Chapter 147: Independent Cave Dwelling

"You want to choose this original spell?" The gray-robed old man lying at the entrance of the secret room glanced at the purple-red feather in Wang Yu's hand, asking with a strange look on his face.

"Yes, the junior needs an escape technique, and I happen to have a wind-fire spirit root." Wang Yu replied respectfully.

At this moment, although he was already at the late stage of Qi Refinement, when he scanned the gray-robed old man with his spiritual sense, he still felt that the aura on the other party was unfathomable, so he naturally did not dare to have the slightest negligence.

"The Wind Fire Wheel escape technique, although powerful, is a spell that uses the escape technique to control the person. If you are not careful, you are very likely to be backlashed by the escape technique. Have you considered it clearly?" The gray-robed old man warned.

"Master Sun has keen eyes. The junior still wants to give it a try." Wang Yu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but after thinking about it, he replied without changing his mind.

"Since you have thought it through clearly, the old man will naturally not stop you. Hand over the spirit stones. Remember to send this object back to the Scripture Pavilion three months later." Seeing Wang Yu so persistent, the gray-robed old man seemed to be too lazy to say anything more, pointed to a large vat beside him, and closed his eyes to rest.

Wang Yu honestly threw more than two hundred spirit stones into the vat, then left the Scripture Pavilion with the "Cloud Concealment Technique" book and the purple-red feather.

And the moment he left the Scripture Pavilion, in a crimson secret room surrounded by rolling lava, a faint voice suddenly came out:

"Sure enough, someone chose to cultivate this escape technique. Very good, very good..."

The voice soon became smaller and smaller, and finally, there was no sound.

On the other side, as soon as Wang Yu returned to his residence, before he had time to comprehend the two spell spirit patterns, he received several sound-transmission talismans. They were all from inner sect disciples ranked high in the Four Symbols Sect, inviting him to team up to participate in the upcoming Four Sects Dharma Assembly.

After thinking about it, Wang Yu used the sound-transmission talisman to decline them one by one.

But just then, another sound-transmission talisman flew into the stone room.

Wang Yu was somewhat helpless, thinking it was another invitation. Just as he was prepared to refuse after listening, he heard a man's solemn voice coming from the sound-transmission talisman:

"Wang Yu, your official artifact refiner status has passed the review of the Artifact Refining Hall. From today on, you are the twelfth official artifact refiner of this sect. Now go to the Artifact Refining Hall to exchange for your identity token and choose an independent cave dwelling."

Wang Yu was overjoyed and immediately agreed, leaving his residence again.

In the Artifact Refining Hall, in a side hall, an old man wearing a thick fur robe was meeting Wang Yu with a smile on his face.

"Not bad, not bad. Junior Brother Wang can refine ranked artifacts at such an age. It is not impossible for your artifact refining technique to reach my level in the future."

This old man had dark skin, a forehead full of deep wrinkles, and a thin and withered figure, looking as if he could be blown down by a gust of wind. He was exactly the hall master of the Four Symbols Sect's Artifact Refining Hall and the only second-rank artifact refiner remaining in the Four Symbols Sect.

"Master Bai is too modest. How could the junior dare to compare with Master in artifact refining technique? Master is a second-rank artifact refiner. The junior will still have to ask Master Bai for more advice in the future." Wang Yu knew that this Master Bai was a second-rank artifact refiner cultivated by the Four Symbols Sect himself, so he directly called him Master, his attitude very respectful.

"Although the old man is a second-rank artifact refiner, I can only refine some ordinary second-rank artifacts. As long as any artifact refiner is willing to be cultivated with a large amount of resources, reaching my level is not a very difficult thing." The hall master replied with a bitter smile.

"Master is too modest. If second-rank artifact refiners were really so easy to cultivate, how could there be only one second-rank artifact refiner in the sect?" Wang Yu shook his head repeatedly, naturally unwilling to truly believe what the old man said.

"Hehe, second-rank artifact refiner... Forget it. The reason I called you here this time, besides wanting to see you in person, is to let you choose a suitable cave dwelling yourself.

After all, we artifact refiners are different from others; we must have an independent artifact refining room and a matching geothermal furnace. Because the sect hasn't moved here for long, there are not many vacant cave dwellings. You should take a look yourself first." The hall master said, taking out a scroll from his bosom and handing it over directly.

Wang Yu took it and opened it. It was a map of Tianzhu Mountain, with dense markings of various independent cave dwellings. Eight or nine out of ten were marked with a small person, indicating that they had been occupied, but there were also more than twenty cave dwelling locations without any markings.

"Tianzhu Mountain is very strange. The closer the cave dwelling is to the top of the mountain, the purer the spiritual energy. Therefore, the independent cave dwellings above the mountainside have almost all been occupied. And according to the sect rules, the cave dwellings with the best spiritual energy must be given priority to the Golden Core ancestors and true disciples, followed by the Foundation Establishment masters.

Therefore, the middle-level members of the sect, such as artifact refiners and alchemists, can only choose independent cave dwellings on the mountainside or below the mountainside." The hall master explained carefully on the side.

"Master Bai, aren't those below the mountainside where inner sect disciples live? What difference can there be from where the junior lives now?" Upon hearing this, Wang Yu frowned.

"Hehe, of course there is a difference. Although inner sect disciples are also assigned independent residences, they are only one or two stone rooms, and they don't have the right to choose. They can only live wherever they are assigned.

But we official artifact refiners are different. Not only can we directly choose to live on the mountainside where the spiritual energy is purer, but the assigned cave dwellings can be as large as an acre or as small as seven or eight rooms. And as long as you take a fancy to one, the sect will send people to help you build an artifact refining room and a geothermal furnace. That is not something ordinary inner sect disciples can compare to.

However, the good cave dwellings on the mountainside should have been picked clean long ago. The remaining ones are probably all flawed in one way or another." The hall master replied with a smile.

"So that's how it is. But how do you distinguish the size and room situation of these cave dwellings?" Wang Yu was somewhat enlightened, but after looking at the scroll in his hand again, he asked with some hesitation.

"This is very simple. This one is an artifact specially made by the sect for feng shui and physiognomy. If you want to know the situation of which cave dwelling, just put your finger on it and press it, and you will know all the information." The hall master replied without thinking.

"Then the junior will try."

Hearing this, Wang Yu curiously placed his finger on a cave dwelling mark on the map that was not occupied, and pressed it lightly. Immediately, a series of information emerged directly in his spiritual sense:

"Seventy-eighth independent cave dwelling, thirteen rooms, covering half an acre, supporting one portion of spirit field, can plant first-rank spirit rice on a small scale..."

Wang Yu was overjoyed, then pressed his finger to the next cave dwelling mark.

What he chose first was naturally the few unoccupied cave dwellings on the mountainside.

Sure enough, just as the hall master said, the unoccupied cave dwellings on the mountainside all had various unbearable shortcomings. Either the location was too noisy, or the area was pitifully small. Some independent cave dwellings were even built in dark and damp places facing away from the sun, which Wang Yu, who cultivated the Fire Spirit Technique, would never choose.

Helpless, he had to set his sights on the independent cave dwellings that were empty in the mountain belly below the mountainside.

As time passed bit by bit, after Wang Yu had seen all the cave dwellings and pondered for a while, he finally chose an independent cave dwelling below the mountainside and pointed it out to the hall master.

The hall master took a look at the cave dwelling Wang Yu chose, but there was a strange look in his eyes. After looking at Wang Yu again, he said slowly:

"Junior Brother Wang, change to another cave dwelling. This cave dwelling has already been greeted by someone and was reserved early." ===== CHAPTER 148 =====