บท 14: Chapter 14: Returning to the Family
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Not long after, with a loud bang, a cloud of black smoke suddenly emerged from the secret chamber.
"Cough, cough..."
"The furnace exploded this time!"
Lu Li fiercely exhaled a breath of exhaustion and wiped the black ash off his face before he dumped out all the residue from the furnace and cleaned its interior thoroughly.
"It might be that impurities were not completely removed, and I was too hasty in embedding the runes."
He carefully recalled the steps he had just taken, pinpointing a hint of the cause of the failure.
At the same time, he went over the process of artifact refining several times in his mind, making his techniques more proficient.
Half an hour later, Lu Li started to try again.
Unexpectedly, he failed again.
The successive failures somewhat disheartened him, making him start to doubt whether he had the talent for artifact refining.
Soon, he adjusted his attitude, acknowledging that if artifact refining were so easy, high-level artifact refiners would not be so rare.
Next, he experienced failure another nine times.
Each failure made him meticulously ponder the reasons for his failures, then he further deepened his understanding by comparing his experiences to his ancestor's insights on artifact refining.
At that moment, Lu Li felt he grasped a faint glimmer of enlightenment.
He immediately began again without stopping.
This time, the process went exceptionally smoothly, whether it was removing impurities or shaping and tempering—there was a supremely smooth feeling, accompanied by a unique artistic beauty.
Soon, it came down to the last step.
Lu Li, with hands dancing the magic spell, swiftly embedded it into the body of the sword,
"Hum..."
With a light sound, a pitch-black three-foot flying sword flew out, its tip flashing with a sharp light.
Lu Li picked up the flying sword, stimulated his mana, and it emitted a sword light of about one foot.
"Haha... I finally succeeded."
This time, he finally succeeded in refining a low-level magic artifact, marking his official status as a first-grade low-level artifact refiner.
Lu Li did not pause excessively, he began to keenly recall that faint enlightenment and the feeling of smoothness.
Moments later, he started the furnace to refine another magic artifact.
Indeed, he succeeded in refining another low-level flying sword.
Next, he began to practice low-level defensive magical artifacts.
Although defensive magical artifacts were somewhat harder to create than attack magic tools, with the experience of his recent success, he only failed four times before succeeding.
Moments later, Lu Li held a jet-black shield-shaped magical artifact, satisfaction written all over his face.
"Going forward, refining mid-level and high-level magical artifacts will just be a matter of perseverance."
It seems I will need to gather more top-grade materials for artifact refining.
Soon after, Lu Li stowed away the magical artifacts and the furnace tripod, beginning his daily cultivation.
......
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Lu Li sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air.
During this month, aside from the indispensable daily cultivation, it was all about refining magical artifacts.
The artifact refining materials he had brought from his family were now completely used up, considerably enhancing his refining experience.
Now he could stably refine low-level magical artifacts.
"Time passes so quickly, it's already the end of the year, and this year happens to be when the family gathering is held."
Lu Li counted the days, pondering to himself.
The Lu Family held a family gathering every three years, serving both as a summary of the developments over these three years and as a projection of future plans.
He had attended several times before and was very familiar with it.
Of course, the most important part was the family banquet, which featured lots of spiritual wine, spirit fruit, and spiritual materials, making him look forward to it.
Lu Li got up and walked out of his cave dwelling, ready to water the spirit rice.
Suddenly, a wave of fluctuations came from the defensive array below the mountain, followed by a communication jade talisman flying up.
Lu Li received the jade talisman and swept his divine sense over it.
"Lu Li, fellow daoist, you can return to the family for the gathering now. The family has sent two Guest Elders to temporarily hold the fort at Golden Qilin Island."
Lu Li was slightly startled, not expecting their timing to be so coincidental.
With a thought, he immediately activated the Hidden Spirit Technique, leaped from the mountain, and saw two familiar figures below.
One was indeed Wang Ping, who previously held the fort at Golden Kirin Island, and the other was a somewhat plump middle-aged cultivator.
Both were around the sixth layer of Qi cultivation.
Lu Li opened the array, smiling at the two, "Wang Ping and Shen Shuyuan, fellow daoists, you've arrived quite early."
Wang Ping and the other laughed as they entered, "We both haven't had many tasks lately, so it's perfect timing to replace you, fellow daoist."
