The rolling clouds and flowing mist veiled the scene. Gu Xichen hung suspended less than a hair's breadth away from the twenty-six golden-armored figures.

A hundred zhang separated them, yet these massive, gold-clad giants could strike Gu Xichen with a mere wave of the hand. Electricity crackled over the thirty-six colossal, square warhammers, while seventy-two eyes, blazing with crimson fire, fixed themselves unblinkingly upon Gu Xichen. Looking into those red eyes, Gu Xichen was instantly reminded of Ducate when he activated his esoteric power. These golden giants' eyes shared the same cold, emotionless electronic light as Ducate's then, lacking the bright wisdom that should characterize an intelligent being.

A hysterical roar erupted from the lava. Han Kui thrust half her head from the molten rock, furiously drawing power from the magma to mend her body. She glared malevolently at the thirty-six golden giants, her rows of terrifying white teeth constantly reflecting the red glow of the lava.

"Esteemed sirs, I am Gu Xichen, and I offer my respects!" Gu Xichen cupped his hands in greeting toward the thirty-six golden giants.

A long silence followed. The red lights in the thirty-six giants' eyes flickered, seemingly exchanging opinions through the modulation of their gaze. Suddenly, the giant who had first swung his hammer to smash Han Kui into the lava slowly drifted forward a few steps, and a dull sound, like two small rivers cast in metal colliding, echoed: "You. Who are you? Under whom and what lineage do you study?"

Gu Xichen also fell silent for a long time. He occasionally lowered his head to glance at Han Kui, still writhing in the lava, then looked up at the humanless golden giants before him.

After a moment, Gu Xichen suddenly nodded in sudden realization. He clasped his fists and laughed: "This humble Taoist is Gu Xichen, a student of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Cave Origin Manifestation Response Heaven, the Palace Master of the Primordial Radiance Domain of the Extreme North Taiyin Realm, the True Monarch Taiyin. My master was born at the dawn of the Primordial Chaos and attained the Way before the Three Sovereigns; he is a famous and titled Ancient True Immortal and Virtuous True Monarch of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

The fires in the eyes of the thirty-six golden giants suddenly flared intensely. The tone of the giant opposite Gu Xichen softened considerably: "Do you have proof?"

Gu Xichen opened his right palm, and a pillar of Taiyin Profound Flame, nearly ten feet high, erupted, spewing specks of blue ice crystals. The temperature in the hall, which had been swirling with heatwaves, instantly plummeted. The lava directly beneath Gu Xichen began to solidify, the crimson molten rock rapidly freezing into a dark red, translucent crystal.

"Taiyin Profound Flame!" All thirty-six golden giants immediately retreated hundreds of zhang. The frequency of the flashing in their eyes grew faster and faster. The giant conversing with Gu Xichen stated in a deep voice: "Indeed, this is the purest immortal art, the true orthodox lineage. Since you are the successor of a renowned immortal family, why do you travel alongside that demonic corpse fiend?"

Without offering an explanation, Gu Xichen directly formed a hand seal for the Soul Sweeping Incantation and waved it toward Han Kui in the lava. Han Kui felt a jolt in her soul, her nascent spirit nearly blasted out of her physical body. Han Kui, seeing stars and blackness, let out a shrill scream, clutching her head and thrashing violently in the lava. Phantoms identical to her appeared and vanished around her. Any keen observer could tell these were illusions caused by the leakage of her soul's origin power due to the shock to her nascent spirit.

"She is not my companion, merely a Corpse Servant I captured," Gu Xichen smiled faintly at the golden giants. "Even those of renowned immortal families may keep demon slaves; it has always been so. Have I erred? Since taking her as a servant, I have never allowed her to touch blood again. It is just that her innate malevolent energy is difficult to dispel, and I am currently refining her temperament."

"So it is!" The thirty-six golden giants nodded in unison. They flew forward in perfect formation, arranging themselves into a six-by-six square before Gu Xichen, kneeling respectfully on one knee: "We are the thirty-six guardians of the Heavenly Craft Hall. Per the last command of our old master, the first orthodox cultivator to arrive here after his departure is to be recognized as our master's heir."

The two heavy breastplates on the chests of the golden giants slowly opened, revealing intricate yet exquisitely detailed mechanical structures within. Specks of crystal light flickered inside their chests. This complexity left Gu Xichen awestruck. Even the circuitry of the core control chips in the Federation's most advanced combat robots was not this intricate.

