Alchemical Formula

At the break of dawn the following day, he returned to the Sword Casting Hall.

Wen Yulong did not sit in the hall every single day; Chu Liang had sent a paper crane ahead of time to inquire, which was the only reason he was able to find him.

The young man had likely not had a single commission recently, as he had been sitting there in utter boredom. The moment he saw Chu Liang, his fair face immediately lit up with a brilliant smile. "Long time no see, Senior Brother Chu."

"It hasn't been that long, just a few days," Chu Liang laughed.

Having grown quite familiar with Wen Yulong, there was no longer any need for the polite formalities they had used at the start.

"Time always feels especially long when there is no income," Wen Yulong joked.

As deacon disciples assigned to various halls, they did not have the time to complete missions, and their channels for earning Sword Coins were different. For someone like him who crafted magical artifacts on commission, his earnings naturally relied on his cut of the work.

"It seems no one else has discovered your talent besides me," Chu Liang said with a smile. As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the shattered Flying Leaf Quick Blade. "Take a look at this."

"Oh..." Wen Yulong immediately showed a look of distress. He picked it up and examined it carefully before his brow finally smoothed out slightly. "It’s fortunate that the damage isn't too severe."

"Last time it was just punctured, but this time it’s shattered. Is it really okay?" Chu Liang asked, feeling a bit skeptical.

"Hehe, you don't understand," Wen Yulong explained earnestly. "Last time, it was just a puncture, but it destroyed the array patterns quite thoroughly. Even though it is shattered this time, the array patterns remain largely intact. As for the damage to the material itself, that is quite easy to repair."

"I see," Chu Liang nodded. "I was worried it would be more expensive than last time, so I'm relieved to hear that."

"Hiss." Wen Yulong reacted a beat too late. "I should have made it sound more serious so I could have charged you more."

"Young man, don't pick up such bad habits. If you want repeat customers, you must treat them with sincerity," Chu Liang quickly lectured him on the proper values. He then took out the Red Lotus Pearl. "Take a look and tell me what this is worth."

Wen Yulong set aside the shattered leaf blades, took the Red Lotus Pearl, and examined it. After turning it over in his hands for a long time, he said, "This is a good item. It is a rare treasure that has already attained such power after only one round of crude refining. If I were to polish it once more in my hands, its power should increase even further. By then, its value should exceed two thousand Sword Coins. After all, it is a magical artifact with offensive capabilities that can be used for a long time, so it will be more expensive."

Two thousand.

This price was even higher than Chu Liang had expected.

It seemed that this trip to Taotie City had been quite profitable. Although the large head worth over ten thousand had shown signs of losing money, its inherent value was still there. Not to mention the Dustless Sword—Chu Liang hardly dared to show it in front of others for fear of drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives—and now, adding this Red Lotus Pearl to the mix...

He had truly made a killing.

"Eh?" Wen Yulong looked at the Red Lotus Pearl and suddenly said, "I could repair the Flying Leaf Quick Blade and polish this treasure at the same time. How about I embed this artifact into the Flying Leaf Quick Blade to add another array pattern to it?"

"Add another?" Chu Liang was surprised.

The small leaf already had three forms: flight, attack, and defense. If he added yet another, wouldn't there be too many variations?

"Yes, and eventually, I might be able to create a thousand-changing combination artifact in my hands," Wen Yulong said, his eyes filled with hopeful light.

Chu Liang wasn't quite as fanatical as him, but he quietly weighed the pros and cons.

Such combination artifacts naturally had both advantages and disadvantages. The benefit was that they could consolidate the power of several artifacts, saving a great deal of mental effort during manipulation and making them more convenient to use. The downside was that if they were combined, some powers could not be used simultaneously.

For instance, the defense and flight array patterns of the Flying Leaf Quick Blade could be triggered at the same time, but the defense and attack patterns could not. Integrating too many artifacts might lead to wastage.

Therefore, this matter had to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

After considering the power of the Red Lotus Pearl, Chu Liang felt that integrating it into the Flying Leaf Quick Blade was not a bad idea, so he nodded and said, "Alright."

"Great!" Wen Yulong was eager to begin.

Every time Chu Liang visited, he brought him pleasant surprises.

"I also brought back the materials for this Breath-Concealing Veil," Chu Liang added, taking out both parts of the material.

He had become accustomed to this process, as it seemed every time he returned from an adventure, he had to integrate his resources with Wen Yulong's help.

"No problem. Refining a robe is not a difficult task; I won't charge you for that," Wen Yulong laughed. "However, refining the Flying Leaf Quick Blade is a major job, so that will be two hundred and fifty."

"That's fine," Chu Liang agreed readily.

When his pockets were full, he wasn't always so stingy.

Previously, buying the Human-Faced魈 in Taotie City should have exhausted all his savings. Who would have thought that he would encounter the chaos at the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, and he ended up slaying the Human-Faced魈 on the road, achieving his goal while saving his Spirit Stones. Thus, he was much more generous toward Wen Yulong now.

The two quickly reached a pleasant agreement. Once business was concluded, Chu Liang asked, "By the way, do you know anything about forming a Golden Core?"

