About half an hour later, Li Mu returned, landing his sword in the stone courtyard.
Seeing the Three-tailed Demon Fox, Xue'er, obediently resting on the lounge chair under the supervision of Xiao Jin and Xiao Wa, Li Mu smiled slightly, waved his hand, and before Xue'er could react, she was immediately taken into Li Mu's Spirit Beast Pouch.
"What are you doing! Let me out!" The Three-tailed Demon Fox, Xue'er, cried out in alarm, her Divine Sense transmitting from within the Spirit Beast Pouch.
"Stay in there and rest for a while! Next, I need to focus on Artifact Refining, and I don't have time to entertain you," Li Mu responded through Divine Sense.
The next moment, Li Mu infused Spirit Power into the Spirit Beast Pouch, causing the Three-tailed Demon Fox, Xue'er, to fall into a deep sleep.
Next, Li Mu planned to refine a 5th Rank mask Spiritual Artifact, which would require High Grade fox demon Materials. To prevent this Three-tailed Demon Fox from causing trouble, he put her into the Spirit Beast Pouch and sealed her away.
For a High Grade Spiritual Artifact to grow and evolve a Spirit, it is extremely difficult, and the conditions for its creation are extremely stringent. For example, the inherent attributes of the Materials used to refine the Spiritual Artifact, the Spiritual Artifact's spiritual intensity, and the Spiritual Artifact's Opportunities, such as: careful nurturing by a powerful owner, enlightenment of its spirituality by a Great Master, blessings from heaven and earth Opportunities, and so on.
In short, the probability of an ordinary 4th or 5th Rank Spiritual Artifact spontaneously developing a Spirit is extremely slim, almost non-existent.
Only Innate Spiritual Artifacts, or High Grade Spiritual Artifacts refined by Great Masters, have a certain chance of producing a Spirit after a long period of time.
Of course, the strength and attributes of the Spirit produced by each Spiritual Artifact will also be related to the Spiritual Artifact's own Foundation.
However, Li Mu used the Divine Refinement Spirit Fusion Method and the assistance of Xiao Bai to smelt a Yao Beast's essence soul into the Spiritual Artifact as it was about to take shape, causing it to produce an Acquired Spirit.
This kind of Spirit, refined using a Yao Beast's essence soul, belongs to Acquired Refinement into a Spirit, which is fundamentally different from a Spirit that spontaneously develops within a Spiritual Artifact.
If the attributes of the Yao Beast essence soul used do not match the attributes of the Spiritual Artifact, the chance of Artifact Refining failure becomes extremely high, and the power bestowed upon the Spiritual Artifact is far weaker than that of a Spirit that naturally grows within the Artifact.
However, a Spiritual Artifact that can produce a Spirit will have its power and spirituality increased by several or even dozens of times, and its value will far exceed that of an ordinary Spiritual Artifact.
Li Mu would never refine an ordinary Spiritual Artifact if he could refine one with a Spirit.
To improve the success rate of Artifact Refining, Li Mu had to find a Yao Beast essence soul that matched the Spiritual Artifact's attributes. The best at illusionary transformations and disguises were undoubtedly fox demon essence souls.
Therefore, this time, when Li Mu went to Tai Xuan Peak's Contribution Hall, he successfully exchanged for a 5th Rank Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul and a piece of 5th Rank Jade-faced Fox Yao belly fur.
Everything was ready.
After rewarding Xiao Jin and Xiao Wa with a bottle of Spirit Pills, Li Mu took Xiao Bai and plunged into the Artifact Refining Room, condensing Five Elements Spiritual Fire to begin Artifact Refining.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai sat on Li Mu's lap, urging him with a chirp.
"You little glutton, get to work first. I'll give you something good to eat after you're done," Li Mu replied grumpily.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai nodded his head, his gaze fixed on the Spiritual Fire in Li Mu's hand, indicating that he understood.
Having helped Li Mu intimidate countless Yao Beast essence souls, Xiao Bai was familiar with the process. He puffed out his small cheeks, and a shocking Soul Power surged from his body, brewing a terrifying soul-devouring force.
