The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 148 Spirit Corpse
Borrowing sacred artifacts from each other is not uncommon among hunters; otherwise, Tong Zi would not have requested that the staff be designed to be universal.

Su Ninglong tapped the armrest of the chair thoughtfully.

Lian Xinyi was her "outer disciple" who she personally brought into the field of superpowered individuals, and Song Hu was a promising seed she had high hopes for.

In the future, exploring dungeons related to Mystic Spirits or Ruins will likely require relying heavily on their abilities.

However, she was not very knowledgeable about things like archaeological site exploration and didn't know which sacred artifacts would be suitable for them.

"When do you plan to set off? When the academy has a long holiday, or in a few days?" Su Ninglong asked, raising her eyes.

"During long holidays," Song Hu replied succinctly.

With plenty of time still available, Su Ninglong felt somewhat relieved and then asked, "Both of your families have considerable resources, and you must have inherited sacred artifacts at home. Why would you specifically come to my place to borrow them?"

Lian Xinyi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought you were going to be sarcastic about my weak abilities."

"Aren't you?" Su Ninglong genuinely felt that Lian Xinyi was weak, but his ability allowed him to coordinate with many people, stacking up his full potential, making his combat power quite good.

Lian Xinyi was filled with resentment and wanted to pick up Qirui, who was passing by, for comfort. The fiery red cat lightly jumped over his hand and quickly climbed up the wall to the tree branch. It squinted its eyes and enjoyed the breeze blowing from outside the wall.

The object resembled its owner; Qi Rui ignored Lian Xinyi's expression, which was exactly the same as Su Ninglong's.

Lian Xinyi was speechless, resting her chin on her hand and sighing softly at when she would be able to develop a new superpower.

Song Hu explained Su Ninglong's doubts, "Because the sacred artifacts you provide don't have those terrible side effects."

“Ahem, we might be entering the ruins of the Darkest Hour. The dangers there mainly come from three aspects. First, the sacred artifacts buried within the ruins themselves; second, the deadly traps left over from that era, which are incredibly insane and full of whimsical ideas. The most troublesome thing is…” He paused for two seconds here, “…although the chances are slim, there is a possibility that there are spirit corpses.”

"Spirit corpse?" Su Ninglong frowned as she encountered another unfamiliar term.

"Yes, the complete remains of a spirit master will be placed deep within the tomb along with the sacred artifact. If there has been any change in the tomb... change means that a secret spirit once appeared, and the corpse is corrupted, the remains of the spirit master will transform into a powerful spirit corpse. Its terror is no less than the parasite we encountered at the mountaintop meeting place last time. The stronger the spirit master was in life, the more terrifying the spirit corpse will be."

Hearing this, Su Ninglong not only failed to resolve her doubts, but instead fell into even deeper confusion.

Almost blurting out, he asked, "Since the risks are so great, why not eliminate the hidden dangers completely from the beginning? Cremation would solve everything once and for all, and all the problems would be solved."

“No.” Song Hu answered decisively, his expression unusually serious. “When powerful spiritualists die, there will still be residual energy fluctuations in their bodies. We speculate that this means their souls did not immediately dissipate. The spiritualist community of that era did not have a way to eliminate these energy fluctuations and needed to use burial rituals to allow the souls to rest in peace… Before the souls are completely at peace, the sacred artifacts that the spiritualists used in life must also be properly placed next to the body to prevent the souls from leaving the body.”

"As long as the body remains, the soul will be bound to the remains. Even if it is contaminated, the effect will only be limited to the physical body."

"The soul itself is an extremely mysterious existence. It has no physical form and can be arbitrarily shaped. If it is not trapped by remains, it is difficult to predict what kind of catastrophic consequences it will cause once it is contaminated."

As Song Hu explained the spirit corpse more and more in detail, Su Ninglong's expression became more solemn as she thought of the black tomb behind the wasteland.

Su Ninglong found it strange at the time, because the place looked very clean, with no spirits appearing, yet there was a sad and oppressive atmosphere.

Now that I think about it carefully, something seems off.

Suddenly, another thought arose: embarking on the path of cultivation might be tantamount to opening Pandora's box with one's own hands.

If this is the truth, then the lightning that struck her back then could be considered a "mild" warning.

Su Ninglong composed herself and told the two, "Master's whereabouts have been uncertain lately. When she returns, I will convey your request to borrow the sacred artifact. If she agrees, you can use items as collateral to exchange for the right to use it. Paying money should also work; she prefers star coins."

