Vessel of Worlds

The Taixu Sect's rules stipulated that any outer-sect disciple who registered for the Dragon Descent Valley missions would be exempted from their regular duties for the remaining half year, and would receive two mid-grade spirit stones from the sect as a bonus.

Two mid-grade spirit stones were nothing to Andy. But for disciples whose pockets were considerably thinner, it was a substantial sum.

Andy found the Taixu Sect's practice of encouraging outer-sect disciples to go and "get themselves killed" distasteful, but not surprising. Since arriving on the Tianyuan Continent, he had always felt that the cultivation world was a far colder place than the Earth he remembered. As long as it served the sect's development, losing a batch of expendable outer-sect disciples was of no consequence to anyone who mattered.

These were not concerns Andy intended to dwell on. Having registered for the Dragon Descent Valley missions, he needed to make the most of the remaining half year and prepare thoroughly. This was a matter of life and death—nothing like the Foundation Establishment Trial, where the rules drew a line between victory and defeat, not between living and dying.

In a way, Andy found the kill-or-be-killed nature of the valley somewhat convenient. It meant he could prepare his most devastating trump cards without reservation—high-grade spirit stones, massive quantities of talismans—none of it mattered, because the only person walking away would be him. Dead opponents couldn't reveal his secrets.

Beyond his stockpile of talismans, Andy had one more secret weapon: the Jade Mountain Seal—the very artifact he hadn't dared use during the Foundation Establishment Trial.

This artifact had come from the husband-and-wife bandit pair he had killed in the Liuyun range. He had very nearly died under it himself. Though it was only an upper-grade artifact, the time and spiritual power required to deploy it were enormous, and it was unwieldy to maneuver. But when paired with an Earth Prison spell—something that could temporarily pin an opponent within a fixed area—it could deliver a devastating killing blow.

The problem during the Foundation Establishment Trial had been that the Jade Mountain Seal was an all-or-nothing weapon. There was no way to dial back its force. If he accidentally killed an opponent, he would have been disqualified. In Dragon Descent Valley, no such restrictions existed.

The seal's one drawback was its staggering spiritual power consumption. At the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement, a single use would drain most of Andy's reserves. But with high-grade spirit stones on hand, recovery was manageable.

Even all of this, Andy felt, wasn't enough. During the Foundation Establishment Trial, opponents like Li Qing's Fire Crow Pot and Sun Ming's green greatsword with its Sword Light had proven that against cultivators with superior artifacts, a quick kill was extremely difficult. Wearing them down until their spiritual power gave out was possible, but by that point Andy's own reserves would be dangerously low. If he ran into another cultivator immediately afterward, the outcome would be grim.

Dragon Descent Valley was not a fair one-on-one arena. Kicking someone when they were down and robbing the wounded were everyday occurrences.

Andy decided he needed to raise the caliber of his artifacts further. On top of that, he wanted to attempt crafting some high-grade Qi Refinement talismans—Earth Prison Talismans chief among them.

With these goals in mind, Andy decided to make a trip to a market. The Guling Street market within the sect was currently closed, so he chose the Emerald Valley market at the foot of the Kuanglu Mountains, near the border between Jinyan Kingdom and the neighboring nation of Wulin. This market operated with the Taixu Sect's backing, and by happy coincidence, it sat near the cultivation world of Wulin—a country renowned for its abundant deposits of artifact forging minerals. Emerald Valley had become one of Jinyan Kingdom's most famous raw materials markets as a result.

Outer-sect disciples were permitted one trip outside the mountain gates per year, for no longer than a month. In practice, most disciples were too absorbed in cultivation and duties to bother. In his two-plus years at the Taixu Sect, this was Andy's first time leaving.

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He visited Administrator Ma at the Administration Hall on Xianglu Peak and easily obtained a departure token, then presented it at the mountain gate beneath Hanyang Peak. The Foundation Establishment cultivator managing the gate formation let him through without a word.

Once clear of the gates, Andy summoned his Flying Plume and headed west. Emerald Valley was not terribly far, but at the Flying Plume's modest speed, it still took a full three days of flight before he arrived.

As he approached the valley, a powerful downward force pressed through his Flying Plume, and he was forced to land and proceed on foot. An Anti-Flight Formation, just like the one at Guling Street.

