Ordinary People: Starting with the Chen Clan

Although the Jingzhe Mirror cannot compare with the gold and silver writing brushes passed down by the Chen family, it is only slightly inferior and is definitely among the top treasures.

As expected, Chen Xuanzhou only examined it briefly before putting it away without the slightest hesitation.

While the other four treasures were slightly inferior, they were still comparable to those brought out by the second branch of the family.

Each item was a belt-shaped magical artifact, inlaid with four pieces of jade, which reminded him of a magical treasure—the Four Symbols Belt. It came from the number one vengeful spirit of the Chaotic Star Sea.

This magical artifact also has a similar feel to the original. The four jade stones correspond to the four symbols, which can amplify four types of attribute spells, and can automatically protect its owner when attacked.

The other three ritual implements are: a black stone tablet resembling a tombstone, a shield resembling black iron, and a lotus-shaped ritual implement.

After checking each item, Chen Xuanzhou's face showed a hint of hesitation.

"Fourth Grandfather, I am very satisfied with this black stone tablet and the lotus-shaped magic artifact. I wonder if I could buy one of them with talismans? Of course, I don't have that many on hand right now."

But I promise I can raise the money within a year. What do you think?

"You've surprised me a bit, kid. You didn't choose the better Four Spirits Belt."

As for your choice of these two items, I will not require any talismans from you, but I must tell you beforehand that although these two magical artifacts are unique, they each have their limitations.

This black stone tablet artifact is made of some unknown material. It has a natural ability to ward off spells and is extremely effective against all kinds of magic. Even its hardness is among the best of all top-grade artifacts.

However, the very material that makes it work is also its downfall. Even with in-depth refinement, controlling it is extremely difficult, equivalent to controlling two top-grade magic artifacts, requiring both magical power and spiritual sense.

He paused here, and seeing that Chen Xuanzhou's expression did not change, which was to be expected. The young man was full of youthful vigor and naturally believed that he was one in a million. He did not try to persuade him, and continued to introduce the second item.

"This lotus-shaped auxiliary magic artifact also has its limitations. Although it can use spirit stones or gather spiritual energy at the core of a spiritual vein to achieve a castrated version of the empowerment method, it can quickly improve cultivation in a short period of time."

However, unless a mid-grade spirit stone is used, it will make the mana unstable and mixed, creating a greater bottleneck for subsequent cultivation. Each empowerment will only be equivalent to half a month of meditation.

Most importantly, this magical artifact is made of inferior materials and is a consumable item; it will be completely ruined after a maximum of ten or so uses.

The two magical artifacts that Chen Xuanzhou selected were merely filler items; they were brought out to show how much his fourth branch of the family valued them.

Although it reached the level of a rare magic weapon, the limitations were too great. On the contrary, the unassuming shield magic weapon was a rare defensive magic weapon that was comparable to the black needle magic weapon.

He hadn't expected the other party to choose these two items, but he had already explained the problems with them. If the other party still insisted on choosing these two items, he would be happy to see it happen.

Chen Xuanzhou was naturally aware of the limitations of these two magical artifacts. Needless to say, he was determined to obtain the lotus-shaped artifact, as his current cultivation speed far surpassed that of his peers.

Logically speaking, there's no need to add this seemingly unnecessary auxiliary artifact, but this artifact is extremely useful to him, both now and in the future.

Right now, he can use spirit crystals to quickly raise his cultivation level to the twelfth level of Qi Refining.

With the purity of the spiritual energy in the spirit crystal, he could have more time to study cultivation techniques and secret arts without causing much harm to his foundation.

He was studying these things not only for himself, but also for the entire Chen family.

The Chen family's foundation is too weak. The lineage of Core Formation has been broken for hundreds of years. For now, the incense burner is perfectly adequate for him, but what about after he reaches Foundation Establishment?

At that time, elixirs were scarce, and he couldn't rob Han Tianzun. Besides, he disdained to do something as pointless as robbery.

There weren't enough elixirs, and relying solely on spirit stones for cultivation was naturally insufficient to meet his needs. It would only be twenty or thirty years before the demonic path officially invaded.

In this short period of time, he needs to find a path suitable for the entire Chen family to quickly improve their cultivation. Only in this way can he ensure that his incense burner burns brightly, thereby further boosting his cultivation.

This lotus-shaped magical artifact gave him an idea. The empowerment method is not uncommon in the cultivation world, but it has various limitations. Either the price is too high, or it can only be used in emergencies and by a few people.

However, it has endless potential problems, such as creating obstacles for future breakthroughs in higher realms, or imposing many restrictions such as limitations on cultivation methods and bloodlines. This makes this secret technique extremely rare in the cultivation world and difficult to popularize.

The initiation method of this lotus-shaped magical artifact—no, it doesn't even qualify as initiation; it's merely an enhanced version of a spirit-gathering artifact, yet it combines both of the former two aspects.

The only advantage is that anyone who gets it can use it.

However, this is also a very good reference. With his unparalleled comprehension, he is confident that he can use this to deduce a more perfect and lower-cost method of body infusion.

Seeing that Chen Xuanzhou had no intention of exchanging them, Chen Zhonghe did not try to persuade him further. With a wave of his hand, he pushed the two magical artifacts in front of Chen Xuanzhou.

"Thank you so much, Fourth Grandfather!"

Chen Xuanzhou accepted the two magical artifacts with both hands, and after some awkward small talk and mutual flattery, the three of them left Chen Shangyu's courtyard.

Now that the spots had been decided, the members of the second and fourth families did not linger and took their leave.

The once bustling courtyard suddenly returned to its quiet state, with only three old men still enjoying their spiritual wine, completely at ease.

"Old Yu, you value this Xuanzhou boy so much that you're willing to turn against us two old folks for him?"

"Hehe, they're much better than those two little brats from the second and fourth wives. At a critical juncture, if we still prioritize the interests of each branch, then the Chen family of Xizhou will just rot away on this land forever!"

Chen Shangyu showed no mercy in his words.

"Old Yu, Old Xian, why are you pretending to be confused? You value this child so much, it can't be for just this reason, can it? Tell me, what else do you know?"

Hearing Chen Shanghan speak so bluntly, Chen Shangyu remained silent for a while before speaking.

"I can only say that his comprehension is far beyond this. In my opinion, among our lineage, he is the most likely to successfully establish his foundation in a short period of time."

Unfortunately, the young man's ambitions were also greater.

As he said this, his eyes were looking into the distance, as if he were recalling something.

Chen Shanghan and the other man exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of surprise. However, neither of them pressed for further details. Instead, they each got up and left the courtyard.

Back in his courtyard, Chen Xuanzhou immediately began refining the three magical artifacts, incorporating incense sticks into the process.

The instant the incense was incorporated, Chen Xuanzhou immediately used his magic power to quickly permeate the restrictions within, a process that was several times faster than a normal ritual.

Moreover, its connection with ritual implements will be closer.