Lu Li nodded and handed the control token to Wang Ping.
After a brief handover with the two, he walked out of the Array and embarked on his return journey to Mystic Moon Island.
Watching Lu Li's departing figure, the two showed a hint of envy.
"The direct descendants of a family indeed have it good, so young yet already on par with us."
Wang Ping sighed, a bit wistful.
"I'm afraid this person also has some hope for Foundation Establishment, unlike you and I."
Shen Shuyuan also looked dejected, "I have no hope for Foundation Establishment, and after many years, I will probably just be a handful of dust."
"However, this person may lack a bit of an ambitious heart. He has made only slight progress in a year; the hurdle of Foundation Establishment is not so easy to overcome."
Wang Ping nodded in agreement, "We cultivators are meant to defy the heavens, and should face difficulties head-on by going to the sea to slay Demon Beasts, which hones ourselves and accumulates Cultivation Resources..."
At noon, the sunlight splashed over the sea, and the gentle breeze stirred up sparkling waves.
Not far from Mystic Moon Island, a small azure boat was cutting through the waves, slowly approaching the island.
At the bow stood a young man in a white Daoist robe, looking quite ethereal as the breeze fluttered his robes.
Lu Li looked towards Mystic Moon Island ahead, feeling somewhat sentimental.
A year had passed in the blink of an eye, and the island remained the same as always, without much change.
On the shoreline, some mortals were busily working for their daily sustenance, bustling with activity.
Not far away, at a small dock, a few low-level Qi Cultivation peripheral clansmen were leisurely sunbathing.
As lower Spirit Roots, breaking through the later stages of Qi Cultivation in their lifetimes was very challenging; they had long grown accustomed to a leisurely daily life.
Seeing Lu Li approaching the dock, a young man quickly walked over.
"Senior Lu Li, I will take care of the boat here."
"Um."
Lu Li nodded and casually tossed a Spirit Stone.
He somewhat remembered this young cultivator who had taken him to Golden Qilin Island by boat before.
Qin Feiming caught the Spirit Stone and bowed, "Thank you, Senior."
Once ashore, Lu Li mounted his Flying Sword and flew towards Qingling Peak.
He didn't return to his own cave, but directly flew to a villa halfway up the mountain.
It wasn't long before Lu Li stopped outside an exquisite courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, about several dozen meters in circumference.
It was surrounded by a Defensive Array, and its sides were filled with lush trees, presenting a vibrant scene.
Just as he was about to send a Communication Jade Token, the Array suddenly fluctuated.
A dignified and elegant lady in a purple palace dress walked out.
"You're home, why are you still standing outside?"
Ye Yuchan somewhat reproached, yet her face couldn't hide the joy.
Saying so, she walked up to Lu Li and took his hand, leading him into the courtyard.
Lu Li smiled, "Has dad come back?"
He had grown up cherished by his parents, and the three shared a close bond.
Ye Yuchan glanced at Lu Li, "He's inside. Haven't seen you in over a year, and you don't even care about your mother."
Lu Li could only offer an embarrassed smile, opting to remain silent.
"My son has grown quite a bit taller, and his cultivation has improved significantly, truly worthy of being the family's second seed with the potential for Foundation Establishment."
Ye Yuchan expressed with delight.
Lu Li felt somewhat awkward, "I'm still far behind Sister Qing Qing."
"I know, I know... my son is just low-key."
Ye Yuchan showed indulgent maternal affection.
The two chatted and laughed as they entered a house.
At that moment, a gaunt middle-aged man with a somewhat pallid face walked out.
"Cough cough..."
Lu Chen lightly coughed a few times, smiling at Lu Li, "Li'er is back; not bad, your cultivation hasn't fallen behind."
"Father, your health..."
Lu Li looked worried.
Ever since his father had injured his lung-channel in a magic duel, it had always been like this.
"It's an old issue; it's nothing serious, I've gotten used to it over more than twenty years."
Lu Chen appeared reassured.
The two fell silent for a moment.
Ye Yuchan, seeing this, broke the quiet, "Alright, Li'er just got back. Let's not think about these unhappy matters right now; we'll always find a way eventually."
Saying so, a hint of murderous intent flashed through the corner of her eye as she turned.
Lu Li nodded, and after a good conversation with his parents, he returned to his own cave.
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