The Earthfire Hall, as the most important structure in the Artifact Forging Pavilion, was not particularly vast in area—spanning only about a hundred zhang—but it was divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.
The upper level served as a storage area for materials. The middle level was where the earthfire was channeled to refine materials and forge low-grade spiritual artifacts. The lower level, however, extended deep underground, some twenty to thirty zhang below, and was specifically designed for refining high-grade spiritual artifacts using the essence of earthfire drawn from the Earthfire Pool.
Han Li’s usual refining chamber was located in the middle level. Leading the young noblewoman, Green Xiu, inside, he calmly entered the chamber, which appeared somewhat cluttered. Without hesitation, he began tidying up.
“So this is where Senior Brother refines his materials?” The girl curiously surveyed the small chamber, her gaze particularly drawn to the large cauldron in the center and the eight gourd-shaped artifacts arranged around it. She seemed especially intrigued, as if she had never seen such a refining setup before.
“What? Has the noble lady never forged artifacts before?” Han Li raised an eyebrow, speaking nonchalantly.
“Since childhood, I’ve been training under Aunt Yu—how would I have time to learn artifact forging? I’ve mostly just cultivated within the estate.” The palace-robed girl tapped the cauldron’s handles lightly and smiled.
“Cultivating within the estate… Could it be that the royal manor is built atop a spiritual vein?” Han Li asked casually as he sorted through the remnants of materials inside the cauldron.
“Huh? So Senior Brother doesn’t actually know my true identity? You didn’t really think I was some noblewoman from a Great Jin princely family, did you?” The girl blinked, then suddenly burst into laughter, her lips curling mischievously.
“I’ve always been rather uninformed, so I truly don’t know the noble lady’s real background.” Han Li chuckled, though inwardly, his mind was racing.
“Uninformed? Hehe, that’s perfect! Then I don’t have to keep up this noblewoman act. Truth is, I’ve never even met the Great Jin Emperor—I only have a faint connection to the imperial family. Before this, I was training with my master in a mountain cave-dwelling and never set foot in any royal manor.” The girl’s demeanor shifted abruptly, her playful eyes gleaming as she transformed from a dignified noblewoman into a mischievous, spirited girl.
“Not part of the imperial family?” Han Li’s expression turned momentarily stunned, unsure whether he was more surprised by her sudden change in attitude or the revelation itself.
“What? Scared you? Well, the noble title isn’t fake—it was personally bestowed by the current emperor. But if Aunt Yu hadn’t insisted I maintain some imperial dignity before leaving, I wouldn’t have bothered with all this pretentiousness. And then, to make things worse, I got tangled up with those annoying people on the road and had to keep up the act. So tedious! Now that it’s just Senior Brother Han here, I can finally relax. You wouldn’t be so tactless as to go blabbing about this later, would you?” She plopped down onto the chamber’s only chair, tilting her head with a grin.
“Ahem… As the noble lady wishes. I’ll pretend I saw nothing. But… your grandfather must be no ordinary person, right?” Han Li coughed dryly, thoroughly speechless.
“Have you heard of the Four Great Wanderers of Great Jin? My grandfather is one of them.” The girl declared proudly, swinging her legs with no intention of hiding the fact.
“The Four Great Wanderers? Even someone as uninformed as me has heard of them. So the noble lady is descended from such a lofty figure—I truly underestimated you. That status is no less impressive than your noble title. You must have a bright future ahead.” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly, genuinely taken aback.
He had heard of the Four Great Wanderers from Cao Mengrong before—some were at late Nascent Soul stage, others at mid-stage, but each possessed extraordinary abilities far surpassing ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
“Hmph! That’s what everyone says when they learn of my grandfather’s name. I suppose it must be true.” The girl accepted Han Li’s flattery without modesty.
Han Li rubbed his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Deciding to ignore her, he formed a hand seal and sent several incantations into the cauldron. The vessel hummed and slowly rose, enveloped in a red glow.
The girl watched with undisguised curiosity, her dark gem-like eyes fixed unblinkingly on Han Li’s actions.
“Hand over the materials,” Han Li said once the cauldron was fully activated.
“Here! But let me make this clear—what I said earlier in front of others was just polite talk. If you ruin the Bloodthread Silver I painstakingly acquired, you’ll have to compensate me.” She giggled mischievously before retrieving a fist-sized object from her storage pouch and tossing it over.
