Chapter 252: Ancient Black Xuan Gold as an Alchemy Ingredient

Chapter 252: Ancient Black Xuan Gold as an Alchemy Ingredient

"Among these items, apart from these two beast eggs that I can't identify, the rest are quite valuable and useful to me." Chu Ning thought to himself as he examined the treasures before him.

He picked up the silvery material and the fiery red crystal, intrigued by their potential. The silvery stone, known as Silver Star Stone, and the blood-red Blood Jade Crystal were both rare and sought-after alchemy ingredients. Even within the Nineflower Sect, they were not commonly seen.

The Blood Jade Crystal, in particular, was a precious yet uncommon find, with limited applications. However, Chu Ning had already planned out the treasures he would forge after achieving the Foundation Establishment, and this crystal would certainly come in handy.

The small green sword, glowing with a faint aura, was clearly a decent treasure, but it seemed to be just one piece of a set. That was likely why the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Demon Spirit Sect hadn't utilized it to its full potential when they faced each other. Nonetheless, Chu Ning found such sets intriguing. They were valuable for research, and who knew, he might even get the chance to collect the entire set one day.

Moreover, with the damage to his withered leaf flying blades, and his reluctance to reveal his dual fire rings and his true capabilities to the world, having an additional treasure in his arsenal was always a welcome prospect.

The spirit plant seeds were also an unexpected find. This particular spirit plant, known as the Purple Phoenix Cedar, was unique to the Western Alliance Continent. Its mature trunks were commonly used in the creation of spirit sense-type treasures, and the spirit fruits it bore were excellent ingredients for refining spirit sense-enhancing elixirs.

However, apart from their mature uses, Chu Ning was also attracted to the wood essence aura they possessed. With his prior experience of the Black Sky Iron Spirit Wood and Iron Spirit Flower, he knew that the wood essence aura from such spirit plants could greatly enhance one's spirit sense.

While the effects might not necessarily surpass the elixirs he refined, the advantage was that it didn't require a substantial cost. With a long period of cultivation ahead of him within the Nineflower Sect, it was unlikely that they would continuously supply him with spirit sense elixirs for decades.

Chu Ning intended to try cultivating these seeds and, if successful, it would greatly aid his cultivation.

After storing away these treasures, Chu Ning's attention turned to the pair of beast eggs. He searched his memory for any clues about them but came up empty. Not feeling particularly rushed to identify them, he decided to put them away for the time being and ask for more information when he returned to the sect.

While these five items were the most intriguing to Chu Ning, his haul was certainly not limited to them. After all, these were the storage bags of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there were quite a few late-stage ones among them.

Just the spirit stones alone amounted to several tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones, not to mention the various magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, and other relatively less precious alchemy and pill-refining materials. As for the demonic cultivation techniques, Chu Ning didn't pay them much mind.

After organizing his newly acquired treasures, Chu Ning left the base camp once more and headed back to the front lines. The territory currently occupied by the Nineflower Sect would be crucial to his future chances of entering the Spirit Realm, so he couldn't afford any slip-ups.

If he could truly enter the Spirit Realm and absorb a strand of Spirit Vibration Energy, he would be able to condense a Golden Spirit Root. This was a matter of great importance, affecting both his future cultivation and the potential talent refreshes from the system.

Thus, for the following period, Chu Ning remained at the forefront of the Honghu Lake defense line, ever vigilant in case the Demon Path Alliance launched another assault.

Under such circumstances, it wasn't convenient for Chu Ning to cultivate the second volume of the Ninefold Tempering Body Technique. Instead, he spent most of his time cultivating the Blazing Fire Divine Wood Art and the Refining God Technique, only occasionally sparing some time to ponder the second volume of the Ninefold Tempering Body Technique.

During this period, the Demon Path Alliance did indeed launch another attack. Fortunately, the Cloud Sky Alliance was well-prepared. In addition to the arrays set up by the Nineflower Sect, cultivators from the Green Cloud Sect had also been arranged to assist. In the end, they successfully held their ground without any unforeseen incidents.

