Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 92 Qianjin Valley

Qianjin Valley is located in the western part of Yuanwu Kingdom. It is covered with hard rocks and is rich in metal-element spiritual materials. The ever-flowing golden wind in the valley is also helpful for cultivating metal-elemental techniques, so many cultivators come and go.

Some forces have set up large formations here, establishing strongholds for cultivators to rest and trade. However, this valley stretches for nearly a thousand miles, with most of the area still being desolate, uninhabited mountain cliffs and ravines.

On this day, a young man with an ordinary appearance and dark skin came to the edge of the valley, riding on a heavy sword.

It was Lin Jingchu who had transformed his appearance using the "Thousand Appearances Technique." The secret realm had yielded too much, and he did not want to cause any more trouble, so he went straight to the heart of the valley after arriving.

It was nearly Mid-Autumn Festival, and the golden wind blowing from the heart of the valley grew stronger. Flying forward became difficult and consumed magical energy, so Lin Jingchu landed, sheathed his sword, and conjured up an ancient and exquisite stone tablet—the Mount Fu Yue Tablet.

This stele was specially crafted by him during his time in the sect for this trip, and it can effectively reduce the invasion of the golden wind.

The monument emitted a ring of earthen-yellow spiritual light, protecting him. The sharp golden wind that swept across the spiritual light instantly softened, like a gentle spring breeze brushing past him.

Lin Jingchu urged his Wind-Stepping Shadow Boots onward, quickly heading towards the depths of the valley.

The valley floor and cliff walls are covered with cracks of all sizes, some as long as a hundred feet, leading directly to the abyss below. The terrifying golden wind is gushing out from the earth's core.

The "Wind-Guiding Spirit Array" can cover more than seventy feet when set up, and Lin Jingchu needs to set up two sets. They are used to collect the "Gold-Cleansing Fiend Wind" separately, so he naturally needs to find a place with dense cracks.

Several days later, Lin Jingchu finally found a suitable place amidst the howling autumn wind and jagged rocks.

In addition to the three huge cracks that are more than ten feet long, there are also countless tiny fissures scattered around this place.

He raised his hand and patted his storage bag, and several array flags and array plates shot out. He might have to stay here for two months, so he decided to make a simple cave dwelling.

Lin Jingchu planned to set up a "Wind Fiend Array" as a defense. This array was originally known for its range but its power was ordinary. However, in this place where the golden wind was rampant, with the help of the strange phenomena of heaven and earth, its power would be stimulated to an extreme.

In addition to this main protective array, Lin Jingchu also set up several early warning arrays on the periphery, one to monitor the "Golden Wind" and the other to prevent others from breaking in.

Lin Jingchu moved swiftly, quickly setting up numerous formations, including two sets of "Wind-Attracting Spirit Formations." He then took out spirit stones and filled the array eyes of the Wind-Slaying Formation and the Early Warning Formation. To maximize the power of the Wind-Slaying Formation, he filled it with mid-grade metal-element spirit stones.

As for the "Wind Spirit Guiding Array," since the time for the "Golden Wind" to surge has not yet arrived, it will be put on hold for now.

Lin Jingchu waved the main formation flag, and the invisible formation of the "Xunfeng Jinsha Formation" quietly unfolded, covering an area of ​​two hundred feet in radius, completely sealing off the entrance to the canyon.

This formation is normally kept on standby, but it will automatically activate once someone triggers the outer perimeter alert. Even a Core Formation cultivator would be severely injured if they tried to enter.

With the formation complete, Lin Jingchu summoned several top-tier flying swords of varying shapes and began chiseling at the rock wall. The rock here was exceptionally hard, and it took him several hours to finally dig out a simple cave several meters deep.

After setting up soundproofing and protective arrays at the cave entrance, Lin Jingchu stepped into the cave and took out a heavy wooden box.

The box contained the "Starfall Jade" that he had purchased from that rogue cultivator in Qingping Market.

This object is about the size of a human head. Lin Jingchu plans to use a special weapon-refining method to reshape it into a sword embryo, as a potential magic weapon after he forms his core.

Due to its unique properties, once Starfall Jade is refined into a magical artifact, it possesses extraordinary effects such as indestructibility, the ability to break through magic and spells, and the power to unleash supernatural spells.

Lin Jingchu held a mid-grade earth-elemental spirit stone in his left hand, absorbing its spiritual power; his right hand made hand seals, and beams of spiritual light shot into the air in front of him.