Soon, Li Mu's Divine Sense entered the nine storage spiritual pearl. A 5th Order As You Wish Stone, a mass of 5th Rank Illusory Breath Spirit Soil, a piece of 5th Rank Illusory Blood Spirit Crystal, and a piece of 5th Rank Jade-faced Fox Yao belly fur all appeared out of thin air, suspended around the Five Elements Spiritual Fire.
Li Mu fully unleashed his Divine Sense, controlling the Five Elements Spiritual Fire to calcine the several 5th Rank Materials, drawing them together to fuse into one.
The 5th Rank Jade-faced Fox Yao fur was not a mineral Material, and its texture was relatively fragile. Li Mu had no choice but to expend a large amount of Divine Sense to condense a mass of Five Elements Spiritual Water to cool and protect it.
He melted it into a high-temperature molten Five Elements Material, slowly carved patterns onto the Jade-faced Fox Yao fur, fusing with it, and then meticulously carved the Spiritual Artifact's basic formation, arranged the Artifact pattern grids, and so on.
Time flew by, and two days passed.
In the Artifact Refining Room, Li Mu had already condensed the Artifact embryo for the 5th Rank mask Spiritual Artifact. The mixed 5th Rank Materials, the complex Spirit basic formation, and the basic Spiritual Artifact pattern grid positions were all perfectly engraved into the Artifact embryo.
Next, only one step remained: inserting the 5th Rank Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul to complete the Spirit Fusion step of this 5th Rank Spiritual Artifact, after which the final step of condensing the Artifact patterns could be performed.
Li Mu took a deep breath and paused for a moment. Next, he needed to refine the Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul, temper its soul, and integrate it into the Artifact embryo's spirit formation. This was not an easy task.
The Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul was originally a 5th Rank Yao King, with strength comparable to a Nascent Soul True Lord. Although it no longer had a Physical Body, it was proficient in illusionary arts, and even in its ghostly state, it was extremely difficult to deal with.
However, Li Mu also had a Spirit Beast that specialized in restraining soul states. Next, it was Xiao Bai's turn to be useful.
"Xiao Bai, wake up, it's time to start!" Li Mu woke up the dozing Xiao Bai, reminding him.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai woke up, yawned, chirped at Li Mu, and his small face showed a resentful expression.
"I know! This time it's real, I'm not tricking you. I didn't know refining fox fur would be this troublesome!" Li Mu smiled awkwardly and explained.
Li Mu had refined many Spiritual Artifacts, various Spiritual Swords, Spiritual Shields, and so on. Generally, he used High Grade mineral Artifact Refining Materials or wooden Materials. This was his first time refining a Spiritual Artifact with High Grade Yao Beast fur.
Li Mu made some adjustments to his Artifact Refining method to successfully complete the Artifact embryo's refinement.
Li Mu used Five Elements Spiritual Water in the refining of this mask Spiritual Artifact, and the effect was excellent. With the intervention of the Five Elements Spiritual Water, he successfully preserved the spirituality of the 5th Rank Yao Fox fur.
However, the Artifact Refining speed also slowed down this time. Li Mu originally only needed half a day for Artifact Refining, but it was extended to two days to refine the Artifact embryo, which made Xiao Bai wait in vain.
The little guy was mad at him.
After appeasing Xiao Bai, Li Mu quickly took out a cyan soul gathering bottle from the nine storage spiritual pearl.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai let out a soft chirp, his expression becoming serious, his pair of dark, round eyes fixed on the soul gathering bottle.
Seeing Xiao Bai ready, Li Mu smiled slightly and opened the stopper.
With a "pop," the stopper of the soul gathering bottle opened, and a misty gloom emerged, transforming into a giant fox demon. Its eyes glowed red as it stared at Li Mu, baring its fangs and claws.
However, before the fox demon essence soul could pounce, a massive Soul Power surged from Xiao Bai's body, instantly freezing the Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul in mid-air.
The red light in the Jade-faced Fox Yao essence soul's eyes flickered and dissipated, and a look of terror appeared on its face as it stared at the small white worm, as if it had encountered a natural predator. Its soul form was out of control, unable to suppress its fear.
"You have two choices: either become the Spirit of this Artifact, or be devoured by it," Li Mu said with a slight smile, transmitting his Divine Sense to the Jade-faced Yao Fox essence soul, threatening it.
Xiao Bai's actions were almost always successful.