A month later, the grand formation jointly established by numerous Golden Core cultivators from the Cloud Sky Alliance was finally complete. The entire territory controlled by the alliance was now protected by the array and restriction spells.

After more than a month of absence, Chu Ning finally returned to the sect. The matter of the base camp had already been communicated to the sect through previous transmissions, so there was no need for Chu Ning to report it specifically.

Upon his return, Chu Ning met with Yu Change and then retired to his cave abode. He paid a visit to Elders Ling Cang and Ge Liuyang, intending to ask them some questions. However, one of them was in seclusion, and the other was in the midst of alchemy, so Chu Ning decided not to disturb them.

Back in his cave abode, everything was as he had left it. Little White was still in a deep slumber, indicating that it would still be some time before it advanced to the next stage. As for the spirit plants and elixirs, they were all growing healthily.

At that moment, Chu Ning took out some of the items he had obtained during his trip to Honghu Lake. First, he retrieved the Purple Phoenix Cedar seeds and smiled.

"Over the past few years, the Nineflower Sect has provided me with an ample supply of various elixirs and spirit fruits. The Flamewood Twin Birth Fruit, Iron Spirit Flower, and other spirit herbs are already growing normally, so there's no need to replant them. It's been a while since I last cultivated new spirit plants, though."

As he muttered, his hands moved swiftly. He placed one of the Purple Phoenix Cedar seeds into the soil and cast the stimulation technique with both hands, causing it to fall onto the seed.

Having used this technique countless times before, Chu Ning was intimately familiar with it. Moreover, his spirit sense and spiritual power had grown far stronger than before.

As this thought flashed through Chu Ning's mind, he felt that he should indeed set aside some time to give it a try.

However, at this moment, Chu Ning remained focused on stimulating the Purple Phoenix Cedar in front of him.

It was not easy to stimulate this plant, even with Chu Ning's current level of spiritual power.

He had to cast sixteen stimulation spells before he could finally get the seed to respond.

Chu Ning then turned to another seed and continued the process.

Only after planting all eight seeds did he stop.

He then began to cast the Mysterious Spring Green Wood Art.

Just then, Chu Ning's heart stirred, and he sensed someone flying towards his cave abode. He immediately deactivated the array restrictions and paused his spellcasting to greet the visitor with a cupped fist salute.

"Uncle Ge!"

The visitor was none other than Ge Liuyang, whom Chu Ning had just visited earlier.

Ge Liuyang maintained his carefree demeanor as he entered Chu Ning's cave abode.

He glanced around, saying, "I heard you returned from Honghu Lake, and you came looking for me earlier. I was afraid you had something urgent, so I came as soon as I finished my artifact refining."

Chu Ning smiled and replied, "It's not really anything urgent. I just got back."

"Oh," Ge Liuyang acknowledged, his eyes falling on the young Purple Phoenix Cedar sapling in front of Chu Ning, and he said in surprise, "Hey, isn't that a Purple Phoenix Cedar? You're cultivating this spiritual plant?

This thing is not easy to nurture, especially right after planting, as it's extremely difficult to keep it alive.

Do you also have a special interest in the art of spiritual plant cultivation?"

Chu Ning nodded. At this moment, he didn't hide anything and directly cast several Mysterious Spring Green Wood Arts towards the saplings in front of Ge Liuyang.

Ge Liuyang watched Chu Ning's actions, looking rather surprised.

Especially when he saw Chu Ning casting a spell on the last Purple Phoenix Cedar, and the first one started absorbing spiritual energy rapidly.

Ge Liuyang's eyes widened as he stared at Chu Ning.

"This kind of spell is usually only known by advanced spiritual plant cultivators. Are you also a spiritual plant cultivator?"

Chu Ning nodded in response, "Before I learned how to refine pills, I was already a spiritual plant cultivator. Back then, I relied on cultivating my own medicinal ingredients."

