Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

If we're talking about the treasures bestowed by a Nascent Soul cultivator, they must be extraordinary. For Lu Fan, who has just formed his core, they are something that can only be encountered by chance.

Then Jing Chuan raised his hand, and a compass magic weapon flew out of his storage bag, saying, "This item is called the Sand Compass. It contains spiritual sand and can change into countless forms at will."

At this point, Jing Chuan raised his hands and activated them. A large amount of spiritual sand floated out from the sand compass, sometimes transforming into swords and spears, sometimes into shield walls, and even into hundreds of sand soldiers. It was extremely agile.

Lu Fan had never seen such a wondrous magical treasure before, and his eyes lit up as he looked at it: "Thank you, Ancestor!"

With his sand compass in hand, Lu Fan looked longingly at the Heavenly Fire Ancestor beside him.

"Junior brother has already given away the Sand Compass, so how could I be stingy?" Ancestor Tianhuo then raised his hand and summoned a crimson soft armor, saying, "This is the Fire Scale Soft Armor, which I personally crafted. It has excellent defense, so you should wear it close to your body."

"Thank you so much, Ancestor!" Lu Fan quickly reached out to accept it, deeply moved.

So this is the foundation of a sect!

"Neither of these two magic treasures has recognized a master. You only need to refine them a little. Although they are not as good as your natal magic treasure, they are not a big problem in dealing with ordinary cultivators. However, if you encounter a cultivator that you cannot defeat, you should return to the sect as soon as possible," Jing Chuan slowly instructed.

Ancestor Tianhuo stepped forward and patted Lu Fan on the shoulder, saying, "Reaching the Core Formation stage is merely the first hurdle to becoming a high-level cultivator. It does not make you invincible. When you are out and about, you must act with humility and avoid recklessness."

Lu Fan nodded, deeply moved. This reminded him of his days at the Dao Sect, and how Xuanxuzi had treated him—there was no comparison whatsoever.

"Your disciple will remember," Lu Fan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Go ahead," Jingchuan said, raising his hand slightly.

Lu Fan then instantly transformed into a Core Formation Light, flying over a thousand meters away in the blink of an eye.

This scene was also witnessed by the disciples residing in the mountain gate area, who were all dumbfounded and filled with envy...

"The Core Formation Escape Light! Li Erniu has truly formed his Core!" Zhang Shouye was unaware that it was Lu Fan who had flown away, and was still exclaiming in shock.

At this moment, the Heavenly Fire Ancestor, who was watching Lu Fan leave, also looked worried and said, "Our Xuan Yang Sword Sect has finally obtained a Core Formation cultivator. I really can't rest easy letting him go like this."

"Senior brother, the purpose of winning over a Core Formation cultivator is not to imprison him. Only by granting him freedom and treasures will he feel a sense of belonging," Jing Chuan said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Tianhuo stopped hesitating and said, "That's true."

"Now that we've found the solution to the problem of not being able to retain the Core Formation stage, we can't continue to be so lax. We must revitalize the Xuan Yang Sword Sect!" Jing Chuan said.

"Junior brother, do you mean to open your door and accept disciples?" Ancestor Tianhuo asked.

Jingchuan shook his head and said, "It's too early to take on disciples now. My idea is that when the Li Huo Cave opens in ten years, I'll trouble you, Senior Brother, to take Lu Fan there. We can use this opportunity to let everyone see that our Xuan Yang Sword Sect has already broken the curse and cultivated a Core Formation cultivator. At that time, there will surely be rogue cultivators coming to pay their respects."

"We haven't participated in treasure hunting in the Li Huo Cave for hundreds of years, so it's really time for us to show our faces," the Heavenly Fire Ancestor nodded slightly.

The Li Huo Cave is an ancient ruin located on the border between the Great Yan Kingdom and the Feng Kingdom. It consists of four levels, each containing numerous rare and precious materials, as well as magical artifacts and ancient treasures.

The Fire Cave opens once every hundred years, and each time it is open for five days.

Thousands of years ago, when the Fire Cave first appeared, the sects of the Great Yan and the Feng Kingdom each dispatched nearly ten Nascent Soul stage monsters to vie for the treasures within the cave.

