Chapter 29: Sleeves Become Azure Dragons

Sweeping his gaze around, he saw that the four men at the early stage of Spirit Refining, unable to suppress the toxin with their weak cultivation, had long since died from the poison. Cao Chengyu dragged the corpse of the gourd-carrying man back, took his storage pouch, and burned the body to ash with a single flame. He scattered the ashes into the forest and carefully concealed the traces of their battle. He had no idea where the man was from or whether there might be accomplices lurking about. Thus, he did his best to act as if nothing had happened and quietly left the Blackwind Mountains.

He had gained enough—leaving early was the wisest course. Only when he returned to the capital did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Who would have thought that his first outing would attract trouble simply because of his looks? It seemed even being handsome was a liability. Next time he left home, he resolved to prepare a good disguise.

He returned to his dormitory. He hadn’t seen Chi Mingzhu and Wang Daoming in some time, but now the two appeared together entering and leaving the Skywatch Tower, as if something important had happened between them.

When they saw Cao Chengyu, they were immediately drawn to the blue uniform he wore. "Cao Chengyu, you’ve reached the middle stage of Spirit Refining?"

Wang Daoming, usually a man of few words, was so surprised he actually took the initiative to ask a question. "Yes. Haven’t you two made progress as well? Liu Yun and Luo Yongsheng have both broken through to Spirit Refining. My advancement is only natural."

"It’s not that—you—"

Chi Mingzhu’s eyes widened, about to speak up, but Wang Daoming stopped her with a serious expression and spoke with a hint of respect. "Brother Cao, could you tell us how to quickly break through to the middle stage of Spirit Refining?"

"Just cultivate, take some pills, spend time with some girls—it won’t take long."

"You—"

"If Brother Cao doesn’t wish to tell us, he shouldn’t make fun of us."

"I’m telling the truth. Believe it or not."

With that, Cao Chengyu waved his right hand and a small mountain of pill bottles appeared on the floor, only to be swept away in an instant. Yet the rich fragrance of elixirs lingered in the air.

Seeing the two stunned, Cao Chengyu decided to show them some goodwill. "If you can gather the herbs, I’ll refine any low-grade first-tier pills for you. No charge—bring three sets of materials and I’ll guarantee one successful batch. Consider it a favor between colleagues; just don’t forget me, a nameless nobody, in the future."

"Brother Cao, I will always remember your great kindness," Wang Daoming said solemnly.

"Well, I’m going to cultivate. If you need anything, just knock on my door."

Chi Mingzhu opened her mouth as if to say something, still not understanding why Wang Daoming was showing Cao Chengyu such respect. Once he was gone, Wang Daoming explained, "Zhuzhu, Brother Cao’s skills as an alchemist are already extraordinary. If he can guarantee one successful batch out of three, his technique must have reached the level of a first-tier craftsman. And he’s not charging us for the service. With so little support from our families, every bit we save counts. Once I master the art of spiritual botany, we’ll have the means to speed up our cultivation. With Brother Cao’s help, we’ll spend much less time on menial tasks and more on our training, rather than risking our lives hunting demons."

"I… I understand now…" Chi Mingzhu’s cheeks flushed, and for the first time, she found Wang Daoming’s calm composure particularly manly, leaving her a little dazed. Two young people from overlooked families, connected by their tenacity for cultivation, had found something special together. All things considered, it was quite a good match.

Remembering what had just happened, Cao Chengyu couldn’t help but smile to himself. No matter what, both of them had powerful backers in the Great Yue Dynasty. By doing them a favor, he was laying groundwork for the future. The more ties he built, the greater his chance to climb higher—all the more since alchemy was little more than a trivial effort for him.

After a while spent calming his mind with the Tranquil Jade Toad, Cao Chengyu took out all the storage bags he had looted from the itinerant cultivators. His total spoils included one hundred and thirty spirit stones, five low-grade first-tier flying artifacts—all shaped like yellow gourds—six ordinary first-tier swords and blades, some antidote and energy-restoring pills, and various miscellaneous items. All in all, they could fetch seven or eight hundred, nearly a thousand, spirit stones. He would have Brother Liu handle the sale; he remembered that this young elder was currently working in the miscellaneous items division.

He put the five miniature storage bags aside. Then, following the cultivation method of the Azure Flood Dragon Sleeves, he began to craft a special pair of artifact sleeves for himself. The scales of a golden core flood dragon, though damaged in battle and lacking their former might, were still at least as good as third-tier materials—typically the preserve of Purple Mansion cultivators. It would be difficult for him to handle, but not impossible.

Borrowing the pill room’s fire vein, he used earth fire to forge and smelt the dragon scales for seven days until they were liquefied. Drawing in wind-attribute spiritual energy from the air, he guided the molten dragon scales with his spiritual sense until they became fine threads.

Before long, an enlarged dragon-shaped secret pattern took form. Cao Chengyu then added materials he had prepared long ago: jade silkworm threads, cloud-patterned copper, windleaf, and more. Gradually, a wide pair of azure dragon-patterned sleeves took shape as a tangible garment. Using basic artifact-refining techniques, he fixed the dragon-shaped pattern in place with spell seals.

The process consumed vast amounts of spiritual power, leaving him pale and drenched in sweat. After half a day more, the fire vein’s flames subsided, and a uniquely styled Azure Flood Dragon Sleeve floated in midair, inscribed with four spell seals—a second-tier, low-grade artifact.

Exhaling deeply, Cao Chengyu wiped away his sweat. This was the limit of his current abilities; his basic artifact-forging skills were only enough to craft first-tier artifacts. This time, thanks to the superior materials, he had barely managed to break through to a second-tier level. Aside from the dragon scales, the other materials were somewhat lacking; with better components, he could reforge it in the future. For now, the Azure Flood Dragon Sleeves would suffice, especially paired with the perfected Azure Flood Dragon Sleeve technique. With a flick of his sleeve, he could unleash the power of the azure flood dragon—impressive in both style and might.

Content, he refined the artifact and fitted it over his blue uniform. At a thought, the originally wide azure sleeves transformed into thin, gauzy cuffs that covered the blue sleeves—a subtle pale green, looking like nothing more than ordinary white gauze.

"Not bad." Satisfied, Cao Chengyu spun around, not feeling any urge to test them just yet. There was no rush—the artifact was ready.

Catching up on the week’s neglected cultivation, he trained diligently for several days before appearing once more at the Spring Blossom Pavilion’s main hall. He still had some flood dragon blood, flesh, and bone fragments left—top-tier materials for body refinement. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a suitable secret body-refining technique. He figured he’d either try his luck with a treasure chest or refine several more Poison Pills with Luo Yuzhu to earn enough contribution points, then exchange them for a technique in the library on the third or fourth floor of the Skywatch Tower.

With both the medical records and the Yellow Court Scripture in hand, even a mediocre technique could be improved over time. The limits were still unknown, but certainly enough for his needs.