A complex, earth-yellow magic array gradually took shape out of thin air—the Earth Spirit Profound Origin Array. This array can reshape spiritual materials without altering their internal properties.

The magic array took shape, and light flowed around it.

He raised his hand and sent the Starfall Jade into the array. A golden-brown spiritual light instantly enveloped it. Under the power of the array, the hard Starfall Jade, like soft mud, slowly and steadily stretched and expanded.

Several hours later, Lin Jingchu tossed aside the spirit stone that had been drained from his hand and took out a new one.

The next day, three exhausted stones lay piled up beside him. The Starfall Jade, which had been oval-shaped, had completely transformed into a sharp sword about three feet long.

At this moment, its surface is pitted and rough, mottled with black and white spots, and still needs to be tempered further by the "Golden Cleansing Wind". However, from that sharp sword tip, one can already glimpse a bit of its future fierce edge.

Lin Jingchu dispersed the magic array in front of him, then took out several mid-grade water-element spirit stones and simply set up a spirit energy extraction and restraint array.

The valley is perpetually filled with golden winds, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is dominated by the violent metal element. Even cultivators using metal-based techniques find it difficult to cultivate for long in such an environment, let alone those using water-based techniques like Lin Jingchu.

Fortunately, he is now quite wealthy, so he simply uses the pure spiritual energy from the spirit stones to sustain his cultivation.

Time passes little by little.

Compared to the vast Qianjin Valley, this place was but a drop in the ocean, and no cultivators had stumbled upon it. Lin Jingchu meditated and cultivated in this simple cave day after day.

In his spare time, he would occasionally feed the Queen of the Heavenly Crystal Ants or study the "Initial Explanation of Talismans" from the Myriad Wonders Temple, which he had purchased from the young female cultivator in Black Stone Market.

Almost a month passed when Lin Jingchu, who was meditating in the cave, suddenly opened his eyes. Through the magic array outside, he sensed the golden wind in the valley rapidly intensifying.

The gold rush is here.

He stood up, activated the Wind-Stabilizing Stele and the Xuan Yu Silver Scale Armor on his body, and then strode out of the cave. Instantly, the howling wind in his ears sounded like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts! Even though the light of the stele had weakened, the silver scale spirit shield was still trembling from the golden wind.

Within this terrifying golden gale, faint traces of dark golden energy, barely perceptible to the naked eye yet containing a peculiar corrosive power, could be seen—the "Golden Cleansing Wind" had appeared!

Lin Jingchu swiftly moved aside and placed Bai Haozhi's sword embryo and his own sword embryo at the array eyes of the two "Wind Spirit Guiding Arrays".

Then, he made a hand seal and activated the great formation! The golden wind from the earth's core that surged out of the crack transformed into two rapidly spinning vortices as it passed through the formation.

The golden wind surged wildly, and the vortex expanded rapidly. Only after reaching the limit of the magic array did the excess golden wind break free of the vortex and continue to blow out of the valley.

Unfortunately, due to the persistent autumn wind, the illusion array could not remain stable for long; otherwise, setting up another array to conceal this strange phenomenon would have been even more perfect. Lin Jingchu sighed inwardly, then approached to examine the center of the whirlwind more closely.

The dark golden "Golden Cleansing Wind" was firmly trapped in the center of the array, constantly washing and soaking the two weapon blanks.

It was as if an invisible hand was cleansing its marrow and removing impurities, tempering and strengthening the properties of the Starfall Jade.

The black mottled marks on the two vessel blanks are being forced off little by little, turning into dust and drifting away with the wind.

Lin Jingchu checked that the shaping array inside the "Wind and Spirit Guiding Array" was functioning normally, ensuring that the "Gold Cleansing Wind" was carving the artifact blank according to the predetermined method, and then turned around and returned to the cave.

The gold price surge lasted for several days, and he didn't want to stay outside in the wind all the time.

……

The two weapon blanks were tempered by the "Washing Gold and Killing Wind" on the second day.

A giant mechanical bear, about ten feet tall and made entirely of dark gold metal, was braving the raging golden wind, taking heavy but determined steps forward.

The golden wind scraped across its body, producing a sharp, teeth-grinding scraping sound, yet failed to leave any white marks.

Behind the giant bear followed a cultivator dressed in gray robes and short jackets. He watched the mechanical bear effortlessly deflect the golden wind and steadily advance, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"It was worth the high price to use the best spiritual materials from Qianjin Valley to create this 'Bear Puppet'... As long as we can find one or two good things blown up from the rift in the abyss during this golden storm period, we'll have made our money back."