Chapter 202: Spirit Water Membrane Technique

Lian Mu looked up and met his strange gaze, a hint of confusion flashing across her face. “?”

What’s with this guy…?

Seeing her stand still, Silver Crane smiled slightly. “Young friend, I’ve already told you the solution. Now it’s your turn to put in some effort. I have a whole bunch of Seven Star Leaves here, enough for us to experiment with. The key now lies in the Spirit Water Membrane.”

Lian Mu pondered for a moment before removing the ring from her hand. It wasn’t until she did so that Silver Crane realized the Jiao Pearl had been in such an obvious spot all along.

He couldn’t help but marvel: So there was a Concealment Spirit Tool protecting it. Even he hadn’t noticed it before.

Lian Mu wasn’t worried that he would take the Jiao Pearl. The Jiao Pearl had its own temperament. If just anyone could take it away, it wouldn’t have been left on Penglai Island for so many years, waiting for her to retrieve it.

Silver Crane took the Jiao Pearl ring with both hands, a gleam in his eyes. As soon as he got it, he couldn’t resist touching it all over. “Tsk, truly a masterpiece. I wonder what kind of world could nurture such a spirit flood dragon. It’s a pity I never encountered one.”

Lian Mu: “…”

Lian Mu had heard a bit about Silver Crane’s reputation. He had hidden it well, appearing as a proper and elegant artifact refiner on the surface, but secretly, he was a beast fanatic, obsessed with studying animals. He had almost exhausted his research on demonic beasts and had recently started searching for Spirit Beasts.

However, his “affection” for Spirit Beasts was somewhat peculiar. He didn’t like raising them; he preferred dissecting them to observe from the inside out.

With his intense search for Spirit Beasts, he had indeed found quite a few low-grade Spirit Beasts from various places in recent years, but without exception, they all ended up dissected.

Green Bean, being quite perceptive, sensed the killing intent on him the first time they met, which is why it remained so wary of him.

For this meeting, Lian Mu had Ji Mingyue take Green Bean out for a walk. Otherwise, with Green Bean’s temperament, Silver Crane might not have even been able to step through the door.

Now, Lian Mu was suddenly a bit worried about the Black Flood Dragon’s safety. “To create the Spirit Water Membrane, we don’t need to release what’s inside, right? It doesn’t listen to me, and if it gets out, I won’t be able to retrieve it.”

“Don’t worry. The Jiao Pearl is its condensed spiritual form. As long as this pearl is in hand, no matter how far it runs, it will return one day,” Silver Crane said, still fondling the pearl, almost rubbing it against his face. “There’s no need to release it. Our room can’t withstand even a flick of its tail. Of course, if you want to release it and have me, the beast appraisal master, give it an evaluation, I wouldn’t mind.”

Lian Mu: “You’re quite thick-skinned.”

Silver Crane: “Flattery.”

After Silver Crane had his fill of touching, he finally got to the main topic. He had come prepared, bringing a large batch of Seven Star Leaves, planted in a small box that appeared only palm-sized.

The box was a Spirit Artifact that could shrink land to an inch, looking very exquisite.

Lian Mu asked, “How did you make this Spirit Artifact?”

Silver Crane opened the box, pulling out a few hair-thin green seedlings that returned to normal size once outside the box.

The Seven Star Leaf lived up to its name, with a single upright stalk bearing seven blue leaves. Each leaf had seven small spikes, shaped like star blades. Freshly picked, the Seven Star Leaf was very fresh, with semi-transparent blue leaves showing blue sap flowing through the veins.

“That’s a secret,” Silver Crane replied. “You’re still young and don’t understand the rules. We artifact refiners are most averse to casually asking fellow practitioners about their Spirit Artifact crafting methods. Some Spirit Artifacts are unique creations of an artifact refiner, meant to build a reputation. How could they casually share how it’s made? This Spirit Artifact is my own creation.”

Lian Mu: “…”

Hmm… but Feng Tianche had mentioned this type of Spirit Artifact to her before. It had already appeared during the era of Master Yuan Gui.

“Back then, the first artifact refiner, Yuan Gui, made a name for himself with a Flying Swan Sword. Once you finish modifying your green sword, you might be able to rival him,” Silver Crane joked. “I’ve been paying attention to your sword ever since you repelled Linghu Meng’s subordinates. I guessed then that this sword might be of a roaming grade. I thought you knew some powerful artifact refiner.”

Unexpectedly, she was skilled in both sword and artifact refinement.

Silver Crane had seen many who practiced both sword and artifact refinement, but none as young as her. Practicing dual paths required high spiritual power quality. The higher one’s cultivation, the more one could balance both paths. Young people choosing both sword and artifact refinement before their foundation was stable was pure folly; one misstep, and their body could collapse.

Yet someone like her, who could create a roaming-grade Spirit Artifact right after entering the path, had a talent that was truly exceptional.

Lian Mu said, “Just lucky. The first time I searched for Spirit Materials, I stumbled upon a demonic beast in its metamorphosis stage.”

Speaking of which, she had Star-Plucking Tower’s reckless bounty to thank. If they hadn’t, she wouldn’t have encountered the metamorphosis-stage Greenclaw Toad at the lower levels.

“It’s more than just luck.” Silver Crane’s tone was slightly envious.

Silver Crane took a teacup, crushed the Seven Star Leaf with his bare hands, and the juice burst from the leaf veins, dripping into the cup and emitting a strong, fresh fragrance.

“Activate the platform and merge the sword.”

Lian Mu used spiritual power to activate the forging platform. They were only testing with the sword hilt this time, so the spiritual power input was minimal, just enough to stop at the yellow line.

Silver Crane suddenly gripped the Jiao Pearl tightly, his fingers turning white. In the next moment, a gentle Water Spiritual Power emanated from him, like a spring rain, nourishing silently.

