Chapter 257: Ancient Treasures and Immortal Elixirs

Chapter 257: Ancient Treasures and Immortal Elixirs

"This Heaven's Storm Peak truly has an abundance of spiritual energy. I suspect it already possesses a fourth-tier spirit vein!"

Chu Ning had just landed on Heaven's Storm Peak when he immediately noticed the difference between this place and Spirit Rock Peak.

He then proceeded directly to the only cave dwelling on the peak.

Compared to Spirit Rock Peak, this cave was at least five or six times larger.

"Perfect. Big Gold and Little Gold are growing bigger by the day, and the previous beast chamber was getting a bit cramped. They'll have more space here."

Chu Ning looked up at the two Golden Thunder Eagles.

In the past half a year, the two eagles seemed to have grown even larger, and they were just a step away from advancing to fourth-tier demonic beasts.

As for Little Spirit White, that little guy didn't seem to be growing at all, even though he was about to advance to a fifth-tier demonic beast and become a presence comparable to a Golden Core cultivator.

However, there was no sign of any increase in his size, which left Chu Ning bewildered.

Generally speaking, a spirit beast's body would undergo some changes during its advancement and growth process.

Other than gaining an extra tail when it advanced to the second tier, Little Spirit White's appearance had remained unchanged until now.

Upon entering the cave, Chu Ning indeed found that the array formations here were far more advanced than the ones Chen Zijin had given him.

Whether it was defensive restrictions or spirit-gathering effects, they were superior by more than just one level.

Given this, Chu Ning naturally didn't plan to make any changes to the array formations.

He began making some simple modifications to the cave, including adding a new beast chamber.

Chu Ning also specially set up a room for pill refining and artifact crafting.

Now that he had successfully formed his Golden Core, he could refine pills and artifacts using pill fire, even without earth fire.

In fact, some high-level pills required the use of pill fire for their refinement.

After finishing the modifications to the cave, Chu Ning headed straight for the Artifact Refining Tower.

He had already thought about refining the Five Elements Sword Array before, and had asked the Artifact Refining Tower to help prepare the materials in advance.

Before he formed his Golden Core, Su Yuqing had delivered a message from Cui Rongrong, saying that the materials were ready.

Chu Ning had planned to retrieve them after completing the transformation and tempering of his spiritual power, but then he ended up forming his Golden Core directly, so he hadn't gotten around to it.

In addition, Chu Ning also needed help from Ge Liuyang.

As Chu Ning flew toward the Artifact Refining Tower, Ge Liuyang, who was far away, sensed his presence.

"Go out and greet him. Our Chu Shishu is here, and he probably wants to retrieve those artifact refining materials to craft an artifact." Ge Liuyang, who had been discussing matters with Lu Ke'an and Cui Rongrong, said with a smile.

"Chu Shishu!"

Lu Ke'an and Cui Rongrong were both taken aback for a moment, but they quickly realized that Ge Liuyang was referring to Chu Ning.

The two of them couldn't help but feel a bit complicated as they looked at each other.

Back when Chu Ning had first joined the Jiuhua Sect, the four of them had gone to Black Dragon Pool and Myriad Phenomenon Cliff together.

They were among the first group of cultivators within the sect, aside from those from the Pill Refining Tower, to interact with Chu Ning.

Now, this Chu Shixiong (senior martial brother) had suddenly become a Shishu (martial uncle), and they needed a moment to adjust to this new way of addressing him.

The two of them arrived at the Artifact Refining Tower and indeed saw Chu Ning leaping down from the Golden Thunder Eagle.

They immediately cupped their fists and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Chu Shishu!"

When everyone had been calling him Chu Zhanglao (Elder Chu) before, Chu Ning hadn't felt much.

But now, being addressed as Chu Shishu by his two former friends caught him a little off-guard.

However, he also knew that this was the default rule in the cultivation world, so he didn't ask them to change their address and simply smiled, saying, "You two don't need to be so formal with me. Is Shixiong Ge here? I have something I'd like to ask him about."

"Shibo is in the tower," Cui Rongrong replied.

Chu Ning then followed the two of them to Ge Liuyang's cultivation room, while Lu Ke'an and Cui Rongrong stayed behind.

Artifacts were extremely important to a Golden Core cultivator, especially since Chu Ning knew how to craft artifacts, and he was planning to craft a natal artifact.

There were some matters that they might not find convenient to hear about.

"These materials are what you previously asked the tower to prepare," Ge Liuyang said as he handed a pile of materials to Chu Ning as soon as he entered the room.

