Chapter 679: Chapter 679

Qin Sang had no knowledge of the discussions outside. He was busy preparing for the artifact refinement in the fire room.

His first attempt had to be impressive. While the less important steps could be completed using the earth fire, the crucial ones required the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells to ensure success.

Inside the fire room, a fire vein passed through the ground, though it was not visible on the surface.

In the center of the fire room, there was a circular pit, with its walls constructed of neatly arranged square tiles. Each tile was carved with the image of nine fire phoenixes in various poses.

Qin Sang immediately recognized that these patterns formed a peculiar barrier, one that could stabilize the earth fire and enhance its power.

He inserted the talisman given to him by the guards into the pit. A phoenix's cry echoed within, and the nine fire phoenixes seemed to come to life. Their wings blazed red as fire poured from their beaks, producing intense, pure earth fire energy.

Qin Sang’s expression darkened slightly. He took a few unimportant spiritual materials from his Mustard Seed Pouch and experimented. He found that the earth fire in this room was highly stable, and the energy consumption was minimal.

Afterward, Qin Sang paused. He spent the entire day contemplating how to fully utilize these materials.

The next day, Qin Sang began his work. One by one, he cast the spiritual materials into the earth fire, refining them before categorizing them carefully.

During this process, Qin Sang would occasionally interrupt the refining, taking out the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions and using the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells to refine the more crucial materials.

When his true essence was exhausted, he would store the Yan Luo Banner, revert to the earth fire, and allow his true essence to recover.

Thus, the cycle continued as Qin Sang carefully calculated, making the most efficient use of his time.

Each evening, Ran Luo would visit the fire room to check on the progress. No updates had been relayed to her, making her increasingly anxious.

"Reporting to Manager Ran. Daoist Master Qingfeng has yet to emerge and hasn’t issued any commands," the guard reported dutifully, standing firm.

Ran Luo nodded. "Continue to keep watch. If there’s any news, inform me immediately."

She turned to leave, but after a few steps, she heard the guard exhale softly. "Daoist Master has emerged..."

Ran Luo's expression brightened, and she quickly turned back, only to see Qin Sang striding out with confidence. She eagerly asked, "Daoist Master, have you completed the refinement?"

Qin Sang smiled. "Fortunately, I did not disappoint. Please, take a look."

With a wave of his hand, five streams of light shot out from his palm and floated before Ran Luo.

Each stream contained an artifact—a pair of wings, a bone whip, a peculiar small drum, and two sets of armor, one made of leather and the other of bone.

Without exception, they were all top-grade artifacts!

Qin Sang had indeed put in great effort. After exhausting his mind, he had successfully refined five top-grade artifacts.

Artifacts used by cultivators in Canglang Sea were often linked to beast bones and hides, and these were no different.

The wings were primarily made from the wings of several demonic birds, while the bone whip was forged from a segment of Jiao bone. The drum was particularly unique, crafted from the skulls of several demonic beasts. When activated, it could unleash powerful beast soul illusions that disturbed the mind.

Ran Luo took them one by one, marveling at their quality, finally believing in Qin Sang’s remarkable skill in artifact refinement.

"Ah, I almost forgot to report to Elder Zhou," Ran Luo muttered, hurriedly using a sound transmission talisman. She then resumed admiring the artifacts in her hands.

A moment later, a strange expression crossed her face.

Although these five artifacts were clearly different in form, they all shared a common trait. Each was imbued with a trace of cold, oppressive energy. This kind of energy was characteristic of devilish or ghostly artifacts, a byproduct of a unique refinement technique, and it was out of place here.

The wings, which contained abundant fire-elemental energy, could not suppress the cold energy.

Ran Luo instinctively glanced at Qin Sang, her mind filled with doubt.

Qin Sang noticed her expression and smiled wryly to himself.

He hadn’t expected the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells to leave a trace of their essence in the artifacts, imbuing them with an unremovable cold aura.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It could actually enhance the power of the artifacts. If they asked about it, he could easily cover up the truth by attributing it to his unique refinement methods.

However, Qin Sang felt uneasy. Ran Luo had already been suspicious of him, and now, with these artifacts in hand, his identity as a devil was likely to be confirmed.

Fortunately, in the Stormy Demonic Sea, sect rivalries weren’t severe. If they called him a devil, so be it.

If the Qiongyu Merchant Guild rejected him for it, it wouldn’t be a big deal. There would always be another opportunity elsewhere.

Qin Sang tossed his Mustard Seed Pouch to Ran Luo. "These are the remaining spiritual materials I used to refine the artifacts. The quality varies, but feel free to take them, fellow Daoist."

By this time, Ran Luo had regained her composure, clearly having come to terms with the situation. Whether Qin Sang was righteous or evil no longer mattered as long as he could refine artifacts. Newest update provıded by NoveI★Fire.net

Moments later, Elder Zhou and the others arrived. When they saw the five artifacts Qin Sang had presented, none of them questioned his abilities. The young man surnamed Zhuo said nothing, bowed to Qin Sang, and seemed to have finally been convinced.

Elder Zhou began, "Daoist Master Qingfeng, on behalf of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild as the senior manager, I formally invite you to become an Outer Sea Guest Cultivator. With this position, you’ll have access to the resources of the guild both in the Inner and Outer Seas. You will have the authority to call upon them with this token..."

Elder Zhou quickly and decisively assigned Qin Sang the title of Outer Sea Guest Cultivator, handing him a command token.

"Daoist Master is now one of our own. If you have any requests, feel free to ask."

Qin Sang toyed with the guest cultivator token. It seemed that his role as a guest cultivator was even more significant than Huiwen’s, with considerable authority. Not only could he access some of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild’s resources, but in times of crisis, he could even seek help from the entire Dongji Alliance.

As an artifact refiner, his responsibility was to focus on artifact refinement, but that did not mean he was bound to remain on the island indefinitely.

Qin Sang replied, "Since Elder Zhou has asked, I will speak frankly. I only practice artifact refinement on the side; my primary focus is on cultivating my own strength. My cultivation method is unique, and I need to go out periodically to hunt demonic beasts for experience. I cannot stay on the island refining artifacts for long periods."

Elder Zhou immediately agreed, promising that Qin Sang could use the guild’s resources to ensure his safety during these hunts.

Qin Sang presented a few other conditions, and Elder Zhou readily accepted each one.

Finally, following the principle of not letting opportunities go to waste, Qin Sang said, "The guild has acquired so many demonic beast corpses. It looks like I’ll be busy on Duyan Island for at least a year or so. However, I urgently need seven Jiao spirits from peak Demonic Spirit Realm Jiao, and they must be obtained while the Jiao are still alive. I wonder if the guild has any means to gather them quickly?"

Ran Luo pondered for a moment and replied, "To refine the best Malevolent Demonic Pill, one would need the spirits of demonic beasts, and since Daoist Master insists on capturing peak Demonic Spirit Realm Jiao alive, it may be difficult to obtain. I will do my best to help you gather them."

Qin Sang cupped his hands in gratitude. "Thank you for your trouble, Daoist. If you’re unable to gather them right away, could you help me locate places nearby where Jiao are known to appear? I can hunt them myself if necessary."