To get close to the weapon-refining masters, Ye Liuyun had his two avatars prepare Life Spring Water, the origin power of Buddhist light, some Soul-Cleansing Water found on the newly-acquired herb planet, and a fire-type spirit root on the verge of turning into a demon. He figured these rarities would be irresistible to any grand refiner.

After Yu’er took charge of the herb planet, she uncovered countless extraordinary treasures—clearly stockpiled by the Fan family on purpose. Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected them to cram so many good things onto one world.

The exhibition wouldn’t officially open for another half-month, giving every participant time to amass enough wealth.

Ye Liuyun seized the interval to cultivate. He and his two avatars spent half of each day condensing divine essence; the remaining hours saw Ye Liuyun focusing on spatial force and the power of heaven and earth, while the avatars honed their flames, lightning, and the fusion of Buddhist and demonic energies. They also squeezed in sparring sessions with the captured experts.

With the Essence-Exchange Cauldron amplifying their efforts and a hundred-and-fifty-fold time acceleration inside the avatars’ pocket worlds, their cultivation rocketed. Still, after those 150 accelerated days, they had only pushed from the initial stage of Unity Realm Four to its late stage.

When Ye Liuyun stepped out, he sighed. His bloodline had grown stronger, his divine essence refined much faster than before, yet the gain felt pitifully small.

“Advancing in the Unity Realm really is brutal.”

Resigned, he set off for the exhibition.

He appeared in his true form—white robes, golden pupils—flanked by Xuanwu and Xenocide, both in human guise as bodyguards, projecting the image of a pampered young master from a great clan. On the surface his aura was modest, but Snow Wolf, the metal puppets, Leng Yuan, He Yunzhang, and the Fan-family experts were all battle-ready inside his pocket world.

The first avatar donned a pitch-black robe that hid every feature, shaping itself into a middle-aged demonic cultivator who had reined in its fiendish aura and walked alone. The second avatar became a smiling, portly old merchant draped in jewels, escorted by the human-formed Demonic Vine. Both avatars carried numerous Unity Realm Eight and Nine experts—prisoners taken from the He family mines—lest flaunting their wealth draw robbers on the way out.

Then the two avatars slipped into the void and parted from Ye Liuyun; the three of them converged on the Chen clan’s outer gate.

The Chen clan placed no restrictions—anyone could enter—but martial artists lined the route to the exhibition grounds, herding visitors along a single path to a vast plaza.

Ye Liuyun swept the area with his divine sense; no Chen disciple stopped him, yet he could only glimpse the outer layout. Every structure was wrapped in defensive arrays, and the inner gate was sealed by formations that repelled even his senses, while powerful divine awareness swept back and forth. From its intensity he judged they were all late Unity Realm Nine experts.

“The Chen clan really is like a major sect—its outer gate alone is a city, and the inner gate is thick with top-tier powerhouses.”

He didn’t dare probe the inner gate with spatial power; discovery would be disastrous.

Inside the plaza, a hundred artifacts rested under individual crystal covers—each cover clearly layered with defensive runes. Plaques beneath listed detailed descriptions and the names of the elders who had forged them.

Over a thousand people milled about, exclaiming now and then. Some were ordinary cultivators here for the spectacle; others arrived with entourages or in ostentatious robes, envoys of major powers. From their fiery aura and attire Ye Liuyun spotted fellow refiners hoping to pilfer techniques.

Only a handful of outer elders and disciples of the Chen clan were present to keep order and greet guests; none of the inner sect had shown themselves yet.

While sweeping the crowd with his divine sense, Ye Liuyun inspected the exhibits one by one.

Among the hundred pieces, thirty were True Grade Six, thirty True Grade Seven, thirty True Grade Eight, and nine True Grade Nine. At the very front, however, stood a Void Grade One saber—so potent that even through the crystal cover it pressed against the soul.

Ye Liuyun couldn’t help but marvel.

“The Chen clan actually forged a Void Grade treasure!”

He studied the plaque. The saber’s material was listed simply as “unknown metal,” yet its hardness met the Void Grade standard. It bore no name, waiting for its future master to christen it.

Inside the blade lurked a a late Unity Realm Nine wraith that could unleash perfect saber intent; every strike amplified the user’s power threefold, enough to slay an early Void Realm cultivator.

Ye Liuyun nodded appreciatively. Still, he had no intention of replacing his own saber, nor did Ye Tian’dao or A’Xing. Their personally nurtured life-bound weapons were superior. If the price was right, though, he might buy it for Qin Peng to boost the man’s combat strength.

Ye Liuyun glanced at the crafter’s name and saw it was their clan leader, Chen Jian’an.

“They probably organized this entire exhibition just to showcase this Void-tier artifact—using it to announce to everyone that they now possess the ability to forge Void-tier treasures,” he speculated silently.

The Void-tier treasure indeed drew every eye in the hall; no one passed without pausing for a closer look.

Ye Liuyun had forged simple artifacts himself, so he knew how extraordinary it was to seal a soul at the ninth revolution of Return-to-One—one already perfected in saber intent—into a weapon. The artificer behind it was no ordinary talent.

With such a treasure, even someone who had never touched a saber could cleave out a heaven-shaking slash.

He relayed the blade’s details to Slaughter Demon Saber, giving it a benchmark to spur its own advancement.

As expected, the saber bristled with competitive spirit, humming a challenge, eager to test itself against the newcomer. Yet it had no clear measure of how formidable a Void-tier standard truly was, so its confidence wavered.

“Haha, courage is admirable, but you don’t have to duel every blade you meet. When I find better materials later, I’ll upgrade you too,” Ye Liuyun soothed.

At that moment, Slaughter Demon Saber angled its tip toward the metal puppet.

“The materials on that puppet are excellent,” it transmitted mentally.