He used the power of the Jiao Pearl to manipulate the raw water of the cooling platform, letting it pass through the water control circle formed by the Jiao Pearl’s spiritual power. In an instant, the ordinary water droplets transformed, as if infused with life.

The droplets surged toward the Seven Star Leaf’s juice, enveloping the blue sap, forming a water ball that was clear on the outside and blue within.

A hopeful light flashed in Silver Crane’s eyes as he immediately directed the water ball toward the forging platform.

Just as the water ball was about to reach the forging platform’s molten layer, it suddenly lost control and exploded, the blue juice instantly evaporating in the heat.

Silver Crane looked disappointed. “It seems the Jiao Pearl’s spiritual power doesn’t suit me.”

“Did it fail?” Lian Mu glanced at the forging platform, which showed no movement. “What a pity, wasting a Seven Star Leaf.”

“There are plenty of Seven Star Leaves. When I returned from the Third Domain, I gathered a bunch. They’re not some precious spiritual plant,” Silver Crane said. “But in Artifact Forging, having everything prepared is useless if the person isn’t capable. It still won’t work.”

Lian Mu said, “Let me try.”

“Are you sure?” Silver Crane looked at her with doubt. “Although creating a Spirit Water Membrane doesn’t require a specific Spiritual Root, you lack experience. How will you control the intensity?”

He had been confident at first, thinking all he lacked was the spiritual power source for creating the Spirit Water Membrane. But after trying, he realized it wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.

Lian Mu thought for a moment and said, “Rely on luck?”

She had an inexplicable intuition for Artifact Forging.

Silver Crane: “…”

After all, the Jiao Pearl belonged to someone else, so Silver Crane had no right to refuse her, but his impression of her arrogance deepened.

Even if she had forged a sword of a high grade, there was no need to be so conceited. No artifact refiner relied on luck for Artifact Forging; that was pure nonsense.

Silver Crane handed the Jiao Pearl to her, ready to see just how good her luck really was. “Just so you know, you’re doing this on your own. If it gets ruined, you can’t blame me.”

Lian Mu didn’t mind. After all, she was only testing on the sword’s hilt, not the main body. If it failed, she could always recast it.

“You need to use your spiritual power to sense the Jiao Pearl. Through this connection, you can control the water to refine it, forming a Spirit Water Membrane.”

Silver Crane explained the method to her, though he doubted she could even control the water. After all, she had a Fire Spirit Root, and trying to use the Jiao Pearl to control water would certainly face some resistance.

Lian Mu listened to his instructions, holding the pearl in her hand. Spiritual energy surged from her dantian to her arm, channeling into the Jiao Pearl.

The Jiao Pearl emitted a faint light, and Lian Mu felt a repulsive force. It seemed unwilling to interact with her fire spiritual energy.

Lian Mu frowned. It seemed fire spiritual energy wouldn’t work…

But her Metal Spirit Root and Wood Spiritual Root were sealed. Previously, she had only temporarily unsealed the Metal Spirit Root by taking medicine, and now that the effect had worn off, using another pill would waste a chance she didn’t want to squander on something trivial.

Suddenly, Lian Mu thought of another method. She immediately mobilized the spiritual energy scattered in her blood, concentrating it on the Jiao Pearl. This energy hadn’t passed through her dantian and remained pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

Sure enough, the Jiao Pearl reacted immediately, glowing brightly.

Silver Crane was taken aback, staring intently at the Jiao Pearl.

Lian Mu felt her eyes heat up, and liquid welled up, but she ignored it. Before her vision blurred, she controlled the water.

Droplets enveloped the Seven Star Leaf juice, forming water spheres that floated in the air, exuding a strong fragrance.

Lian Mu closed her eyes, holding her breath, and carefully sent them onto the forging platform, her other hand touching the fire layer of the platform.

The water spheres approached the forging platform intact, hovering for several breaths without a single one bursting.

Silver Crane was astonished. “You actually managed to…”

To maintain the water spheres to this extent meant she could proceed to the next step of introducing Spirit Materials.

How on earth did she do it? How could a Fire Spirit Root so easily control water?

Lian Mu didn’t proceed further. Instead, she stopped, and the water spheres lost their spiritual energy support, exploding instantly.

Silver Crane couldn’t understand her actions and instinctively looked up to ask, only to see her face covered in blood, startling him.

Silver Crane: “???”

“Don’t panic, it’s normal.” Lian Mu wiped the blood from her eyes. Once her vision cleared, she blinked. “I’m not dead.”

Every time someone saw her like this, she had to explain, lest they think something had happened and drag her to an alchemy cultivator.

Silver Crane still found the scene too shocking and took a deep breath. “Spirit Blood Unity Physique?”

“Yes,” Lian Mu replied.

“No wonder,” Silver Crane understood.

Normal spiritual energy from the body carries the owner’s Spiritual Root attributes, affecting the Jiao Pearl to some extent. However, the Spirit Blood Unity Physique was different. Part of their spiritual energy couldn’t be contained by the dantian, so it flowed with the blood. This spiritual energy could be harnessed and remained pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, even more effective than a Water Spiritual Root.

It just required a bit of blood to use.

Lian Mu said, “My eyes were covered just now, and I couldn’t see the forging platform clearly. Let’s try again.”

In truth, her ability to maintain the Spirit Water Membrane without it breaking wasn’t solely due to her Spirit Blood Unity Physique but also her skills honed over countless days.

In the past, she used the forging platform for alchemy, controlling the fire layer to prevent spiritual plants from burning. Today, she simply reversed the process.

Hearing her speak so casually, Silver Crane’s eyes held newfound respect. His previous doubts had vanished completely.

This General Bean’s master truly had some skills…