The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

"That's the standard procedure, no doubt!"

Xue Jin glared at him, annoyed.

"But which spirit pattern master doesn't need a special furnace, earth fire, or their own refined strange fire to forge spirit artifacts? Which one doesn't need to spend a lot of time and energy controlling the heat and removing impurities? Like this, it just swallows it directly and spits out a perfectly pure piece of spirit material in a few breaths. You're telling me this is a conventional method?!"

Xue Jin took a deep breath, looked at the innocent-looking Qiu Qiu, and spoke with absolute certainty.

"This little guy is definitely a strange creature with incredible talents that we don't know about! This ability to smelt and purify is probably just the tip of the iceberg of its talents!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan's heart was stirred once again.

He looked at the red pom-pom on the stone table, which was happily bouncing around because it had been praised, and his eyes became incredibly complicated and shocked.

Besides devouring energy, swallowing arrows, spewing flames, and smelting spiritual materials... does it have any other special talents?

Just as Jiang Xuan was secretly amazed by the incredible talents that Qiu Qiu had displayed, Xue Jin's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without warning, she suddenly reached out her hand, her five fingers forming a claw, bringing with them a sharp gust of wind, and grabbed at Qiu Qiu, who was jumping around triumphantly on the stone table, as fast as lightning!
This sudden and rapid turn of events clearly indicated that Xue Jin wanted to test the little guy's abilities.

However, just as Xuejin's fingers were about to touch Qiuqiu's red downy fur—

"Buzz!"

Chirp's body suddenly became blurry, as if it had turned into a thin, almost imperceptible stream of fiery red light, and disappeared from the spot!

The next instant, its round figure appeared on the top of the courtyard wall more than ten feet away, tilting its head, its big eyes looking at Xue Jin with a hint of confusion and dissatisfaction, and making a "chirp?" sound.

With a loud thud, it seemed to be questioning why it was being captured.

"Transformation?!"

Xue Jin withdrew his hand, his face showing not disappointment, but rather even greater interest and a hint of amazement.

"It's actually the 'Transformation' talent! Little guy, you really keep surprising me!"

He turned to Jiang Xuan and explained.

"There are countless spirit beasts and exotic species in the world, but those that can switch between physical and energy forms so freely and quickly, and 'transform', are extremely rare! And look at its speed after transformation, it is as fast as lightning, and it can disappear into the distance in an instant. It is even faster than a cub of a purple-horned blue rhinoceros beast that I once saw, which is known for its speed!"

Jiang Xuan was also shocked. He stepped forward and waved to the chirping chirp on the wall.

The little guy seemed to have forgotten his earlier unpleasantness. He immediately transformed into a streak of fire and instantly returned to Jiang Xuan's shoulder, affectionately nuzzling his cheek.

Jiang Xuan picked it up and held it in front of him, carefully examining the seemingly harmless, even somewhat adorable, red furball, his heart filled with doubt.

"Little one, just who are you? Could you really be a descendant of some ancient mythical beast?"

Seemingly sensing Jiang Xuan's confusion, Chiu Chiu stuck out her little tongue and affectionately sucked on his finger, sending a warm, ticklish sensation through her.

This action suddenly reminded Jiang Xuan of something, and his expression immediately became quite interesting.

He remembered clearly that back in the Blood Slaughter Camp, Xiaoman had told him that Qiuqiu was not an ordinary creature; it needed to consume high-grade spirit crystals to maintain its life and grow! During its infancy, it needed to consume one high-grade spirit crystal every three days!
With Xiaoman (a solar term) in place, the reserves were relatively sufficient.

But now Xiaoman isn't around, and he himself... doesn't even have a single low-grade spirit crystal, let alone a high-grade one! He tried feeding it healing pills before, but the little guy sniffed them, pushed them away with its paws with a look of disgust, and wouldn't eat them at all.

Jiang Xuan's face immediately showed embarrassment and difficulty.

He glanced at Qiuqiu, who looked completely innocent on his shoulder, and then at Xuejin, who was sitting calmly beside him carrying a wine jar. After hesitating for a moment, he finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Um... Senior Xuejin..."

"Ok?"

Xue Jin raised an eyebrow at him.

Jiang Xuan pointed to the chick on his shoulder and said helplessly.

"It... seems hungry."

It usually... feeds on high-grade spirit crystals.

"High-grade spirit crystals? For a living?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter as if she had heard something funny.

