Shu Han clutched the porcelain shards from the medicine bottle, returning to the valley as if his soul had left his body.
Second Elder seemed to have been waiting at the valley entrance for a long time.
The Four-Pole Heavenly Sword Formation was immediately summoned by him.
“Master…”
Second Elder’s beard bristled with anger as he roared in reprimand: “Trespassing into the Dragon Profound Sect’s forbidden ground! From now on, you are not allowed to leave the valley without my orders! You are forbidden from contacting Dragon Profound Sect disciples! Stay obediently in the valley for me! If I catch you sneaking out again, I will expel you from my tutelage!”
“But…”
Clutching the fragments, Shu Han felt unwilling in his heart.
How could the shards from the medicine bottle he gave Erdan appear in the rear mountain forbidden ground?
Why would there be traces of the Fire God Talisman in the rear mountain forbidden ground?
Wasn’t the Headmaster supposed to be escorting sect members to the Heavenly Profound Sect? Why did he appear at the rear mountain?
These suspicions drove Shu Han with an urgent desire to investigate thoroughly.
Yet what greeted him was Second Elder’s sharp rebuke.
“No buts!”
Second Elder waved his large hand, planting a talisman restriction into Shu Han’s body.
“This restriction is buried within your body. Once you leave the valley, you will no longer be my disciple, and the Four-Pole Heavenly Sword Formation will immediately activate to kill you! Absolutely no mercy!”
Shu Han cried out helplessly: “Am I supposed to be trapped in this valley for a lifetime?”
Second Elder snorted: “If you have the ability, break your master’s restriction!”
Shu Han felt depressed in his heart. From then on, he followed behind Second Elder without saying a word, continuing to do miscellaneous tasks in the valley.
The encounter from that night lingered in his heart, unable to be dispelled. Deep down, he felt the Dragon Profound Sect wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface; hidden within that black forest was a profound secret.
Yet this layer of secrecy was beyond his ability to investigate.
Finally, Shu Han forcibly suppressed his restless emotions, performing three kneels and nine bows to apologize to Second Elder, abandoning all thoughts of leaving the valley. Even Goudan’s usual visits were refused at his door, as he focused wholeheartedly on learning talisman crafting and artifact refining techniques from Second Elder.
Seeing Shu Han’s change in attitude, Second Elder’s anxious heart finally settled down, and he began teaching Shu Han all his bottom-of-the-chest reserve skills.
Within a year, Shu Han finally mastered the crafting method of the Fire God Talisman and persistently badgered Second Elder for a set of talisman materials. He abandoned all distracting thoughts about the forbidden forest, forgetting sleep and food to devote himself to crafting Fire God Talismans.
At first, Shu Han needed to expend dozens of material sets and spend over a month to produce just one talisman. Later, as his cultivation and skill improved, he gradually shortened the time to four days.
Fire God Talismans began stacking up in layers within Shu Han’s mountain cave secret room.
And with no chance to see Shu Han for a long time, Goudan gradually stopped wandering around the valley perimeter, focusing single-mindedly on cultivation, striving to reach the Qi Condensation Sixth Heaven as soon as possible so he could go to the Profound Heaven Sect to reunite with Erdan.
Flowers bloomed and withered, spring departed and autumn arrived, wave after wave of spiritual herbs grew in the medicine field.
Another five years passed.
Shu Han looked at himself in the copper mirror in the small wooden house, stroking the stubble emerging on his chin. Seeing his now-adult self, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly-he had already been at the Dragon Profound Sect for nearly ten years, and he was now nineteen years old. Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.
When he first arrived, Senior Brother Liheng had said Dragon Profound Sect disciples could only return home after ten years.
Shu Han felt it was time for him to go home once, to see if his parents were healthy and to see what his younger sister looked like grown up.
If only he could return smoothly.
Five years had passed, yet he never threw away those medicine bottle shards he picked up that night.
Deep down, he thought Erdan was probably lonely at the Profound Heaven Sect; since he was already prepared, he should go visit him.
But before that, he had to complete Second Elder’s graduation assessment.
The so-called graduation assessment involved completing the refinement of two magical artifacts.
Second Elder had once explained.
Qi Condensation stage cultivators could only condense magical artifacts.
These were treasures that could be activated by channeling Spiritual Power; the formation patterns carved into the artifacts determined their functions and uses.
Cultivators who advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage could refine Dharma Treasures.
