Chu Mu could also clearly sense that after this substantive change, the illusory long saber’s tempering of his Divine Soul Magical Power had become noticeably more potent.

Consequently, the healing of his Divine Soul Injury had also quickened considerably.

Otherwise, he estimated this injury would have taken at least half a year, if not a full year, to heal.

Extending his Divine Sense into his Storage Bag, he saw all sorts of Spiritual Materials, all neatly stacked within the Storage Space.

The Artifact Refining Formulas all came from the Black Market, and none were of high grade. Naturally, he had already fully prepared the corresponding Spiritual Materials.

This included the Pill Recipe for the Body Tempering Pill, for which he had also found several sets of the corresponding Spiritual Materials.

None of them were particularly high-grade Spiritual Materials. Gathering them was a bit of a hassle, but as long as he had enough Spirit Stones, it was just an inconvenience.

’It shouldn’t be a problem.’

Chu Mu mused silently. His Divine Soul Injury was on the verge of healing. As long as he didn’t overexert his Divine Sense, there shouldn’t be any issues.

While he was lost in thought, the miniature isolation Restriction he had set up in the room activated.

The door closed, and Chu Mu sat cross-legged in the room. He then took out the newly purchased Upper Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace.

Having seen something far superior, this Upper Grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnace—an item he once could only dream of—failed to stir any strong emotions in Chu Mu.

With a casual wave of his hand, the nine Spirit Medicines for the Body Tempering Pill appeared beside him.

The Spiritual Fire ignited, and he immediately began refining the Body Tempering Pill.

He was long familiar with the Body Tempering Pill. Having recuperated for nearly a year and studied it extensively, combined with his own foundation in Alchemy, he knew the process by heart.

The refining process was fluid and flawless. Before long, a furnace of Body Tempering Pills was complete.

In half a day, he had completed a total of three batches of Body Tempering Pills.

He placed the dozens of Body Tempering Pills into a Jade Bottle. After meditating for a moment, his gaze settled on the pile of Spiritual Materials beside him.

There were eighty-eight types of Spiritual Materials in total. Forty-two were Spirit Ores; the rest were a wide variety of auxiliary Spiritual Materials.

For example, just for inscribing Artifact Patterns, there were six types of Spiritual Materials, each with different properties and applications.

As for the Array Prohibition, the core power source of a Magical Artifact, it was even more complex, and the Spiritual Materials required were of a higher grade.

Some complex Magical Artifacts even required a blend of multiple Spiritual Materials just to withstand the Spiritual Power impact from the active Array Prohibition.

Moreover, whether it was for inscribing Array Prohibitions or Artifact Patterns, the Spiritual Materials used had to be compatible with the Magical Artifact’s main material. Only then could the Magical Artifact’s power be fully unleashed.

Clearly, every Artifact Refining Formula was far more complex than any Alchemy Formula.

And this was just for refining a single Magical Artifact.

He had originally thought that the Puppetry Skill was an advanced form of the Artifact Refining Skill.

But after truly delving into the Artifact Refining Skill and accumulating knowledge over this period, he discovered that the reality was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

The Puppetry Skill was an advancement of the Artifact Refining Skill—that part was correct, but... it also seemed to be wrong.

Because regardless of whether it was Puppets, Flying Boats, or any of the other various creations, the core was always the Artifact Refining Skill.

A Puppet, for instance, was essentially composed of multiple Artifact Creations combined together.

The same principle applied to Flying Boats.

A single Artifact Creation exists on its own, with its own distinct function and effect.

Whereas things like Puppets and Flying Boats were composite—or, one might say, combinatorial—Artifact Creations.

Their principles were interconnected and all fell within the framework of the Artifact Refining Skill; it wasn’t as if the Puppetry Skill represented a completely different framework of knowledge.

This point was also extremely obvious when he looked at the Puppetry Skill, which had always seemed just out of his reach.

As his knowledge of the Artifact Refining Skill grew and broadened, the once-profound knowledge of the Puppetry Skill seemed to be slowly unveiling its mysteries before him, no longer as incomprehensible as a celestial tome.

’Time to begin...’

Chu Mu took a deep breath, recalled one of the Artifact Refining Formulas, and his hands began to move.

He had understood the knowledge, but it was only a theoretical understanding. Ultimately, he needed to accumulate practical experience to truly make it his own and internalize it as part of his foundational knowledge.

In the days that followed, Chu Mu’s nearly year-long period of leisure came to a complete end. The four Artifact Refining Formulas became the entirety of his life.

As time passed, the wind and snow that covered the city slowly began to melt away.

New buds bloomed on the withered mountain trees, and the green of young seedlings could be seen in the fields. As all of nature was reviving, the door that had been tightly shut for nearly two months finally opened.

Chu Mu walked out. The room behind him was completely empty, leaving no trace behind, just like the melted snow.

Upon reaching the city, his eyes were met with a bustling scene. In his memory, both the former Jade Emperor Valley and the current Jade Emperor City had been prosperous and noisy.

But compared to the worldly clamor before him now, they had clearly lacked a certain charm.

It was as if back in Jade Emperor City, he would have to be heavily disguised, his true self always hidden in the deepest recesses, almost never revealed to others.

He was like this, as were the vast majority of Cultivators.

No matter how prosperous and bustling it was, it seemed to be a superficial illusion, merely a convergence of interests.

Chu Mu looked down at the Sound Transmission Talisman in his hand. It remained completely still. He hadn’t heard the once-chattering voice for a long time.

He exhaled softly, his expression complex. He didn’t linger, heading straight out of the city.

Once outside the city, seeing no one around, he habitually broke into a full-speed run.

But this time, after running for several hundred meters, Chu Mu abruptly stopped.

Immediately, an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact Flying Sword appeared, hovering before him.

He leaped up, the sword’s light flickered, and in the next second, he was already standing on the blade, suspended in mid-air.

Thanks to his profound Body Refining Cultivation and the control over Power he had honed in the mortal world, Chu Mu stood steadily on the Flying Sword. With his hands behind his back and his green robes fluttering slightly, he seemed rooted to the spot, not swaying in the slightest.

The next second, the sword’s tip pointed toward the sky, and it shot upward.

The wind howled, but Chu Mu remained steady on the sword’s spine. A semicircular barrier of light had formed in front of him, shielding him from the rushing air.

Hundreds of meters above the ground, he looked down to see the magnificent landscape unfurling below like a majestic scroll painting, clear in his sight.

Flying through the sky for the very first time, Chu Mu couldn’t hide his excitement. He controlled the Flying Sword, playfully experimenting in all sorts of ways.

The Flying Sword was very fast. When urged on with all his might, it wasn’t much slower than when he ran using his Divine Wind Boots.

But... the Flying Sword was, after all, an attack-type Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact. Flying was merely a secondary function, and the Magical Power consumption was by no means small.

Only after he had familiarized himself with all of the Flying Sword’s functions and the techniques of Sword Flight did Chu Mu finally stop his playful experiments.

The streak of sword-light flew across the sky above the mountain forest, finally vanishing directly into the roiling clouds at the mountainside, leaving not a single trace behind...

...