In the center of the stone chamber, a purple flying sword floated, its entire body enveloped by raging, fierce flames, emanating streams of purple light. "The South Bright Li Fire Sword." This sword, roughly three inches long, was wreathed in fire, possessing an ancient and simple design, capable of changing its size. It was mostly shaped, yet lacked the final, crucial step.

Ye Qin did not dare to relax in the slightest. He swiftly opened the small vial containing a single drop of Primordial Essence, pointed a finger, and remotely guided the drop to strike the sword's body.

"Boom!" The drop of crimson Fa Qi collided with the flying sword, instantly vaporized by the intense flames surrounding the blade into a cloud of fiery red gas that erupted with startling radiance.

Seeing this, Ye Qin's expression was stern. He methodically executed the sword-refining incantations from the Purple Jade Ancient Scroll, using his hands to suppress the fiery red mist. He forced the essence mist to envelope the flying sword, allowing the artifact to readily absorb all the Primordial Essence into its structure.

The purple flying sword spun rapidly in the mid-air of the stone chamber, burning under the fierce flames as it absorbed the essence. The sword body trembled violently, its surface shimmering with radiant, exotic colors. Purple light undulated like flowing water, and the fierce aura of the flames subsided considerably. The barely visible flames circled the flying sword, a truly beautiful sight.

In terms of mere appearance, this Primordial Spirit Artifact was at least several tiers higher than ordinary Fa Qi.

As the refinement progressed, all the red mist was forcefully integrated into the flying sword. The sword now seemed saturated with spiritual energy, moving about the stone chamber as if it were a living creature.

At this point, the forging of this Primordial Spirit Artifact was essentially complete. (Mobile Reading 1 6 k χS . c m）

For some unknown reason, Ye Qin suddenly felt the urge to add some purple decorative patterns to it. Driven by an inexplicable impulse, a streak of white light shot from his hand. With a few swift motions, a vivid, wings-spread Fire Crow appeared upon the purple flying sword's body, looking as if it were truly alive.

"Fire Crow!"

Ye Qin stared, scratching his head. Why did he engrave a Fire Crow? If he was going to add ornamentation, he should have chosen something fiercer, like a great eagle or a Roc.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided against erasing the Fire Crow pattern. This Primordial Spirit Artifact owed its successful forging to this very crow; he would leave it be. It caused no discernible negative impact anyway.

Slowly, the fierce heat emanating from the Nanming Li Fire Sword began to recede.

Ye Qin held his breath and opened his mouth. The Primordial Spirit Artifact shrank to the size of a thumb and was directly drawn into his body, settling in his Dantian. Primordial Spirit Artifacts differed from common Fa Qi; tempered by Primordial Essence, they could be stored internally and nurtured with Yuan Qi.

He touched his abdomen. Having a Fa Qi residing within him felt distinctly strange.

Fortunately, after inspecting his interior with his divine sense, he confirmed that the flying sword showed no abnormalities. Reassured, he planned to use a small portion of the Yuan Qi from his usual cultivation to slowly nourish the sword—a Primordial Spirit Artifact required Yuan Qi nurturing. The longer it was nurtured, the more Yuan Qi it absorbed, and the greater its ultimate explosive power would be.

Ordinary Fa Qi, on the other hand, could never be taken inside the body and had to be stored in a storage pouch, nor could their power increase over time in such a way.

In truth, few cultivators in the Cultivation World were willing to expend Yuan Qi to nurture an artifact. After all, Yuan Qi was the foundation of any cultivator, directly determining their cultivation stage, while the power of a Fa Qi only contributed to combat ability.

A Primordial Spirit Artifact would, to a certain degree, impede the advancement of one's cultivation.

Typically, only cultivators at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment were willing to exhaust significant Yuan Qi to forge such an item. Their progress was firmly capped by the Golden Core bottleneck, making breakthrough difficult. Spending surplus Yuan Qi to forge a formidable Primordial Spirit Artifact to enhance their combat capability was undoubtedly an excellent alternative.

