Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground—a renowned artifact-crafting holy land in the Immortal Realm, a pilgrimage site for artifact refiners, where grandmasters gather. Large and small sacred lands or sects, more or less, have sought assistance from Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground.
A black-haired man silently appeared at the mountain gate. The disciples guarding the gate were shocked, for they hadn’t sensed his arrival. Hurriedly, they surrounded him, asking, “Who are you?”
“Lu Changsheng of Mount Taihua Sacred Land. I would like to request your esteemed site’s assistance in crafting an accessory.”
Lu Changsheng had carefully deliberated and decided to invite Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground to craft an accessory, a congratulatory gift for Xia Ningxue’s ascension as Palace Master of Guanghan Palace.
After all, this was a significant event for his wife. In the presence of other sacred lands, Lu Changsheng couldn’t appear stingy.
At the very least, he ought to bring honor to Mount Taihua Sacred Land and Guanghan Palace.
Moreover, what belonged to Xia Ningxue naturally belonged to Lu Changsheng as well.
Thus, he embarked on this long journey for a personal visit.
“You—are you truly Mount Taihua’s Holy Son?”
“Wait, you came alone? How could that be?”
The disciples of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground were both astonished and skeptical.
Typically, when Holy Sons or Holy Maidens traveled, they were accompanied by scores of disciples from their sacred lands. A lone traveler like Lu Changsheng was rare.
“Just report to your elders,” Lu Changsheng replied calmly, accustomed to the attention his presence attracted.
“Please wait a moment, Holy Son Lu,” the disciples quickly said as they rushed to notify Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground’s higher-ups.
The senior members of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground were surprised to hear that Lu Changsheng sought their help in crafting an accessory.
If Lu Changsheng were asking them to craft a magical treasure, they wouldn’t have found it odd. Even old monsters from the Immortal Realm often came to them for assistance.
But crafting an accessory?
Accessories, unlike magical treasures, were primarily decorative and a thousand times easier to forge.
Lu Changsheng could have easily asked one of Mount Taihua’s artifact-refining elders to handle it. Why would he travel all the way to Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground?
“What kind of accessory does Mount Taihua’s Holy Son want us to craft?”
“I’ve heard Guanghan Palace is destined to have a new Palace Master soon. Could it be that he’s requesting an accessory to serve as a congratulatory gift?”
“It’s possible. But we are all renowned figures in the artifact-refining world—having us craft an accessory seems beneath us. Who’s willing to take on Mount Taihua Holy Son’s request?”
The Sect Leader of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground cast his eyes over the assembled grandmasters, gauging who might be willing to take up Lu Changsheng’s commission.
The grandmasters avoided his gaze—some stared at the beams above, others looked down at their toes, while still others let their eyes wander aimlessly, not saying a word.
How much profit could crafting an accessory possibly generate?
And asking legendary artifact-refining grandmasters of the Immortal Realm to polish an accessory seemed wasteful and ridiculous—it would only invite mockery.
“Sect Leader, I say send a Fourth Grade Artifact Refiner to deal with him. It’s just an accessory—any Fourth Grade Artifact Refiner can handle it with ease.”
“Exactly! Why bother involving us, Third Grade Grandmasters or Second Grade Grandmasters, for such a petty task?”
“Honestly, even dispatching a Fourth Grade Grandmaster feels like overkill for crafting an accessory.”
“Agreed, agreed.”
The grandmasters voiced their concurrence.
In the artifact-crafting realm, refiners were divided into nine grades.
Novices started as Ninth Grade refiners.
With some experience, they advanced to Eighth Grade.
Seasoned disciples rose to the ranks of Fifth to Seventh Grade.
Fourth Grade Artifact Refiners could craft Emperor Soldier-level treasures and were considered equivalent to ordinary elders in status.
Third Grade and Second Grade Grandmasters were capable of forging Dao Artifact-class treasures.
The consensus was that the accessory Lu Changsheng wanted could easily be handled by a Fourth Grade Artifact Refiner, making it unnecessary for the higher-tier grandmasters to intervene.
“Considering the fact that he’s Mount Taihua’s Holy Son, widely recognized as the foremost talent of the Immortal Realm, we should still show some respect. Elder Wu, let your Chief Senior Disciple take charge. I heard he’s already half a step into reaching Third Grade Grandmaster status. If he were to handle this, the accessory would likely satisfy Mount Taihua Holy Son.”
After much deliberation, the Sect Leader of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground decided that sending only a regular Fourth Grade Artifact Refiner might seem dismissive. Thus, he chose a disciple on the cusp of Third Grade Grandmaster status.
Lu Changsheng waited in a side hall for a while before a ponytailed man arrived and bowed with cupped hands. “I am Yang Qianli. Greetings, Mount Taihua Holy Son.”
Lu Changsheng scrutinized the man briefly, discerning his cultivation level was likely at the Immortal Emperor Realm. “What grade of refiner are you?”
“In response to the Holy Son, I am a Fourth Grade refiner, half a step into Third Grade,” Yang Qianli said with evident pride.
For his age, nearing the level of Third Grade Grandmaster, he was hailed as an unparalleled talent in the artifact-refining domain.
This was precisely why Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground’s Sect Leader had entrusted Yang Qianli with handling Lu Changsheng’s request.
Ordinary disciples of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground might not even merit being remembered by the Sect Leader.
Lu Changsheng furrowed his brows slightly. He had not journeyed all this way merely to commission an accessory from someone only half a step into Third Grade Grandmaster status.
It wasn’t that he looked down on refiners of this caliber.
If he wanted someone of this skill level, he wouldn’t need to visit Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground in person.
Lin Qinghan and Dugu Aotian’s artifact-refining abilities were easily comparable to Yang Qianli’s.
Lu Changsheng had come to Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground for two reasons: first, to craft an exceptional accessory for Xia Ningxue; second, to probe the strength of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground, with plans to commission them for an extraordinary magical treasure in the future.
The refusal of Heavenly Fire Sacred Ground’s Second and Third Grade Grandmasters to act, followed by the dispatch of a mere half-step Third Grade Grandmaster, was undeniably a slight to him.