The Wanderer Bugui fell into a brief silence. He considered it highly likely that the Black Wolf Clan possessed ancient artifact-refining methods; after all, records stated that the Black Wolf Clan originally hailed from the Divine Realm.
Glancing at the Core Formation cultivator he had restrained, the Wanderer Bugui said, "Once I have finished dealing with this business regarding the Tie family, I shall return to chat with you young ones!"
Cangyu Shenjun was overjoyed. If the Jade Profound Sect could receive guidance from a Grandmaster Refiner, it would be a monumental blessing.
He looked at the Core Formation disciple from the Tie family and asked, "If it is convenient, Fellow Daoist, pray tell how this junior offended you? Any matters regarding the Tie family can be handled by this seat."
The Wanderer Bugui gave a sinister chuckle. "It is no great matter. I simply saw that this junior possessed exceptional latent talent and wished to take him as my disciple. Yet the boy knows not what is good for him; he actually dared to run away while I was out. Hmph! Since he is unwilling, I shall insist on taking him!" His eccentric and perverse nature was on full display.
The onlookers reacted with a variety of expressions. Cangyu Shenjun looked at the Tie family youth with a look of disappointment, as if frustrated that the boy was failing to live up to such an opportunity.
Li Xue curled her lip. Both were taking disciples, yet she remembered how refined and cultured Daoist Ruihua had been by comparison. Li Lin’s face remained indifferent, showing no emotion, but Hei Yan was already calculating. In artifact refining, much like alchemy, a Fire Spiritual Root was best. Furthermore, both his Mistress and Li Lin possessed Yang-attribute spiritual natures—they were the finest possible candidates for refining. This Wanderer Bugui was truly blind; how could that Tie family boy compare to his Mistress or Li Lin?
Hei Yan was debating whether to bring this up to see if the Wanderer Bugui might offer them some guidance when he heard the Wanderer speak again.
"To be my disciple is to inherit my true legacy. As long as one guards my sect for a few thousand years, reaching the rank of Grandmaster is entirely possible. To think he tried to flee from such a windfall... it truly infuriates me!"
The moment Hei Yan heard the requirement of guarding a sect for several thousand years, he swallowed his words and felt relieved that he hadn't spoken up. He knew perfectly well that his Mistress and Li Lin intended to search for Li Ran. While a few thousand years was not long for high-level cultivators, it was far too long for his Mistress. It was not a worthwhile trade.
Cangyu Shenjun, however, took it quite seriously. To them, a few thousand years was nothing. He began calculating whether he should send some Jade Profound Sect disciples along with this old eccentric, Bugui. One had to remember that the Fangyuan Star Region was a supreme holy land for cultivation.
"Senior, why not head to the Jade Profound Sect first? Once this Tie family friend wakes up and the benefits are explained clearly to him, I am certain he will be willing!" Yu Nanshan interjected at that moment.
The Wanderer Bugui nodded upon hearing this. "The junior speaks sense. To the Jade Profound Sect, then!"
Delighted, Cangyu Shenjun led the Wanderer Bugui toward the sect.
After this commotion, Li Xue and the others had no heart left for wandering the markets. They boarded Yu Nanshan’s white jade flying carriage and returned to the Jade Profound Sect.
Back at the sect, Li Xue carefully studied the Wanderer Bugui’s insights on artifact refining. Unfortunately, she truly lacked an affinity for the craft and eventually abandoned her plans to learn it.
Li Lin, however, was very interested and frequently sought guidance from Daoist Nanqing.
As for the Wanderer Bugui, ever since arriving at the Jade Profound Sect, he had become intensely interested in Yu Nanqing, promptly tossing the Tie family youth to the back of his mind. Such was the fickle nature of an eccentric cultivator.
The Yu family of the Jade Profound Sect was also very decisive. Yu Nanqing formally took the Wanderer Bugui as his master in the name of the Yu family. Nanqing himself was more than willing; being able to learn from a Grandmaster Refiner was a dream come true.
