Chapter 695: Chapter 394: Visiting
“Elder Zuo is right, crafting this magical treasure indeed consumed a lot of time!” Li Shiming said, bowing respectfully.
He thought of ten days, but the time he and Elder Zuo perceived had a huge discrepancy.
Of course, this was understandable. During the refining of the Flowing Light Star Meteor, he had engaged over a hundred brains to work together. If there truly were a cultivator who had mastered the ‘Divine Eye’ and possessed the same hands-on ability as him, perhaps it indeed would take about a year, as Elder Zuo had estimated.
“The power of this magical treasure is immense; it seems that in the Golden Core Stage, you possess the power to protect yourself!” Elder Zuo, seeing Li Shiming’s demeanor, said with a smile as he handed back the Flowing Light Star Meteor.
The light in Li Shiming’s eyes flickered. Being told by Elder Zuo that the artifact was immensely powerful indicated that his refining was highly successful.
He had not yet tested the true power of the Flowing Light Star Meteor. Although his life-bound magical treasure, IBMz15, had some speculations, there were still no actual data to verify it.
“If I get the chance to obtain materials suitable for crafting treasures, and if your cultivation is sufficient, I’ll come to ask for your help!” Elder Zuo continued, much to the astonishment of Elder Su who was standing by.
Elder Su knew that normally, when a Nascent Soul Ancestor obtained materials suitable for themselves, they would personally refine them.
Only a Nascent Soul Ancestor could craft magical treasures from Fourth-grade Refining Materials, and no Nascent Soul Ancestor would entrust their treasures to another for crafting.
Moreover, and most importantly, a magical treasure crafted by a Nascent Soul Ancestor personally had some additional effects in terms of power.
Elder Zuo saying this indicated that Li Shiming’s skill in refining far exceeded his own.
“It would be my honor!” Li Shiming responded with a smile.
He also knew that Elder Zuo was just speaking rhetorically. On the surface, to reach the ability to craft Fourth-grade magical treasures, he would need to at least be in the Nascent Soul Stage.
That was on the surface. In reality, once he or Silver Corpse Nanming’s ‘Nanming Leaving Fire’ divine skill advanced to a certain level, he would be able to melt Fourth-grade Refining Materials.
If a Nascent Soul Ancestor was involved, crafting a Fourth-grade magical treasure could indeed be possible.
But he couldn’t expose too much. In crafting artifacts like the Flowing Light Star Meteor, he used far too many methods that he didn’t want outsiders to know of.
Elder Zuo nodded, then turned and left.
“Shiming, I find you more and more incomprehensible!” Elder Su finally found an opportunity to speak, expressing his feeling.
This disciple had been taught very little by him, solely because Li Shiming’s time of initiation was too short compared to other disciples.
“Master, I just got a bit lucky!” Li Shiming replied, touching his head, genuinely unsure of how to explain.
“Let’s not spread the word about your artifact crafting. Your alchemy is already affecting your cultivation enough. If you add artifact crafting, I’m afraid you’ll have no free time left!” Elder Su considered before speaking.
Anyway, the only ones who truly knew about this were Elder Zuo and himself. Elder Zuo, who doesn’t even meet other cultivators, wouldn’t possibly spread the news.
It was sufficient to attribute the artifact tribulation to a Silver Corpse undergoing heavenly tribulation, especially since Li Shiming had many Silver Corpses; having an additional one wouldn’t be a big deal.
“I’ll follow Master’s arrangements!” Li Shiming would surely not object.
Returning to Sword Holding Peak, he smiled wryly. It seemed that even if he refined the remaining nine Flowing Light Star Meteors, he could not complete the final steps within the sect.
Who would have thought that refining a Third-grade magical treasure could lead to an Artifact Tribulation?
If one Flowing Light Star Meteor caused an Artifact Tribulation, it could be considered luck, but if he continuously provoked ten such tribulations, it might bring him considerable trouble.
The comment by Elder Zuo, which seemed like a praise but also a jest, might actually become a reality if he continuously provoked Artifact Tribulations.
Li Shiming didn’t stop the production of the nine Flowing Light Star Meteors; he only ensured that none of them were completed, to avoid triggering an Artifact Tribulation.
In Jieshan City Guardian Mansion in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, his clone, Li Yuanba, had been living quite peacefully over the year.
The only impact was that, since the original Li Shiming had left the Beishu Continent, his alchemy channels were closed. However, whether it was the Golden Core Elders from Senluo Sect or those from the Righteous Path, they all understood this circumstance and had no complaints.
Since Li Shiming left, there wasn’t any force on the Beishu Continent that could ask him to perform alchemy.
The Beishu Trading Company’s request for Li Shiming to refine Third-grade Spirit Pills during the Late-stage Golden Core was kept confidential, and all orders were internally adjusted by the Beishu Trading Company. Li Shiming took orders only once every two months, not enough even for distribution among the internal Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators of the Beishu Trading Company.
The news that Li Shiming, a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator, could refine Third-grade Spirit Pills for Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators had not spread in the Beishu Continent for at least a year.
Li Yuanba sat in the Cultivation Room, his aura already at the peak of the Golden Core Early Stage, just a step away from breaking through.
Yet, it was this slight gap that prevented further progress in his cultivation.
Although he shared the insights from the original Li Shiming for breaking into the Golden Core Middle Stage, their paths in cultivation were different, so those insights were only somewhat helpful and could not play a decisive role.
The primary Cultivation Technique of the original Li Shiming was the ‘Five Rhymes Qi Cultivation Technique’, and he also practiced the ‘Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique’. In contrast, Li Yuanba primarily practiced the ‘Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique’, a purely top Sword Cultivator method.
Li Yuanba was not in a hurry. Comparing his progress to the original Li Shiming’s wouldn’t be fair. Even if it took him a few more years to break through, he would still be considered one of the youngest at the Golden Core Middle Stage.