You arrived at just the right moment!

“This ghost scholar is quite peculiar…”

Staring at the shattered inkstone on the ground, Xiao Qingpei’s gaze flickered. After seven days, this ghost had once again wandered back and then dissipated before his very eyes.

If the first time was a coincidence, then the second could not possibly be one.

“Moreover, the only thing certain for now is that only ancient objects of the inkstone type can manifest this ghost scholar.”

Xiao Qingpei pondered, feeling that there was something the ghost was hinting at, but what exactly it meant eluded him.

So he stopped thinking about it altogether, riding the clouds away.

Previously, when he was in Rujin County, he hadn’t considered things so thoroughly. But after settling in Yunxiao Palace for several days, he finally realized something.

When he used his second talent, “Better Me Than My Fellow Daoist,” he couldn’t stay in the same place too long!

Otherwise, some unforeseen event might easily arise.

After all, since the world had been suffused with Pure Yang Immortal Qi, there were supposedly no monsters or ghosts!

Of course, after the incident at the “Inverted Yang Spring,” Xiao Qingpei would never again believe such claims, but other cultivators hadn’t experienced the bizarre events he had.

Besides, even if other cultivators were skeptical, human curiosity could not be dismissed. What if a powerful Golden Core cultivator came to investigate? Or worse, what if an old monster of the Nascent Soul stage was drawn in?

“Perhaps that old monster from the Immortal Remote Prefecture ended up in Rujin County just like that…”

Xiao Qingpei muttered to himself, speeding along the clouds. After traveling some distance, he encountered a stretch of thick, dark clouds, which greatly enhanced the effectiveness of his cloud-riding technique.

His speed was already swift, but now it was like thunder and lightning!

In the blink of an eye, he had traveled several hundred yards.

As Xiao Qingpei happily sped away, deep within the dense cloud cover, a vague silhouette—like a dragon yet not a dragon—emerged.

This figure was invisible to the naked eye and imperceptible to spiritual sense.

Because it was not a creature of this world.

After watching Xiao Qingpei for a moment, the figure dispersed the clouds concealing it, then silently pursued him.

...

Xiao Qingpei had consulted maps to learn about the nearby counties, so his departure was not aimless.

The county he had previously been in was called Tianming County.

But the direction he was now headed was not toward Yunxiao Palace.

In fact, it was precisely the opposite direction.

Xiao Qingpei had borrowed maps for a reason—not to return to Yunxiao Palace. His apprenticeship there had always been inexplicable; things seemed fine for now, but who could say what might happen in the future?

Earlier, he couldn’t leave Yunxiao Palace for good reason, but now, with the “Inverted Yang Spring” gone, it made sense that “Xiao Qingpei” would disappear along with it.

As long as he stayed away from Yunxiao Palace, who would know who he really was?

If he claimed to be Xu Jiansheng, then he was Xu Jiansheng!

Why insist on that name and not invent another, like Nangong Li or Han Feiyu? Xiao Qingpei wanted to leave himself a fallback.

If he ever encountered a Golden Core cultivator from Yunxiao Palace who recognized him, Xiao Qingpei could pretend to be lost and only assumed “Senior Brother Xu’s” identity. Since “Senior Brother Xu” was from a noble family, perhaps he would meet someone who knew him and could help him find his way back.

The story wasn’t terribly convincing, but in reality, things often didn’t need to be perfectly logical.

For reality itself lacked logic.

After half a day’s flight, Xiao Qingpei spotted a bustling county town and descended from the clouds. This time, he didn’t make a grand entrance, but paid the city tax and entered with the crowd.

He pretended to be a scholar from another county, unfamiliar with local customs. After wandering through the antique market, he managed to “luck out,” buying several ancient items supposedly from a thousand years ago.

Of course, the “thousand years” was in quotation marks.

Xiao Qingpei estimated that nothing he bought was more than two hundred years old.

But that suited his needs perfectly.

As for those made within the last few months, his spiritual sense easily detected them. He wouldn’t touch such “antiques” even pretending to be a gullible buyer—they were utterly useless.

Xiao Qingpei unrolled a painting, which depicted what looked like childish scribbles. The artwork was maybe a hundred years old, and who knew which ancestor had been so mischievous in their youth.

The vendor claimed it was the practice piece of a famous artist.

Had Xiao Qingpei not discerned the painting’s approximate age, he would never have believed such blatant lies.

As his thoughts raced, a kindly-faced old man appeared from the painting, nothing strange about him except that he held the hand of a small skeleton.

Unlike the previous “ghost scholar,” this old man was not so easy to deal with. As soon as he saw Xiao Qingpei, his pale green eyes flashed with murderous intent!

However, the seven-day period had not yet passed, so the old man merely sneered and led the little skeleton away.

Xiao Qingpei watched the ghost leave, then took out the entry-level magical artifact bestowed by Yunxiao Palace.

It was on this journey that Xiao Qingpei realized, when his second talent activated, his comprehension and related abilities soared.

So would refining a magical artifact attuned to Taiyin Immortal Power also receive such a boost?

He decided to experiment.

Previously, he had no such artifact, not even the idea. Before being expelled from Linwu Sect, he had been practicing the inferior method of Pure Yang cultivation!

...

“It really works!”

Soon, Xiao Qingpei confirmed it, relieving his anxiety.

With this, every time he “summoned” a ghost, the enhancement would be comprehensive.

Originally, he estimated it would take half a year to refine the artifact, but now, it was as if he himself had crafted it!

No effort at all!

After seven days passed, Xiao Qingpei successfully refined the magical artifact.

With his spiritual imprint now embedded, he learned its name.

“Xuan Moon Fire Seal?”

“A seal? It doesn’t look like one at all.”

He tried to activate it, and instantly streams of blue-gold flames surged from the string of skulls.

The flames blazed, yet carried no heat—on the contrary, a coolness seeped from them, spreading and reaching deep into the heart.

“This is… Xuan Moon True Fire?” Xiao Qingpei’s eyes widened in astonishment.

After learning he could extend his life by half a cycle through forging a Life Pill, he had specifically inquired about Xuan Moon True Fire. Naturally, apart from knowing its characteristics, he learned nothing more.

“No wonder the artifact’s quality seemed average, yet it refined so easily…”

Xiao Qingpei understood.

But soon, he was troubled again, for the Xuan Moon True Fire needed to forge a Life Pill had to be of superior grade, imbued with spiritual intelligence!

This Xuan Moon True Fire, lacking intelligence, no matter how powerful, was merely inferior grade.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold surged forth.

Crack, crack.

A small skeleton slowly appeared, followed by the kindly-faced old man.

The seven-day period had ended!

Seeing the ghost return for him, Xiao Qingpei was startled, then broke into a smile: “You’ve come at just the right time!”