Chapter 209 | After My Side Profession Hit Max Level, I Transmigrated

As soon as she said this, President Song and Master Ji's expressions changed drastically. They finally understood why Shi Yu was being so cautious as to set up two barriers.

Although neither of them was versed in the Dao of Artifacts, they had heard of the Soul-Searching and Spirit-Refining Art.

The Soul-Searching and Spirit-Refining Art required at least the Golden Core Realm to execute and was extremely vicious. It used another person's soul and divine sense as refining materials, forcibly stripping them from the body, using a secret art to erase their memories and emotions to form a living soul, and then fusing that living soul into a magic treasure to become an artifact spirit.

Shi Yu continued in a low voice, “When a magic treasure gives birth to an artifact spirit, its potential and power increase immensely. However, artifact spirits are hard to come by—they either develop sentience over a long time by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, or the weapon itself was forged from natural treasures of extraordinary spirituality.”

“However...” Shi Yu recalled what Fang Yushan had said when he summoned his flying sword on their return trip the day President Song broke through to the Golden Core Realm.

“Patriarch Fang said that day that his sword was forged seven or eight years ago. Since it's a new sword, how could it have absorbed the essence of heaven and earth over a long period? Moreover, judging by the spiritual materials used for that sword, while they are somewhat rare, they are certainly not spiritual items capable of giving birth to an artifact spirit on their own.”

Both President Song and Master Ji understood the implication behind her words. If that was the case, for the sword to possess an artifact spirit, some secret art must have been used.

Neither of them doubted Shi Yu's deduction. They knew her attainments and discernment in the Dao of Artifacts were no less than in the Dao of Alchemy. For her to speak with such certainty, she had to be quite confident.

Still, this matter was of immense consequence, so Master Ji could not help asking, “Could it be a coincidence? Perhaps Patriarch Fang stumbled upon a stroke of good fortune that allowed the sword to birth an artifact spirit...?”

Shi Yu nodded. “That possibility exists, which was why I only harbored suspicions that day and wasn't entirely certain. But—”

“—after seeing Patriarch Fang today, I can state with certainty that his sword was definitely infused with an artifact spirit using the Soul-Searching and Spirit-Refining Art.”

Master Ji hurriedly asked, “How can you be so sure?”

President Song, who had remained silent at the side, looked up at this moment and said, “Was it the Sha-Attracting Grass?”

Shi Yu nodded. “An artifact spirit refined through this method is not a naturally born spiritual creature. Even if its memories and emotions were wiped away to make it a living soul, it still carries a trace of fierce, resentful fiendish energy. By nature, it harbors a desire to devour fiendish energy to strengthen itself.”

“Therefore, I deliberately used that Sha-Attracting Grass as a test.”

Master Ji and President Song fell silent.

Earlier, when the fiendish energy escaped, Patriarch Fang had struck in the blink of an eye, dispersing the fiendish energy with a single sword thrust. Looking back now, the fiendish energy hadn't been dispersed at all—it had been completely devoured by the artifact spirit within the sword.

Master Ji murmured in disbelief, “Such a cruel and tyrannical method is completely unacceptable to righteous cultivators. As the head of a prominent family, how could Patriarch Fang dare to do such a thing?”

The Soul-Searching and Spirit-Refining Art was a forbidden technique in the cultivation world. If exposed, the practitioner would inevitably face siege and condemnation from all sides.

For Patriarch Fang to use such a method to forge and nurture his natal flying sword showed that, regardless of his motives, his true nature was not as gentle and benevolent as he appeared on the surface.

Shi Yu's expression turned stern, her brow furrowing. “Therefore... Patriarch Fang's previous words regarding Sheng'er's Calamity Physique are likely full of omissions and cannot be fully trusted.”

Whether his refining of the Mengtian Pill was truly to save Sheng'er or served another purpose remained open to question.

“Then what should we do now?”

Shi Yu pondered for a moment. “If we don't want to meddle in this muddy water, it's simple enough. Only one set of spiritual plants remains. Concocting a Tier-4 pill is difficult to begin with, so failing would be perfectly normal. I can simply say my skills were lacking.”

Several of the spiritual plants required for the Mengtian Pill were rare and hard to come by. If both sets were ruined, it would buy them time to figure out Patriarch Fang's true intent behind wanting this pill.

“However...” Shi Yu sighed softly, thinking of Sheng'er, who had grown so emaciated that her features were gaunt. “If this pill truly is meant to save Sheng'er, ruining these rare spiritual plants on purpose might delay her only chance at survival.”

That child's aura was so feeble, her body like a fragile willow in the wind, resembling a nearly burnt-out candle whose tiny flicker was about to go out.

President Song and Master Ji also felt conflicted.

Everything at present was still speculation. Though highly probable, nothing was definitive, and they couldn't just deliberately ruin what had been entrusted to them.

