Translator: AnubisTL

Li Qing naturally declined Gui Li's invitation to join the Ghost Sword Sect.

Even if the immortal dao war weren't raging, he had no intention of joining any faction. The Lingyun Sect had become his cherished ideal, leaving no room for other fleeting attachments.

Joining an immortal dao faction solely because of the abundant spiritual energy in the local spiritual vein would be irresponsible.

Li Qing was no longer the weak qi refining realm cultivator he once was. He no longer needed to rely on a powerful faction for protection.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Sect Leader Gui Li," Li Qing said with a smile, politely declining. "But I've grown accustomed to a life of freedom and have no desire to abandon this unrestrained cultivation."

Gui Li remained unfazed. His invitation had been merely a casual remark; he hadn't expected a core formation realm cultivator to join the Ghost Sword Sect based on a few jesting words.

"Heh, no matter. The Ghost Sword Sect will always keep its doors open for you, Fellow Daoist Limitless. You're welcome to join whenever you wish."

"And of course, this invitation extends to all of you as well."

Hearing the nascent soul realm cultivator's invitation, Hu Sanniang and the others politely declined with smiles, and the matter was quickly dropped.

Soon, Gui Li shifted the conversation, his expression turning solemn.

"Fellow cultivators, now that everyone has arrived, I'll stop being mysterious!"

"I wonder if you've heard of the rare treasure I intend to refine: the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron!"

Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron?!

The moment these words left his lips, the silver-haired True Bone Immortal's face showed clear shock.

After a moment, Hu Sanniang seemed to recall something and couldn't help but gasp.

Li Qing and Crimson Hair Immortal, however, had never heard of this rare treasure and had no idea what the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron was.

But judging by its imposing name, it was clearly an artifact of terrifying power.

True Bone Immortal murmured, "No wonder Sect Leader Gui Li invited four core formation realm artifact refinement masters. He intends to refine this supreme ancient treasure! The cauldron is named after the Four Symbols, requiring materials from four spirit beasts with true spirit bloodlines. Could it be..."

The Four Symbols naturally refer to the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—the four True Spirits.

This realm, however, lacked true spirits, possessing only spirit beasts with traces of their bloodline.

Yet even a spirit beast with a mere sliver of true spirit bloodline was an immensely powerful being. Obtaining materials from such a creature would be a task even more daunting than ascending to heaven.

Hu Sanniang frowned. "Legend has it that after the great war against the ancient demonic realm ended, this cauldron vanished from the Human Realm without a trace."

"Gathering the materials is only half the battle. Sect Leader Gui Li, do you also possess the refining blueprint for this cauldron?"

Gui Li, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, smiled faintly. "Simply follow my instructions," he said. "There's no need for so many questions."

With that, he retrieved four bamboo slips from his storage pouch. Each slip was covered in densely packed rows of characters.

"Fellow Daoists, examine these carefully. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to ask."

As he spoke, Gui Li handed a bamboo slip to each of the four individuals.

Li Qing, who had remained silent until now, accepted his slip with a grave expression.

He was tasked with refining the Vermilion Bird component, which required an abundance of fire energy, preferably heavenly spirit fire.

After reading this, Li Qing finally understood why he had been invited by the Ghost Sword Sect Leader. It wasn't just because of his status as an artifact refiner; they likely needed the power of his Netherworld Cold Fire.

"Refine a Red Phoenix Feather with fire for forty-nine days, then fuse it into the half-finished Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron," Li Qing murmured to himself, reciting the instructions from the bamboo slip.

He quickly finished reading the entire slip.

This was only a partial refining method. Gui Li was clever; he hadn't entrusted the complete process of refining the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron to the four of them.

If the four collaborators colluded afterward, they would essentially possess the entire refining method for the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron.

Although Gui Li doubted they could gather the four spirit beast materials with true spirit bloodlines as he had, he still took precautions.

Li Qing and the others only needed to participate in the intermediate refining stages. Gui Li planned to handle the initial cauldron casting and final completion himself.

Thus, even if they exchanged their assigned refining methods, they would only obtain one-third of the complete process for the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron.

Clearly, none of them were fools. Risking offense to the Ghost Sword Sect to exchange such a fragmented method for refining a rare treasure was simply not worth it. There was no need.

Gui Li spoke calmly, "How do you find the plans? Regardless of whether you succeed or fail, the Ghost Sword Sect will reward each of you with half a portion of dragon marrow as a token of gratitude."

Hiss!

Half a portion of dragon marrow!

This was a priceless treasure, found only within the dragon veins beneath the Ancient Imperial City.

The four artifact refiners present gasped, their breathing quickening slightly.

As core formation realm cultivators, they naturally coveted dragon marrow with fervent desire.

But Gui Li wasn't finished. "Furthermore," he continued, "once you complete the task I've assigned, the Ghost Sword Sect will offer an additional substantial reward. We can discuss the specifics of this reward later."

At this point, Li Qing had no further reservations. The portion of the refinement he was tasked with wasn't particularly difficult; he could complete the refinement of the Red Phoenix Feather using his own Netherworld Cold Fire.

Maintaining the refinement for forty-nine days would be a significant drain on his mana, but faced with the allure of half a portion of dragon marrow and the promise of further rewards, he would grit his teeth and push through, even if it meant forcing himself.

Hu Sanniang, however, spoke gravely, "I have no major issues with the refinement process itself, but my mana reserves might not sustain such an intensive refinement for forty-nine days."

As if anticipating Hu Sanniang's objection, Gui Li smiled faintly. "There's no need to worry about that," he said. "I've already considered this issue."

With a flick of his wrist, four thumb-sized white jade bottles appeared in his hand. He distributed one to Li Qing and each of the others.

"These contain diluted Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk," Gui Li explained. "Use it sparingly, and it will be more than enough to sustain you for the forty-nine days."

Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk!

Li Qing felt a wave of dizziness. This spiritual object was far more precious than the millennial spirit milk he possessed.

Such spirit milk was invaluable even to cultivators in the nascent soul realm, capable of instantly replenishing their mana. Legend had it that a nascent soul realm cultivator whose mana had been completely depleted could fully recover with just three drops of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk.

This was truly a rare and priceless treasure.

"Ghost Sword Sect Leader, you are truly generous!" Crimson Hair Immortal exclaimed sincerely, opening the bottle and taking a cautious sniff of the diluted Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk within.

Li Qing also took a whiff. Even diluted, the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk was significantly purer than his own millennial spirit milk.

High quality! Extremely valuable!

After receiving the spirit milk, Hu Sanniang slowly nodded. "I have no further questions."

"Fellow Daoists, do any of you have any other questions?" Gui Li's gaze swept over Li Qing and the other two.

The three cultivators, still preoccupied with the half portion of dragon marrow, had no further doubts.

The refining process itself wasn't particularly difficult. Like Li Qing's method, it primarily required materials from spirit beasts.

Though Li Qing didn't know which spirit beast materials the trio intended to use, he could make a rough guess. They were likely similar to the Red Phoenix Feather, derived from spirit beasts with the true spirit bloodline of the Four Symbols.

"Excellent. Since there are no further questions, follow me!"

With a flourish of his wide sleeves, the Ghost Sword Sect Leader soared into the air, leading the way out of the grand hall.

Li Qing and the others immediately followed suit.

(End of the Chapter)

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