"I want to meet him, talk with him, and exchange ideas on artifact refinement. Those ideas... may even inspire me." Dong Liushui submitted his request with great caution.

"There will be an opportunity." As Xu Qiexing spoke, he turned toward Zhang Jianlin. "This artifact-refinement master... His name is Yaoguang, right? Does he have any requirements in daily life or work?"

He then immediately added to Zhao Siliang, "His personal safety must be guaranteed without fail."

"Please rest assured. I have already given instructions. A third-tier star lord will personally lead a team to protect him," Zhao Siliang replied at once.

"That’s not enough!" Dong Liushui spoke up immediately. "I suggest we directly apply the protection standards of an artifact-refinement grandmaster. Arrange a team consisting of one primordial psyche expert, one Foundation Building cultivator, and two star lords to ensure his safety."

"Grandmaster standards?" Xu Qiexing, Zhao Siliang, Xiang Tianheng, and the others were all startled inwardly.

"While I was verifying the performance of this flying sword, I had a strong feeling," Dong Liushui said solemnly. "I believe Lord Yaoguang would already be able to refine astra-level flying swords; it's not a matter of insufficient vision, nor lack of experience. Instead, he seems to be stuck because of something. But that obstacle does not feel like a true bottleneck to me. Once he crosses it, he should immediately step into the realm of an artifact-refinement grandmaster."

"An obstacle?"

"He’s stuck? Where exactly?"

"Array arts?" The others were confused.

"I don’t know either. That’s why I want to meet him. If we can communicate openly, we might uncover the root of his difficulty and allow him to gain the ability to refine astras." Dong Liushui shook his head.

"I will try my best to arrange it." After some thought, Zhao Siliang gave his answer.

Zhang Jianlin hesitated briefly before speaking. "Perhaps... I know where he’s stuck."

"Hmm?!" Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Primordial Psyche Realm great cultivator.

He did not keep them in suspense. After glancing at Zhao Siliang, he said, "Sect Master, have you forgotten? He is neither at the Foundation Building Realm nor at the Primordial Psyche Realm."

The moment those words fell, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck Zhao Siliang’s mind. "A great cultivator! H-He isn’t even a great cultivator yet!"

The others immediately understood. Without being a great cultivator, one’s insight into heaven and earth was far less vivid. In terms of capability, perception, vision, and reaction, they all fell short of great cultivators. When researching secondary professions such as artifact refinement, array arts, or alchemy, their progress was naturally slower.

"So that’s it! That’s it!" Dong Liushui suddenly realized the truth and said hurriedly, "That must be the issue. There’s a very high chance he’s stuck right there. If we can help him become a great cultivator, he will break through that obstacle in a very short time and become a true artifact-refinement grandmaster!"

"Yaoguang must understand this as well!" Zhang Jianlin exclaimed. "Earlier, I asked him what help he needed if the higher-ups truly confirmed that he had the potential to become an artifact-refinement grandmaster. His answer was ten thousand spirit stones! Ten thousand spirit stones. What does that make you think of?"

"Ten thousand spirit stones..." With the hint about great cultivators in mind, the others quickly arrived at the answer. "A Psyche-Transforming Pill?"

"Exactly. A Psyche-Transforming Pill that strengthens spiritual thought and allows qi to transform into psyche," Zhang Jianlin said.

"A Psyche-Transforming Pill... It merely simulates a trace of Dharma Form, using a Heaven-and-Earth Imitation state to contain vast amounts of spiritual qi before transforming qi into psyche. I’m afraid that alone wouldn’t be enough for a cultivator at the ninth realm of psyche refinement to condense a primordial psyche," Xu Qiexing replied, sounding doubtful.[1]

"Yaoguang is different," Zhang Jianlin said seriously. "People from the Purple Firmament Institute have said that Chief Yaoguang can already display a trace of the profundities of the primordial psyche. That shows his foundation in psyche refinement is extremely deep. On top of that, the Psyche-Transforming Pill itself aids in condensing a primordial psyche. If he takes such a pill, he may very well step straight into the Primordial Psyche Realm in one go and become a true great cultivator."

