Only after becoming emperor did he realize he was in a fantasy world of immortal cultivation.

After Gong Yi left, Lin Yuan went back to the weapon-refining room.

While promising to craft a congratulatory magical artifact for Gong Yi is important, several key materials are still missing, making it impossible to complete in a rush. There are still seven days until the banquet, so there's no need to hurry.

The most urgent task is to raise spirit stones to purchase those valuable spiritual materials.

With this in mind, Lin Yuan waved his hand and took out all the magical artifacts he had seized from the cultivators of the Invincible Sect, which then hovered in the air in front of him.

These magical artifacts possessed a mixed and varied spiritual light, with varying degrees of intensity.

His gaze swept across the area, and apart from the "Soul-Locking Whip" used by Boss Sun, which was a genuine mid-grade magic weapon with a sinister and solid spiritual energy, the rest were all ordinary low-grade items.

Lin Yuan quickly made a decision.

The materials for low-grade magical artifacts are not pure enough, but the quantity is acceptable. After fusion and refining, some decent items may be produced.

That Soul-Locking Whip, with its unique material, if properly processed, could be an excellent base for crafting a high-quality mid-grade magic weapon.

Without further hesitation, he pointed, and the Soul-Locking Whip, which was entirely black and faintly contained remnants of fierce soul power, was pulled by an invisible hand and plunged into the silent refining furnace with a whoosh.

With a soft "clunk," the stove lid slammed shut.

Lin Yuan formed hand seals and chanted incantations, as streams of spiritual energy surged from his body and flowed into the refining furnace.

"Buzz—"

The furnace body trembled slightly, and the array engraved inside was lit up one by one.

The spirit fire initially shone with a dim red light, but its temperature quickly rose, turning into a blazing white that illuminated the furnace.

Through his perception technique and the specially made "observation aperture" on the furnace wall, Lin Yuan could "see" the Soul-Locking Whip struggling violently in the raging flames. The remaining Yin Soul power attached to the whip was burned by the spiritual fire, emitting a soft "hissing" sound and a faint shriek, before turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating.

Only after all the filth and impurities have been removed can the true refining process begin.

Under the sustained high temperature and the precise input of spiritual energy from Lin Yuan, which has decomposition and purification properties, the tough body of the Soul-Locking Whip began to soften and deform, and its internal structure was gradually broken down.

Impurities, like dust sifted out, vanished into nothingness in the spiritual fire, while the core essence of the whip—a composite material mixed with "cold yin iron" and a kind of tough animal tendon smelting—began to slowly fuse into a ball.

This is a delicate task; if the heat is too high, it will damage the material's natural qualities; if the heat is too low, impurities will be difficult to remove.

Lin Yuan was completely focused, and beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead. However, his control over spiritual power was exquisite, and his perception technique was like the most precise scale, constantly monitoring every change inside the furnace.

About an hour later, the struggles and strange noises inside the furnace completely subsided.

The original ten-foot-long Soul-Locking Whip had disappeared, replaced by a ball of silvery-white liquid metal, about the size of a human head, quietly suspended above the raging flames at the heart of the furnace.

The molten metal was pure in color, silvery-white with a hint of cold blue light. As it flowed slowly, it exuded an aura of purity and resilience after being tempered, without any trace of its previous sinister nature.

Lin Yuan reached out and gestured, and the ball of silvery-white molten metal seemed to come alive as it flew out of the furnace and landed in a specially made vessel with a stabilizing spirit array that had been prepared beforehand. It rippled slightly and its radiance was restrained.

Having successfully refined the most troublesome Soul-Locking Whip, Lin Yuan paused briefly to catch his breath before turning his gaze to the remaining dozen or so low-grade magic weapons in the air. Knives, swords, axes, shields… their forms varied, their spiritual light dim.

"Let's deal with these all at once." He was no longer as careful as when refining the Soul-Locking Whip. With a flick of his sleeve, a gentle spiritual energy swept out, carrying the dozen or so low-grade magic artifacts like birds returning to their nests, and threw them all into the still-warm refining furnace.

The furnace lid closed again. Lin Yuan closed his eyes and concentrated, his hands forming hand seals, and the furnace fire rose again. This time, however, it was not an extreme high temperature, but a uniform and persistent "civil and martial fire," intended to slowly melt these low-grade and relatively ordinary magical artifacts, removing the impurities and retaining the essence.

Time flowed by in silence.

As the sun sets, the orange-red rays of the sunset slant through the windows of the weapon-refining room, mingling with the crimson flames emanating from the furnace, bathing the entire room in a warm red glow. Light and shadow move slowly across the walls, creating a tranquil yet intense scene.

