Chapter Ninety-One: The Ritual of Forging Magical Artifacts

Luzhou City was a great clan in the west of the Sacred Dragon Dynasty, with experts at the late Core Formation stage presiding over it. Every three months, the Guo Clan of Luzhou City would hold a grand auction, attracting all the great clans of the western region, who would flock to attend. If the Ye Clan could be considered a dominant power in the northwest, then the Guo Clan of Luzhou City was certainly one of the overlords of the entire western region. Although not yet among the most elite and top-tier clans, the Guo Clan’s strength and status were nonetheless extraordinary, with deep and solid foundations.

Back in Yunshui City, Ye Yun had already heard of the famous Luzhou auction. Even Lord Ye Haiyi and the elders would often attend. On this day, a slender, handsome youth approached the outskirts of Luzhou City. From a distance, the city appeared grand and magnificent, covering an area nearly three times that of Yunshui City. Palaces stretched endlessly within its walls, and powerful, concealed auras fluctuated throughout, as if warning all outsiders not to cause trouble.

This youth was, of course, Ye Yun. Dressed in white, with the poise of a noble scion, he walked with hands clasped behind his back, exuding a remarkable presence. On his journey from Sunset Mountain to Luzhou City, Ye Yun saw numerous cultivators traveling in groups or alone, all headed toward the city. At the city gates, a long line had formed, mostly cultivators, with only a few ordinary mortals among them.

After asking around, Ye Yun learned that the grand Luzhou auction was once again about to take place, drawing many cultivators hoping to buy or trade precious treasures. Guarding the gates were two young cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Though their cultivation was nothing special, as disciples of the Guo Clan, they wore expressions of arrogance. Among those queuing to enter were many formidable Foundation Establishment experts, yet none dared to break the rules, all waiting patiently in turn.

As one of the dominant powers in the western region, the Guo Clan's regulations were strict, especially during the triennial auction when people from all walks of life gathered. The rules were designed to restrain the arrogant and unruly. After waiting a long time, Ye Yun produced the waist token of a core Ye Clan disciple. The two gatekeepers glanced at it, asked nothing, and allowed him to pass.

The Ye Clan, having just destroyed the Wu Clan, was now the sole overlord of the Sunset Mountain region and had gained renown throughout the west. The guards had certainly heard of them. Noticing that Ye Yun was at the Foundation Establishment stage, their arrogance subdued somewhat.

Just as Ye Yun entered the city, he heard cries of alarm and commotion at the gate behind him.

Curious, he turned to see a white-haired, scruffily dressed old man—looking like a beggar—descend from the sky, dashing into the city at lightning speed. The powerful aura he exuded sent many cultivators at the gate flying.

“A cultivator flying through the air—Golden Core stage!” Ye Yun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

In the entire Sacred Dragon Dynasty, Golden Core cultivators were rare and always renowned figures among the major clans. Yet Ye Yun noticed a trace of panic on the old man’s face.

“Changchun Daoist, you old scoundrel, stop right there!” Just then, another auspicious cloud flew in from the horizon, not even bothering to land at the gate, but soaring straight into the city overhead. A beautiful woman with an icy expression stood on the cloud, giving chase to the fleeing old man.

Both were Golden Core cultivators, and in a blink, they disappeared from sight, one pursuing and the other fleeing.

“The world outside truly is full of wonders,” Ye Yun marveled inwardly.

While the Guo Clan had laid down many rules, they had little power to restrain such lofty Golden Core masters. Indeed, this was the privilege of true strength.

With some time still before the auction, Ye Yun wandered the city and discovered that Luzhou boasted inns specifically built for cultivators to enter seclusion—something Yunshui City and Feilong City lacked.

After making inquiries, Ye Yun learned that each inn room was a private chamber, protected by formations shielding divine sense and aura. Without a formation token, only those at the Golden Core stage or above could force their way into another’s room.

However, these cultivation chambers did not come cheap. One month’s stay cost ten low-grade spirit stones. Rooms equipped with spirit-gathering formations cost ten mid-grade spirit stones per month.

Although Ye Yun now possessed three thousand low-grade spirit stones—a fortune in a small city like Yunshui—here in Luzhou, it merely marked him as comfortably well-off.

Thus, he took a regular room, planning to make preparations before the auction began.

Though he owned many magical treasures, Ye Yun had never found time to truly refine them, which was why he struggled to unleash their full power in battles with the likes of Xu Shaodong.

Quality mattered more than quantity when it came to magical treasures. With the Totem Body Art for speed, Ye Yun needed only two treasures: one for offense, one for defense.

Of all his treasures, the golden bell left behind by Ye Haiyi after his death was the most versatile—an excellent all-rounder for both attack and defense.

The reason the current lord, Ye Min, had not kept the golden bell was that his cultivation method was incompatible with it, so Ye Yun had taken it instead.

While the golden bell was indeed both offensive and defensive, as a dual cultivator of martial and magical arts, Ye Yun still needed a weapon for close combat, so he designated the bell as his defensive treasure.

For a main offensive weapon, capable of slaying enemies both at a distance and up close, he turned to the flying swords left among his spoils.

His master, Ye Yu, had once said that only those skilled in formations could forge truly formidable treasures. The three flying swords crafted by the array master Lü Mengqiu of the Xu Clan were all of mid-grade quality, and even more valuable than the golden bell.

However, Ye Yun had no experience with formations, and so could not control the three swords to form arrays as Lü Mengqiu had.

After killing Lü Mengqiu, Ye Yun found no array manuals among his storage treasures.

To refine a magical treasure to match one’s aura and control it at will, one needed to imprint their spiritual sense and aura into its core.

Although Ye Yun had not practiced the Golden Bell Physique, the Crimson Flame technique he had mastered was vastly superior. Thus, refining the golden bell posed no difficulty for him.

He condensed true qi into crimson flames and spat a stream of fire to envelop the bell. Then, forming seals with his hands, he imprinted his spiritual sense and aura into the treasure.

After a full day, refinement was complete. The bell, which once shone with golden light, now glowed with a fiery crimson radiance.

This transformation was due to the domineering nature of the Crimson Flame Demon Art. Others would adjust their aura to match the treasure’s properties, seeking harmony. The Crimson Flame Demon Art, however, forcibly altered the treasure’s essence, compelling it to adapt to the cultivator. This meant that even if Ye Yun acquired a treasure incompatible with his cultivation, he could, through refinement, make it his own.

“The ancient demon art inherited from the Boundless Demon Palace of the Great Thousand World truly has its unique wonders.” This realization greatly excited Ye Yun. He then began refining Lü Mengqiu’s three flying swords, curious to see what marvelous effects would manifest once they were attuned to him.