The silver ore shimmered with countless blood-red streaks. Holding it and hearing her teasing words, Han Li could only roll his eyes inwardly.
Such rare material was something even Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle to obtain, let alone a Qi Condensation disciple. If he were truly just a Qi Condensation cultivator, compensating her would be impossible.
Without another word, Han Li tossed the ore into the cauldron, added a few supplementary materials, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
Slapping a talisman onto himself, a faint blue barrier shimmered into existence around him as he began chanting. The eight gourd-shaped artifacts on the floor simultaneously flared with spiritual light before spewing eight crimson fire pillars from their mouths, all converging on the cauldron’s lower half.
Instantly, scorching heat filled the chamber.
—
While Han Li was busy refining the Bloodthread Silver, in a secluded pavilion atop the mountain peak, an elderly Daoist nun with a frosty demeanor and a middle-aged beauty were engaged in a grave discussion.
“The time is almost upon us. Our imperial family has spent over four hundred years planning for this, spanning seven or eight generations of emperors’ meticulous efforts to prevent even a whisper of it leaking. But if we fail and don’t obtain those two treasures, the entire royal house could face catastrophe. Don’t be fooled—despite the hidden strength our Ye Clan has accumulated over the years, if we truly clash with the Buddhist or Daoist factions, we’d be crushed in an instant. And those sanctimonious Confucian scholars who claim to uphold imperial authority? The moment their interests are threatened, they’d be the first to turn on us. Sometimes, I feel our Ye Clan is playing with fire.” The Daoist nun spoke with heavy solemnity.
“Aunt, we’re well aware. But this is our best chance to break free from the control of other factions. Remember how Seventh Uncle and the others fell—just because our imperial family grew slightly stronger, producing a few more Nascent Soul cultivators, the major factions immediately joined forces to eliminate them, overtly and covertly. Afterward, they brushed it off with flimsy excuses. If we don’t escape this predicament, our Ye Clan may be called the foremost noble family in the cultivation world, but in truth, we’re just a sacrificial pawn in their power struggles. If the legends are true and we obtain those two spirit treasures, combined with the forces we’ve nurtured over the years, the other factions will think twice before targeting us again. The risk is worth taking.” The middle-aged beauty sighed softly.
“Hmph! Even if the legends say Heavenly Spirit Treasures possess unimaginable power, I find it hard to believe two artifacts alone could overturn the balance and let us stand equal to the major factions. I fear we might overreach and invite disaster—becoming targets of covetous eyes. Don’t forget, even with Heavenly Spirit Treasures, those factions have beings of *that* level backing them. We don’t know how many exist, but even one emerging could annihilate our Ye Clan.” The Daoist nun’s eyes flashed coldly, her voice laced with dread.
“Deities who’ve ascended beyond mortality are invincible in this realm. Even if Third Uncle and the others wield Heavenly Spirit Treasures, they’d barely survive against such ancient monsters. But Aunt needn’t worry too much—our Ye Clan began investigating these beings’ existence and weaknesses a century ago. After thorough analysis, we estimate that even if these ancient beings live a thousand years longer than Nascent Soul cultivators, fewer than a handful in Great Jin have reached or could reach that stage in the last two millennia. And among them, a small portion have already ascended to the Spirit Realm. At most, two or three remain in the human world. Moreover, staying here has cost them dearly—they can’t easily engage in combat and must suppress their cultivation to late Nascent Soul levels when they do. Though we don’t know why, this means they aren’t as invincible as the legends claim. Besides, these beings rarely intervene in factional conflicts.” The middle-aged beauty frowned before speaking solemnly.
“How do you know all this? Don’t tell me it’s just speculation or hearsay. Countless cultivators have tried uncovering the secrets of these ascended beings, yet none succeeded. And you expect me to believe you pieced this together in just a century, with such confidence? Do you take me for a senile fool? What else are you hiding?” The Daoist nun’s expression darkened dangerously.
“We would never deceive you, Aunt. Though this information wasn’t uncovered by our Ye Clan’s own efforts, it came from a newly recruited elder. After cross-referencing with other clues, everything aligns perfectly. So in a way, it *was* our Ye Clan’s discovery.” The beauty hastily explained, seeing her aunt’s anger.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage