Chapter 201

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Chapter 201: Sudden Inspiration

“Grand Elder, I’ve never seen anyone craft a precious artifact so effortlessly, like a celestial being painting.”

“I realize I underestimated the Grand Elder’s talent for artifact crafting,” Sha Diao said, genuinely amazed by Xu Fan’s beautifully artistic crafting style.

“Luckily, at least I don’t have Brother Sha’s talent for creating alloy formulas,” Xu Fan said with a smile.

Top-tier talent at a system level is no joke.

Xu Fan called over a tool puppet and handed it the freshly crafted pistol.

“Go test the power of this precious artifact,” Xu Fan instructed.

“Understood,” the tool puppet replied.

At that moment, Grape’s inspection results came in.

“Moderate hardness, strong spirit conductivity, enhances fire attribute spiritual energy by 35%. Suitable for crafting fire attribute attack treasures. This alloy formula can replace the upgraded sect protective giant cannon.”

“The alloy content is ………………”

“The melting data is …………”

“The reverse-engineered crafting results are ………….”

“Alright, no need to say more,” Xu Fan quickly interjected.

Xu Fan took out a space ring and handed it to Sha Diao, which contained ten small targets’ worth of spirit stones.

“Brother Sha, I used your alloy formula, so here’s the payment in spirit stones.”

“If you’re not satisfied, feel free to ask for more,” Xu Fan said. He would never take advantage of friends unless they were as close as brothers.

He always kept a clear line between friendship and profit. If he used something from someone, he made sure to give them fair value in return.

Sha Diao looked at the space ring in his hand, his expression darkening.

“Is the Grand Elder insulting me?” Sha Diao said, his voice tinged with anger.

“Insult? How so? The sect uses your work and compensates you fairly. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Xu Fan replied with a smile.

“This formula is for the sect, not for me personally.”

“Then I’ll just donate the formula to the sect,” Sha Diao said, handing the space ring back to Xu Fan.

“Perfect. These spirit stones are a reward from the sect. Brother Sha, I understand your feelings, just like when you stopped calling me Junior Brother Xu.”

“Rules are rules. Besides, having these spirit stones will help you continue your research into spirit ore alloy formulas.”

“I get what you’re saying, but the amount you gave me is way too much. Ten billion spirit stones!” Sha Diao exclaimed after checking the space ring. He had expected maybe a few million.

“Brother Sha, you’re thinking too small.”

“This alloy formula could fetch at least a hundred billion in the Heavenly Refining Sect. What I’m giving you is actually quite modest,” Xu Fan said with a smile. The sect needed more people like Sha Diao—pure-hearted and dedicated.

“Alright then,” Sha Diao finally relented, accepting the spirit stones after Xu Fan’s persuasion.

At that moment, Xu Fan felt a sudden surge of inspiration and quietly made a mental note for himself.

“Brother Sha, keep up your research. Who knows? One day you might develop an artifact-level alloy formula, and that’ll be the day you become a master craftsman,” Xu Fan encouraged.

“Really?” Sha Diao said, his face lighting up with surprise and delight.

Then Xu Fan used his shallow knowledge of metals and alloys from his past life to bluff Sha Diao.

Though Xu Fan was bluffing, he based his words on the fundamental knowledge of spirit ores and artifact crafting in the cultivation world. He hadn’t tested it himself, but he felt this path could work.

“Truly, once Brother Sha masters all the data on spirit ores in the cultivation world, he’ll be well on his way to becoming a master craftsman.”

“Alright.”

After gulping down the motivational “chicken soup,” Sha Diao returned to Artifact Crafting Peak, brimming with determination to continue his research journey.

Once Sha Diao left, Xu Fan used his divination skills to cast a fortune for himself, trying to foresee the future.

“This shows a partially ruined foundation, but also a sign of avoiding disaster,” Xu Fan said slowly after finishing the divination.

“If I don’t go out, disaster will come to me on its own.”

“I don’t have enemies on the central continent, and neither do my disciples or the sect’s disciples have enemies of that scale.”

“So, there’s only one explanation.”

Xu Fan suddenly felt like Sherlock Holmes.

“In the future, a Core Formation stage beast race will come to the Hidden Spirit Sect to cause trouble for me.”

“With Su Rantian currently in the sect, that beast race would be walking to their death by showing up.”

“This means Su Rantian will definitely leave the sect in the future.”

“The day Su Rantian leaves might be the day that beast race arrives.”

“Looks like I need to prepare ahead of time.”

As he spoke, Xu Fan headed back to the artifact crafting room, determined to speed up the creation of the artifact-level Giant Shield, hoping to finish it before Su Rantian’s departure.

Meanwhile, Li Xingci, who was deep in cultivation, received a message from Xu Fan.

“Keep Tian’er occupied for at least a month within the Hidden Spirit Sect.”

Li Xingci didn’t overthink it; since it was his master’s order, there must be a good reason.

In Su Rantian’s enchanting courtyard, she was lost in the beauty of her surroundings when Li Xingci quietly landed nearby.

