Chapter 156: The Carried【Cave Dwelling】and【Formation Room】

Ji Yuan took out the Messaging Talisman that was flickering faintly, while also pondering in his heart.

Once he arrived at Everything Island, he would need to purchase some blank Messaging Talismans. Now that he had successfully established his Foundation, he could use Divine Sense Imprint, allowing him to own his own Messaging Talismans.

At that time, he could send them to Dong Qian, Du Wanyi, and Old Master Xu, so that if anything urgent happened, they could easily contact each other.

"Who knows when those who went to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven will return. Counting the days, they should already be on their way back."

Ji Yuan was still rather concerned about Du Wanyi. After all, among those at Peak Qi Refining, though she was capable, she wasn't considered one of the strongest.

As the thought passed through his mind, Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense swept over the Messaging Talisman in his hand.

Li Changhe’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Brother Ji, how’s the island selection going? When's the Island Inauguration Celebration? Remember to tell your brother—I'll send you a big gift, haha."

Ji Yuan inwardly muttered, as expected.

After a brief thought, he didn’t tell Li Changhe directly that he wasn’t going to hold any Island Inauguration Celebration.

He merely said he hadn’t prepared yet and would wait a bit longer. Once the date was confirmed, he would inform him right away—if he said it outright, Li Changhe would surely try to persuade him again.

But if he delayed it a while, by the time the group that went to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven returned, like Feng Yichen and the others among them, surely some would have established their Foundation. By then, enough time would have passed that they would naturally forget.

Ji Yuan would then be able to continue farming in peace.

After replying, the two chatted a bit more, mostly Li Changhe asking if Ji Yuan lacked anything—especially regarding Formation Setup and such. If anything was troublesome, he could let him know.

Not long after, Ji Yuan, dressed in the standard deep-blue robe that only Foundation Establishment disciples were entitled to wear, descended onto Everything Island.

As soon as he landed, he felt the eager gazes of the surrounding disciples. Some who were more "understanding" cupped their hands from a distance in salute toward Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan nodded at them expressionlessly, though inwardly, he felt quite pleased.

His state of mind was clearly still lacking, being disturbed by such external things. But then he thought—wasn’t cultivation itself the pursuit of unimpeded thoughts? Now that his thoughts were indeed unimpeded, that was enough.

Afterward, Ji Yuan went to a shop specializing in monster beast business, selling the mid-Second-Tier Demon Core given by Feng Zhi Tao, along with four early-Second-Tier Demon Cores he had saved.

This time he didn’t go to Feng Zhi Tao’s Demon Trading Shop.

Selling the Demon Core she gave at her own shop felt somewhat inappropriate.

The five Demon Cores sold for a total of 128 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones—four early-tier ones went for 83 stones, and the mid-tier one fetched 45.

For a cultivator at early Foundation Establishment Stage, it wasn’t wealthy, but for Ji Yuan at present, it was barely enough to maintain his current cultivation needs and upgrade the【Fish Pond】.

As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, Ji Yuan didn’t plan to sell it now.

It wouldn’t fetch a good price here; it would have to be at the Auction House.

After selling the Demon Cores, Ji Yuan asked if the shop had any Monster Beast Blood of the ice attribute.

They didn’t. Among human cultivators, ice attribute was already considered a rare variant root.

And it was equally scarce among monster beasts.

Ji Yuan searched four or five monster beast shops before he finally found it—and it wasn’t cheap. Just one or two taels cost 20 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.

That was the value of a single early-Second-Tier Demon Core.

To upgrade【Fish Pond】to Level 3, the panel required “one jar,” but it didn’t specify how big the jar was.

Ji Yuan initially planned to take a shortcut, buying half a tael and storing it in a small jar—but in the end, he gave up on that idea.

Building upgrades weren’t suited for trickery.

Then Ji Yuan went to the Hundred Treasure Pavilion and bought three Profound Ice Crystals, costing him 9 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.

As for Messaging Talismans—there were two kinds: white and golden.

The difference lay in their transmission range.

White Messaging Talismans could only transmit messages within Hatchling Dragon Island, while golden ones had a much broader range, able to deliver messages anywhere within the entire Water Dragon Sect.

If one needed to go even farther, the talisman wouldn’t suffice—they’d need specially crafted Messaging Flying Swords.

The prices weren’t cheap either. One Middle-Grade Spirit Stone could buy two white Messaging Talismans, while a golden one cost five stones apiece.

Giving someone a golden Messaging Talisman was essentially gifting five Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.

True value in social networking.

One Foundation Establishment, combined with numerous building upgrades, had pushed Ji Yuan—who had just risen to wealthy farmer status—back into poverty. He only bought three golden Messaging Talismans and eight white ones.

