"Young brother, here are three mid-grade spirit stones." After leading Lin Tian upstairs, Shopkeeper Tu placed the three mid-grade spirit stones before him. According to the ranking of spirit stones, they are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. A single mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to ten thousand lower-grade spirit stones.
"Also, this is our Dragon City Chamber of Commerce's gold card. As long as you hold this card, no matter which city's Dragon City Chamber you visit, you will be treated as a VIP," Shopkeeper Tu explained.
"By the way, Shopkeeper Tu, does your Dragon City Chamber of Commerce craft exquisite items?" Lin Tian asked after receiving the gold card.
"Craft exquisite items?" Shopkeeper Tu looked at him with a hint of confusion. "You must be referring to artifact refiners, am I right?"
"Artifact refiners?" Lin Tian blinked in surprise, his curiosity piqued. He had never heard of such a profession.
"If you wish to create something exceedingly delicate, then within the entire Yunze Village, there is probably only one person capable of doing it," Shopkeeper Tu explained. "May I ask what kind of spiritual artifact you wish to craft?"
"Spiritual artifact?" Lin Tian was once again perplexed.
"A spiritual artifact is an item that uses spiritual energy to activate, thus producing additional power. Especially one that possesses an artifact spirit—it can greatly enhance the cultivator's abilities, almost like a tiger gaining wings," Shopkeeper Tu elaborated. "However, I must advise you, young friend, that instead of spending time crafting spiritual artifacts, it would be better to devote that time to cultivating."
"Although spiritual artifacts can dramatically increase a cultivator's combat power in the short term, as a cultivator's strength grows, the spiritual artifact's effectiveness will gradually fall behind. Though spiritual artifacts with an artifact spirit can grow and improve, the process is exceedingly slow. Instead of investing time in artifact crafting, it is much more reliable to focus on refining your own strength."
"From what you've said, it seems the item I want to create is indeed a spiritual artifact," Lin Tian said, as he took out a blueprint.
Once he realized that the spiritual power extraction device could extract spiritual energy, Lin Tian had begun researching a weapon that could harness this power. After some time, a blueprint for a spiritual energy gun had begun to take shape. It wouldn't require bullets, just enough spiritual energy to fuel it, capable of unleashing a tremendous amount of force.
With the sale of the spiritual liquid and the extra funds now in hand, Lin Tian was eager to move forward with his plan for the spiritual energy gun.
As he examined the blueprint, Shopkeeper Tu's brow furrowed. He had expected that Lin Tian would be looking to create something like a sword or a dagger, sharp and deadly. But the blueprint Lin Tian presented went far beyond his expectations. The intricate components on the design were beyond his comprehension, even though he had seen many such items.
However, there was one thing Shopkeeper Tu could immediately discern—there was no sharp edge on the object depicted in the blueprint. How could a spiritual artifact with no cutting edge be used to harm an enemy?
"May I ask what materials you wish to use for the crafting, Xuanjing stones or Dragon Pattern Steel? If the materials are especially rare, we may not have them in our Dragon City Chamber of Commerce," Shopkeeper Tu inquired.
"Actually, there's no need for anything particularly rare; regular iron essence would suffice," Lin Tian replied with an embarrassed smile.
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Tu was left speechless. He even doubted his own hearing. Iron essence? You want to craft a spiritual artifact using iron essence? Generally speaking, the rarer the ore, the greater the chance of the artifact giving birth to an artifact spirit. Xuanjing stones and Dragon Pattern Steel, though not considered highly precious, still had the potential to birth an artifact spirit. But iron essence? Not only would it fail to give birth to an artifact spirit, but it couldn't even be considered a precious metal.
At first, upon seeing the complexity of the blueprint, Shopkeeper Tu had been curious about what materials Lin Tian would choose. But now, he was left utterly dumbfounded by the choice of such a crude material—it seemed like a waste.
"Is there a problem? Is it difficult?" Lin Tian blinked and asked in confusion.
"It's not difficult, naturally," Shopkeeper Tu replied, his face darkening. "If you want it, we can finish it in a single day."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Shopkeeper Tu." Lin Tian handed over the blueprint and immediately left the chamber, heading back towards the Lin family.
Just as Lin Tian left the Dragon City Chamber of Commerce, a figure quickly followed him, eyes brimming with malice. It was none other than Xue Mei, who had been kicked out by Shopkeeper Tu after offending Lin Tian.
As a prominent chamber ranked among the top three in the continent, Dragon City Chamber of Commerce offered unmatched benefits. Xue Mei had worked tirelessly to get into the Chamber, only to be thrown out because of Lin Tian. This anger was something she couldn't easily let go.
But beyond her resentment towards Lin Tian, what truly drove her was the three mid-grade spirit stones Lin Tian had. Three thousand lower-grade spirit stones—if used carefully, they would be enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life. How could she resist such temptation?
Before long, Lin Tian arrived at the outskirts of the Lin family's territory. He found a secluded spot and was about to take off his black robe when Xue Mei appeared, smiling slowly as she approached.
Upon seeing her, Lin Tian's heart skipped a beat—he hadn't expected to be followed.
"Little boy, did you enjoy your little show at the Dragon City Chamber of Commerce?" Xue Mei said with a smug grin, her tone mocking. Although her cultivation was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, to her, Lin Tian seemed like a powerless waste.
Killing such a person would be almost too easy for her. As the distance between them closed, Xue Mei's spiritual energy erupted from her body.
"So, a mere third layer of Qi Refining dares to make a move on me?" Lin Tian felt an unsettling sensation, but he knew he had to remain calm. More importantly, she didn't know his cultivation level. If he could deceive her, perhaps he could win a chance to survive.
"Kid, what are you pretending for? If you were stronger than me, you wouldn't be wasting words on me!" Xue Mei sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. In her years at the Dragon City Chamber of Commerce, she had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of powerful cultivators. If Lin Tian truly had the strength, he would have already killed her on the spot instead of talking so much.
Her fiery red spiritual energy gathered into her fist, and she launched a simple but powerful strike.
As the fist hurtled towards him, Lin Tian had no choice but to focus all his spiritual energy into his right fist. The energy surged, and the two fists collided with a loud crash.
"Boom!" The force of the impact sent Xue Mei flying like a deflated ball. She flew through the air in a perfect arc before crashing heavily to the ground.
Blood spewed from her mouth, and her arm was completely shattered. The look of disdain in her eyes was quickly replaced by sheer terror. But as she tried to rise, she found that she had no strength left to move.
Seeing the woman in front of him so helpless, Lin Tian's eyes flashed with coldness. Since she had followed him back to the Lin family's territory, she might already know his true identity.
At this point, his true identity should remain concealed. No one else could know about this incident.
With a cold glint in his eyes, Lin Tian slowly approached her.
"What are you going to do?" As she saw him drawing nearer, Xue Mei's eyes grew wide with panic. But Lin Tian, having made up his mind, didn't hesitate. He drew a small knife from his waist and swiftly slashed it across her neck.
Blood spurted out, and Xue Mei's eyes widened in shock. The last vestige of life left her as she fell lifeless.
After the deed was done, Lin Tian let out a long breath. As he looked at his trembling hands, a trace of helplessness flashed across his face.
The spiritual energy within him had been so pure that his punch had unleashed strength far beyond that of a typical second-layer Qi Refining cultivator. However, due to his lack of mastery over his spiritual energy, his arm had taken significant backlash.
If he couldn't learn to control his energy with precision, future battles would only result in more serious injuries. It was clear—he needed to visit a certain place now.