Chapter 751: Crimson Gold Dao Artifacts

When the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace was completed, the cultivators on Crimson Gold Mountain also benefited, gathering abundant crimson gold from the mountains and delivering it to the Artisan Daoist, who forged it into numerous crimson gold dao artifacts.

Since each person was entitled to only one artifact, some chose the Crimson Gold Divine Sword, an offensive dao artifact, while others opted for the safer choice of the Crimson Gold Treasure Armor, a defensive artifact.

As for storage dao artifacts, no one would choose those.

After all, each had only one slot—they couldn't waste it; they had to maximize its value.

The forging of a dozen or so crimson gold dao artifacts took only a few days, barely tapping the furnace's true potential; with repeated experience, the Artisan Daoist grew ever more adept at using the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace.

He found that forging Crimson Gold Divine Swords was the most efficient—less than an hour sufficed to produce one such divine weapon.

Of course, this assumed sufficient materials, for forging dao artifacts consumed vast amounts of crimson gold; without control of the crimson gold mine, even one artifact would cost tens of thousands of silver taels.

Yet gold in this world was exceedingly hard to earn, so luckily Li Yi had secured Crimson Gold Mountain in advance—otherwise, even with the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace, he'd have had no means to wield it.

As a three-flower realm cultivator, the Artisan Daoist was no fool; he knew Li Yi desperately needed vast quantities of crimson gold dao artifacts, so in the following days he forged as many Crimson Gold Divine Swords as possible, stockpiling them for the future.

At the same time, forging Crimson Gold Treasure Armor could not be neglected—offense and defense together maximized combat power—but the armor was more complex and time-consuming to forge, so the Artisan Daoist produced fewer of them.

As days passed.

Crimson gold within Crimson Gold Mountain was consumed rapidly, while the number of crimson gold dao artifacts steadily increased.

When Li Yi once again sought out the Artisan Daoist.

He found the Artisan Daoist had gone without food, drink, or sleep for over ten days, his eyes fixed on the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace, never pausing, continuously forging powerful dao artifacts.

"Master Li, I have not failed you," the Artisan Daoist exclaimed upon seeing Li Yi. "Besides the artifacts held by other companions, I've forged fifty Crimson Gold Divine Swords and ten Crimson Gold Treasure Armors in these past days."

He thrust a storage magic artifact into Li Yi's hands.

Li Yi took it, inspected its contents, and immediately sucked in a sharp breath: "So many crimson gold dao artifacts? All forged in just these few days?"

The Artisan Daoist laughed heartily: "What's this? Master Li, give me more time—I could forge hundreds, even thousands, and perhaps even create unique crimson gold dao artifacts."

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help licking his lips, his heart pounding—he never imagined he'd one day be this wealthy.

He thought of the forty-odd cultivation experts from the End Law World he controlled; once they regained their cultivation, armed with Crimson Gold Divine Swords and Crimson Gold Treasure Armor, the scene would be unimaginable.

"Since Master has said so, from today onward, the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace is under your care. As for crimson gold, don't worry—I still have a vast supply, more than enough for you to use freely."

He then stored each artifact inside his Five Elements Bracelet and transferred most of the crimson gold stones into the storage artifact, returning it to the Artisan Daoist.

"Master Li, rest assured—I shall not fail you," the Artisan Daoist said, thrilled and elated; he had pushed himself to the limit to prove his worth, hoping to retain control of the divine furnace longer.

As an Elder of a dao artifact sect, nothing was more tempting than this.

Li Yi was generous—he chose to leave the furnace in the Artisan Daoist's hands for now, for only then could its full potential be realized; he'd reclaim it only when enough crimson gold dao artifacts had been forged.

"Master, since you can forge one Divine Wood Crimson Gold Furnace, why not forge a second?" he suddenly asked.

The Artisan Daoist smiled awkwardly: "It's not that I don't wish to—it's lack of materials. The Divine Wood leaves are sufficient, but the Divine Wood itself is insufficient to forge even one artifact."

"I see," Li Yi nodded slightly. "I'll need to find an opportunity to return to Divine Wood City and secure a branch of the Divine Wood."

Since replication was possible, he wouldn't let this chance slip away.

But for now, everyone was still gathering strength—he dared not rashly wage war against the Divine Wood lineage; if they produced even one Hundred-Mountain Lord, all of them would die, and this hard-won situation would be lost.

So it was better to remain discreet.

That was also why, after killing one of their divine-blooded descendants, he returned the other two divine-blooded warriors.

The waters of this world ran too deep; even with some strength, he couldn't afford to draw attention.

