Chapter 121: Divine Arts of Artifact Refinement

Zhou Bai shook the gourd in his hand with satisfaction and then returned the way he came. He walked very quickly, not causing any disturbance.

Once back in the courtyard, he immediately and impatiently activated his Wine Refining supernatural ability. In the pond within his lower dantian, the wine worm stirred lazily; after brewing for a long while, it spat out a milky-white spirit bead. The spirit bead emerged from Zhou Bai’s body as a ray of spiritual light, entered the Sea-Holding Gourd, and dissolved into it, becoming invisible. The effect was immediate: the entire pond’s worth of wine inside the gourd began to emit a faint, fragrant aroma.

The Wine Refining ability required some time to take full effect; during this period, the wine would become increasingly mellow, and its medicinal potency would grow stronger. However, Zhou Bai’s expression suddenly stiffened. This Qing River had been haunted by ghosts and monsters—was he, in a roundabout way, drinking the bathwater of ghosts and monsters?

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he muttered to himself, barely managing to steady his nerves. Theoretically, with the purification of the formation, as long as he could overcome his own mental block, it was nothing to worry about. This pond of wine could strengthen his body and enhance the toughness of his bones. It would be equally effective for mortals, and since the supply was plentiful, Zhou Bai intended to set some aside for Daoist Hou and his companions, as well as Wang Lei. For mortal martial artists, this wine was no less potent than the Laba porridge from *Ode to Gallantry*; a single bowl providing several years of internal cultivation was no joke.

With the Dragon-Tiger Bone-Strengthening Wine prepared and the injuries of the Ghost Tree and the Salted Fish fully healed, Zhou Bai immediately set about preparing for the advancement of his two natal artifacts. He had to prioritize: the Ghost Tree, his natal ghost artifact, had always been his highest priority. It was not only his only publicly acknowledged natal artifact but also his primary combat force. The Salted Fish was still too immature compared to the Ghost Tree, though it was foreseeable that once it became a True Dragon, it could easily churn rivers and seas and summon clouds and rain.

This time, his points were sufficient to advance both fundamental techniques. He invested points into the "Artifact-Binding Art," and soon the proficiency reached one hundred percent. The Ghost Tree did not change much, only its branches grew thicker and its leaves wider. Zhou Bai continued to invest points, pushing the Artifact-Binding Art to a sixth level that had likely only existed in theory.

The Ghost Tree swayed continuously in his dantian, releasing an incredibly terrifying aura that forced the spiritual objects created by his human-path supernatural abilities to retreat. The number of its nine hundred and ninety-nine leaves did not increase, but the substance of the entire tree now shimmered with a faint, metallic luster.

The changes to the Ghost Tree stopped quickly. To Zhou Bai’s surprise, it didn't seem very different; it still looked the same as before. But as soon as this thought occurred, the Ghost Tree emitted a feeling of dissatisfaction. Then, as its branches swayed, Zhou Bai immediately realized that his natal ghost artifact had gained a new supernatural ability: "Fruit of Ability."

This ability was birthed by the natal ghost artifact itself, so it could be called an "Artifact-Path Ability." The new power left Zhou Bai shocked. As the name implied, the Ghost Tree could consume a massive amount of Yin energy to bear a specific type of fruit. If the Fruit of Ability were presented at the Ministry of Underworld Records, it would certainly cause a sensation. Its function was to grant the person who consumed it a specific Ghost-Path ability designated by Zhou Bai.

Although these Ghost-Path abilities lacked long-term potential—unless one could find spiritual materials similar to Yin Jade, they would never reach the True Soul realm—it was still attractive enough. Furthermore, since the fruit was produced by the Ghost Tree, Zhou Bai could naturally restrict the abilities of whoever consumed it to a certain extent. Controlling life and death was an exaggeration, but planting a thought in someone’s mind to influence their decisions was well within his power, and he could strip the ability away using the Ghost Tree at any time.

While this new ability of the Ghost Tree didn't significantly increase his direct combat power, its utility was immense; it would be of great help in developing his own faction within the Ministry of Underworld Records. Any Ghost-Path ability Zhou Bai possessed could be manifested as a Fruit of Ability. The lack of long-term potential actually had its pros and cons, as it significantly reduced the risk of the user spiraling out of control.

The wonderful uses of this fruit went far beyond that. Even someone who had already awakened an ability, like Daoist Hou, could consume it to gain a second ability. When Zhou Bai used the Ghost Tree to reclaim the ability, a portion of the user's original ability's potential would also be stripped away, allowing him to effectively "copy" others' abilities. This was a classic "empty-handed wolf" tactic; the potential for exploitation was obvious. As he thought about the schemes involved, the imagery already played out in his mind.

Of course, the limitations were not small. First, the Fruit of Ability required consuming a portion of the proficiency of the corresponding Ghost-Path ability, and one Ghost-Path ability could only produce one fruit, preventing mass production. Secondly, unlike with mortals, he could not plant thoughts in the minds of cultivators who already possessed exotic abilities, and for now, he could only steal Ghost-Path abilities.

If he constantly used this method to steal others' abilities, it would undoubtedly increase the risk of exposure. His current strength was still too weak; if discovered by a powerful figure with ulterior motives, the end would be miserable. Even when used on mortals, he couldn't choose too many people; a large number of people awakening Ghost-Path abilities in one region would be too conspicuous.

However, the recent experience with the Ghost Domain provided an opportunity. In the history of the Ministry of Underworld Records, every time an incident related to ghosts occurred, the number of people who awakened acquired Ghost-Path abilities always increased significantly. Zhou Bai could find a few suitable mortals and have them eat the Fruit of Ability—especially Xiao Wu and the others who had already joined the Ministry. He could completely rewrite their memories, creating the narrative that they had awakened these acquired abilities after facing the ghosts directly. As attendants at the Hangzhou Prefecture Yamen, it would be quite logical for them to awaken abilities through contact with ghosts.

Thinking of this, Zhou Bai used the Ghost Tree to activate the ability. He felt the total amount of Yin energy in his body drop by more than half. On the branches of the Ghost Tree, next to a leaf inscribed with an ability, a small bud began to grow. The bud grew at a visible rate, soon turning into a gray-white flower, and once the flower withered, a fist-sized fruit was left behind. While Zhou Bai was still dazed, the branches of the Ghost Tree turned into spiritual light and placed the Fruit of Ability into his palm.

Looking at the familiar appearance of the fruit in his palm, the corner of Zhou Bai’s eye twitched. The surface of the purple-red fruit was covered in strange patterns and didn't look very appetizing... Others might be graced by immortals touching their heads to grant them long life, but Zhou Bai’s style was more like: "Come, come, eat this fruit."

He stood in a daze for a while before putting the Fruit of Ability away, letting the Ghost Tree recover its Yin energy autonomously. He would prepare a few more of these fruits over the next few days. After this period of seclusion, Zhou Bai would head to Xuzhou. He would use this Artifact-Path ability to build the foundation of his faction and ensure that Hangzhou was completely under his control.