Yuan Ming had never felt time pass so slowly.

He didn't know how many times he had stood up and sat down again before Mu He finally returned to his side, shaking his head at him as soon as they met.

Yuan Ming's heart sank immediately.

"Apart from the master, our Fire Refining Hall has only three elders above the Foundation Establishment Stage, and they are all secluded in artifact refining; not a single one has come out. Nobody can help you," Mu He said somewhat helplessly.

"What should I do then? I can't just watch as the Spiritual Power of my Green Fish Sword fades and it becomes a mere mundane item, can I?" Yuan Ming frowned and said.

"Your only option is to try your luck and wait to see if the master can return within three days," Mu He sighed and said helplessly.

Yuan Ming had no choice but to thank Mu He and leave in a hurry.

He first made another trip to the yard of the Three Cave Masters, but still didn't manage to see anyone, so he could only return to his residence.

The moment he pushed the door and entered, he saw Huo Chan'er lying on the desk by the window, but upon hearing Yuan Ming's movement, Huo Chan'er immediately got up.

Yuan Ming leaned out of the window and saw that on the horizontal branch of the pine tree outside, Silver Cat Xi Ying seemed to be basking in the sun.

Discovering Yuan Ming looking at her, Silver Cat Xi Ying continued without paying him any attention after turning over.

Seeing Xi Ying acting like this, Yuan Ming wanted to speak but swallowed his words and simply sat down next to the desk with the Sword Box in his arms, his face full of worry.

Huo Chan'er cozied up to him in an effort to please, but he could not spare his attention for her.

Almost a day had passed since yesterday.

The Yunling Sword Box only had two more days of preservation; he had to complete the engraving and Spirit Implanting within these two days.

But he had a premonition that the Three Cave Masters were likely occupied with something and wouldn't return any time soon.

"Otherwise, should I make another trip to the workshop?" Yuan Ming hesitated over whether to find an Artifact Refiner there to help him, but after calculating the distance, he realized he was running out of time.

"Let me see what's in your Spirit Storage Box," the curious voice of Silver Cat sounded in his Sea of Consciousness.

Yuan Ming looked up instinctively and saw that Silver Cat Xi Ying had already come to his window, while Huo Chan'er had somehow ended up on the floor, rolling around.

"This sword was refined for me by the Three Cave Masters. Is it impossible to enrich a Magic Artifact with Spiritual Power without the Cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Stage?" he couldn't help asking.

"Of course, it's not possible... But, nothing is absolute," Silver Cat said when hearing him ask this question; she already understood why Yuan Ming was so distressed.

"Do you have a way?" Yuan Ming's eyes lit up, and he immediately became overjoyed.

"Among Magic Practitioners, there are Talisman Masters who are skilled in the way of talismans and Array Masters who are proficient in Arrays. They delve deeply into the paths of talismans and Arrays, and can exert unique abilities that other Cultivators do not possess. Among them, Array Masters have created a type of Rune Array named 'Gathering Spirit Formation,' which can replace an Artifact Refiner to enrich Magic Artifacts and Magic Treasures," Silver Cat Xi Ying explained.

"Aren't you a Soul Cultivator? Are you also an Array Master?" Yuan Ming asked in surprise.

"I'm not an Array Master, but I'm familiar with the Gathering Spirit Formation," Xi Ying glanced at him and said.

"You're only familiar with it? Can you actually draw it, or... how can you help me?" Yuan Ming didn't know how to use the Gathering Spirit Formation.

"I'm not an Array Master and don't know how to draw it. Besides, the Gathering Spirit Formation isn't a talisman that you can just draw on talisman paper and use," Xi Ying explained.

"Forget it. In two more days, if I can't find a way to do the Spirit Implanting, my Green Fish Sword will be ruined. You can't help me anyway," Yuan Ming said.

"What? There's something I can't do?... Actually, you've seen the Gathering Spirit Formation before; it's on that Mist Island, on the casting furnace of Master Hei Mu that you found. It's just that you had no eye for it and didn't take it with you," Xi Ying said, indignant.

How could she know that Yuan Ming didn't lack discernment, but that he simply lacked the ability to take it at that time; otherwise, he would have taken the furnace long ago.

"There might have been other people on the island at that time; I'm afraid the casting furnace might no longer be there," Yuan Ming said, first excited and then worried.

"The casting furnace is still there," Silver Cat Xi Ying quickly reassured him.

"Really?" Yuan Ming asked, joyously.

Silver Cat Xi Ying "tsked" lightly through her nose, too disdainful to reply.

"Thank you!" Yuan Ming, overjoyed, grabbed the Sword Box and ran outside.

"Next time, I must find something you don't know to test you," he added as he reached the door, remembering something.

"Anytime!" Silver Cat replied.

As Yuan Ming passed by Huo Chan'er, the latter swiftly climbed up his leg to his shoulder.

Silver Cat Xi Ying watched his departing figure, a hint of a smile in her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she leaped down from the pine tree and quickly disappeared.

...

Half a day later, on Mist Island.

On a steep cliff face covered in patches of moss and dark green vines that hung down, a hidden semicircular cave entrance was concealed by them.

In the sky outside the cave, a black raven spread its wings and soared, circling for a long while before slowly descending.

