407: Chapter 51 Biyou Village

By projecting the images cast from the secret seal of the Eight Peculiar Skills into his inner world, Meng Li finally understood their origin.

The moment the images retracted, he keenly sensed an almost imperceptible surge of Qi descending.

Immediately following, Meng Li’s mind flickered, and riding the Beiming Fish, he arrived at an unknown place where everything he saw was Primordial Qi.

This is... the boundless sea of Qi from the previous vision, the source of the Primordial Qi?

Before Meng Li could fully react, the surrounding pure Primordial Qi seemed to be drawn by some kind of pull, surging towards him and the Beiming Fish like a swarm of frantic bees and butterflies.

Struck by this impact, Meng Li felt a sense of disorientation, floating without knowing why.

When he recovered his senses, he found himself and the Beiming Fish back inside his inner world; the trip to the sea of Qi just now felt like an illusion.

However, Meng Li quickly confirmed it was not an illusion.

Because that Primordial Qi was real, and as the Beiming Fish automatically refined it, Meng Li felt his intentionally controlled cultivation instantly skyrocket.

Ever since forging the Foundation for the Beiming Fish, his practice in terms of magic power, or Qi refining, had entered an idle mode, improving almost every moment. Judging purely by the level of magic power, he could have long since advanced from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Condensing Pill stage.

But he didn't want to invite heavenly tribulation so early, so he had intentionally suppressed his cultivation, repeatedly honing his Foundation and consolidating his base.

He hadn't expected that a moment of carelessness would cause his cultivation to surge.

Connecting this to that faint Qi fluctuation from before, Meng Li walked to the window, gazing thoughtfully at the sky outside.

Before he could finish pondering, his cell phone rang.

Meng Li took it out and saw it was an unknown number; he answered directly.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Mr. Meng, I am Ma Xianhong. It has been a long time; I hope you are doing well."

Ma Xianhong?

Meng Li was slightly surprised.

What does this guy want by calling him?

Counting the time, it seemed the plot involving Biyou Village was approaching.

Ma Xianhong calling at this moment, was he trying to recruit him into the New Interception?

As expected, that was the case.

After a few pleasantries, Ma Xianhong extended an invitation to Meng Li to join the New Interception.

Meng Li pondered briefly and replied with a smile, "I am somewhat interested in your invitation, but whether I join still requires consideration."

Ma Xianhong said, "Naturally. Do you have any time recently? If so, you can come take a look at our village."

Meng Li readily agreed, "I can. Send me the address, and I'll head over in a couple of days."

"Good."

Afterward, the two chatted for a few more sentences before hanging up.

In less than ten seconds, Ma Xianhong sent over the address for Biyou Village.

...

The next day, after making some minor preparations, Meng Li set off towards Biyou Village.

When he arrived at Biyou Village, he didn't immediately look for Ma Xianhong but instead wandered around the village along the road.

The villagers didn't make a fuss over his unfamiliar face; they glanced at him once and then paid him no mind.

Meng Li was not surprised.

This was because Biyou Village frequently recruited new members, so it was normal for newcomers to arrive from time to time.

With the intention of appreciating the scenery, Meng Li leisurely walked towards the mountains. Breathing the fresh air and looking at the scenery along the way, he couldn't help but marvel that Ma Xianhong was very good at picking locations; this village was picturesque with clear waters and pleasant scenery, very suitable for a slow-paced pastoral life, and also for cultivation.

When Meng Li reached an open space in the back mountain, he suddenly saw Chang Wei—no, it was Wang Ye fighting a muscular brute.

Wang Ye gave a flick of his wrist, and the brute was thrown backward.

Seeing that his head was about to smash into a rock, Zhuge Qing flashed forward at the critical moment and intercepted him.

Ma Xianhong stood to the side observing.

Wang Ye, seeming to confirm something, frowned and asked Ma Xianhong, "Sect Master, what do you mean?"

Just as Ma Xianhong was about to reply, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Meng Li. His eyes immediately lit up: "Mr. Meng, why didn't you call ahead to let me know you were coming?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye both turned to look at Meng Li, but they didn't recognize him.

Meng Li chuckled lightly, "I just came over to take a look, nothing major. Besides, didn't I come straight to find you?"

Then, he looked at Wang Ye, Zhuge Qing, and the brute, changing the subject: "Who are these three gentlemen?"

Ma Xianhong introduced them: "This is Daoist Wang Ye, this is Zhuge Qing, the successor of Zhuge Wuhou, and this one is Liu Dang, a heavy combat enthusiast."

Afterward, he introduced Meng Li to the other three: "This is Mr. Meng Li."

Meng Li, Wang Ye, and Zhuge Qing nodded slightly, acknowledging each other.

Immediately, Meng Li pointed at the brute, Liu Dang, and asked doubtfully, "This gentleman doesn't seem to have refined any Qi, so why is he fighting these two?"

Ma Xianhong thought for a moment and replied truthfully, "This is related to an artifact I refined. Coincidentally, you also know Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, so come take a look together."

Hearing Ma Xianhong say that Meng Li also knew Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, both Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing were startled.

Zhuge Qing asked in surprise, "Isn't the successor of Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements you, Sect Master?"

Ma Xianhong said, "I am indeed the successor of Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, but Mr. Meng helped me, so I gave him a copy. Speaking of which, the fact that I noticed Daoist Wang Ye and you is also related to Mr. Meng."

Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing were even more astonished.

Meng Li pursed his lips, displeased, "When did you become so unable to keep a secret?"

"Aren't we supposed to look at something? Where is it?"

Hearing this, Ma Xianhong scratched his head and said, "Follow me."

With that, he turned and walked deeper into the mountain, explaining as he walked, "The situation is just as you saw a moment ago; Liu Dang is an ordinary person. He is someone extremely obsessed with combat and quite famous in their circle..."

As Ma Xianhong explained, the story of Liu Dang coming to Biyou Village quickly unfolded before the three of them.

Liu Dang was obsessed with combat and worked as a coach at a fighting gym. Once, he encountered a special student at the gym. The person was a teenager who was a complete novice at fighting initially, with mediocre performance. But in just one month, he was able to fight evenly with Liu Dang, who had been learning martial arts and training his body for many years.

This made Liu Dang very curious, realizing the situation was not simple.

Later, through that student, Liu Dang met a blacksmith who understood Qi refining and earnestly sought to learn from him.

The blacksmith held nothing back, but after practicing the methods for a long time, Liu Dang still couldn't sense any Qi.

The blacksmith finally concluded that he lacked the talent for Qi refining.

Liu Dang knew this conclusion was true, which greatly disheartened him, yet he was very unwilling to accept it, often drowning his sorrows in alcohol over the matter.

By chance, he met Jin Yong, a recruiter for Biyou Village, at a bar, and under his guidance, he came to Biyou Village.

After the story concluded, the group arrived at a house deep within the mountain forest.

Ma Xianhong pushed the door open and said, "Gentlemen, you all know I am an Artifact Refiner. In my view, the greatest Artifact Refiner is Creation. Everything in the world is an artifact refined by Creation; people are also artifacts, and they can be refined."

Saying this, he pointed to the Self-Cultivation Furnace, which occupied most of the room, and introduced it with a hint of pride, "This is the work I have invested the most thought into so far."

"It is also one of the castings that uses humans as artifacts—the Self-Cultivation Furnace!"