Immortal Refiner

Failure! Failure! Failure!

Repeated failures in inscribing spirit patterns had shattered Li Qing’s confidence and completely depleted the spiritual essence of the chest plate.

Gazing at the lifeless chest plate in his hand and the empty spiritual energy within him, Li Qing was overwhelmed with frustration.

Artifact refinement isn’t as simple as you think!

Shatter!

Li Qing couldn’t help but slam the chest plate down hard, but quickly picked it up again, chastened.

Fortunately, he was in the Spirit Vein Land, where the surrounding air was thick with spiritual energy, allowing his spiritual energy to recover quickly.

Sweeping away his frustration, Li Qing sat down again and resumed cultivating his spiritual energy.

After a long while, his spiritual energy once again surged within him.

”The biggest problem right now is likely the choice of spirit patterns. Inscribing both gold and earth attribute spirit patterns simultaneously is still quite challenging for me.”

”Forget it. I’ll focus on inscribing the earth attribute spirit patterns first. For my first Magic Artifact, it doesn’t matter if it’s crude. It’s just a Low-Grade Magic Tool anyway. There’s no point in being too ambitious.”

After reviewing his attempts throughout the afternoon, Li Qing quickly identified his shortcomings.

As dusk approached, Li Qing decided to call it a day.

He picked up a jar of fine wine and left his courtyard. Yes, he was going to visit the Old Miner who lived in Courtyard No. 16 in Area C.

With less than ten days remaining before he descended into the mine, it was crucial for Li Qing, a first-time miner, to learn about the precautions and techniques from the veteran.

Mining spirit stones in a spirit stone vein couldn’t be done with brute force alone.

Li Qing hoped most of all to glean some mining experience from the Old Miner, such as how to locate spirit stones within underground tunnels.

In any case, avoiding unnecessary detours was always beneficial.

Carrying the jar of wine, Li Qing left his courtyard and wandered around the C-Class District for a few minutes before finding Courtyard No. 16, where the Old Miner lived.

The courtyard wasn’t even protected by a barrier. If Li Qing hadn’t heard a cough or two from within, he might have thought the Old Miner wasn’t home.

”Cough, cough, cough! Cough!”

Li Qing waited a moment, then gently knocked on the courtyard gate.

Before he could even introduce himself, an aged voice called out from within:

”Get lost! Don’t bother me, no matter who you are.”

It seemed this Senior’s temper was indeed unusually eccentric.

Li Qing thought to himself, but he still braced himself and spoke: ”Senior Zhou, I’ve just arrived in the C-Class District and have brought some Spirit Wine to pay my respects.”

”Hmm? Is it Spirit Wine?” Senior Zhou asked from within.

Spirit Wine! It was brewed from Spirit Rice or other Spirit Grains, and some varieties even incorporated Spirit Herbs to enhance their flavor and provide significant benefits to cultivators.

In the cultivation world, many cultivators enjoyed drinking, which led to the emergence of Spirit Brewers as a secondary profession.

Rare and potent Spirit Wine recipes became highly valuable, even surpassing the worth of some pill formulas.

The two Medicinal Liquor recipes Li Qing had obtained before were somewhat similar, but they paled in comparison to these Spirit Wine recipes.

Each Spirit Wine recipe had been painstakingly perfected through countless trials, requiring the expenditure of countless precious spiritual objects.

It was easy to imagine how precious such Spirit Wine would be. Naturally, Li Qing didn’t have a single jar of it.

Li Qing’s lips twitched at this, and he said awkwardly, ”Senior Zhou, it’s not Spirit Wine. It’s a vintage fine wine I stumbled upon during my years wandering the mortal realm.”

”Though it doesn’t contain spiritual energy, its flavor is absolutely top-notch. Even the mortal emperor would clap his hands in delight after tasting it.”

The wine was indeed excellent—Li Qing’s favorite Winter Plum Wine from Shengtian.

However, the boastful words that followed were entirely fabricated by Li Qing himself. Surely no one would actually bother to investigate such a trivial matter.

”Hmph, bring the wine in.”

Hearing this, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and quickly carried the Winter Plum Wine inside.

The moment Li Qing stepped inside, a faint musty odor wafted through the air—nothing like the dwelling of an immortal cultivator. It felt more like the home of a frail old mortal on the brink of death.

Senior Zhou sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly cultivating Qi through meditation.

As Li Qing had anticipated, this old man, Senior Zhou, was not only eccentric but also rather unkempt.

He wore a tattered Taoist robe that looked as though it hadn’t been washed in ages, and he hadn’t even bothered to cast a Purifying Water Technique to clean himself.

Moreover, the old man was covered in thick hair. The arms and legs visible through his tattered robe were so densely covered in fur that he resembled a monkey.

”Senior Zhou...”

Before Li Qing could finish speaking, the eccentric Old Miner waved him off. ”Alright, put down the wine and get out.”

Without even turning to look at Li Qing, he remained facing away, his tone impatient.

My fists are itching!

Li Qing’s smile stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered, immediately following the old man’s instructions.

There was nothing he could do. He was the one asking for a favor, and he couldn’t defeat the old man anyway!

Don’t let his unkempt appearance fool you. This old man’s cultivation far surpassed Li Qing’s. He had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, placing him firmly in the Mid Qi Refining Realm.

After setting down the Winter Plum Wine, Li Qing left without hesitation, cupping his hands in a respectful bow. ”Senior Zhou, I’ll take my leave now!”

With those words, Li Qing turned and left the courtyard without a moment’s hesitation, as if he had truly come only to deliver a jar of wine.

This casual attitude surprised the unkempt old man.

After leaving Courtyard No. 16, Li Qing felt no disappointment, only a calm acceptance.

Trying to pry loose decades of mining experience accumulated by someone like Senior Zhou with a mere jar of mortal wine was simply impossible. What right did he have to expect such a thing? He wasn’t the old man’s illegitimate son.

With thirteen days remaining until his first descent into the mines, Li Qing decided to send a jar of fine wine every two or three days.

First things first, he needed to make himself familiar.

If Senior Zhou remained tight-lipped as the mining date approached, Li Qing would naturally give up.

After all, he would only lose a few jars of wine. Before leaving Shengtian, he had nearly emptied several of the city’s finest restaurants, storing the wine in a hidden location within the World of Eternal Night.

”If I can’t pry it out, I’ll just accumulate experience on my own. I have plenty of time.”

With that thought, Li Qing returned to his courtyard and resumed his meditation and Qi Refining practice.

(End of the Chapter)

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