“It seems there’s a time limit, huh…”


    Han couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment at the sight before him, though it was still within the realm of what he could accept.


    This was the result of a little experiment he’d conducted.


    On the night the Fortune Gourd refreshed, Han had taken a single drop of its Fortune Spirit Liquid and stored it in an ordinary jade vial. He hadn’t used it, leaving it untouched until now.


    Today marked the third day since the gourd’s last refresh, and that lone drop of spirit liquid, kept separate all this time, had transformed into what he saw now.


    It confirmed one thing: if the spirit liquid was removed from the Fortune Gourd for too long without being used, it would lose its potency.


    “What a shame.”


    Han shook his head. He’d been hoping that if the liquid didn’t expire, he could stockpile a hefty stash of Fortune Spirit Liquid this month for future use. That way, even after this cheat-like tool refreshed and vanished, he’d still reap its benefits—like having a permanent version of it. No difference at all.


    Sadly, there were no loopholes to exploit.


    Fair enough, he supposed. If the cheat tool had such an obvious flaw, why bother with a limited-time retrieval function in the first place?


    That night, aside from his usual cultivation, Han delved into studying the alchemy knowledge from the Three Yin Legacy. The more he knew, the better—it could never hurt.


    His main focus was on the medicinal seeds left behind by the Three Yin Mountain God. He had to recognize them. Otherwise, even if he accelerated their growth, he’d be fumbling in the dark, clueless about their uses or value.


    He’d also instructed An Lang to prioritize learning about herbs, hoping she could quickly identify all those seeds.


    As for the Yin God Technique, Ten Directions Heavenly Light, he was already making progress on that too.


    At dawn, just as Han prepared to head to the martial arts dojo, he sensed a disturbance within his Soul Realm.


    Focusing inward, he was thrilled to discover that the embryonic artifact, which had been gestating all this time, had finally fully taken shape today!


    His heart leapt with excitement. The once-vague, tree-like form had now matured into a brown sapling about the length of an average person’s forearm.


    But this tree looked… odd. It had just one trunk, no branching limbs, and not a single leaf—just a bare, stark shape.


    “Uh… what?”


    Han scratched his head. This was supposed to be the natal artifact best suited for him?


    It looked so weird.


    No further refinement was needed. Over the past few days of nurturing and tempering, it had already bonded with him, becoming an extension of his very being.


    So, its abilities were instantly clear to him.


    It was a dual-purpose tool—offense and defense.


    When activated, the tree could unleash a beam of divine light. Offensively, this light could pierce through defenses—be it artifacts, techniques, or barriers—shattering them with ease. Defensively, it could shield against a wide range of attacks: martial arts, Taoist spells, weapons, or artifacts—all within its protective scope.


    The artifact’s abilities sounded a bit vague and broad. Its true power? That’d have to be tested in real combat.


    No question about it, though—this was a Day Roaming-grade artifact.


    And as a natal artifact tied to its master, it demanded less energy to wield while boasting greater potency than standard artifacts of the same level.


    Given Han’s strength, this piece was, at the very least, top-tier among Day Roaming-grade artifacts.


    “A beam of divine light…”


    It sounded almost too straightforward.


    But its capabilities were undeniable. In the world of cultivation, combat boiled down to three essentials: attack, defense, and escape. An artifact that excelled in both offense and defense—and covered such a wide range—was already impressive.


    Han mulled it over, then pulled out a treasure he’d looted from the Huang Family’s Manifestation Realm cultivator: Purple Spirit Jade.


    According to Lu Qingmo, enhancing a natal artifact by fusing it with other material essences wasn’t a free-for-all. The materials had to be compatible, aligned with the artifact’s foundation. Trying to meld a ghostly artifact with something like Supreme Yang essence? That’d be asking for trouble.


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    Since natal artifacts in this world were alive with spirit, they could judge for themselves whether a material suited them.


    Han’s artifact lacked a spirit, but it still possessed this instinct.


    When he brought the Purple Spirit Jade close to the sapling, it trembled slightly and reached out to touch the treasure on its own.


    That meant the jade was a match.


    This wasn’t the choice of an artifact spirit—it was the artifact itself, existing in a state of both completion and incompletion, reacting to materials that could benefit it.


    “I’ll refine this Purple Spirit Jade today,” Han decided.


    His natal artifact was picky—it only accepted the purest essence of materials, meaning he’d need to strip away impurities or lesser components.


    The higher the material’s grade, though, the less refining it needed. Something like Immortal Gold or Celestial Treasure? That was pure essence through and through—no refining required.


    Aside from his cultivation practice, Han spent the day refining the Purple Spirit Jade. By nightfall, the gem had been reduced to a puddle of purple liquid.


    Normally, refining material essence for crafting came with its own set of rules and finesse—too much force could ruin it, too little wouldn’t extract enough. It was all about technique.


    But Han? He didn’t fuss over that.


    Taking out his natal artifact, he dripped the entire batch of Purple Spirit Jade liquid onto it.


    In an instant, the liquid seeped into the tree’s trunk. Then, the artifact returned to his Soul Realm on its own, slowly digesting the jade’s essence.


    Within the Soul Realm, faint purple light pulsed across the sapling’s surface, flickering like it was breathing.


    Han couldn’t help but marvel. “This natal artifact is something else. I wonder if the artifacts of those Yin God cultivators work the same way.”