“This is the first time you’ve come to me, Xingci. Is there something on your mind?” Su Rantian greeted him with a smile that was 99% sweetness.

“I have some questions about cultivation I’d like to discuss.”

Li Xingci’s words instantly sparked excitement in Su Rantian, and the idea of dual cultivation flashed through her mind.

“Alright, let’s go to my Flower Language Palace.”

With a wave of her hand, the two vanished from the spot.

The Flower Language Palace was the most exquisite artifact palace gifted to Su Rantian by her sect leader father at her birth.

Inside the palace, Su Rantian and Li Xingci appeared in the middle of a sea of Seven-Color Flowers.

Above the flower sea, a swarm of flower spirits fluttered joyfully.

“Master, you’re back!” one flower spirit, hovering in the air, called out to the others, puffing up its cheeks.

“Master is back~”

“Master has not only returned but also brought back a new master~~”

The flower spirits above the sea of Seven-Color Flowers all flew toward Su Rantian.

“Master~~”

“Master~~”

Su Rantian was instantly surrounded, and even a few curious flower spirits landed on Li Xingci.

“Are you the master’s husband?”

“What color of flowers do you like?”

“Will you have little babies in the future?”

Li Xingci was bombarded with questions from the flower spirits resting on his shoulders. He didn’t respond but looked curiously at the flower spirits on him.

At that moment, a girl dressed as a maid approached.

“Go play elsewhere, don’t disturb the master and the esteemed guest.”

Hearing the maid’s words, the flower spirits scattered in panic.

“Run, the great demon king is coming!”

“Please follow me to the palace,” the maid said, leading the two towards a palace formed by a giant tree in the distance.

The two followed behind the maid.

“Xingci, I have a special platform for enlightenment on cultivation. Let’s go there later,” Su Rantian’s eager expression was hard to hide.

“Alright, let’s go there,” Li Xingci responded with a smile.

Master, do you know the price I paid for you?

In the underground space, Xu Fan was crafting the artifact-level Giant Shield with all his might.

“I’m not sure if I have enough time.”

“If Elder Su leaves while I’m crafting the shield, then all my efforts will be in vain.”

Three days later, eight teleportation formation disks quietly appeared above Lin Sen Fairy City, descending slowly in a very unique manner, without even being noticed by the precious artifact satellite in the sky.

Meanwhile, Xu Fan, who was working hard, suddenly felt an intense wave of inspiration.

In the Flower Language Palace, Su Rantian was explaining her insights on exotic techniques to Li Xingci.

Originally just focused on completing his task, Li Xingci was now listening intently to her explanations.

As Su Rantian spoke, she gazed at Li Xingci with a captivated look. The attraction from her soul made her more enchanted.

At that moment, a maid entered, holding a communication artifact.

“Master, a message has come from the division. There are some matters that need your attention,” the girl in a peach-colored long dress said.

“Is it urgent?” Su Rantian paused her explanation and signaled for Li Xingci to wait a moment.

“It’s not very urgent; they have enough personnel to handle things for now. They just need you to oversee the situation,” the maid replied.

These matters used to be arranged by Ning Dao, but now that he was injured and recovering, the strongest fighter, Su Rantian, was naturally in charge.

“Tian’er, if you have something to do, we can continue next time. The Elder Council’s matters are important,” Li Xingci whispered.

“Right now, the explanation about exotic techniques has just begun. A systematic explanation of Dao techniques will take at least a month to complete.”

“The most important thing is to strengthen your understanding of this path.”

After Su Rantian finished speaking, she turned to the maid and said, “Send a message to the Elder Council, saying that I’ve encountered some issues in my cultivation and need to rest. Please have someone replace me for a month.”

“Okay,” the maid replied before slowly exiting.

“Alright, now that there’s nothing going on, let’s continue,” Su Rantian said while suppressing her urge to rush forward.

In the underground space, the feeling of inspiration slowly subsided.

“That feeling just now likely indicates that Elder Su needs to go out to resolve something, and in the end, she was probably stopped by Xingci,” Xu Fan said.

At that moment, a giant shield was slowly taking shape above two clusters of spirit fire.

Somewhere hidden more than ten kilometers away from Hidden Spirit Island, Little Yu was quietly watching the island. As soon as any red light appeared, her task would be complete.

“It shouldn’t be the case; normally, the Woman in Red should have gone out by now if such an event occurred.”

“Is it not noisy enough?” the Dark Serpent, who was controlling Little Yu’s observation of Hidden Spirit, remarked.

“It looks like we need a few Core Formation stage beast races to lure her out.”

As the Dark Serpent spoke, it took out a small teleportation formation disc and began sending messages to the beast race.

“To save elite forces, sending petty soldiers here won’t achieve anything,” a hint of helplessness flashed in the Dark Serpent’s eyes.

“Currently, the most successful attack on the human race has come from the towering ape clan. If that fool had followed his own tribe, he probably wouldn’t have died,” the Dark Serpent sighed.

In the demon race, the territories of the two clans were not far apart, so communication among the experts was frequent. This task was led by the Dark Serpent along with several friends.

Unexpectedly, now only the Dark Serpent remained.