Surging Island was huge and covered in dense forests with birds flying above. Even after Luo Chen had taken residence, it still retained its natural touch, as he had only built three things. Aside from the Starry Palace and Heavenjade's residence, there was only one other structure, the Azure Yang Palace. This place served as his workshop for alchemy and artifact creation.

Inside Azure Yang Palace, the Primordial Unity Cauldron stood at the center, with primordial true fire blazing fiercely within it. Luo Chen looked at the great cauldron and cast seals. Streams of molten minerals shot into the cauldron.

"It was definitely the right call to get a Primordial Unity Cauldron as my life-bound treasure. Alchemy is a given, but it can even handle artifact creation. It's saved me a lot of trouble gathering all those extra tools," Luo Chen muttered as he focused on the reactions of the materials inside the cauldron.

Suddenly, he frowned. He beckoned at the cauldron, and a palm-sized lump of golden stone flew out from within.

"This meteorite stone wasn't processed properly? I knew it! You really get what you pay for." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He muttered to himself, then tossed the meteorite stone into the Withering-Flourishing True Fire to refine it under extreme heat. After about half an incense stick, he drew it out and let it fall onto a massive stone pedestal. With a flick of his wrist, a small hammer appeared in his hand. It was the Flowing Fire Hammer he had obtained from an Adept of Hundred Craft Mountain. This fire-element enchanted treasure was only low grade, but it had excellent compatibility with his mana. After erasing the former owner's divine consciousness imprint, he had taken control of it for himself and now used it in place of the Mystic Flame Sword.

In battle, its offensive power was mediocre. It was powerful, but it was way too slow, which made it difficult to actually use that power. In artifact creation, however, it truly shone.

Luo Chen removed his black robe and revealed his muscles. His arm tensed as he brought the hammer down again and again upon the piece of meteorite. Sparks burst out with each strike, and the impurities within the stone were gradually forced out. At the same time, his proficiency at wielding the Flowing Fire Hammer rose steadily.

"If it keeps going like this, in a few years, I'll be able to use this thing even better than its original owner."

The path of artifact creation consumed a great deal of mana. To Luo Chen, it felt even more troublesome than alchemy. Still, it had its merits. When crafting high-tier enchanted artifacts, the constant hammering of materials also tempered his physique.

The medicinal power of the fourth-tier Black Sovereign Paste was simply too great. Even though Luo Chen used Myriad Path Convergence and tempered his body with the Withering-Flourishing True Fire, he still could not fully absorb it. Yet after a few bouts of high-intensity forging, he had discovered that he was gradually absorbing the residual medicinal power bit by bit. This pushed his Physique Refinement progress forward at a faster pace. After realizing this, he increased the frequency of crafting, and his output naturally rose along with it. Such a win-win situation was something he could not ignore.

Hammer strikes rang out, and sparks scattered like raindrops.

CLANGGG!

As the final hammer fell, Luo Chen looked at the piece of meteorite in his hand. Its size had clearly diminished. A satisfied smile spread across his face. "This quality should be good enough to refine the Dark Blue Profound Armor."

If some master artisans had been present, they would have been puzzled by the term "Dark Blue Profound Armor." Was that not a third-tier defensive formation? Since when was it an enchanted treasure? But in truth, it was simply a clever choice of name.

Luo Chen had acquired a crafting method for defensive treasures from Yu Gao of the Penglai Immortal Sect. It combined ancient crafting methods with modern mainstream practices. The process was complex and placed heavy demands on both material selection and craftsmanship.

Over the years, Luo Chen had been working to overcome each difficulty one by one. He could not yet refine the Profound Rock Armor, but he could experiment more with each component of the blueprint. Once he mastered every part, his chances of success would rise significantly.

In this complex process, the most difficult part was the fourth-tier formation that had to be inscribed—the Two Poles Six Shields Formation. When he first saw it, Luo Chen nearly cursed out loud. What kind of defensive treasure required a fourth-tier formation? It wasn't like he was crafting another Primordial Unity Cauldron! Yet upon closer study, he realized that things were not quite as bad as they seemed. Though classified as fourth-tier, this formation was actually not a single unit but a compound of seven third-tier formations.

At its core lay the Two Poles component. This part was straightforward: it was based on the contrast between yin and yang, heaven and earth, odd and even, hard and soft. Even heaven and earth could act as opposing poles, just as water and fire could be set against each other. Any opposing forces could serve as its basis. Han Zhan was especially skilled in the field, and under his guidance, Luo Chen grasped this part with ease.

The real challenge lay in the Six Shields part, which was shorthand for six separate third-tier defensive formations. The Dark Blue Profound Armor Formation was one of them, a famous third-tier water-element defensive formation. In addition, there were formations such as the Bright Yellow Rock Armor Formation and the Yi Wood Green Armor Formation. Each one was an excellent defensive formation of the third tier, and all of them were incredibly complex and difficult to master. In fact, the very complex Dark Blue Profound Armor Formation was the simplest among them. It took Luo Chen half a decade of study to even reach the Beginner level. What he intended to do now was to use part of Penglai's refinement art to create a defensive item based on this formation.

He could not yet inscribe the full Two Poles Six Shields Formation, so he wanted to see if he could incorporate just the Dark Blue Profound Armor Formation. He would use the same crafting method, along with some formations and materials, to create a similar but lesser treasure. If the attempt failed, the cost would remain manageable. If it succeeded, he would gain valuable experience.

