Fang Jinyu agreed.
After all, with so much being given, there was no reason not to agree.
Moreover, although the Yuan Ying-stage Patriarch of Tianling Sect did not mention any specific reason, his reminder caused Fang Jinyu to recall some related memories.
Naturally, these memories were what he had seen in that ethereal, fleeting mysterious book.
It seemed that in the Nine Desolations, for some unknown reason, the spiritual veins had begun to fluctuate wildly over the past few days. Although the total amount of spiritual energy hadn't changed much, these fluctuations caused many regions—where foundation fruits were supposed to mature this year—to either have their maturation delayed by three years or to suffer from issues that rendered them unsuitable for refining alchemy pills.
As a result, the prices of the foundation fruits produced this year soared threefold. And the foundation pills refined from these fruits ultimately fetched a premium of as high as 100,000 spirit stones each!
This was simply the most outrageous price surge in the cultivation world—if nothing else had increased much, it could have triggered an inflation crisis throughout the cultivation community.
In the midst of this spike in foundation pill prices, some people benefited handsomely, earning profits beyond measure!
Fang Jinyu remembered that one of the aristocratic families had the surname Qin.
"It seems to be that domineering boss's family..."
Originally, Fang Jinyu hadn't given this matter much thought, for when he was reading that book he was mostly focused on seeking opportunities, so he only had a vague impression of the exploits concerning the female lead, Su Yier.
Only now, as the events connected one after the other, did Fang Jinyu understand.
After all, that "Senior Brother Qin" had taken Su Yier's first time—in all reason, Su Yier's eccentric master should have at least punished that "Senior Brother Qin"!
But in the end he allowed it, and it was obvious that this was because after the issue with the foundation fruits, the Qin family had provided a good number of foundation fruits—or perhaps foundation pills—to Tianling Sect.
After all, though Su Yier's eccentric master was a sword cultivator, he was a bit inclined to bully the weak and fear the strong.
For example, when he originally set his eyes on the slot for entering the Spirit Capital's secret realm held by Fang Jinyu, it was precisely because Fang Jinyu had no backing in the sect and was merely an ordinary disciple.
"So, whose possession did Su Yier's slot eventually fall into?" Fang Jinyu then recalled the matter.
His slot was still in his hands, and a slot can't appear out of thin air.
It must have come from some unlucky fellow.
But none of this concerned Fang Jinyu personally—he was merely a small cultivator at the second level of the foundation stage, and in terms of the immortal path, he had only just begun his journey.
Then, Fang Jinyu set about preparing to refine a magical artifact.
The Yuan Ying-stage Patriarch of Tianling Sect was magnanimous—or perhaps he was very displeased with the matter of the foundation pills and wanted to resolve it quickly—so he gave Fang Jinyu all the rewards he had promised in advance.
These rewards were: • Two spirit pearls—one of wind attribute and one of fire attribute. • One box of True Essence fruits required for refining a primal spirit pill, a total of twelve. • And a set of the most precious insights.
Previously, Fang Jinyu only knew that after refining a magical artifact, one could obtain the blessing of the qi fortune nurtured by heaven and earth. And if one's own spirit root happened to be in tune with the refined magical artifact, one could even borrow the artifact's power during the foundation stage!
At this moment, after reading the insights, Fang Jinyu realized that the power of a magical artifact could not be borrowed recklessly. The cultivation power at the foundation stage was insufficient to support the release of an artifact's power. Therefore, when its power was borrowed, it would often draw on the cultivator's lifespan as its energy source.
This was because every magical artifact contained within it a domain of heaven and earth.
And the integrity and strength of that internal domain became the key factor in determining the artifact's grade.
However, not being able to borrow its power did not mean that one could not use a magical artifact to enhance one's own strength.
One might instead perceive the artifact's essence—even if only catching a hint of it—and, combined with one's own knowledge, form a divine technique of considerable power.
And this kind of divine technique not only perfectly suited one's self but also possessed great potency. Moreover, when put into use, it consumed very little magical energy. Therefore, mastering such a divine technique could grant one top-level combat capability at the foundation stage.
Fang Jinyu then began his seclusion again.
Naturally, he secluded himself on Little River Peak. At this mountain peak, apart from him, there were currently no other foundation stage cultivators; one could say that he was, in effect, half the master of Little River Peak, so naturally no meddlesome person would come to disturb him.
After all, the Qi Refinement-stage disciples who were training on Little River Peak knew that Fang Jinyu had entered the foundation stage just half a year ago—and that he had broken through in an incredibly inspiring manner!
However, this greatly displeased one little girl. At that moment, with her small hand propped on her cheek, she stared at the stone door of Fang Jinyu's secluded chamber, wondering what was going through that little head of his.
Her displeasure was simply because with Fang Jinyu not present outside, she dared not wander about freely.
Relying on Fang Jinyu's reputation, she had such a good time on Lingyao Peak and Little River Peak that she couldn't help but enjoy herself. Even though she didn't have much cultivation, the other Tianling Sect disciples all regarded her as a future junior sister.
But this time, Fang Jinyu's seclusion did not last long—after only two days, he ended his seclusion.
"Why did you come out so quickly this time?" the little girl immediately approached Fang Jinyu and then noticed that his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were a bit upset. So she asked, "Have you encountered some trouble?"
"Sort of," Fang Jinyu sighed inwardly.
The refining of the stone ball artifact went very smoothly. Thanks to the assistance of the Yin Thunder spirit pearl, and with the acquisition of a "Refining Artifact Insight 1," the refinement process flowed naturally, almost effortlessly.
And after refining the stone ball artifact, although his strength did not increase, when Fang Jinyu used his life calculation technique, he found that his qi fortune had surged by at least tenfold!
This made Fang Jinyu, while marveling at how densely the artifact carried qi fortune, also unable to help but complain about how thin his own qi fortune was.
After all, he had once experienced a "qi fortune 1."
And with his qi fortune surging, Fang Jinyu experienced for the first time the benefits of such a dense qi fortune. His understanding of what he had cultivated previously deepened a bit more, and even the primal spirit pill formula—which he had reviewed several times—gave him a slight inkling of understanding.
"What trouble?" the little girl asked instinctively, purely out of curiosity.
Fang Jinyu originally didn't want to say anything, but at that moment his life calculation technique reacted. After a brief hesitation, he asked, "Tell me, why is it that sometimes during the refinement of a magical artifact, the process fails?"
The stone ball artifact refined very smoothly, but the Qingluan Scissors were extremely troublesome!
They could not be refined at all!
"That is most likely because that magical artifact was interfered with by someone in an unseen manner…" the little girl answered instinctively, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she became confused.
She blinked her distinct, big eyes, as if puzzled and perplexed; then she furrowed her small brows and thought seriously for a moment. Finally, unable to understand, she looked at Fang Jinyu blankly and asked, "What is a magical artifact?"