Chapter 469: Refining the Talisman Artifact, Spirit Crystal Vein

“We’re still friends”—Wei Tu couldn’t tell if Lüqiu Qingfeng meant it or not.

After all, people’s hearts were hard to read.

So, to stay safe, after quitting the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild, he didn’t rush to leave Yuangjun Island. Instead, he rented a high-grade cave dwelling in the island’s core area and entered temporary seclusion.

He had made up his mind—until Cao Mi recovered from her injuries, he wasn’t leaving Yuangjun Island.

And now, there were fewer than twenty years left until Cao Mi’s full recovery.

Twenty years—Wei Tu could afford to wait.

Besides, he didn’t plan on doing nothing during that time.

“Fourth-rank talisman artifact—Golden Flame Pearl.”

Inside the rented cave dwelling, in the training room, Wei Tu pulled out a fourth-rank talisman legacy that Che Gongwei had passed to him years ago from his storage pouch.

Strictly speaking, this talisman legacy was more like a third-rank one.

Its knowledge of fourth-rank talisman techniques was shallow.

But because it contained the crafting method for the “Golden Flame Pearl,” a true fourth-rank artifact, it barely qualified as fourth-rank overall.

Wei Tu had personally held the Golden Flame Pearl a century ago.

But since Che Gongwei had been caught in the sect war between Earth Sword Mountain and Ancient Sword Mountain back then, Wei Tu had returned the powerful weapon to its original owner to ensure Che Gongwei’s safety.

Unfortunately, the Golden Flame Pearl didn’t make much of a difference when Che Gongwei was killed.

Not because the artifact lacked power.

But because Yao Chongshan and his wife were too strong at the Golden Core level.

They killed Che Gongwei so quickly that he never had time to fully activate the talisman.

It was like what happened two years ago when Wei Tu ambushed and killed Yan Gongcheng.

Yan Gongcheng had the “Immortal-Slaying Arrow Gourd,” a fearsome weapon that could threaten even mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

But Wei Tu struck so fast that Yan Gongcheng never got the chance to bring it out.

In other words, it wasn’t that weapons like the “Golden Flame Pearl” or “Immortal-Slaying Arrow Gourd” weren’t powerful—they just weren’t used to their full potential.

That’s why Wei Tu decided to study talisman arts during his time on Yuangjun Island and use the fourth-rank artifact “Golden Flame Pearl” to boost his combat methods at this stage.

…

Twenty years wasn’t too long or too short.

But for deepening his talisman skills, Wei Tu thought it was more than enough.

First, among the four immortal crafts—talismans, formations, pills, and artifacts—talisman crafting was the easiest.

With a foundation as a top-tier third-rank talisman master, reaching fourth rank was just a matter of time.

Second, he had the “Talisman Heart Stele,” a rare talisman treasure.

Though a bit clumsy in combat at the Nascent Soul level, it was more than enough for practicing talisman techniques.

With a solid foundation in talismans, all the materials he needed, and the support of his “Late Bloomer” destiny, Wei Tu didn’t see becoming a fourth-rank talisman master and refining the “Golden Flame Pearl” as a difficult goal at all.

Time flew by like a passing cloud.

Before long, fifteen years had gone by.

During this period, besides diving deep into talisman studies in his cave, Wei Tu also gathered some news about the Donghua Demon Kingdom.

As a former guest elder of the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild, he was especially interested in updates involving the guild and their old rival, the Spider Heart Sect.

Fifteen years ago, after his departure, the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild fell into even worse decline. It was like a crumbling tower about to collapse.

Panic spread among the members.

And for reasons unknown, Lüqiu Qingfeng didn’t follow through on her promise to personally take action against the Spider Heart Sect.

But seven years ago, things changed when another guest elder from the guild’s main branch, Shen Xiu, came out of seclusion.

Shen Xiu, like the Earth Spider Matron, had broken through to mid-stage Nascent Soul.

With Shen Xiu stepping into the spotlight, the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild was no longer on the defensive. The tide quickly turned, and they regained most of their lost territory.

Currently, the two major forces were locked in a tense “cold phase,” each waiting for the other to slip up before tipping the balance again.

At the same time—

Unfavorable rumors about Wei Tu began to spread.

Many cultivators looked down on Wei Tu for leaving the guild during its moment of crisis.

But this didn’t surprise Wei Tu, nor did he care much. After all, most people admired strength.

If the guild had completely collapsed after his exit, those same people would’ve called him foresighted for leaving when he did.

“Shen Xiu?”

“Did her breakthrough to mid-stage Nascent Soul have anything to do with Lüqiu Qingfeng?”

“If so, then she must’ve realized Lüqiu Jinyuan was backing the Spider Heart Sect.”

Wei Tu silently pondered.

If his guess was right, then Shen Xiu’s appearance was just Lüqiu Qingfeng’s way of shielding herself.

In that case, Shen Xiu’s ending probably wouldn’t be great.

Because the internal power struggles of the Lüqiu Clan weren’t something a regular Nascent Soul cultivator could meddle in.

Especially now, when Lüqiu Jinyuan held the upper hand.

“Not my problem.”

Wei Tu shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

The way things were going, other than slightly harming his reputation, this situation actually helped him escape Yuangjun Island more smoothly.