"Hahaha! Good heavens! I was thinking that with such heaven-defying talents, it must consume a lot of resources, but I never expected... it's actually a money pit! Interesting! Very interesting!"

Jiang Xuan was a little embarrassed by his laughter, so he gently patted Qiuqiu's little head and whispered.

"Go, try to charm that uncle and see if he'll give you some food."

Chirp seemed to understand. It turned its round body to face Snow Gold, and its big eyes instantly became misty with tears. Its little mouth pursed slightly, and it made a pitiful chirping sound. Its little appearance could melt anyone's heart.

Xue Jin's laughter stopped abruptly. He looked at Qiu Qiu, whose acting skills were superb, his lips twitched, and he laughed and cursed.

"You little rascal!"

However, he was not stingy. After pondering for a moment, he took out something from his storage ring.

That was no ordinary high-grade spirit crystal, but a crystal about the size of an infant's fist, with a warm, lustrous blue color throughout, and seemingly with liquid wood spirit energy slowly flowing inside.

As soon as it appeared, the surrounding air became much fresher, radiating a powerful and pure life energy.

"This is... a top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal?"

Jiang Xuan recognized the item and was slightly surprised.

The energy contained in this spirit crystal is at least ten times that of ordinary high-grade spirit crystals! Moreover, it is extremely gentle and pure, and very easy to absorb.

Xue Jin weighed the Azure Spirit Crystal in her hand and said to Jiang Xuan.

"Top-grade Azure Spirit Crystals contain extremely vast and pure energy. Usually, only cultivators at the Cave Heaven Realm or above have the ability to slowly refine and absorb them. They are remarkably effective for consolidating cultivation, healing injuries, and prolonging life. On the market, one piece is worth about one hundred gold coins, which is about twenty times the value of a high-grade spirit crystal."

This little guy is amazing, but he's still young. I estimate it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qiuqiu, who had been pretending to be pitiful on Jiang Xuan's shoulder, suddenly lit up with her big eyes and stared intently at the Qingyi Spirit Crystal, almost drooling.

The next instant, it transformed into a streak of fire once more, moving so fast that even Xue Jin didn't have time to fully react before it pounced on his hand holding the spirit crystal, its little mouth opening wide—

"Crack!"

That top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal was swallowed whole by it!
"Uh……"

Xue Jin's hand froze in mid-air.

After swallowing the Azure Spirit Crystal, Chiu Chiu let out a satisfied burp, and a wisp of pure azure spiritual energy mixed with tiny golden flames emerged from its mouth.

Flames flickered across its round body again, then, as if it were full and sleepy, it transformed into a streak of fire. With a "whoosh," it burrowed back into Jiang Xuan's arms, found a comfortable spot, snuggled closer, and soon began to breathe softly and evenly—it had fallen asleep!
Snow Gold.

"..."

He stood there, staring at his empty hands, then at Qiuqiu who was already asleep in Jiang Xuan's arms. After a long while, he finally let out a breath and exclaimed in amazement.

"Good heavens... Not only can it swallow, but it can also refine top-grade Azure Spirit Crystals so quickly... This appetite, this digestive ability... It's simply a bottomless pit!"

Jiang Xuan's eyelids twitched as he watched. A top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal worth one hundred gold coins, just like that... gone? This wasn't spirit crystals, it was money!

He looked at Xue Jin, forcing a somewhat forced smile.

"Senior Xuejin, what do you think about... this little guy's future food supply..."

Xue Jin jumped back a step like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, waving her hands repeatedly.

"Stop! Stop! Kid, don't even think about it! A top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal is worth one hundred gold coins! That's twenty times the price of a high-grade spirit crystal! From what you just said, it needs one high-grade spirit crystal every three days during its infancy. Now that it's grown up, its appetite will definitely be even greater. It might even need one top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal a day!"
That's 100 gold coins a day! 3,000 gold coins a month! 36,000 gold coins a year! And that's just a conservative estimate! Even though I have some savings, I can't afford to let this spendthrift run away! I couldn't support him even if I went bankrupt!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan also gasped.

He knew that Chiu Chiu could eat, but he didn't expect it to be this much! Thirty-six thousand gold coins a year? That's an astronomical figure! He had worked himself to the bone before, and all the money he had probably couldn't even buy a single top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal.

He looked at the sleeping baby in his arms and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

What can we do? We can't just watch it starve to death, can we?

