Mu Fan smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Li, how many Spirit Stones for this batch?"
Steward Li raised a finger. "One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones."
Mu Fan was just about to shake his head when Steward Li added with a cheerful tone, "Junior Brother Mu, no need to mind such a small amount. Your talent in the Dao of Artifact Refining is top-tier!"
"About the Opportunity I mentioned last time, let me explain it."
Steward Li spoke sincerely, expressing his intention to invite Mu Fan to become a partner Artifact Refiner for the Exotic Treasure Pavilion.
At the start of the partnership, the Pavilion would provide Materials to help improve Mu Fan's Artifact Refining level. Later, Mu Fan would refine artifacts for the Pavilion and receive a labor fee for each Magical Artifact.
If his Artifact Refining level rose high enough, he could even share in the profits after the artifacts were sold.
"What does Junior Brother think?" Steward Li took a sip of tea and looked at Mu Fan expectantly.
Mu Fan showed slight hesitation on the surface, but inwardly, he already knew he couldn't refuse.
The largest shareholder behind the Pavilion was his cheap Master, Jiang Yi. Refusing now would risk offending him.
And once Jiang Yi learned of this partnership, that connection alone could serve as a layer of protection.
If he offended Jiang Yi… he might not survive the next meeting.
After finishing his tea, Mu Fan spoke with a hint of reluctance, "I won't hide it from Senior Brother, my Aptitude is average. My cultivation still depends heavily on Spirit Stones."
He paused slightly, then added more directly,
"So… how exactly will the compensation be arranged?"
Steward Li's smile widened; the deal was essentially settled.
"Junior Brother need not worry."
"Skilled Artifact Refiners are rare. The income is far better than those dangerous missions, and much more stable."
At that point, Mu Fan nodded with a faint smile and accepted.
Steward Li took the batch of low-grade Magical Artifacts to prepare Materials, leaving Mu Fan and Lan Xin to rest for a while.
Both understood his intention. For a brief moment, Mu Fan felt a stir of interest, Lan Xin's appearance was above average, and with cultivation, her features and figure had become even more refined.
In the end, however, Mu Fan suppressed the thought.
Such things could wait. Survival came first.
While drinking tea, Mu Fan casually asked about the situation on Black Fiend Island.
Lan Xin didn't know everything, but working in the Pavilion, she had heard many rumors and was familiar with the general conditions around the market.
Meanwhile, Steward Li stored the artifacts and registered Mu Fan as a partner Artifact Refiner. Before entering the warehouse, he called over a guard and whispered a few instructions.
As the guard left, Steward Li narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within.
"Lianer… don't blame me," he muttered softly. "You shouldn't have shown dissatisfaction."
If Mu Fan's artifacts had been mediocre, Steward Li wouldn't have acted. But their quality was excellent, keeping someone like Lianer around now carried risk.
…
An hour later, Steward Li returned with a Storage Pouch.
Back in his courtyard, Mu Fan opened it. Inside were two books, a compendium of Artifact Refining Materials and Artifact Refining techniques, along with blueprints for four low-grade Magical Artifacts and one Intermediate Magical Artifact, plus nearly two hundred sets of Materials.
"Old fox…"
Mu Fan muttered under his breath.
Earlier, Steward Li had downplayed his importance. But judging by the quantity of Materials, he clearly valued Mu Fan highly.
Fortunately, the agreement hadn't fixed exact compensation yet, it would depend on future results.
This was also an unspoken benefit of being Jiang Yi's Named Disciple: cooperation, not exploitation.
"Two hundred sets… that's nearly a year gone just like that."
Mu Fan's lips curved slightly.
"Not bad. I still need to wait before attempting Foundation Establishment anyway."
"Improving my Artifact Refining will only help in the long run."
Inside the Storage Pouch, there was also a Formation.
Steward Li clearly understood the dangers of Extreme Yin Island and had included it to improve Mu Fan's safety.
