Chapter 1963: Two Years

Two years passed quickly.

In a secret chamber, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a blue meditation mat. Three light-blue flying needles, gleaming with spiritual light, floated in front of him. They were clearly low-grade Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures.

“A set of Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures!” Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, his eyes filled with joy. He had previously refined a Profound Jade Spirit-Extinguishing Needle using the exact same materials as these three flying needles.

This set of flying needles was the Profound Jade Needles, refined with Sky Moon Cold Crystals, making their power far greater than ordinary low-grade Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures.

Over the past two years, Wang Changsheng had been continuously refining artifacts. Besides the Profound Jade Needles and the Sky Illusory Orbs, he had also crafted several other low-grade Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures.

Limited by materials, the two Sky Illusory Orbs he possessed were merely Spirit Treasures, not Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures. High-grade illusion-type materials were still quite rare.

While in the East Reeds Realm, Wang Changsheng had used the Spirit Transformation Orb to alter his appearance and aura, but it could only transform him into a human cultivator. The Sky Illusory Orb, however, was different; it allowed the user to take on the appearance and aura of an alien race. The two were vastly different, and if the Sky Illusory Orb could be upgraded to a Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure, its power would be even greater.

Wang Changsheng put away the three Profound Jade Needles, then flipped his hand to take out a gleaming Sky Illusory Orb. He infused it with spiritual power, and the orb erupted with dazzling spiritual light, enveloping him.

When the spiritual light dispersed, it revealed a short, stout middle-aged man — Wang Changsheng, disguised and transformed. Judging by his spiritual power fluctuations, he appeared to be only at the early Nascent Soul stage.

He left his dwelling and strolled leisurely through the streets.

About a cup of tea’s time later, Wang Changsheng appeared on a sparsely populated street. There were several general stores on both sides of the street, but with few customers, it seemed rather deserted.

Ning’s General Store was one of them; it was inconspicuous. The proprietor was an old man in green robes, past fifty, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Ning’s General Store was actually a black market outpost. It mainly acquired various cultivation resources without questioning their origin. If one was willing to pay a high price, rare items could also be purchased there. In essence, money made the world go round; here, money mattered more than people.

Wang Changsheng entered Ning’s General Store, gently tapped on the counter, and said, “Shopkeeper, I’m here to see Fellow Daoist Qian. There’s something I’d like to discuss with him.”

“Senior Qian is in the back courtyard, please come in, Senior.” The old man in green robes promptly invited Wang Changsheng into the back courtyard for a detailed discussion.

About a cup of tea’s time later, Wang Changsheng emerged from Ning’s General Store. After eliminating the Bat Clan, he had acquired a considerable amount of wealth, and he had come to Ning’s General Store to deal with these items.

The Bat Clan possessed a significant amount of wealth. After selling everything, Wang Changsheng obtained over ten million spirit stones. While it sounded like a lot, it wasn’t actually that much. The minimum cost to refine a single Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure was over two million spirit stones, meaning each failed attempt resulted in a loss of over two million spirit stones.

Wang Changsheng went to the square where rogue cultivators set up stalls, browsing to see if he could find any good items.

He circled twice but didn't find anything particularly valuable.

He suddenly stopped and looked towards a small stall. Wu Yong was sitting cross-legged behind it, with some artifact refining materials displayed on his stall.

Originally, Wang Changsheng and Wu Yong had agreed to a trade a year later, but Wu Yong suddenly disappeared without a trace, so the trade was naturally canceled.

“Fellow Daoist Wu, do you remember our agreement? We arranged for a trade a year later, but then you suddenly vanished. If Fellow Daoist Wu still wishes to trade, let's meet at Heavenly Cloud Tower an hour from now.” Wang Changsheng transmitted a message to Wu Yong, then turned and left.

Wu Yong looked around, his gaze eventually landing on the short, stout middle-aged man.

An hour later, Wang Changsheng appeared in a private room at Heavenly Cloud Tower.

Not long after, Wu Yong pushed open the door and entered, his face full of apology.

