Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Liu Xing chose Yinshan Market because it was the largest market in the Demonic Path. Reading books here offered the most information, and the most resources could be exchanged.

As usual, Liu Xing entered the market and began browsing, learning about market trends and broadening his horizons. He then spent several days in bookstores, absorbing a wealth of information on the magical path, which brought him a unique insight. He learned about the various miraculous abilities and methods of the magical cultivators, and was filled with a sense of dread. He secretly reminded himself not to fall into the hands of the demon cultivators, otherwise he would be tortured to a state worse than death.

Then, he slowly walked into a large refinery shop and carefully examined the various magical instruments displayed in the display cases. He wasn't looking to buy anything, but rather to judge the skill of the refiners there. After looking through them all, he found that most of them were mid-grade instruments, with only a few high-grade ones and not a single top-grade one. He was slightly disappointed. But that was understandable. The materials required for top-grade instruments were so precious, it was beyond the reach of a small Qi Refining workshop. However, this level of skill was exactly what Liu Xing was looking for. He wanted to use this opportunity to process the Black Blood Spider's remains and see if he could learn some techniques in the art of refinement.

At this time, the shopkeeper came over and asked:

"My name is Qi Changchun. Welcome to my shop. May I ask your name? What kind of magical instrument would you like to purchase?"

"My surname is Mei. Do you have any top-grade magic weapon?" Liu Xing asked, deciding to give it a try.

"Fellow Daoist, you are praising me too much. Our Qi family has been refining weapons for generations. Our ancestors once refined a top-grade magical weapon. It's just that the materials are hard to find, so I have never had the chance to try." Qi Changchun replied with a little pride.

"Can you refine top-grade magic weapons?" Liu Xing asked in surprise.

"As long as the material quality is sufficient, I am quite confident." Qi Changchun replied confidently.

"What level of precious materials are needed?" Liu Xing asked.

"At least the corpse of a level two monster, or minerals of the same level." Qi Changchun said longingly. These were good things that only seniors in the foundation-building stage could get, and he had no chance of getting his hands on them at all.

"I have some materials here, and I'd like to ask Fellow Daoist Qi to help me refine them into a magical instrument." Liu Xing understood the general situation and decided to deal with the black-blood spider here. He looked around, suggesting that he needed a private space to discuss the details.

"Friend Mei, please follow me." Qi Changchun understood and called a clerk to look after the shop, while he led Liu Xing to the backyard.

Coming to the weapon refining room in the backyard, there was a soundproof and mind-blocking restriction, which made it convenient for them to communicate without worrying about being spied on or disturbed.

Liu Xing surveyed the room. A large refining furnace sat in the center. Beneath the furnace, a vent for underground fire erupted, blazing a crimson glow. Qi Refining cultivators could only use the underground fire to refine elixirs and artifacts. Only those at the Foundation Establishment stage and above could spit out their own flames. Foundation Establishment cultivators could spit out the Three Flavors of True Fire, Core Formation cultivators could spit out Core Fire, and Yuanying cultivators could spit out Infant Fire. The room was also furnished with a smithing table, a sink, a hammer, and tongs.

Liu Xing waved his hand, and a huge, pitch-black spider corpse appeared in the room.

"Is this a Level 2 demon beast?" Qi Changchun sensed the demon beast's aura and cried out uncertainly, clearly deeply shocked. He immediately stepped forward to carefully identify it.

"This is a black-blood spider. The patterns on its abdomen show that it is undoubtedly a second-level monster. Judging from the freshness of the corpse, it seems to have been killed within the past month." Qi Changchun was shocked and stared at Liu Xing in disbelief.

"Mei... Fellow Daoist Mei, did you kill this creature? It...it possesses the strength of a senior in the Foundation Establishment Stage." Qi Changchun looked at Liu Xing as if he saw a monster, with an expression of disbelief.

"I am lucky to have encountered a dying black-blood spider. Otherwise, I would not have the strength to deal with a level two monster." Liu Xing naturally refused to admit that he had the strength to kill a level two monster.

"No wonder, Brother Mei is so blessed to have such a great opportunity." It turned out to be a lucky find, Qi Changchun looked as if he understood.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, can you please see what kind of magical weapon you can refine?" Liu Xing felt relieved when he saw that he could recognize the black-blood spider at a glance and accurately judge its grade, so he asked him to handle it.

"Friend Mei, are you really willing to let me handle these precious materials?" Qi Changchun asked in surprise.

"Of course." Liu Xing smiled and nodded.

"That's great, I can refine the equipment for free without charging a penny. I...I..." Qi Changchun was so excited that he was incoherent.

For a weapon refiner, the constant quest for better materials is to practice. Only with better materials can one reach a higher level of refinement. However, precious materials are limited and expensive. Foundation Establishment Stage materials are usually handled by a Foundation Establishment Stage refiner. Having refined for decades, I haven't had the opportunity to encounter them. Today is truly a manifestation of my ancestors' presence.

It was not until a quarter of an hour later that he gradually calmed down and concentrated on thinking about how to deal with this batch of materials. After thinking for a moment, he said to Liu Xing:

"The most valuable are the eight spider legs, which can be refined into an eight-blade disk. This is a complete set of magical instruments. Combined with some other auxiliary materials, there is a 50% chance of refining it into a top-grade magical instrument."

"The two chelicerae and venom glands can be made into two poison claw drills. This is a disposable magic weapon. A cultivator in the early stage of foundation building will lose half his life if he is accidentally hit by it." Qi Changchun added calmly.

"The remaining spider silk and spider blood can only be used as auxiliary materials and are of little value."

"Fellow Daoist Mei, what do you think of this plan?" Qi Changchun asked nervously, worried about the gains and losses, afraid that Liu Xing would be dissatisfied and would not let him refine the weapon.

"I have no objection to Fellow Daoist Qi's plan. However, the Eight-Blade Disk must be refined into a top-grade magical weapon. Otherwise, such precious materials will be wasted, and Fellow Daoist will have to make compensation. In addition, I only want the Eight-Blade Disk and two poison claw diamonds, and the remaining materials will belong to Fellow Daoist, as my reward this time." Liu Xing thought about it and agreed, but still put some pressure on him.

Qi Changchun was a little hesitant when he heard that he would have to pay compensation if he didn't refine a top-grade magical weapon. That would mean he'd have to put his entire shop on the line. However, with the Level 2 demon beast treasure right before his eyes, he couldn't bear to give it up. This was his only chance to further improve his weapon-refining skills. After weighing the pros and cons, Qi Changchun finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, I have one small condition. When you are refining the weapon, allow me to watch from the side." Liu Xing asked tentatively again.

"Of course," Qi Changchun replied nonchalantly. Weapon refining required long hours of practice, so simply watching and trying to steal someone's skills was out of the question. As long as it didn't disturb him, watching was fine.