With the recent influx of income, the Defense Division's headquarters had been refurbished.

Contrary to its previously dilapidated appearance, a great many buildings, residences, pavilions, terraces, and towers had been constructed in the northwest corner of the entire city, presenting an extraordinary sight.

These were primarily for the cultivators who served year-round in the Defense Division and required a place to cultivate.

Even cultivators like Elder Xu Tong of Gold Toad Tower, who possessed their own cultivation cave mansions, also needed arranged residences for them to rest.

In any case, with abundant resources and manpower, erecting new buildings wasn't difficult.

The challenge lay in setting up higher-class Formation Prohibitions to gather Nature's Spiritual Qi.

Otherwise, the previously established Spirit Gathering Array alone would not be able to support the daily cultivation of so many cultivators on duty!

Shen Mo still lived in his previous residence.

In the cultivation chamber, he sat cross-legged, with four Bone Viewing Mirrors arrayed before him.

Upon inspecting each one, Shen Mo soon discovered that one of the mirrors had abnormal runes carved upon it.

As expected... it's been tampered with!

Shen Mo infused a thread of Mana into the Bone Viewing Mirror, and a hazy light shimmered on its surface.

But under his spiritual sense, he perceived that this light was merely a facade; it wouldn't trigger any alerts even if shone upon a mutated Heavenly Demon.

The Bone Viewing Mirror was unlike ordinary magic artifacts; for easier deployment, it could be used without needing to be refined by a cultivator.

It could be activated with Mana.

It could also be embedded within a Formation, powered by Spirit Stones.

The one holding the mirror wasn't necessarily the artifact's owner, so it wasn't surprising if they hadn't noticed anything amiss.

There's a rune inside this mirror that can disable the artifact's power... Someone must have communicated with that Demon-corrupted cultivator, instructing them to seize the right moment to enter the city!

To investigate without killing Tian Hong, we can start with the Forgemaster and the Qi Gathering cultivators of the Tian Family.

After some contemplation, Shen Mo placed this Bone Viewing Mirror into his Universe Bag.

He didn't plan to delve any further!

The Tian Clan should remain stable for a while.

The Defense Division has also gained over 70,000 Spirit Stones. If I continue to press the issue, I'm likely to provoke Tian Zhaoquan.

Given my current strength, that would not be a wise move!

As long as the Tian Family doesn't provoke me, I see no need to instigate anything and bring trouble upon myself.

The Defense Division had also compensated the Chi Family with a substantial amount of Spirit Stones.

Although it was impossible to satisfy everyone, some things were simply unavoidable.

Such were the brutal realities of the cultivation world.

When unforeseen disasters struck, sometimes the true culprit couldn't even be found, let alone avenged.

In truth, Patriarch Chi likely suspected who the real perpetrator behind this demonic scourge was!

If he possessed the courage and strength to seek revenge on Tian Hong, Shen Mo would indeed admire him and offer his full support.

Alas, this man was rather 'sensible,' not daring to utter even half a harsh word.

Shen Mo understood this.

But if the Chi Family wanted him to continue to stand up for them, to seek justice from Tian Hong for their deceased clan members, they could forget about it.

If one day Shen Mo achieved significant progress in his cultivation and no longer feared Tian Zhaoquan's formidable strength, he wouldn't hesitate to return to Hongye City. He would drag Tian Hong before the graves of the Chi Family and the fallen rogue cultivators and execute him.

With this in mind, he took out the numerous spirit gold ores obtained from the Tian Family and arranged them before him.

Then, he removed the Red Carp Inner Armor he wore.

With my current physical vitality, the defense this inner armor provides is already negligible!

It's also not easy to upgrade its grade.

The effort and resources required for that would be enough for me to forge an entirely new set of inner armor.

However, once repaired, it can still provide decent protection for ordinary Qi Gathering cultivators.

Senior Sister Chen doesn't seem to have any inner armor...

