Chapter 46: Middle Grade Magical Artifact

Artifact Casting Peak.

Fang Yun arrived and made his way to the rental area for the Artifact Refining Rooms below.

"Steward Cai, you don’t look well today. Did something happen?"

Fang Yun had originally planned to just rent an Artifact Refining Room, but after seeing Steward Cai’s expression, he asked out of concern.

His relationship with Steward Cai had been steadily improving, and he had heard many stories about the Artifact Casting Peak from the steward.

However, compared to Steward Zhou, Steward Cai was more of a storyteller.

"It’s nothing." Steward Cai’s expression brightened a little upon seeing Fang Yun.

Since Steward Cai didn’t want to talk about it, Fang Yun didn’t press the issue.

"Steward Cai, I’d like to rent an intermediate Artifact Refining Room today."

"An intermediate Artifact Refining Room, you say?" Steward Cai confirmed.

"Yes."

"So, you’re going to refine a Middle Grade Magical Artifact."

"Mhm."

"Since you’re about to refine a Middle Grade Magical Artifact, I suppose I can tell you about it." Steward Cai decided to bring up the matter he had initially avoided. "You just asked me why I looked upset, didn’t you? It’s all because of that old fellow, Zhou."

"He said your Alchemy Talent is better than your Artifact Refining talent. I’ve personally witnessed your skill in Artifact Refining, so how could I just stand there and take that? So I started arguing with him..."

He hadn’t wanted to tell Fang Yun about this, because truth be told, Steward Cai wasn’t entirely confident. Although Steward Zhou had never personally verified Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent, Fang Yun’s rapid advancement in Cultivation was plain for all to see.

That alone was a testament to Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent.

To have reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer so quickly, he must have consumed a great number of Upper Grade pills. In his situation, he probably never even used Lower Grade pills, selling them all off and consuming Middle Grade pills at the very least.

Fang Yun listened to Steward Cai’s account.

Honestly, he was a little baffled. ’From my perspective,’ he thought, ’what’s the point of arguing over something so trivial? Whether it’s my Alchemy Talent or my Artifact Refining skill, aren’t they both mine?’

"Fang Yun, you have the most say in this. Do you think your Alchemy Talent is better, or is your Artifact Refining talent superior?"

"They’re about the same... equally strong."

"You little rascal," Steward Cai said, shaking his head with a smile.

Fang Yun also had a good relationship with Old Zhou, so answering such a question would indeed put him in a difficult position.

Realizing this, Steward Cai didn’t press the matter further or insist that Fang Yun declare one skill superior to the other.

’If Old Zhou had been the one to ask, his answer probably would have been the same.’

Considering his own relationship with Fang Yun, he nodded in satisfaction.

’In any case, I’ve just gotten more proof. Fang Yun’s Artifact Refining talent is clearly better than his Alchemy Talent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be renting an intermediate Artifact Refining Room now to start refining a Middle Grade Magical Artifact.’

"Fang Yun, once you reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, I’d like you to assist me in refining an Upper Grade Magical Artifact. Of course, you’ll be well compensated." Steward Cai was thinking about the materials he had been collecting recently for a top-quality Upper Grade Magical Artifact he planned to make.

Given Fang Yun’s current Cultivation speed, he would likely reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer by February or March of next year.

"Steward Cai, I’ll be happy to help, but there’s no need for payment. I can learn a lot from assisting in the refining of an Upper Grade Magical Artifact," Fang Yun replied, declining the offer of compensation.

He wasn’t short on Spirit Stones at the moment. While maintaining his Cultivation, he had already established a steady cash flow.

If Steward Cai was willing to pay him, he wouldn’t take it.

However, if Steward Cai didn’t want to pay him and tried to get his help for free, he would demand payment, even if he didn’t need the Spirit Stones.

That was just the kind of person he was.

Of course, if he were short on Spirit Stones, he wouldn’t refuse any payment he was due.

