To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Time flies, and two days have passed in the blink of an eye.

According to the spiritual contract, Gu Fan was given three months to refine the weapon.

The day after signing the contract, Gu Fan went to Shenji Peak and spent half a day refining the first Dragon-Trapping Stake.

The Dragon-Trapping Stake is golden in color, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, about eight feet long, with the widest part at the top being a foot wide and the bottom being pointed. There are four restrictions carved inside the artifact, with a moderate level of complexity. It was not difficult for Gu Fan at this moment, and he carved the restrictions with his divine sense in one go.

After simple quenching, the entire Dragon-Trapping Stake was completed.

Gu Fan reached out and the Dragon-Trapping Stake shrank rapidly into his palm, resembling a copper nail.

According to the description in the jade slip, although a single Dragon-Trapping Stake is a mid-grade magic weapon, its strength is only about the same as that of a low-grade magic weapon. Only three or more stakes can form a barrier.

Therefore, in order to verify the effectiveness of the magical artifact, Gu Fan spent two days refining four Dragon-Trapping Stakes.

In the small courtyard, four dragon-trapping stakes, shrunken to the size of copper nails, lay in Gu Fan's palm. After being thrown out, they rapidly grew larger, with golden light emanating from their pointed bottoms. With a muffled thud, they sank three feet into the ground.

After landing, the four dragon-trapping stakes quickly absorbed the earth's energy, connecting with each other to form a dark golden light curtain, like a giant soap bubble, shimmering in the sunlight.

The light barrier was only a thin layer, seemingly so fragile that it would shatter at the slightest touch. However, when Gu Fan used his flying sword to strike the light barrier, it felt as if he had hit an impenetrable wall.

After repeated tests, Gu Fan estimated that the four Dragon-Trapping Stakes could at least withstand the combined attack of several people in the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

"The Dragon-Trapping Stakes can be set up with up to thirty-six of them. No wonder they can block Foundation Establishment cultivators," Gu Fan thought, looking at the light screen.

After confirming that the refining method was correct, Gu Fan felt relieved and prepared to refine more Dragon-Trapping Stakes.

......

The following night, the moon rose high in the sky.

A rapid knocking sound at the door startled Gu Fan awake.

"Who is it?" Gu Fan asked tentatively, his divine sense probing outwards through the door.

When the divine sense made contact with the other party, it was as if the water flowed into a reef and was easily blocked.

The person outside did not answer, but knocked twice more.

Gu Fan narrowed his eyes and stood cautiously in the courtyard. He did not open the door immediately, but instead held a few talismans in one hand and then used his magic to open the courtyard door.

Although the Lingxiao Sect forbids private duels, someone who arrives at the door in the middle of the night and blocks divine sense detection is definitely not an ordinary visitor.

When the courtyard gate opened, a tall figure draped in a black cloak was revealed.

Gu Fan recognized the black cloak; in fact, he owned one himself. It was a common item used by cultivators in the market at the foot of the mountain who did not want to reveal their identities, as it could block the spiritual sense of cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage.

When the cloak was lifted, it revealed a face that Gu Fan never expected.

"Senior Brother Qi Yan?"

Gu Fan immediately felt relieved, put away the talisman in his hand, and invited Qi Yan into the room.

Qi Yan strode into the courtyard and whispered, "Don't make a sound, listen to me."

Then, Qi Yan recounted Bai Mingxuan's scheme in detail.

The simple and straightforward words sounded like a resounding bell to Gu Fan, stirring up a huge wave in his mind.

After the initial shock, Gu Fan's face flushed slightly, and anger surged within him.

"Bai family, I didn't provoke you, yet you actively plot against me!"

Seeing Gu Fan's angry expression, Qi Yan reminded him, "Senior brother, please calm down. The most urgent thing is to find a way to break this. I've been thinking about it these past few days. Why don't you give me the materials for making the Dragon-Trapping Stake? I'll go to the market down the mountain and ask other weapon refiners to forge it."