Upon hearing this, Ge Liuyang exclaimed in wonder, "Pill refiner, artifact refiner, and now a spiritual plant cultivator... I'm truly curious if there's anything you can't learn.

It seems that only talismans and array formations haven't caught your interest yet."

Hearing this, Chu Ning smiled and said, "As for talismans, I do have some knowledge.

As for array formations, perhaps one day in the future, I might take an interest in them as well.

But for now, I'm mainly focused on cultivation, pill refining, and artifact refining.

In the future, I'll have to seek your guidance in artifact refining, Elder Ge."

Hearing Chu Ning's words, Ge Liuyang's eyes lit up.

"Oh? Are you serious about that?"

Chu Ning nodded slightly, and then suddenly remembered the two items he had obtained on this trip that he couldn't identify.

He immediately took out the black chain and the pair of beast eggs.

"This is..."

Ge Liuyang's eyes immediately locked onto the black chain in Chu Ning's hand.

"I obtained this from a Golden Core cultivator of the Xuan Yin Sect. It's quite mysterious.

When the opponent was using it, I felt a strong aura of yin coldness and demonic energy.

But when I obtained it, I didn't sense that at all."

Chu Ning continued, "At first, I thought it was a magic treasure, but later, when I held it in my hand, it didn't feel like one..."

As Chu Ning spoke, he noticed Ge Liuyang's complex expression as he held the black chain, and he paused.

Ge Liuyang, at this moment, was turning the black chain over and over in his hands, his face alternating between doubt and certainty.

After a long while, Ge Liuyang took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with an unusual light.

"Black Xuan Gold! So much Black Xuan Gold!! And it's unrefined!"

Ge Liuyang's voice trembled with excitement and disbelief.

"Black Xuan Gold?"

Chu Ning's face was filled with confusion as he had never heard of this material in the years he had spent studying artifact refining manuals and learning about various artifact refining materials.

"If I had asked you a year earlier, I wouldn't have recognized it either," Ge Liuyang took a deep breath and slowly explained. "It was only in the last two years, while organizing and studying the inheritance manuals you brought back from Wolong Valley, that I identified this material.

Let me tell you, according to the records of our Nineflower Sect's Nascent Soul predecessors, this material is ranked in the top ten of ancient artifact refining materials."

"Top ten ancient artifact refining materials?"

Chu Ning's eyes flickered, and just from this introduction, he knew that this was no ordinary material.

Ge Liuyang continued, "This type of artifact refining material is said to be born with the heaven and earth's spiritual energy. It was one of the most favored materials used by ancient cultivators to refine magic treasures.

Its greatest advantage is that the material itself can accommodate any attribute. Even without refining, simply using it as a medium for spellcasting can increase the power of the spell by at least fifty percent.

If it's incorporated into other materials during artifact refining and combined with spellcasting, it can often unleash several times the power!"

Hearing Ge Liuyang's explanation, Chu Ning's gaze fell on the long black chain in front of him.

Chu Ning, however, was not paying attention to Ge Liuyang's musings. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Is there a method to refine this material in our sect's legacy? Can you refine it, Master Ge?"

"Indeed there is!" Ge Liuyang nodded first, then shook his head. "But the refining method is extremely profound, and it requires an extremely high level of cultivation and Elixir fire control from the refiner. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to refine even a tiny bit of it. As for refining the entire black chain, I'm afraid even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't be able to do it."

Hearing that even Ge Liuyang, the most skilled artisan in the sect, couldn't refine the material, Chu Ning's eyes widened in surprise.

Ge Liuyang, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, might not have the highest cultivation level in the Nineflower Sect, but when it came to artifact refining, he was the best. If even he couldn't refine it, then Chu Ning knew he certainly wouldn't be able to.