These thirty-six golden giants were, astonishingly, thirty-six artificially created puppets. In the center of their chests, a head-sized red crystal pulsed faintly. Large bursts of firelight rose within the transparent crystal, where countless runes could faintly be seen shimmering.

The first golden giant stated gravely: "We beg the Master to infuse a drop of his vital blood along with a strand of his nascent spirit into our crystal cores. Thereafter, the Master may command us as freely as he commands his own avatars."

Gu Xichen tapped his chest without hesitation, spitting out thirty-six drops of vital blood, and then drew thirty-six wisps of nascent spirit, thin as hair, from his Soul Pearl, merging them with the vital blood. He then shot the vital blood, one by one, onto the crystal cores of the golden puppets. The vital blood mixed with a strand of nascent spirit settled onto the crystal cores, which instantly flashed with blinding red light. Red mist, like smoke, jetted out from the cores, slowly enveloping the golden puppets.

Innumerable runes flashing with red light surged out of the mist, quickly revolving around Gu Xichen. In the blink of an eye, these talismans formed a crimson hurricane several dozen zhang high beside him. In just three or five breaths, the countless red talismans simultaneously contracted inward, and billions of runes drilled into Gu Xichen's body.

A massive amount of data flooded into Gu Xichen’s Sea of Consciousness, rushing toward his Soul Pearl. The Haotian Tower shone brightly, as all incoming data had to be scanned by the Tower's azure light before it could integrate with the foundation of Gu Xichen's soul. In a few blinks, Gu Xichen suddenly understood the origin of this Heavenly Craft Hall and the control methods for all its restricting formations. This fortunate windfall arrived so easily that Gu Xichen was somewhat taken aback.

The Heavenly Craft Hall was the cave-dwelling of an immortal named the 'Greatly Clumsy Wanderer' in ancient times, who loved to roam and excelled at artifact refining.

Through the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer’s diligent management over myriads of years, this cave-dwelling had transformed into his personal vessel for traversing the void. He would drive the dwelling everywhere, searching for rare refining materials to forge the strange and esoteric gadgets he invented.

The core of the dwelling was the sea of lava beneath this main hall. This sea of lava was a vast space that the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer begged a friend of his from that era to carve out within the hall using the Buddhist Sumeru Mustard Seed divine ability. Although it appeared to be only ten miles wide and long, the true width and length of this sea of lava spanned tens of thousands of miles, and it was just as deep. The lava sea also contained a source of Heavenly Fire painstakingly gathered by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer. After careful arrangement of formations, this source of Heavenly Fire became the inexhaustible energy source for the Heavenly Craft Hall.

The Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was leisurely by nature, having no ambition to be renowned throughout the Three Realms. His greatest pleasure was seeking refining materials to forge curious treasures. This carefree life continued for an unknown period. One day, while wandering near this void, he sequestered his dwelling in an extremely secret location, as was his old habit, and set up a teleportation array leading outside. Then, he resumed his carefree days of forging magical implements.

What happened next was somewhat vague and unclear. Essentially, while gathering materials outside, the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was suddenly ambushed. Despite possessing overwhelmingly powerful cultivation, his innate inclination toward artifact refining meant he had very little skill in direct combat or adapting to sudden changes. The opponent's strength was clearly inferior, yet the surprise attack gravely wounded the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer, even striking his vital immortal weak point, causing his immortal energy to constantly leak away. His nascent spirit was even in danger of dissipating.

Severely injured, the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer lacked even the ability to move the dwelling to escape. Furthermore, he suffered from severe reclusiveness. He habitually guarded himself against the intrusion of his few friends, so much so that he hadn't even prepared any signal flares for warning or rescue. Consequently, the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was truly beyond help. In desperation, he used all his treasured innate materials, exhausting all his vital energy and effort to forge thirty-six guardian puppets. He commanded them to remain in the Heavenly Craft Hall, and then he passed away, his soul scattered and gone.

All of the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer's life's achievements were concentrated in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. To pass on his legacy, the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer intentionally deactivated the Heavenly Craft Hall's protective mountain array, hoping only that some destined person would one day enter. He was also wary of his life's work falling into the hands of those with wicked intentions, so he left a final command for the thirty-six guardian puppets: only a disciple from a renowned, orthodox immortal sect could inherit the Heavenly Craft Hall.