The battle was fierce and chaotic, and several Nascent Soul stage monsters even perished. In the end, they didn't get the treasure and suffered heavy losses.

Later, the two sects signed a blood alliance, stipulating that when the Fire Cave opened again, Nascent Soul cultivators would not be allowed to enter, and only Core Formation or Foundation Establishment cultivators would be permitted to go to explore for treasures.

With this restriction on Nascent Soul stage cultivators from various sects, Core Formation cultivators became the main force, and they almost always gained something from each treasure hunt.

However, in recent centuries, the Xuan Yang Sword Sect has been absent from the scene because it has no Core Formation cultivators.

Now that Lu Fan has emerged, it's natural to make up for the losses of the past few hundred years.

...

at the same time.

Lu Fan, who left the Xuan Yang Sword Sect, flew hundreds of miles in one breath. This speed of escape from the Core Formation stage truly broadened his horizons.

Its speed was several times faster than when he was fully activating his Wind Feather Wings!

Lu Fan didn't have a specific goal for this flight; his main purpose was to test the power of this Core Formation stage divine ability.

After landing on a mountain peak, Lu Fan immediately formed hand seals, and the golden core floating in his dantian began to spin rapidly, instantly condensing into streams of pure demonic energy.

Immediately afterwards, bursts of black demonic energy rose from Lu Fan's palm.

"Sure enough, after reaching the Core Formation stage, the speed of condensing demonic energy has doubled. It seems that I should be able to use the second core secret technique of the Holy Spirit True Demon Art, the Great Demonic Sky-Splitting Hand," Lu Fan smiled slightly.

The three core secret techniques of the Holy Spirit True Demon Art are all stronger than the last. Even the Illusion Demon Finger, activated during the Foundation Establishment stage, is extremely powerful, not to mention the Great Demon Rift Hand.

Lu Fan then raised his hand to dispel the demonic energy, before taking out a communication talisman to inform Ye Lingxi.

He wasn't sure if Ye Lingxi had gone treasure hunting, after all, the agreed-upon five-year period had already passed seven years.

Regardless, we still need to ask. If Ye Lingxi has already been there, then Lu Fan can only give up.

After sending out the communication talisman, he sat on the ground and began to plan what he would do next.

Having just begun to form the Core Formation stage, there are many important matters to attend to.

The first priority is to stabilize one's cultivation and refine demonic energy; these are urgent matters.

He also needs to find materials to refine his natal magic weapon, since he's not refining one, but five, so he must collect them as soon as possible.

Secondly, we need to replenish the energy of the Heaven-Mending Furnace and purchase some pills for the Core Formation stage.

However, we'll have to wait until Ye Lingxi replies before making any plans.

While waiting, Lu Fan didn't sit idle. Instead, he refined the Sand Compass and the Fire Scale Armor to become his own.

This magic weapon is different from magic artifacts. It is divided into four grades: superior, middle, inferior, and top-grade. Magic weapons are only differentiated into three types: ordinary magic weapons, natal magic weapons, and ancient treasures.

Ordinary magic weapons are mostly crafted by Nascent Soul cultivators who are skilled in weapon crafting, and are used temporarily by sect disciples who have not yet crafted their own natal magic weapon.

Its power is actually only slightly higher than that of a top-grade magic weapon.

As for natal magic weapons and ancient treasures, generally speaking, ancient treasures are more powerful than ordinary natal magic weapons, but this is not absolute.

For example, if Lu Fan were to refine his five natal magic treasures and form the Five Extremes Yuan Hunting Sword Formation, its power would naturally be far greater than that of the ancient treasures.

Moreover, ancient treasures have another advantage: they do not require refining and can be used immediately upon acquisition. Furthermore, damage to them will not cause backlash like that of a natal magic weapon. However, like magical artifacts, they cannot be stored and nurtured within the body, so they have both advantages and disadvantages.

In any case, nothing is absolute. Whether a natal magic weapon or an ancient treasure is stronger or weaker depends entirely on how the cultivator uses it.

Both the Sand Compass and the Fire Scale Armor are ordinary magic treasures, but for Lu Fan, who currently lacks a natal magic treasure, they are already incredibly useful.