Having refined hundreds or even thousands of Spiritual Artifacts with Acquired Spirits, almost every Yao Beast essence soul chose to 'cling to life' and become the Spirit of a Spiritual Artifact.
As for some stubborn and unruly Yao Beast essence souls, they all fell into Xiao Bai's mouth, becoming his food.
The Jade-faced Yao Fox essence soul looked at the mask Spiritual Artifact embryo, sensing a familiar smell. Without thinking, it plunged into the mask Artifact embryo, and then settled into the core of the Artifact formation.
Seeing this, Li Mu smiled slightly, looked at the mask Artifact embryo, and casually sent out a burst of Spirit Power. A brilliant spiritual light emerged from the mask Artifact embryo, and the first Artifact pattern, Concealed Breath, condensed in the blink of an eye.
Next, Li Mu frequently condensed True Essence, and thick beams of Spirit Power were injected into the Artifact embryo. The mask Artifact embryo shone with spiritual light, and Artifact patterns intertwined and condensed one after another.
The second Artifact pattern: Spirit Concealment, the third Artifact pattern: Illusory Appearance, the fourth Artifact pattern: Spirit Calling, the fifth Artifact pattern: Form Mimicry, and so on.
This time, the Artifact patterns Li Mu condensed for the mask Artifact embryo were almost all focused on obscure and rare patterns related to disguise, changing form, appearance, and aura.
As the Artifact patterns condensed one by one, the spiritual radiance emanating from the mask Artifact embryo grew stronger and stronger in its spiritual attribute.
The Material properties of the mask Artifact embryo prevented it from improving further. Li Mu stopped injecting Spirit Power, not elevating it to the level of a 5th Rank High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Ultimately, the mask Artifact embryo flashed with Artifact pattern spiritual light nineteen times, achieving the Rank of a 5th Rank High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
【Ding, you have successfully refined a 5th Rank Jade Fox Mask. Your Artifact Refining Skill Rank is full. Proficiency: +0. Please upgrade your Artifact Refining Skill Rank as soon as possible.】
Li Mu glanced at the character's virtual frame, where a text prompt popped up in the log bar. A hint of joy appeared on his face, followed by a look of helplessness.
He had successfully refined another 5th Rank Spiritual Artifact, but due to the lack of the 'spirituality' attribute, his 5th Rank Artifact Refining Skill had been stuck, unable to improve, thus wasting the gained Artifact Refining proficiency.
Li Mu sighed, reached out and grabbed the floating Spirit Fox Mask in the air, covering it with his Divine Sense. He injected a refining Spirit Power into the core of the Artifact formation and attached a trace of his Divine Sense imprint, easily refining it.
The next moment, the Spirit Fox Mask transformed into a streak of spiritual light, changing into a small white fox that landed on Li Mu's shoulder, rubbing intimately against his neck.
After the 5th Rank Yao Fox essence soul was tempered by the Spiritual Fire and settled into the Artifact formation, its remaining Yao Beast memories had been melted away and dissipated, leaving only a tiny bit of instinct. Once Li Mu refined the Spiritual Artifact and attached his Divine Sense, an indelible spiritual link was formed with the Spirit, and it would only revere him as its master, with no possibility of betrayal.
Li Mu's gaze fell on the Jade Fox Mask, checking its attribute information.
【Spirit Fox Mask】
【Rank: 5th Rank Spiritual Artifact】
【Properties: Fox Breath Illusion, As You Wish Transformation, Face Change, Illusory Breath Invisibility, Spirit Summoning Attack.】
【Status: Spirit Newborn, Spirituality Unstable.】
【A 5th Rank Spiritual Artifact refined from a 5th Order As You Wish Stone, 5th Rank Illusory Breath Spirit Soil, 5th Rank Illusory Blood Spirit Crystal, 5th Rank Spirit Fox Fur, and a 5th Rank Fox Yao Soul. This Artifact's spirituality is nascent, and it possesses the Innate fox demon talent of Fox Breath Illusion. Its size can change at will, it can memorize the aura and physical characteristics of other creatures, transform and shapeshift, making the fake indistinguishable from the real, and changing one's form, making it extremely difficult to see through.】
Looking at the attribute information of the 5th Rank Spirit Fox Mask in the character's virtual panel, Li Mu was overjoyed, a happy smile spreading across his face.
