Translator: CinderTL

"Do either of you know a great artifact refinement master?" Song Wen asked after Bai Wei put down the Communication Jade Slip.

"Elder Du Jiang of our sect excels in artifact refinement, and I have a good relationship with him," Wang Qiuyue replied. "Just give me the spiritual materials, and I’ll ensure you receive a Spirit Treasure that meets your satisfaction. However, you’ll need to cover the cost of the spirit stones yourself."

Song Wen hesitated. "Your sect’s refinement master? Fellow Daoist Wang, do you happen to know any rogue cultivator refinement masters?"

"Rogue cultivators? They’re hardly reputable refinement masters," Wang Qiuyue scoffed, her tone dripping with disdain. "Aren’t you afraid their crude skills will ruin your spiritual materials?"

But a realization quickly dawned on her, and she fixed Song Wen with a piercing gaze.

"Why are you so insistent on finding a rogue cultivator refinement master? Could it be that you’re trying to refine a Spirit Treasure with a questionable origin?"

Song Wen rubbed his nose, a sheepish smile spreading across his face.

As Wang Qiuyue suspected, he intended to refine the pair of black wings he had obtained from Xuan Qu, as well as Wei Gu’s bone sword.

Neither of these treasures could be easily shown to others.

The former was Xuan Qu’s natal magic treasure, widely known throughout the Southern Nether Continent. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Anyone who saw this item would immediately associate it with Xuan Qu’s death.

The latter was a demonic path mystic treasure, making it inappropriate to show to the Spirit Jade Palace.

"Gou Jun, rest assured," Bai Wei suddenly said. "Elder Du Jiang and Qiuyue both studied under the late True Immortal Ziming, sharing a senior brother-sister bond spanning thousands of years. No matter what Spirit Treasure you intend to refine, with Qiuyue’s intervention, Elder Du Jiang will keep his lips sealed."

After a moment’s hesitation, Song Wen flipped his hand and produced the pair of black wings.

The wings were approximately three meters long, covered in intricate talisman patterns. Even without activation, faint arcs of lightning crackled across their surface.

"Thunder Kui Wings!" Wang Qiuyue gasped. "Isn’t this Xuan Qu’s natal magic treasure? How did it end up in your hands? Did you kill Xuan Qu? But Xuan Qu has been dead for over thirty years. Back then, you were only at the Void Refinement Stage. How could you possibly have killed Xuan Qu, who was at the mid body integration stage?"

Though Wang Qiuyue had guessed correctly, Song Wen remained unfazed.

"As Senior said, how could I possibly kill Xuan Qu? I merely obtained these Thunder Kui Wings by chance."

Wang Qiuyue ignored Song Wen’s words, her gaze suddenly shifting to Bai Wei with a half-mocking, half-amused expression.

"I remember Xuan Qu pestering you for years, yet you never gave him the slightest consideration. Could it be... that his death was a joint effort between the two of you?" Wang Qiuyue’s face was filled with amusement and mockery.

Bai Wei shot her a disdainful glance.

"I wouldn’t kill him over such a trivial matter. Besides, I’m no match for him."

"So you’re saying you didn’t collaborate with Gou Jun to kill him?" Wang Qiuyue pressed.

"Of course not," Bai Wei retorted firmly.

"Alright then."

Wang Qiuyue seemed disappointed, like someone who had eagerly anticipated hearing scandalous secrets but was left empty-handed.

She finally turned her attention back to the pair of black wings.

"Gou Jun, these Thunder Kui Wings alone can’t be refined. Didn’t you prepare any thunder-attribute spiritual materials?"

"Naturally," Song Wen replied.

As he spoke, over a dozen types of spiritual materials materialized in the air.

Most of these materials had been retrieved from Xuan Qu’s storage ring, but the most precious ones had come from Wei Gu. It seemed Wei Gu had been planning to refine a thunder-attribute spiritual treasure and had gathered these materials in preparation.

"I don’t understand artifact refinement either," Wang Qiuyue said, waving her hand to store all the spiritual materials and the Thunder Kui Wings into her storage ring. "I’ll take all these spiritual materials. If I find any I can’t use, I’ll return them to you later."

"How many spirit stones would it take to commission Master Du Jiang to refine the artifact?" Song Wen asked. "I’ll give them to Fellow Daoist Wang now and trouble you to pass them on to Master Du Jiang."

Wang Qiuyue waved dismissively. "Let’s discuss that after the Spirit Treasure is refined."

"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist," Song Wen said.

