"Artware?"
"You mean the magical artifacts created by me, Fan Chou, a master artifact refiner, are mere ornaments that are flashy but lack substance..."
"Dare you say that again in front of me?"
Amidst the roar, an angry voice emerged. This time, it was an old man who had rushed out from the back of the shop.
The strong smell of sparks on his body and the iron hammer held upside down in his right hand undeniably indicated his identity as a master artifact refiner.
His gaze first fell upon Wu Tao with a fierce glare, and then shifted to the young man who had spoken earlier. His face immediately turned grim!
"Weapons that cannot be used in combat, what else can they be but artware?"
Wu Tao, acutely sensing something, continued to speak with increasing sarcasm.
"Master, you wouldn't tell me that all cultivators use your substandard products during battles, would you!"
"You scoundrel!"
Fan Chou's eyes were bloodshot, and his anger made his white hair stand on end. He was the master artifact refiner of this shop.
While master artifact refiners were considered slightly inferior to master alchemists, they were still highly regarded.
A master artifact refiner of this caliber was quite sought after.
Master Fan Chou's shop had been in operation for nearly a century. As a renowned master artifact refiner, he had forged many so-called exquisite magical artifacts and some ordinary magic treasures.
However, for a shop that operated daily, forging exquisite magical artifacts or ordinary magic treasures required a significant amount of time and effort.
A good top-tier magical artifact not only required fine materials but also the painstaking efforts of the artifact refiner, day after day, and finally, luck during the quenching process.
Even for an outstanding artifact refiner, under various constraints, being able to forge over a dozen exquisite top-tier magical artifacts or a magic treasure in a year would be considered quite good.
In most cases, artifact refiners had to forge common magical artifacts that were time-saving, labor-saving, material-saving, and cost-saving, yet easy to sell, to maintain the shop's operations.
The Maple Leaf Green Steel Sword, which had just been cut in half by Wu Tao's saber, was undoubtedly such a hastily made product!
The Maple Leaf Green Steel Sword had a slender blade and was elaborately decorated, with little practical use, serving more to display status.
These ostentatious top-tier magical artifacts were designed to cater to the tastes of wealthy young masters.
However, since they were crafted by a master artifact refiner, their status and price naturally differed.
Of course, in the eyes of someone like Wu Tao, who killed like cutting vegetables without any hesitation, refinement and elegance meant nothing in front of a saber!
...
On the other side.
Fan Chou was practically about to explode with anger.
If it were any other day, it might have been fine. But today was an extremely important day for his artifact refining shop. A direct descendant of the Zhuge family from Shujun, the Prefect, was coming to discuss a large order for magical artifacts.
This wealthy patron had ordered thirty top-tier magical artifact longswords as swords for the younger generation of the Zhuge family.
A sample had been sent three days prior, and the client had expressed great satisfaction. This was a deal worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.
Thinking about this, Fan Chou could almost wake up laughing in his dreams. Such a large order would earn him at least ten thousand spirit stones.
But at such a critical moment, a rogue cultivator from who knows where dared to stand in front of him and break the sword he had forged with a single saber strike.
This was undoubtedly slapping his face, implying that the magical artifacts forged by his shop were of poor quality.
If it weren't for the distinguished guest standing opposite him, he would have loved to smash this man with the mocking expression on his face with his hammer.
"A'Shen, bring me the Silver Crimson Sword I just finished forging. Since you want to compare, let's see whose magical artifact is a damn piece of art!"
Fan Chou's hair stood on end, and he indignantly shouted to a trembling shop assistant beside him.
Several shop assistants, pale with fear, hurried into a room in the backyard and carefully carried out a silver spirit sword!
Upon seeing this silver spirit sword, Wu Tao's pupils involuntarily contracted.
The young man from the Zhuge family's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "What a fine top-tier magical artifact!"
Although this sword also had the shape of a sword, its blade was noticeably thicker, and its spiritual energy was abundant!
"Don't you want magical artifacts that can be used in combat? This Silver Crimson Sword is also a work I personally forged. What do you think..."
Fan Chou's tone revealed a hint of obvious pride!
...
"The sword is a decent sword, but a pity that the person who forged it is trash. Otherwise, its quality would be even better!"
Looking at this exquisite magical artifact, forged entirely from Silver Essence and Crimson Star Stone, Wu Tao's gaze lingered on the Silver Crimson Sword for a moment before a cold sneer appeared on his lips!
