Chapter 86: On Artifacts and Cultivation Methods

With the beast-slaying finished, the next step, naturally, was to make use of the spoils of war.

"Whoever killed it keeps it."

Stopping at the entrance of the small courtyard, Du En turned around, looked at the carts of beast carcasses that had come to a halt, and calmly stated this basic ground rule.

"Fine. Also, I don't need that much meat, so the few I took down, you can have all the meat. Finally, if you want these live ones, you can have them too; consider them all yours. It'll be just right to replace those two unranked jackal-dogs of yours."

Ren Li not only had no objections but wanted to give away even more, regardless of whether they were dead or alive.

Woo~

At this moment, the two grey jackals huddled in the corner of the courtyard could not help but tremble, emitting low whimpers; they were very afraid of the beast-drawn carts that lay obediently still.

Du En pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although beast-taming and beast-controlling are among the hundred arts, let's just forget it."

Ren Li explained it this way, then pointed to the piles and piles of beast carcasses on the ground and said, "Using these beast remains, plus a little favor I have, I should be able to trade for a decent second-tier shrinking bag for you, enough to last you until the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment."

The main thing was that his progress was relatively fast, while the beasts' growth seemed slow, making it very easy for them to become useless.

"Hmm? That's not wrong, so what do you want to buy?"

Ren Li's thinking was even simpler.

"Can it be converted into 'Evil Wind'? I mean, taking the strengths to make up for the weaknesses, using it to strengthen that trick of fooling people when it's on the verge of death."

Thus, he asked with an inquisitive tone: "However, I'm actually not quite sure if I should buy first-tier peak-grade pills right now."

"That's fine. I'll pull them into the city later and take them to the beast pens and arenas for breeding. Someone should want them. After all, being able to survive the Great Cold Wave and run all the way north to here, they can be considered strong among their kind—third-rate, at least."

"As for the rest of its parts, do whatever you like with them."

Du En stated what he had long been planning: "If possible, sell me a mid-grade cultivation method that can connect with the Yellow Earth Technique. Also, I want to buy that artifact-controlling technique of yours."

Ren Li hadn't felt comfortable saying this before and thought Du En wouldn't notice, but looking back on it now, it could only be described as "covering one's ears while stealing a bell"—it was truly embarrassing just to think about.

Ren Li went along with the flow, showing none of his original aloofness.

Then, there was the need to squeeze out resources to raise them, along with various other miscellaneous problems, so after careful consideration, he still felt it was better to forget it.

Given his situation, first-tier high-grade pills were actually no longer significantly effective, so if he really were to buy any, he would definitely buy first-tier peak-grade ones.

"Are low-grade cultivation methods not okay?"

Ren Li nodded: "In that case, do you want to cultivate both body and magic? That's fine. After I go back, I will carefully select one, striving to pick the most suitable and best one for you. As for the artifact-controlling technique, we'll do that together then; this process still needs to be handled strictly."

"Cultivation method."

"A lower-tier version of an artifact. Although it's not a true spatial artifact like a storage bag and can only shrink and store various items within a corresponding grade range, if the quality is good, it can hold quite a lot. Furthermore, it can effectively slow down the loss of spiritual energy in various fresh materials."

Du En's answer, which held no objections, pulled back Ren Li's attention.

"Fine then, you said it yourself—if I ruin the refining, it's none of my business."

Ren Li was well-informed; hearing this, he knew what was being asked and replied: "Since you have the heart to switch to a mid-grade cultivation method, then don't be in a rush to pile up your cultivation with pills right now."

Moreover, at this trading point outside the city, there really weren't any good goods.

"Why is that? Does it have to do with the 'ordinary Foundation Establishment' you mentioned this evening?"

"If possible, indeed so... Hmm? You want to learn this?"

There was nothing strange about it at all; after all, given the living environment of Du En and the others, let alone raising beasts well, even just gathering the basic set of equipment was already a very troublesome matter!

The trading point in the shanty area didn't have products of this kind.

Ren Li understood immediately. Seeing Du En nod calmly, he thought for a moment and said: "It is possible, but I can only give you the basic theory of the first tier; I can't give away the more profound parts for free."

"So, when it comes to things like artifact refining, is it best to do it yourself?"

"Can my blade be reinforced, and its shape altered?"

"That is indeed true, but I've only heard of storage bags. What is this 'shrinking bag'?"

Therefore, a second-tier shrinking bag was indeed enough to use for a long time, even until death.

"Right, so-called Foundation Establishment is exactly the meaning of 'building a foundation for the Dao.' Only if this Dao foundation is built solidly from the start can one have a good future. Therefore, at the very least, one must be able to trigger certain phenomena during Foundation Establishment, and this requires a thorough understanding of the cultivation method."

