That night.

Upon returning to his residence, Lei Kuo immediately took out the Spiritual Wood of the Water Crown Tree he had won at the auction earlier that day. He carefully cut about one-tenth of it, ground it into a fine powder, and mixed it with other incense-making materials, including the incense ash from the Precious Spirit Sect. Soon, he crafted a new stick of black incense.

Next, he took out the Heaven-Stealing Cauldron, inserted the finished black incense, calmed his mind, and attempted to possess Sha Hao.

Before long, Yuan Ming’s vision shifted, and he found himself inhabiting Sha Hao’s body once again.

However, the scenery around him was unchanged from his previous possessions; Sha Hao sat motionless in the stone hut, seemingly rooted to the spot, quietly cultivating.

Yuan Ming was accustomed to such sights and was not impatient. As usual, he silently sensed the flow of spiritual energy within Sha Hao’s body.

Half an hour later, just as Yuan Ming thought this attempt would also be in vain, Sha Hao suddenly opened his eyes, reached into his Storage Bag, and tipped a porcelain bottle into his palm, only to find nothing came out.

“Ah, it’s gone so soon? Looks like I need to visit the market to buy some more,” Sha Hao muttered to himself.

Then, he stood up and left the stone hut.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming’s heart jolted, and he quickly focused his mind, taking advantage of Sha Hao’s departure to observe the surrounding scenery.

The place where Sha Hao resided seemed to be a secluded mountain range, surrounded by ancient trees reaching for the sky, with occasional birdsong and beast roars, but nothing particularly remarkable.

After leaving his dwelling cave, Sha Hao took out a token, waved it, and soared into the sky on a flying boat.

All the while, Yuan Ming saw nothing that could pinpoint Sha Hao’s location. His previously calm mood began to stir with ripples of concern.

Missing this opportunity, he had no idea when Sha Hao might travel again.

Yuan Ming was anxious but had no means to influence Sha Hao, so he could only silently pray that the market Sha Hao intended to visit was not too far away.

His prayers were to no avail, as the market Sha Hao chose to visit was not particularly close to his hiding place. Fortunately, thanks to the addition of the millennium-old Water Crown Wood to the incense, his possession time was much longer than before.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Yuan Ming finally saw a city in the distance. As they drew closer, he realized that the architectural style of the city was completely different from that of Leizhou, or even the entire Great Jin.

As Sha Hao landed the flying boat, Yuan Ming also saw the name of the city written on the gate’s plaque—Wangyue City.

Before entering the city, Sha Hao carefully disguised himself and headed straight for an elixir shop, avoiding contact with anyone else along the way, the epitome of caution.

However, Yuan Ming, who was attached to him, had a clear view of all the shops and passersby they passed.

On the main street, the cultivators were dressed in brocade and hung with various colored treasures, occasionally slipping into Zhao Country slang in their conversations.

The calligraphy on the shop signs was slender and rounded, characteristic of Zhao Country’s script.

Most crucially, one of the shops Sha Hao passed had a large notice hanging outside, which read:

“New arrival of Northern Wastes sandworms, buy now while stocks last.”

It seemed that Wangyue City was a city in the northern part of Zhao Country.

Yuan Ming made his deduction, and at the same time, Sha Hao crossed the street and stepped into the elixir shop.

At that moment, Yuan Ming’s possession time also just happened to run out.

Two days later.

Inside a private room at the Four Symbols Tea House, Yuan Ming finally met the artifact refiner introduced by Song Huitong.

To his surprise, the refiner was none other than Master Xu Xinyang, whom he had seen at the auction.

Song Huitong noticed Yuan Ming’s surprised expression and explained with a smile, “In terms of crafting top-grade magical artifacts, Master Xu is renowned throughout Zhao Country. Even one of the treasures I carry was upgraded from a top-grade magical artifact by him.”

“Senior Song flatters me. My artifact refining skills are modest, and being called a master is somewhat embarrassing,” Xu Xinyang said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Master Xu’s top-grade magical artifacts, most of which can be upgraded to treasures, are coveted even by many Foundation Establishment cultivators. How can you say they are of no use?” Song Huitong remarked.

“Alas, Senior Song knows that my cultivation talent is limited. Advancing to Foundation Establishment is extremely difficult for me. No matter how skilled I am in refining, I can only produce top-grade magical artifacts at best. I can’t create treasures and can’t glimpse the higher glories, so I really can’t consider myself a master,” Xu Xinyang shook his head.

“I remember, Master Xu, you once proposed an idea to balance and integrate the fifth rune with the other four runes to form a pseudo-rune array, directly creating a treasure. Is that path not feasible?” Song Huitong inquired.