Moreover, even Golden Core stage cultivators held a special fondness for Primordial Spirit Artifacts. They possessed abundant Yuan Qi, naturally allowing them to spare it for crafting magnificent Primordial Spirit Artifacts; being without one was a significant disadvantage.

The Cultivation World had never known peace. Skirmishes between Righteous and Evil Cultivators, and wars between sects, occurred constantly. Now, with the cultivators from the Sky Dome and W encroaching, attempting to invade the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, the situation had become even more perilous and unpredictable.

If a full-scale war erupted among the three great cultivation worlds, casualties would undoubtedly be countless, and deaths would likely occur faster than dumplings dropping into boiling water. Obtaining powerful combat strength and life-saving ability in the shortest time possible suddenly became more critical than advancing one's cultivation.

Ye Qin carefully weighed the pros and cons, which is why he spared no expense in time and effort to forge this Primordial Spirit Artifact. Compared to cultivators lacking precious elixirs, possessing this artifact would not necessarily slow down his cultivation speed.

......

Hou Qianji and Tie Dadan had waited for a long time. Seeing the flock of Fire Crows on the peak growing sparser, they could wait no longer. They slipped past the crows' vigilance and cautiously ascended the mountain to investigate.

However, when they reached the mountainside, they were struck with such terror by the field of dead Fire Crow corpses that their legs began to tremble.

Logically, as Evil Cultivators who were notoriously bold and murderers, they shouldn't be afraid. But the scene on the peak had genuinely frightened them.

Tens of thousands of Fire Crow skeletons carpeted the caves on the peak. Streams of bright red blood had long since dried, staining countless ruddy sandstone rocks, emitting an eerie, blood-tinged hue that refused to dissipate. The dense, lingering killing intent made them feel as if they had stumbled into a Fire Crow purgatory.

Even the Evil Cultivators of the Chaotic Lands harbored fear. They feared Devil Lords. Evil Cultivators usually only committed minor wickedness, perhaps killing a few people. But Devil Lords were simply berserk murderers, slaughtering entire regions. Although Ye Qin hadn't committed wholesale slaughter, his power had decimated tens of thousands of Fire Crows in the Great Fissure—what kind of strength was that? Even if the Scarlet Cloud Sect mobilized its entire force, they would struggle to wipe out this Fire Crow nest. In their eyes, Ye Qin showed the potential to become a Devil Lord.

The two climbed to the peak and found a cave entrance. This opening had been blasted out by the Fire Crows into a massive pit dozens of zhang deep, melting the ruddy sandstone into molten lava.

"It’s here. That senior must be hiding inside this cave," Hou Qianji nervously swallowed. But the entrance was sealed by collapsed rock; entry was impossible.

"Brother Hou, do you think that senior is still alive? If we barge in now, might we disturb his meditation?" Tie Dadan was brave, but standing at the cave entrance, treading over the scattered Fire Crow bones, made his heart palpitate, and his voice trembled. He mentally urged retreat, wanting to leave this place.

"He must be alive, otherwise those Fire Crows wouldn't still be circling above, screeching incessantly!"

"Why do you think he killed so many Fire Crows?"

"Who knows. Maybe he’s practicing some rare Blood Magic that requires the essence blood of tens of thousands of Fire Crows as a medium." Hou Qianji, with his lower cultivation, had never witnessed true divine abilities and could only invent wild explanations.

Rumble!

The collapsed section suddenly burst open, a sword gleam retracted, and amid a cloud of dust, a cultivator in a green robe slowly emerged from the depths. He shielded his eyes from the somewhat harsh sunlight, glanced at Hou Qianji and Tie Dadan near the entrance, and smiled.

"Congratulations on exiting seclusion, Senior!"