Dharma Treasures differed from magical artifacts-they required blood bonding for ownership, their spiritual nature and power far surpassing magical artifacts! If a cultivator refined a Dharma Treasure using their lifebound cultivation art, it was called a lifebound Dharma Treasure; such treasures were perfectly compatible with oneself, prospering together and suffering together, their power unmatched by ordinary Dharma Treasures.
And Shu Han’s graduation assessment was to refine two High-Grade Magical Artifacts.
Magical artifacts were divided into four grades.
Low Grade, Middle Grade, High Grade, and Top Grade!
Low-grade artifacts could be refined by Qi Condensation Third Heaven cultivators.
Middle-grade required the Sixth Heaven to refine.
High-grade required the Ninth Heaven to refine.
And Top Grade not only required Twelfth Heaven cultivation, but also exceptionally exquisite skill to succeed. Even many Early Foundation Establishment cultivators with poor craftsmanship found it difficult to refine.
Through these ten years of instruction, Second Elder had already taught Shu Han everything he could.
Yet he still didn’t want Shu Han to leave the valley.
In his eyes, Shu Han’s personality seemed steady, but his nature was straightforward and his cultivation was still shallow-only the Fourth Heaven. If he recklessly let him leave the valley, he couldn’t handle worldly affairs properly and might face life-threatening dangers; trespassing the forbidden ground five years ago was a perfect example.
Therefore, he gave Shu Han an assessment difficult to complete, deliberately trapping him in the valley, thinking he’d wait until he ground down the child’s temperament before teaching him the Four-Pole Heavenly Sword Formation, then let him leave the valley for experience.
Shu Han knew his master’s thoughts. Originally, he indeed planned to take things slowly, not betraying his master’s goodwill. Moreover, his master had grown increasingly aged over the years. The lifespan of a Qi Condensation Twelfth Heaven cultivator was at most three times that of ordinary people; he wanted to serve his master until his natural end.
“Big-Head Brother, today I broke through to the Sixth Heaven! Tomorrow I’ll pass the test to go to the Profound Heaven Sect! Take care in the future!”
Shu Han felt helpless, forced to abandon his thoughts of filially serving his master.
Shu Han straightened his clothes and arrived at the medicine refining pavilion.
The elderly Second Elder was currently tending the large copper furnace.
At the furnace’s bottom was no longer messy charcoal fire, but pure pill fire.
Second Elder’s Twelfth Heaven cultivation steadily outputted, the raging pill fire gently nurturing the artifact refining materials inside the furnace.
Shu Han respectfully kowtowed to his master, then approached the copper furnace, replacing his master in outputting pill fire.
With a thought, the various rare metals melting in the furnace began adhering to each other. These materials had already been tempered in the copper furnace for forty-nine days, all impurities thoroughly purged; now was the most critical shaping and pattern-carving stage.
A single misstep at this stage would waste an entire furnace of materials.
Shu Han’s technique was proficient, his pill fire output steady, burning increasingly fierce, making Second Elder nod repeatedly as he watched.
“This child has truly mastered my artifact refining techniques, only this pill fire is excessively intense. Can Fourth Heaven cultivation maintain this level of pill fire?”
“Probably due to the marvels of the Dragon Profound Three Revolutions Divine Art. Though appearing as Fourth Heaven cultivation, each layer of Spiritual Power undergoes three revolutions, making it several times more robust than ordinary Fourth Heaven cultivators.”
“If forged with this pill fire, the finished product might be a Middle-Grade Magical Artifact! Just depends on whether Little Shu Han can maintain stability.”
“Finding such a successor, I can consider myself worthy of the old Bai family!”
Shu Han could certainly maintain stability.
All these years practicing privately, he didn’t know how many magical artifacts he’d ruined; he was already as familiar with artifact condensation as driving a light carriage on a familiar road. Yet even now he didn’t dare be careless, focusing his entire mind because the artifact grade in the furnace was extraordinary.
Shu Han sat once, and twelve hours passed.
Second Elder felt strange-for such a long time, Shu Han had maintained optimal pill fire output, his Spiritual Power seeming inexhaustible!
Was this achievable at the Fourth Heaven?
Finally, Shu Han completed carving the final formation pattern; the copper furnace radiated treasure light!
A winding, serpentine long sword and a crystal-clear, translucent heart-protecting mirror flew out from the furnace.
Spirit Serpent Sword!
Black-Iron Heart-Protecting Mirror!
Second Elder’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Five-colored glorious light! Top-Grade Magical Artifacts!”
“How is this possible!”
Shu Han held the long sword, donned the heart-protecting mirror, and smilingly asked: “Master, did I pass this graduation assessment?”