“That’s only theoretically possible, but in practice, it’s extremely difficult. Based on my years of research and numerous attempts, I have yet to succeed. It seems that apart from the nurturing of the Dan fire within Foundation Establishment cultivators, there is no good way to alleviate the conflict and repulsion between the five runes. My idea is just empty talk. Let’s not discuss it further. You invited me here today, saying you wanted to introduce me to a talented fellow cultivator. Is this the person?” Xu Xinyang said with a wry smile.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately bowed and said, “I am Ha Gong, and I have the honor of meeting Master Xu.”

“Master Xu, you must have heard of his name these past few days. He fought Pu Zhengqing to save my disciple but lost most of his magical artifacts in the process. I felt bad about it, so I sought you out. I wonder if you could do me the favor of helping him upgrade one of his superior magical artifacts to a top-grade one,” Song Huitong said.

Xu Xinyang scrutinized Yuan Ming for a moment and then shook his head, “Senior Song, it’s not that I don’t want to give you this favor, but I’m currently busy with another top-grade magical artifact and can’t spare the time. How about this: my shop is located in Zhao Country’s Yuhe City, run by my elder brother. His skills are not inferior, and he has crafted several top-grade magical artifacts. Ha Gong can seek his help and say I sent you.”

This was a polite refusal. Song Huitong sighed helplessly. She wasn’t close enough to Xu Xinyang to assert seniority and pressure him into agreement, so it was up to Yuan Ming to persuade him.

Upon hearing Xu Xinyang’s words, Yuan Ming was somewhat disappointed but had been prepared. He immediately said, “Master Xu, some years ago, I accidentally acquired a rune. I have been unable to ascertain its origin and function. With your extensive knowledge, could you possibly enlighten me?”

With that, Yuan Ming handed over a jade tablet he had prepared in advance.

Xu Xinyang knew Yuan Ming was offering a rune in exchange for artifact refining. Having immersed himself in the art of refining for many years and seen countless runes, he did not expect Yuan Ming to present anything valuable. Thus, he glanced casually at the jade tablet. However, that single look made him sit up straight.

He took the jade tablet from Yuan Ming’s hand, his eyes wide with fascination, and began to study the rune on it intently, completely absorbed and ignoring the other two people in the room.

The rune engraved on the jade tablet given by Yuan Ming was the Corpse Control Rune obtained from the portrait of Ba Yin’s ancestor in Tiehu Town. Although the rune was intended for talisman making, it could also be used on magical artifacts.

After a long while, under Song Huitong’s persistent urging, Xu Xinyang came back to his senses, looked at Yuan Ming and Song Huitong with some impatience, and remembered the previous topic. He said directly, “I haven’t seen this rune before and need to study it further. Leave the magical artifact you want to upgrade with me, and I’ll refine it for you when I’m done studying. Keep this communication talisman. In twenty days, I’ll notify you to come and collect it.”

Yuan Ming nodded and took out the Black Needle, the Flood Dragon Scale, and the long-neglected White Jade Belt, “Master Xu, my Black Needle has already been upgraded once. Please add an Armor-Piercing Rune for me. Also, if possible, please refine this Flood Dragon Scale into a top-grade shield for me. And this White Jade Belt, please see if you can repair it.”

Xu Xinyang put down the jade tablet and looked at Yuan Ming with displeasure, “Fellow cultivator, aren’t you being a bit too greedy?”

“Please forgive my boldness, Master Xu,” Yuan Ming said, handing over another Storage Bag.

Xu Xinyang took the Storage Bag with a hint of mockery. As an artifact refiner, he had seen plenty of spirit stones and thought it naive for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to try to sway him with them.

As he thought this, he opened the Storage Bag, and upon seeing the pile of shining spirit stones inside, he was taken aback.

At a rough count, he found there were a full six thousand spirit stones in the bag.

“This is my gesture of goodwill, Master Xu. I hope it meets with your satisfaction. However, this is only half; once you have completed the refining, I will immediately present the other half,” Yuan Ming said, bowing.

These spirit stones were almost all he could offer. Although he had earned quite a bit over the years through his spiritual incense shop, most of it had been spent on elixirs to enhance his cultivation.

But he didn’t feel the slightest regret, for spirit stones could be earned again, while such an opportunity might not come by again. Besides, he had calculated that if the other party agreed, he would still have gained quite a bit based on market value.

Xu Xinyang coughed twice and pocketed the Storage Bag, “Since you are so earnest, I will do my best to assist.”

With that, he took the three items Yuan Ming had brought out, but when he reached the White Jade Belt, his gaze sharpened, and he began to examine it closely.

“Interesting, using gemstones as carriers for runes instead of magical artifacts is indeed a way to avoid rune conflicts. However, these gemstones… are they coral? No, coral doesn’t transmit spiritual energy this quickly, but… where exactly did you find this artifact, Fellow Ha Gong?” Xu Xinyang’s eyes grew more puzzled as he looked, and eventually, he turned to Yuan Ming to inquire about the artifact’s origin.

“I obtained it in the Southern Border when I defeated an enemy,” Yuan Ming did not conceal the truth.