Chapter 30: Tianfeng Fortress

“Woo woo, Qu Yi, this is the divine stone I found. I didn’t know what it was called, but it felt so comfortable, so I controlled it.” As soon as Wu Yuan heard that Qu Yi wanted to help him craft a divine weapon, he immediately took out a divine stone he had found in the Beast Mountain Range.
The divine stone resembled a stone pillar, one person tall and one person wide, with a dark golden color all over.
“This… this is Nine Heavens Dark Gold. Wu Yuan, you actually obtained such a divine stone!” Qu Yi exclaimed in surprise after taking a close look.
Nine Heavens Dark Gold was an excellent material for crafting golden-element divine weapons. The divine weapons made from it could continue to absorb other materials as the owner’s strength increased, thereby upgrading the weapon.
It was generally impossible for a divine weapon at the Divine Being level to directly advance to the Divine Weapon level, as that would require integrating an entire set of laws. But Nine Heavens Dark Gold was special—if Wu Yuan awakened another Soul Sphere, he could still use the divine weapon crafted from it to absorb other materials and directly upgrade it to the Divine Weapon level.
No matter how many divine weapons one used, there was always an adaptation period. Therefore, using the same divine weapon consistently helped achieve unity between the heart and the weapon.
Hearing Qu Yi’s surprised tone, Wu Yuan knew his divine stone was of high quality. Without saying much, he just smiled.
Qing Wugui remained calm. He then took out a divine stone, about the size of a palm, round in shape, also dark golden in color, with flowing golden light moving across its surface.
Qu Yi was once again astonished and shouted, “This is Timeflow Gold. To find such a divine stone—your luck is really good!”
Like Nine Heavens Dark Gold, Timeflow Gold was also a material that could integrate other divine stones, allowing the crafted divine weapons to upgrade directly. Additionally, Timeflow Gold had a memory function—it could perfectly record any spells that struck it.
Thus, the divine weapons crafted from Timeflow Gold were most suitable for Qing Wugui and would greatly aid his cultivation of the art of killing.
“Well, these two divine stones you two obtained are both very suitable for you. I’ll take them. Continue practicing in the Beast Mountain Range, and I’ll return to Beast Village. Contact me if there’s danger.” Qu Yi smiled.
Wu Yuan and Qing Wugui nodded, smiling at Qu Yi.
Qu Yi took out the Boundless Stars and disappeared immediately, returning to the Stone Castle of the ‘Three Cauldrons Gate’ in Beast Village.
※※※
Sun Bufan had been to Fireheart Town and was now back.

Naturally, besides obtaining the position of village chief, Sun Bufan also brought back news—that in ten thousand years, the Feitianzhou team of the Huoli Merchant Alliance would pass by Bai Shou Village, and it would be necessary to collect the divine crystals from the villagers at that time. The Huoli Merchant Alliance was the center of wealth control in the Huoli Divine Realm, essentially a tool used by the Divine Kings to manage the realm’s wealth. It possessed countless flying ships, and its members constantly traveled throughout the Huoli Divine Realm, collecting the divine crystals and other riches from various villages, while recording the crystals and wealth offered by the villagers to determine whether they had completed their cultivation tasks. Becoming a full member of the divine realm was directly related to the Huoli Merchant Alliance; only when they recorded a total of one million divine crystals from all villagers could they officially become members of the divine realm. Undoubtedly, the news brought back by Sun Bufan stirred some of the villagers, as most of them did not have much accumulated divine crystal energy. If they could not offer much when the Huoli Merchant Alliance’s flying ship team arrived in ten thousand years, they would undoubtedly have to stay in Bai Shou Village for a long time. Though it caused brief shock, the villagers of Bai Shou Village resumed their cultivation. At this moment, Sun Bufan arrived in front of the Stone Castle of the Sanding Gate, intending to knock on the stone door, but hesitated and dared not do so, instead wandering outside. “Do you have something to say?” Suddenly, Qu Yi’s divine consciousness transmitted a message to Sun Bufan. Sun Bufan’s face lit up with joy, and he said, “Qu Yi, I went to Huoxin Town. The town chief, Qu Wantian, met with me personally and asked about your situation. I found this strange, so I came to tell you.” Given a town chief’s status, it should have been impossible for him to remember the identity of just one villager among countless others, yet Qu Wantian went out of his way to meet Sun Bufan and inquire about Qu Yi, which left Sun Bufan puzzled. Of course, Sun Bufan had no idea about the relationship between Xu Ming and Qu Wantian, nor that the two had once talked about Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wu Gui, which was why Qu Wantian remembered Qu Yi. “What did you say?” Qu Yi’s calm divine consciousness transmitted a message to Sun Bufan. “I only mentioned your duel with Meng Hu and that you have eighty thousand Wood Spirit Entities within you. As for the rest, I said you’ve been cultivating in your stone castle with no unusual activity,” Sun Bufan replied slowly. After receiving this information, Qu Yi understood the situation and smiled as he transmitted a message back to Sun Bufan, “Alright, you’ve done your part. Go back and continue cultivating.”

