Chapter 53: The An Family and the Forging of the Five Elements Mountain

Ruins of Mist Cloud Mountain.

Three Golden Core cultivators from major sects glared at one another. Every so often, their eyes flickered with timidity toward the ink-black flood dragon looming in the poisonous haze, or to the ruins shimmering with restrictive spiritual light.

It had been more than half a month since Master Cloudborne entered the ruins, yet he had not emerged. What transpired within was a mystery to all three sects.

The Nascent Soul ancestor had taken possession of the ruins, signifying that the opportunity of the fourth tier was now beyond their reach. Only Cloudborne Sect would claim the greatest fortune, leaving the remnants to the three sects.

Master Tianyang understood well that the days ahead for Tianyang Sect in the Chu Kingdom would be fraught with hardship. Once Master Cloudborne departed, it might well herald the outbreak of war.

Yet, what had been done could not be undone, and there was little room for regret. Without the Violet Sun Warming Jade, the sect leaders of Bihui and Shadow Bamboo would not experience a surge in combat power in the short term. As long as they held their gates firm, defense would not be overly difficult.

In contrast, those two sect leaders, with the Warming Jade enhancing their pill energy, posed the greatest threat to Tianyang Sect.

Moreover, as the three sects coexisted in the Chu Kingdom’s cultivation world, no one could claim innocence when it came to undermining others. All actions were guided by the imperative of sect legacy.

In the seemingly tranquil mountain forest, when Master Bihui and Master Flower Bell met each other's gaze, they both glimpsed the ruthlessness in the other's eyes.

Once Master Cloudborne left, Tianyang Sect would surely be taught a lesson.

…

White Sand Archipelago.

Shen Lian, with his infamous jinxed tongue, had no inkling that his prediction of the three sects overturning the table was already coming true.

He had chosen an island about a hundred miles across in the southern part of the archipelago as his cultivation base.

The island was lush and devoid of mundane settlements, save for a few fishermen’s temporary shelters for refuge from storms. At the heart of the island rose undulating hills.

One hundred and thirty feet below the mountain, Shen Lian dug out a cave mansion three yards wide. He set up three superior-grade first-tier arrays, partitioning rooms for talisman crafting and cultivation.

Twenty feet below this cultivation cave was a second chamber, housing a lower-grade second-tier Five Elements Unity Array he had purchased in Ninefold Immortal City.

Still further down, there was a hollow.

There he placed the ant colony belonging to Big Black, which he had brought from the wild, with three queen ants now riding Big Black. Muddy ant nests filled the lowest hollow.

The upper cave mansion, Shen Lian named Upper Tranquil Cave.

The middle cave mansion, Lower Tranquil Cave.

The lowest cavern, he called Big Black's Home.

The upper two caves had their talisman arrays securely buried.

But Shen Lian had already elevated his threat assessment to the Foundation Establishment level; arrays composed of superior-grade first-tier talismans were utterly inadequate against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Thus, the true function of the talisman arrays inside the cave was merely as a trigger to activate his Hundred Spirit Poison.

He kept the antidote hidden at the collar of his robe—by extending his tongue, he could lick it, extremely convenient.

If faced with a tough opponent, he would simply start licking.

Shen Lian reckoned the odds were slim; he didn’t go looking for trouble, so would he really be targeted by some Foundation Establishment veteran?

Besides the two main caves, he had prepared additional backup measures elsewhere on the island, though their effectiveness fell somewhat short of his expectations.

The chief issue was the talismans themselves.

Seated cross-legged in Upper Tranquil Cave, Shen Lian placed before him an Array Disc, Five Elements Mountain, and second-tier lower-grade talisman materials.

With the Five Energies barely converging at his core, the first step was to refine the Five Elements Mountain to enhance his offensive means.

The second step was to refine the Array Disc and attempt to craft second-tier lower-grade talismans.

The Array Disc was the gun, the talismans were the bullets. What good was a gun without bullets?

Unlike other first-tier talisman masters, Shen Lian possessed enough resources to attempt second-tier lower-grade talismans.

He had the spiritual sense others lacked.

He could control the fluctuations of second-tier spiritual ink that others could not.

With a wave, he returned the talisman materials to his storage pouch and grabbed the Five Elements Mountain.

This magical implement seemed tailor-made for a cultivator of all five elements; his luck was indeed extraordinary.

Calming his mind, Shen Lian gently infused his spiritual sense into the Five Elements Mountain.

A multicolored radiance appeared in his perception. Within the mountain, the energies of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth mingled, each interwoven with the others.

Amidst these intertwined energies, there existed a ring of five-colored light.

“Huh—”

Shen Lian withdrew his spiritual sense, furrowing his brow in confusion.

From the first-tier magical implements, internal spiritual restrictions began to emerge. The higher the number of restrictions, the greater the quality of the implement.

First-tier implements could have up to nine restrictions; surpassing nine marked entry into the second-tier.

Eighteen restrictions meant a top-grade second-tier implement; more than eighteen crossed into the domain of third-tier spiritual treasures.

Within this general framework, first-tier implements varied.

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Due to material limitations, first-tier lower- and middle-grade implements rarely birthed restrictions, and if they did, these were often incomplete.

At the upper-grade first-tier, material quality improved, making it easier for the refiner to reconstitute spiritual energy into restrictions during the crafting process.

Moreover, first-tier implements with more than five restrictions were rare among rogue cultivators.

One reason was that Qi Refining cultivators couldn’t afford them.

The difference in function between implements with three and five restrictions wasn’t vast, yet the price was much higher.

Another reason was the lack of skill among refiners, who failed to induce more restrictions from the materials.

Such implements, shunned by sects and noble families, ended up in the low-end market.

At this moment, Shen Lian wondered if he had bought a dud.

For a second-tier lower-grade implement, there should be at least ten restrictions—why was there only a single five-colored ring?

One restriction, truly the lowest of the low.

Lacking further knowledge of refining, Shen Lian pondered for a while and decided to continue with the refinement.

Sometimes, what appeared to be a dead end could, with persistence, open up.

To refine a second-tier implement, three aspects were needed: spiritual sense, blood essence, and spiritual power.

Such refinement made the implement much easier to control.

Once again enveloping the Five Elements Mountain with his spiritual sense, Shen Lian squeezed out a drop of blood essence, then circulated his Five Energies Converging Technique, melding his five elements' spiritual power with the five energies, and injected them into the mountain.

Buzz—

As the three forces entered, the Five Elements Mountain burst forth in brilliant five-colored light.

At the tip of the mountain, a five-colored ring of light condensed, unleashing powerful suction.

Shen Lian felt his own five energies stirred, rushing toward the ring.

The sensation startled him.

He had heard of demonic weapons draining their masters during refinement, but never of a regular implement doing so.

Yet now, the five energies within his organs surged outward, and Shen Lian knew he could not sever the connection yet, or all his previous efforts would be wasted, and the painstakingly gathered energies squandered.

Even if his five energies were drained, he could always refine more later; for now, he had to let the mountain continue absorbing.

He brought out the remaining five-element spiritual materials, but the five-colored ring on the mountain had no interest whatsoever—they only craved the five energies within him.