A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 125 Refining Mystic Water

The Soft Cloud Golden is golden in color and soft to the touch yet has excellent toughness; the Silver Thread Vine is a kind of spiritual plant that becomes exceptionally tough after absorbing metal minerals, and is one of the materials used to refine some rope-type magical artifacts.

"Three pieces of Sea-Sinking Mystic Crystal, two catties of Soft Cloud Gold, and one Silver Thread Vine." Shopkeeper Qian turned the abacus and announced a price.

Luo Ming remained calm and did not haggle. Instead, he took out several bulging leather bags and a few well-sealed jade boxes from his storage bag and placed them on the counter: "Manager Qian, please give me an estimate. Here are some complete materials from level five and six demonic beasts, including their fur, bones, and claws. They were all recently obtained from the outer seas and are in excellent condition."

Shopkeeper Qian's eyes lit up, and he quickly opened the package for inspection. He saw that the materials had been properly processed and their spiritual energy was well preserved. After carefully evaluating them for a while, he finally gave a purchase price.

After offsetting the two payments, Luo Ming not only didn't have to pay any spirit stones, but the other party also had to give him several thousand more spirit stones.

With the transaction completed, Manager Qian was in high spirits. While helping Luo Ming pack the materials, he casually whispered, "Fellow Daoist, you've had quite a haul this time. However, Blackstone City hasn't been entirely peaceful lately. You'll need to find a safe cave dwelling for refining Xuan Water and crafting magic weapons."

The cave dwellings rented out at 'Rock Abode' in the east of the city have a good reputation. The protective array was personally set up by a Core Formation array master, making them difficult to spy on or disturb. If you are interested, I can introduce you to one of them.

Luo Ming knew this was a gesture of goodwill, but also a reminder to keep his wealth hidden and act cautiously. He cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your advice, Manager Qian. I will take it to heart."

After leaving Cunjin Pavilion, Luo Ming did not go directly to "Panshi Residence" recommended by Manager Qian. Instead, he wandered around Blackstone City for a while to make sure no one was following him before finding "Dihuo Residence" in the northern area of ​​the city. It had an ordinary storefront but was said to have a clean background. He rented a cave dwelling with a high-level Dihuo chamber and protective array for six months.

The cave dwelling is fully equipped. Although the Earth Fire Chamber is not top-tier, it is sufficient for refining the Submerged Sea Crystal and performing preliminary processing of other materials. Most importantly, this place is relatively low-key.

After activating all the protective barriers around the cave, Luo Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief. He first checked the inside and outside of the cave, setting up several of his own small warning barriers before entering the Earth Fire Chamber.

He sat down cross-legged and first took out the three pieces of the Sea-Sinking Mystic Crystal and placed them in front of him.

"Refining Xuan Water takes a long time and requires a high degree of concentration; there can be no mistakes." Luo Ming stared at the dark blue crystal, recalling the refining methods recorded in relevant ancient texts.

He steadied himself, waved his hand, and unleashed a burst of magical power, igniting the pre-set earth vein fire within the Earth Fire Chamber.

Orange-red flames rose up and, under the control of the magic incantation, transformed into a gentle and continuous ring of fire, slowly enveloping the smallest piece of the Submerged Sea Crystal.

Outside the cave, Blackstone City continued to operate at its own pace, with undercurrents quietly surging beneath the calm surface. Luo Ming, meanwhile, was immersed in his cultivation and weapon-forging preparations, temporarily isolated from the disturbances of the outside world.

Three months later, Luo Ming looked at the small ball of mysterious water in his hand, his expression somewhat grim.

Only then did he understand why there were no finished Xuan Shui products for sale in the Cun Jin Pavilion. It was simply too time-consuming and energy-intensive, and probably very few people would think of refining it to earn spirit stones.

Moreover, according to his estimation, even if all three pieces of the Submerged Sea Crystal were refined, the resulting Xuan Water would not be enough to refine a Xuan Yuan Pearl.

"I hope the Spirit Gathering Cauldron won't disappoint me."