Qu Wan Tian was also at the Divine Weapon stage, and Qu Yi wasn’t afraid of him. If Qu Wan Tian really came to confront him, Qu Yi wouldn’t mind fighting him once. Seeing that Qu Yi showed no sign of worry, Sun Bufan was surprised for a moment but didn’t ask further and immediately ran back to his residence. Inside the stone castle, Qu Yi said calmly, “That Qu Wan Tian seems to be interested in me now. I guess he’ll come to deal with me soon. It seems I need to hurry up and set off for the Baizhai Mountain Area.” Qu Yi had always considered the Baizhai Mountain Area to be within his grasp.
※※※
Tianfeng Fort, ranked third in the Baizhai Mountain Area, had five fort masters in total. The first fort master was Zhu Chen, the second was Zhao Jing, the third was Zhen Lan, and the fourth was Zhuo Rui—all of them at the Divine Weapon stage. The fifth fort master was Qing Yiyi, who possessed powerful soul techniques, though her cultivation level was only at the peak of the Divine Human stage. After returning from the Beast Mountain Range on a Golden Crowned Eagle, Qing Yiyi met with the four fort masters right away and told them that the three fort masters of Qingfeng Fort had died. Thus, Tianfeng Fort quickly surrounded Qingfeng Fort, incorporated its 500 members, and absorbed it. With its third-ranked strength, Tianfeng Fort now matched the second-ranked Tianchen Fort in the Baizhai Mountain Area, though it still lagged behind the first-ranked Tianyu Fort. The main difference lay in the number of fort masters at the Divine Weapon stage. Tianyu Fort had seven fort masters, all at the Divine Weapon stage. Tianfeng Fort’s base was located on a flat-topped mountain, with a large stone castle atop it bearing the words “Tianfeng.” Inside Tianfeng Castle, the five fort masters of Tianfeng Fort were sitting together discussing matters. “Fifth sister, the news you brought is truly timely. After absorbing Qingfeng Fort, our strength is now enough to rival Tianchen Fort,” said the first fort master, Zhu Chen, with a kind smile. The five fort masters of Tianchen Fort were also at the Divine Weapon stage, not strong enough to suppress Tianfeng Fort. The number of Divine Human stage members in both forts was around 2,000, making their strengths comparable. “Most importantly, we’ve obtained the Five Elements Spirit Spring from Qingfeng Fort. We didn’t understand before why the people of Qingfeng Fort went to search for the Divine Crystal Tree in person. It turns out they found the Five Elements Spirit Spring in the Baizhai Mountain Area and wanted to quickly cultivate Divine Crystal Trees to produce plenty of Divine Crystal Fruits,” said the second fort master, Zhao Jing, with a beaming smile.

The Five Elements Spiritual Spring, with its evenly distributed primal energy, can rapidly accelerate the growth of the Divine Crystal Tree.
Zhen Lan, the third chief, and Zhuo Rui, the fourth chief, nodded with smiles.
Seeing the four chiefs smiling at her, Qing Yiyi’s face bloomed with joy as she flashed them a charming smile before saying, “You just like to tease me. Hmph, I’ll leave the base now and go train in the Beaststorm Mountains.”
Haha…
The four chiefs burst into laughter. It had become their habit to tease Qing Yiyi whenever they gathered together.
At that moment, Zhu Chen, the chief, raised his hand and said calmly, “Fifth sister, your Soul Art can already control beasts. Could you go to the Beaststorm Mountains and help us catch a flying beast? We’ve been envying you for riding that Golden Crowned Eagle every day.”
Zhao Jing, Zhen Lan, and Zhuo Rui immediately turned to Qing Yiyi, their eyes full of expectation.
Although the four chiefs could fly on their own, it required constant expenditure of divine energy, which was not efficient. With flying beasts, it would be much easier for the four chiefs of Tianfeng Camp at the Divine Weapon level to launch surprise attacks on other bandit camps.
Qing Yiyi blinked her beautiful eyes, making the four chiefs eager to stand up, before gently saying, “Okay, but I need to meet someone first. I think he’ll be very helpful for our Qingfeng Camp to take control of the entire Hundred Camps Mountain Area.”
Due to the control of her soul, Qu Yi was aware of Qing Yiyi’s movements. He then gave her instructions to take the chiefs of Tianfeng Camp to Beast Village, as he wanted to talk to them.
If everyone in Tianfeng Camp possessed a divine artifact, their strength could rival that of the top-ranked Tianyu Camp.
Hearing Qing Yiyi’s words, the four chiefs—Zhu Chen, Zhao Jing, Zhen Lan, and Zhuo Rui—were puzzled. Who could be so important to her?
“Fifth sister, who do you want to meet? Why do you value him so highly?” Zhao Jing, the second chief, who had been smiling the whole time, asked immediately.
Qing Yiyi stood up gracefully, her cherry-red lips curved into a smile as she looked at the four chiefs, forcing them to keep tilting their heads and blinking. Then she happily began to speak.
“Four brothers, this person’s name is Qu Yi. I met him in the Beaststorm Mountains. At that time, he was only at the Divine Human level, but my Soul Art couldn’t overcome him, nor could he defeat me. That’s how we became acquainted. I already know Qu Yi’s identity—he’s an artifact craftsman who can now create divine artifacts at the Divine Human level,” Qing Yiyi said in her melodious voice.
What!

Zhu Chen, Zhao Jing, Zhen Lan, and Zhuo Rui, the four chieftains, immediately stood up, their faces filled with surprise, then they looked at Qing Yiyi excitedly. These four chieftains certainly understood what it meant for Tianfeng Fort to have a blacksmith as a friend.
“Fifth sister, I’ll go with you,” declared Chief Zhu Chen right away.