So he followed up by asking directly: "What about the other parts of the Iron Ox? That thing's meat is like a lump of iron; don't tell me you want to boil it."

"Can do. I knew there would be such a request. On the way back, I already evaluated the situation of those first-tier peak-grade beasts. The three tails of the Three-Tailed Iron Ox can be used just right."

That's right, he had spoken too hastily just now. With so many beasts, he shouldn't say he wanted to refine all their usable materials into artifacts.

In his view now, Du En's breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage, as long as he didn't encounter any unexpected disasters, was basically a done deal. However, whether he could make further breakthroughs would depend on his luck further down the line.

Glancing at the bag of spirit stones Du En was still holding in his hand, Ren Li's eyebrows raised slightly.

The developments of this day and night provided a suitable opportunity.

"It means to dissipate the magic imprint, preferably scraping the magic residue clean. Only then will there be no hindrance when I cast spells to refine and reinforce it."

"The basic one is fine."

"Is the Evil Wind Tiger a very rare beast?"

"No, after reaching the mid-grade, the cultivation method will have a clear and refined focus, so what exactly can be manifested depends on the specific circumstances."

"Can do. Looking at its previous performance, if nothing goes wrong, it should be that mother leopard from before. As for this mother and cub, naturally, there is no problem. And, cough, to be honest last time, I didn't concentrate enough, which actually wasted some of the second-tier ore used on this magic robe, haha."

"... In that case, for the cultivation method you pick for me, it doesn't need to be anything flashy; just give me something plain and unadorned."

Du En was suddenly thoughtful: "Can all mid-grade earth-element cultivation methods manage to raise a palmful of soil?"

"Indeed quite rare, better than that mongrel wolf. Why? Do you want to use its 'Evil Wind'?"

"Fine, let's do it this way. Leave as much meat for me as possible, and keep some of the materials; I can use them to practice my skills later."

Ren Li didn't say much more and waited for Du En to state his other requirements for the artifacts.

Regarding this, Du En had already finished thinking: "Use the materials from the Forest Shadow Leopard to reinforce the Lacquer Shadow Magic Robe."

Considering the hostile relationship with the management above, it was indeed necessary to purchase things through channels outside the trading point in a reasonable, lawful, and compliant manner.

Ren Li said casually, then continued: "Then, for the usable parts and materials of the beasts you killed, I can help you refine them into artifacts as a way to repay your kindness. How about that? What are your requirements?"

"Of course not. Low-grade cultivation methods are crude and shallow. Even if you cultivate to the extreme, it's only a semblance of the truth. It might look a bit special—like your Yellow Earth Technique, which might even give you the illusion of being one with the earth—but an illusion is just an illusion. You can't even lift your hand and directly raise a palm-sized piece of mud."

He nodded and was about to go handle it immediately, but at this moment, Du En asked again: "Listening to what you just mentioned about the craft of artifact refining, is it true that as long as one can pay a sufficient price, one can have you purchase certain items on their behalf?"

Although he wanted to repay the favor, it couldn't go on forever; currently, he was mainly helping to act as a shield, and he actually had his own points of gain, so it counted as a discount, and by making up for it in the aspect of artifact refining, it would be considered settled.

"What do you need me to do to the dharma robe?" Du En did not pursue the matter, but instead asked for clarification.

Thus, a thought struck him, and he immediately spoke first: "A storage bag! Du En, you must really need this; after all, just like tonight, having so many spoils of war all at once, it wouldn't even fit in a cart, it's really very inconvenient!"

Du En said this, making Ren Li breathe a sigh of relief.

He was just afraid that Du En would come up with some other tricky request!

However, the next moment, seeing Du En's gaze linger on the remaining pile of demonic beasts, Ren Li was startled.

"... You really know how to give me a difficult problem!"

"Just do your best."

Thinking this, Ren Li could not help but feel a bit dejected.

Ren Li immediately made a long face.

The most critical thing was that he didn't have to refine them himself; otherwise, with so many demonic beast materials, he would have been refined to the point of vomiting in a short time!

That's right, in a short time...

"You are quite confident."

Thus, Ren Li stepped forward without hesitation, having the self-awareness of a shield.

As their conversation reached this point, the steward He Bo, who had received a report from the other side, already ran over with an ugly expression.

Indeed, the Fierce Wind Tiger also possessed moves to bewilder others, a variation of the "acting as a tiger's accomplice" tactic, but since it was called a Fierce Wind Tiger, it was clear that most of its abilities were likely based on that fierce wind.

The two exchanged polite words, and after He Bo learned the "cause and effect," he naturally had no suspicions, his expression relaxed, and he could not pursue the matter of Du En and the others leaving their posts at night.

Thus, the matter came to a peaceful conclusion.

(End of this chapter)