    Ordinary artifacts wouldn’t react like this to new material essence. To fuse fresh materials into a fully-formed artifact typically required a master craftsman, specialized techniques, and a slow, meticulous process—or even a complete reforge. A total hassle.


    Han waited a bit, but seeing that the tree wouldn’t finish absorbing the jade liquid anytime soon, he went back to cultivating.


    Earlier that day, he’d also tried refining the Three Yin Banner. After some effort, though, he’d given up—there was no budging it. Sure, this Yin God artifact was broken, but its durability was no joke. He couldn’t refine it at all.


    Meanwhile, through Han and An Lang’s diligent study, they’d managed to identify some of the seeds left by the Three Yin Mountain God—starting with the highest-grade ones.


    Since the high-tier herbs recorded in the legacy weren’t numerous, they’d tackled those first.


    “True Yin Life-Fixing Grass, Three Winds Body-Dissolving Leaf, Celestial Gold Fruit—three Yin God-level herb seeds. I’ll find a time to ripen them all.”


    Among the seeds, these three stood out as the most precious, all at the Yin God tier.


    Their properties were wild and intense, brimming with strange energies. Consuming them raw would wreak havoc on body and soul—they needed to be alchemized with other materials into pills.


    The Three Yin Legacy included recipes for such pills, ranging from Yin God-level to Manifestation-level formulas.


    Those recipes alone were worth a fortune.


    “An Lang!”


    “What’s up?”


    An Lang floated into Han’s room—straight through the closed door, no less.


    “How’s your alchemy coming along? Made any progress?”


    “…Young Master, it’s only been one day.”


    “So what?” Han put on a stern face. “Is a short time an excuse for not learning?”


    Talk about bullying the honest ghost!


    It wasn’t until the next night that Han’s natal artifact fully absorbed the Purple Spirit Jade liquid, merging it completely into itself.


    Solid.


    That was the first sensation Han felt when he examined the artifact after it had taken in a Manifestation-grade material.


    Its quality had noticeably improved—though it hadn’t jumped to the Manifestation tier. The Purple Spirit Jade was just an auxiliary Manifestation material, after all; it couldn’t push the artifact to the next level on its own.


    The most striking change was its appearance.


    On the once-bare trunk, a small purple twig—about the length of a pinky—had sprouted, adding a splash of color to the artifact.


    Han blinked in surprise. Was this how his natal artifact grew and advanced—by sprouting new branches?


    No wonder it started out so bare. The real trick was waiting here all along.


    He could also sense clearly that this tiny twig harbored a mysterious power, distinct from the artifact’s base abilities.


    It got him thinking. Could feeding it different materials unlock different potentials?


    “One piece of Purple Spirit Jade wasn’t enough for it to fully grow a branch. I wonder what new ability it’ll gain once that branch matures…”


    Han pondered. Etched with the pattern of the Thousand Immortal Tree and bound to him as a symbiotic tool, this artifact was anything but ordinary.


    That’s right—it was Tree Bro!


    If its growth pattern meant each branch brought a new ability, that’d be jaw-dropping.


    One artifact could end up doing the work of several.


    The next day, Han packed up, planning a trip to Yunlong City. It was just over a hundred miles from Black Cloud Town—a short jaunt.


    When Bai Ruoyue heard his plan, she squinted at him suspiciously. “You’re not going to see that dragon girl again, are you?”


    “Slander! Pure slander!” Han huffed. “I’m going for legit business. If you don’t believe me, come along.”


    “Fine, I’ll go with you.”


    “…”


    Tricked.


    This time, they didn’t ride horses. Instead, they borrowed Lu Qingmo’s flying carpet and soared off.


    Han had always envied that thing, and now he finally got to “pilot” it himself.


    According to Lu Qingmo, only someone at the Day Roaming Realm could sustain its long-term operation. Back then, Han hadn’t known that—now, he had the strength to handle it.


    “Little Junior Brother, what’s the deal with Yunlong City this time?”


    “Same as before—selling stuff at the Black-and-White Tower.”


    As they flew off, someone on the ground noted their direction, blending into the crowd. After a few twists and turns, they slipped into the Town Guard’s Mansion.


    Flying was exhilarating—no horse could compare.


    Once they reached Yunlong City, Han made a beeline for the Black-and-White Tower.


    The process was the same as last time, and he dealt with the same guy.


    Han laid out his haul: shady items he couldn’t flaunt publicly, stuff he’d never use, and trinkets with no collectible value.


    The old man from the tower gaped at the spread.


    Items from the Huang Family of Tianyue County, the Purple Flame Sect of Tianyang County, and these corpse-related artifacts—likely from the Earth Corpse Sect of Tianwang County, and high-grade ones at that.


    Hiss. Wasn’t that a spatial pouch only a Huang Family Manifestation cultivator could own?


    What kind of savage was this guy? Lawless didn’t even cover it—how many crimes had he pulled off, specifically targeting big sects and noble families?


    Han had a lot to sell this time, and the quality was a step up from his last visit.


    “Guest, how would you like to handle these treasures? Trade for goods, or sell outright?”


    “Trade for goods.”


    Han didn’t hesitate. Gold and silver? He could earn that anytime—he wasn’t interested in cash.


    But certain treasures? Those weren’t always up for grabs.


    He stated his terms. “I want as many cultivation pills as possible, plus materials for alchemy and artifact crafting. Herb seeds work too.”


    The old man in charge paused, then nodded.


    “Wait here.”