Tie Dan was briefly shaken by the shock.
Xuan Nu
is actually not human??
Artifact Spirit??
Whoa...
No wonder no female cultivator has been able to ascend by practicing the Xuan Nu Method for so many years, it’s simply not meant for humans!
No wonder the Mystic Sect keeps their Heavenly Book a secret and insists that disciples learn the Five Arts, mastering Calculus, Talisman, Array, Elixir, and Artifact to become Great Grandmasters to have a say.
No wonder the Mystic Sect is so fond of artifact refining, constantly crafting.
So, Xuan Nu...
is a magic treasure??
Whoa...
The Kun side-eyed him with a fish eye, "Surprised, huh?"
Tie Dan was shocked...
Wait, doesn’t this mean...
Mystic Sect doesn’t have a ’path’ for humans at all?
Lord Xiao consoled him,
"That’s right, so it’s best for one to gradually understand these secrets on their own, to avoid damaging a disciple’s Daoist Heart.
That’s why the Mystic Sect advocates that while a master can lead you to the door, cultivation is up to the individual, and you must find your own path."
Tie Dan was silent for a while, nodded,
"There is no paved road in this world; the path must be carved out by oneself."
Lord Xiao smiled,
"A teachable kid, so let’s continue learning."
Tie Dan replied seriously,
"Learn."
No matter the secrets of the past, regardless of the changes in Spiritual Qi Secret Method, the core of the Mystic Sect’s artifact refining is the Xuan Nu Talisman.
Which is to engrave the core array of Xuan Nu, so in some sense, whether it’s Lord Xiao or Sword Monarch, the core of every Artifact Spirit is Xuan Nu, just evolved into different spirits based on different memories, personalities, and opportunities.
And based on the Xuan Nu Talisman’s foundation, different functions are added depending on the material and use of the magic treasure. With Divine Light Secret Method and Talisman Seal Array Treasure Talisman, adding secret methods like ’Invisibility,’ ’Flying,’ and ’Tracking,’ is the most basic treasure-making process.
Just listening without practice is useless, so as he listened, Tie Dan began to practice.
Of course, he wasn’t skilled enough to refine with Lord Xiao, so he used his own Dharma Conch Celestial Pearl to practice. This pearl, made from gemstones of the Western Regions, harnesses Water, Fire, Wind, and Lightning powers. Previously, Tie Dan used its Spiritual Qi when forming his sword embryo, but hadn’t had an opportunity to recharge it, and now it was dull.
Now he understood that this foreign pearl was simply lacking Xuan Nu’s top-tier algorithm core, thus never reaching top-grade, squandering good material.
So, Tie Dan attempted by using Divine Light Projection to supplement the talisman on the pearl. Though he was just a novice, he had plenty of guidance from the fish and flute around him, so it wasn’t too bad.
By directly coordinating the core, he modified the settings of the Treasure Bead, turning it into a single ’Xuanming Attribute,’ directly absorbing the Ice and Snow of Yin Mountain and Xuanming Spirit Qi, charging it rapidly. Soon it regained its Treasure Light, becoming usable as a Nascent Soul Realm Xuanming Pearl.
Of course, Tie Dan couldn’t engrave any more advanced talismans, just using it as an ice ball to smash monsters.
Thus, wielding the Xuanming Pearl and harnessing the icy winds, with Qi Condensation protecting his body, from a distance, Tie Dan, cloaked in a cape, looked like a snow leopard leaping through the snowy mountains and icy plains, inch by inch, searching for Snow Lotus on Yin Mountain.
He delved deep into the snowy mountains for about half a month, encountering and defeating four or five demon beasts on the way. Tie Dan consumed quite a few demon cores, gradually restoring his cultivation and charging up his two turbo reserves, even completing his Xuanji Ice Qi, but he still couldn’t find any trace of the Snow Lotus.
Ah, Heavenly Materials Treasures are like that; when you encounter them, you don’t cherish them, and when you actively seek them out, you can never find them, requiring a thousandfold effort to obtain.
But Tie Dan was not discouraged; after all, hunting for treasure and refining Qi simultaneously, coupled with Lord Xiao teaching him artifact refinement, was not a waste of time.
Finally, one night, while Tie Dan was huddled inside the hollowed-out belly of a yak, controlling his breath and conserving energy, he suddenly felt a surge of Spiritual Qi rising to the sky, awakening him instantly.
Breaking out of the yak’s belly and looking into the distance, he saw a snow peak in the distance, Treasure Light blooming, Spiritual Qi piercing the sky, clearly indicating that a secret realm had opened, and treasures had emerged.
From afar, many Demon Winds and colorful clouds were drawn to the secret realm, gathering and clashing in the sky, indicating that nearby cultivators and demons were also being drawn there.
Tie Dan knew he couldn’t delay; if he hesitated, he might not even get leftovers, not to mention someone might have Snow Lotus. So, he used Ice River Escape, streaking a trail of ice across the sky, heading straight for the secret realm.
