On the way to Fei Xian Peak, everyone they encountered, everyone they saw, had their expressions change in an instant. Everyone knew that Wen Jiu rarely stepped out of his home and had little interaction with others. No one was willing to befriend him, and in all of Fei Xian Peak, he had only one friend—Wang Nian.

Yet now, Lu Shi's personal disciple was chatting with Wen Jiu, laughing and talking animatedly. This naturally shocked those around them.

Had this practitioner of the dark arts actually managed to form a connection with Lu Shi?

Lu Shi was second only to the elders of the Artifact Refining Tower. In fact, his talent and skill in refining were even slightly superior to some elders. Although he had stopped refining artifacts in recent years, even the Peak Lord had praised him, saying that he was certain to become a first-tier high-grade refiner in the future.

Today, he served as an overseer of Fei Xian Peak, but if he truly became a high-grade artifact refiner, he would likely be summoned to the main peak.

Because of this, his personal disciple also held a significant status within Fei Xian Peak.

For Wen Jiu to be so close to Lu Shi's personal disciple was something that no one had expected—one could even say it was astonishing.

Before long, Wen Jiu arrived at the Artifact Refining Tower.

During the journey, he had already learned why Lu Shi's disciple had been so excited.

Lu Shi, by crafting a "Corpse-Nurturing Coffin," had managed to touch upon the threshold of high-grade refinement. As a result, this particular coffin's quality had reached an exceptionally high level, ranking among the top three artifacts Lu Shi had refined in the past decade.

With great anticipation, Wen Jiu entered Lu Shi's refining chamber, stepping through the door as if into another world.

Outside, the heat from the furnace was like the blazing sun.

Inside, though the yin fire had been extinguished, the chamber's temperature was as frigid as midwinter.

On the metal forging platform, a massive black corpse coffin, six feet long and two feet wide, lay in eerie stillness. Its surface was covered with intricate artifact patterns, interwoven to depict a chilling scene of a hundred corpses marching in the night.

The entire coffin exuded a heavy aura of yin energy. While it did not possess the sinister evil of a black ghoul, it was still intensely cold—so much so that even from a distance of ten feet, one could feel the bone-chilling frost creeping into their skin.

Wen Jiu remained unaffected, but Lu Shi's disciple beside him instinctively tightened his robes.

After carefully examining the coffin, Wen Jiu retracted his gaze and quickly bowed to the exhausted Lu Shi, who was reclining to the side. "Many thanks, Overseer Lu… If I'm not mistaken, this Corpse-Nurturing Coffin is of the highest-tier quality?"

Though Wen Jiu lacked the professional eye of an artifact refiner, he could tell that this artifact far surpassed his previous "Corpse-Eye" in quality.

Lu Shi squinted and smiled, though his expression was filled with exhaustion. "You're not wrong. If not for the limitations of your materials, this might have been a first-tier high-grade artifact… Who would've thought that I, Lu Shi, would touch the threshold of high-grade refinement by crafting a tool of the dark arts? If word of this spreads, it'll be quite the joke."

Wen Jiu was overjoyed and quickly reassured him, "Master Lu, regardless of whether it's the path of the dark arts or the orthodox path of cultivation, it is still the Dao. What truly matters is how it is used. I, Wen Jiu, swear that I will never use this Corpse-Nurturing Coffin to indiscriminately slaughter the innocent or commit acts of demonic heresy."

Hearing this, the helplessness in Lu Shi's eyes diminished slightly. "Kid, for you to say such words shows your character. Enough talking—listen carefully as I explain this Corpse-Nurturing Coffin to you."

"I will listen with utmost attention," Wen Jiu said, standing upright with his hands clasped in respect.

Lu Shi stood up and ran his hand fondly over the coffin, saying, "Though this Corpse-Nurturing Coffin is six feet long, it can expand and shrink freely—small enough to fit in your palm, yet large enough to remain six feet and suppress an entire area… As for its corpse-nurturing effects, I won't go into detail; you should already know."

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"I do," Wen Jiu replied.

"The key feature that makes this a top-tier first-tier artifact is its versatility in both offense and defense. If you trap someone inside, even a body-refining cultivator will be reduced to nothing but blood within an hour, their bones completely dissolved. For defense, once you reach the fifth layer of Qi Refining, an ordinary cultivator at the sixth layer won't be able to break through its protection with brute force."

Wen Jiu's joy deepened.

He understood why Lu Shi had mentioned reaching the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

After all, force is mutual. While the artifact itself might be able to withstand an attack from a sixth-layer cultivator, that didn't mean the user could endure the impact.

If someone at the third layer of Qi Refining used this artifact to block an attack from someone at the sixth layer, the artifact would remain intact, but the user would be shattered by the force.

