บท 13: Chapter 13: Ruthless Annihilation
"You're a liar, you promised to spare my life!"
"I only said I would consider it, and now that I have, I think killing you is more convenient."
Having said that, Lu Li's murderous intent didn't wane as he quickly circulated his sword technique, with piercingly sharp Sword Qi weaving through the void.
"Cur, I'll be waiting for you down below. We'll meet soon enough, ha ha..."
Seeing no hope for survival, Liu Zhenru began to curse loudly.
At the same time, she expended all her strength to raise the Cloud Light Handkerchief in defense against the surrounding Sword Qi.
"Sizzle..."
Countless Sword Qi seemed to be cutting into the Cloud Light Handkerchief, emitting a series of piercing screeches.
It was not until this moment that Liu Zhenru began to regret her situation, realizing her opponent had long broken through the latter stages of Qi Cultivation and his strength was far beyond what she could handle.
Surrounded by a relentless onslaught of Sword Qi slicing into the Cloud Light Handkerchief, she felt her mana draining rapidly. Her complexion grew as pale as paper, and she began to falter.
Before long, the Cloud Light Handkerchief above her head started to flicker between light and dark, obviously nearing its limit.
Seeing this, Lu Li poured all his strength into the sword technique, and a colossal Sword Qi instantly appeared above the ocean, radiating a fearsome aura.
"Slash!"
The Sword Qi, like lightning, swiftly sliced towards the other's Defensive Magical Artifact.
"Crack!"
With a loud crash reverberating through the sky, the Cloud Light Handkerchief was instantly split in two by the Sword Qi and quickly fell onto the sea's surface.
The Sword Qi, undiminished after destroying the artifact, continued its descent upon Liu Zhenru.
Facing the sudden Sword Qi, Liu Zhenru's expression turned ashen, and in a moment of utter despair, she was instantly bisected, her body then shredded into pieces by the fierce Sword Qi.
Crimson blood immediately stained a small patch of the surrounding seawater.
Lu Li retrieved her Storage Bag and the damaged magic artifact, then turned around and flew towards Golden Qilin Island.
Midway through his flight, he seemed to remember something, his body quivered slightly, and his aura weakened, taking on the appearance of someone in the sixth level of Qi Cultivation.
It didn't take long before Golden Qilin Island could be seen in the distance.
As soon as Lu Li landed on the island and reached Sunset Peak, he saw a white-haired old man standing in front of an array.
The old man, dressed in a light blue Daoist robe and of a slim build, had cultivation around the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation and was looking at him with a kindly expression.
"Fourth grandpa, I didn't expect you to come to my aid."
"I just happened to be on Mystic Moon Island, and when I received your message, I borrowed the ancestor's Flying Boat to rush here," replied Lu Hongchang, smiling.
"You're quite bold, boy, to dare chase after a Demon Cultivator. If something went wrong, this old man would have a hard time explaining to the ancestor."
Lu Li also smiled lightly, "I just took a quick chase and came back; there was no danger."
Lu Hongchang nodded, "Don't be so rash in the future. Our family's hope for the next generation of Foundation Establishment Cultivators rests on you and Qing Qing."
"Grandson has taken the lesson to heart."
Lu Li nodded earnestly.
"Be cautious these days. Other than Golden Qilin Island which you defend, several of our family's smaller islands have been attacked,"
Lu Hongchang said with a grim expression.
"Two small islands have been breached, the spiritual materials on the mountain looted, and two family protectors slain by Demon Cultivators."
Hearing this, Lu Li's heart also grew heavy, sensing something out of the ordinary, and that's not to mention the elders and the ancestor picking up on it as well.
After a brief conversation, Lu Hongchang boarded the Flying Boat and set off for Mystic Moon Island.
"It seems this Hidden Spirit Technique is still very effective, even Cultivators at the peak of Qi Cultivation can't detect the slightest hint."
Lu Li thought to himself.
He then proceeded to the cave dwelling at the top of Sunset Peak.
After sitting cross-legged and practicing cultivation for a while, he started to inspect his recent gains.
He took out the Storage Bag, gently probed it with his Divine Sense, and headed towards a cluster of unfamiliar marks.
After several purges, the original owner's marks were soon erased.
