Yi Tianyun found a place to settle down, not too far away, right within Celestial Heart City. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Three months was still a long time, and since he had rushed on his journey, he hadn’t wasted much of it.

He opened his hand and looked at the Jade Pendant, letting out a deep sigh. He finally understood why Zhu Yuxuan didn’t have a low opinion of him. He had been concealing news about Zi Yuwei, so naturally, she would feel favorable toward him, not hostile.

This was enough to prove that Zhu Yuxuan hadn’t been deceiving him; she had been acting the entire time. That last performance was a little too realistic, but if it hadn’t been, how could those deacons have possibly believed her?

Now he had sufficient reason to believe why Zhu Yuwei hadn’t been found after so long. There had been interference! It wasn’t that the Earth Realm Continent was too vast; with a bit of searching, she might have been found by now. It was highly likely that Zhu Yuxuan’s interference was the reason she remained hidden.

However, not even Zhu Yuxuan herself knew where Zhu Yuwei had gone. ’The best way to keep a secret is to not know it yourself.’ At most, she knew Zhu Yuwei was somewhere on the Earth Realm Continent, but she had no idea of the specific details.

’Could it be that the Purple Pavilion Master... no, Pavilion Master Zhu... was fighting so desperately for Star Pavilion?’ Yi Tianyun fell silent. Thinking back, Zhu Yuwei had been incredibly persistent. She had been desperate for him to stay, all so she could solidify her position and seize real power.

’Without real power, without a voice, everything is pointless.’

’Relying on outsiders is ultimately meaningless... Only by becoming strong myself can I control my own destiny!’

Yi Tianyun’s gaze turned cold. He felt he was still too weak. Faced with the pressure from Cyan Profound Mansion, he had to force himself to get stronger—fast! Any other Cultivator would have probably resigned themselves to their fate by now, but he was different. Since he had been given a second chance at life here, there was no way he would ever give up!

’Time to start Artifact Refining. I’ll sell everything for Madness Value!’

Yi Tianyun took out the materials to craft a Soul Artifact. As he prepared to begin the Artifact Refining, the appallingly low success rate was enough to make him spit blood.

’A twenty percent success rate is just too low.’ He shook his head; it was about what he had expected.

’Activate Luck Aura!’

After he activated the Luck Aura, the twenty percent chance instantly jumped to fifty percent!

’Why isn’t it a one-hundred-percent success rate?’ Yi Tianyun was dumbfounded. His Luck Aura was supposed to increase his Luck Level tenfold, but that hadn’t resulted in a guaranteed success.

After checking, Yi Tianyun discovered this was its maximum effect; the success rate could only reach fifty percent and go no higher. From here on, he would have to rely on his own skill to improve it further. He couldn’t depend solely on his Luck Level to achieve a one-hundred-percent success rate.

It was the same principle as back in the Celestial Sinking Ruins. Luck could help him find the core of a formation, but without the necessary skill, he wouldn’t know how to disable it and might just assume touching it was enough. Relying on luck alone wasn’t enough; he also needed the relevant knowledge.

’Looks like the system is fair after all. Skill is indispensable...’

Yi Tianyun shook his head. It was a shame, but he accepted it. If the effect was universal, it would be too overpowered. For example, if the less than ten percent success rate for refining a Heaven-Level weapon could be boosted to one hundred percent just by luck, that would be utterly preposterous.

That would be like instantly mastering a skill you knew nothing about. It wouldn’t be luck anymore; it would be breaking the rules.

Even so, a fifty percent success rate was still astonishing and a very pleasant surprise.

’Wait, I still have the Forging Hammer!’

He remembered he had that little gadget, a small, hammer-like item. After equipping it, the fifty percent success rate instantly rose to sixty percent!

’This little thing is great!’ Yi Tianyun’s eyes lit up. He had never used it before, mainly because his success rates had always been one hundred percent, making the item pointless to equip.

He had only just remembered it, and after equipping it, the effect was quite good.

’Let the refining begin!’ 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yi Tianyun immediately began the process. He unleashed his Immortal Fire, melting the materials and continuously tempering them.

"Ding! Successfully forged one Low-Grade Soul Artifact. Gained 100,000 Experience Points, Skill Level increased by 500!"

Finally, after spending the better part of a day, he successfully forged a Low-Grade Soul Artifact.

’An increase of one hundred thousand experience points... not bad.’ Yi Tianyun’s eyes lit up. The experience from a Soul Artifact was decent, but it took too long. Otherwise, it would be an excellent training method.

Taking most of a day to successfully forge a single piece meant he could only make thirty to forty a month at most. It clearly wasn’t a cost-effective use of his time.

’Let’s see how much I can sell it for...’

Yi Tianyun opened his inventory, selected the Low-Grade Soul Artifact to sell, and a system message immediately popped up: Price: 10,000 Madness Value!

’Ten thousand Madness Value...’

Yi Tianyun felt that was pretty good. To get this price from selling a crafted artifact, without having to go on a monster-killing spree, was quite a good deal. The method was safe and risk-free, just a little time-consuming.

’I’ll finish forging this batch, then go see if there are any Demon Beasts to kill nearby.’ Yi Tianyun decided to finish forging the current batch of materials first. Then, after upgrading his Madness Mode, he could go out to kill monsters and level up.

He immediately resumed his work. He had both successes and failures in forging the Soul Artifacts. Even with a success rate as high as sixty percent, there was still a chance of failure.

"Ding! Successfully upgraded Immortal Fire to Earth Level. Flame effect enhanced tenfold. Artifact Refining and Alchemy time reduced by half, success rate increased! Next level requires 100,000 Skill Level."

The sudden notification sent a jolt through him! He’d almost forgotten that his Immortal Fire could be upgraded. Since he only gained a single point of Skill Level for each successful refinement of Elixir Pills or artifacts, he had long since put it out of his mind.

He had only just now maxed out the Skill Level, and the resulting effect was a delightful surprise. Not only was the time for things like Artifact Refining cut, but his success rate had also increased!

’This Immortal Fire really is amazing... No, anything I can upgrade is bound to have a great effect!’

Yi Tianyun was overjoyed. What originally took the better part of a day to forge could now be completed in less than half that time. The time required was cut exactly in half.

’Let’s see what the success rate has increased to.’

He checked and found his success rate had risen to eighty percent! It had jumped another two tiers. While not perfect, it was still an astonishing improvement.

’It’s a shame. To raise this thing’s Skill Level, I’d need to feed it other flames. Apart from buying them in the System Shop, I don’t have any other way to get them right now.’ Yi Tianyun shook his head. Looking at the hundred-thousand-Madness-Value price tag in the shop, he could only shake his head in silence.

He could afford a hundred thousand Madness Value, but the Skill Level gained would surely be pitifully small. It looked like there was no way he could level it up again anytime soon.