Song Hu and Lian Xinyi subconsciously turned their heads, their gazes falling towards the warehouse. Through the window, they could see the fish-lipped robot sitting quietly, without making a sound.

Its soul was clearly not here; otherwise, given how much Master Su doted on her apprentice, she, who was short of money, would have already pushed open the door to the courtyard and agreed to their request.

Su Ninglong's mysterious master was busy with something, and Su Ninglong's way of doing things exuded an air of mystery.

Meanwhile, Lei Qingya, sitting next to Su Ninglong, was also subtly changing his demeanor, gradually approaching Su Ninglong's unique aura.

Her shoulder-length black hair was casually tied into a half-bun, secured with only a smooth, polished natural wooden hairpin.

His gaze was calm, and he exuded a subtle sense of detachment, an almost otherworldly indifference, revealing a hint of "inhumanity" that transcended ordinary people.

"Thank you!" Song Hu thanked her, then pulled Lian Xinyi, who wanted to continue chatting, back to the inner courtyard.

This idiot, having achieved a decent result by sheer luck last time, loves to show off whenever he gets the chance.

Yun Fei couldn't stand it any longer, so he gave Song Hu a firm order to urge Lian Xinyi to enter a higher-intensity training mode, and absolutely not to let the kid have a chance to get carried away and embarrass him again.

Watching Song Hu and Lian Xinyi disappear, Su Ninglong stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her clothes, and said, "Qirui, take me to the Information Department."

Qi Rui, who had been stretching out its paws, eager to provoke Bai Cai, lowered its cat head and meowed obediently at Su Ninglong.

When it raised its cat-like eyes and looked again at the chirping birds hopping among the branches, it let out a threatening growl.

The cabbage flapped its feathered wings on its chest, "Luckily, I can fly."

It spread its wings, flapped them with difficulty, and glided down with its round body.

Lei Qingya was speechless. "Cabbage, Qirui is doing this for your own good. You're getting so fat you can't fly anymore."

"Nonsense, I'm a cabbage that doesn't get fat, I call it healthy beauty."

He didn't pry into much gossip, but he certainly knew how to talk his way out of things.

Lei Qingya shook her head, watching Su Ninglong and Qi Rui's figures fade away. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and went to class. There was a starship piloting class that evening, which Teacher Doug had helped her register for.

She needs to pass a certification exam before she can set off, but that's just setting off; space travel requires another certification exam.

One certificate after another; to be a student of Doug, one must be all-rounder.

Lei Qingya, who is hailed as a "genius" with multiple abilities, needs to keep that halo firmly in mind, as the other two teachers' disciples are all watching her closely.

Thanks to Su Ninglong, she was once fought over by the teachers, and then she was targeted.

...Su Ninglong went to find Funi. Since it was getting dark, Funi's two assistants had left the studio, and Su Ninglong swaggered in.

As Funi carefully took out the True Self Mirror and placed it on the table, she heard footsteps, looked up, and saw Su Ninglong. She quickly waved, "Baby, you're finally here."

Su Ninglong arrived and sat down, holding Qirui to keep it from wandering off.

Qirui blinked its big eyes, its clear eyes full of questions, as if asking her why it wouldn't let it play.

"There's a mean older sister here. If anything gets stolen, she'll blame me. Let's not run around, okay?"

Su Ninglong's gaze swept around the room, but she deliberately avoided the True Self Mirror.

Since the sacred artifact recognized her as its owner, she has never touched it again, and she has no idea whether any hunters have used it to carry out missions during that time.

“Speaking of which, I remember it was you who personally ‘awakened’ it.” Funi pointed to the True Self Mirror, a sweet and harmless smile spreading across her lips. “I wonder how Master Su is doing lately? When would she have time to grace me with her presence, have a cup of tea, and chat?”

Su Ninglong remained unmoved by Funi's "reminder" and invitation.

She hadn't forgotten how Yun Fei and Fu Ni conspired to fleece her; the seemingly innocent lady in front of her was actually quite good at "pretending."

A seemingly innocent face can be a sure way to trick people.

Su Ninglong suspected that Funi knew many things, including Assistant Sun's true character.

Su Ninglong bluntly stated, "You actually knew that Assistant Sun deliberately made things difficult for me last time, didn't you? You just pretended to be completely unaware, right?"

"Xiao Sun? What's wrong with her?" Funi's friendly smile remained unchanged, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. "Xiao Sun is very capable and quick-witted; she's perfect for her position. Su, it's not good to talk about people behind their backs, you know. I really like her right now."