"Oh? Have you reached the peak of the Spirit Manifestation Realm?" Wen Yulong immediately reacted. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Chu."

"Sigh, I don't know if that's a joy or a burden," Chu Liang said with a wry smile.

"Indeed, forming a Golden Core is not cheap," Wen Yulong said. "I only know some basics, as I haven't reached the Golden Core Realm myself yet."

"I know even less, and since you understand alchemy, please enlighten me," Chu Liang said.

"Very well," Wen Yulong nodded.

"Golden Cores are typically classified into High, Middle, and Low grades. Of course, there are also the legendary Supreme Golden Cores, but those are impossible to seek out." He gathered his thoughts and began to explain.

"Take our Mount Shu Sect's Nine Heavens Mysterious Heart Manual, for example. The most basic form is the Nine Heavens Golden Core. The required materials are Blue Cloud Purple Leaf, Huayang Cinnabar, Mysterious Elixir Mystic Guide, Rootless Rain Essence, Dragon Grass Stalk, and Nine Profit Pearl—these six rare treasures. These materials are not considered extremely rare, and they can be bought at the Sword Casting Hall for about one thousand Sword Coins."

"However, these only produce the most basic Low-grade Golden Core. If you want a Middle-grade Golden Core, you must add two rare materials... Cloud Sparrow Powder and True Yang Stone. Adding these allows it to be upgraded into a Middle-grade Divine Firmament Golden Core. These items are also provided by the Sword Casting Hall, and together they are slightly more expensive than the previous ones, totaling just over one thousand Sword Coins."

"As disciples of Mount Shu, we should at least aim for a Middle-grade Golden Core. As for a High-grade one, that depends on your own efforts."

Wen Yulong spoke slowly as he thought, and it was clear that remembering all this was no easy task.

"A High-grade Golden Core incorporates the Yin-Yang Five Elements. For example, by adding a Fire Spirit Mushroom or something similar like Li-Yang seeds, you can form a Divine Firmament Li-Fire Golden Core. Such a core possesses various spiritual qualities and is thus called High-grade."

"There are very few of these materials currently in stock at the Sword Casting Hall; most of them must be obtained by yourself," Wen Yulong continued.

"Finally, there is the Supreme Golden Core. This is based on a High-grade Golden Core, but if one can add a divine herb—the Ascension Grass—it can elevate the quality of the entire core to another level. However, this item is a matter of pure luck; whether you can obtain it depends entirely on fate."

"Senior Brother Chu?"

After finishing his explanation, he noticed that Chu Liang had drifted into a daze and quickly called out to him.

"Sigh," Chu Liang came to his senses and let out a sigh. "Forming a Golden Core is truly troublesome."

"Although it is troublesome, it is worth it," Wen Yulong said. "After all, a cultivator only forms this one Golden Core in their entire life, so putting in the extra effort is not excessive."

"One?" Chu Liang gave a bitter smile.

...

Returning to Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang still felt a heavy weight on his heart. If he had to form a core for his Golden Core puppet as well, he would have to do it at least twice.

If it were possible, who wouldn't want to do it only once in a lifetime?

If only he could form two at once.

He had originally planned to rest for a few days, but it seemed he would have to start rushing around again—saving money, searching for herbs, forming the core...

If he wanted to step into the Golden Core Realm before the Mount Shu Summit, time was truly running short.

As he was calculating his schedule, he suddenly felt a vibration in his chest. He hadn't felt this for a while, but he reacted instantly.

The Soul-Detention Order?

He took out the Soul-Detention Order and extended his divine sense into the space within, seeing a line of striking characters floating there.

[Sha]: "Southern Guide is summoning."

[Sha]: "Within seven days, assemble outside the mountains of the Southern Town Region!"

Southern Guide...

Under the Purple Gold Marquis were the Eight Directional Guides, the Twenty-Four Sha, and the Seventy-Two Soul-Detention Envoys. This Southern Guide was already a demonic cultivator very close to the higher echelons of the Netherworld Sect.

What major event could have occurred to warrant a summons from him?

He didn't even need to ask; someone else in the group chat replied instantly.

[Fifty-Nine]: "Respected Sha, what has happened?"

[Sha]: "All matters will be announced after you arrive. The Southern Guide orders every Soul-Detention Envoy under his command to reach the outskirts of the Southern Town Region within seven days! Everyone who receives this message must depart immediately!"

[Sixty]: "Received."

The news came so suddenly that Chu Liang pondered for a long time without replying. After all, once he agreed, it meant that in seven days, he would have to meet them in person!

It was truly nerve-wracking.

He hadn't been in contact for so many days; why was there so much pressure the moment they reached out?

Although he could notify his sect in advance to catch them all in one fell swoop, for highly vigilant demonic cultivators, there would only be one chance to close the net.

Currently, the one summoning them was only a Southern Guide, and the Purple Gold Marquis, who was his master's main target, had not yet appeared. Chu Liang had to calculate in his heart whether this person was worth the effort of closing the net.

[Fifty-Nine]: "I presume the Guide has taken a fancy to some rare treasure in the mountains of the Southern Town Region and is gathering men to retrieve it?"

[Fifty-Nine]: "I'm so excited."

[Fifty-Eight]: "Received."