With Brother Kui’s early refining notes and the complete spirit-engraved pen refining manual, Lu Yu easily refined a first-grade spirit-engraved pen. Although the quality wasn’t great, at least it was usable.
It couldn’t compare to the spirit-engraved pen given by the Fifth Sister, and probably no one would be willing to buy it if taken out.
These issues weren’t significant. Lu Yu spent over thirty thousand experience points to improve his spirit-engraved pen refining skills to perfection, allowing him to effortlessly craft a qualified spirit-engraved pen.
The current focus is to find common materials to replace the spiritual materials used in refining spirit-engraved pens.
To this end, Lu Yu left Beifeng City and arrived at Qingyan Mountain Town.
Qingyan Mountain Town is a material-specialized town near Beifeng City, where over thirty percent of the daily materials used in Beifeng City are sourced from.
Qingyan Mountain Town is quite different from Windmill Town. It is close to the Qingyan Mountain Range, a major branch of the immense White Cyan Mountain Range that spans the Tianfeng Province.
Though it’s just a branch, the Qingyan Mountain Range yields an abundance of resources, from materials for everyday items to advanced natural treasures.
Of course, finding them and acquiring them are two different matters.
Numerous monsters inhabit the Qingyan Mountain Range, with heavy forces stationed on the outskirts where monsters or natural treasures are rarely seen.
To obtain advanced natural treasures, one must risk venturing deeper into the Qingyan Mountain Range.
Countless Martial Cultivators perish here every year.
"You want wolf hair, rabbit hair? Get out, we don’t have such things, and no one would bring them back," snapped the shop assistant impatiently, shooing Lu Yu out of the store.
Why buy these useless things? Buying animal hair is asking for trouble. With so much to handle, who has the time to help you find those worthless rabbit hairs?
Lu Yu left the shop with some helplessness. This was the fifth shop he visited, and none sold wolf or rabbit hair or similar items.
If Lu Yu were looking for hair from monsters, it would have been easier, as monster materials are valuable and collected.
But why collect ordinary animal hair? Especially useless wolf or rabbit hair. If it’s sheep wool, you might be able to buy it.
With no other choice, Lu Yu had to enter the mountains himself to find regular beasts and collect their hair to see if it could replace spiritual materials in crafting spirit-engraved pens.
According to the initial formation insights and Brother Kui’s refining notes, materials used in artifact refining are interchangeable; replacing them with similar materials can reduce costs or enhance functionality.
However, the refining notes didn’t mention whether common materials can replace spiritual materials for refining, and probably no one has researched this.
Entering the Qingyan Mountain Range requires passing through the military-guarded Qingyan Mountain Fortress. Lu Yu walked for about twenty minutes after leaving Qingyan Mountain Town before he saw the fortress.
The Qingyan Mountain Fortress is built at the valley entrance, towering forty to fifty meters high, slightly lower than Beifeng City’s walls.
The barracks are set at the foot of the right side of the fortress, the left side holds a temporary gathering area where people form teams, purchase supplies before entering the range, or even have businessmen buying materials.
[Qingyan Mountain Range Area Chat] Anonymous: Five-member party recruiting teammates, exploring fifty miles deep into the Qingyan Mountain Range, killing monsters to find natural treasures. Requirement: Qi Cultivation level four or above. Three spots left, hurry and apply.
[Qingyan Mountain Range Area Chat] Anonymous: Buying teeth and claws of the Green Ghost Wolf, first and second grade needed, third grade preferable, price negotiable, unlimited quantity.
[Qingyan Mountain Range Area Chat] Master of Cyan Light Swordsmanship: Recruiting teammates to besiege the Rock Python Nest a hundred miles outside the Qingyan Mountain Range, requiring Qi Cultivation level seven or above. Led by a veteran, guaranteed not to fail, apply quickly if interested.
The public chat room constantly updates with information. It seems there are many players gathered in the Qingyan Mountain Range, considering it is the largest public instance near Beifeng City, not surprising at all.
Though Kugu Ridge is also an instance, it’s quite far away, with fewer monster resources and no natural treasures, so only a few players would intentionally go there.
Lu Yu’s primary goal here is to collect animal hair, not to venture deeper into the Qingyan Mountain Range, so he didn’t plan to team up with other players.
Besides, temporary groups often dissolve over disputes, with backstabbing not uncommon. For capable players, soloing is more preferable.
However, teaming up and soloing both have their pros and cons.
After paying a 100 gold passage fee, Lu Yu passed through the Qingyan Mountain Fortress into the Qingyan Mountain Range.
Outside the fortress, between five to thirty li, is home to a relatively large number of beasts. This information was bought by Lu Yu from a hunter in Qingyan Mountain Town.
Since Lu Yu paid well, the hunter revealed everything he wanted to know about the beasts in the Qingyan Mountain Range.
Being too close to the fortress risks being hunted by soldiers for food, too deep in the range risks being eaten by monsters, so most beasts stay within the five to thirty li range.
Typically, the stronger the beast, the farther it stays from the fortress.
The mountain rabbits Lu Yu sought generally live within five to fifteen li, while the weasels live from ten to twenty li, so around this distance, he should find what he needs.
The wolf hair used for crafting spirit-engraved pens isn’t from wolves, but from the tails of weasels, and the rabbit hair is specifically the black-tipped hair on their backs, not regular rabbit fur.
Additionally, wool, mouse whiskers, pig bristles, and chicken feathers can be used to refine spirit-engraved pens, but they’re typically from monsters. Now Lu Yu is looking for ordinary animal fur, trying to refine spirit-engraved pens.
With meticulous searching and information from the hunter, Lu Yu quickly caught mountain rabbits and obtained enough black-tipped hair from them.
Weasels aren’t hard to find, but since they release stinky bombs, the tail hair can be smelly afterward. Lu Yu had to spend extra time getting enough weasel tail hair without touching it.
After discarding the now hairless weasel, as Lu Yu stored the wolf hair, he heard shouting from a distance.
"Han Feng, hand over the meteor iron, and I’ll let you brothers go. Otherwise, even though you’re from Beifeng Academy, we’ll still kill you."
"Nonsense, if you have the guts, come take it yourself, talking big doesn’t make you a hero!"
"Haha~ I’d love to come get it. Don’t run now! Han Yun, you’ve been poisoned by me, without the antidote, you’re doomed."
"Hand over the goods honestly, and I’ll still give you the antidote, letting you walk away alive."
"Or, give them the goods?"
"Brother! Don’t give it to them. Do you think they’d really let us go? They definitely wouldn’t want anyone knowing they attacked Beifeng Academy students, they won’t spare us."
"Even if I die, I won’t give it to you!" shouted Han Yun, his face a dark green.