Chapter 38: The Result

Early in the morning, Hongmei left Qingxi Fang with his two disciples.

Unlike when he came with Uncle Rongyuan, Hongmei was confident and chose to travel with his two disciples aboard a flying vehicle artifact.

“Master, isn’t this too conspicuous?”

Sitting atop the flying vehicle, gazing down at the mountains and plains below, Yulou asked with slight concern.

“No problem—even if two or three Qi Refining cultivators show up, they can’t beat me, and if there are too many, we can always run.”

“Foundation Establishment cultivators all left their Dao roots’ essence with the Immortal Alliance; they’d never become bandits.”

Hongmei was a stout man with a broad heart, clearly not taking ordinary bandits seriously.

“This time, I’m taking you to see the real cultivation world. Our destination is a thousand li away—flying artifacts are made to be used; if we don’t use it, this trip would be a nightmare.”

“The real cultivation world?”

Yulou and Yuan exchanged glances, not understanding what Hongmei meant.

“The Ten Sects tower above, but above them stands the higher Immortal Alliance, and below them lie numerous Purple Mansion clans and sects presided over by Purple Mansion cultivators.”

“At the intersections of the Ten Sects’ territories, special market towns often exist.”

“I leave Qingxi Fang every two months to transport goods to those markets—without the Red Lantern’s water tax, the profits are much higher.”

So that’s how it is… Yulou suddenly understood.

He had thought the Red Lantern truly controlled everything.

Apparently, there were places even the Ten Sects couldn’t reach.

“Do the Ten Sects tacitly allow this?” Yuan asked.

“The Immortal Alliance and Purple Mansion disciples work together—the Ten Sects turn a blind eye, as long as it doesn’t go too far.”

The wooden flying vehicle traveled at incredible speed; by noon, they had flown six hundred li.

At a scenic mountain hollow, Hongmei halted the flying vehicle.

Below lay two mountains covered in dense forests, like green dragons curled upon the earth; between them flowed a small river.

With his Qi Refining fifth-layer vision, Yulou could even see wild deer drinking at the riverbank.

Hongmei pointed down at the valley and spoke to his disciples.

“This place is called Shuanglong Mountain. Though it lacks ninth-rank spiritual items, it’s still rich in spiritual energy.”

“Many hermit cultivators have built caves here; your Wang clan’s merchant caravans sometimes pass through, doing business.”

“Look closely—can you spot any of the hermits’ caves?”

Yulou stared for a long while, his eyes aching, yet found nothing.

“Please, Master, enlighten us.”

“Hahaha, beneath that giant rock is one, behind the waterfall beside that pool is another, and scattered elsewhere are at least a dozen more.”

“I once stayed here for years—I knew many of these fellow cultivators. Come, follow me down and take a look.”

Yulou said anxiously:

“Master, why hasn’t anyone noticed our arrival? Isn’t that strange?”

“You don’t understand—these hermits sometimes become bandits; they fear pursuit by the Ten Sects or great clans, so they never reveal themselves.”

Hongmei explained, then activated his spiritual power and called out:

“Fellow cultivators, no need to run—it’s me, Hongmei.”

With spiritual power amplifying his voice, his call rang through the valley like a bell—birds scattered in panic, wild deer bolted from the riverbank.

Soon, several high-level hermits recognized Hongmei and emerged from their caves.

“Fat bastard, you finally came back? Did you get caught selling shoddy artifacts in Qingxi Fang?”

The newcomer was a rough female cultivator with sun-darkened skin and a sharp tongue.

“Third Madam, what shoddy artifacts? I’m just passing by to see old friends—these two are my disciples, Yulou and Yuan.”

“Greetings, Elder.”

Though Third Madam was unremarkable in appearance, her cultivation was Gao Jie Qi Refining—Yulou quickly bowed with his younger brother.

“Wonderful, Elder Hongmei—can I become your disciple?”

Third Madam didn’t even glance at Hongmei’s cheap disciples—she wanted to become Hongmei’s disciple directly.

