Chapter 679: Jiaolong Spirit Essence

Qin Sang was unaware of the discussions outside. He was preparing for artifact refinement in the fire chamber.

For his first attempt, he certainly wanted to make a striking impression. Less critical steps could be completed with the aid of the earth fire, but crucial stages required the use of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame to ensure success.

Inside the fire chamber, a fire vein ran underground, though it wasn't visible from the surface. At the center of the chamber was a circular pit, its walls constructed from neatly laid square bricks. Etched onto these bricks were nine phoenix patterns, each in a different pose. Qin Sang recognized at a glance that these patterns formed a miraculous restriction, capable of stabilizing and enhancing the power of the earth fire.

He cast the talisman given to him by the guard into the circular pit. A long cry of a fire phoenix echoed from within, and then the nine phoenixes seemed to come alive, their wings burning crimson like fire. From their beaks, intensely hot flames erupted—the purest essence of earth fire.

Qin Sang's expression subtly darkened. He selected a few less important spiritual materials from his mustard seed bag and experimented with them. He found that the earth fire here was very stable, and activating it consumed very little of his true essence. After that, Qin Sang paused, remaining still for an entire day, contemplating how to make the most efficient use of these spiritual materials.

On the second day, Qin Sang finally began. Spiritual materials were continuously fed into the earth fire for tempering, then sorted and put away. During this process, Qin Sang would occasionally interrupt the tempering, retrieve the Ten Directions Yama Banner, and activate the Nine Nether Demonic Flame to temper important spiritual materials. When his true essence was significantly depleted, he would put away the Ten Directions Yama Banner, switch to the earth fire, and slowly recover his true essence. He continued this cycle, meticulously planning, using his time to the fullest extent.

These past few days, every evening, Ran Luo would check on the fire chamber. No news had emerged from within, causing her some worry.

"To Manager Ran, Daoist Qingfeng has not yet emerged from seclusion, nor has he given us any instructions," the guard reported dutifully. The guards, performing their duties diligently and not daring to leave their posts, reported proactively upon seeing Ran Luo arrive again.

Ran Luo nodded and said, "Continue your watch. Inform me immediately if there's any news from the Daoist."

Ran Luo turned to leave, but unexpectedly, after only a few steps, she suddenly heard a guard behind her exclaim, "The Daoist has emerged..."

Ran Luo's face lit up with joy. She hastily turned back and saw Qin Sang striding out. She quickly asked, "Daoist, have you completed all the refinement?"

Qin Sang smiled slightly and replied, "Fortunately, I did not fail in my mission. Please, take a look." With that, Qin Sang waved his hand, and five streams of light shot from his palm, hovering before Ran Luo.

Each stream of light enveloped a magical artifact: a pair of wings, a bone whip, an oddly shaped small drum, and two sets of armor—one made of leather and one of bone. Without exception, they were all top-grade artifacts!

Qin Sang had indeed put his heart and soul into it, racking his brains to finally refine five top-grade artifacts. The artifacts used by cultivators in Canglang Sea were invariably related to beast bones and hides, and those refined by Qin Sang were no exception. The main material for the wings was the melted wings of several demonic birds. The bone whip was made from that section of Jiaolong bone. The drum was the most peculiar; Qin Sang refined it from the skulls of several demonic beasts, and once activated, it could unleash illusory beast souls to assault an opponent's mind.

Ran Luo took them, examining each one, praising them repeatedly. Only then did she truly believe in Qin Sang's extraordinary artifact refinement skills.

"Ah, I almost forgot to inform Elder Zou!" Ran Luo exclaimed softly, hastily conjured a transmission talisman, and then continued to examine the artifacts, unable to put them down.

After a while, a strange glint suddenly flickered in Ran Luo's eyes. She noticed that while these five artifacts were clearly distinct, their power was undoubtedly excellent, all being superb top-grade artifacts. However, they shared one common trait: all the artifacts carried a trace of chilling, Yin power. This Yin power was very dominant. Demonic and ghostly artifacts often possessed similar qualities due to their unique refinement methods, but here, it seemed out of place. Even the pair of wings, which contained abundant fire elemental power, could not suppress that trace of chilling Yin power. Ran Luo subconsciously glanced at Qin Sang, a hint of surprise and suspicion in her heart.

Qin Sang noticed Ran Luo's expression and inwardly let out a bitter smile. He hadn't expected that refining artifacts with the Nine Nether Demonic Flame would imbue them with a trace of its aura, carrying an indelible chilling Yin power. This was not a bad thing; in fact, it enhanced the artifacts' power. If asked, he could simply deflect by claiming it was a unique refinement technique. However, Qin Sang felt depressed. Ran Luo had already been suspicious of him, and now with these artifacts revealed, his identity as a great demon might be confirmed. Fortunately, sectarian bias wasn't severe in the Demonic Sea. If he was a demon, then so be it. If the Qiongyu Merchant Guild rejected him because of this, it was no big deal. If one place didn't want him, another would.

Qin Sang tossed his mustard seed bag to Ran Luo. "These are artifacts refined from the remaining spiritual materials. Their quality varies, but you can take them all, fellow Daoist."

By this time, Ran Luo had returned to her usual demeanor. Clearly, she had come to terms with it: regardless of whether Qin Sang was righteous or evil before, as long as he could refine artifacts, it was acceptable.

A moment later, Elder Zou and others arrived. Seeing Qin Sang produce all five artifacts without missing any, there was no longer any skepticism. The young man named Zhuo also had nothing to say; he bowed to Qin Sang, appearing genuinely convinced.

"Daoist Qingfeng," Elder Zou said decisively, "as the chief manager of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild, I invite you to become an external guest elder of our guild. From now on, with this token, you may, at your discretion, utilize the guild's resources in both the inner and outer seas..." Elder Zou was direct and efficient, immediately confirming Qin Sang's status as an external guest elder on the spot and handing him a token. "The Daoist is now one of us. If you have any requests, just state them."

Qin Sang toyed with the guest elder token. It sounded like his position as a guest elder was more significant than Huiwen's, and his authority seemed considerable. Not only could he mobilize some of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild's resources, but in times of crisis, he could even seek help from the entire Eastern Extremity Alliance. As an artifact refiner joining the guild, he only needed to fulfill his duties in refinement.

"Since Elder Zou has asked," Qin Sang said plainly, "this poor Daoist only practices artifact refinement as a secondary skill. My primary focus is my own cultivation. My cultivation method is unique, requiring me to venture out periodically for demon hunting and training, so I cannot remain on the island refining artifacts indefinitely."

Elder Zou immediately agreed, promising Qin Sang access to the guild's resources to ensure his safety during demon hunts. Qin Sang proposed several conditions consecutively, all of which Elder Zou agreed to.

Finally, Qin Sang, operating on the principle of 'use it or lose it,' said, "The guild acquires so many demonic corpses; it seems this poor Daoist will be busy on Duyan Island for half a year or so. However, I urgently need the essences of eight Jiaolongs, at the peak Demonic Spirit stage, and they must be extracted from living bodies. I wonder if the guild has a way to gather them quickly?"

Ran Luo considered this, then said, "Refining high-grade Fiend Demon Pills also requires the essences of demonic beasts. Furthermore, Daoist, you require living Jiaolongs at the peak Demonic Spirit stage, which might be difficult to obtain. I will do my best to help you collect them."

Qin Sang cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your trouble, fellow Daoist Ran. If they cannot be gathered quickly, please help this poor Daoist inquire about nearby areas where Jiaolongs appear. I don't mind hunting them myself."