As his mind raced, Jiang Xuan's gaze fell on Xue Jin. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Senior, you can't say that. Look, Chiu Chiu is exceptionally talented and has unlimited potential. Investing now will surely bring rich returns in the future."

Moreover, its ability to refine spiritual materials should be very useful to an expert like you, right? Besides, you just saw how well it got along with you, it even acted cute towards you..."

Xue Jin was stunned by Jiang Xuan's twisted logic and glared at him irritably.

"Don't try that on me! You think you can scam me? No way!"

Jiang Xuan was not discouraged and continued.

"In that case, senior, you will be responsible for providing it with food for a period of time. In return, I can grant you one request, which I will not refuse as long as it is within my ability."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, looked Jiang Xuan up and down, and stroked his chin.

"Conditions? Besides your exceptional talent for causing trouble, what else do you have to offer?"

He paused, as if he had thought of something, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Unless... you agree to have a 'spirit rune battle suit' custom-made for me!"

"Spirit Rune Battle Armor?"

Jiang Xuan was taken aback, then smiled wryly.

"Senior, you overestimate me. I am just a novice spirit rune master. I haven't even mastered the complete spirit rune inheritance yet. How could I possibly forge spirit rune battle armor?"

Spirit rune battle armor is a field that is countless times more complex and profound than ordinary spirit weapons, requiring extremely high mastery of spirit runes to even begin to explore.

Xue Jin waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop pretending with me! Although I don't understand spirit runes, I still have a good eye. Your foundation in spirit runes is so solid, and your technique is so exquisite, that it's the most impressive I've ever seen among all the beginner spirit rune masters! Even Feng Qingyou, the so-called once-in-a-century spirit rune genius from Qinglu Academy, might not have your level of skill at your age!"

He took a step closer and lowered his voice.

"Moreover, I will be responsible for providing all the spiritual materials needed to forge the spirit pattern battle armor! It doesn't matter if you fail, just treat it as practice! How about that, isn't that a generous offer? As long as you agree, once you have the ability, I will prioritize forging a set of spirit pattern battle armor for me, and I will cover the little guy's food in the early stages!"

Jiang Xuan looked at Xue Jin's unwavering gaze, then glanced down at Qiu Qiu, who was fast asleep in his arms, and weighed the pros and cons in his mind. The conditions Xue Jin proposed were indeed very generous, covering almost all the costs and risks.

He himself did need to solve the problem of feeding Chiu Chiu, and he also needed a lot of practice to improve his spirit rune skills.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xuan finally took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright! I promise you! Once my mastery of spirit runes is sufficient, I will do my utmost to tailor-make a set of spirit rune battle armor for you!"

"Haha! Great! It's settled then!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin smiled with satisfaction and patted Jiang Xuan on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about the little guy's food!"

In this way, Jiang Xuan temporarily solved the problem of feeding Qiu Qiu, this "money pit," while Xue Jin also received a promise of becoming a future spirit pattern master. Both parties got what they wanted.

Having reached an agreement, Xue Jin was in high spirits. He took another swig of wine and casually asked a question.

"Kid, there's still some time before the provincial exam. What are your plans?"

Jiang Xuan composed himself, his gaze clearing, and said in a deep voice.

"Make money, cultivate yourself."

Concise yet with a clear objective.

He needs to earn a lot of money, not only for his own cultivation, but also for various resources he might need in the future, and... to repay Xue Jin for the "food expenses" he had invested in the early stages. At the same time, improving his own strength is always the top priority.

Xue Jin nodded and gave a reminder.

"The provincial examination brings together the best talents in the province, including those with profound backgrounds and amazing talents, and there may even be some inheritors of ancient traditions. You must not take it lightly."

Jiang Xuan's lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes sharp as knives.

I never underestimate anyone.

But anyone who underestimates me will be the one who suffers.

His words carried a confidence that came from the core of his being and a sharp edge honed through life and death.

Xue Jin gave him an appreciative look, said nothing more, and waved her hand.

"Alright, go do what you're supposed to do."

Jiang Xuan cupped his hands in greeting, carefully placed the sleeping Qiuqiu in his arms, and turned to leave the courtyard.

He planned to first visit the Spirit Pattern Master Commune to see Chu Feng, thank him for his previous help, and also to learn about the current situation in Yanxia City.

Watching Jiang Xuan's departing figure, Xue Jin's lazy smile gradually faded. He sat alone on the stone bench, pondering for a long time before finally taking out the cold, black invitation card bearing the obsidian flower pattern from his robes. (End of Chapter)