Translator: AnubisTL

Inside Li Qing's cave abode, a Golden Jade Garment, radiating a soft, warm glow, floated in the air.

This was the second magical artifact of his life, a defensive treasure capable of providing comprehensive protection for both his fleshly body and divine soul.

"With this garment, I won't have to rely so heavily on the Black Furnace anymore."

Previously, when facing unavoidable attacks, Li Qing had always relied on the Black Furnace for defense.

Though the furnace was incredibly sturdy, it remained an unyielding stone that couldn't be manipulated with mana, making it somewhat cumbersome to use.

Now, with the Golden Jade Garment, he could eliminate the time spent retrieving the Black Furnace from his storage pouch during combat.

A mere thought would activate the garment's exceptional defensive capabilities.

As he gazed at the floating Golden Jade Garment before him, Li Qing was suddenly struck by a whim.

He abruptly raised his hand, condensing a blade of true essence, and slashed it forward.

Whoosh!

The true essence blade sliced through the air, instantly striking the Golden Jade Garment.

Completely unscathed!

The Golden Jade Garment barely trembled once or twice before completely deflecting the blade of true essence.

"Excellent. With this magical artifact, my survival capabilities have increased significantly," Li Qing nodded in satisfaction.

After speaking, he donned the Golden Jade Garment, concealing it beneath his Daoist robes. It now resembled a form-fitting suit of soft armor.

With these preparations complete, Li Qing slowly sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The entire process of refining the Golden Jade Garment replayed in his mind, each step dissected and analyzed. Suddenly, a realization dawned within him.

"If I were to replicate this treasure and refine a top-grade magical artifact, there are several areas that would need modification."

First, the spiritual materials. For a magical artifact intended for foundation establishment cultivators, it wasn't necessary to strictly adhere to the artifact refinement diagram. After all, he was refining a magic artifact, not a magical treasure.

"The Golden Silkworm Silk can still be used, but there's no need to continue using the Warm Sun Jade Marrow."

"Just now, when melting the jade, I ended up with some leftover scraps."

As his words faded, Li Qing gathered the leftover scraps of Warm Sun Jade Marrow from the refining process.

He felt no qualms about this. The jade fragments were more than sufficient for crafting ordinary magic artifacts.

Moreover, using Golden Silkworm Silk as the primary spiritual material was already an extravagant act for a foundation establishment realm cultivator.

Ordinary foundation establishment cultivators rarely had access to such rare and precious spiritual materials for refining magic artifacts.

Next came the dao patterns. These were inscriptions far superior to spirit patterns, typically required only when refining magical treasures.

Magical treasures embodied the Great Dao, and dao patterns served as rudimentary manifestations of this profound principle.

To activate the power of dao patterns on a magical treasure, at least a core formation realm cultivator's solidified mana was necessary. A foundation establishment cultivator's liquid mana simply couldn't achieve this.

This was precisely why activating a magical treasure required at least a core formation realm cultivator. The gap between foundation establishment and core formation was simply too vast.

"Deconstructing dao patterns into spirit patterns is the most challenging part of the imitation refining process," Li Qing murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Dao patterns were far more profound and intricate than simple spirit patterns, making their disassembly an immense undertaking.

However, having already agreed to the task, Li Qing had no choice but to proceed.

Closing his eyes once more, he began mentally dissecting the dao patterns used in refining the Golden Jade Garment.

In that moment, he felt as if he had rediscovered his past life as a scholar, solving complex problems.

Fortunately, Li Qing's divine soul was now exceptionally strong, making the task relatively effortless. Combined with his years of accumulated artifact refinement experience, he completed the process in just seven days!

That's right—in a mere seven days, Li Qing had disassembled these profoundly mysterious dao patterns and, based on their properties, created an entirely new combination of spirit patterns!

"Without realizing it, I've reached this stage—creating spirit patterns independently. I never would have dared to dream of such a thing before," Li Qing murmured, a triumphant smile involuntarily spreading across his lips.

When he first entered the world of cultivation, everything had seemed utterly mystical and beyond his comprehension.

Now, he was capable of creating spirit patterns on his own—an extraordinary achievement indeed.

If these spirit patterns were to be disseminated and proven viable in the future, Li Qing would undoubtedly be recognized for his significant contribution to the immortal cultivation world.

With the spirit pattern issue resolved, the remaining tasks became effortless for Li Qing.

Three days passed in a flash, accompanied by a surge of turbulent spiritual energy.

Another Golden Jade Garment, radiating brilliant golden light, materialized within Li Qing's cave abode. However, this garment's aura was noticeably weaker, lacking the dramatic resonance of its predecessor.

With only a month remaining until his agreed deadline with Zhao Tianxiong, Li Qing had successfully replicated the Golden Jade Garment artifact.

Such extraordinary talent would undoubtedly astound countless artifact refiners if word of it were to spread.

"Hahaha! Master Li truly lives up to his reputation! Replicating the Golden Jade Garment in just two months is simply astonishing!"

"This Zhao is deeply impressed!"

Zhao Tianxiong's eyes widened with astonishment as he beheld the replicated Golden Jade Garment within Li Qing's cave abode.

