Chapter 39: I Want to Establish My Foundation! I Want to Establish My Foundation! I Want to Establish My Foundation! |
Hongmei's anger was justified.
If the shopkeeper of the Golden Light Pavilion hadn't withheld his payment to force him to craft artifacts, he would have taken his disciples far away from this mess long ago.
"Master, are we still continuing with the artifact refining?" Yulou stood up, no longer tending the charcoal.
Hongmei furrowed his brows. "Let's go out and take a look. We'll settle the bill first, and if there's a chance, we'll leave."
He was only short this sum of spirit stones for his Foundation Establishment resources. If he got his hands on it smoothly, he would immediately start preparing for his Foundation Establishment.
He had absolutely no desire to get involved in the mess at Hidden Dragon Market.
The shopkeeper of the Golden Light Pavilion stood unhurriedly at the doorway, looking up at the magical combat in the sky. After hearing Hongmei's intentions, he smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Hongmei, rest assured. Even if the Gu Shen Sect takes over Hidden Dragon Market, our Golden Light Pavilion will remain open!
"You no longer need to refine two items. Just finish refining that Golden Spear with thirty-two layers of restrictions, and I will definitely give you your spirit stones. I'll even add an extra two hundred as an apology."
Hongmei quietly looked at the shopkeeper, whose cultivation base was similar to his own. A hint of murderous intent flickered in his eyes.
Obstructing his path of cultivation!
In the sky above, Jiuqu, the leader of the town guards from Wondrous Peak Mountain, led his men in magical combat against the cultivators of the Gu Shen Sect.
Both sides unleashed everything they had, fighting in a dazzling display of multicolored light.
On the ground, the pitiful laborer Hongmei was engaged in a difficult struggle of his own against the running dog of an Immortal Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Their statuses were entirely different, and this particular clash was filled with nothing but bitterness.
"Once the dust settles in Hidden Dragon Market, I will return to refine it at the very first opportunity. Fellow Daoist, what do you say?" Hongmei continued to negotiate.
The shopkeeper replied with a smile, "I've told you several times, Brother Hongmei. Even if the Gu Shen Sect arrives, our Golden Light Pavilion will be perfectly fine. Why can't you understand?
"I took on this custom order for you, yet you can't deliver the goods. Now you want to settle the payment early? You're making things very difficult for me."
Helpless, Hongmei could only return to his artifact refining furnace and continue his work.
Yulou and Yu'an didn't know what to do either. Fate had unexpectedly swept them up into this chaotic mess. As insignificant little cultivators in the Qi Drawing realm, there wasn't much they could do.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
Shouts of slaughter echoed from outside. With his vigilance pushed to the maximum, Yulou realized that the voices were terrifyingly close.
Hidden Dragon Market was protected by a grand formation array. The Gu Shen Sect cultivators were attacking it from the outside, while the town guard leader, Jiuqu, led the Wondrous Peak Mountain cultivators in its defense.
How could anyone be causing havoc so close by?
"Master, something isn't right!" Yulou warned.
He worried that someone was taking advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble.
Even Wang Rongsheng knew that the Gu Shen Sect was going to attack, yet there were still so many cultivators left in Hidden Dragon Market.
As a unique market town, Hidden Dragon Market did not have a Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed to oversee it. If someone started causing trouble, the situation would become extremely dangerous!
Prompted by Yulou's warning, Hongmei did not let his guard down.
This time, he completely abandoned the artifact refining and immediately summoned his personal defensive magical artifact into his hand.
Looking at the small golden tower in his master's hand, Yulou felt an intense wave of envy.
If orb-shaped magical artifacts were considered the floor of magical artifacts, then tower-shaped ones were the absolute ceiling.
The jade tower Hongmei held was constructed with gold for its bones and stone for its flesh. It was roughly the size of an adult man's forearm. At a single glance, it was clearly a high-grade magical artifact.
The only question was how many layers of restrictions the small tower contained.
Tower-shaped magical artifacts were troublesome to refine, but they were the best for arranging restrictions.
Yulou estimated that based on its appearance, one could easily stuff thirty layers of restrictions inside the tower.
"Come outside with me and take a look!"
Hongmei felt uneasy about leaving the two children alone indoors, so he decided to keep them by his side.
In Wunan, the Ten Sects and the Immortal Alliance ruled the heavens; no Foundation Establishment cultivator would dare risk universal condemnation by attacking those in the Qi Refining realm.
As a Peak Qi Condensation realm cultivator on the verge of Foundation Establishment, proficient in fire arts, and possessing numerous magical artifacts, Hongmei feared no opponent in the same tier!
Now that Hidden Dragon Market had descended into chaos, keeping his two disciples by his side was the safest approach.
