Shen Xian’s performance had thoroughly conquered Liu Qingxu, the genius from the Divine Wood Sect. In particular, his artifact forging techniques—so masterful they verged on the miraculous—had ignited a burning yearning within her heart.

As they made their way toward the exit, Liu Qingxu could no longer suppress her thirst for knowledge. She lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly. “Senior… I still harbor some doubts regarding the process. Could you… would you be willing to enlighten me?”

Her demeanor was utterly respectful (bì gōng bì jìng). Gone was the pride typically found in a sect genius; in its place was a deep sense of powerlessness born from witnessing the chasm between their abilities. She felt incomparably fortunate to have formed a karmic bond with such a figure.

Facing her request, Shen Xian was not stingy.

With his current attainment in artifact forging, answering her questions was as simple as a university professor solving elementary arithmetic problems. It required no effort at all.

Since they were walking anyway, and he was in a cheerful mood after acquiring another True Spirit Treasure, he decided to offer some guidance.

However, as he spoke, Liu Qingxu’s heart pounded harder with every word.

The forging mantras Shen Xian casually tossed out were powerful secret techniques that others would beg for but never obtain (qiú zhī bù dé). He casually traced his finger through the air, outlining the trajectory of artifact patterns. Every stroke contained a profound rhythm that aligned with the Heavenly Dao, leaving her enraptured (rú chī rú zuì).

Receiving this guidance is worth more than ten years of bitter cultivation in my sect!

Waves of shock surged through her heart. What terrified her even more was Shen Xian’s attitude. He handled these heavy secrets as if they were light as feathers (jǔ zhòng ruò qīng)—as if the techniques that would drive the entire artifact forging world into a frenzy were, to him, merely common sense.

He can severely injure the Holy Son of the Blazing Fire Sect and possesses such profound mastery over the Dao of Artifacts… Liu Qingxu stole a glance at the unfathomable figure beside her. What exactly is his background?

At this moment, she finally understood how incredibly lucky she was.

Upon reaching the exit of the Fire Element Continent’s second layer, their paths diverged. Liu Qingxu needed to wait for her companions, while Shen Xian decided to leave immediately.

He had just brutalized the Holy Son of the Blazing Fire Sect; retaliation was inevitable. If a swarm of Golden Core Realm cultivators surrounded him, even he would find it difficult to cope.

“Senior, until we meet again!” Liu Qingxu bowed deeply, her tone respectful.

She still had a thousand questions in her heart, but she knew her place. All her gratitude and curiosity condensed into that single farewell.

Shen Xian gave a slight nod, turned, and vanished from the second layer.

After leaving the Sword Asking Pavilion, Shen Xian found a secluded valley. He set up a simple concealment formation to ensure his privacy before finally retrieving the newly fused treasure—the Heavenly Mechanism Disk.

“Finally, I can take a proper look at this treasure.”

The disk floated before him, glowing with an ancient bronze luster. Its surface was densely carved with profound, intricate array patterns. At the center, a Yin-Yang fish symbol rotated slowly, with faint traces of stellar power flowing through its curves.

Most eye-catching was the crystal-clear Dragon Pearl embedded at the very heart of the disk. The Divine Fire mark branded upon it emitted heart-palpitating fluctuations, as if it contained the power to destroy the world.

When Shen Xian’s Divine Sense made contact with the treasure, a vast, ocean-like spiritual wave instantly washed over him.

It was the Artifact Spirit—an existence possessed only by Dharma Treasures of the True Spirit rank and above. Compared to the spirit within the [Mountain-Suppressing Chaos Bell], this heavy treasure’s spirit clearly possessed higher intelligence, conveying information with crystal clarity.

“I didn’t expect it to actually be a Top-Grade True Spirit Treasure!” Shen Xian murmured to himself.

Just as he had predicted, the quality of this item was extraordinary.

If he were to gift this to Wei Zhaoli, according to the System’s fifty-fold return multiplier, there was a massive probability of obtaining a Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure!

A Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure!

That was a powerful tier of Dharma Treasure usually possessed only by Void Refinement Heavenly Venerates. Such an artifact could mobilize the power of heaven and earth on a small scale and even touch upon the power of Laws.