"This is great! From now on, I can transform into anyone I want, with no limit on the number of transformations. This function is much stronger than the Linglong Mask!" Li Mu was ecstatic, immediately picking up the 'little fox' and putting it on his face.
The small white fox transformed into a streak of spiritual light and attached itself to Li Mu's face.
With a thought from Li Mu's Divine Sense, his face immediately changed, and his clothes also transformed accordingly, turning into Wang Jianfeng's appearance. His height and build were identical, and even his aura and scent changed.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai was startled, but with the Spirit Control Contract Seal linking him to Li Mu, and his Innate ability to recognize soul forms, he still recognized Li Mu.
"I know, you little glutton!" Li Mu smiled slightly, took out a soul gathering bottle from the nine storage spiritual pearl, and tossed it to Xiao Bai.
"Chirp, chirp!" Xiao Bai chirped happily, sprang up, and with a flick of his tail, opened the stopper of the soul gathering bottle. He then lay on the bottle's mouth and began to gulp down its contents.
Li Mu smiled slightly, opened the stone door, and exited the Artifact Refining Room.
The successful refinement of the Spirit Fox Mask meant that impersonating Wang Jianfeng and using the Sect's Tribulation Transcending Platform was no longer an issue.
In the following days, Li Mu occasionally appeared in the underground prison cave, chatting with Wang Jianfeng and Tian Wenjie about Sect matters and understanding their connections.
This was in preparation for impersonating Wang Jianfeng and using the Sect's Tribulation Transcending Platform to Undergo the Nascent Soul Tribulation.
...
Time flowed by day after day, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
At Yue Qiong Peak, the Five Elements Spirit Plants were growing more and more vigorously, and the harvest season was approaching.
Li Mu went to Qingyun City to find Gongsun Chu at Wanbao Pavilion to collect the Tribulation Transcending spiritual items. If there were no accidents, he could begin harvesting the Five Elements Spirit Plants and Undergoing the Nascent Soul Tribulation soon.
The Auction in Wanbao City had ended, and the four 5th Rank Spiritual Swords that were auctioned off could be exchanged for many good things.
Soon, Li Mu met Gongsun Chu, who had an apologetic expression, in the reception room of Wanbao Pavilion.
"Great Master Li, I am very sorry, but we were unable to bid for the Heavenly Fire at this Auction. However, I did manage to inquire about two True Lords who possess Heavenly Fire. In addition, the proceeds from the Auction of the four 5th Rank Spiritual Artifacts were used, as per your instructions, to bid for a large number of Tribulation Transcending spiritual items, 5th and 6th Rank Artifact Refining Materials, and Spirit Plant seeds..." Gongsun Chu said with a face full of apology, handing Li Mu a Jade Slip and a storage bracelet.
Li Mu nodded, took the Jade Slip and storage bracelet, and immersed his Divine Sense to examine them separately.
The four 5th Rank Spiritual Artifacts with Spirits sold for an extremely high price, each around three thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, which greatly exceeded Li Mu's expectations. As for the two Nascent Soul True Lords who possessed Heavenly Fire, they were Heavenly Hong True Lord of Yu Ling Sect and Wan Huo True Lord of Star Moon Island. Their detailed information was recorded in the Jade Slip.
The Tribulation Transcending spiritual items purchased by Gongsun Chu included a batch of 5th Rank Spirit Seeds, eleven types of 5th Rank Spirit Plants, varying in quantity from dozens to thousands, and five pieces of 6th Rank Artifact Refining Materials. Li Mu was very satisfied with this harvest.
"Great Master Li, after this Auction, we received some information that is very unfavorable to Qingxuan Sect. I suggest you leave Qingxuan Sect as soon as possible! Otherwise, I'm afraid your life might be in danger!" Gongsun Chu said with a grave expression, looking at Li Mu who was examining his gains, and solemnly warned him.
"That serious? What's the news?"
Hearing this, Li Mu was startled. This was the first time he had seen Gongsun Chu convey something to him so solemnly, which meant it was almost certainly true.
If he didn't leave Qingxuan Sect soon, his life would even be in danger?
Could it be that Nine Demon Sect was preparing to attack Qingxuan Sect?