"Alright then, it’s settled."

Seeing Fang Yun’s resolve, Steward Cai didn’t bring up the matter of payment again.

"Here’s the Token for intermediate Artifact Refining Room number two. Take it for now. You can pay the Spirit Stones when you’re done." At this point, Steward Cai lowered his voice and added, "It’s fine if you go a little over the time."

"Understood."

Taking the hint, Fang Yun quickly put away the Token and headed for the intermediate Artifact Refining Room.

Renting an Artifact Refining Room required one to register their entry time, and the exit time would be recorded upon leaving.

Since Steward Cai hadn’t registered Fang Yun’s entry, if Fang Yun went over his time, the steward could simply record a later entry time.

This way, Fang Yun could save two Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

Inside the intermediate Artifact Refining Room, Fang Yun took out the Middle Grade Profound Iron ore. The first step was to remove the impurities and extract the Middle Grade Profound Iron.

The Earth Fire in the lower-grade Artifact Refining Rooms wasn’t strong enough. Trying to refine a Middle Grade Magical Artifact there would make even this first step incredibly difficult.

The sixty-odd jin of Middle Grade Profound Iron ore continuously shrank, finally leaving just over thirteen jin of Middle Grade Profound Iron.

It was a near-perfect purification and extraction!

Twelve jin of the Middle Grade Profound Iron would be the main Spiritual Material for Fang Yun’s Profound Iron Shield. He put away the remaining one-plus jin of Middle Grade Profound Iron and then took out all the auxiliary Spiritual Materials he had purchased: Solid Spirit Sand and Stubborn Gold.

This time, he had purchased just the right amount.

Thanks to his extensive experience refining the Lower Grade Magical Artifact version of the Profound Iron Shield, Fang Yun’s process of refining the Middle Grade version was very smooth.

Using twelve jin of Middle Grade Profound Iron as the main Spiritual Material meant that the finished Profound Iron Shield would require a significant amount of Spiritual Power to activate. This was all part of Fang Yun’s calculations.

The auxiliary Spiritual Materials for the Yellow Iron Sword were added at the very end of the refining process. In contrast, the auxiliary materials Fang Yun had chosen now—Solid Spirit Sand and Stubborn Gold—had to be added while the Profound Iron Shield was still in its embryonic form. Furthermore, the Solid Spirit Sand had to be added after the Stubborn Gold; the sequence could not be wrong.

"Phew, it’s finally done!"

His first attempt at refining a Middle Grade Magical Artifact was a success.

His Middle Grade Profound Iron Shield was considerably larger than the Lower Grade version.

A larger surface area meant more defensive coverage.

At this moment, less than five percent of the Spiritual Power in his Qi Sea remained.

Refining a Middle Grade Magical Artifact consumed far more Spiritual Power than a Lower Grade one, and it also took longer. A cultivator at only the Qi Refining Fourth Layer would not have enough Spiritual Power to complete the process without assistance or without taking pills midway to rapidly recover their energy.

He hadn’t been in the Qi Refining Fifth Layer for long, but he had taken many Upper Grade Cyan Jade Pills, so his Spiritual Power reserves were far greater than when he had first broken through.

Someone who had just entered the Qi Refining Fifth Layer would, after purifying the sixty-odd jin of Middle Grade Profound Iron ore, be best advised to fully restore their Spiritual Power to support the subsequent refining of the Profound Iron Shield.

Fang Yun infused Spiritual Power into his newly refined Profound Iron Shield.

The Profound Iron Shield floated up and began to revolve around him.

"It doesn’t consume much Spiritual Power," Fang Yun said with a smile.

But that was only for him. He knew that this Middle Grade Profound Iron Shield actually consumed more Spiritual Power than an ordinary Middle Grade defensive Magical Artifact.

In terms of defensive capability, this Profound Iron Shield was very powerful.

As for exactly how powerful it was, he would have to test it in a spar to find out.