"Fellow Daoist Hongmei, come quickly and help me! Many rogue cultivators are trying to fish in troubled waters!"
Outside, the shopkeeper was leading several clerks in a bitter struggle against masked cultivators. Hongmei fixed his gaze on them and stopped in his tracks.
Yu'an wanted to activate his magical artifact and talismans to charge forward, but Yulou was quick-handed and pulled him back.
With their meager magical power, it wasn't worth the risk. It would be better to save their energy to activate the Hundred-Li Wanderer Escape Talisman and run away once the grand formation array broke!
Hongmei didn't speak; he merely silently summoned six flying swords!
What was a Master Artificer?
It meant using six pieces of eighth-grade black steel to refine six mid-grade flying swords!
While other artificers desperately tried to refine a high-grade magical artifact using just one piece of eighth-grade base material, Hongmei gave himself preferential treatment, exclusively using eighth-grade black steel to craft mid-grade flying swords.
Did you think Hongmei was stupid?
No, the Wang Clan also used base materials meant for high-grade magical artifacts to refine mid-grade magical artifacts!
This was the overbearing nature exclusive to great clans and major sects—they had no shortage of spirit stones!
The six flying swords shot out simultaneously, heading straight for the rogue cultivators besieging the Golden Light Pavilion. Hongmei shouted, "I am coming to help you!"
Hearing this, the shopkeeper and his clerks immediately intensified their attacks.
Daring to rob the Golden Light Pavilion, those rogue cultivators were no pushovers. Naturally, they wouldn't just offer their necks to be slaughtered. Under the pressure from Hongmei and the others, they instead became even more ferocious.
"Catch these and activate them!" Hongmei commanded, tossing two beads to Yulou and Yu'an.
Since both Yulou and Yu'an were artificers, they naturally understood how to use this kind of orb-shaped magical artifact and quickly activated them.
"Use the Spirit-Calming Mist to limit those rogue cultivators' divine sense!"
A thick grey fog spread out. Under the effects of the Spirit-Calming Mist, a portion of the rogue cultivators began to retreat.
After all, they hadn't formed a team beforehand, and they even guarded against one another. They were far from a united front.
Soon, with Hongmei's help, those overconfident rogue cultivators either fled or died, no longer posing a threat.
As one of Hongmei's flying swords pierced through the chest of the last masked rogue cultivator, the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fellow Daoist Hongmei, if it weren't for you this time—what are you doing?!"
The flying sword that had pierced the rogue cultivator's chest didn't stop; it punched straight through the Golden Light Pavilion's shopkeeper as well.
The Spirit-Calming Mist on the periphery blocked out all the light. The three-hundred-pound Hongmei stood at the doorway of the Golden Light Pavilion. Looking down at the shopkeeper's corpse, he said coldly, "I want to establish my foundation!"
Under Yulou's horrified gaze, the Peak Qi Condensation realm Hongmei manipulated his flying swords, effortlessly slaughtering the Golden Light Pavilion clerks whose magical power was exhausted.
During the magical combat just moments ago, Hongmei had been holding back his full strength. He controlled the situation, allowing those rogue cultivators and the people of the Golden Light Pavilion to drain each other.
Finally, when the Golden Light Pavilion's people were nearly out of magical power, he made his move and ended everything.
After finishing the killings, he flicked his large sleeve. Two sets of formation array flags flew out, enveloping the Golden Light Pavilion.
Then, red tentacles flowed out from Hongmei's magical robe, sweeping the battlefield clean.
"Quickly, go in and empty out everything in the Golden Light Pavilion, and then we leave!"
Hongmei barked at the stunned Yulou and Yu'an.
They couldn't delay for long. The newly raised formation array was based purely on flags; it wouldn't withstand a siege!
Suppressing his fear, Yulou followed Hongmei's instructions and worked with Yu'an to quickly empty everything in the Golden Light Pavilion's main hall.
Hongmei also swiftly located the Golden Light Pavilion's storehouse and successfully acquired what he wanted.
Once that was handled, he set a large fire. That was the final touch.
Yulou saw his master activate a flying carriage magical artifact. He was just about to board it when he noticed Hongmei staring at him.
As their eyes met, Yulou's heart sank.
Yu'an was still foolishly pushing his older brother, urging him to get in quickly.
Yulou's hand, however, had already touched the Hundred-Li Wanderer Escape Talisman hidden in his sleeve.
He gently took a few steps back and spoke obediently to Hongmei, "Master, you should go first. Driving the magical artifact alone, you'll be able to fly much faster!"
Yu'an froze. Realizing something, he also reached for the escape talisman in his sleeve.
But trapped within the formation array, the two brothers had nowhere to run!
With Hidden Dragon Market in turmoil, keeping his two disciples close was the safest approach.