Mu Fan layered the new Formation over the old one and entered seclusion once more.
Cultivating the Black Fiend Art…
Studying Artifact Refining techniques and Materials…
Refining artifacts in the Earth Fire Chamber…
Practicing the Gold Rock Technique…
Refining artifacts…
Studying the techniques within the Black Fiend
Art…
Refining artifacts…
And just like that, another year passed.
Mu Fan's total afk gains were: 4,200 points of Qi, 385 points of Physical Body strength, 318 points of Divine Sense strength, and the technique Earth Quake Technique.
He looked at the System panel:
{
Name: Mu Fan
Aptitude: Gold, Water, Earth (Spiritual Root); Endless Vitality (Physical Body); Re-perception (Divine Sense)
Realm: Qi Refining Peak
Identity: Formal Disciple of Extreme Yin Island
Qi: 7,355
Physical Body: 881
Divine Sense: 875
Cultivation Technique: Black Fiend Art (Qi Flicking Technique)
Techniques: Gold Rock Technique, Qi
Concealment Technique, Earth Quake Technique
}
Looking at the numbers, Mu Fan clicked his tongue inwardly.
"The gap between major stages is even larger than I thought…"
"No wonder those who can fight across stages are so rare."
"From this, it probably takes around ten thousand points of Qi to naturally step into the Foundation Establishment Stage."
He now understood it more clearly.
Accumulating ten thousand points of Qi during the Qi Refining Stage would naturally lead into Foundation Establishment, it wasn't even a true "breakthrough," but a natural transition.
A breakthrough, on the other hand, meant forcing the process, using pills or secret methods to push through early.
"With my current Qi, I could already attempt it."
Mu Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If I compress my Qi and force the transition, the success rate should be around sixty to seventy percent."
"And even if it fails, I can recover and try again."
"With a foundation establishment pill… that success rate would rise to eighty or ninety percent."
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
Extreme Yin Island was not a place to stand out.
A tree taller than the forest would be cut down—or turned into a Puppet.
His current position was stable. There was no need to rush.
He was more curious whether natural advancement differed from a forced breakthrough.
After he'd spent the year in seclusion, the System rewarded him with the Earth Quake Technique.
Once used, the ground within a certain area would tremble violently, destabilizing enemies, shattering terrain, and sending debris flying in all directions.
Aside from his techniques, he had also grown proficient in the Black Fiend Art.
It included a Qi Flicking Technique suited for the Qi Refining Stage, condensing Qi and releasing it with a flick, similar to a finger technique. Its power was decent.
Its true strength, however, required Demonic Qi.
The core of Black Fiend Island was a place where Demonic Qi was nurtured, likely the origin of its name.
Mu Fan had never been there, so naturally, he couldn't practice the technique to its full potential.
Taking the Magical Artifacts he had refined over the year, Mu Fan opened the Formation.
As it lifted, several streaks of light flew toward him.
"Sound Transmission Talismans?"
He caught them and listened one by one.
Green Pearl, just greetings. Ignored.
Liu Tian, an invitation for a mission. Already missed.
Zhou Long and Liu Tian teamed up?
Mu Fan's gaze flickered slightly.
"Hopefully Liu Tian survives…"
Then another name appeared.
Wang Yang.
Mu Fan paused.
This was another of Jiang Yi's Named Disciples. He hadn't been close to Mu Fan's group before.
"So… he wants help with Artifact Refining?"
Mu Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"His information is quite current… makes sense."
"Same Master, after all, my junior brother."
Among the five Named Disciples: Liu Tian, Zheng Wei, Mu Fan, Zhou Long, and Wang Yang.
Wang Yang's message said the matter wasn't urgent and could wait until Mu Fan left seclusion.
Mu Fan considered it briefly.
"If he's looking for me instead of others… he probably has something good."
A faint smile appeared.
"Then maybe I can take a share of the benefits too…"