He opened the Storage Bag and poured out the contents.
A large pile of miscellaneous items was laid out on the ground.
Besides some female clothes and personal belongings, there were over nine hundred Spirit Stones and a mid-grade Flying Sword Magic Artifact.
There were also some Medicine Pills in various bottles and jars, some of which were emanating an Aura of the Blood Fiend.
It seemed that this person had been preparing to purchase a high-grade Magic Artifact, and this time Lu Li had lucked out.
A high-grade Magic Artifact cost at least a thousand Spirit Stones, which meant many cultivators who had just reached the later stages of Qi Cultivation still used mid-grade Magic Artifacts.
As for top-grade Magic Artifacts, they were even more expensive and were generally used by Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Indeed, "committing murder and arson earns a golden belt," but this person's fate also served as a warning to Lu Li that those who rob and kill will eventually meet their match.
After summarizing his experience for the day, Lu Li gathered all the useful items from the ground and began his daily cultivation practice.
The following day, early in the morning.
Lu Li arrived at the Artifact Refining Room, ready to start learning the Artifact Refining Technique.
Among the four arts of Cultivation, he chose to start with Artifact Refining first, simply because it was relatively easier than learning Arrays.
Moreover, refining a suitable Lifebound Magical Artifact would greatly enhance his combat abilities.
He first took out the Artifact Refining insights gifted to him by his ancestor and studied the key points carefully.
He had also frequently reviewed these insights over the past year, and only today did he feel confident enough to begin refining artifacts.
Lu Li took out a grey Artifact Refining Furnace Tripod and placed it on the ground.
Upon activating it with mana, the Furnace Tripod quickly expanded and transformed into a tripod about the height of a person.
The surface of the tripod was carved with beast patterns, emitting a faint glow.
This Artifact Refining Tripod was only a low-grade Magic Artifact Furnace Tripod, which he had exchanged for contribution points from his clan at the beginning of the year; it was sufficient for learning Artifact Refining.
He placed several redwood logs underneath the Furnace Tripod and ignited them with mana, producing intense flames.
This Redwood was a type of low-level spirit wood, widely used in Alchemy and Artifact Refining. The temperature of the flames was only slightly lower than that of earth fire, which was more than enough for refining ordinary low- and mid-level Magic Artifacts.
As time passed, the Furnace Tripod began to glow red.
Seeing that the fire was about right, he immediately placed several chunks of Mystic Iron Stone inside.
Then he added some Mithril and Iron Essence. When the high temperature melted them, they turned into a pool of multicolored molten metal.
With a series of quick gestures from his hands, the impurities in the ores were stripped away.
These gestures were part of the second-tier Artifact Refiner inheritance; other than removing impurities, they included shaping and inscribing Runes.
As for the later Earth Fiend and Heavenly Gang Spiritual Restrictions, he didn't have any of those. They were rare Spell Restrictions used in the crafting of Magic Treasures and Spiritual Treasures.
Before long, most of the impurities were removed from the pool of molten metal, leaving behind a clear and transparent liquid.
Without pause, Lu Li cast several shaping spells, and the metal liquid quickly morphed into the shape of a Flying Sword.
He then applied the Fire Control Technique to suppress the temperature of the flames slightly. Soon the Flying Sword solidified, emitting wisps of cold light.
Afterward, he cast several sharp and sturdy Rune spells into the air, the Runes quickly merging into the body of the sword.
Finally, he poured a clump of Traceless Water over the surface of the blade.
"Sizzle..."
With the sound of hissing, plumes of white smoke emerged in the Artifact Refining Room.
Once the smoke had cleared, Lu Li quietly observed the finished product in his hands.
With a gentle twist of his hand.
"Crack."
A crisp sound rang out as the Flying Sword broke cleanly into two sections at the fracture.
"The first attempt indeed ended in failure."
Lu Li carefully reflected on his deficiencies and mistakes.
Instead of immediately starting again, he once more reviewed the Artifact Refining insights bestowed by his ancestor, comparing them with his own process.
Gradually, he gained many insights.
This had been his habit for a long time: he always liked to reflect on failures and then seek the opportunity for success.
Several hours later, Lu Li slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, reigniting the flames, and began his second attempt at Artifact Refining.
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