Chapter 171
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Chapter 171: Grape’s Upgrade
In the underground space of Hidden Spirit Island, Xu Fan stood before Grape’s entity.
Xu Fan formed the hand seal for spirit fire, gathering the Five Elements Spirit Fire into a unique flame that possessed over ten times the power of a single spirit fire, reaching the standards for crafting an artifact-level tool.
Surrounding him were over a hundred types of upgrading materials: rare spirit ore already refined, natural treasures formed over millions of years, and even extraordinary treasures unique to the Extreme Void Domain.
Despite the abundance of treasures, at least half were gifts from his good brother, items that were difficult to purchase even with spirit stones.
"Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything for my good brother. Since Yulun has reached the Nascent Soul Stage, I should first prepare a set of top-tier equipment for him, then craft some master-level pills. As for the rest, regardless of whether they’ll be used, let’s craft an artifact-level tool to send over."
"That way, the later plans should save some spirit stones."
As the treasure materials gradually merged into Grape’s entity, the cube-like vessel began to glow brighter, with profound runes faintly attaching themselves to its luminescence.
In an instant, the underground space where Xu Fan stood transformed into a world of light and runes.
A month later, the last type of material completely merged into Grape’s vessel.
“Master, the quality of the vessel has evolved to artifact-level. Its computing power is now 60 times the original, and its control power is 30 times the original…”
Before Grape’s electronic voice could finish, Xu Fan waved his hand, signaling Grape to stop reporting.
“What are you talking about when the upgrade isn’t even complete?”
Xu Fan formed the hand seal for the avatar technique, manifesting an avatar from the mysterious light in the center of his brow.
"First Clone, come here and get to work," Xu Fan instructed.
“Main body, once this work is done, I request not to confine my thoughts in the spiritual space. I want to comprehend the art of artifact crafting,” the first clone said with a frown.
“After this task, I will give you one year. After all, what you think in my Soul World, I can feel outside, and honestly, it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
Xu Fan didn’t readily agree to the conditions set by the clone. After reaching the Golden Core Stage, he had upgraded the Illusory Three Realms Body technique.
He had hoped that, with the clone gaining intelligence, he would have extra hands to help, but he never expected that every time the clone returned from its work, the experiences and insights from that time would also come back to him.
The sensation was akin to someone else controlling his body and making it work all day long, so Xu Fan had restricted the thoughts of the clones within his body.
Let the lazy ones stay lazy; he absolutely couldn’t let the clone be so industrious inside him.
“You’re stingy,” the first clone rolled its eyes at Xu Fan and shot out a virtual projection of a 3D artifact-level formation.
The 3D formation projection split into two parts: inner and outer.
“I’ll handle the internal rune carvings, and you’re responsible for the outside. Let’s aim to finish in half a month.”
After saying that, the first clone transformed into a mysterious light and charged into the interior of Grape’s vessel, where it began to illuminate runes from the center of the vessel.
Without further ado, Xu Fan fully immersed himself in carving the rune formations.
Half a month later, as the last rune was integrated into the formation, the entire cube suddenly shook and a wave instantly swept across Hidden Spirit Island.
Sha Diao, who was instructing his disciples, paused in surprise.
“You truly became a master craftsman ahead of me,” Sha Diao murmured.
He was already familiar with the fluctuations generated when an artifact takes form; this indicated the birth of an artifact-level tool, and soon there would be accompanying heavenly phenomena.
As expected, the spiritual clouds gathered in the sky, forming a spiritual energy vortex that slowly shaped itself, ultimately funneling into the space and transmitting to Grape’s cube.
A White Zhi Divine Beast avatar appeared in the sky, holding a spirit pearl in its mouth, descending towards the center of the spiritual energy vortex before vanishing into the air.
“The White Zhi phenomenon; it seems Elder Xu is crafting something extraordinary,” Sha Diao marveled at the sky’s phenomenon.
The phenomenon occurring when an artifact takes form also has different ranks; from the most ordinary attribute of spiritual energy to the highest level of celestial view, the heavenly path celebrates. The phenomenon he just witnessed belonged to the top-grade ones, indicating the artifact’s great potential, with a possibility of evolving into a celestial tool later on.
At this moment, Xu Fan and the first clone were watching the suddenly appearing White Zhi phenomenon.
“When I read cultivation novels before, I could never understand the principles behind these phenomena. They are like pre-programmed designs of the heavenly path,” Xu Fan said, stroking his chin.
“Why are you discussing principles while reading a novel?” the first clone scoffed at Xu Fan.
“What do you say about the current situation then?”
“This artifact phenomenon should be a design programmed by the heavenly path for the middle thousand world, or set by a certain powerful being or force,” the first clone replied thoughtfully.
Just as they spoke, the White Zhi avatar placed the spirit pearl onto Grape’s entity and then exhaled pure and refined spiritual energy along with a trace of celestial energy onto Xu Fan.
With this action, Xu Fan, who had just advanced to the Golden Core Stage, was immediately propelled to the higher peaks of perception and advanced to mid Golden Core Stage.
The White Zhi glanced at Xu Fan expressionlessly before turning and soaring through the space towards the sky, soon disappearing into the spiritual clouds.
The first clone, watching Xu Fan’s ecstatic expression, curiously asked, “Is the feedback from the artifact really that delightful?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a mysterious light and dove into Xu Fan’s body.
At that moment, Xu Fan felt as if countless delicate little hands were massaging his entire body with just the right amount of force, making him feel as though he was floating on a cloud, surrounded by stunning beauty…
After Xu Fan finished enjoying the sensation, his perception returned to the real world.
“So this is the artifact’s feedback after successfully crafting it?”
“Quite sudden,” Xu Fan revealed a nostalgic expression on his face, remembering just how wonderful that feeling was.
He looked towards Grape’s entity, which had transformed from purple to a deep blue.
“I didn’t expect the upgrade to come with a new skin.”
“If Master doesn’t like it, I can turn back to purple,” Grape’s electronic voice sounded.
Although it was still the same voice, Xu Fan sensed a hint of liveliness and emotion within it.
“No need; blue looks good and gives a serious vibe,” Xu Fan replied casually.
“Now, let’s discuss your situation,” Xu Fan continued. To upgrade Grape, he had invested nearly thirty percent of the spirit stones he had earned over the years. Without the help of his good brother, who provided a hundredfold return, crafting this artifact would almost have cost him everything.
“Understood. Currently, Grape’s computing power stands at 213 times the original, while the control power is…”
