Chapter 887: 元神

As the avatar pondered silently, the Daoist boy concluded his sermon.

After answering a few of the avatar's questions, the Daoist boy led him away from Jade Finger Peak. Using a magical artifact, they flew over a large river and landed at a fiery red stone hall situated on a cliff overlooking the river.

Even before they reached it, a wave of scorching heat washed over them.

The stone hall was constructed from a unique stone imbued with the power of fire. Moreover, it was enhanced with specific enchantments designed to preserve this fiery energy indefinitely.

Activating spirit fire here would be significantly easier, making artifact refining twice as efficient.

The two landed in front of the stone hall, but did not immediately enter.

The Daoist boy projected a pulse of spiritual energy, activating the enchantment on the stone hall's door.

A moment later, muffled footsteps echoed from within the hall. A bronze-skinned, heavily built man strode out, his gaze sweeping over them.

"Senior Brother Jinyan!"

Jinyan, who had initially worn an annoyed expression, as if disturbed from something important, slightly softened his face upon seeing the Daoist boy. He grumbled, "So it's Junior Brother Yang! I heard Senior Uncle Huayang took you as his personal Daoist boy. How do you still have time to wander around?"

The burly man's booming voice made the hall hum, and his words were blunt.

The Daoist boy, who seemed quite familiar with Jinyan, paid no mind to his bluntness. "Junior Brother has come to offer you a helper for tending the fire," he said.

The burly man's eyes darted to the avatar before he chuckled. "What can someone you send do? It'll be a miracle if he doesn't cause trouble! I've never seen this kid before. When did he join the sect?"

"Senior Brother, you're so absorbed in artifact refining, it's normal you haven't met him. However, Zhang Yue is indeed a newly admitted disciple. I asked Senior Brother Lu to assign him to you."

The Daoist boy motioned for the avatar to step forward. "He studied artifact refining before joining the sect. Senior Brother will know his skill once you test him."

"Oh?"

The burly man scrutinized the avatar and spoke unceremoniously, "Then come in and give it a try. I happen to have a batch of spiritual materials that need refining. Junior Brother Yang, let's be clear. You know the weight of my responsibilities; I cannot afford to harbor idlers for your Yin-Yang lineage. Our friendship is one thing, but if you send me someone utterly useless, I will not accept him..."

"Naturally! If he were truly an incompetent disciple, I wouldn't dare trouble Senior Brother Jinyan."

The Daoist boy said with a confident expression.

Before their arrival, he had questioned the avatar about artifact refining and confirmed his impressive skill.

As he spoke, the burly man stepped aside, inviting them in.

The air inside the stone hall was even more scorching.

The avatar followed, entering a stone chamber. Upon seeing a large pile of purple ore, he exclaimed in shock, "So much Purple Wind Copper ore!"

This copper ore could be refined into Purple Wind Copper, ideal for crafting Metal-element magical artifacts.

Jinyan let out a soft "Oh?" "You recognized Purple Wind Copper ore at a glance. It seems Junior Brother Yang wasn't deceiving me. Go pick a piece of ore, refine the Purple Wind Copper from it, and let me see your artifact refining technique."

"Yes!"

The avatar lowered his head and dutifully entered the stone chamber. He selected a medium-sized piece of ore, then moved to the central fire channel within the room. Under Jinyan's guidance, he activated the enchantment.

An hour later, the Daoist boy flew out of the stone hall with a smile, his escape light heading directly for Yin-Yang Peak.

The avatar stood before the hall's entrance, idly turning the token in his hand.

Given his mastery in artifact refining, showcasing even a tenth of his skill would have left both of them astonished. However, he wasn't so ostentatious; simply refining a piece of pure Purple Wind Copper that met Jinyan's standards was enough.

After inspecting the Purple Wind Copper he had refined, Jinyan no longer hesitated and swiftly decided to keep him.

The Daoist boy, relieved as if a mission were accomplished, was eager to return to the mountain. He instructed the avatar to fully concentrate on refining the Yin-Yang Armor and not to disturb him without an urgent reason.

"You already have a solid foundation in artifact refining. Do you have any plans to dedicate yourself to this path in the future?"

Jinyan's voice came from behind, but then he shook his head. "Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything! You were personally brought into the sect by Senior Uncle Huayang. How could the Yin-Yang lineage allow me to waste your talent? I don't want to court trouble. Come with me; I'll introduce you to a senior brother. From now on, he will assign you some spiritual materials each day, and once you complete your tasks, you'll have free rein. I won't interfere much!"

"Thank you, Senior Master Jin!"

The two walked deeper into the stone hall, turned a corner, and arrived before a stone chamber. Jinyan then handed the avatar over to a disciple named Gaoyi before leaving on his own.

"Since Master personally instructed it, Junior Brother Zhang, please first refine this batch of red jade into round pendants. Once you're done, I'll take you to choose a cave dwelling. Our cave dwellings are right here on the cliff face, and there are still quite a few vacant ones."

Gaoyi led the avatar to an adjacent quiet room, where a small quantity of crimson jade awaited. While others might take an hour to complete this task, the avatar would be even quicker.

Compared to the tasks assigned to others, his was undoubtedly much easier, a fact that even brought a hint of envy to Gaoyi's expression.

After seeing Gaoyi off and closing the door, the avatar completed the task in just half an hour, despite his relatively low cultivation level.

However, he was not in a hurry to leave. Despite the heat, the spiritual energy within the stone hall was remarkably dense. He decided to sit cross-legged in the stone chamber and attempt to condense the Yin-Yang Armor.

To condense the Yin-Yang Armor, one must first be able to perceive and refine Yin and Yang energies from the chaotic spiritual energy in the void. This posed no challenge to the avatar, whose true body was at the Core Formation stage, making him intimately familiar with various condensation techniques.

He formed a hand seal, and the surrounding spiritual energy suddenly churned, converging towards him.

Immediately, a funnel-shaped vortex materialized above his head, spinning rapidly, faster and faster. Just then, an unexpected anomaly occurred, and the vortex burst apart with a sudden 'bang'.

A streak of light shot from the avatar's Qi Sea, effortlessly suppressing the chaotic spiritual energy. It was the Sky Eye Butterfly, subtly lending a hand.

The avatar inwardly smiled bitterly. "This body's cultivation is too weak. It seems attempting instant success won't work; I'll have to take my time..."

After a brief adjustment of his breathing, he resumed activating the incantation, though this time his movements were far more gentle.

'Knock! Knock!'

"Junior Brother Zhang..."

The stone chamber door was knocked. The avatar awoke from his meditation, and hearing Gaoyi's voice, he hastily halted his incantation.

Checking the time, he realized two hours had already passed.

The avatar opened his palm, revealing two streams of energy, one black and one white, swirling within his palm with the graceful agility of swimming fish.

"Even with my own cultivation, two hours only yielded this tiny trace. True new disciples, without innate talent, would struggle just to enter the sect, let alone cultivate this technique. It truly lives up to its reputation as a profound arcane art..."

The avatar murmured to himself. Then, he suddenly clenched his hand, and the Yin-Yang energy in his palm swiftly vanished into his body. Under his deliberate guidance, it rapidly ascended along his meridians, entering his Purple Mansion in the blink of an eye.