"However, just because we can't refine it now doesn't mean we won't be able to in the future." Chu Ning's thoughts flashed, and he smiled. "In that case, I'll just have to keep it for now. If all else fails, using it directly to fight against enemies wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Absolutely not!" Ge Liuyang shook his head immediately upon hearing this. "We don't know if the guardian of the Xuan Yin Sect just obtained this item recently or if there's no one in the Xuan Yin Sect who understands this material. But there are quite a few sects in the Western Alliance Continent that are well-versed in artifact refining. If they were to see such a large piece of Black Xuan Gold, even a Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to resist taking it from you."

Chu Ning smiled at Ge Liuyang's words. "Don't worry, Master Ge. I was just joking. Since this item is so precious, I'll keep it safe for now."

Ge Liuyang nodded and handed the black chain back to Chu Ning. "You must keep this item safe, Chu Ning, and don't show it to others casually. As for the introduction and refining methods of Black Xuan Gold, I'll have a senior send the information to you so you can learn more about it."

"Thank you, Master Ge," Chu Ning said with a bow.

After carefully putting away the black chain, Chu Ning picked up the pair of beast eggs in his hand. "Master Ge, with your extensive knowledge, do you know what kind of beasts these eggs are from?"

Ge Liuyang took the eggs and examined them with a surprised expression. "Hmm, these beast eggs have very weak life forces, but they seem to be of a high rank. However, I don't have much research in the way of spirit beasts and demons, so I can't identify what kind they are."

As he spoke, Ge Liuyang handed the two beast eggs back to Chu Ning. "But you can ask Qi Shidi about it. He's quite knowledgeable about spirit beasts and demons. I gave him the Green Devil Snake you caught a few years ago."

"Elder Qi?" Chu Ning nodded. Among the Nine Elders of the Nineflower Sect, Qi Guangshou, a early-stage Golden Core cultivator, was relatively low-key. Chu Ning didn't interact with him much, but he knew that Qi Guangshou was in charge of the Spirit Beast Peak.

However, the Spirit Beast Peak of the Nineflower Sect wasn't very large, and it didn't have many disciples, so its status in the sect was far inferior to the Pill Refining and Artifact Refining Peaks.

As Chu Ning was thinking about this, Ge Liuyang spoke up, "Why don't I ask him to come over?"

"No need, no need! I'll go find Elder Qi myself," Chu Ning quickly said.

He had made some contributions to the sect, but he didn't want to be too presumptuous.

"Alright, Qi Shidi may be a bit cold, but he's a good person at heart. Just ask him directly if you have any questions," Ge Liuyang nodded. After asking Chu Ning about some more specific details of his trip, he left.

Chu Ning left Lingyan Peak and made his way to the Spirit Beast Peak.

Qi Guangshou, dressed in a black robe, was surprised by Chu Ning's visit. With a cold face, he asked, "What brings you to my Spirit Beast Peak, Chu Ning?"

Chu Ning knew that Qi Guangshou had this kind of personality, so he wasn't bothered by it. He took out the two beast eggs from his storage bag and said, "Elder Qi, I accidentally obtained these two beast eggs from a cultivator of the Magic Spirit Sect, but I can't identify them. I wonder if you could help me take a look."

Qi Guangshou's gaze fell on the two beast eggs in Chu Ning's hand, and a hint of surprise flashed across his cold face. "Golden Thunder Eagle! You managed to get your hands on the eggs of this beast?"

"Golden Thunder Eagle!" Chu Ning repeated the name of the beast, his eyes widening in surprise. "The one that moves incredibly fast and can launch thunder attribute attacks?"

Qi Guangshou nodded, his voice still cold, but with a hint of excitement. "The thunder attribute attacks are just the innate skills of the Golden Thunder Eagle. What truly makes this beast powerful is that if it can be nurtured to the fifth rank, comparable to the strength of an early-stage Golden Core cultivator, it can attack with golden thunder that damages the soul and devours demons. Its abilities are extraordinary."

As he spoke, Qi Guangshou shook his head. "However, these two eagle eggs have extremely weak life forces, and their vitality is almost non-existent. I'm afraid they can't be hatched and nurtured anymore."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end