one would consume it immediately. Yet Jian Xin'er had kept this last pill unused—clearly she had been saving it for Andy all along, not as a response to his gifts today.

He also knew that Jian Xin'er had agreed to tend Senior Uncle Sun's medicinal garden for three full years without compensation in exchange for those three pills.

The thought moved him deeply. "To me," he said, "this single pill is worth more than everything I've given you put together."

This was no empty courtesy. Everything Andy had given her was produced from worthless sub-grade scraps and cheap materials, enhanced by the bowl—he had contributed nothing but labor. What Jian Xin'er had given him was a genuine, market-scarce pill that was exactly what he needed to break through his current bottleneck.

Jian Xin'er naturally didn't grasp the true meaning behind his words. She assumed he was simply expressing gratitude.

"By the way, Brother Wugen—did you name these artifacts?" As they stood to leave Gulian Spring, Jian Xin'er suddenly asked. Before Andy could answer, she grinned and said: "Since Brother Wugen forged them himself, let's call them the Wugen Sword, the Wugen Rings, and the Wugen Shield!"

Andy was speechless. After a pause, he said: "Those are terrible names. We'll call them the Dragon Spring Sword, the Heaven and Earth Rings, and the Void Shield."

He borrowed the names of legendary weapons without the slightest hesitation.