This is why Han Kui, who rushed headlong into the Heavenly Craft Hall first, was severely struck by the guardian puppets. If her origin essence hadn't been so solid, Han Kui would have long been struck into oblivion by a single hammer blow. That Divine Firmament Nine Sorrows Heavenly Emperor Demon Smiting Heavenly Thunder was the supreme divine thunder used by the Heavenly Court to subdue demons and slay devils, possessing immense power. The Greatly Clumsy Wanderer had spent countless efforts to acquire thirty-six Thunder-Red Jade stones from a close confidant of one of the Nine Sorrows Heavenly Emperors, using them all on these guardian puppets.

"This old man certainly has an interesting character!" Gu Xichen shook his head with a wry smile. The Greatly Clumsy Wanderer's eccentric nature meant his thought patterns differed from normal people. In his view, if a cultivator entering the Heavenly Craft Hall was a successor of an orthodox sect, then he was fated to meet them. Moreover, members of orthodox sects should, in theory, have good natures. Therefore, leaving his legacy to such a destined person would allow him to pass away peacefully.

Gu Xichen was somewhat speechless about the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer's way of thinking. Who stipulated that there could be no scoundrels among orthodox sects? Who decreed that someone with wicked intentions couldn't be fated to meet the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer? The Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was clearly gambling. Fortunately, he won the bet. Gu Xichen inwardly mused with quiet pleasure that he was certainly a righteous gentleman, and the Heavenly Artifact Compendium and the Heavenly Craft Hall would not be wasted in his hands.

Excitedly stepping onto his cloud to rush toward the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, Gu Xichen suddenly stopped his flight after only a few steps. He asked the puppets, "In all these years, have I been the only cultivator to come here? There seem to be many people who have approached the entrance outside. The restrictions on the main gate of the Heavenly Craft Hall have been lifted; why didn't they enter?"

The thirty-six guardian puppets shook their heads simultaneously: "They entered, and we killed them all!"

"Oh my!" Gu Xichen was momentarily stunned. Puppets are puppets; you cannot expect them to possess the ability to discern right from wrong like humans. Likely, some members of the Exorcist Knights had entered, but they were not cultivators. Thus, according to the logic of these guardian puppets, any non-orthodox cultivator was to be slain.

No wonder the Exorcist Knights had been entangled here for untold years while the Heavenly Artifact Compendium remained unharmed. It was likely the Exorcist Knights were unwilling to leave the Heavenly Craft Hall because they coveted this hall and the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. Otherwise, why would they forsake the power of the Yaafik Kingdom and hide underground like groundhogs all year round?

Mourning the Exorcist Knights in his heart for a second, Gu Xichen focused all his attention on the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. Following the method of collection left by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer, Gu Xichen squeezed out another bit of vital blood, mixed it with a wisp of nascent spirit, and shot it onto the massive book, the Heavenly Artifact Compendium.

A golden ray shot out from the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, enveloping Gu Xichen entirely! All data flooded into Gu Xichen's mind!

What a treasure! What a treasure!

Unlike the Total Treatise on Artifact Refining and the Dao of Formations left by my Daoist Wuchen, the Heavenly Artifact Compendium left by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was a truly magnificent thing. Within it, besides the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer’s entire life's summary of artifact refining, were the refining methods for the strange and diverse treasures he had forged.

The refining methods left by Daoist Wuchen were more focused on the sketching and configuration of various formations, but they lacked specific methods for refining individual artifacts. In Daoist Wuchen's view, as long as one mastered the Dao of Formations and the Dao of Metal Refinement he left behind, a successor who obtained his lineage through extensive practice would surely grow into a true Artifact Refining Master.

Thus, Daoist Wuchen left behind the 'Method,' the 'Principle.' After comprehending these 'Methods' and 'Principles,' the form of the flying sword Gu Xichen refined depended entirely on his own comprehension.

But the Heavenly Artifact Compendium left by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer contained both 'Methods' and 'Principles,' ones that were millions of times more profound than the refining 'Methods' and 'Principles' left by Daoist Wuchen. Moreover, he also left the 'Art,' which is the 'Way of Application.' The Heavenly Artifact Compendium recorded refining methods for at least hundreds of thousands of specific magical implements!

