179: Refining

These two Demon Generals were the Floating Light Demon General and the Purple Immortal Demon General. Both were at the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment. Although their cultivation was high, they were only Mid-grade Demon Beasts and lacked any powerful Spiritual Artifacts, so they weren't particularly famous. Their true forms were a Floating Light Fish and a Purple Immortal Loach, respectively, and they were considered veteran Demon Generals.

Before Gu Yuchuan even stepped inside, his voice preceded him: "I've kept you two Fellow Daoists waiting; it is truly my fault. It's just that my Divine Ability requires practice every morning, and once started, it cannot be interrupted. Making you wait so long is my sin."

The two stood up together and bowed to Gu Yuchuan, waving their hands dismissively. They were keeping their status quite low. After all, despite being veteran Demon Generals who hadn't participated in the dragon gate selection, they had their own channels to know that the first-place winner of this competition was Gu Yuchuan. They couldn't afford not to take him seriously.

"Azure Scale Demon General, you are far too polite. It was the two of us who visited so abruptly and caught you off guard. How could it be your fault? This is a Moonlight Stone from our collection. It's not anything particularly precious, just a little something for the Demon General to enjoy."

This Moonlight Stone was a Rank Two High Grade spiritual item, formed by Ore naturally absorbing the essence of the moon. After a few more years of absorption, this Ore could have even gained sentience. Although it was only Rank Two, it was extremely rare. Gu Yuchuan was tempted, but he didn't reach out to take it.

"The Human Race has a good saying: one should not accept rewards without merit. This is our first meeting, and I haven't helped you with anything yet. Accepting such a precious item would be quite embarrassing. Please, take it back."

The two glanced at each other, feeling a bit anxious. If Gu Yuchuan had accepted it, then their request for him to refine Spiritual Artifacts would have followed naturally. But since Gu Yuchuan hadn't, they didn't know how to bring the subject up.

Finally, the Floating Light Demon General steeled himself and spoke: "Azure Scale Demon General, we know that coming here so abruptly is indeed a bit offensive. But we truly came with sincerity. We hope you can help us customize two Spiritual Artifacts. We will certainly pay a very high price."

Since they spoke plainly, Gu Yuchuan actually thought a bit more highly of them. He didn't like people who beat around the bush; their directness increased his favorable impression of them.

"So you two came for this matter. What a coincidence. I was actually planning to start a custom Spiritual Artifact service at the Linlang Pavilion recently. I just hadn't decided on the pricing yet when you arrived. Talk about a coincidence."

Both of their eyes lit up. Their current combat strength wasn't powerful enough mainly because they lacked good Spiritual Artifacts to rely on. If they had good Spiritual Artifacts, their ranking among those in the Foundation Establishment Stage could rise by a small Rank. This was a major matter.

Gu Yuchuan actually already had a price in mind, so he didn't hide it: "Gentlemen, I'll give you a quote directly. Four sets of Materials plus five hundred Spirit Stones. I guarantee that I will not sell your specific Spiritual Artifact design for ten years. Only after ten years will it be put on the shelves of Linlang Pavilion."

The two looked at each other and began to think. Honestly, Gu Yuchuan's price was definitely not high. After all, Artifact Refining had to account for success rates, and four sets of Materials really wasn't much. Those five hundred Spirit Stones were even more negligible compared to the Materials; the Moonlight Stone they had just tried to give him was worth three hundred Spirit Stones. What they cared about was the subsequent sale issue.

After all, the items they customized would be the Spiritual Artifacts they used long-term. They naturally hoped they wouldn't be sold again. Even after ten years, if someone else bought one, they would know all their secrets.

The Floating Light Demon General was silent for a moment: "Master Gu, if we want you to never refine this specific Spiritual Artifact again, what price would we need to pay?"

Gu Yuchuan blurted it out immediately, as he had already considered this question. Most people who customized Spiritual Artifacts would definitely have this mindset: "One thousand Spirit Stones. I will act as if I've never seen the diagram and will absolutely never refine that Spiritual Artifact again in the future."

The two of them let out a long sigh of relief. This price wasn't too high; it was completely acceptable. In other words, to customize a Spiritual Artifact, they needed to provide four sets of Materials plus fifteen hundred Spirit Stones. This amount of wealth was quite a lot, to be honest, but they had no choice. It had to be a buyout.

Each of them took out a Storage Pouch and handed it to Gu Yuchuan: "Master Gu, all our Materials are in here. We ask the Master to help us refine them."

After Gu Yuchuan took them, he began to look at the diagrams. Two top-grade spiritual artifacts. One was the Water Suppressing Bell, a top-grade magic tool with maxed-out defense and control. It was very powerful and suited their aquatic attributes perfectly; in the hands of the Water Tribe, it would indeed be formidable. The other was called the Flying Immortal Needles, a complete set of Spiritual Artifacts that formed its own Formation. It was a purely offensive Spiritual Artifact; if an enemy didn't have good defensive items, they simply couldn't block it. Both were indeed powerful Spiritual Artifacts.

He looked at the diagrams and found nothing he couldn't understand. He could definitely refine them, so he nodded.

"Good, then come and collect them in three days. I'll go prepare to refine them for you now. If you're worried, you can stay here in the Flood Dragon Palace. I'll have someone arrange a guest room for you."

The two hurriedly stood up: "How could we not trust Master Gu's abilities? We won't disturb the Master here. We'll go home and rest for a few days and come back exactly in three days. We'll take our leave now; there's no need for the Master to see us out."

Gu Yuchuan called Bai Ming to see them out. Then, he wrote down the rules and fees he had set for custom Spiritual Artifacts on a Jade Slip and had it sent to Song Chuan. At the same time, he began taking appointments for next month's custom refinements.

After finishing this, he went to his private Artifact Refining room. He didn't start immediately but first sought to understand the diagrams. After all, he hoped to succeed in one try. That way, he could earn three extra sets of Materials per artifact. If it took two tries, he'd only earn two sets, which would be a loss. He had to understand them before starting.

Thus, by the time he truly began refining, it was already afternoon. This refining session lasted for a full two days. The Water Suppressing Bell was refined in one go; since it was a water-attribute item, it matched his own attribute, making it easier to refine. The Flying Immortal Needles were a set of Spiritual Artifacts, and even though he understood the diagram, some small problems occurred during the refining process. He failed once and only succeeded on the second try. This was already a very good result. From these two Spiritual Artifacts, his gains exceeded six thousand Spirit Stones. This really was like printing money."