For instance, the [Blazing Fire True Seal] he had obtained contained the power of Laws, but due to his low fusion rate, he couldn’t unleash its full potential. A Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure, however, would operate on a completely different level.

Shen Xian began to look forward to what kind of treasure the System would return.

He refocused his attention on the Heavenly Mechanism Disk. As a Top-Grade True Spirit Treasure, it possessed four terrifying abilities:

Instant Array Deployment: It could instantly release formations on the battlefield without setup time. These included the [Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array] for trapping enemies, the [Tiangang Big Dipper Array] for amplifying attacks, and the [Five Elements Rotation Array] for reinforcing defense.

Restriction Breaking: It could automatically analyze restrictions below the Third Rank, shatter the cores of formations below the Fifth Rank, and possessed a special sensitivity toward Ancient Restrictions.

Fire Amplification: It drastically enhanced the user’s fire-attribute capabilities. The power of fire techniques and supernatural abilities increased by 30%, fire-attribute defense doubled, and fire-escape speed increased by 50%.

Divination (Seeking Luck and Avoiding Calamity): It provided automatic warnings of fatal dangers. It could calculate auspicious and inauspicious directions for the next three days (the interval depended on the user’s realm) and had a faint sensory perception for opportunities.

“Good treasure!” Shen Xian’s eyes shone with intense light.

Ordinary formation masters required a significant amount of time to set up even simple arrays. But with this Heavenly Mechanism Disk…

With a thought, the disk hummed and rose higher.

The Yin-Yang fish on its surface spun rapidly. Nine golden pillars of light shot into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, a complete [Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array] enveloped a radius of a hundred zhang.

“Again!” Shen Xian shouted lightly.

The array patterns on the disk lit up, and twenty-eight streaks of starlight descended, forming the [Tiangang Big Dipper Array] around his body.

Instantly, he felt the circulation speed of his spiritual power surge by thirty percent. He casually swung his hand, releasing a burst of sword Qi; its power was nearly fifty percent stronger than usual!

“And this is just the basic function…” Shen Xian excitedly ran his fingers along the rim of the disk.

The restriction-breaking ability was even more practical than his [Nine-Aperture Exquisite Needle]. If he encountered complex, unsolvable ancient restrictions, this object would provide immense help. Most importantly, behind ancient restrictions often lay great opportunities.

“Truly excellent!” Shen Xian was elated.

This Heavenly Mechanism Disk was practically a cheat tool custom-made for cultivators. With it, exploring secret realms and seeking opportunities would yield twice the result with half the effort (shì bàn gōng bèi).

Even better, it amplified fire-attribute techniques. If combined with his [Blazing Fire True Seal], the power of his attacks would increase by at least fifty percent!

It was a pity that the fire amplification ability wasn’t suitable for Wei Zhaoli, who primarily cultivated water-attribute techniques. But it didn’t matter. The first two abilities—arrays and breaking restrictions—were powerful enough on their own.

For Shen Xian, although this Top-Grade True Spirit Treasure suited him perfectly, exchanging it for a Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure was naturally more cost-effective.

Aside from the raw stats, the Heavenly Mechanism Disk could be used in conjunction with other Dharma Treasures, allowing for more exquisite combat tactics. It was a rare, supreme auxiliary treasure.

The corners of Shen Xian’s mouth lifted slightly.

This trip to the Sword Asking Pavilion had yielded harvests far exceeding his expectations. In this Divine Demon Battlefield, with the help of the Heavenly Mechanism Disk, he would have the power to fight even if he faced a Nascent Soul True Lord!

As for the final ability—Seeking Luck and Avoiding Calamity (qū jí bì xiōng)—this involved the elusive concept of ‘fortune.’ It would greatly ensure Wei Zhaoli’s safety. Unfortunately, activating it with a Golden Core cultivation base meant he could only calculate directions once every three months, so it had to be saved for critical moments.

Satisfied, he stored the treasure away in his Storage Bag.

Just then, the Mysterious Turtle, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly transmitted a distinct sensation.

A heavy treasure had appeared nearby!