What stressed a small number of Celestial Demon Sect elders about the mysterious Spirit Refiner was that no Foundation Establishment cultivator who had seen him had ever survived.

To these Celestial Demon Sect elders, that was the most terrifying thing about the mysterious Spirit Refiner!

"No one wants the mysterious Spirit Refiner to show up. Every time there’s news of him, it’s never a good thing for us."

"If I ever run into the mysterious Spirit Refiner, I’ll definitely take his head."

"Hahaha, Elder Ye, you should save your breath. I think that Sky-Blowing Takin bloodline is affecting you too much. You know, letting it get to you like that isn’t a good thing for us."

"You..."

The elders of the Soul Destruction Hall went back and forth, all talking about the Celestial Cloud Sect’s mysterious Spirit Refiner.

Some Foundation Establishment Elders grew tense at the mention of the mysterious Spirit Refiner, while others became excited. The first group wanted nothing to do with him, but the second group couldn’t wait for a chance to meet him and prove their own strength.

’You all say the mysterious Spirit Refiner is so powerful. If I can defeat him, then that just proves I’m even more powerful.’

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master listened quietly, his mind still preoccupied with those other matters.

Once the Soul Destruction Hall meeting concluded, he quickly took action.

He headed for the residence of the sect’s Supreme Elder, Lu Yaoling.

As the Hall Master of the Soul Destruction Hall, he felt he had to voice his concerns. ’Maybe I can change the Supreme Elder’s mind.’

"Greetings, Supreme Elder."

"Elder Xue, has something happened in our Earth Realm?" Lu Yaoling asked.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master shook his head and replied, "Supreme Elder, there are no issues in our Earth Realm at the moment. I came to speak with you about..."

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master trailed off.

He felt immense psychological pressure before he could even speak the words he had prepared.

"What is it? Speak freely."

"Thank you, Supreme Elder." The Spirit Destruction Hall Master first expressed his gratitude before continuing, "I wanted to ask... regarding the Celestial Cloud Sect, is it really necessary for us to press on? Supreme Elder, the Celestial Cloud Sect is at the height of its power right now. It’s not a good time for us to be on the offensive..."

Without a doubt, the Celestial Cloud Sect was currently in a period of great strength.

For a decade, they had faced the combined offensive of the Celestial Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit Sect, yet had failed to achieve any significant victories. Every attack they launched was thwarted.

As the Spirit Destruction Hall Master, he had access to a great deal of information, so he understood the reasons for this situation.

The primary reason was, without a doubt, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s current strength. Their affiliated Foundation Establishment forces were also formidable, making their overall defense incredibly robust. As a result, their large-scale offensives were often ineffective.

There was also another very important, albeit secondary, reason: the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

During large-scale offensives, they had to be wary of the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s movements. And when operating alone, they had to be even more vigilant against his potential intervention.

They had no effective way of dealing with the mysterious Spirit Refiner within the Celestial Demon Sect’s own Earth Realm; doing so in the Celestial Cloud Sect’s territory would obviously be even more difficult.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master said a great deal to Supreme Elder Lu Yaoling, but his core message was simple: the campaign had to stop. The Celestial Demon Sect needed to rest and recuperate, and they also needed to rebuild their affiliated Foundation Establishment forces.

Compared to a few decades ago, the combined strength of the Celestial Demon Sect’s affiliated Foundation Establishment forces had been cut in half.

"Hall Master Xue, do not bring this up again. I know what I’m doing." Lu Yaoling’s reaction to the Spirit Destruction Hall Master’s advice was calm.

At this, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master nodded, feeling somewhat satisfied.

Although the Supreme Elder hadn’t accepted his advice, she had at least let him finish speaking without cutting him off.

’If she had cut me off, it would have meant her decision to attack the Celestial Cloud Sect was absolute and that nothing could stop it.’

Taking the opportunity, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master asked, "Supreme Elder, what are our next steps? Do we maintain the status quo? Or do we prepare for another large-scale assault on the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Earth Realm?"

"Maintain the status quo. This will continue to wear down the Celestial Cloud Sect. As for when we’ll launch another large-scale operation..." Here, Supreme Elder Lu Yaoling paused before continuing, "Wait until I break through to the late-stage Core Formation."