Whether it was simply an off-peak period or the market was always this quiet, Andy couldn't tell. Only a few dozen cultivators moved about the streets in scattered groups—nothing like the bustle of a Guling Street market day. Then again, Guling Street held its market only twice a year, while Emerald Valley was open every day. The difference in foot traffic made sense.

After a circuit of the market, Andy was pleased to discover that the selection of forging materials here was even more comprehensive than he had expected, and considerably cheaper too. Though fewer cultivators visited, nearly every one of them was buying in bulk. This was clearly a market built around wholesale raw materials.

Beyond forging materials, the market also carried common talisman-making supplies, low-grade pills, finished artifacts, and talismans—though these shops were far fewer and smaller than the raw materials establishments.

Andy had outgrown refined copper. While supreme-grade refined copper produced by the bowl could theoretically yield an exceptional-grade artifact, his forging skills weren't yet refined enough to make that a realistic possibility. With this market offering such a rich selection, there was no reason not to choose a superior material.

He found himself in a materials shop called the Stone Appraisal Pavilion, turning a silver-colored stone block veined with fine red threads over in his hands, examining it closely.

"This is a fresh shipment of Blood-Vein Silver ore. Only three low-grade spirit stones per jin, with a minimum purchase of fifty jin. Very competitive pricing—would you like to pick up a batch?" A long-faced young man about Andy's age, dressed like a shop assistant, was making his pitch.

"This does look like Blood-Vein Silver ore. I've heard that Blood-Vein Silver artifacts aren't cheap. Your ore prices are reasonable enough, but what about the quality?" Andy asked.

The long-faced youth hastened to reassure him: "Rest easy, fellow cultivator. This shop has been in business for several hundred years, with an excellent reputation—ask around the valley and you'll hear the same from everyone. Blood-Vein Silver is notoriously difficult to refine. Even though the raw ore is inexpensive, a single jin of properly refined Blood-Vein Silver goes for thirty spirit stones or more, which is why the finished artifacts command such high prices. Our ore is not only affordable, but the quality is quite good as well. Look closely at the surface, fellow cultivator—see how the red veins run fine and unbroken? That's the hallmark of premium-grade Blood-Vein Silver ore."

Andy nodded. He had read about this in the texts: the better the quality of Blood-Vein Silver, the finer and longer its red veins, running continuously throughout the entire block.

And Blood-Vein Silver of the highest quality could be used to forge exceptional-grade artifacts.

Andy bought a hundred jin of Blood-Vein Silver ore in a single purchase, filling a storage pouch he had brought specifically for this purpose. He then picked up a batch of talisman-making supplies and auxiliary forging materials.

As for finished artifacts and talismans, nothing in the market caught his eye, and he bought none.

With his purchases complete, he wasted no time lingering and headed straight back to the Taixu Sect.

Since he was no longer serving as an artifact disciple, his free access to the forging chambers had been revoked. He was now renting an upper-tier forging chamber at ten spirit stones per month. The cost was trivial to Andy, though he made sure to look suitably pained when handing over a mid-grade spirit stone to the forging chamber guards.

After Andy entered Upper-Tier Chamber Seven, the two Qi Refinement guards on duty started chatting.

"If he can't afford it, why's he showing off? An upper-tier chamber? The mid-tier ones are perfectly fine—five spirit stones a month, half the price!" The taller of the two sounded dismissive.

"That's the forging prodigy, isn't it? The one surnamed Zhao who got free access to a mid-tier chamber right after joining? I heard he forged upper-grade artifacts on his own!" The other guard recognized Andy immediately.

"Really? If he can forge upper-grade artifacts, then I suppose the upper-tier chamber makes sense. Did you see how stuffed his storage pouch looked? Must have loaded up on raw materials—probably going to forge another batch of upper-grade artifacts." This guard's expression was a tangle of envy, jealousy, and a faint undercurrent of resentment—as if to say: why does someone that young get to have that kind of talent, when I can't even afford a single upper-grade artifact?

"Heh, from what I've heard, he already has three or more upper-grade artifacts on him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's aiming higher than upper-grade this time." The shorter guard seemed remarkably well-informed.

"You mean he's going to try forging an—an exceptional-grade artifact?" The taller guard's eyes went wide, and his voice actually trembled.