Then, he asked curiously, "Shidi, are you planning to craft a natal artifact? But I see that you've requested a wide variety of materials, and I can't quite guess what kind of artifact you're planning to make."

Ge Liuyang was indeed curious about the materials Chu Ning had requested, as they included substances of several different attributes.

Chu Ning didn't hide anything and directly said, "I plan to refine several spirit swords for the Five Elements Sword Array."

"The Five Elements Sword Array?" Ge Liuyang was indeed surprised by this statement.

As the elder in charge of the Artifact Refining Tower, how could he not know about this set of artifacts?

Combining this with the materials Chu Ning required, Ge Liuyang realized, "This sword array is extremely difficult to refine. It looks like you're planning to start with the wood, fire, and earth spirit swords."

"That's right," Chu Ning nodded.

"I also came here this time to ask Senior Brother Ge for a favor," he said as he took out a black chain made of Darksteel from his storage bag.

"I want to ask Senior Brother to use the tower's inherited treasure to help me cut off three sections from this Black Profound Gold."

Chu Ning knew that within the Jiuhua Sect's Artifact Refining Tower, there was a carving knife that had been passed down since ancient times. It could melt gold and cut jade, and it seemed to be an invaluable artifact.

However, this object was usually only used for artifact crafting, and it was kept by each generation's Artifact Refining Tower elder.

Even Chu Ning hadn't seen it before.

"Black Mystery Blade!"

Ge Liuyang's face showed surprise upon hearing this.

"Junior brother, do you plan to incorporate this Black Profound Metal into those spirit swords?" he asked, his tone filled with doubt.

After all, more than a decade ago, he had told Chu Ning that even he couldn't refine this Black Gold.

Chu Ning nodded and said, "I'm not sure if it will work, but I want to give it a try. If it succeeds, it would be best to have some of it mixed into the spirit swords. If it doesn't work, then never mind, and I can use the other materials for the refinement."

In fact, what Chu Ning wanted the most was to use this Black Star Iron as the main material for refining the spirit swords.

For now, he could only use other materials as the primary components and mix in some Black Profound Gold to enhance the quality of the flying sword.

Upon hearing this, Ge Liuyang nodded slightly.

He extended his hand, and a small white dagger appeared in his palm.

The dagger was only about two feet long, and its blade exuded a chilling aura. Even with Chu Ning's gaze, he felt a momentary impact.

Chu Ning asked, "Senior Brother Ge, what is this inherited treasure? It feels even more powerful than a regular magical artifact. Could there be another treasure hidden within it?"

"Indeed, it is a treasure of a higher grade than a magical artifact," Ge Liuyang nodded.

"Nascent Soul cultivators refer to them as ancient treasures or spirit treasures. Even I don't know the specifics.

Perhaps only seniors like Master would have a better understanding."

"Ancient treasures or spirit treasures," Chu Ning murmured softly.

He couldn't help but marvel at the boundless path of cultivation.

Breaking through and forming his Golden Core was already an achievement that many cultivators could only dream of.

However, the more he explored, the more he discovered the existence of profound and intricate aspects that he had yet to master.

But Chu Ning didn't feel discouraged. After all, he had only been cultivating for a little over forty years, and with his ability to refresh his talents, he would eventually have the opportunity to delve into these mysteries.

At that moment, Ge Liuyang held the chilling dagger and lightly sliced through the Black Profound Gold, effortlessly cutting off one section of the black chain.

According to Chu Ning's instructions, Ge Liuyang cut off two more sections.

Chu Ning then stored the three sections of Black Profound Gold, along with the other artifact refining materials, into his storage bag.

Ge Liuyang spoke up, "Chu Shidi, you've never used pill fire to refine a magical artifact before. Coincidentally, the sect intends to refine another magical artifact, also a flying sword. Why don't you take on this task?"

Chu Ning's eyes lit up with delight at the offer, and he readily agreed.

Such an opportunity to practice his crafting skills was truly rare.

After all, even in the Jiuhua Sect, refining magical artifacts was not a common occurrence.

Often, there would be a gap of ten years or more between such opportunities.

Ten days later, Chu Ning emerged from the Artifact Refining Tower with a complicated expression on his face, and he immediately flew towards the Pill Refining Tower.

As he recalled the process of refining the flying sword over the past few days, he couldn't help but feel conflicted.

"It's a good thing I had the chance to practice first. Otherwise, I would have wasted my materials."

Chu Ning never imagined that refining a magical artifact with pill fire would be so exhausting.

On top of that, he lacked experience in using his pill fire for this purpose.

