My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

"Thank you," Shen Yunjiao replied, washing the dishes.

"If you need help with anything... you can use the Communication Jade to contact me," Zhao Zuo added.

On the way back to the Moyun Sect, Zhao Zuo found the atmosphere in the Market had grown even more oppressive. It felt like a storm was brewing, and he picked up on subtle signs of chaos.

He wondered what it would take to finally end this storm born from the Demon Path’s invasion.

After a little over ten minutes, Zhao Zuo was approaching the Moyun Sect’s Mist Array. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he took a Communication Jade from his Storage Bag.

"Brother Liu, go to Earth Fire Chamber Number Three and wait for me. Time to get to work."

"Alright, Younger Brother Zhao... you’re finally back." Liu Heng’s voice was filled with surprise and respect. He had been shocked when he’d first guessed who was behind Lin Hao’s mysterious disappearance.

But then, Fang Qingshan’s disappearance had turned that shock into pure terror.

’Those were two Late Period Qi Refining Cultivators, and they both vanished because of Zhao Zuo.’

Liu Heng had two theories about the situation. The first was that Zhao Zuo’s true strength had reached the level of Qi Cultivation Perfection. The second... was that Zhao Zuo was backed by a faction composed of several Late Period Qi Refining Cultivators.

’Either way... he was dealing with a power he could not possibly oppose.’

Thus, Liu Heng had lost any thought of resistance.

When Zhao Zuo arrived at the Earth Fire Chamber, Liu Heng had already finished smelting and casting four Magical Artifacts. All they needed were Zhao Zuo’s Spirit Patterns to complete the refining process.

"Has anyone from the Outer Sect gone missing recently? Someone at Late Period Qi Refining," Zhao Zuo asked, taking out the tools for inscribing Spirit Patterns from his Storage Bag.

"Fang Qingshan and Lin Hao. Both of them disappeared at the end of April," Liu Heng replied immediately, understanding exactly what Zhao Zuo was getting at.

"Fang Qingshan was Zhao Qingmeng’s Tao Companion?"

"That’s right."

Zhao Zuo nodded. ’It doesn’t matter what other secrets were involved. It’s not important anymore. After all, everyone connected to it is already dead.’

"Did Fang Qingshan have any connections in the Moyun Sect? Was he the descendant of a Steward or an Elder, for instance?"

’This was what he truly cared about.’

"Not that I know of... However, his master is an Outer Sect Steward," Liu Heng replied.

’An Outer Sect Steward... Nothing to worry too much about, then.’

The minimum requirements to be an Outer Sect Steward in the Moyun Sect were reaching Late Period Qi Refining and being over fifty years old.

Essentially, any Outer Sect Disciples with no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment either had to become an Outer Sect Steward or leave the Outer Sect to live in the Moyun Workshop.

Of course, some also chose to leave the Yunlan Mountain Range entirely, retiring to the Great Yue Country. There, they could marry the daughters of a few prominent families and live like local emperors.

"It’s perfectly normal for one or two Outer Sect Disciples to disappear. No one ever investigates," Liu Heng said.

"That’s good."

Zhao Zuo knew Liu Heng had guessed he was connected to Lin Hao and Fang Qingshan’s disappearances. But he wasn’t worried about Liu Heng talking. In fact, this knowledge would serve as a useful deterrent.

"Let’s continue with the Artifact Refining," Zhao Zuo instructed.

He then closed his eyes, adjusted his condition, and calmed his breath to focus his mind.

This was a necessary step before inscribing Spirit Patterns. Only by achieving complete focus could he guarantee a high success rate.

After about half a minute, his mind was perfectly serene.

The Spirit Pen danced, weaving silvery threads into an intricate pattern. Zhao Zuo’s eyes narrowed as Mana pulsed from his hand, and he slammed the floating Spirit Patterns into the mold.

The next second, a flash of Golden Light flooded his mind.

’Success.’

A flicker of joy sparked within Zhao Zuo, only to vanish an instant later.

The mechanical repetition of the process rarely brought him any real happiness anymore.

’I should try my hand at the hammering,’ he thought.

Zhao Zuo took out the crude form of a Magical Artifact, intending to try the hammering himself. He picked up a Forging Hammer, placed the artifact on the anvil, and brought the hammer down in a powerful swing.

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!

The heavy thuds echoed continuously. Zhao Zuo gradually found a familiar rhythm, each strike of the hammer making the crude artifact smoother and more even, constantly beating out the imperfections.