Holding the position of Crimson Gold Mountain Lord was enough.

"Still, the remaining divine materials can be used to forge a few arrows," the Artisan Daoist suddenly added, not forgetting Li Yi's request.

"But if the arrowheads are made of crimson gold, they won't pierce crimson gold battle armor—they'd be unworthy of the Divine Wood branches used for the shafts. Do you have any other divine materials suitable for arrowheads?"

Li Yi fell into thought.

The Artisan Daoist's words reminded him: though crimson gold arrows were immensely powerful, they couldn't penetrate armor of the same material—and that was unacceptable.

After all, the single black gold arrow he possessed could pierce crimson gold armor; he couldn't let newly forged arrows be weaker than that.

Suddenly,

he recalled something and withdrew an object from within his Crimson Gold Five Elements Bracelet.

"Master, could this serve as an arrowhead?" The object he held was none other than the root-stem beneath the crimson lotus he'd extracted from within Crimson Gold Mountain.

The root-stem bore sharp thorns, incredibly keen.

The Artisan Daoist's eyes lit up; he examined it closely, sensing the astonishing energy within—astonished and delighted: "This is a heavenly treasure, born of nature—a root-stem of a divine lotus. Excellent! Truly excellent! With this, forging a few divine arrows is certain."

Li Yi asked: "Now that we have the material, how long will it take to forge the arrows?"

The Artisan Daoist replied: "If I use golden tree leaves for fletching, Divine Wood for the shaft, and this for the head, each arrow will take at least twenty days to forge—possibly longer."

"That long?" Li Yi frowned.

A Crimson Gold Divine Sword took less than an hour to forge—how could an arrow take so much longer?

The Artisan Daoist explained: "This is already the fastest possible. The divine materials are unusual—I dare not rush. I must study their properties. Only crimson gold is forgiving enough for trial and error; even if I ruin it, I can reforge it."

"Then I entrust this to you," Li Yi said. "Before that, please forge me a few crimson gold arrows—I need them."

"No problem, it's a simple matter," the Artisan Daoist immediately agreed, then rekindled the furnace and forged crimson gold arrows using crimson gold as material.

These arrows were equally fearsome.

After all, the power of a single arrow rivaled that of a top-tier legacy dao artifact; when fired from the Precious Moon Bow, few among the powerful Li Yi had encountered could withstand such an arrow.

Unless the opponent wore heavy crimson gold armor, survival was impossible.

After several days of effort, the Artisan Daoist forged twenty crimson gold arrows for Li Yi—adding another major weapon to his arsenal; the previously crafted artifact-grade arrows given by the bald Daoist were immediately discarded into a corner to gather dust.

Gazing at his full set of crimson gold dao artifacts, Li Yi now felt utterly transformed—combined with his current strength, he could practically rule the Earth.

With Crimson Gold Mountain now settled and no urgent matters left, and the cultivation experts needing time to restore their power, he decided to take a break and return to Earth.

After all, the threats from the Demon God Realm and the Xuan Immortal Continent still loomed.

He didn't want his homeland suddenly wiped out one day.

He had once been powerless—but now, the world was vast, and he could go anywhere.

After preparing, he sought out Jiang Yue and Zhao Fang, who were in seclusion in Crimson Mountain City, and explained his intent.

"Li Yi, you're returning to Earth?" Jiang Yue said, surprised.

Li Yi replied: "I can't stay in this wilderness forever. I came here to rescue you, but also to cultivate. Now I'm Crimson Gold Mountain Lord, and the place has stabilized—so naturally, I must return to see my home. What about you two? Are you coming?"

He could see that Jiang Yue and Zhao Fang, after receiving diluted divine blood and life-water rich in essence, had made astonishing progress in cultivation, their bodies undergoing multiple transformations, their strength now immense.

This rapid growth had made them lose track of time; if Li Yi hadn't found them, they'd still be cultivating.

After over a year as slaves, if they didn't strive harder, they'd fall behind.

Jiang Yue pondered, then said: "You're right. Though cultivating in this wilderness is excellent, one cannot neglect one's home. The ancients said: wealth without returning home is like wearing brocade in the dark. After wandering so long, it's time to go back."

"Fine, I agree to leave Crimson Gold Mountain and return to Earth."

Li Yi nodded, then turned to Zhao Fang.

Zhao Fang said: "If Jiang Yue is going back, I'll go too. Where one cultivates doesn't matter—and I want to see home again."

"Excellent. Prepare yourselves—we leave soon," Li Yi said.

All three agreed—they would return to Earth.

(End of Chapter)