This secret realm seemed to be an Ancient Ruin buried deep within the snowy mountains. Being secluded, it was relatively well-preserved, and from the grand and magnificent architecture and the distinct style of the ice sculptures, it was clearly an ancient palace of the Ancient Demon Clan.
Likely a stronghold during the period of human-demon wars in Yin Mountain, later flattened by the Guardian Immortal Army, destroyed in the chaos of war, the heads of those demon statues cut off, the entire city buried under the snow mountains, only resurfacing due to the changes in Heavenly Dao, in the wake of the Demon Clan’s resurgence.
Ancient Demon Clan ruins, huh, a bit troublesome...
Tie Dan frowned immediately. After all, the physical prowess and natural talent of the Demon Clan far exceed those of humans. The reason they were overpowered was fundamentally because most of the Demon Clan’s heritage was lost, lacking even proper body refinement techniques like Gang Fist, relying entirely on instinctive beast-like combat, unable to fully utilize their strength.
But if the Demon Clan, with the rise of their fate, found their lost secret techniques in these Ancient Ruins, it would truly be catastrophic.
Such a simple principle was understood by all cultivators. Indeed, as human cultivators gathered one by one, upon seeing the ruins and the demons gathering, their expressions changed, joining the battle against the demons without a word.
Yes, if this secret realm were to open in the Central Plains, they would surely infight and compete for this opportunity.
But here was the Yin Mountain Snow Ridge, the main base of demons! Constantly in a perilous situation of being surrounded, now that the ruins had emerged, causing a massive uproar, it was clearly Heaven’s will for the two races to fight for survival. In such a time, infighting and backstabbing would be incredibly foolish.
Thus, Tie Dan didn’t hide or evade, moving across the battlefield with Ice River Escape, and hurling his Ice Ball Heavenly Pearl at the Great Demon Giants in a barrage of attacks.
And as more cultivators arrived, they joined the fray, drawing swords and brandishing guns for close combat, or pinching the formula to cast spells for remote support.
The demons, though superior in numbers, lacked heritage and couldn’t coordinate, also unable to quickly gather as cultivators did.
Those demons that could fly were immediately besieged by cultivators in the sky, killed or fleeing, losing air control directly.
And the Grounds Demons, due to their nature, with Nascent Soul Monsters often acting alone, were collective demon beasts restricted by the snowy terrain, blocked by cultivators at several mountain passes, bombarded by spells and magic treasures from the sky. Occasionally, their large bodies slipped from mountain peaks into icy crevices, unable to advance or retreat, eventually abandoning dozens of corpses, driven out a hundred miles, wary of approaching the Snow Ridge for now.
Though they dared not approach, that Treasure Light was so blatant, they wouldn’t leave so easily, slowly surrounding the secret realm.
The human cultivators won a temporary victory but knew that this wasn’t sustainable, gathering at the snowy mountain top ruins entrance to strategize.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the current situation needs no explanation. We ought to enter the city immediately and destroy all Demon Clan heritage; that is the best plan."
At that moment, a True Man dressed in the Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe, perceiving himself to have the highest realm, spoke first.
Everyone understood this clearly, seeing the quantity of demons, fearing that if delayed, demons would gather from all directions, and cultivators’ True Qi would be exhausted, making it hard to prevail.
"However, someone must guard outside to hold back the demons. Although I am not talented, I am willing to stay and oversee, deterring the demons."
"The True Man speaks rightly."
The group nodded in agreement, for the circumstances were clear: there were indeed treasures and Immortal Fate within the ruins for those who could enter. But who knew how long it might take to breach the secret realm? If there weren’t enough guards outside and the demons stormed in to seize the city, those inside would face certain doom.
The Purple-clothed Immortal’s proactive proposal and willingness to guard outside quickly assured the people. Many pinched calculated that those without affinity for this secret realm or those originally here to hunt demons for resources volunteered to stay outside to block the demons.
Tie Dan also calculated, not compelled to go inside, since his main goal was the Snow Lotus, likely scarce in the Demon Clan’s ruins buried in the snow mountains. The Demon Clan magic treasures weren’t of much use to him; killing a few demons outside, cutting a few elixirs, and exchanging with the Purple-clothed Immortal for Snow Lotus seemed more feasible.
As he was calculating and observing, suddenly a glow descended upon his side.
Tie Dan was stunned, noticing a group of Snow Mountain Palace disciples cloaked in Snow Leopard Skins had descended around him.
Uh...
The Nascent Soul Realm Snow Mountain Palace elder at the forefront proclaimed, taking the lead, transmitting his voice loudly:
"All of you, get out of here! This secret realm belongs to Snow Mountain Palace!"
All the cultivators glared angrily at these snow leopard-skinned figures. Tie Dan, caught among them, felt speechless...

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