Lüqiu Qingfeng would have a hard time pulling together enough power to go after him again.

If she tried, it would definitely draw Lüqiu Jinyuan’s attention.

And at that point, she’d basically be pushing him into Lüqiu Jinyuan’s camp herself.

Wei Tu figured that, with his strength and potential, it wouldn’t be hard to earn Lüqiu Jinyuan’s favor.

Besides that—

He also heard another important piece of news that was closely tied to him.

The death of Yan Gongcheng.

Thankfully, Yan Gongcheng’s death remained an unsolved mystery. No one suspected Wei Tu, who had left before the battle even began.

Most people believed that Yan Gongcheng had probably offended some powerful senior cultivator who had killed him instantly.

After all, no ordinary cultivator had the skill to kill Yan Gongcheng without disturbing the formation.

“There are still five years until Junior Sister Cao recovers. If nothing changes by then, I can finally leave Yuangjun Island and head elsewhere.”

Wei Tu calculated silently.

Time passed.

In a flash, another two years went by.

That year, Wei Tu finally finished drawing the fourth-rank lower-grade talisman needed for the Golden Flame Pearl—Golden Flame Talisman.

Now that the Golden Flame Talisman was complete, refining the talisman artifact “Golden Flame Pearl” was within reach.

A talisman artifact, as the name implied, was a fusion of a talisman and a magic artifact.

Compared to regular magic artifacts, it relied more on the power of talismans. The artifact body was just a vessel.

As for the fourth-rank artifact Golden Flame Pearl—

To craft this, Wei Tu not only had to complete the Golden Flame Talisman, but also needed to use artifact-crafting techniques to create the artifact’s main body—the “pearl body.”

Of course, the pearl body didn’t need to be a fourth-rank artifact—just a regular second-rank would do.

With Wei Tu’s wisdom as a Nascent Soul cultivator, reaching the level of a second-rank artifact craftsman was nothing difficult.

It would just take a bit of time.

But he didn’t even need to do it himself. He still had a ready-made one that his only son Wei Xiuwen had crafted for him years ago.

…

In the training room, Wei Tu sat cross-legged, eyes fixed on a floating crystal sphere about the size of a baby’s fist.

He formed a series of hand seals and sent several streams of magical power into the crystal ball. Then he lightly moved his lips and said, “Open.”

As soon as the word left his mouth—

The crystal sphere burst with light and began to spin. After a moment, it split open from the top into four parts like flower petals, revealing the inner “talisman chamber.”

Seeing this, Wei Tu flicked his sleeve. Four golden talismans shot out from his hand.

The four talismans entered the chamber, and instantly golden flames ignited inside the crystal sphere.

Surprisingly, instead of being damaged by the flames, the crystal sphere glowed even brighter.

After a while, having absorbed the energy from the Golden Flame Talismans, the crystal sphere closed on its own. The outer golden flame receded, and its surface turned purple. Then it fell gently into Wei Tu’s palm.

“To make one Golden Flame Pearl, I need four lower-grade fourth-rank Golden Flame Talismans.”

“Its power might not match the Immortal-Slaying Arrow Gourd, but it has two advantages—it can be mass-produced and triggered instantly.”

Wei Tu rubbed the purple pearl in his palm, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.

The Immortal-Slaying Arrow Gourd was devastating, but it only had three arrows. Once those were used up, it became useless.

But the Golden Flame Pearl was different.

It was something he could make himself. As long as he had enough raw materials, he could produce as many as he wanted.

The remaining three years flew by quickly.

Using his own resources, Wei Tu successfully refined seven Golden Flame Pearls during that time.

He didn’t make more—not because he was stingy, but because fourth-rank talisman paper and spirit ink in Yuangjun Island’s markets were restricted and had to be bought under real names.

Buying too much in one place would definitely draw attention.

So, to be safe, he bought only a small amount at a time and didn’t overdo it.

Everything was ready—he just needed the right moment.

A few days later—

Wei Tu met up with Cao Mi in the marketplace. The two updated each other on recent developments.

Wei Tu used the opportunity to bring up his suggestion again—leave Yuangjun Island immediately.

He had already brought this up twenty years ago. Now, he was just repeating it.

“Right now, the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild and the Spider Heart Sect are in a standoff. This is the best time for us to leave Yuangjun Island. Once they start fighting again… it won’t be so easy for us to get away.”

Wei Tu shared his concern.

Cao Mi agreed and accepted his proposal.

After all, the world was vast. They could make a home anywhere.

The Red Algae Sea Region still had several large spirit islands just as good as Yuangjun Island.

“However, before we leave the Donghua Demon Kingdom, I want to visit… the ruins near Flying Serpent Island.”

Cao Mi hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Flying Serpent Island ruins?” Wei Tu raised his brow and fell into thought.

Those ruins had suddenly appeared near Flying Serpent Island five years ago.

Because of their location, cultivators named them the “Flying Serpent Island Ruins.”

These ruins weren’t like ordinary ones. They were the rare and valuable type known as “spirit ruins.”

Inside spirit ruins, one could find not only rare spirit herbs and spirit beasts that were scarce in the cultivation world—but also what Nascent Soul cultivators valued most…

Spirit crystal veins.