“Fellow Daoist Huang, I am truly sorry. Back then, I had an urgent matter to attend to and couldn't contact you. Is our old agreement still valid? I wonder if that treasure has been refined yet.” Wu Yong’s face was filled with anticipation. He had inquired about Huang Fugui with many people, but no one seemed to know him. Later, due to his urgent matter, he couldn't reach Wang Changsheng and had to give up.

Wang Changsheng nodded, took out a golden jade box, and handed it to Wu Yong.

Wu Yong opened the jade box to reveal a blue flying needle, its light flickering uncertainly, emitting a terrifying spiritual power fluctuation.

“A flying needle type Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure, excellent.” Wu Yong muttered to himself, his expression excited.

After a brief contemplation, he said, “Fellow Daoist Huang, the item I promised you back then has already been sold. However, I’ve acquired a material that you will definitely like.”

He flipped his hand to take out an exquisite silver jade casket, from which he took out a fist-sized, silvery-white crystal that radiated dazzling spiritual light.

Wang Changsheng’s gaze swept over it, and he felt the surrounding illusion become somewhat blurry.

“Sky Illusory Crystal!” Wang Changsheng exclaimed in surprise. The Sky Illusory Crystal was a sixth-tier artifact refining material, much more advanced than the Sky Illusory Stone.

“Fellow Daoist Huang, the Sky Illusory Crystal is an extremely rare illusion-type material. I nearly lost my life to obtain this piece. In terms of value, the Sky Illusory Crystal is far more precious than a low-grade Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure. I would like to ask for your help in repairing a set of Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures. After the work is done, besides the Sky Illusory Crystal, I will also provide additional remuneration. How does that sound?”

Wu Yong said slowly. He had gone treasure hunting with a friend, and a set of Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures was severely damaged. Hiring someone to repair it would incur a substantial cost.

Just as Huang Fugui came looking for him, he simply asked Huang Fugui for help with the repairs and, in the process, exchanged for a flying needle type Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure.

“It’s a deal! If Fellow Daoist Wu happens to have any more Sky Illusory Divine Crystals, I am willing to purchase them at a high price.”

Wang Changsheng’s tone was filled with allure.

“I only have this one piece, and I obtained it from an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling. Several friends were injured or died while trying to break open the restrictions,” Wu Yong said honestly.

“A set of Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures? Have you prepared the materials? Repairing a set of Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures is not easy.”

Wang Changsheng showed a hesitant expression, bargaining.

“Don’t worry! The remuneration will absolutely satisfy Fellow Daoist Huang, but I hope you will also satisfy me,” Wu Yong promised.

Wang Changsheng nodded and agreed.

After exchanging a few more casual words, the two parted ways. Wu Yong took out a cyan storage ring and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

An hour later, Wang Changsheng returned to his dwelling and went to the underground room.

Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and two light-blue spherical orbs shot out, floating in mid-air.

He tossed several pieces of green ore into the air and then opened his mouth to spout Profound Jade Ice Flame, enveloping the green ore.

The green ore slowly began to show signs of melting. According to Wang Changsheng’s estimation, repairing these two precious orbs wouldn't be difficult.

Heavenly Ocean Tower, Ninth Floor.

Chen Xin was reporting something to Cai Yunfeng, his expression excited.

“Martial Uncle Cai, this person is very likely the Five Elements Daoist.”

Chen Xin said excitedly. By chance, he had befriended a Nascent Soul cultivator named Hu Xiaotian. After more frequent interactions, Chen Xin felt that Hu Xiaotian was suspicious.

“You found the Five Elements Daoist so quickly? Why do you think he is the Five Elements Daoist?”

Cai Yunfeng said with a frown. He felt something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

“The Five Elements Daoist cultivates a rather unique technique. If he were attacked by multiple Void Refinement cultivators and suffered severe energy depletion, his cultivation could drop to the Nascent Soul stage. This Hu Xiaotian has consistently been collecting sixth-tier healing elixirs.”

Chen Xin stated truthfully. If it were true, it would definitely be a great merit; even if he was wrong, it wouldn't matter much.