It landed on a rock outside, pecking with its head down as if feeding, yet its shiny black eyes were rolling around, stealthily surveying the surroundings.

Seeing that everything around was stable and without the slightest anomaly, the raven hopped around, changed direction, and with a flap of its wings, it dived into the cave mouth hidden by vines on the mountainside and disappeared.

In a secluded forest ten miles away, Yuan Ming sat quietly amid the dense foliage of an ancient tree, observing the situation near the cave through the vision of a soul crow.

"Good, it really is still there," he sighed in relief the moment he saw the casting furnace.

Then he stood up, used the Wind Swift Skill to leap down from the tree canopy, and hurried toward the cave.

The figure of the silver cat appeared not far away and quickly followed suit.

In no time, Yuan Ming arrived at the cave carrying Huo Chan'er on his shoulder.

Upon seeing the casting furnace, Yuan Ming immediately swung his sleeve, creating a strong gust of wind that swept away all the dust on the furnace, and then he quickly approached to look for the Gathering Spirit Formation that Xi Ying had mentioned.

He circled around the casting furnace but didn't see any arrays inscribed on it.

"How could there be none?" He thought, bending down to crawl under the furnace.

At the bottom of the casting furnace, there were only flame patterns, and Yuan Ming didn't see anything special.

"Inside the furnace chamber," said the voice of Silver Cat Xi Ying, just in time, in Yuan Ming's sea of consciousness.

On hearing the voice, Yuan Ming looked up sharply and "bam," hit his head on the casting furnace.

When he crawled out from under the furnace, he saw Silver Cat Xi Ying perched on top of it, leisurely watching his flustered actions.

"Even without your reminder, I would have found it," said Yuan Ming.

"Even if you had found it, would you know how to use the Gathering Spirit Formation?" Xi Ying looked down at him with an expression that was mocking.

For a moment, Yuan Ming was stumped, then quickly asked, "Do you know how?"

"Of course, open the Sealing Door of the furnace chamber and look at the bottom," Xi Ying instructed.

Yuan Ming promptly responded and opened the Sealing Door of the furnace chamber. He hadn't had a chance to see it clearly when Huo Chan'er, faster than him, scurried in along his arm, ran a circle inside, and then came back out.

Only then did Yuan Ming see that the bottom of the furnace chamber wasn't a smooth plate, but engraved with a complex Rune Array.

At first glance, he recognized one of the runes, which looked somewhat familiar—it appeared to be a transformed Flame Rune surrounded by five other intricate runes he couldn't recognize.

These five runes surrounded the central Flame Rune, connected to it and each other, mutually supporting and forming a stable framework.

"Is this the array?" Yuan Ming muttered to himself.

"This Gathering Spirit Formation is quite simple. Although ingeniously conceived, its power is limited; at best, it can only assist in the Enriching of a Mid-grade Magical Artifact, which is also considered the most low-end," Xi Ying said.

"How can you tell it's simple?" Yuan Ming felt that the lines were already incredibly complex.

"This Gathering Spirit Formation centers around the Flame Rune, which is also the starting point. Together with five Gathering Spirit Talismans as fulcrums, it constructs the formation. There are no superfluous runes or cumbersome lines, which is why its power is limited, but it also prevents the loss of spiritual power—isn't that simple?" When Xi Ying heard this, her voice echoed in Yuan Ming's sea of consciousness.

"So you mean to say, a Rune Array isn't just a simple stacking combination of runes; improper pairing could actually lead to diminished returns?" Yuan Ming pondered and asked.

"Naturally, it couldn't just be simple stacking. In fact, this kind of pairing is quite difficult to control. You have to consider the compatibility and conflict of the properties of the runes and whether the lines between the runes are smoothly connected without causing interference with each other. Otherwise, every Talisman Master would also be an Array Master," Xi Ying explained.

"I see. So how is this Gathering Spirit Formation used?" Yuan Ming asked, suddenly enlightened.

"Do you see the shallow grooves at the center of those five runes around the perimeter?" asked Xi Ying.

"I do. What are they for?" Yuan Ming inquired, puzzled.

"They are for placing Spirit Stones, to draw in spiritual power. Your own mana is insufficient, so you need the spiritual power from the Spirit Stones to fill the gap. The central Flame Rune is the key to transforming, controlling the flow of spiritual power into the Green Fish Sword," Xi Ying answered.

Hearing this, Yuan Ming swiftly turned his wrist and produced five Low Grade Spirit Stones.

"Will these do?" Yuan Ming asked, seeking guidance.

"To Enrich your Sword Spirit, they're enough," confirmed Xi Ying after a glance.

Yuan Ming immediately and carefully positioned the five Spirit Stones into the furnace chamber.

"Open the Yunling Sword Box," commanded Silver Cat Xi Ying.

Since he truly didn't understand the Gathering Spirit Formation, Yuan Ming didn't dare to be negligent and simply became an obedient executor.

He did as instructed and opened the Yunling Sword Box. The Green Fish Sword immediately revealed its true face, releasing wisps of cold aura spreading around, and Huo Chan'er instantly showed a look of disgust and ran to the side.

"The sword's base attribute is cold. Which rune do you plan to inscribe?" Xi Ying asked.

About that, Yuan Ming had already thought thoroughly on the way here, but now when he spoke up, he hesitated again.

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