For example, the refining method for the 'Flowing Cloud Wings,' specifically for flight. As long as the materials were gathered, even someone with minimal cultivation could forge a qualified pair of Flowing Cloud Wings by following the methods recorded in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. From the shape of the Flowing Cloud Wings, the required materials, the steps of refining, to the layout and integration of the formations on the wings—every detail was minutely recorded in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium.

Likewise, the refining methods for these thirty-six guardian puppets were also preserved in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. According to the description, as long as one possessed cultivation around the Void Realm and sufficient materials, utilizing the lava sea and the thirty-six furnaces within the Heavenly Craft Hall, one could easily forge powerful guardian puppets.

These specific refining methods were exactly what Gu Xichen needed most urgently. Daoist Wuchen’s path of artifact refining gave him a key, while the path left by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer was a golden avenue stretching endlessly. But if Gu Xichen relied entirely on his own comprehension to learn these principles before forging artifacts, who knew how long it would take him to create treasures as powerful as these guardian puppets. The specific refining processes recorded in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium precisely scratched Gu Xichen's itch.

Casually skimming through the records in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, Gu Xichen suddenly froze. In the 'Artifact Compendium: Inscription Scroll Chapter,' a specific method for forging the Pure Yang Great Seal using the scales of an innate Sharp Qilin was clearly documented. Furthermore, based on different functions, it was divided into ninety-nine eighty-one categories, possessing effects such as dispelling evil, slaying demons, stabilizing the spirit, clarifying the mind, detoxifying, curing illness, extending life, nourishing essence, and so on. Moreover, by using the scales of an innate Fire Qilin and innate divine fire for refining, supplemented by different techniques and incantations, one could forge Great Seals ranging from ordinary spirit artifacts to top-tier innate treasures!

"My Dao Venerable," Gu Xichen felt like crying. If he had possessed the Heavenly Artifact Compendium earlier, would he have needed to forge the Qilin Seal that he could only gaze upon but not use as he wished? Moreover, the Qilin Seal he forged seemed to possess only the function of a crude brick to smash people with, which was worlds apart from the eighty-one miraculous functions itemized by the Greatly Clumsy Wanderer.

Even more astonishingly, according to the marvelous techniques in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, the fire-attributed Qilin scales and armor could be refined into a cultivator's Natal Magic Treasure. Initially, this Natal Magic Treasure would only be an ordinary artifact in the cultivation world, but as the owner's strength continuously advanced, the treasure would evolve alongside them. If the owner managed to cultivate to the Great Overarching Golden Immortal realm, this Great Seal could ascend to become an innate object. Because it was a Natal Magic Treasure, every advancement by the owner could bring the treasure's power to its absolute limit, making it unparalleled among treasures of the same tier.

"I lost out," Gu Xichen dejectedly shoved the massive book, the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, into his Qiankun Pouch. He seethed inwardly: "Just you wait, I swear I will gather enough materials and forge several of these life-accompanying Natal Magic Treasures for myself! Ouch, I lost! I lost a fortune on this deal."

Looking at the Qilin Seal hanging at his waist, Gu Xichen had the impulse to toss it into the latrine!

This was the difference between 'Method' and 'Art.' When forging the Qilin Seal according to the orthodox refining method, Gu Xichen feared the power wouldn't be sufficient and threw in all the divine scripts he knew. Who knew that the Qilin scales themselves were already of such a high grade? Combined with the Taiyin Profound Flame and the divine scripts, he, a cultivator not even at the minor Golden Core stage, had forcibly refined an innate treasure.

If he had possessed the refining 'Art' from the Heavenly Artifact Compendium earlier, with such clear refining guidance, would Gu Xichen have made such a huge blunder?

After a few wry laughs, Gu Xichen patted the Qiankun Pouch, suddenly feeling a surge of motivation. He intended to use up all the innate materials he had collected in the subspace to forge himself a set of powerful equipment. The Ruyi Gloves needed refining again, and the Qiankun Pouch needed reshaping. As for the Qilin Seal, being an already-formed innate treasure, it couldn't be reforged, but he resolved to forge several potent Natal Magic Treasures that could grow with him.

The incident where Han Kui's punch shredded all his clothes could never happen again.