As Luo Chen examined the meteorite, he frowned once again. He turned toward the shores of Surging Lake. "Oh? The unwanted guests have finally arrived!"

***

The Hidden Dragon Mountain Range stretched for thousands of li, seemingly without end. Legends claimed that this was the resting place of a fallen Titan Beast. Because of this, it became the headquarters of the Myriad Immortal Society, where countless rogue cultivators lived in seclusion. Mountains rose and fell in waves, and ravines crisscrossed throughout. Rivers flowed through the land, lakes spread here and there, and both bird demons and land beasts were commonly seen. It was a prime cultivation spot, and if not for its remote location and its past connection to the Primordial Devil Sect, which kept other forces from encroaching, how could such a place have fallen into the hands of the Society?

The eight-hundred-li Surging Lake was located in the southern part of the mountain range. It had long been well known within the Society. Its reputation came from an awkward situation, where the lake contained several third-tier spirit veins and more than twenty second-tier ones, but they were all spread across hundreds of li. It was a dream cultivation land for ordinary Adepts and Initiates, yet the Society did not lease it out in smaller portions. It had to be rented as a whole, and the rent was the same as that of top-grade third-tier cave residences. Because of this, ordinary Adepts did not consider it, and wealthier ones also passed it over as a long-term base. It was not a matter of cost but of value. Not everyone was like Luo Chen, able to set up formations and raise the spirit veins to a higher grade.

For these reasons, Surging Lake had remained vacant for many years, until the now-famous Devil Lord Azure Yang took residence.

Today, however, Surging Lake received a group of unannounced guests. From the sky, a brilliant cloud vessel slowly descended; its pressure sent ripples across the lake. The Qi Refinement cultivators stationed at Tempest Pavilion by the lakeside looked tense, and one of them carefully stepped forward to welcome the visitors.

"May I have your name, Senior? Do you have a visiting card? Shall I inform Master Azure Yang of your arrival?"

He did not mention the Zhang family of Lotus Picking Island. A cloud vessel as grand as this was clearly an enchanted treasure; someone who could afford one wouldn't possibly lower themselves to visit a mere Foundation Establishment family. The most likely reason was that they had come for the master of Surging Lake, just like Devil's Cloud had not long ago.

On the cloud vessel, there were over a hundred Initiates. Their expressions were cold, and none showed any intention of answering the Zhang family cultivator's inquiry. Then, they suddenly parted, leaving a path open. Seven figures emerged—young and old, men and women, each one radiating powerful spirit pressure.

The Tempest Pavilion cultivator gulped down hard; his legs trembled so badly he could barely stand. Seven Adepts!

The one in the lead wore a purple robe; his forehead was broad, and his eyes were sharp. He glanced at the Qi Refinement cultivator, then nodded to an elder beside him. The elder did not hesitate and flicked out an item that flew into the Qi Refinement cultivator's hands. "This is the visiting card from our master. Go inform your master at once and don't delay our business!"

The Qi Refinement cultivator still felt tense, but he let out a quiet breath of relief. At least they were not forcing their way in. He took the card and entered the pavilion. Inside, he placed it on a stone platform and inserted a spirit stone. Then, spirit light flared. The golden card slowly floated within it before gently settling down after a moment. By the lakeside, the seven Adepts were conversing.

"Master, the overseer of Surging Lake truly lacks bearing. The cultivators guarding his base are only in the Qi Refinement Realm; he cannot even produce a single Initiate."

"Yeah, it is rather laughable, Master. Any major force would at least have an Initiate guarding the entrance."

Though the seven appeared to be a cohesive group, only two spoke often. Both were men of advanced age, and both addressed the one in the lead as "master" with every sentence. The others joined in from time to time and kept a pleasant demeanor, but when they spoke to the man in purple, they used more familiar forms of address, "Fellow Daoist," "Dao Brother," or "Brother Huangfu."

Huangfu Song watched the scene with a smile. "A place like this should go to someone worthy of it. For a lone cultivator like Azure Yang to occupy it... feels like a waste."

But when he picked up the energy signature of the formation within the pavilion, his brows arched slightly. "This formation is quite interesting. It reminds me a bit of the beacon towers from the Great Zhou, but there's something different about it. Looks like it can transmit the message on the visiting card."

Someone nearby heard this and chimed in, "I've heard he is a master artisan. People like that usually know formations, too. Maybe this is just a modified low-tier formation he came up with."

Huangfu Song curled his lips slightly but said nothing. Instead, the black-robed elder at his side scoffed. "You've all been fooled. Azure Yang is only somewhat famous among low-tier rogue cultivators. At best, he can craft top-grade artifacts. Any one of us could do that if they took a couple decades to study artisanship. How can someone like that call himself a master?"

The others nodded with faint smiles but did not say much in response. At some point, someone pointed into the distance. Faint streaks of light rose and fell among the mountains and drifting clouds, all watching from afar.

Huangfu Song felt a trace of irritation. Most of these Adepts were drawn by the Nascent Soul Formation method of the Great Zhou and had no real loyalty. The only ones he could truly rely on were the two elders. At the same time, he felt secretly pleased. By arriving at Surging Lake in such a grand and deliberate manner, he had drawn out many rogue cultivators from the mountain range to watch the spectacle. With more spectators, it would be far easier to negotiate with Azure Yang. And if negotiations failed, he could force a public confrontation. With so many witnesses, Azure Yang would have no room to deny defeat. After all, high-tier cultivators cared about their pride.