Though not an artifact refiner himself, he understood the immense difficulty involved in replicating such a powerful artifact.

In other words, within these two months, Li Qing had not only refined a magical artifact but had also disassembled the magic artifact version of the Golden Jade Garment and perfectly refined it.

His talent for artifact refinement was already bordering on terrifying. This achievement undoubtedly earned him the title of "Master Li."

Li Qing had truly become a Refining Grandmaster.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist Zhao, you flatter me. I merely had a bit of luck," Li Qing said with a light smile, waving his hand dismissively.

But Zhao Tianxiong knew better. A core formation true lord with such exceptional artifact refinement skills was far more valuable than any ordinary core formation true lord.

Cultivation progress became increasingly difficult at higher levels. However, a skilled artifact refiner could continuously enhance their combat prowess by refining magical artifacts for themselves.

Given enough time, even without any advancement in cultivation, their accumulated combat strength would far surpass the imagination of ordinary cultivators.

Understanding this, Zhao Tianxiong deftly patted his storage pouch:

"Heh, Master Li, I noticed several wine jars in your cave abode earlier. I presume you appreciate fine spirits."

"This exquisite brew is called Moon Palace Brew, crafted using a unique recipe exclusive to Moonchase Palace! It's exceedingly rare!"

"This Moon Palace Brew is not only exquisitely sweet and endlessly satisfying, but drinking it also offers a chance for a subtle enlightenment in one's daoist arts."

Li Qing's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this description.

Having spent considerable time in the Great Wilderness Domain, the seasoned wine enthusiast had naturally heard of some of the region's most renowned wines.

Moon Palace Brew was among the most celebrated, prized not only for its exceptional flavor but also for its potential to enhance one's cultivation of daoist arts.

If he were to truly experience a profound enlightenment, it would be an extraordinary windfall.

However, as Zhao Tianxiong had mentioned, such fine wines were exceedingly rare. Each year, fewer than ten jars of Moon Palace Brew were released from Moonchase Palace.

It remained a mystery how the Zhao Family had acquired this particular jar, but one could assume that an aristocratic family with centuries of history would possess such rare treasures.

"Hahahaha, Fellow Daoist Zhao, you've truly outdone yourself!" Li Qing exclaimed, his joy barely contained. "Today calls for celebration! Let us share a cup together!"

Without hesitation, he broke the special seal on the jar, releasing a delicate fragrance that instantly filled the cave abode.

The faint, refreshing aroma stirred the wine-loving worm in Li Qing's stomach to life.

He retrieved two cups, filled them to the brim, and handed one to Zhao Tianxiong before eagerly inhaling the fragrant vapor rising from his own cup.

The aroma of the wine was rich and lingering, as refreshing as gazing at the moon on a cool summer night.

Even a single whiff left Li Qing feeling intoxicated.

Seeing this, Zhao Tianxiong chuckled and drained his own cup in one gulp.

Li Qing eagerly took a small sip, savoring the taste of the Moon Palace Brew.

"The fragrance lingers on the lips and tongue, the aftertaste lingering long after. Though it's wine, it retains a delicate, refined aroma. Truly worthy of its renowned name!"

"Among all the wines I've tasted in my life, this Moon Palace Brew undoubtedly ranks among the top three."

With that, Li Qing finished his cup, a blissful expression spreading across his face.

Zhao Tianxiong clasped his hands in a respectful bow. "This Zhao will now take his leave and not disturb Master Li's refined enjoyment. I must deliver a magic artifact to my unworthy son."

"Farewell, Master Li!"

Still immersed in the lingering aroma of the Moon Palace Brew, Li Qing nodded absently, raising his empty cup casually. "Mm, until next time!"

After seeing Zhao Tianxiong off, Li Qing refilled his cup with spirit wine and resumed savoring it.

As the wine flowed down his throat, Li Qing, who had just emerged from deep artifact refinement, suddenly experienced a profound sense of clarity.

In his mind's eye, every artifact refinement spirit pattern he had ever mastered materialized before him.

Spirit patterns, some intricate, some simple, some profound, materialized before Li Qing's eyes, each one flashing past like a tangible entity.

From the fundamental Five Elements Spiritual Inscriptions to combined patterns and various composite types, Li Qing suddenly found himself in a state he had never experienced before: enlightenment.

The spirit patterns he had long discarded now transformed from dross into gold, evolving endlessly within his mind.

Eventually, these ordinary patterns even began to show signs of evolving into dao patterns.

Just as Li Qing felt he was on the verge of grasping a completely new path, the alcohol's effects abruptly faded.

In a daze, he snapped out of his enlightened state.

"Wait a minute," he muttered, "if dao patterns can be broken down into spirit patterns, could spirit patterns also evolve into dao patterns?"

"Or are the two fundamentally interconnected? In the cultivation world, which came first—dao patterns or spirit patterns?"

As he spoke, Li Qing's body began to tremble slightly, not from fear, but from excitement.

If this were true, he might be on the verge of discovering an entirely new path in artifact refinement.

With this realization, he burst into laughter:

"The grand deeds of the immortal dao are but a jest, yet they cannot surpass the bliss of a single mortal's drunken revelry."

"Excellent wine! Truly excellent wine!"

(End of the Chapter)

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