Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Feather of the Void
"How could this be happening?"
Ye Xuan instantly grew anxious.
He never imagined that the Soul Crystal from a Breathing Vine—a creature somewhere between Tier Five and Tier Six—would be insufficient to upgrade his Life Martial Soul from one star to two. It was simply unbelievable.
But he had no time to dwell on it. If he didn’t replenish a massive amount of life force immediately, his Life Martial Soul would suffer irreversible damage.
At the critical moment, Ye Xuan suddenly remembered the root of the Seven-Colored Lotus he had obtained in the Floating Light Secret Realm.
The Seven-Colored Lotus was renowned for its vitality, and its root held the most abundant concentration of life force.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ye Xuan hurriedly pulled the Seven-Colored Lotus root from his Storage Ring and began frantically refining it.
Streams of dense life force rapidly poured into Ye Xuan’s celestial gate.
At this sight, Ye Xuan felt a great weight lift from his heart.
An hour later, the star ring on Ye Xuan’s Life Martial Soul was finally complete.
Meanwhile, the life force within the Seven-Colored Lotus root had been completely depleted.
A rich surge of life force coursed through Ye Xuan’s body, brimming with vitality.
Feeling the new star ring on his Life Martial Soul, Ye Xuan was filled with astonishment.
Normally, for a martial soul to advance from one star to two, it only needed to absorb the Soul Crystal of a Tier Two Profound Beast.
But his own Life Martial Soul had not only absorbed the Soul Crystal of a half-step Tier Six Breathing Vine, but had also required the life force from the root of a Tier Seven Spirit Medicine—the Seven-Colored Lotus—as a supplement. Ye Xuan had never witnessed such a thing before.
In all the world, Ye Xuan had never seen such a heaven-defying martial soul.
After a period of rest, Ye Xuan took out the Nightmare Beast’s Soul Crystal and once again immersed himself in cultivation.
A week later, he finally completed the second stage of his Divine Spirit Gaze: the Eye of Illusory Imprisonment.
HUM!
An uncanny cyan glint suddenly flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. If one were to look closely and magnify them at this moment...
...they would discover countless intricate runes spinning within his pupils, like a kaleidoscope—mysterious, bizarre, and unfathomable.
’Now that I’ve mastered the Eye of Illusory Imprisonment, an ordinary Martial Artist won’t be able to withstand a single glance from me.’
A slight smile touched the corners of Ye Xuan’s lips.
Ye Xuan was overjoyed to feel his strength gradually returning.
At the same time, after several days of arduous, secluded cultivation, Ye Xuan had also unknowingly advanced from the Tier Five First Layer to the Tier Five Second Layer.
His Profound Sense and Soul Sense were now on the verge of reaching Tier Six.
WHOOSH!
Standing up, Ye Xuan let out a long breath.
As his robes billowed, a vast and mighty aura emanated from him, like that of a lofty king who ruled the world.
’I wonder how the Profound Pill Pavilion is doing?’
With this thought, Ye Xuan left the cultivation room.
While he had been in seclusion for over a week, the Luo family had been run off their feet.
Business at the Profound Pill Pavilion was so explosive that the Luo family had no time to rest.
The moment Ye Xuan emerged from his seclusion, Luo Min came to give his report.
"Young Master Ye, in half a month, our Profound Pill Pavilion’s total sales reached over twenty billion, with a net profit of nearly four billion Profound Coins."
Even as he reported the figure, Luo Min’s face was filled with utter shock.
This profit was nearly equal to the Luo family’s entire net worth.
And that was just from half a month’s business.
Of course, this was the initial opening period for the Profound Pill Pavilion. Market demand was enormous, leading to an initial explosive growth. Future income might not be quite as high.
However, with the Artifact Refining Workshop, the Yuan family, and the Divine Walk Commerce Association joining as partners, new sales channels were opening up. The profit figures were unlikely to drop by much in the future.
"Yes, not bad."
Ye Xuan nodded. "If the Luo family wants to continue growing and become one of the empire’s leading powers, profit alone isn’t enough. Your overall strength must also increase. Especially your own strength, Patriarch Luo Min. You must break through as soon as possible."
Ye Xuan didn’t find the profits all that exaggerated, so his reminder was a calm one.
No matter how much money they had, a noble house was still just a noble house. To become a great power, they still had a long way to go.
For one thing, a great power needed at least one Tier Seven Martial King to preside over it.
And a Martial King was priceless.
Without a Martial King presiding, the more money a noble house had, the more it resembled a juicy piece of meat, attracting the covetous gazes of countless others.
"Yes." Luo Min took a deep breath, his voice tinged with excitement. "Young Master Ye, with your guidance and the Pills you’ve given me, I’ve clearly been able to feel the barrier to Tier Seven recently. I’m just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through. I’m confident that in a year or so, I’ll definitely become a Tier Seven Martial King."
Luo Min was already a Tier Six Peak Martial Venerable. He had simply lacked the resources and opportunities, and had been stuck at this level for many years.
In fact, it wasn’t just him. The vast majority of Martial Artists in this world could only ever reach the level of a Tier Six Martial Venerable in their entire lives, never able to cross the threshold into the Tier Seven Martial King Realm.
Although Martial Venerable and Martial King were only one tier apart, the difference between them was as vast as that between heaven and earth.
But after pledging his loyalty to Ye Xuan, Luo Min had received a great deal of guidance. Ye Xuan had even specially refined Pills for him that made it easier to comprehend the Martial King Realm.
