The wooden door was very ordinary. In this exquisite hall of jade, it even looked a bit out of place.

The single word, ’Skill,’ like the three words for ’Immortal Dao Pavilion’ on the plaque, seemed to hold countless mysteries within a single glance.

He slowly reached out, tentatively touching the wooden door.

The scene repeated itself; the wooden door was pushed open just as easily.

This time, what met his eyes was not the deep darkness behind the "Magic" portal, but a bright and spacious area.

Stepping inside revealed a spacious, circular plaza. A dome stretched overhead, dotted with fluorescent stones.

Encircling the plaza were several wooden doors set into the stone walls. Above each door, a distinct symbol was clearly visible.

Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman Making, Spiritual Plants, Magic Techniques, Arrays...

Each wooden door seemed to represent one of the Cultivation Immortal Techniques.

Chu Mu stopped and scanned the symbols, his gaze finally settling on two adjacent ones: Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

As for the other techniques, he was tempted, but he also knew his own limits.

’Even with the Spiritual Radiance, I’m still human. A day only has twelve hours, and at the same Cultivation Realm, my lifespan is no longer than anyone else’s.’

Juggling Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and his own Cultivation—and this was only at the Qi Cultivation Realm—he already felt like there wasn’t enough time.

If his Cultivation were to advance further, his energy would inevitably be stretched even thinner.

Besides, beyond the factors of time and energy, resources were another crucial aspect.

’It’s not just my own learning efficiency I have to consider...’

’However...’

’Right now, it seems I have to... choose one of the two?’

Chu Mu pursed his lips. Without much hesitation, he walked straight to the wooden door marked for Artifact Refining.

As for Alchemy...

He was more inclined toward the Artifact Refining Skill.

The Artifact Refining Skill, compared to the Alchemy Skill, encompassed a much larger body of knowledge. This technique required a vast foundation of knowledge, and its potential to help him was also much greater.

A simple comparison made it clear.

’If I were given a Tier Two Pill Recipe and several sets of the corresponding Spirit Medicines, I could probably figure it out and successfully perform the Refining after some time, thanks to the Spiritual Radiance Effect. The chances wouldn’t be small.’

’After all, the most critical step in the Alchemy Skill is just blending and fusing the properties of the medicines. With the help of Spiritual Radiance, that step is almost like cheating.’

’But if I were given a Tier Two Artifact Refining Formula, the chances I wouldn’t understand it are very, very high.’

’It’s just like the Puppetry Skill inheritance. I got it back in Nanshan Town and was able to peek at its contents in Jingmen.’

’But... it wasn’t until just before I entered the Secret Realm that I finally managed to understand and absorb its teachings.’

’Without a sufficient foundation of knowledge, even with the Spiritual Radiance Blessing, it’s like trying to cook without rice.’

’As for my deal with Zhao Shuang...’

’The precondition for our deal was that I had to enter that Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion and obtain his Alchemy Inheritance...’

’But now, I obviously haven’t entered that Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion. Instead, by a stroke of luck, I’ve entered a special Inheritance Land.’

’And this special nature...’

Chu Mu’s gaze flickered. He was beginning to understand why he was special, and what the reason for that specialness was...

’It should be...’

’The God?’

’Or, perhaps, because of that Divine Soul Saber?’

Chu Mu wasn’t sure, but the possibility was very, very high.

’After all, besides that, there’s really nothing special about me.’

’Dharma and Body Cultivation isn’t uncommon in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, let alone in a Secret Realm that’s a vortex of storms, where it’s likely even more common.’

’As for the Spiritual Radiance...’

’I don’t think the Secret Realm would be able to recognize such a heaven-defying thing.’

The thought vanished as quickly as it came. He slowly pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside.

The room was much smaller than he had expected.

It was no more than two zhang long, a simple, square room with plain, grayish-white walls and no windows.

The only feature was a circular, raised platform in the center of the room.

The platform was about waist-high, made entirely of some kind of Dark Copper Color metal. On top, several lifelike Fire Phoenix sculptures encircled its edge.

On the side nearest the door, a few steps led up to the circular platform.

With a single glance, memory and reality overlapped.

Although its shape was different, this platform seemed to be the Fire Gathering Array that Chu Mu had only ever seen described in Jade Scrolls.

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, it was also commonly known as an Earth Fire Platform.

This meant using an Array Restriction in a place where Earth Vein Fire Qi was active to channel and control the Fire Qi, allowing the Earth Vein Flame to be used by Cultivators.

Compared to the flames produced by burning Spiritual Charcoal, an Earth Vein Flame, when channeled and controlled by an Array Restriction, was far superior in terms of control, stability, and temperature efficiency.

However, Earth Fire was volatile, and channeling and controlling it was extremely expensive. Besides... how many of the Loose Cultivators who needed Earth Fire would dare to rent an Earth Fire House from a Sect or Clan?

Therefore, resources like Earth Fire were basically only found within Sects and Clans, and rarely made available to outsiders.

For his Alchemy and Artifact Refining, he had always used Spiritual Charcoal to produce a Spiritual Fire. It was said that once a Fire Attribute Cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, they could condense a Foundation Establishment True Flame.

At that point, the Foundation Establishment True Flame could replace the need for Spiritual Charcoal.

He walked up the steps and, in just a few paces, stood atop the circular platform.

The moment he stepped onto the platform, it was as if some kind of switch had been triggered. A Jade Scroll and a Storage Talisman materialized on its surface.

