That night,

Yuan Ming returned to his dwelling and immediately took out the piece of Water Crown Tree spirit wood he had acquired that day. He carefully cut approximately one-tenth of it, ground it into a fine powder, mixed it with other incense-making materials, and added the incense ashes from the Zhenling Sect to quickly create a new stick of Black Incense.

Then, he took out the Stealing Heaven Tripod and inserted the finished Black Incense into it. Calming his mind, he attempted to possess Sha Hao.

Soon, Yuan Ming's vision shifted, and he once again found himself inhabiting Sha Hao's body.

However, the scenery around him remained unchanged from his previous possessions; Sha Hao seemed rooted to the spot as usual, still sitting in silence within the stone house, diligently cultivating.

Yuan Ming was quite accustomed to such scenes and did not grow impatient. Instead, as always, he quietly began to sense the flow of spiritual power within Sha Hao's body.

Half a quarter of an hour later, just when Yuan Ming thought that this attempt would also be fruitless, Sha Hao suddenly opened his eyes, reached into his storage bag, turned a porcelain bottle over in his palm, but nothing came out.

"Ah, out so soon? Seems like I need to go purchase some more at the workshop," Sha Hao muttered.

Following that, he stood up and left the stone house.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming was shaken and quickly focused his attention, taking advantage of Sha Hao's departure to observe the surroundings.

The place where Sha Hao resided seemed to be a remote mountain range, with ancient trees towering into the sky and intermittent sounds of birds and beasts. Nothing out of the ordinary could be observed.

After leaving his dwelling in the mountain cave, he brandished a Token and took off in a Flying Boat that soared into the sky.

All along the way, Yuan Ming did not see any landmark that could determine Sha Hao's location. His usually calm mood began to stir with ripples of concern.

Missing this opportunity, he did not know when the next chance to encounter Sha Hao venturing out would come.

Yuan Ming felt anxious inside but had no means to influence Sha Hao. He could only pray silently that the workshop Sha Hao intended to visit was not too far away.

His prayer, however, did not seem to take effect. The workshop Sha Hao chose to visit was not particularly close to his hiding place, but fortunately, due to the inclusion of the thousand-year-old water crown wood in the new incense, the time he could possess Sha Hao was much longer than before.

After an amount of time had passed, Yuan Ming finally saw a city appearing in the distance, and as they drew closer, he realized that the architectural style of the city was completely different from that of Thunder Continent or the entirety of Da Jin.

As Sha Hao brought the Flying Boat down, Yuan Ming also saw the city's name inscribed on the plaque above the gate—Wangyue City.

Before entering the city, Sha Hao carefully disguised himself and headed straight to an elixir shop once inside, avoiding contact with anyone else along the way. He was the epitome of caution and vigilance.

However, Yuan Ming, who was inhabiting his body, clearly observed every shop and passerby they had passed on the road.

The cultivators coming and going in the main street all wore brocade robes and had various magic artifacts slung at their waist, occasionally uttering slang from Zhao Country in their conversations.

The scripts on the signs of the shops by the road had slender lines with smooth strokes, which were characteristics of the Zhao Country's script.

Most crucially, at one of the shops that Sha Hao passed by, there was a huge notice board hanging outside that read:

"New arrival of Northern Desert Sand Worms at our shop, purchase while supplies last."

Thus, it seemed that Wangyue City was likely a city in the northern part of Zhao Country.

Based on this deduction, Yuan Ming made his assumptions, and at the same time, Sha Hao crossed the street and entered the elixir shop.

And at that moment, the time Yuan Ming could spend possessing Sha Hao had just run out.

...

Two days later,

Inside a private room at the Four Symbols Tea House, Yuan Ming finally met with the Artifact Refiner referred to him by Song Huichong.

To his surprise, the man was none other than Master Xu Xinyang, who had been at the auction.

Song Huichong noticed Yuan Ming's astonished expression and smiled as she explained, "Speaking of refining top-grade magical tools, Master Xu is a renowned figure throughout Zhao Country. Even I have a magic treasure on me that originated from a top-grade magical tool refined by him."

"Senior Song flatters me. My artifact refining skills are just passable and not particularly useful. The title 'Master' makes me feel somewhat ashamed," Xu Xinyang said with a wave of his hand, speaking in a gruff voice.

"The top-grade magical tools refined by Master Xu, most of which can be improved into magic treasures, are coveted by many Core Formation cultivators. How can you say they are useless?" Song Huichong responded.

"Alas, Senior Song knows, my talent for cultivation is limited, and the difficulties of advancing to Core Formation are insurmountable. No matter how skilled I am in refining, creating top-grade magical tools is as far as I can go. I can't create magic treasures, let alone glimpse the higher splendor. I'm really no master," Xu Xinyang shook his head.

"I remember, Master Xu, didn't you once propose a theory that it might be possible to balance and fuse the fifth rune with the other four, forming a fake rune formation, and directly refine a magic treasure? Is that path not feasible?" Song Huichong inquired.