"That way, it won't be considered that Senior Brother leaked the secret. As for the spirit stones used for refining the weapon, I have some savings here..."

Qi Yan was about to say something more when Gu Fan interrupted him.

It must be said that Qi Yan's suggestion was indeed good. Since he knew that Gu Fan had not informed him about the Dragon-Trapping Stake, it was not considered that Gu Fan had violated the contract if he then commissioned the refining of the weapon.

However, this would inevitably expose the Bai family's creation of the Dragon-Trapping Stake, and Qi Yan, as the employer, would also be found out by the Bai family. As the Bai family's son-in-law, his act of betraying his own family would inevitably lead to his doom.

"Did anyone see you come here today, Senior Brother?" Gu Fan asked with concern.

Qi Yan was silent for a moment before shaking his head: "I waited until Qiaoyun fell asleep before coming here, and I didn't encounter anyone else along the way. I originally wanted to stop my junior brother at Shenji Peak during the day, but firstly, there were too many people around, and secondly, my junior brother was walking too fast to catch up, so I delayed until night to come here."

"That's good then." Gu Fan nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Senior brother, please go back today and pretend you were never here. I have my own way of dealing with this matter."

Qi Yan assumed that Gu Fan was afraid of implicating him and was about to try to persuade him again.

Gu Fan spoke first: "To be honest, Senior Brother, I have some connection with Uncle Li from the inner sect. I can ask him for guidance. It's not too late to learn the art of refining complete sets of magical artifacts."

Qi Yan was taken aback upon hearing this, and then remembered that it was indeed true.

Gu Fan fought against the disciples of Shenxiu Peak and Qingyun Peak and obtained Li Kunyuan's jade slip containing his weapon-refining insights; he had heard about this before.

"That's great!" Qi Yan felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and smiled with relief.

"I will remember what happened today. Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother." Gu Fan bowed respectfully.

Qi Yan quickly stopped him, saying, "No! I said in Zixiao Temple that I would repay the kindness of your teachings in the future. I am only here today to fulfill my vow."

After speaking, Qi Yanchong bowed to Gu Fan, then turned and left.

After Qi Yan left, Gu Fan could no longer fall asleep.

What Gu Fan told Qi Yan was a lie. With the All-Seeing Eye, Gu Fan didn't need to ask Li Kunyuan for guidance.

The Star Pavilion contains the Lingxiao Sect's weapon-refining heritage, and naturally also contains the methods for refining complete sets of magical artifacts. These can be obtained simply by spending merit points. The two hundred merit points obtained from repairing the Golden Lock Array still have plenty left, so exchanging them for refining methods is a piece of cake.

What Gu Fan was concerned about was that the Bai family's methods were truly impossible to guard against.

First, they bribed Liu Qin to gather information, and then they set a trap based on his humble background, one step after another.

If the Bai family succeeds, he will inevitably incur a large debt of spirit stones, and he will not be able to obtain the Crimson Dragon Wood. The Bai family may even demand that he pay off the debt with Flame Stones.

Thinking of this, Gu Fan gritted his teeth and buried his anger in his heart.

The Bai family is too powerful for him to deal with right now. If he wants to target a powerful family, he can only find a backer within a sect.

Fortunately, he wasn't entirely without options.

Gu Fan pulled a jade slip from his storage bag, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The jade slip contained the Yuan Chen Formation, and the original, damaged formation diagram had been repaired by 70%.

"Looks like... I need to hurry."

Although he didn't know the purpose of repairing the array diagram, the fact that Zhou Furui, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, personally gave him instructions meant that the matter behind it must be extraordinary!

......

Qingyun Peak, a secluded courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

When Qi Yan returned lightly to the bedroom, she found a light was on.

Under the lamplight, Bai Qiaoyun sat at the table, her chin resting on her hand, watching Qi Yan's cautious figure with an icy tone.

Where did you go?