"He already has a trace of the profundities of the primordial psyche?"

"It's settled then."

"I remember the records saying that Yaoguang is very young. Not even thirty?"

As they exchanged remarks, Xu Qiexing even let out a self-mocking laugh. "At this point, there’s no way I’d believe Yaoguang joined our Nine Cauldrons Sect with ill intent."

The weight of a master in a secondary profession often surpassed that of ninth-realm body, qi, and psyche cultivators, and was only slightly below that of great cultivators. As for a grandmaster, that status ranked just beneath Golden Core cultivators! It was enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with cultivators who had established an immortal foundation.

What was the chance of someone under thirty who could condense a primordial psyche and possessed artifact-refinement grandmaster standards infiltrating the Nine Cauldrons Sect? To put it bluntly, the Nine Cauldrons Sect wasn’t worthy of that.

"Yaoguang came from a vassal world. According to the information we have, when he first arrived, he didn’t immediately choose to join our Nine Cauldrons Sect. Instead, he stayed in a place called the Hundred-Refinement Sect in Longxiang City to observe. That shows that while we were evaluating him, he was also evaluating us. Therefore, we absolutely cannot let such a talent feel disheartened," Zhao Siliang said.

"Just the third-generation high-grade spirit sword he produced is worth ten thousand spirit stones!" Xu Qiexing made a swift decision and waved his hand magnanimously. "It's just a Psyche-Transforming Pill. Give it to him! In addition, allocate another three thousand spirit stones as a personal reward!"

After speaking, he turned to Xiang Tianheng. "Zhanlu Institute's orders can be suspended. All high-end spirit sword procurement will be shifted to the Purple Firmament Institute. Start with three thousand swords!"

"Cough, cough..." Hearing the number "three thousand," Xiang Tianheng nearly choked.

After a long moment, he gave a bitter smile. "We don’t have the spirit stones." With a cost of 1600 and a purchase price of at least 800, an order of 3000 swords meant 5.4 million spirit stones.

The Sword Cultivator Department's annual procurement budget was only a little over two million. If this order went through, the Sword Cultivator Department wouldn’t be able to consider replacing any equipment for the next two years.

"Reduce the order quantity," Zhao Siliang said. "High-grade spirit artifacts ultimately have bigger consumption."

In theory, whether it was spirit artifacts or treasured artifacts, low-grade equipment offered the best cost-effectiveness, while high-grade equipment delivered the most advanced and refined performance. However, the high-end performance of high-grade equipment was rarely fully utilized, yet its energy consumption was several times that of low-grade equipment.

As a result, when considering overall cost-effectiveness, the equipment of many sects would consist of low-grade gear for roughly 60%, with middle-grade and high-grade equipment accounting for about 20% each.

Spirit stones were needed for cultivation, daily operations, and every aspect of life. No one had enough of them, which meant they had to be spent sparingly.

Of course, once a full-scale, life-or-death war broke out, cost-effectiveness had to take a back seat to raw performance. And if there were enough spirit stones, energy consumption would no longer be an issue.

"The order volume can’t be reduced. Otherwise, wouldn’t all the effort Yaoguang poured into this flying sword be wasted?" Xu Qiexing said.

Xiang Tianheng pondered for a moment before replying, "The spirit artifacts Chief Yaoguang provided have shown us hope of swiftly crushing the Xuanming Sect. In that case, we should equip our most elite disciples with high-grade spirit swords. As for numbers... I think one thousand would be appropriate. One thousand people would be enough to annihilate the Xuanming Sect’s elite forces."

The Xuanming Sect likely had fewer than one thousand elite high-tier sword cultivators. Once they were crushed, the sect would be left with no sword cultivators at the ninth realm. The remaining seventh- and eighth-realm cultivators could still rely on arrays to defend, but if they dared step onto the front lines, they'd simply be sending themselves to their deaths.

Basically, once the ninth-realm cultivators were wiped out, the Xuanming Sect would be unable to recover for at least a decade. The dispute over Posuo Island would naturally be resolved.