"That's only theoretically possible. In practice, it's extremely difficult. From my years of research and the numerous attempts I've made, none have succeeded. It seems that apart from the Pill Fire nurtured within the body of a Core Formation cultivator, there likely isn't a good way to ease the conflict and rejection among the five runes. My ideas are just empty talk. Anyway, let's not discuss it. You invited me here to introduce a talented fellow cultivator, could it be him?" Xu Xinyang said with a wry smile.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately clasped his hands and said, "I am Hagon, and I have the pleasure of meeting Master Xu."

"Master Xu, you must have heard of his name in the past few days. He fought Pu Zhengqing to save my disciple but lost most of his magical tools in the process. I felt terrible about it, and that's why I sought you out. I wonder if you might do me the honor of helping him improve one of his high-grade magical tools to top-grade," Song Huichong requested.

Xu Xinyang scrutinized Yuan Ming for a moment and then shook his head, "Senior Song, it's not that I don't want to do you this favor. I'm simply too busy with a top-grade magical tool I'm currently refining, and I can't spare any time right now. But the store under my name is located in Yuhe City of Zhao Country, managed by my elder brother. His skills are not bad, and he has also refined a few top-grade magical tools. Fellow Daoist Hagon could go to him for assistance, just say that I sent you."

This was a polite refusal. Song Huichong sighed helplessly. She wasn't very close to Xu Xinyang, and it wasn't appropriate to press him into agreeing considering her seniority. It was up to Yuan Ming now to persuade him.

Hearing Xu Xinyang's words, although Yuan Ming felt somewhat disappointed, he had come prepared and immediately said, "Master Xu, in earlier years, I accidentally acquired a rune. I have not been able to discern its origin or function. As you have extensive knowledge and experience, would you be willing to help clarify some things for me?"

With that, Yuan Ming handed over a Jade Plate he had prepared earlier.

Xu Xinyang knew that Yuan Ming was proposing the exchange of a rune for artifact refining services. However, having immersed himself in the art of artifact refining for many years and having seen a great variety of runes, he doubted that Yuan Ming could present anything of value. Therefore, he only gave the Jade Plate a cursory glance, but it was that one look that made him sit bolt upright.

He took the Jade Plate from Yuan Ming's hand, his eyes round with intensity as he closely studied the rune on the plate, completely engrossed in his examination. He was so absorbed that he seemed to forget the presence of the other two people in the room.

Yuan Ming had inscribed on his jade plate a Corpse Control Rune that he had obtained from the portrait of Ba Yin Ancestor, the lord of Iron Tiger Town. Although this rune was originally used for creating talismans, it was not improper to use it on a magical artifact.

It took Xu Xinyang a good while, under the incessant urging of Song Huichong, to come back to his senses. He glanced at Yuan Ming impatiently, then remembered the previous topic and said directly, "This rune of yours, I haven't really seen much of it either, and I need to study it further. So, leave the magical artifact that you want to upgrade with me. I'll refine it for you when I've finished my research. Keep this Communication Talisman safe, I will notify you in twenty days to come and collect it."

Yuan Ming nodded, then took out the Black Needle, the Flood Dragon Scale, and the long-neglected White Jade Belt: "Master Xu, my Black Needle has been refined once before, could you please add an Armor Breaking Rune to it? Also, this Flood Dragon Scale, if possible, I would trouble you to refine it into a top-grade shield. And this White Jade Belt, please see if you can repair it as well."

Xu Xinyang put down the jade plate and looked at Yuan Ming with an unpleasant expression: "Fellow Daoist, aren't you asking for too much?"

"Please forgive my impertinence, Master." Yuan Ming replied, as he handed over a Storage Bag.

Xu Xinyang took the Storage Bag, a trace of scorn appearing at the corner of his mouth. As an Artifact Refining Master, he had seen plenty of Spirit Stones in his days, and the notion that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator thought to influence him with Spirit Stones was laughable.

As he thought this, he opened the Storage Bag, and upon seeing the glaring pile of Spirit Stones inside, he was immediately taken aback.

He counted roughly and found there were a full six thousand Spirit Stones in the bag.

"I wonder if Master finds my offering to your satisfaction. This is only half of it. Once you have finished refining, I will immediately present the other half," Yuan Ming said with clasped hands.

These Spirit Stones were almost all he could offer. Although he had earned quite a bit through the Spiritual Incense Store over the years, most of it was spent on buying elixirs to enhance his cultivation.

But he did not feel any heartache, for Spirit Stones could be earned again, whereas an opportunity like this, once missed, might not come again. Besides, he had calculated that if the other party agreed, he would still have made a good profit based on market value.

Xu Xinyang coughed twice and pocketed the Storage Bag: "Since Fellow Daoist sincerely requests assistance, I shall help with all my heart."

As he spoke, he took the three items that Yuan Ming had brought out one by one, but when he got to the White Jade Belt, his gaze sharpened. Then he took the belt in his hands and began to examine it repeatedly.

"Interesting, using gems as carriers for the runes rather than the magical tool itself, a thought to avoid rune conflict. However, these gems... are they Sea Coral Stones? No, Sea Coral Stones don't transmit Spiritual Power this quickly. But... where exactly did Fellow Daoist Hagon find this magical tool?" As Xu Xinyang looked more and more puzzled, he finally turned to Yuan Ming and asked about the origins of the artifact.

"I got it while traveling in the Southern Border, after killing an enemy," Yuan Ming did not conceal the truth.

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