Su Ninglong shrugged indifferently. Well, a bunch of academics playing mind games. She considered herself to have limited brain capacity and was too lazy to delve into the intricacies of it all.

Bringing the conversation back on track, Su Ninglong explained the reason for her visit: "I have something I'd like to ask you. If I plan to enter the ruins, are there any special requirements for the sacred artifacts I bring?"

"Didn't your master give you any guidance?" Funi asked tentatively.

"If my master could teach me everything, I wouldn't need to go to school at all. Besides, she's not around lately, who knows where she's off having a good time." The teachers in the Star Alliance are all very cunning, so Su Ninglong simply made up a story. Everyone loves to play games, and no one gets the short end of the stick.

Funi suddenly realized and didn't ask any further questions: "To enter the ruins, the first thing to do is to find out who the owner of the ruins is."

Knowing full well that they were digging, people in the cultivation world also liked to do this immoral thing. When he was young, Ancestor Su also participated, but he stopped going later. Magic treasures that have not been used for thousands of years are not as good as things that he makes himself.

Its only value is as a historical reference.

After listening attentively to Funi's explanation, Su Ninglong knew what kind of sacred artifact she needed to forge.

"Thank you, Ms. Funi."

"You're welcome!"

"Qirui, go back to the work area."

As soon as Su Ninglong left, the True Self Mirror, which had been placed out of the box, dimmed instantly and lost its golden brilliance.

Funi adjusted her glasses and looked at herself in the mirror, saying, "Too bad, the other person isn't interested in you."

Ignoring Funi's teasing, the True Self Mirror fell into a deep sleep again, and no one could wake it up; it could no longer be controlled. Humph!
Su Ninglong returned to her workshop and took out the wing bone and ice crystal cluster that she had obtained from the monster last time. Because they were quite large and the contamination had not been completely removed, she placed them in the pink stone pile.

Now that we've decided to forge some sacred artifact, it would be best to use it.

She picked out a box of materials from the warehouse and told Qi Rui to move them to the villa in the wilderness outside. Then, carrying a pile of alloy, she and the returning Qi Rui teleported away.

She also used the communicator to inform Xingyuan that she was going to forge weapons in a workshop outside, and that she didn't know the timeframe. She would be attending classes during the day, and there was no need to look for her at night.

Xingyuan had no choice but to reply, "Okay, contact me and Lei Qingya every day, don't lose contact."

"Mmm." Su Ninglong agreed and entered the villa workshop.

The layout of this detached villa is quite unique. Surrounding the central main area are five separate rooms, which are lounges prepared specifically for Ge Wei and the planting instructor.

The core of the entire building, the space occupying the largest area in the center, was completely requisitioned by Su Ninglong and transformed into her exclusive personal workshop (warehouse).

The enormous workshop had neither conventional doors nor any trace of windows. The only connection to the outside world was a sophisticated ventilation system hidden within the walls, silently maintaining air circulation.

The four walls of the workshop had already been personally engraved with mysterious and complex protective formations by Su Ninglong.

The formation was designed to be extremely ingenious; only those "keys" (Qiri and Aoli) approved by her could safely bring people in.

If any uninvited guest dares to force their way in, the formation will be activated instantly, turning into an invisible cage that will trap and kill the intruder.

In the very center of the workshop stands a round-bellied forging furnace that is two meters tall.

It is not only the core of the entire protective array, but also Su Ninglong's exclusive refining tool.

Su Ninglong was sitting cross-legged in front of the refining furnace at this moment. In order to forge it, Su Ninglong once again spent all her money.

The furnace body is densely engraved with ancient runes that ordinary people cannot look directly at, and which contain great power.

These runes are not inanimate objects; they seem to possess life, slowly rising and falling, flowing on the furnace wall. They can combine into various auxiliary array patterns according to the master's will, greatly improving the efficiency and success rate of weapon forging.
For Su Ninglong, who often lacks spiritual energy reserves, having such an intelligent furnace is like sending charcoal in snowy weather.

It can not only automatically regulate the complex energy field required for refining weapons, but also accurately assist in shaping and imprinting array patterns, saving her a lot of trouble and effort, and allowing her to use her limited spiritual power on the most crucial edge.

Once her aura was balanced to its optimal state, Su Ninglong no longer hesitated. She raised her hand and threw the pair of wing bones into the furnace, preparing to reshape them.

In an instant, the temperature inside the furnace soared, emitting a low hum.

The energy meter of the room temperature control system mounted on the wall began to jump wildly on the dial, and the pointer spun rapidly, indicating an alarming energy consumption.