Hou Qianji and Tie Dadan jumped in fright. Seeing the green-robed cultivator emerge, they hastily knelt halfway.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Senior, we were patrolling the mountain. Seeing you cultivating in seclusion here, we were constantly concerned and thus guarded the area day and night to prevent anyone from disturbing your quiet cultivation," Hou Qianji said with a flattering smile.

"Enough. Tell me, what has your Scarlet Cloud Sect been up to recently."

"Senior, quite a bit has happened in the past year. Our Sect Master has already embarked on an expedition to the Northern Qi Kingdom, accompanied by over twenty of our sect's extremely powerful Protectors. Only a few weaker Foundation Establishment Protectors remain at the main headquarters, along with low-tier Qi Refining cultivators like myself." Hou Qianji secretly rejoiced and recounted everything he knew truthfully.

"Oh? So the cultivators of the Chaotic Lands have all gone to the Northern Qi Kingdom? The war must be intense?" Ye Qin's tone was calm, but a nearly imperceptible gleam flickered deep within his eyes; no one knew what he was pondering.

"The Demon Sect, Wulong Sect, Scarlet Cloud Sect, Ghost Wolf Sect, and several other major sects in the Chaotic Lands—most of their main forces have gone to the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, not just Northern Qi, but also the neighboring Great Zhou Kingdom, the Nanchang Ling Kingdom, and others. Many cultivators from the Sky Dome and the Wan Yue Lake have also headed to the Spirit Mist Cultivation World. As for the current progress of the war, I don't know the specifics. From what I understand, conflicts in the cultivation world often drag on for a long time. The Spirit Mist Cultivation World has accumulated tens of thousands of years of strength; the major sects and cultivation families are incredibly powerful. Even under a joint assault, they won't fall easily. Fights lasting decades or even a century are common occurrences. It won't be decided quickly."

"Heh, you seem to know quite a bit."

"To be honest, Senior, I've researched these matters slightly, but alas, no one values it. I can't even secure an audience with the Scarlet Cloud Sect Ancestor," Hou Qianji sighed artificially. "I wonder if Senior plans to establish your own power base and found a sect in the Chaotic Lands? I would be willing to follow you."

Ye Qin found this slightly amusing and responded noncommittally with an 'Oh,' staring faintly at Hou Qianji. "Why would you leave the good Scarlet Cloud Sect to follow me?"

Hou Qianji bowed humbly. "A bird chooses a fine tree to perch on. I am merely an errand runner and mountain patrolman in the Scarlet Cloud Sect, utterly useless. I would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. If Senior would take me in, I could at least exert myself serving you, which is certainly better than being a nobody in the Scarlet Cloud Sect, dragging out a meager existence." Ye Qin smiled. "I am merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator; I lack the strength to found a sect. Wouldn't that be inviting death if I attract a powerful enemy?"

Hou Qianji quickly interjected, "Please hear me out, Senior. The cultivation world is in chaos now—it’s the perfect opportunity for you to establish influence. It's not dangerous; in fact, it’s a heaven-sent opportunity."

"Oh? How so?"

"The five great sects of the Chaotic Lands have launched a massive invasion of the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, hoping to seize territory. This won't conclude in less than ten years. If they win, they will surely remain in the prosperous Spirit Mist World and not return to this barren Chaotic Lands. If they lose, the power of each sect will be severely diminished, and their territories will shrink drastically.

Regardless of victory or defeat, the major sects of the Chaotic Lands will be weakened. Thus, the Chaotic Lands are currently extremely empty. If Senior seizes this chance now to gain a foothold, within a decade or so, you could carve out a significant domain for yourself."

Ye Qin glanced at Hou Qianji, and a subtle shift occurred in his mind.

With so many cultivators from the Chaotic Lands having fled to the Spirit Mist World, returning there now meant running straight into the epicenter of a massive war—he could easily perish in the ensuing carnage.

The Chaotic Lands, being the enemy's rear base, was comparatively calmer.

Furthermore, there were two cultivators here who remained content within the Scarlet Cloud Sect, and they were quite familiar with the area.

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