One day, a wavering sword gleam flew in from the horizon, losing its force and falling as it neared Spirit Mist City. This scout sent by the Spirit Mist Alliance had fought through a siege to bring back astonishing news to the city. "Enemy cultivators are advancing in full force—prepare for battle immediately!" This message spread throughout the entire city in the shortest possible time. In an instant, the once tranquil Spirit Mist City was like a place struck by a massive stone, its order immediately thrown into chaos. The common, lower-tier cultivators scrambled about in a panic, unsure how to react. Even the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators were bewildered; having never experienced such warfare in the cultivation world, how were they to fight this battle?

Inside Spirit Mist City. The "Exotic Treasure Pavilion," a building dedicated to selling magical artifacts, was usually bustling with activity, attracting numerous cultivators. However, it was now deserted. The pavilion attendants were listlessly leaning against the counter, dozing off out of boredom. The reason was simple: tensions were escalating with the war. Large numbers of Spirit Mist Realm cultivators had flooded into the city, spending fortunes to frantically hoard every usable resource. Almost all the artifacts within the pavilion, whether low-grade or high-grade, had been sold out, leaving only a few flawed, nearly useless pieces priced outrageously high. Naturally, no one paid any attention to the Exotic Treasure Pavilion.

The situation in other shops selling spiritual items and artifacts in Spirit Mist City was much the same. Many nations within the Spirit Mist Cultivation Realm had already been occupied by the enemy, leading to a severe shortage of raw materials needed for artifact refining. Even if they wanted to produce more artifacts, it was impossible.

Ye Qin arrived at the Exotic Treasure Pavilion today and was immediately ushered into a secret room on the second floor by Pavilion Master Wang with great deference. Pavilion Master Wang retrieved over ten unopened sets of artifacts from the secret room's storage and presented them to Ye Qin. These artifacts were brand new, and all were mid-grade. Sets of artifacts like these were simply unobtainable in the city's marketplace or any artifact-selling establishment.

Ye Qin had not come to purchase artifacts; he had come to collect an order. Three months prior, he had brought a large quantity of "Blazing Thorn" and "Frost Thorn" silk materials and commissioned the Exotic Treasure Pavilion to craft two complete sets of close-fitting silk armor artifacts for him, along with two offensive artifacts. "Here is one set of Blazing Armor and one set of Frost Armor. Each set includes a pair of bracers, a pair of gloves, a pair of silk boots, a pair of leg guards, and a breastplate. In addition, there are two offensive artifacts: one Blazing Immortal Binding Rope and one Frost Immortal Binding Rope. Please inspect them, sir!" Pavilion Master Wang licked his dry lips as he meticulously explained to Ye Qin, though he felt a secret resentment internally. Extravagance! It was utter, wasteful extravagance. How much better would it be to refine these materials into seven or eight breastplates—enough for seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators to use! For an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator in the city, managing to gather enough materials to craft even one set of armor artifact was quite an achievement. But this esteemed gentleman insisted on having bracers, leg guards, boots, and gloves all crafted into artifacts, protecting himself to the extreme from head to toe. A complete set of silk armor artifacts like this would normally cost at least ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. Now, with the severe shortage of artifacts on the market, the price had easily doubled. In the marketplace, one might not be able to acquire them even with money.

If Ye Qin were an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, Pavilion Master Wang might have dared to withhold a bit of raw material and create an extra artifact. However, the cultivator before him was a Foundation Establishment disciple of the Azure Pill Sect. Being able to produce such a large quantity of rare raw materials at once meant he was either a core disciple of the Azure Pill Sect or entrusted by some important figure within the sect. Pavilion Master Wang dared not be careless. He had tasked the pavilion’s most accomplished refiners and spent three months to produce these two complete sets of artifacts, ensuring ample quantity and quality.

Ye Qin inspected the goods, satisfied, and accepted them all, settling the remaining substantial refining fees. In the cultivation world, armor was generally divided into two types: soft armor crafted from silk raw materials, and hard armor crafted from mineral raw materials. Silk armor offered slightly less protection than hard armor but was light. Hard armor offered extremely strong protection but was incredibly heavy, hindering speed and agility. Ye Qin placed a high value on speed. The large quantity of thorn materials he had cultivated in his Purple Mansion allowed him to have the Exotic Treasure Pavilion craft them into soft silk armor. To maximize his chances of survival on the battlefield of cultivator warfare, carrying a complete set of armor artifacts was essential. Moreover, to cope with different situations, he had prepared both the Blazing Armor and the Frost Armor. The Blazing Armor could resist ice-elemental attacks, while the Frost Armor could resist fire-elemental attacks. Furthermore, the Blazing Immortal Binding Rope and the Frost Immortal Binding Rope, besides restraining opponents, also carried inherent fire and ice damage.