"Can your side come up with 1.8 million spirit stones?" Xu Qiexing asked.

"No. That’s why we’ll need the spell cultivator and body cultivator procurement departments to coordinate and help with reallocation," Xiang Tianheng replied.

"That’s the only right thing to do. Even if we have to borrow spirit stones from other departments, we can’t let the hard work our people put into designing this go to waste, especially when this flying sword is so outstanding." Xu Qiexing settled the matter and then said to Xiang Tianheng, "When the time comes, accompany Sect Master Zhao and the others on a trip to meet Chief Yaoguang. You'll have two tasks: to escort the Psyche-Transforming Pill, and to explain our difficulties to him."

"Understood," Xiang Tianheng replied.

Zhao Siliang and Zhang Jianlin nodded as well. This was the best possible outcome.

***

Compared to Zong Yan and Ji Pingtian, who were still lingering in Longxiang City, the Xie family had already gradually relocated to the capital of the Nine Heavens Domain, Nine Heavens City. The graduation banquet was being held at a well-known restaurant in the capital.

To ensure the banquet’s success, and also to seize this opportunity to break into Nine Heavens City’s upper circles, the Xie family invested a tremendous amount of manpower and resources. It was said that the banquet alone cost no less than one million.

Moreover, more than a month earlier, they had re-established contact with the Murong family, which once shared a close relationship with them. They had even gone so far as to present heavy gifts worth over ten spirit stones. By leveraging the Murong family’s reputation, they ensured that every guest who was invited, without exception, held status and standing within the Nine Heavens City.

Xie Yushu, the Xie family’s figurehead, who had already become a high-tier cultivator after taking a Heavenly Being Pill, was standing alongside Murong Yun, the Murong family’s sixth granduncle and a seventh-realm spell cultivator, welcoming one distinguished guest after another.

Yet, as they greeted the guests, both Xie Yushu and Murong Yun kept casting expectant glances in a certain direction. A man who looked to be in his fifties stepped forward. "Have Officer Liu, President Fang, and Director Luo arrived yet?"

"Third Brother," Murong Yun greeted him, then said, "Those three haven’t given a definite response, so I don’t know either."

"If even they haven’t come, then it looks like that major figure definitely won’t be coming."

The man addressed as "Third Brother," Murong Yuan, said regretfully. Afterward, he glanced at Xie Yushu. "Your Xie family really missed a great opportunity. You knew that person was extraordinarily talented. How could your attitude change so much after moving here?"

Xie Yushu gave a bitter smile. "We never lacked proper courtesy. We still visit him every few days... It’s just that he was far too busy and had very little time to see us."

"In the end, your attitude during that first month wasn’t sincere enough. You missed the opportunity for nothing," Murong Yuan said.

"We’ve always done what we should. Just a few days ago, we even had someone deliver a local specialty, but we still didn’t get to see him. Now... the gap between us has become too wide. We’re no longer on the same level." Xie Yushu shook his head.

Hearing this, Murong Yuan said nothing more. Even with the Murong family’s help, the Xie family had at best reached the level of a wealthy household.

Relying on the assets they brought from a vassal world, they had acquired tens of millions in assets here, as well as over a hundred spirit stones. But how many spirit stones were now left was another matter...

They did not master any skills or special abilities. Unless Xie Yushi truly rose to prominence in the future, they would only be able to live off those assets. Modest wealth was easy to maintain, but gaining status or wielding power was a distant hope.

"I’ll go inside and accompany the other guests," Murong Yuan said before turning and leaving.

Xie Yushu nodded with a bitter smile. Suddenly, a hovering car pulled up. It was expensive, but among the many luxury vehicles present, it was not particularly eye-catching. A moment after it stopped, Yaoguang and Zong Yan stepped out of the car together.

1. Heaven-and-Earth Imitation is a divine ability used by Sun Wukong in the Chinese classic, Journey to the West. It allows the user to grow to a colossal size, reflecting the vastness of the universe, and is used to describe immense, awe-inspiring power. ☜