As she pondered, Shi Yu raised her eyes and caught sight of the remaining set of spiritual plants on the long table. An idea suddenly struck her, and she murmured, “I have an idea.”

She walked over briskly, picked up the few rare and precious spiritual plants, carefully stored them inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, and then retrieved several common spiritual plants from within the bell.

Before President Song and Master Ji could comprehend what she was doing, Shi Yu held those common plants as a gauzy, hazy layer of spiritual energy trickled from her palm, enveloping them. Then, right before their eyes, those common spiritual plants transformed into the exact rare plants Shi Yu had just put away!

“This... This...”

The technique divine ability Shi Yu had used was none other than the 《Illusory Resemblance Art》.

Given her current cultivation, executing this method outside the space of the 《Illusory Resemblance Art》 was quite strenuous, but the result was remarkable.

Having undergone Shape-Shifting, the spiritual plants in her hands were completely indistinguishable from the rare ones in both appearance and aura.

Seeing the astonished expressions on President Song and Master Ji's faces, Shi Yu pursed her lips slightly. “It's just a trick of the eye; their core remains the original common plants.”

Without the assistance of her inner space, she could at most simulate their external form and charm in the outside world.

By swapping out the rare, hard-to-find spiritual plants, the next attempt at refining would naturally fail, buying them some time.

Once they left the Fang Clan, she could find a hidden location to refine the Mengtian Pill anew. Since she had preserved the rare spiritual plants, the rest were merely common ones and wouldn't be difficult to gather. If she later confirmed that Patriarch Fang had no ulterior motives, she could apologize sincerely and hand over the Mengtian Pill without harming Sheng'er's chances.

Calming her mind, Shi Yu handed the disguised plants to President Song to be safe. “President, with these plants right in front of you, can you tell whether they are real or fake?”

President Song took them, carefully examined and identified them, then returned them to Shi Yu while shaking his head. “It's hard to tell them apart.”

President Song was a Golden Core powerhouse and a Tier-4 alchemist proficient in the Dao of Alchemy. If even he couldn't tell the difference, Patriarch Fang, an outsider to alchemy, would be even less likely to see through it.

“Then that's good.” Breathing a sigh of relief, Shi Yu arranged the disguised plants one by one back into the jade boxes on the long table.

...

After resting at the Fang Clan for a day, everyone returned to the quiet room the following morning, waiting for Shi Yu's second refining attempt.

This time, Fang Yushan's expression held even more anxiety and tension than the day before. Out of the corners of their eyes, President Song and Master Ji noticed that his hand, which held Fang Sheng's without letting go for even a second, had veins bulging on the back. His entire body was taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

They couldn't help but be secretly startled.

Fang Yushan hadn't noticed that the spiritual plants on the long table had been swapped. Thus, when a loud bang sounded from within the pill furnace and the medicinal liquids meshed together before violently exploding into a heap of medicinal dregs, he suspected nothing unusual, taking it as a commonplace failure.

Although he knew that failure in alchemy was entirely normal, he was still somewhat dazed and unable to accept it at this moment. His face turned dark, and his hand tightened continuously.

It wasn't until Shi Yu turned around and spoke apologetically, “Patriarch Fang... my skills were inadequate. I am truly sorry.”

As she spoke, her gaze lowered. Fang Yushan followed her gaze downward, only then realizing that he had been gripping his daughter's hand with iron intensity without realizing it. Sheng'er's small hand had been squeezed a dark purple, yet the young girl hadn't made a sound, nor was there any expression on her face.

Fang Yushan paused for a moment before slowly relaxing his grip. Forcing a strained smile toward Shi Yu, he said, “Miss Shi has done her best.”

One had to put on a complete act.

Shi Yu walked over slowly, crouched down until her eyes were level with Sheng'er's, and said to her, “Sheng'er, I'm sorry. Big Sister couldn't refine it.”

Sheng'er tilted her head, looking at her.

Shi Yu's eyes flickered. This child's spiritual perception was extraordinarily keen. Though her eyes moved sluggishly and appeared somewhat dull, meeting her gaze now gave Shi Yu the feeling that all her thoughts were being laid bare, as if no lie or disguise could hide from those eyes.

Shi Yu couldn't help thinking, Could she have seen through...?

Just then, Sheng'er shook her head slightly. “It's alright, Sister Shi.”

Shi Yu glanced at her once more, stood up, and looked toward Patriarch Fang. “Patriarch Fang, as things stand...”

Fang Yushan frowned, then let out a long sigh after a pause. “In that case, I will find a way to gather another set of spiritual plants.”

He then turned to Shi Yu and the others. “Although Sha-Attracting Grass can also be found in Hengze Prefecture, its quality is poor, so I will likely have to make a trip to Wanchou Prefecture. Gathering the other spiritual plants will also require considerable travel—may I ask if you are in a rush to return to Lingtai Prefecture?”