"Fellow Daoist Hongmei, hurry and help me! These rogue cultivators are trying to fish in troubled waters!"
Outside, the shopkeeper and a few assistants were engaged in a desperate, heated battle against several masked cultivators. Hongmei fixed his gaze on them and halted his steps.
Yu'an tried to activate his magical artifacts and talismans to charge forward, but Yulou was quick and held him back.
With their meager mana, it simply wasn't worth the risk. They were better off saving their energy to activate the Hundred-Li Wanderer Escape Talisman and flee the moment the grand formation array broke!
Hongmei didn't say a word. He simply summoned six flying swords!
What exactly defined a Master Artificer?
It was using six pieces of eighth-grade black steel to forge six mid-grade flying swords!
While other artificers bitterly struggled to forge a single high-grade magical artifact from a piece of eighth-grade base material, Hongmei treated himself to a luxury, exclusively using eighth-grade black steel to craft mid-grade flying swords.
Did that make Hongmei foolish?
No. The Wang Clan also used base materials meant for high-grade magical artifacts to craft mid-grade magical artifacts!
This was the overbearing luxury exclusive to great clans and major sects—they had no shortage of spirit stones!
All six flying swords shot out simultaneously, hurtling straight toward the rogue cultivators besieging Golden Light Pavilion. "I've come to aid you!" Hongmei shouted.
Encouraged, the shopkeeper and the assistants instantly unleashed fiercer attacks.
Those bold enough to rob Golden Light Pavilion were no pushovers either. Naturally, they wouldn't just sit and wait for death. Under the combined pressure of Hongmei and the staff, the rogue cultivators grew even more vicious and brutal.
"Catch these and activate them!" Hongmei ordered, tossing two orbs to Yulou and Yu'an.
Since Yulou and Yu'an were both artificers, they already knew how to handle this type of orb-shaped magical artifact and quickly activated them.
"Use the Spirit-Calming Mist to limit the divine sense of those rogue cultivators!"
A thick gray fog billowed outward. Under the effects of the Spirit-Calming Mist, some of the rogue cultivators began to fall back.
After all, they hadn't formed a proper team beforehand and were wary of one another. They were far from a united front.
Soon, with Hongmei's help, the overconfident rogue cultivators either fled or died, no longer posing any threat.
As one of Hongmei's flying swords pierced through the chest of the final masked rogue cultivator, the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fellow Daoist Hongmei, if it wasn't for you this time— What are you doing?!"
The flying sword didn't stop after piercing the rogue cultivator's chest; it drove right through the Golden Light Pavilion shopkeeper as well.
The surrounding Spirit-Calming Mist blocked out all the light. The 150-kilogram Hongmei stood at the doorway of Golden Light Pavilion. Staring down at the shopkeeper's corpse, he spoke coldly.
"I want to reach Foundation Establishment!"
Under Yulou's terrified gaze, the Peak Qi Condensation realm Hongmei manipulated his flying swords, effortlessly slaughtering the Golden Light Pavilion assistants whose mana was already exhausted.
During the magical combat earlier, Hongmei hadn't used his full strength at all. He had been controlling the situation, letting the rogue cultivators slowly drain the staff of Golden Light Pavilion.
Finally, when the Golden Light Pavilion personnel were nearly out of mana, he struck to end everything.
After finishing the slaughter, he flicked his large sleeve. Two sets of formation flags flew out, shrouding Golden Light Pavilion.
Then, red tentacles slithered out from Hongmei's magical robe, beginning to clean up the battlefield.
"Hurry, go inside and empty Golden Light Pavilion, then we leave!"
Hongmei barked sternly at the stunned Yulou and Yu'an.
They couldn't delay for long. The newly erected formation array, based solely on formation flags, wouldn't withstand a siege!
Yulou suppressed his fear. Under Hongmei's orders, he coordinated with Yu'an to swiftly empty everything from Golden Light Pavilion's main hall.
Hongmei also quickly located Golden Light Pavilion's storehouse, smoothly securing the items he desired.
Once that was settled, he ignited a massive fire to erase all traces of their deeds.
Yulou watched his master summon a flying carriage magical artifact. Just as he was about to climb aboard, he noticed Hongmei staring intently at him.
As their eyes met, Yulou's heart sank.
Yu'an was still foolishly pushing his older brother, urging him to hurry and get in.
Yulou's hand, however, had already brushed against the Hundred-Li Wanderer Escape Talisman hidden in his sleeve.
He gently took a few steps backward and spoke obediently to Hongmei, "Master, please go on ahead without us. Flying the magical artifact alone will be much faster!"
Yu'an froze. Realizing what was happening, his hand also reached for the escape talisman in his sleeve.
But trapped within the formation array, the two brothers had nowhere to run!