Chapter 464

Chapter 464: Ice Tribe

"This is normal," Xu Fan said after hearing Spirit Cut’s words.

In typical novel fashion, the main characters are often thrown into a grand struggle for dominance. If the human race is already the strongest, how can they grow?

"It’s good that you’re mentally prepared," Spirit Cut nodded.

Seeing there was nothing else to discuss, Spirit Cut stepped back, leaving Xu Fan alone.

"With one of our sect’s top fighters ascended, I guess we’ll need to make more railguns to fill the gap," Xu Fan remarked, gazing at the clouds shaped like Bear Two in the sky.

At Xu Fan’s command, the beast clan master craftsmen in the Hidden Spirit Sect’s underground space sprang into action once more.

Under the guidance of the First Clone and Second Clone, the crafting skills of these beast clan master craftsmen had been steadily improving.

For some of the more important artifacts, they could now handle the crafting without needing the First or Second Clones to step in.

Not long ago, Xu Fan had felt his sect was unrivaled.

But with Bear Two’s ascension, he suddenly felt like he was back to square one.

"Having only Spirit Cut Elder to hold up the sect’s reputation feels a bit lacking," Xu Fan muttered to himself. Although the railgun seemed like a formidable weapon, capable of taking out a beast king-level being in one shot,

only Xu Fan knew its critical flaws.

Take Spirit Cut as an example: a beast king with a fighting strength lower than Spirit Cut’s could be taken down in one shot.

For those with fighting strength on par with Spirit Cut, the railgun would only injure them, allowing them to escape easily.

The worst-case scenario, and the one Xu Fan feared most, was encountering a beast king with significantly higher fighting strength than Spirit Cut, like the Nine Sword Respected Elder or Mysterious Azure Elder.

If that happened, and Xu Fan didn’t flee with the entire sect, they would be doomed.

He had hoped Bear Two would fill this gap.

Now that Bear Two was gone, Xu Fan’s sense of security had plummeted by nearly half.

"Grape, bring out all the artifact-level and celestial tool-level spirit ores from the sect. I need to review them," Xu Fan ordered.

Idle matters could wait; ensuring safety was the top priority.

A light curtain appeared before Xu Fan.

"Wow, my wife’s arrival has more than doubled this list," Xu Fan said, thinking fondly of his wife’s warmth and charm…

"Artifact-level spirit ore: Fire Source, Star God Dark Iron, Spirit…"

"Celestial tool-level spirit ore: Immortal Iron, Easy Mysterious Stone, Water Source…"

Xu Fan muttered as he scanned the list, his mind racing with ideas for powerful weapons, each capable of striking fear into the hearts of ordinary beast kings.

After finishing the list, Xu Fan let out a small sigh.

He felt like he had hit a bottleneck. All the powerful weapons he had envisioned during his idle moments were sound, but none could handle beast kings with fighting strength surpassing Spirit Cut’s.

At best, they could only drive them away.

"I guess we’ll just have to set up more railguns in the demon race’s territory. As long as we don’t overdo the expansion, it should be manageable," Xu Fan mused after a moment’s thought.

He then did a quick calculation with his fingers.

"I’ve got two thousand years left before I reach the Void Refinement stage."

"Once I get through this period and ascend to the Void Refinement stage, I’ll truly be an artifact great master."

"I refuse to believe that an artifact-level giant cannon won’t be enough to take you down," Xu Fan declared with determination.

He then instructed Grape to secure the demon race’s territory and prevent any excessive expansion.

"Next, I need to focus on gathering more spirit ore through various means."

"Sometimes I wish my precious grandson were here to help out. If I could just gather a bit more, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything," Xu Fan chuckled, though he knew it was best not to push his luck with the big shot’s resources.

"I wonder how my precious grandson is doing in the extreme north. I hope he’s staying out of trouble," Xu Fan wondered aloud.

…………

In the extreme north, just outside Fairy City in Tianyuan.

Han Feiyu, along with Iron Tower and Iron Orchid, was on the hunt for a Nascent Soul stage ice creature.

By now, Han Feiyu had advanced to the Golden Core Stage, and his spiritual essence was even more abundant than that of a peak Golden Core cultivator.

"Old Brother Iron, if we can catch this Nascent Soul stage ice creature, we’ll hit our monthly quota," Han Feiyu said.

"Once we’re done, I’m heading straight back to the fairy city for some proper rest."

"Damn, the cultivation world is way too dangerous these days," Iron Tower muttered irritably.

"Alright, brother, keep it down. If it weren’t for Brother Feiyu, we might not have made it out alive from those ice creatures," Iron Orchid said softly, sensing the enemy formations ahead.

"Got it," Iron Tower replied, focusing his attention on the formations in front of them.

Han Feiyu stayed quiet, his gaze fixed ahead, lost in thought.

Years ago, after fleeing to Tianyuan Fairy City and stocking up on supplies, he had planned to move on, only to find that the sect’s teleportation formation had stopped working entirely.

No matter how much high-grade Immortal Jade or spirit crystals he used, the formation wouldn’t budge.

He tried everything but couldn’t teleport to the next fairy city. Around that time, the ice creatures, sealed underground in the extreme north for who knows how long, began to awaken. As a wandering cultivator with no sect backing, he was quickly drafted into the front lines against the ice creatures.

It was during that time that he saved Iron Tower and Iron Orchid.

The three of them formed a small team specializing in hunting ice creatures. As long as they turned in a certain number of ice creatures each month, they could avoid being sent to the front lines.

Just then, a giant icy bird flew overhead, a form the ice creatures were known to take.

Han Feiyu held a spirit crystal in his hand. As the icy bird passed over the area, his thirty-six lock spirit formations would activate, trapping the creature.

With a subtle hand seal, Han Feiyu revealed the hidden spirit crystal.

The sunlight reflecting off the crystal immediately caught the giant icy bird’s attention.

It was like a person walking down an empty street only to spot a pile of treasure in the distance.

The giant icy bird grew wary.

It began to scan the area with its consciousness, checking for any potential ambushes.

This was exactly what Han Feiyu had anticipated.

As the bird continued its scan, it discovered another pile of spirit crystals.

Now even more cautious, the giant icy bird started circling the two piles of crystals, its path aligning perfectly with the thirty-six lock spirit formation.

"No need for the next phase of the plan," Han Feiyu said with a faint smile, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Those practical tips from the sect’s manual really do come in handy—trapping enemies, ambushing, assassinating. They never fail," Han Feiyu thought to himself.

He never imagined that a simple manual from the sect would prove so useful time and time again.