Chapter 141: Artifact Refining

Lu Bai had stayed up all night, sifting through the pile of junk he got from the Old Gambling Ghost.

He’d scanned the entire lot, but not a single Exotic Treasure had turned up.

However, he did find another thirty Five Emperors Coins among a pile of old currency, including one Cyan Emperor Mother Coin.

Lu Bai tidied up the rest of the junk, stashed it in a corner, and organized the Five Emperors Coins he had collected.

Counting the White Emperor Mother Coin, the Cyan Emperor Mother Coin, and the Desolate Emperor Mother Coin, he now had fifty-six in total.

He was that much closer to his goal of one hundred and eight.

If not for the Old Gambling Ghost, he would’ve considered himself lucky to find even one or two of these old coins in all of Bluestone City.

After busying himself all night, he waited until dawn, collected some Tier Two Profound Iron Ore from the Luo Family, and then, carrying the Flying Sword he had found last night and some breakfast he’d bought, headed for Willow Shade Courtyard.

"Good morning, Daoist Yu."

Lu Bai handed over the breakfast he’d brought. "I brought you something to eat. Also, here’s the Talisman from the Evil Extermination Bureau."

"Mm," Yu Daoxuan nodded.

Lu Bai set it aside.

Yun Luo smiled. "Brother Lu, the city was so lively last night."

"It was."

Lu Bai sighed with emotion. "So much has happened in just a day and a night. To think the Lady Governor was from the Witch Race, and she had Prefect Dou Kuan under her control."

Lu Bai gave a brief account of what had happened the previous night.

"Daoist Yu, this is the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore."

Lu Bai continued, "And this Flying Sword... I have no use for it, but the material feels quite good. I was wondering if it could be melted down with the rest and forged into a new Treasure Artifact."

"It can."

Yu Daoxuan nodded and made a casual gesture.

The Flying Sword in Lu Bai’s hand trembled slightly, then instantly broke free of his grasp and flew before Yu Daoxuan.

Yu Daoxuan took out Lu Bai’s broken Cyan Cloud Sword.

The Broken Sword, the Flying Sword, and the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore all floated in mid-air.

With a flick of her finger, several more streams of light shot out from the Storage Pouch at her waist, exuding waves of Demon Qi as they hovered around the Cyan Cloud Sword.

"Is that..."

A trace of doubt flickered in Lu Bai’s eyes.

Yun Luo asked curiously, "Are those parts from the Tier Two Tiger Demon and the Exotic Beast Mountain Demon?"

"The Tiger Demon’s Claw and Fang, Tiger Bone, and Mountain Demon Bone."

Yu Daoxuan explained simply. Without any visible movement from her, a blazing ball of fire suddenly ignited beneath the materials, completely enveloping them.

Before long, all the materials had melted into a liquid state and began to merge.

Lu Bai didn’t know the first thing about Artifact Refining. He was just watching the spectacle, finding it all very novel.

Yun Luo, however, was secretly astonished.

She had seen elders on her island perform Artifact Refining, and they always had to place the materials in special vessels.

The Artifact Refiner would be the lead, with several disciples assisting. The process was extremely complicated and allowed for no mistakes.

But now, Yu Daoxuan was using no auxiliary Magical Treasures at all. She had simply tossed the materials into the air and was melting and forging them in the void.

The heat from the ball of fire was perfectly controlled—enough to melt the materials without destroying the power contained within them.

Not a single trace of the fire’s power leaked out.

It was as if an invisible vessel in the void was holding all the materials together.

Lu Bai sensed this was no small undertaking and couldn’t help but ask, "Daoist Yu, what grade of Treasure Artifact will you be able to make this time?"

"Shh!"

Yun Luo quickly raised a finger to her lips.

Whether for Artifact Refining or Alchemy, one had to be completely focused. Distractions, and especially interruptions, were a major taboo.

Otherwise, the refining or alchemy could fail, or the grade of the final product could drop.

What could have been an Upper Grade Magical Treasure might end up as a Lower Grade one.

Lu Bai nodded, not daring to speak again.

Yu Daoxuan spoke, "I have the Demon Beast Blood of three Tier Two Demon Beasts here. With three rounds of Blood Tempering, I can refine an Upper Grade Treasure Artifact."

Yun Luo’s jaw dropped slightly, her eyes wide as saucers.