The rest——..he’d just wait for others to gift them.

In general, among Foundation Establishment cultivators, gifting Messaging Talismans implied an extraordinary relationship—like between Ji Yuan and Feng Zhi Tao’s sects.

Ordinary fellow cultivators—whoever saw value in the other would be the one to initiate and offer their Messaging Talisman.

Ji Yuan had originally thought about learning how to draw Messaging Talismans to earn some money. But after asking one more question, he gave up that idea.

Messaging Talismans could be reused repeatedly and had too low a consumption rate.

It was far more profitable to produce high-consumption Offensive Talismans.

So Ji Yuan also bought a bunch of Second-Tier talisman papers and inks, planning to go into a proper secluded cultivation after this errand.

After buying everything he needed on Everything Island, Ji Yuan originally planned to look for Hua Yaoyue—but halfway there, he couldn’t stop thinking about refining an iron box-type magical artifact as his【Cave Dwelling】.

"Forget it. Better go find Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island first and settle this before seeing Master."

Beforehand, Ji Yuan sent a message to Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island. Once he confirmed that he was at the sect, Ji Yuan descended from his flying boat and arrived at Old Master Xu’s residence on Hatchling Dragon Island.

As the saying goes: “Returning home in splendor is like wearing embroidered clothes in the dark.”

Just after achieving Foundation Establishment, he hadn’t had a chance to share the good news yet.

Ji Yuan knocked on the door, and inside came Xu Fugui’s muttering voice, too low to make out clearly.

Then——the door opened.

The first thing Xu Fugui saw was the deep-blue robe on Ji Yuan.

Seeing this robe, only allowed to Foundation Establishment cultivators, Xu Fugui didn’t even have time to raise his head—his hands instinctively rose and cupped in salute."Greetings, Martial Uncle."

Ji Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and coughed,"When have you ever seen me?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Xu Fugui suddenly looked up. As he saw Ji Yuan standing there, his eyes could not hide his shock and disbelief.

"You littl—————when did you establish your Foundation?"

Xu Fugui instinctively wanted to say “you little brat,” but the words halted midway and were forcefully swallowed back.

"Just not long ago, right after I established Foundation, I thought of coming to share the good news with Grandpa Xu."

Ji Yuan still spoke with a cheerful smile, just like before.

"Foundation Establishment is good, Foundation Establishment is very good."

Seeing Ji Yuan had reached Foundation Establishment, Xu Fugui was naturally very pleased."Quick, come inside and talk."

But the moment he turned around, Ji Yuan sensed a trace of barely noticeable loneliness.

Indeed, Xu Fugui also knew that he had little hope of ever reaching Foundation Establishment. Ji Yuan, on the other hand, was someone he had watched grow from mid Qi Refining.

Back when they first met, Ji Yuan had only been at mid Qi Refining, while Xu Fugui had already reached Peak Qi Refining.

But now, years had passed.

Ji Yuan had successfully established Foundation, while Xu Fugui was still at Peak Qi Refining—this feeling was, inevitably, somewhat disheartening.

After all, Foundation Establishment was something countless Qi Refining cultivators dreamed of.

Once inside the house, the two exchanged some pleasantries.

It had been over a year since they last met, and Ji Yuan asked about Xu Fugui’s recent situation.

"Same old, just retirement. Mostly moving between one Market Town and another, nothing major—just Master.—cough."

"Senior Iron Hammer? What happened to him?"

Even after Foundation Establishment, Ji Yuan still used the same respectful address as before.

"Half a year ago, during weapon refining, he had a furnace explosion from using a defective ore. The injury was serious, and he's only recently gotten a bit better,"Xu Fugui took a puff of dry tobacco and exhaled deeply as he spoke.

"Good that he's recovering."

Ji Yuan nodded. There was nothing that could be done—it was just like how alchemy could also lead to furnace explosions.

Any worthwhile endeavor always carried some risk.

"It's age after all. If it were in his younger days, Master could tell if the ore had issues just from touching it."

"Mm, I haven’t told Senior Iron Hammer about my Foundation Establishment yet. If you’re free, Grandpa Xu, let’s go see him together."

Ji Yuan proposed.

Xu Fugui casually flicked off the ash,"I’m not free this time. I just received a sect mission and will be heading off to the Hundred Treasure Pavilion in Beishan City for a six-month rotation."

"Beishan City? That’s a bit far."

Having spent a few years in the sect, Ji Yuan naturally had become familiar with such matters.

Beishan City was north of the Falling Star River and relatively far from the Water Dragon Sect. Just the travel alone could take a month.

"Yeah, it’s fine though. The sect provides escort. We’ll all go together."

