Cultivation: I Have a Golden Talisman

Spirit Rock Peak was lush with vibrant flowers and trees. Many cranes, deer, and Spiritual Apes roamed within, and a delicate, heart-refreshing Spirit Incense filled the air.

Coupled with the distant embrace of surrounding peaks, the nearby elegant groves, and the vast Mirror Lake, the atmosphere was one of serene and ethereal beauty.

Elder Yingya led Fang Cheng and Wan’Er to a Jade Tower. This was the guest house on Spirit Rock Peak. Its windows were large and open, offering clear views in all directions, and the furnishings were magnificent, rare, and exquisitely comfortable.

Even more impressively, the Jade Tower housed a Spirit Gathering Array connected to a Tier Four Spiritual Vein beneath the True Flame Sect. The concentration of Spiritual Qi inside the tower was the richest Fang Cheng had ever encountered.

Although Wan’Er came from a major power like Miaoxiang Tower, she had never seen such a luxurious place for cultivation.

After looking around, Wan’Er completely fell in love with the place. Knowing that Fang Cheng would be staying for some time, she felt a budding sense of belonging and wanted to decorate the Jade Tower herself.

Afterward, Elder Yingya led the two to his artifact refining workshop.

Deep within Spirit Rock Peak was a vast, sparsely furnished cavern chamber. The walls on either side were hung with many Treasure Magical Artifacts, as well as swords, gourds, and the like, all of third or second rank.

In the center of the floor stood a large furnace-cauldron, its flames burning azure. Inside, a Fire God’s Mask was being refined from an alloy of five metal essences.

To one side of the furnace-cauldron were three jade mats. Opposite them was a long table displaying ruyi scepters, Treasure Pagodas, and other Magical Artifacts. The treasures were numerous and mostly exquisite, with unique, ancient designs. Their pearlescent auras shimmered and reflected off one another in a breathtaking display.

Elder Yingya chuckled and said to Wan’Er, "Young Fairy, if you see anything you like, please feel free to take it."

Wan’Er’s pretty face flushed red as she said, "Thank you, Senior. You can just call me Wan’Er."

After speaking, she glanced at Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng nodded. "Fellow Daoist Ying is one of us. Since he said to take whatever you want, go ahead and pick a few useful items."

The highest-quality Magical Artifacts in this cavern were peak third-rank. If placed in the outside world, countless Life Soul and Life Talisman Cultivators would fight to the death over them.

Wan’Er went forward and chose three Magical Artifacts, putting them away gleefully. Her beautiful eyes darted about, full of charm.

Elder Yingya spoke slowly. "I have loved Artifact Refining my entire life. Aside from cultivating in seclusion, I’ve spent seventy to eighty percent of my time on the Artifact Refining Dao."

A curious look appeared on Fang Cheng’s face. "Fellow Daoist Ying, how long does it take you to refine a single Fourth-rank Magical Artifact?"

Elder Yingya replied, "It depends on the artifact, but even the simplest Fourth-rank Magical Artifact requires at least a century."

’The Mystic Sect’s Artifact Refining Techniques really are slow...’

Fang Cheng compared it to the time it took him to refine the White Bone Relic and marveled at how quickly Demonic Magical Artifacts could be created.

Of course, the conditions for refining Demonic Magical Artifacts were also extremely harsh and carried immense risks. They were often created through devouring, plundering, and slaughter, making the wielder highly susceptible to backlash.

In contrast, the Mystic Sect’s artifact refining was a process of steady accumulation. Though slow, the resulting artifacts possessed immense power, were stable and righteous, and held their own unique profundities.

Elder Yingya’s Primordial Image Cauldron and Qian Flame Golden Lamp, for example, were Magical Artifacts that even Fang Cheng had to admire.

Dharma Cultivators have a lifespan of twelve hundred years. After accounting for time spent on cultivation, the absolute limit for one person was to refine three to five Fourth-rank Magical Artifacts in a lifetime.

This was also what made Fourth-rank Magical Artifacts so precious.

Back then, the entire Yinluo Sect possessed only two Fourth-rank Magical Artifacts: the Bone Daoist Palace and the Netherworld Banner. These two artifacts suppressed the sect’s destiny and had shielded the Yinluo Sect from countless calamities.

Now, Fang Cheng possessed more than a dozen Fourth-rank Magical Artifacts—a number that would have been absolutely unimaginable in the past.

The True Flame Sect currently had two Dharma Realm cultivators. The other was Elder Yingya’s senior martial uncle, who was over a thousand years old and had rarely made an appearance in recent years.

The sect’s daily affairs were actually managed by a group of Life Talisman Realm True Disciples, led primarily by the ten great True Disciples.

Above them was the True Flame Sect’s Elder Council. Its twenty-seven Life Soul Cultivators were the pillars of the sect, and the Elder Council had the final say in all major matters.

Only a once-in-a-century or even once-in-five-hundred-years crisis would be enough to disturb Elder Yingya.

Overall, the True Flame Sect was a sect that preferred to keep a low profile while amassing wealth. If Elder Yingya hadn’t been ambushed by the Master of Ten Thousand Transformations Sect years ago while searching for Artifact Refining Materials, defeated, and placed under a Soul-Devouring Spell, he wouldn’t have fallen into Fang Cheng’s hands today.

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment before saying, "Fellow Daoist Ying, I have a treasure here that I need your help to repair."

Yingya’s eyes flashed. A trace of excitement appeared on his gaunt face as he asked, "Is it the Profound Celestial Divine Puppet that you controlled that day?"

"Profound Celestial Divine Puppet?" Fang Cheng looked surprised. "You recognize this type of Magical Artifact?"

Yingya nodded. "Legend has it that the Profound Celestial Divine Puppet comes from an Artifact Refining Technique of the Upper Realm. A Tribulation Realm Great Power from the Mingxiao Domain once saw this type of Magical Artifact in another World Heaven while traveling the All Heavens and Myriads of Realms, and so tales of it have spread."

"In my younger years, I tried to replicate this legendary Magical Artifact based on records in ancient texts, naming my creation the Profound Iron Giant Divine Puppet. However, compared to the Profound Celestial Divine Puppet you pilot, the difference is truly immense."

Fang Cheng said, "Perfect. Please, take a look."

With that, he waved his large sleeve, and a ball of spiritual light appeared in the cavern.

The light then dissipated, revealing a colossal figure. It had the body of a man and the head of a dragon, wore a Heaven-Peaking Crown, and was clad in an Imperial Robe forged from Spirit Pattern Armor, exuding a majestic aura.

Along its back, eighteen snowflake-shaped Spirit Flame exhaust ports were arranged like a spine, their light pulsing erratically.

The Dragon Head Feather Divine Soldier!

Fang Cheng had shrunk this Feather Divine Soldier several times over, but even so, it still stood over nine zhang tall, its head nearly touching the cavern ceiling.