However, if one reached the third layer and used it to block an attack from the fourth layer, the effect would be top-tier. As long as the user's body could withstand the impact and they had enough spiritual energy to sustain the artifact, they could use it like a turtle shell—unyielding and indestructible.

"Many thanks, Overseer Lu!" Wen Jiu immediately dropped to one knee in gratitude. The higher the artifact's quality, the better its corpse-nurturing effects.

Looking at it now, the two hundred low-grade spirit stones he had paid for the refinement were far from enough to repay Lu Shi's efforts.

Had he commissioned someone else, even achieving an ordinary first-tier mid-grade artifact would have been difficult.

There was absolutely no way he could have gotten such high quality for such a low price!

If he were to buy a ready-made artifact, an ordinary top-tier first-tier item would cost at least a thousand spirit stones, and even then, it might not be available for purchase.

After all, artifact refiners needed to cultivate as well. They couldn't spend all 365 days of the year crafting tools for others.

A custom-made top-tier first-tier artifact? That would cost at least another three to five hundred low-grade spirit stones on top of the base price.

Lu Shi nodded in satisfaction. "Just don't spread word of this, and there's no need to thank me… But if you ever make a name for yourself on the main peak, feel free to say that this artifact was made by me!"

"Definitely!" Wen Jiu nodded with a smile. A thought suddenly came to him—whatever talk of repaying kindness, if trouble arises in the future, just don't say I was your master.

After expressing his gratitude once more, Wen Jiu refined the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin, shrank it down, and stored it in his spatial pouch. With this, he could now place the black ghoul inside the coffin and carry it with him, no longer needing to have it hopping around at his side and drawing unnecessary attention.

Upon leaving the Artifact Refining Tower, Wen Jiu immediately headed to the land of scattered corpses. He placed the black ghoul inside and then retrieved the three baleful objects, sealing them in the coffin along with the ghoul. Then, he used the Corpse-Nurturing Curse to draw upon the Earthly Fiend Yin energy and supplemented it with Yin-based techniques to activate the coffin—thus beginning the process of nurturing the ghoul with the Three Baleful Energies.

However, just as Wen Jiu exhausted his Yin energy and buried the black ghoul back in the nurturing ground, the main hall suddenly rang with the chime of a bell. It was brief and faint, but its sound carried across twenty to thirty miles. This bell signified an important new announcement from the sect.

Wen Jiu didn't rush to check it. He continued his work, figuring he could ask other disciples about it later. Though he had few friends on Feixian Peak, they were still fellow disciples, and most wouldn't mind answering a few questions.

Before he could even inquire, Wang Nian arrived, looking serious as he relayed the news. "The people from the Discipline Hall have announced the exact time for the assessment. For some unknown reason, it has been suddenly moved up to just one month from now."

"It's been pushed up that much?" Wen Jiu was surprised—but also pleased.

Pleased because it meant he could leave Feixian Peak sooner. Given the current situation on the peak, he had no desire to stay any longer. Two high-ranking spies within the upper echelon were enough to make anyone uneasy.

Wang Nian continued, "The assessment rules were announced as well. The main peak is only accepting twenty disciples this time—ten apprentice disciples who have joined within the last three years, and ten formal disciples who have joined within the last year. With a normal assessment, you should have no problem. Among the apprentice disciples, who could possibly defeat you? But..."

He hesitated.

Wen Jiu understood what Wang Nian meant. "It's fine, Brother Wang."

Though he said that, Wen Jiu had already made up his mind—Li Ye had to be eliminated.

The turmoil on Feixian Peak had nothing to do with a mere apprentice disciple like him. The only one who would actively try to suppress him was Li Ye. If he got rid of Li Ye, then no matter how turbulent Feixian Peak became, he could at least spend the next month in peace.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If something were to go wrong, it would be a real shame." Wang Nian sighed, both helpless and frustrated, because he had no way of dealing with Li Ye.

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Wen Jiu was puzzled by the weight of his words.

Wang Nian explained, "Because the elders of the Discipline Hall's main peak will be personally attending. Their main goal is to investigate the peak lord's death and find the culprit, but they will undoubtedly observe the assessment as well. If you can catch their eye, you might soar to the heavens in one leap. Becoming an ordinary disciple on the main peak and becoming a direct disciple of an elder—those are two entirely different worlds."

As he spoke, Wang Nian's expression showed his longing. Then, with a sigh, he added, "If only Steward Mu were still in the sect at this time, Li Ye wouldn't dare mess with you."

Wen Jiu remained silent, deep in thought, already calculating his next steps.

Killing Li Ye wouldn't be difficult given his current strength and foundation. The challenge lay in doing it discreetly—without alerting others, ensuring his own escape, and keeping his identity hidden.

"Hey, Wen, do you think if I gave him a thousand Golden Spear Talismans, he'd be willing to make peace?" Wang Nian suddenly asked, catching Wen Jiu off guard.