Other hermits who emerged also greeted Hongmei; he waved them off and said:

“Enough idle chatter, Third Madam and fellow cultivators—please notify nearby hermits.”

“Tonight, let’s gather and catch up—I’ve brought many artifacts; you can see if anything suits your needs.”

Third Madam pursed her lips but stopped her antics.

“Still at your cave?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Hongmei’s cultivation was now profound, and he thrived in Qingxi Fang.

Naturally, his old friends gave him face.

The hermit friends went to notify others; Hongmei led Yulou and Yuan down to the junction of the two mountains.

“Look—this is where the earth vein concentrates; the two mountains meet and the water dragon emerges.”

“If all goes well, in a few centuries, a new ninth-rank spiritual item will form here.”

“The method of nurturing artifacts with spiritual energy is similar to how talismans draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth to enhance power.”

“High-grade spiritual artifacts require spiritual resonance and are more complex; ordinary artifacts are simpler—just place them in a suitable spot and nurture them for years to greatly increase their power.”

“I’ve hidden one artifact here—it’s been over three years, and it’s long reached the upper limit of what this location can nurture.”

Saying this, Hongmei formed a hand seal; soon, a small white shield flew up from the ground.

“This is also a Mirror-Silver Gold-Thread Shield, but inside are two pieces of Black Steel, with twenty-nine sealing arrays.”

“Use your spiritual power to activate it—see if you can sense the difference.”

When Yulou took the Mirror-Silver Gold-Thread Shield, he was startled by its thick spiritual energy.

His own belt was a spiritual artifact—a mid-grade one given by the clan chief—but even its spiritual resonance didn’t surpass this upper-grade shield by much.

“Is spiritual nurturing this powerful?”

Hongmei smiled and shook his head.

“No—nurtured for three years, the added power lasts only three days, and during battle, it fades to half a minute, continuously weakening.”

“Spiritual nurturing has pros and cons—even with Qin Yun Qingxi, the duration won’t extend much further.”

“Only great clans, who build their lineages around spiritual items and nurture them in ancestral lands, can truly benefit from this method—hermits can’t use it.”

“I brought you here to teach you that when you forge artifacts in the future, you must consider the spiritual energy characteristics of the forging location.”

“Ordinary artifacts don’t require such care, but spiritual artifacts must; as for forging magic treasures, even the season must be considered.”

“For example, once a Purple Mansion forged a water-element magic treasure in the sands of the Eastern Desert during summer—result? That fool became a joke among artifact masters for thousands upon thousands of years.”

Yulou nodded thoughtfully—this was the advantage of having a master’s lineage.

It didn’t matter where Hongmei’s forging lineage came from—it was truly extraordinary.

From the foundational fire-artifact forging teachings, to the sealing array knowledge of Jin Shi artifacts, to now the spiritual energy enhancement nurturing method—though not deeply refined, it was complete.

“Come, bring out your artifacts—I’ll teach you the hand seals; bury them here and nurture them for a few months.”

Yulou asked in surprise:

“This… can our artifacts be nurtured here?”

The five elements interweave in heaven and earth, yet each has its own nature—could the Mirror-Silver Gold-Thread Shield be nurtured here, and could theirs?

“Artifacts are consumables—no need for such care; only spiritual artifacts require this.”

A forging master spoke like this—in Hongmei’s eyes, artifacts that ordinary cultivators and even many clan cultivators treasured were mere consumables.

“What if those hermits dig them up after we bury them?” Yuan was sharply alert.

Hongmei smiled, pleased with his disciples’ caution.

“Hahaha, no need to worry—I know those hermits well—they’re all self-taught fools who don’t understand spiritual nurturing at all.”

Under Hongmei’s guidance, Yulou and Yuan quickly mastered the hand seals for spiritual nurturing and buried their artifacts.

Yulou buried his Ink Jade Staff; Yuan buried his Jade Axe Blade.

That night, the two joined Hongmei and his hermit friends for a small gathering on Shuanglong Mountain; Hongmei sold three artifacts along the way.

But they didn’t stay long on Shuanglong Mountain—they left that very night.