’She can talk while performing Artifact Refining?’

Although she knew her auntie was incredibly skilled, the scene today was a real eye-opener.

"An Upper Grade Treasure Artifact!"

Lu Bai was overjoyed. He quickly bowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Daoist Yu."

Then, a little confused, Lu Bai asked, "The blood of three Demon Beasts... Besides the Tiger Demon and the Exotic Beast Mountain Demon, what’s the third?"

Yun Luo said, "And the little deer."

’Xiaolu?’

Lu Bai froze. ’She’s going to use my blood?’

’My blood isn’t worthy of being used to refine a Treasure Artifact, is it?’

Then, he saw a White-Horned Profound Deer walk over from the backyard.

Lu Bai: "..."

’So *that’s* the "little deer" she meant.’

Yun Luo said, "This little deer ran over here last night. Auntie says it has a trace of Exotic Beast blood in it. With the Tiger Demon, the Mountain Demon, and the little deer, that makes Three Blood Prohibitions. Brother Lu, this Upper Grade Treasure Artifact of yours is going to be amazing!

"I heard that the Evil Extermination Bureau’s Treasure Artifacts, meant for killing evil spirits, are usually made with the most yang-aspected bloods of three creatures: a fierce tiger, a rooster, and a stag.

"But this Upper Grade Treasure Artifact has the blood of a Tiger Demon plus two types of Exotic Beast bloodlines. It’ll be even more powerful than the Evil Extermination Bureau’s Upper Grade Treasure Artifacts."

Hearing this, Lu Bai grew even more expectant.

For the same Three Blood Prohibitions, the stronger the Demon Beast Blood used during the Blood Tempering, the greater the power of the Treasure Artifact.

And that wasn’t even factoring in the materials used for the weapon itself.

This Cyan Cloud Sword was being infused not only with Tier Two Profound Iron Ore, but also another Flying Sword, a Tiger Demon’s Claw and Fang, and Mountain Demon Bone.

Although they were all Tier Two materials, they were the Top Grade among Tier Two materials!

In that short time, the liquid mass in mid-air had already begun to take shape.

However, it had split in two, forming two sword blanks.

One had a hilt, its Sword Form similar to the Cyan Cloud Sword.

The other was as thin as a cicada’s wing and had only a blade, resembling the Flying Sword Yun Luo used, which could curl up into a Sword Pill at any moment.

"Auntie, is the other one a Flying Sword you’re making for me?"

Yun Luo’s eyes lit up as she couldn’t help but ask.

Yu Daoxuan nodded.

’No wonder Daoist Yu used so many good materials. Her real intention was to forge a Flying Sword for Yun Luo. I just got lucky and am riding on Yun Luo’s coattails.’

At the same time, Yun Luo secretly glanced at Lu Bai and thought, ’I’m really benefiting from Brother Lu’s good fortune this time. This is the first time Auntie has ever personally forged a Flying Sword for me.’

Seeing the two sword blanks had formed, Yu Daoxuan separated the Flying Sword and set it aside.

Then, two globs of Demon Beast Blood, reeking of Demon Qi, suddenly flew out of her Storage Pouch!

While the Cyan Cloud Sword was glowing red-hot, she sprinkled one of the globs of blood onto it.

SIZZLE!

A thick plume of smoke rose up.

The flames receded slightly before flaring up again, heating the Cyan Cloud Sword until it was thoroughly red-hot once more.

A crimson halo appeared around the Cyan Cloud Sword.

She repeated the process, sprinkling the second glob of Demon Beast Blood onto it.

Two Blood Prohibitions were now complete!

Yu Daoxuan tilted her head slightly, glancing at the White-Horned Profound Deer beside her. A single Dust Silk from her Duster flew out, zipped past the deer, and coiled around a single drop of blood, which it then sprinkled onto the Cyan Cloud Sword.

The crimson halo around the Cyan Cloud Sword now clearly showed three distinct layers.

The Upper Grade Treasure Artifact was complete!

But Yu Daoxuan showed no signs of stopping.

"CLUCK! CLUCK!"

Just then, a familiar chicken call came from behind him.

Lu Bai turned to look.

He saw the Black Dog carrying Ah Ming on its back. They had followed him over at some point, but he hadn’t noticed until now.

’How did they get here on their own?’