Chu Mu reached out and grabbed them. He extended his Divine Sense into the Jade Scroll, and an Artifact Refining Formula, along with instructions on how to operate the Earth Fire Platform, appeared in his mind.

A moment later, he put down the Jade Scroll and turned his attention to the Storage Talisman. Inside, he could clearly perceive several sets of Spiritual Materials with his Divine Sense Perception.

With that, he began to understand.

"So, the test is to refine a Magical Artifact?"

He took a step back and sat down cross-legged.

He formed a hand seal, and a sudden fluctuation of Spiritual Power rippled from the several Fire Phoenix sculptures around the previously dormant Earth Fire Platform.

Immediately, flames flickered to life and, with a WHOOSH, engulfed the entire platform.

Chu Mu hurriedly manipulated the Fire Control Array, finally managing to reduce the intensity of the flames to a normal level.

He didn’t pause for long before tossing a piece of Spiritual Material into the scorching flames.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water. In just a moment, the rough shape of the Magical Artifact’s main material had already taken form before his eyes.

He pursed his lips. The Artifact Refining Formula flashed through his mind as he used his Divine Sense to meticulously inscribe a series of Artifact Pattern Array Prohibitions onto the artifact’s main material.

It was a very simple Magical Artifact. In Chu Mu’s opinion, it could hardly even be called one.

After all, ordinary Magical Artifacts, even Broken Spiritual Artifacts, needed to undergo Refinement to be used.

But this particular Magical Artifact was ingeniously designed; it could be used without the need for Refinement via Divine Sense.

The principle behind it wasn’t complicated.

But the Refining process was extremely complex.

From the combination of Spiritual Materials and the flow of Spiritual Power through the Artifact Pattern routes, to the pairing and selection of Array Prohibitions and Artifact Patterns... every aspect was complex, yet ingeniously designed.

It was as if an Artifact Refining Master, in a moment of leisure, had come up with this formula for a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact as a simple exercise.

About half an hour later, the Earth Fire died down. The ingenious Magical Artifact was successfully refined, and it floated before Chu Mu.

The Magical Artifact was exquisite. It ranked as a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact, and it had a rather interesting name... Water Drop.

It had a somewhat futuristic design. It was no more than two chi and three cun long, silvery-gray all over, and looked just like a sci-fi firearm.

And in fact, that’s exactly what it was.

This Water Linked Pearl Magical Artifact belonged to the same category as the Divine Fire Tubes he had seen in Jade Emperor Valley. They both used Spirit Stones as an Energy source, then relied on their internal Array Prohibition Patterns to fire blasts of Spiritual Power.

However, Magical Artifacts like the Divine Fire Tube had to be refined and bound by a Cultivator, who would then use their Divine Sense to control its Spiritual Power Attacks.

But the Water Drop before him...

...required no Refinement of its Restriction, no Magical Power to drive it, and not even a powerful physique.

Even a mortal could use it.

All they had to do... was pull the trigger.

Chu Mu gripped the Magical Artifact, took out a Lower Grade Spirit Stone, and placed it in the spirit compartment on the Water Drop’s side.

After the Spirit Stone was set in place, the originally dull, silvery-gray body of the artifact lit up. Dazzling patterns spread out from the spirit compartment until they covered the entire Magical Artifact, before slowly dimming again.

Chu Mu pulled the trigger. Through his Divine Sense Perception, he saw a light blue droplet of Energy shoot out from the muzzle at extreme speed.

’The Attack strength is about 0.4 du...’

After sensing it for a moment, a clear judgment formed in his mind.

A power of 0.4 du was already comparable to a normal Tier One Lower Grade Magic Technique—and a well-practiced one at that.

And a single Lower Spirit Stone was enough to power twenty shots from this Magical Artifact.

In other words, this inconspicuous Magical Artifact could unleash twenty Attacks equivalent to a First Grade, Lower Tier Magic Technique in a very short amount of time.

And most importantly, this Magical Artifact could be used easily by any mortal, even a child...

’Which means, if a mortal obtained this Magical Artifact, then...’

Chu Mu thought back to the Loose Cultivators he had seen in Yuning Town. He feared that very few of them could have withstood continuous Attacks from this Magical Artifact.

A mortal... could even slay an immortal!

’Difficult!’

But very quickly, Chu Mu denied this judgment.

A mortal holding the Water Drop Spiritual Artifact could, at best, only be considered a potential threat to an Early Stage of Qi Cultivation Cultivator.

After all, given the physique and reflexes of a Cultivator, even one at the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation, their speed at full exertion couldn’t even be tracked by a mortal’s naked eye.

Mortals lack Divine Sense to lock onto a target and must rely solely on aiming with their eyes. As such, for any Cultivator, unless they were ambushed or facing concentrated fire from dozens of these weapons, the Water Drop Spiritual Artifact wasn’t a major threat.

’If we’re getting technical, this Water Drop should be considered a form of Puppet Creation...’

Chu Mu mused as he observed the ingeniously designed Water Drop Spiritual Artifact before him.

No need for Divine Sense control, no need for a Magical Power supply, having its own source of Spiritual Power, and possessing a basic logical program—these were the hallmarks of Puppet Creation.

The Water Drop Spiritual Artifact before him was undoubtedly the product of a clever concept from Puppetry Skill combined with a standard Spiritual Power-based Magical Artifact...

...