As he worked, a murky, oily residue, faintly streaked with blood, began to seep from his pores. Within his Dantian, the energy released by the Huayang Bead suddenly doubled, and this potent force began to transform his body from the inside out.

Zhao Zuo didn’t know why this bizarre change was occurring, but he was certain that the transformation could only be beneficial... With that thought, he began to hammer the blade-shaped Magical Artifact with even greater vigor.

He felt his body grow hotter and hotter, as if a fire had been lit in his abdomen.

In this state, the Qi and Blood throughout his body began to circulate unconsciously. The force behind each hammer strike grew slightly stronger, and the results of his work became more and more refined.

More and more filth coated his skin, yet his body felt incredibly light, as if he were shedding a set of ill-fitting shackles and becoming freer.

In a trance-like state, Zhao Zuo began to sense the surrounding fire-element Spiritual Power. It manifested as red-hot specks of light, like embers floating in the air.

And right now, they were constantly converging on him.

After a moment, Zhao Zuo casually used a Cleaning Talisman to remove the filth from his skin.

He gazed at the Earth Fire Furnace, where vivid, orange-red flames danced and twisted, throwing off smaller embers that quickly dissipated into the air.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. The dense fire-element Spiritual Power in the chamber must have activated the Huayang Bead. As he hammered the Magical Artifact, he had started to absorb the ambient fire-element Spiritual Power, which in turn accelerated the transformation of his Spiritual Root.

WHOOSH...

Zhao Zuo exhaled a turbid breath. The energy was still spreading outward from deep within him, but it was unfortunately not as potent as before. Clearly, most of the Huayang Bead’s energy had been consumed.

He decided to hand the hammering work over to Liu Heng and focus once more on inscribing the Spirit Patterns. He had only intended to practice his hammering to keep his muscles from getting rusty, but he’d ended up with a pleasant surprise.

’Dense fire-element Spiritual Power can activate the Huayang Bead, switching its effect from passive to active.’

’It accelerates the enhancement of my Spiritual Root, and I might even be able to trigger the full transformation sooner than expected.’

Outwardly, Zhao Zuo remained impassive, but inwardly he was ecstatic. This excitement made it difficult for him to maintain his inner calm, leading to several failures as he worked on the next set of Spirit Patterns.

But this did nothing to dampen his joy. Zhao Zuo was no longer a Xiaobai in the Cultivation Realm; he naturally understood the importance of a Spiritual Root’s efficiency in absorbing Spiritual Power. In the same ten-year period, someone with a Celestial Spirit Root could reach Foundation Establishment, while he could only reach the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Of course, differences in the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power and the availability of cultivation resources also played a part, but it was an undeniable fact that the quality of one’s Spiritual Root was the most critical factor determining cultivation speed.

After about eight hours, the two had cooperatively refined a total of seventeen Lower Grade Magical Artifacts. Zhao Zuo planned to turn in fifteen of them to the Ministry of Affairs Hall in exchange for residency rights to an Inner Sect Cave Mansion, plus one hundred and fifty Contribution Points.

He had already paid off the Contribution Points he’d owed from purchasing the Golden Fire Refining World Manual last month, so this month, he could finally start accumulating them for himself.

He had now been an Inner Sect Disciple for two months, which meant he was eligible for another of their benefits. As long as he didn’t lose his status within three months, his position as an Inner Sect Disciple would be considered permanent.

Zhao Zuo guessed this rule existed to prevent people from bribing Outer Sect Stewards and compromising the fairness of the Inner Sect Disciple assessment. This two-pronged approach was enough to stop most people from trying to slip through the cracks.

The other benefit was the ability to exchange five hundred Contribution Points for an Upper Grade Magical Artifact.

In the open market, the price for an Upper Grade Magical Artifact had been driven up to over ten thousand Spirit Stones. Getting one for five hundred Contribution Points was an absolute bargain.

That night, Zhao Zuo took out his Communication Jade and tried to contact Shen Yunjiao several times, but he received no response.

"I can get my hands on an Upper Grade Magical Artifact for a very low price. Do you need one?"

Zhao Zuo guessed Shen Yunjiao was likely busy outwitting Tribulation Cultivators in the Moyun Workshop, so he didn’t wait any longer and just left a message via the Communication Jade.

He then sat down to meditate and began absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. He could feel that his absorption speed had a subtle, yet undeniable, increase.

........

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