After his recent period of arduous cultivation, Luo Min could already feel his cultivation level loosening its hold, and he was incredibly excited.
"Mm." Ye Xuan nodded. "The leap from Martial Venerable to Martial King is a qualitative one for a Martial Artist. The transformation of Profound Power into Profound is especially crucial. You don’t need to be too anxious; just proceed steadily."
The difficulty in advancing from Tier Six to Tier Seven was immense; Ye Xuan didn’t expect Luo Min to accomplish it overnight.
"How has Luo Cheng been recently?"
Luo Min’s face immediately broke into a wide smile. He said excitedly, "Cheng’Er also broke through to Tier Five Martial Sect a couple of days ago, thanks to your guidance, Young Master Ye! The Gale Light Academy’s entrance exams are in a month, so I’m planning to have him go and try out. He might just get in!"
As he spoke of this, the excitement on Luo Min’s face showed a joy even greater than if he himself were on the verge of a breakthrough.
Originally, given Luo Cheng’s age and strength, it would have been impossible for him to enter Gale Light Academy.
But thanks to Ye Xuan’s guidance, Luo Cheng had managed to break through to the Martial Sect level just before the academy’s term began this year. Because of this, he now had another chance to get in.
If Luo Cheng really passed the exam in a month and was admitted to Gale Light Academy, it would be an incredible morale boost for the Luo family.
In the Sky Empire, even among the four great powers, geniuses who could enter Gale Light Academy were few and far between.
After asking a few more questions, Ye Xuan was generally pleased with the Luo family’s performance.
"Oh, by the way, Young Master Ye," Luo Min asked, "the Artifact Refining Workshop has sent people looking for you over the past few days. We didn’t disturb you since you were in seclusion. Now that you’re out, should I send someone to notify them?"
"No need. I’ll head to the Artifact Refining Workshop myself in a little while."
Ye Xuan knew exactly why Master Lu Li was looking for him.
After leaving the Luo family, Ye Xuan arrived at Artifact Alley an hour later.
"Master Xuan Ye, you’re finally here! My master has been waiting for you for the past two days."
Upon seeing Ye Xuan, Master Li Xu quickly strode forward to greet him, leading him into the Artifact Refining Workshop.
"Thank you for your trouble, Master Li Xu," Ye Xuan said with a faint smile.
Before long, Ye Xuan saw Master Lu Li in the Artifact Refining Room.
Master Lu Li’s Artifact Refining Room was magnificent, as vast as a grand hall.
In the center of the hall was an enormous Artifact Refining Array. Various materials and array patterns were embedded throughout the hall, creating a grand and stunning sight.
"Kid, you’re finally here! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?"
Master Lu Li began to complain the moment Ye Xuan arrived.
When had he, a dignified Tier Seven King Level Artifact Refining Master, ever had to wait for someone like this before starting a refinement? Yet, he truly couldn’t craft the item from the blueprints Ye Xuan had given him with his own power alone. Naturally, he was extremely frustrated.
"Heh, I’m here now, aren’t I? You seem more anxious about this than I am," Ye Xuan said with a laugh.
’It’s my flying Spiritual Treasure we’re making, but Lu Li is acting as if it’s for him,’ Ye Xuan thought.
"Do you still want your flying Spiritual Treasure or not?!"
Master Lu Li fumed, his beard bristling.
Ye Xuan countered with a smile, "I take it Master Lu Li doesn’t care about the Hundred-Turn Tempering Skill, then?"
Master Lu Li’s expression immediately deflated.
"Ahem, forget it! I won’t stoop to your level." Master Lu Li hastily changed the subject, pointing to his workshop with considerable pride. "Come, take a look. What do you think of my Artifact Refining Room?"
He, along with the imperial family, had expended great effort to build this Artifact Refining Room. It contained every kind of refining facility imaginable.
"It’s passable. Not bad."
Ye Xuan gave his honest assessment.
This wasn’t just him boasting. Compared to the one he’d had in his past life, Lu Li’s Artifact Refining Room was nothing. But compared to an average workshop, it was indeed far superior.
At the very least, it was the most luxurious Artifact Refining Room Ye Xuan had seen since his rebirth.
It wanted for nothing, possessing all manner of Artifact Refining Arrays and smelting equipment.
But when Master Lu Li heard this evaluation, he became extremely displeased, looking as if Ye Xuan didn’t know a priceless treasure when he saw one.
The two exchanged a few more words before getting straight to the point.
Seeing the various materials Master Lu Li had prepared, Ye Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
"The flying Spiritual Treasure we are about to forge is called the Feather of Void-Treading. You will take the lead in the refinement process, Master Lu Li..."
As Ye Xuan explained, he began arranging the various materials in an orderly fashion. Master Lu Li listened intently off to the side, nodding from time to time with a grave expression.
Every one of Ye Xuan’s explanations on Artifact Refining brought him immense gains and deep insights.
Many of the processes and explanations left even a Tier Seven King Level Artifact Refiner like himself completely astounded.
Once the explanation was finished, Ye Xuan wasted no time and began the Artifact Refining process with Master Lu Li.
They started by forging some of the smaller, auxiliary components.
The crafting process for the Feather of Void-Treading was incredibly complex and the requirements were incomparably strict; even the auxiliary components were of utmost importance.
Throughout the process, Master Lu Li took the lead on the refinement, with Ye Xuan assisting from the side.
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