Despite his abundant spiritual power, when refining the flying sword to eight or nine parts completion, he found himself struggling to continue.

Fortunately, Ge Liuyang was there to take over the refining process, or else it would have failed.

However, that was just an ordinary magical artifact, and it was acceptable for Ge Liuyang to take over.

The spiritual swords he needed for the Five Elements Sword Array had to be refined by Chu Ning himself, as they required the Golden Core pill fire cultivated with the Five Elements Chaotic Principles.

"If I don't mix in the Black Profound Gold, I might have a better chance of success.

Adding the Black Profound Gold makes it too risky at this point."

The refining materials that Chu Ning had prepared over the years were hard to come by, and he certainly didn't want to take such a risk.

At this juncture, he had two choices: to cultivate for a few more years and wait until his spiritual power became more robust, or to prepare quick spiritual power recovery pills.

After some deliberation, Chu Ning opted for the second option.

After all, it wouldn't be long before cultivators from various sects entered the Spirit Realm.

Without a natal artifact, Chu Ning didn't feel confident in facing off against mid or late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Moreover, the spiritual swords needed to be nurtured by his primordial spirit and pill fire after refining.

If he didn't prepare in advance, he wouldn't have enough time to refine them before entering the Spirit Realm.

Thus, Chu Ning decided to first refine a batch of pills suitable for himself, which could quickly restore his spiritual power.

That way, if his spiritual power ran out during the artifact refining process, he could replenish it promptly.

Chu Ning's arrival at the Pill Refining Tower once again caused a stir.

Numerous pill refiners came forward to greet and pay their respects to him.

He Yanmao, Yuan Rongzhang, and Su Yuqing, upon meeting Chu Ning face to face, couldn't help but feel amazed.

Especially Yuan Rongzhang, who recalled how he had initially doubted and questioned Chu Ning when he first joined the Jiuhua Sect.

Back then, they were both at the mid-Qi Refining stage, but after more than twenty years, although Yuan Rongzhang had reached the late-Qi Refining stage, he was still far from achieving the Foundation Establishment.

On the other hand, Chu Ning had already become a Golden Core elder.

Given their current relationship, jealousy was not an issue, but it would be a lie to say they didn't feel envious.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Chu Ning headed straight to the Pill Refining Tower's collection of pill formulas.

Ever since he obtained the pill formula inheritance from the Wolong Valley ruins, Chu Ning had indeed gained insights into many formulas.

However, previously, he had focused more on pill formulas suitable for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and his research into high-level pills for Golden Core cultivators was relatively limited.

At that moment, Chu Ning searched through the collection of pill formulas and quickly found several options that might meet his needs.

Finally, he settled on a pill called the Immortal Dew Pill.

This pill was a high-grade intermediate-level pill that could rapidly restore the pill energy of Golden Core cultivators, especially those who had exhausted their pill energy through the use of pill fire.

Chu Ning took the pill formula and inquired at the pill ingredient distribution section of the Pill Refining Tower, only to furrow his brows soon after.

While the Pill Refining Tower had most of the main ingredients for the Immortal Dew Pill, such as the Starry Moonflower, Purple Mist Fruit, and Sky Blue Grass, they were lacking in a few crucial auxiliary ingredients.

"Immortal Dew Grass? Is Junior Brother planning to refine the Immortal Dew Pill?"

Ling Cang was also quite surprised to hear Chu Ning's words.

"Although this Immortal Dew Pill is excellent for restoring magical power, the various spiritual herbs it requires are indeed difficult to find.

So, after the sect sorted out this inherited pill formula, it has never been refined before.

Immortal Dew Grass is an extremely rare herb, and even I don't know where to find it at the moment."

Hearing Ling Cang's words, Chu Ning couldn't help but frown slightly.

At this moment, Ling Cang continued:

"Why don't you come with me to Tianyin Pavilion in three months, Junior Brother Chu. Perhaps you'll have some luck there."

"Tianyin Pavilion?" Chu Ning asked, just about to inquire further when Ling Cang continued:

"Tianyin Pavilion has always been on good terms with our sect. Their Elder Xue, who is in charge of pill refining, has a wide network of friends and is also a close acquaintance of mine.

He has invited a group of fellow cultivators to gather at Tianyin Pavilion in three months, including those from the Yunxiao Alliance and other alliances.

There will likely be a small-scale trade session among the Golden Core cultivators, and some excellent pill refiners will be present.

Junior Brother Chu, if you come with me, you might find something useful."

Only then did Chu Ning understand the situation and immediately agreed.