"Yes!"

With this information, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master understood everything.

In the next few years, the Supreme Elder would once again enter seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to late-stage Core Formation. If she succeeded, the offensive against the Celestial Cloud Sect would become even more ferocious. They might even attack the Celestial Cloud Sect’s main headquarters personally.

But if she failed, their campaign against the Celestial Cloud Sect would likely cease.

’Annihilating the Celestial Cloud Sect would no longer be a matter for his generation of elders and the Supreme Elder. It would be a task left to the younger generation.’

Of course, if circumstances permitted, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master hoped to be the one to end the Celestial Cloud Sect during his tenure, carving up their territory and expanding the Celestial Demon Sect’s influence.

...

「Late May.」

Celestial Cloud Sect, Artifact Casting Peak.

In the Artifact Refining Room of Fang Yun’s cave abode, Fang Yun was in the middle of refining the Magical Treasure, the Profound Crystal Shield. He had just reached the final step.

The time he had agreed upon with the Purple Mist Sect elder was this year. In July, he was to depart from the Celestial Cloud Sect, travel alone to the Purple Mist Sect, and then represent them to enter the Secret Realm known as the "Land of No Master."

Fang Yun felt that his luck was quite good.

Half a month ago, he had finally gathered the last of the auxiliary Spiritual Materials needed for refining the Profound Crystal Shield. He had immediately begun the process of refining the Magical Treasure.

’As long as the Profound Crystal Shield is successfully refined, my defensive capabilities will see a huge boost. My trip to the "Land of No Master" Secret Realm will be much safer.’

"Success!"

The moment he finished refining the Magical Treasure, the Profound Crystal Shield, he felt a surge of excitement, followed immediately by a wave of exhaustion.

Having spent more than half a month on the refining process, he was somewhat used to it, especially since he had already succeeded in refining the Magical Treasure, the Earth Yellow Sword.

Like the Earth Yellow Sword, this Profound Crystal Shield was a Magical Treasure with a single Prohibition.

’Compared to the Earth Yellow Sword, this Magical Treasure-grade Profound Crystal Shield will definitely give me more base Talent Points.’

The exhausted Fang Yun examined the Profound Crystal Shield he had just refined.

In terms of the overall quality of the Spiritual Materials used, those for the Earth Yellow Sword and the Profound Crystal Shield were similar. The latter turned out better mainly due to the improvement in Fang Yun’s Artifact Refining skill.

With the boost from his Eight-Star Artifact Refining Talent, his skill level would rise significantly each time he successfully refined a Magical Treasure. The next time he refined one, even a different type, his performance would be better. He would utilize the Spiritual Materials more efficiently and could construct the Spirit Pattern Prohibitions with even greater perfection.

Putting away the Profound Crystal Shield, Fang Yun left the Artifact Refining Room.

After resting for half a day, he finally assimilated the Profound Crystal Shield.

Next, he planned to pay a visit to Smoke Cloud Peak.

He mainly wanted to check on how Huang Mengyang was doing with raising the Wind-Traveling Silkworms. He would need their silk for a footwear-type Magical Treasure he planned to refine later.

Of course, that was only if the silk met his standards. If not, he would have to find other materials.

With that in mind, Fang Yun set out. He left Artifact Casting Peak and soon arrived at Smoke Cloud Peak.

He went to a place on Smoke Cloud Peak where the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense.

Huang Mengyang was there.

"Mengyang."

"Brother Fang Yun!"

The moment she saw Fang Yun, Huang Mengyang stopped what she was doing.

The current Huang Mengyang was already at late-stage Foundation Establishment, having made her breakthrough eight years prior. Her older sister, Huang Mengzhu, was still at mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

Abnormal Spirit Roots already granted a fast cultivation speed, and with the help of resources, it was even faster.

’As one of the sect’s Core Formation Seeds, Huang Mengyang’s progress toward the Core Formation Stage will probably be even faster than mine.’

"What are you up to?"

"Selectively breeding the Wind-Traveling Silkworms."

Fang Yun walked closer and saw a grassy enclosure in front of Huang Mengyang. Inside were the corpses of many Wind-Traveling Silkworms, which were being eaten by the others.