Chapter 40 The Pure Jade Lotus Platform

Once everything had settled, the old Master Yan didn’t bother meddling in the affairs of the younger generation. He simply had the culprits thrown into the city jail, to await ransom from their respective backers—no doubt planning a hefty extortion while he was at it.

He’d heard every detail of the wager.

“Top-grade Five Elemental spiritual items… Is that boy planning to forge a Five Elements Dao Body?”

Word of this quickly spread. Anyone with a bit of sense could easily guess at Cao Chengyu’s intentions. Many sighed at how the Ning family had been played. After all, with the matter now known throughout the city, failing to honor the bet would be a disgrace for all to see. The only question left was whether the young schemer could truly lay claim to the spoils he’d orchestrated.

After all, Ning Que was a prodigy in his own right—no easy opponent.

Meanwhile, everything that had transpired the night before became the talk of the town. Everyone was curious: what exactly had Cao Chengyu done to enrage Ning Que so? Had he, while Ning Que was unconscious, performed some chivalrous act of kindness?

Speculation abounded, drifting ever further from the truth. When Cao Chengyu heard some of the rumors—especially those about his supposed “gallant deeds”—he nearly leapt out of his seat. If he ever caught the rumor-monger, he’d be sure to show them what it meant to be a black-clad brute forced by fate!

In truth, the wager with Ning Que had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. Though the Celestial-Scented Spirit Cat grew rapidly, the world outside was far too dangerous. Wild spiritual items were almost always guarded by fierce beasts; the higher the grade of the item, the more formidable its guardian. Those monsters lay in wait for the fruits to ripen, hoping to devour them and increase their power—roving treasure-seekers were their most hated foes. With only his Spirit-Refining cultivation, a careless move could mean death. So, the safest way to obtain top-grade Five Elemental items was to target the great immortal clans and major powers.

With Ning Que presenting himself, it was the perfect chance to try.

Cao Chengyu’s own arsenal of mid-tier spells needed to be tested in an honorable duel, a real battle where he could identify and patch any weaknesses—only then could he perfect his own system.

The most urgent task was to concoct a batch of pills for rapid mana recovery. Magic duels allowed for the use of tools, pills, and talismans, so long as they did not exceed one’s cultivation realm—in this case, the duel would be capped at the Spirit-Refining level.

Mid-tier spells were typically the domain of Dao Body cultivators, as their consumption was immense. Ordinary Dao Body practitioners treated such spells as trump cards, yet every technique in Cao Chengyu’s repertoire was mid-tier. As long as he addressed the mana gap, victory would be within reach.

After a trip to Spring Blossom Pavilion to replenish the poisons needed for his Venomous Gaze technique, Cao Chengyu headed to the upper floors—above the tenth—of the Skywatch Tower’s Scripture Hall.

There, aside from cultivation manuals and secret techniques, were also copious notes from predecessors, travelogues, miscellaneous essays, pill recipes, and even a variety of magical implements—a true treasure trove.

Works like “Meditations on Meridian Unblocking by the Wandering Daoist,” “The Forty-Two Chapters on Building the Divine Dao Body,” and “The Heavenly Clear Earthly Spirit: Two Stratagems for Ascendant Rituals”—each title more grandiose than the last, each text more bewildering upon inspection. Most were mere side-path philosophies, barely worth considering.

After searching for some time, Cao Chengyu found not a pill recipe, but a method for crafting an artifact.

The “Twelve Earthly Fiends Restrictions of the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform: A Complete Explanation.”

Magical implement restrictions came in sets of three per grade: one restriction for a low-grade first-tier artifact, two for mid-grade, three for high-grade. Four restrictions marked a low-grade second-tier artifact, and so on.

A lotus platform with all twelve Earthly Fiends restrictions was a high-grade fourth-tier artifact—the kind used by Golden Core masters.

Naturally, Cao Chengyu had no hope of crafting such a thing. His own collection consisted only of a mid-grade first-tier Jade Bead Zither, a low-grade first-tier Maple Leaf Sword, and a low-grade first-tier Bamboo Leaf Flying Artifact. The second-tier artifact he’d managed to craft before had already been sold at a trade gathering—he hadn’t needed it for dueling at the time, and now regretted it.

Still, his mid-tier spell mastery made up for the lack of powerful artifacts.

The Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform was an auxiliary artifact with effects including healing, instant mana restoration, detoxification, barrier formation, defense, and spiritual purification. Its most notable effect was immediate mana replenishment. Ordinarily, a cultivator could infuse the platform with their own mana; when depleted, they could draw upon it to instantly restore themselves. Since the source was the same, the transferred mana was indistinguishable from their own.

With the aid of this lotus platform, one’s mana reserve would be doubled compared to peers of the same realm—solving the Ning Que problem would become trivial.

Furthermore, the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform could be crafted in stages.

Cao Chengyu spent 1,500 contribution points to obtain the methods for forging the first four Earthly Fiends restrictions of the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform. Those points, a gift from Luo Yuzhu, were meant to guarantee his optimal cultivation conditions for a year. He spent them all at once—feeling a touch of reluctance—but exchanging them for five top-grade Five Elemental items was a worthy, even profitable, trade.

With the forging method in hand, he descended to the market within the tower and used his saved spirit stones to purchase all necessary materials: Jade-Pure Flowers, White Lotus Platforms, True Water of Purity, Heart-Barrier Fruit, Hanbai Spirit Jade, Rootless Stone, and other similar items, all chosen as suitable replacements for the higher-grade originals.

After all, he was only crafting a second-tier artifact—there was no need for the finest materials. He could always upgrade the components later; it was no major issue.

Once everything was prepared, Cao Chengyu’s purse was left utterly dry—apart from a few pills and several dozen spirit stones for cultivation, he had nothing left. The quest for the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform had drained him completely.

He borrowed another hundred contribution points from Liu Yun and rented a second-tier earth-fire forging chamber in the Skywatch Tower. The earth-fire veins of a second-tier chamber would greatly assist in condensing the fourth Earthly Fiends restriction. With his perfected first-stage forging skills, he was confident of success—he’d managed it before, after all.

With preparations complete, Cao Chengyu entered seclusion.

Six days later…

In the bright, scorching fire chamber, Cao Chengyu sat with his eyes closed. Before him spun a white jade lotus platform, gleaming with magical light.

Suddenly, Cao Chengyu’s eyes snapped open as he shouted, “Manifest!”

Instantly, the white jade lotus platform expanded, lifting him into the air. A continuous stream of mana flowed from the platform, rapidly replenishing his depleted reserves. In less than three seconds, he was brimming with energy once more, his aura whole and undiminished.

Cao Chengyu couldn’t help but laugh with delight.

“Excellent—the mana restoration of the Jade-Pure White Lotus Platform is truly outstanding. Worthy of a second-tier artifact!”

Having confirmed its effect, he poured his entire mana reserve into the platform for storage, then began refining his spirit energy anew to restore himself.

The lotus flashed once and sank into his spiritual core, leaving a white lotus mark upon his brow. Cao Chengyu’s heart skipped a beat—he felt his soul enveloped in a protective lotus, shielding him from demonic possession or soul usurpation. He hadn’t expected this artifact to also guard the soul against such threats.

Auxiliary artifacts, it seemed, were not as useless as their reputation suggested.

He composed himself and resumed cultivation.

Soon, a day passed, and the day of the wager arrived…