Not long after, Xu Fugui received a message from the First Water Hall—they were departing.

Ji Yuan gave him one of his golden Messaging Talismans, reminding him that if anything came up, he could message him anytime.

The two parted ways, and Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat, heading westward.

This time, pushing forward at full speed, he managed to reach Iron Hammer Island before sunset, unlike previous visits when he’d always arrived in the dead of night.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Iron Hammer—·"

Dressed in a deep-blue robe, Ji Yuan casually cupped his hands toward the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island.

And then came the shock on his face.

"Damn, how old are you? Still a False Spiritual Root, and you’ve established Foundation already? Good heavens."

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island even circled around Ji Yuan, utterly incredulous.

Ji Yuan also looked him over. Compared to before, the wrinkles on the Island Lord's face had clearly deepened, and there was more white hair too.

It seemed he really needed to find a way to arrange the Tempering Aperture Pearl soon. If it could help him with Foundation Establishment Physique—this man had done him great kindness, and Ji Yuan naturally had to repay it somehow.

"By sheer luck, sheer luck."

The smile on Ji Yuan’s face quickly faded as he asked,"I heard from Old Master Xu that Senior Iron Hammer, you were injured?"

"That wasn’t much of an injury, heh. Back when I was in the Eastern Edge Mountain Range, I nearly lost half my life and still pulled through. This little injury? I just sleep it off and I’m fine."

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island waved his hand broadly, completely unconcerned.

"Alright, since you’ve established Foundation, that’s a big deal and worth celebrating. Let’s have a spar first."

Seeing the Island Lord like this, how could Ji Yuan not understand?

It was just that he refused to admit aging.

Just those few words.

So of course, Ji Yuan accompanied him for a sparring match. This time, Ji Yuan didn’t hold back much, but each punch was delivered with rhythm—his aim was to help stimulate the Island Lord’s Vital Energy.

After the match, though the Island Lord looked battered with bruises and a swollen face, his spirit was clearly much better.

Having cultivated the path of the physique for many years, how could he not sense it?

Sitting on the ground, he glanced at Ji Yuan beside him. After a moment’s hesitation, curiosity overcame him and he asked,"Did you establish Foundation through physique?"

"How could that be?"

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but laugh,"Does the Cangluo Continent even have a method for Foundation Establishment Physique? I just took advantage of youth, and having just established Foundation, my Vital Energy has surged quite a bit, that’s all."

"True enough."

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island nodded. That should be the case. Foundation Establishment Physique was nothing more than his personal obsession. Over the years, he had traveled to many places across Shangdong, met many body cultivators, but at most, he saw those who had reached great achievements in body cultivation—never anyone who had established Foundation through physique.

"Come on, it’s rare for you to visit. Let’s eat first."

The Island Lord rested a bit, then patted his backside and got up.

Then Ji Yuan, as usual, took out the liquor. And this time, surprisingly, the Island Lord cooked personally.

He served Ji Yuan a table full of dishes.

"Come, eat!"

The two clinked cups and drank together.

Halfway through the meal, Ji Yuan finally spoke of his idea.

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island listened carefully before finally putting down his wine cup."What do you want a magical artifact like that for? It can’t kill enemies, and if you want it to resist attacks, it’ll need a lot of good materials. That’s a waste."

A magical artifact shaped like an iron box, one that could expand and shrink—he really couldn’t see what use it had.

"No need for good materials. As long as it can change size, nothing else matters. As for its purpose————it just makes lodging during travels more convenient."

Ji Yuan really couldn’t come up with any better excuse.

Fortunately, the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island didn’t ask much,"Alright, if it doesn’t need any other functions, that’s simple. After we finish eating, I’ll teach you. You can hammer it yourself."

"Oh? Sounds good."

Upon hearing that the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island was willing to teach him weapon refining, Ji Yuan became even more interested. If he could learn it, he could build a【Weapon Refining Room】when he returned.

As for learning more and learning widely—out in the world, more skills never hurt.

So after their meal, the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island tossed Ji Yuan a hammer at the level of a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact."Weapon refining is actually quite similar to pill refining. The key is that the tools in your hand can’t be lacking."

"If you draw talismans, you need top-quality Talisman Brushes, Talisman Ink, and Talisman Paper. If you refine pills, you need a good Pill Cauldron. Likewise, if you refine weapons, you need a good hammer and an even better iron furnace."

"One main reason there aren’t many weapon refiners is this—weapon refining demands heavy investment and suffers high material loss."

"If you’re just making ordinary Magical Artifacts, that’s fine. But if you want to refine Spiritual Artifacts, then it gets difficult."

With someone to guide him, Ji Yuan listened very earnestly.