Chu Ning also knew that as his cultivation level increased, the resources he needed would become more and more advanced.

Relying solely on Jiuhua Sect might no longer be feasible.

After all, most Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't obtain resources meant for Golden Core cultivators.

Therefore, at the Golden Core level, exchanges and bartering among cultivators of the same stage often made it easier to obtain what one needed.

Seeing that Chu Ning had agreed, Ling Cang smiled and said:

"These internal trading sessions among Golden Core cultivators often involve bartering.

Spiritual stones are used, of course, but if you have rare items, it's easier to get what you want.

Junior Brother might need to prepare in advance. If you don't have anything suitable, you can also obtain some from the sect."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, as he was well aware of this.

After leaving the Pill Refining Tower and returning to Tianlan Peak, Chu Ning pondered over this matter.

As Ling Cang had mentioned, spiritual stones were not the best for bartering, and even if they were, he didn't have any to spare at the moment.

He had spent almost all his spiritual stones during his Golden Core formation, and now he was practically penniless.

"The only things I can offer are talisman-making, pill refining, and artifact refining. As for artifacts, I can't produce anything too impressive, so they probably won't be of much use in such a setting.

For pill refining, I can try to refine some high-grade lower-tier or mid-tier pills, which should be possible.

As for talismans..."

With that in mind, Chu Ning quickly took out a talisman brush and some high-grade beast hide talisman paper from his storage bag.

These were the items he had obtained from Sun Shifan, the Golden Core cultivator from the Daluo Sect, back in Wolong Valley.

Chu Ning was about to start making talismans, but then he shook his head, thinking it over.

These talismans might be unique to the Daluo Sect, and if he drew and traded them, the Daluo Sect would naturally suspect that Sun Shifan had died at his hands.

Although the Daluo Sect members had already guessed that their fellow sect members had met with an accident after encountering Chu Ning and his group, they lacked concrete evidence.

It was better not to stir up any unnecessary trouble.

With that in mind, Chu Ning flew towards the Archive Pavilion.

Among the many inheritances he had brought back from Wolong Valley, there were not only those from the Jiuhua Sect but also from numerous other sects.

Logically, there should also be some talisman manuals among them.

Chu Ning also wanted to find another fire-based and earth-based spell to learn.

After all, since he couldn't refine artifacts in the meantime, he could spend his time improving his spellcasting abilities.

Upon arriving at the Archive Pavilion, Chu Ning shared his thoughts with Liu Zhaolin, who immediately led him to the second floor.

Liu Zhaolin then took out a jade slip from the numerous ones stored there and handed it to Chu Ning.

"Junior Brother Chu, this jade slip was brought back from the Wolong Valley ruins. I took a look, and it seems to contain the talisman techniques of the Wolong Valley.

Although this sect was far inferior to the Jiuhua Sect in terms of power back in the day, their talisman techniques were quite unique.

Our sect has never been strong in talisman techniques, and after adding this to the Archive Pavilion, you are the first to come and look at it."

Chu Ning took the jade slip and scanned through it briefly, indeed finding many talisman techniques recorded within.

Among them were also some advanced high-grade talisman-making methods, which he happily copied and stored in his bag.

At this moment, Liu Zhaolin took out a jade token and handed it directly to Chu Ning, saying:

"As for spells, they are all on the third floor. Just choose the ones you like, Junior Brother Chu, and bring the jade tokens to me for replication."

"Alright, thank you, Senior Brother," Chu Ning said as he took the jade token and went straight to the third floor, entering the spell archive room.

With just a quick glance, Chu Ning headed straight for the top-tier fire and earth attribute spells.

After making his selections, Chu Ning went back downstairs and found Liu Zhaolin, carrying the jade tokens for the two spells he had chosen.

Although Liu Zhaolin's jade tokens allowed him to take out the spell jade slips, there were still some minor restrictions on each slip.

If Chu Ning wanted to make copies, he would need Liu Zhaolin to lift the restrictions.

Even Golden Core elders naturally couldn't take away the sect's various inheritances without restriction.

Liu Zhaolin took the jade slips from Chu Ning and glanced at them.

"Junior Brother Chu, you certainly don't pick anything easy, do you?"

 A reader pointed out today that I didn't write clearly about the hidden talent of the Array Spirit Body.

 This is indeed a hidden talent refreshed by the system, so I didn't set an additional hidden talent.

 But the overall function is similar, as it can analyze arrays, so I incorporated it into the normal function.

 I added a couple of sentences in the original chapter to explain this, so there's no need to go back and check.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end