Why not reforge the Red Carp Inner Armor and gift it to her? It would be a reward for her tireless efforts these past few days.

Shen Mo had seen Chen Mengze's diligence and naturally couldn't treat her poorly.

As the current Commander of Hongye City's Defense Division, he possessed the authority to determine the monthly stipends and merit rewards for affiliated cultivators.

Setting the monthly stipends too high might seem inappropriate.

Merit rewards, however, were a different matter; Shen Mo's word was final.

So, he set a very high merit reward for both himself and Chen Mengze, feeling entirely justified!

Besides, the Defense Division's Treasure Hall could currently afford it.

However, this was official remuneration. Privately, Shen Mo had yet to express his personal appreciation to Chen Mengze.

The Nether Fire burned vigorously.

It melted the spirit gold ores into a pool of Spiritual Liquid. Then, under Shen Mo's meticulous control, he began to repair the damage to the inner armor's left shoulder.

With Shen Mo's current Forging proficiency, repairing the inner armor wasn't overly difficult.

After re-carving the runes, the Red Carp Inner Armor soon regained its former splendor.

Senior Sister Chen's build is different from mine, so the inner armor's form will need adjustment.

He considered Chen Mengze's proportions as he continued to heat the inner armor with the spirit flame.

Several hours later, the Red Carp Inner Armor had undergone a significant transformation.

It still shone brilliantly, like the scales of a carp!

But its overall shape had become more slender and delicate, clearly an inner armor meant for a female cultivator.

After testing the inner armor's defensive capabilities, Shen Mo put it away with satisfaction.

Although its grade hadn't increased, its defensive capabilities were still quite remarkable for cultivators in the late stage of Qi Gathering.

Even when facing a full-force attack from someone at the peak of Qi Gathering, the Red Carp Inner Armor could block seventy to eighty percent of the blow!

It would be sufficient for Chen Mengze up to Layer IX of the Qi Gathering Realm.

Subsequently, Shen Mo's gaze fell upon the Demon Slaying Sword.

To enhance this high-grade Profound-level Flying Sword, he could focus on three aspects.

The first was the runes within the sword.

It wasn't necessarily true that the more runes carved into a magic artifact, the better.

They merely needed to be systematic and orderly.

Many magic artifacts featured a jumble of unsystematic runes that appeared to offer a multitude of functions, but most were, in fact, superfluous.

However, the Demon Slaying Sword was forged by a Grade IV Forgemaster.

The runes within it were, by nature, exceptionally concise and effective.

They were all designed to enhance the Demon Slaying Sword's inherent 'toughness' and 'sharpness'.

With Shen Mo's current Forging expertise, he couldn't reconfigure the runes to further enhance its power.

On the contrary, he might damage the Demon Slaying Sword's inherent characteristics!

The second was the sword's shape and construction.

Similar to the runes, the Forgemaster who had forged the Demon Slaying Sword was highly accomplished, leaving little room for improvement in its design and construction.

The third was the material used in its Forging.

In this regard, Shen Mo saw room for improvement.

Although the materials used in its creation weren't common ores, they were still considerably inferior when compared to top-tier spirit gold like Divine Iron or Red Heaven Gold.

It wasn't that the Forgemaster couldn't procure such precious spiritual materials; rather, he had forged this sword with the intention to sell it.

If the materials were too precious, he might not even recoup the costs!

The Demon Slaying Sword suits my needs perfectly. No matter the expense, it wouldn't be a waste.

Gradually replacing the original materials with precious spirit gold should allow me to elevate it to the top-grade Profound-level.

However, I must be meticulous during this process... to avoid damaging its original structure and runes!

Shen Mo's focus sharpened.

The Nether Fire flared, its intensity growing, and began to melt precious spiritual materials like Red Heaven Gold.

As the spirit gold liquefied, Shen Mo carefully coated the Demon Slaying Sword with the molten metal. Employing a Forging technique, he guided it to slowly permeate and replace the sword's original composition.

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