"Alright, did you prepare any materials?"

"No——"Ji Yuan had only intended to ask first. If it was feasible, he would buy them afterward.

"Damn it, you really came here to freeload off me, huh."

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island glared and immediately tossed over a black iron block the size of a human head."Hammer it!"

"Directly hammer it? Don’t need to heat it first?"

Ji Yuan asked with wide eyes.

When it came to weapon refining, he was practically ignorant.

"This Black Heart Rock is different. You have to hammer it raw—if you heat it, you won’t get the desired effect,"the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island explained.

Ji Yuan obediently did as instructed, starting his blacksmithing journey. But after hammering for a full day and finally making some progress with the Black Heart Rock, the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island took it away.

"Wait, this—"

"What this? You don’t need such good materials just to make a Magical Artifact,"the Island Lord glared.

"So Senior’s treating me like a laborer, is that it?"

Ji Yuan said helplessly.

"Bullshit, that’s your tuition. Come, I’ll teach you a few tricks, and you’ll see whether it’s worth it or not."

As he spoke, the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island approached the massive furnace, formed a hand seal with one hand, and activated the Earth Fire. In an instant—

A wave of heat surged toward them.

Ji Yuan quickly stepped aside.

"When it comes to weapon refining, don’t listen to all their nonsense about techniques—like what kind of ore needs what kind of temperature and how long to burn—before Spiritual Artifacts, you don’t need to worry about any of that. Just go hard—big fire, heavy hammering."

"Those so-called techniques exist only because they’re not body cultivators and can’t hammer long, so they invented all kinds of shortcuts. But we don’t need that. All we need to do is hammer."

The Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island said proudly.

"Yeah, I get it—brute force brings miracles."

It was the first time the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island had heard that saying and paused."You’re right—that’s exactly it."

"Use some strength, damn it! Did you skip your meals or what?"

"That corner—don’t just brute-force it. You need finesse. Three fires, one burn, eight-forge hammer—this is my secret technique."

Over the next ten days, Ji Yuan didn’t go anywhere. He stayed on Iron Hammer Island, learning weapon refining from the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island. Luckily, over on Misty Island, Tu Yue and the Great Toad were there to help out.

This freed Ji Yuan from worries.

Ten days later.

When Ji Yuan looked at the "house" he had painstakingly hammered out, it was a Lower-Grade Magical Artifact—usable, but its appearance was rather ugly. He had intended to make a rectangular-shaped house, but what he got was... top-heavy and bottom-thin. When flipped upside-down, it even wobbled.

He worried that if he pulled it out during combat, it would collapse before the opponent even made a move.

"Damn it, you’re pathetic. Let me do it!"

Seeing Ji Yuan produce a Magical Artifact in just ten days, the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island felt a bit jealous. He had spent eighty to ninety days hammering out his first one—and the result?

A brick-shaped Magical Artifact.

As the name implied.

Though it was despised, Ji Yuan still kept the "house." It was his first self-made Magical Artifact.

It had no practical value, but held value for collection.

One day later, Ji Yuan clearly felt the gap between himself and the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island.

With the same materials, he could only make a Lower-Grade Magical Artifact, but the Island Lord made a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact. Then he added some extras—and it became an Upper-Grade Magical Artifact.

So in the end, Ji Yuan obtained two Upper-Grade Magical Artifact-level "Cave Dwelling-type" Magical Artifacts.

Though they were the lowest type of Cave Dwelling, at least they were.

Once in hand, he couldn’t wait to test them.

If the Stellar Whirl Cloud Barrier Formation and Stardust Illusion-Kill Formation could be directly launched from these two houses, the effect would be far stronger.

After expressing ample gratitude to the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island, Ji Yuan took the two Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts and left.

Inside the sect was the Sect-Guarding Formation, and Ji Yuan didn’t dare to test them there. If patrols detected something abnormal, it would be trouble. He would rather spend more time—traveling westward from the Water Dragon Sect, exiting the Sect-Guarding Formation, and arriving at an unnamed deserted island in an unnamed water region.

Only then did he prepare to test them.

The【Cave Dwelling】was easy enough. After thinking for a while, Ji Yuan carved the words "Ji Residence" inside the iron house, and a line of small text appeared above the iron house—visible only to him.

【Cave Dwelling: |v3】

It worked!

Ji Yuan was overjoyed and immediately took out the other iron house for a trial. This time, he tried several different methods.

Branding didn’t work, carving words didn’t work—until he carved a series of formation patterns inside the house.

Only then did the panel effect appear.

【Formation Room: |v2】

Staring at the two iron houses before him, Ji Yuan moved his mind.

Two formations surged forth instantly, and in a flash, the entire deserted island was enveloped.

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