Song Wen wanted to refine the Thunder Kui Wings because, after advancing to the Body Integration Stage, his previous Spirit Treasures had become inadequate. Moreover, the Wu Clan, whom he was seeking revenge against, resided within the territory of the Myriad Swords Pavilion. Displaying a demonic path mystic treasure like the Blood Sea Seal would be unwise.

It’s worth noting that during the thirteen years since Song Wen’s advancement to the Body Integration Stage, he had remained in secluded cultivation to stabilize his cultivation base. During this time, he had also refined the Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword and successfully mastered the God-Slaying Thorn technique.

The Nine Calamity Heaven-Measuring Sword, being a Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure, differed significantly from ordinary Spirit Treasures. Refining ordinary Spirit Treasures required strict cultivation level restrictions.

A Divine Transformation Stage cultivator could refine a low-grade spirit treasure, a Void Refinement Stage cultivator could refine a mid-grade spirit treasure, a Body Integration Stage cultivator could refine a high-grade spirit treasure, and a Great Ascension Stage cultivator could refine a Supreme-Grade spirit treasure.

If one’s cultivation level was insufficient, no amount of effort would allow them to refine the treasure.

Profound Heaven Spirit Treasures, born from the natural creation of heaven and earth, possessed power far surpassing ordinary Supreme-Grade spirit treasures, yet even Divine Transformation Stage cultivators could refine them. However, the refinement process required an immense amount of time, and even after exhausting all their efforts to barely refine one, they could only unleash a fraction of its true power.

Even a Body Integration Stage cultivator like Song Wen, channeling his entire cultivation base, could only tap into a sliver of its potential.

Perhaps only a Tribulation Crossing Stage great power could truly master a Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure.

As for the God-Slaying Thorn, it was fundamentally no different from the Focused Spirit Stab, merely possessing greater power and consuming more divine sense power. Its potency could be adjusted at will.

By unleashing the God-Slaying Thorn at full force, Song Wen could completely exhaust his divine sense power in a single strike. He estimated that such an attack would be sufficient to severely injure the divine soul of a Mid-Stage Body Integration cultivator—provided they lacked a divine soul defensive magical artifact.

A bone sword suddenly appeared before Song Wen.

The sword’s surface was crisscrossed with cracks, as if it might shatter into bone fragments at any moment.

"I wonder if Master Du Jiang could repair this sword?" Song Wen asked.

Wang Qiuyue replied, "You’ve come to the wrong person. Senior Brother Du Jiang has dedicated his life to crafting mystic treasures of the Orthodox Path. For this demonic artifact, you’ll need to seek expertise elsewhere."

Hearing this, Song Wen reluctantly sheathed the bone sword.

Just then, a gentle knock sounded at the door.

"Master, this disciple seeks an audience," Xu Mengyu’s voice called out.

Bai Wei turned slightly and waved her hand, sending a wisp of spiritual power toward the chamber door.

Instantly, the door swung open, and the chamber’s inherent restriction dissolved.

Xu Mengyu entered the chamber and bowed respectfully to each of the three occupants.

"Greetings, Master. Greetings, Elder Wang. Greetings, Senior Gou Jun."

"Junior Nephew Xu, there’s no need for such formality," Wang Qiuyue said.

"Thank you, Elder Wang," Xu Mengyu replied.

She then stepped forward and presented a jade slip to Bai Wei.

"Master, this contains detailed intelligence on the Wu Clan."

Bai Wei said, "This information is for Fellow Daoist Gou Jun. Give it to him directly."

"Senior Gou Jun, please take a look," Xu Mengyu said, and the jade slip slowly floated toward Song Wen.

"Thank you for your trouble, little friend," Song Wen said, accepting the jade slip. After a brief examination, he stored it in his storage ring.

Glancing at the leftover food on the table, Song Wen stood up and said, "Little Friend Xu is a bit late. Please take a seat first. I’ll have the servant bring more food."

"Senior Gou Jun, there’s no need to go to such expense," Xu Mengyu replied hastily. "You once saved my life, and I wouldn’t dare trouble you with such a trivial matter as a banquet."

Wang Qiuyue’s eyes lit up, her appetite seemingly rekindled after being momentarily satisfied. She waved enthusiastically at Xu Mengyu.

"Junior Nephew Xu, come sit down! The spirit banquet here is quite delicious—you should try it. Besides, your master and I have helped Gou Jun with many things. There’s no need to be polite about a simple meal. I even promised Gou Jun earlier to ask Elder Du Jiang to forge a thunder-attribute spiritual treasure for him."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener’s ears perked up. Xu Mengyu’s expression sharpened, her gaze fixed intently on Song Wen.

"Senior Gou Jun is proficient in thunder magic?"

(End of the Chapter)

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