Suddenly, the furnace emitted a deep hum, and its interior shone brightly. A stream of light, a mixture of various metallic colors, overflowed from the furnace opening, vying with the glow of the sunset.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes at the right moment, a glint of light flashing in them, and raised his hand to cast a binding spell.

"open!"

The stove lid opened with a click.

There was no earth-shattering spectacle, only a dozen or so streams of metallic or mineral essence, each of different colors but all quite pure, flying out one after another as if held up by an invisible hand, and falling into different vessels.

These are the usable materials extracted from that pile of low-grade magical artifacts. The quantity is not large, but the variety is considerable, and most of the impurities have been removed.

"The first step is complete." Lin Yuan looked at the refined materials in front of him, and he already had a complete plan in mind.

The materials extracted from low-grade magical artifacts are sufficient to attempt to mass-produce some standard magical artifacts, such as... daggers.

The silvery-white metallic liquid refined from the Soul-Locking Whip was of excellent quality. Due to the characteristics of its raw materials, it possessed a condensed "binding" and "feminine" power. If paired with suitable wind-type or light and agile auxiliary materials... Lin Yuan envisioned a nimble and swift spirit fan that could generate wind blades and even affect the opponent's movements when swung.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan immediately took action.

He first categorized the inferior materials, then made simple proportions and blends them according to their characteristics. He also added some leftover, decent-quality scraps from previous weapon-making as auxiliary materials for blending.

Subsequently, these pre-treated mixed materials were fed into the refining furnace.

Night fell completely, and the moonlight replaced the glow of the sunset, casting a cool and clear light.

The flames in the furnace rose again, becoming the only source of light and heat in the room.

Lin Yuan's figure appeared calm and focused in the flickering firelight.

Three hours passed quietly in the tedious yet meticulous process of controlling the fire, fusing, and shaping.

When Lin Yuan opened the furnace lid again, fifteen streaks of light, shimmering with a cold, eerie glow, shot out from the furnace and hovered neatly in front of him.

There were fifteen daggers with simple and smooth designs, each about seven inches long. They had a dark metallic luster, with a line of cold light flowing at the edge of the blade, and faintly contained spiritual energy fluctuations.

Upon seeing this, Lin Yuan nodded slightly: "Not bad, they are all in the middle grade, and their sharpness and spiritual guidance are both acceptable."

He waved his hand and put the newly forged daggers into his storage bag.

After resting for a while and recovering some of his spiritual energy and mental strength, Lin Yuan's gaze fell on the silvery-white main material.

He took out several auxiliary materials that he had prepared in advance: a small pinch of "Light Feather Crystal" powder, a few drops of "Azure Stone Milk", and a small piece of "Harmonizing Jade Marrow" that could enhance spiritual affinity.

These auxiliary materials are processed using specific methods and then fused with the molten silver metal.

This time, Lin Yuan put in even more effort and ingenuity.

He not only had to shape it, but also, as the fan ribs and fan surface began to take shape, he had to use spiritual power as a carving knife to outline a unique spiritual energy circuit within them.

These loops guide the wind spirit, amplify the airflow generated during the movement, and endow it with certain "delay" or "traction" characteristics.

The moonlight gradually slants, and the stars shift and turn.

Inside the weapon-refining room, the only sounds were the soft crackling of the furnace fire and the slight rustling of the wind created by Lin Yuan's flowing spiritual energy.

As the first rays of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, the flames in the refining furnace gradually dimmed.

Lin Yuan opened his slightly closed eyes, his gaze filled with weariness, but even more so with anticipation.

He raised his hand and grabbed at the air.

A uniquely shaped spirit fan slowly rose from the still-warm furnace and hovered in front of him.

Its fan surface and fan ribs are seamlessly integrated, composed of five leaf-shaped spirit iron pieces.

Upon closer inspection, the spirit iron is also engraved with intricate patterns.

The entire fan is only a little over a foot long, with a silvery-white, flowing design that gleams with a cool luster in the morning light. Elegant and nimble, when placed in the air, it exudes a light and restrained aura, making the surrounding air seem much softer.

Lin Yuan reached out and grasped the fan handle. It was slightly cool to the touch, extremely light, and felt excellent in his hand.

Looking at the spirit fan in his hand, he murmured, "A mid-grade magic weapon, not bad."

Then, a small amount of spiritual power was injected into the magical artifact.

He found a direction and gently waved the magic fan in his hand.

A sudden gust of wind arose, but left no trace after it passed.

We arrived at our destination in a fleeting moment.

It then transformed into streaks of wind blades, slicing a vase to pieces.

Lin Yuan gently closed the fan, revealing a satisfied smile.

After thinking for a moment, I said, "How about you call yourself 'Shadow'?"