Luo Ming first took out the essence of wind spirit from the cauldron, then threw the ball of mysterious water into it, and quietly observed the changes inside.

But a few days later, his expression became unpredictable.

The Spirit Gathering Cauldron can indeed allow the Xuan Water to grow slowly, but the speed is very slow. If it grows to the amount that can be used to refine Xuan Yuan Pearls, it will take at least three years. He needs twelve Xuan Yuan Pearls. Does that mean he has to wait thirty-six years?

It's better to just spend a lot of money to buy it directly.

"The function of this cauldron cannot be limited to this; it must be that my strength is insufficient to discover it."

Gazing quietly at the mysterious water within the cauldron, Luo Ming pondered how to unlock its potential. Before he formed his core, he felt the cauldron was sufficient and was busy improving his strength, so he didn't put much effort into studying it.

However, after reaching the Core Formation stage, he discovered that the cauldron's function was somewhat inadequate for his cultivation needs.

In the previous life, the cauldron was used for cooking rice, in addition to its use in sacrifices.

Luo Ming's heart stirred, and he cast a spell, causing a ball of pill fire to appear beneath the cauldron.

Time passed slowly, and the small cauldron remained unchanged, except that the Xuan water inside seemed to have a slightly richer spiritual energy.

This change was entirely within his expectations. After all, he had directly consumed a large amount of his magic power, which was the same principle as the small cauldron absorbing external spiritual energy on its own. It was just that with the addition of his magic power, the speed was a bit faster.

But this is not what he wants. If it requires him to expend a lot of magic power and time, it will seriously affect his cultivation speed, which would be a loss.

But this is not what he wants. If it requires him to expend a lot of magic power and time, it will seriously affect his cultivation speed, which would be a loss.

Somewhat unwilling, Luo Ming summoned the Zhiyang Bird as well. Upon seeing that Luo Ming had released it, the bird immediately began to circle excitedly within the cave.

"Come, use your spiritual fire to burn it," Luo Ming commanded.

"Chirp chirp!"

Upon receiving the command, the Zhiyang Bird opened its beak and spat out a blazing white flame. Compared to before, after advancing to the fourth level, the power of the flame had increased considerably, but it posed no threat to Luo Ming now.

The raging flames completely enveloped the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, and with the addition of Luo Ming's own alchemical fire, the power looked terrifying, but nothing particularly changed.

"Gathering spiritual energy... could it be due to a lack of raw materials?"

Luo Ming couldn't help but think that since he wanted to condense Xuan Water, it was really too much to ask the Spirit Gathering Cauldron to generate it out of thin air. The fact that the other party could absorb the surrounding water spiritual energy and slowly condense some was actually quite heaven-defying.

At this moment, Luo Ming looked at the two pieces of Submerged Sea Crystal next to him, and on a whim, threw them into the crystal and continued to refine them with increased power.

The change has finally occurred!

The Deep Sea Mystic Crystal, which originally required Luo Ming three months to refine, was changing at a speed visible to the naked eye within the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

So this is how it's used?

Previously, he had always let the Spirit Gathering Cauldron do the work on its own. After advancing to the Core Formation stage, he also tried to refine the cauldron with his magic power and divine sense, but found that there was no change. It wasn't until today, when he needed a large amount of Xuan Water, that he discovered another use for the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

"At this rate, we can refine the two pieces of Sunken Sea Mystic Crystal in less than a day, which is a hundred times faster than before."

Luo Ming looked at the slowly melting Xuan Crystal inside the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and smiled happily.

A day later, the mysterious water contained in the sunken sea crystal slowly gathered and eventually formed a round bead the size of a walnut. Although it has not yet been refined into a magic weapon, its weight alone would make it quite powerful enough to smash someone with.

Luo Ming could actually refine Xuan Shui for others to earn spirit stones now, but he didn't have the time for that. Apart from doing things that could improve his own cultivation, he wasn't interested in anything else.

"The refining speed issue has been resolved, but now I need a large amount of Sea-Sinking Mystic Crystals. It seems I'll have to look at other merchants."

Luo Ming pondered for a while, then turned and walked out of the cave.