"What do you mean by that, guest? Do you truly intend to be enemies with me to the death?"
"You can insult my character, question my attitude, but you cannot doubt my skill..."
...
The direct descendant of the Zhuge family heard this and looked at Wu Tao with a shocked expression.
Although he had his flaws, he was not a fool.
If he still couldn't understand that Wu Tao was deliberately looking for trouble at this point, then he had lived all these years in vain.
He had initially thought Wu Tao simply wanted to find a good top-tier magical artifact, but he never expected that Wu Tao had the intention of causing trouble from the very beginning.
...
"It means nothing. I'm merely stating facts."
"Perhaps you don't want to hear it, but I still have to say that if a more skilled artifact refiner were to forge this, it could become a magic treasure, not just a magical artifact!"
Wu Tao shrugged indifferently, his arrogant demeanor incredibly infuriating!
"Do you know how serious a crime it is for a rogue cultivator to insult a master artifact refiner of the Fan family?"
Fan Chou, who had a mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, said through gritted teeth, his hatred unconcealed.
...
"What? Does your Fan family want to bully the weak and rob and murder?"
Wu Tao's words immediately caused the air in the shop to drop several degrees, and a silence fell.
Everyone stared at Wu Tao with shocked eyes. Could such words be spoken so openly? Did this kid want to live or die?
Wu Tao walked out of the artifact refining shop and strolled through several more streets.
His objective was still to "fish and enforce the law," hoping that the Fan family would make a move and give him a handle so he could then exterminate their clan!
This time, his target was various luxury shops for immortal cultivators. He bought many expensive but useless items, spending over a million spirit stones in a short period.
As Wu Tao had predicted, his behavior and attitude immediately attracted the attention of many interested parties.
The next morning, as soon as he went out, he was stopped on the street by an old man who looked like a steward.
"Are you perhaps Mr. Wu? My master invites you to the Fan Mansion for a chat. Would you be so kind as to grace us with your presence?"
"If I don't go, I will be severely punished by my master."
The steward, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, spoke in a half-coercive, half-threatening manner.
...
When Wu Tao heard this, he answered surprisingly, "No problem, let's go."
Upon hearing this, the steward was slightly stunned.
This shouldn't be the case. This young man should have haggled with him a bit, so why did he agree so readily?
"Something is not right here."
...
However, remembering his master's instructions, the steward still led Wu Tao to the Fan Mansion.
Fan Mansion!
The Fan Mansion was shrouded in mist, like a palace in the heavens. Even before entering, one could faintly perceive its wealth.
Moreover, powerful formations were set up around the Fan Mansion, signifying the majesty of its owner.
Wu Tao felt the terrifying power of the formation and suddenly stopped, looking up.
He stopped not because he was intimidated by the strength of the formation, but because he was observing the formation's weaknesses.
The steward, walking ahead, frowned when he saw Wu Tao stop and reprimanded him.
"Hurry up. Even if you wanted to run now, you couldn't."
"Run? Heh heh..."
Wu Tao shook his head and said no more, taking a step forward to follow the steward.
This was Wu Tao's first time visiting a mansion inhabited by Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Zi Province immortal cultivation world.
As expected of a family with a heritage of over a million years, the prosperity and wealth of the family simply blinded Wu Tao.
During their walk, they passed by hundreds of treasures, almost unbelievable.
"Indeed, mountains and rivers change, but a person's nature is hard to alter!"
Looking at this, Wu Tao couldn't help but sneer.
For a family that occupied a vital city like the Fan family, what use were such extravagant buildings?
With that spare money, they might as well reinforce the formations in their mansion.
Those who dared to attack would only need to destroy the formations, and a single blow could obliterate the entire mansion.
Building such a luxurious mansion was likely to satisfy their own living habits and the face of a prominent clan.
However, with certain objectives in mind, Wu Tao could only endure until he met the principal.
...
When the steward led Wu Tao closer to the Fan family's ancestral hall, he could no longer hold back.
This expedition was to exterminate the clan, driven by the desire to repay karma.
Wu Tao was already about to commit evil deeds. He had only been wary of the Fan family escaping beforehand, but now there was no need to hold back.
Seeing this, Wu Tao waved his Chu Xi Sword and killed the steward, who was nominally a guide but actually a supervisor, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator...
Wu Tao took a step forward, and a sky-piercing sword energy naturally arose.
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