Li Xue felt a bit skeptical. Could someone who already belonged to a sect take another master? Wouldn't that cause chaos in the hierarchy?
Chi Ze explained, "Master, in the cultivation world, strength is the ultimate authority. Moreover, since they are from two different star regions, there aren't as many restrictions. Besides, Uncle Nanqing is learning artifact refining from the Wanderer Bugui. In the cultivation world, it is quite normal to have multiple masters for different skills."
So that was how it worked. Li Xue decided that if Li Lin wanted to learn refining, she would let him be. Although the Wanderer Bugui was eccentric, he wasn't an irredeemably evil cultivator.
Back then, they had been caught in his wake and teleported to an unknown place, but that had led to the fortuitous encounter where she gained Chi Ze as a spirit beast. Now, through the exchange of materials, the old grudge was considered settled.
With the Wanderer Bugui’s guidance, Yu Nanqing managed to refine the low-tier forms of the Five Elements artifacts five months later. Thus, searching for the mid-tier material, Kun-Thunder Soil, became an immediate necessity.
According to the Wanderer Bugui, while traveling through the northern reaches of the Hongmeng Star Region, he had once discovered traces of Kun-Thunder Soil on a desolate planet. However, at the time, he had been desperate to find Heaven-Extinguishing Wood and had not stopped to explore.
A Star Marker is an essential "steering wheel" for interstellar travel. The Wanderer Bugui used a high-grade treasure Star Marker, but this type had a flaw: its capacity was limited, holding only about a dozen star region maps. A Star-Fixing Compass, on the other hand, could hold countless maps and even featured automatic positioning. Of course, a Star-Fixing Compass fell into the category of Immortal Artifacts.
Wind-Thunder Star was a lifeless planet. According to the Star Marker, it was very far from Gold-Bright Star, requiring the use of twelve teleportation arrays followed by a flight from a transit star. This necessitated a void-flight artifact; for short-distance travel, a mid-grade artifact or higher would suffice.
Sect Master Yu Yuntian generously gifted Li Xue a high-grade flying artifact named the Flying Cloud Boat. This was the most commonly used vessel for travel between star regions.
Li Xue felt a wave of emotion. She had thought they were relatively wealthy because they had the ten-thousand-year spirit herbs from the Dream Realm and her alchemy skills as a foundation. However, after arriving in the Hongmeng Star Region, they were still quite strapped for resources, lacking even the most basic equipment for void travel. Even their Star Marker had been a gift from the Wanderer Bugui, who simply couldn't stand watching them flip through jade slips of star maps anymore. Perhaps their strength was still insufficient; regardless, Li Xue resolved that in addition to working hard on her cultivation, earning spirit stones was a must.
After roughly twenty days of teleporting, Li Xue, Li Lin, Hei Yan, and Chi Ze finally arrived at the transit star nearest to Wind-Thunder Star.
The four of them meditated for a moment to bring themselves to peak condition. Li Xue summoned the Flying Cloud Boat and performed several hand seals. The boat expanded to about two square zhang in size. The four boarded the vessel and flew toward Wind-Thunder Star following the Star Marker's guidance.
This was the first time the four of them had used an artifact to fly through the void, and they felt a bit nervous. They stared ahead, constantly monitoring the conditions of the void, fearing they might collide with some unidentified flying object.
The Flying Cloud Boat was incredibly fast, far surpassing a flying sword. It provided warnings when encountering obstacles and even possessed combat capabilities. At the very front of the boat was an attack formation; as long as there were spirit stones and the correct seals were used, the formation would activate. The boat's offensive power was equivalent to the early Core Formation stage.
Li Xue had been quite amazed and excited when she first learned of this. This level of artifact-refining technology was countless times more sophisticated than modern fighter jets; all it required was an attack formation and spirit stones.
***
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Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 109 | Quest for Kun-Thunder Soil | Novela.app | Novela.app