"Is there anything else you require our services for, sir? Most of our refiners are currently free. Whether it's crafting any kind of spiritual or magical artifact, or undertaking repairs, our pavilion can handle it," Pavilion Master Wang said, beaming after receiving a large payment from Ye Qin. Ye Qin, having paid for the two sets of artifacts and about to leave the Exotic Treasure Pavilion, paused upon hearing the Pavilion Master's offer and suddenly remembered something. He had several damaged items in his storage bag. After some thought, he asked, "Can your establishment repair any type of artifact?" "Naturally! Our Exotic Treasure Pavilion possesses the most outstanding group of artifact refiners in Spirit Mist City," Pavilion Master Wang boasted, thumping his chest to praise the pavilion's capabilities. Ye Qin immediately took out the snow-white Bat King Wing spiritual artifact and placed it on the table for Pavilion Master Wang to examine. Pavilion Master Wang carefully inspected the dozen or so holes on the Bat King Wing and pinched the broken sections of the wing bone. Finally, he shook his head, "This bone-type spiritual artifact is severely damaged! I can mend the holes, but after the repair, its efficacy will drop substantially—reaching a fifth of the original power would be considered good. So, even if repaired, it won't be very useful. This artifact is made from beast bone; we can only patch the holes, not re-refine it. Artifacts made from minerals, however, can still be melted down and reforged even if damaged. Do you wish to have it repaired, sir?" "Then forget it," Ye Qin said, shaking his head after thinking it over. The power of the Bat King Wing itself wasn't great, only capable of a fifty-zhang aerial flash. After repair, its effectiveness would drop significantly, making it slower than even sword flight—completely useless. "There is a puppet artifact, crafted from silver-colored raw material. I wonder if your pavilion knows of this material and if you can repair such an artifact puppet?" Ye Qin asked again, though he did not take out the Silver Armored Guard. Such an artifact was too astonishing. "A puppet made from silver-colored raw material? Only worldly silver is silver-colored, but silver cannot be refined into an artifact," Pavilion Master Wang said doubtfully. "Could you let me examine the puppet? Perhaps I could recognize the material." "Since Pavilion Master Wang doesn't know what that material is, then never mind," Ye Qin replied, turning to leave. He was just asking casually, seeing if the Pavilion Master knew anything, not planning to let him see the puppet. The fewer people who knew about that Silver Armored Guard puppet, the better. "Wait, please wait a moment, sir, let me check the records for any relevant entries!" Pavilion Master Wang hastily said, pulling out a thick tome and flipping through it rapidly. Ye Qin waited for a full half hour. Pavilion Master Wang finally found the silver-colored refining material at the very bottom of the volume, but his eye socket involuntarily twitched. "Silver-colored, capable of refining artifacts—only one material fits these two conditions... Mithril. It possesses the luster of silver and is rumored to be a 'law-breaking' raw material. It is said that this Mithril is only produced in the deepest undersea mines beneath the East Sea. Even a small piece of Mithril is enough to forge an ultimate, law-breaking flying sword." "This is Mithril? What does 'law-breaking' mean?" Ye Qin suddenly became curious. He had "snatched" the Silver Armored Guard from the Saint Emperor, but apart from knowing it was a Golden Core-level puppet, he knew almost nothing about its other abilities. "Precisely. Our pavilion has been open for several hundred years, and this volume contains records of most raw materials usable for refining. 'Law-breaking' means that spells of common elemental power have no effect on it whatsoever. Usually, only physical attacks can harm it." Ye Qin nodded thoughtfully. This Silver Armored Guard was actually immune to common spell attacks. No wonder its chest was caved in; it was likely disabled by a direct, extremely powerful physical blow. "Is there any way to repair an artifact made of this Mithril?" "Are you joking, sir! Only Nascent Soul cultivators can acquire Mithril. Our pavilion has never obtained even a tiny piece of Mithril, how could we possibly have the skill to repair this thing?" Pavilion Master Wang exclaimed, his gaze toward Ye Qin completely transformed, showing a trace of reverence. Just as Pavilion Master Wang was lost in conjecture, trying to guess which prominent family's disciple Ye Qin was, Ye Qin left the Exotic Treasure Pavilion without looking back. Since Pavilion Master Wang only knew of Mithril and had no ability to repair it, there was nothing more he needed here.

When Ye Qin walked out of the Exotic Treasure Pavilion, the news brought back by the Spirit Mist Alliance scout about the imminent large-scale enemy attack was spreading. He saw the entire Spirit Mist City in an uproar: Qi Refining cultivators were panicking, while Foundation Establishment cultivators were rushing to various combat strongholds to prepare for battle. Seeing the chaotic situation in the city, Ye Qin was startled, realizing the gravity of the situation. He immediately donned the complete set of Blazing Armor he had just retrieved, then covered it with his ordinary Azure Pill disciple robes so others couldn't see the set of highly protective silk armor artifacts underneath. Then, Ye Qin rushed toward a large pavilion within Spirit Mist City—the temporary residence of the Azure Pill Sect. Thirty to forty Azure Pill Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators had already gathered there, along with two Golden Core Ancestors. Once the fighting began, acting alongside his fellow disciples was the safest course of action. Moreover, with two Golden Core Ancestors present, they would certainly not allow the Azure Pill Sect's Foundation Establishment disciples to perish meaninglessly. In a short while, Ye Qin arrived at the Azure Pill Sect's temporary quarters. Inside the pavilion, the disciples were organizing their artifacts, some excited, some worried, conversing in low tones. No one noticed Ye Qin's arrival; it seemed everyone’s mind was almost entirely consumed by the impending war of the cultivation world. Although they were all fellow sect members, Foundation Establishment disciples usually spent their time either in secluded cultivation or on external expeditions. Ye Qin had never met the majority of them and naturally did not recognize them. He quietly sat down in an unoccupied corner of the pavilion, organizing the artifacts he might need. Spirit Mist City entered its highest state of combat readiness, and Ye Qin felt a sense of confusion. He, too, had no idea how this great battle would unfold or how the fighting would be conducted; that was entirely up to the Golden Core Ancestors of the Seven Great Sects.