Chapter 891: 647
As for other matters, He Song had no choice but to concede that a craftsman is helpless without the necessary materials.
Beyond Amulet Tao,
He Song’s achievements in Artifact Tao were considerably better.
Years ago, He Song’s accomplishments in Artifact Tao were already not inconsiderable.
He was able to skillfully refine genuine lower-grade spirit artifacts.
Thirty years ago, when He Song emerged from seclusion, he felt his insights into Artifact Tao were already quite profound.
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He believed he would soon break through the bottleneck and be able to refine middle-grade spiritual devices.
And indeed, the outcome did not surprise He Song.
During this period of seclusive cultivation, which lasted a full thirty years, He Song successfully refined his first middle-grade spiritual device in the tenth year of his seclusion.
Middle-grade spiritual devices are treasures used by cultivators in the Later Stage of Golden Elixir and those who have reached the Great Perfection of Golden Elixir.
Even now, as a cultivator in the Golden Core Middle Stage like He Song, using such devices would be extremely mana-draining and not freely sustainable.
Therefore, for He Song at present, middle-grade spiritual devices can only serve as his ace in the hole, not to be used lightly.
If he cannot swiftly eliminate the enemy after employing them, He Song’s mana might deplete rapidly as time goes by.
By then, he could well be in a precarious position, like a fish on a chopping block.
In such circumstances, despite He Song’s successful refinement of middle-grade spiritual devices, he still has not discarded his own spirit artifacts.
He continues to use the Purple Lightning Spirit Snake Seal and the Meteorite Bead as his protection.
However, after successfully refining the first middle-grade spiritual device,
He Song’s progress in Artifact Tao from then on became smooth sailing.
Having successfully refined the first middle-grade spiritual device, it didn’t take long for He Song to craft a second, a third, and even more middle-grade spiritual devices.
Although, to He Song, these middle-grade spiritual devices did not seem particularly powerful,
they were, after all, middle-grade spiritual devices, and their potency need not be further elaborated.
But compared to the two exquisite pieces He Song had found from a large collection of lower-grade spirit artifacts,
they indeed seemed somewhat crude.
He Song currently has three lower-grade spirit artifacts in his possession.
The Purple Lightning Spirit Snake Seal as an offensive tool,
the Meteorite Bead as a defensive tool,
and the Green Jade Leaf as a special spirit artifact.
Let’s not discuss the Green Jade Leaf for now; the Purple Lightning Spirit Snake Seal and the Meteorite Bead were treasures that He Song had found among Master Yin Yue’s vast collection, the most suited for him.
Master Yin Yue’s status, after all, was that of a cultivator in the Later Stage of Golden Elixir who was also proficient in Artifact Tao like He Song,
and was even capable of refining middle-grade spiritual devices themselves.
Such treasures from a person of this caliber, all were certainly fine pieces.
He Song now also keeps some of the excellent Artifacts and spirit artifacts he has crafted for himself—
so that in case of any future incidents, he can use these Artifacts or spirit artifacts as gifts,
in order to avoid the awkwardness of having nothing to offer.
Therefore, when He Song realized the two lower-grade spirit artifacts he had chosen from Master Yin Yue’s treasures,
were among the finest of their kind, his expectations for the Artifacts and spirit artifacts he crafted himself naturally rose.
It’s also for this reason,
that He Song was never completely satisfied with the regular middle-grade spiritual devices he refined.
For He Song, who just succeeded in refining middle-grade spiritual devices, creating a masterpiece among them was still quite difficult.
Hence, these commonly refined middle-grade spiritual devices, in He Song’s view, naturally seemed somewhat rough.
Unfortunately, however,
even after thirty years of secluded cultivation,
He Song’s progress in Artifact Tao has only advanced from being able to skillfully refine lower-grade spirit artifacts to now being able to refine middle-grade ones.
As of now, He Song can only refine ordinary middle-grade spiritual devices, and has yet to achieve the fine quality he desires.
However, even so,
He Song was still very satisfied with his progress in Artifact Tao.
In these past thirty years, his skill in artifacts refinement had taken a huge leap forward.
From Lower-grade Spiritual Tool to Middle Grade Spiritual Devices.
Although the gap between them might not appear large, it was actually quite significant.
A Lower-grade Spiritual Tool was the treasure used by cultivators in the early and middle stages of Golden Elixir.
Whereas Middle Grade Spiritual Devices were for those in the later stage and at the Great Perfection of Golden Elixir.
Given such a difference, the extent of He Song’s progress in Artifact Tao after surmounting such a chasm could easily be imagined.
Besides this,
He Song had also gained considerable insight into the Dao of puppet crafting over the past thirty years.
During that time, the second Taiyin Puppet he had crafted was already nurtured by the Array Skills he laid down.
Just waiting for the right moment, it would break free from the array and become a true Gold Core Puppet.
Meanwhile, the first Taiyin Puppet that He Song crafted fifty years ago,
had also been undergoing continuous changes over these fifty years.
Based on the aura emanating from the puppet during He Song’s most recent inspection,
the Taiyin Puppet he crafted fifty years ago was now very close to the Golden Elixir Realm.
Perhaps, within the next few years, He Song’s first crafted Taiyin Puppet would be completely formed, becoming a true Gold Core Puppet.
And this,
was why, after thirty years of seclusive cultivation, He Song left his retreat without having touched the threshold of the later Golden Elixir stage.
He Song sensed that there was some disturbance in the array he had set up in Luo Feng Province for nurturing his first Taiyin Puppet.
This disturbance, coupled with the realization during his last visit that the Taiyin Puppet was close to being fully formed,
led He Song to speculate that the anomaly was likely a sign that his first crafted Taiyin Puppet was coming to full form.
Only when the Taiyin Puppet within the array was completely formed
would it trigger the array and alert him for inspection.
Besides that, there was another possibility.
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It could be that someone had discovered the array he had set up in a place with dense Yin Qi, and had already tampered with his array.
This would enable He Song to sense the disturbance in the array from such a great distance.
But, both possibilities were of great importance to He Song.
Whether the Taiyin Puppet was completely formed, hence triggering the array,
or someone had discovered his array and had interfered with it,
both circumstances required his prompt attention to resolve.
Leaving the mansion stealthily,
He Song’s figure slipped into the underground, heading towards the outskirts of Luo Feng state mansion.
It was only after traveling several hundred miles away that He Song stopped concealing his presence, and with the greatest speed, he took out his Lower Grade Spiritual Instrument Flying Boat and swiftly boarded it.
As the Lower Grade Spiritual Instrument Flying Boat drew a streak of white light across the sky, He Song’s figure hastened towards the distance.
Inside the flying boat,
He Song carefully adjusted his condition to its optimum state.
He also placed all the items he might need for the upcoming challenges in easy-to-reach locations.
Ensuring that he could unleash his strongest attack at any moment and meet any enemy with his strongest posture,
he then slightly relaxed and reflected upon the various pieces of news he had heard during his thirty years of seclusive cultivation.
In the thirty years that He Song had been in seclusion, many significant events had occurred.
However, because the previous twenty years of seclusion had brought a considerable impact on himself,
He Song was quite well-informed about the various affairs of the outside world during these thirty years.
Furthermore, now that he had Xiao Qing, a Jubao Pavilion monk, to continuously provide him with news from the surroundings,