Yuan Ming retracted his gaze from the stele, looked around, cautiously extended his divine sense, and approached the red stele to investigate carefully after confirming there were no traps around.

The next moment, he was surprised to find that his divine sense would vanish instantly upon touching the stele, without receiving any feedback at all.

Instead of being alarmed, Yuan Ming was delighted and used his Eyes of Golden Flame to inspect the stele, soon revealing a look of surprise and joy.

This stele was filled with spirit light and treasure radiance, clearly a rare heavy treasure, in no way inferior to the Emperor Yan's Mysterious Fire Tripod.

"Could this be a Great Perfection Spirit Treasure?" Yuan Ming immediately walked over and attempted to refine the stele.

However, after a long effort, he could hardly refine any of it, as his mana could not penetrate it at all.

"Don't waste your energy; with your current power and without the Dao Treasure Formula, it's impossible for you to refine me." Just then, a gentle voice suddenly emanated from the stele.

"Are you the artifact spirit of this stele?" Yuan Ming was secretly surprised and asked unperturbed.

"Exactly, I am the artifact spirit of the Xi He Tablet, you may call me Xi Hezi." Along with the words, a female silhouette emerged from the stele.

She appeared to be in her late teenage years, dressed in red, with a slightly chubby face, looking quite cute, though there was a lazy and indifferent expression on her face, as if she hadn't had enough sleep.

"I am Yuan Ming, pleased to meet you, Fellow Daoist Xi Hezi." Yuan Ming, seeing her aura tied to the stele, was certain she was indeed the artifact spirit and greeted politely.

"What's with the fellow Daoist? I don't like formalities, just call me Xi Hezi. Let's be straightforward, do you want to take the Xi He Tablet away?" The red-clothed girl stared at Yuan Ming and said bluntly.

Yuan Ming was taken aback by Xi Hezi's directness, but he also got a sense of her personality from this and nodded to acknowledge, "That's right."

"I find you somewhat agreeable, so I can reluctantly allow you to take the Xi He Tablet. But I have two conditions; if you don't agree, I won't recognize you, much less assist you in activating the Xi He Tablet." Xi Hezi waved her hand, speaking rather nonchalantly.

Yuan Ming was stunned, starting to discuss the conditions already? This was much easier than expected.

He thought Xi Hezi would test his divine skills, character, etc.

"Please speak directly." Yuan Ming raised his hand and said.

"First, I hate combat the most in my life, so unless it's a matter of life and death, don't use me for fighting. Of course, as a trade-off, I can help you refine various spiritual treasures for combat." Xi Hezi raised a finger.

Yuan Ming looked at Xi Hezi, feeling like he had met a simpleton. This was no condition at all; given the grade of this stele, even without Xi Hezi saying it, he wouldn't casually use it for combat. Xi Hezi was even offering treasure refining in compensation, fearing he wouldn't be pleased.

"Of course, no problem. Xi Hezi, you are skilled in artifact refining?" Yuan Ming nodded immediately and then asked.

"What do you mean skilled? I love artifact refining! My master also said I have a talent for it. Unfortunately, there's nothing in this place. Once we get outside, if you have anything that needs refining, just hand it to me. No need to prepare an Artifact Refining Furnace or True Fire, the Xi He Tablet has a refining treasure space I've opened, with everything needed…" Xi Hezi's eyes lit up instantly, prattling on ceaselessly about artifact refining.

Yuan Ming listened patiently, then glanced at the silver lamps holding the candles in the hall and the table in front, understanding why Xi Hezi was so ready to leave with him.

It seemed Xi Hezi was an artifact refining enthusiast; the silver lamps and tables in the hall were probably made by her in her spare time.

Such an artifact refiner certainly wouldn't want to stay in this place.

"As for the second condition, I've already mentioned I love artifact refining, so you must provide me with the materials needed for researching artifact refining." Xi Hezi continued.

"No problem, I can agree to both conditions." Yuan Ming agreed directly without thinking.

He was currently in need of a trustworthy artifact refiner, making Xi Hezi's two requirements exactly what he wanted.

Yuan Ming's expression changed suddenly; he took out the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter.

"Xi Hezi, since you are proficient in artifact refining, I happen to have a spiritual treasure with thirty-five runes. Could you help me elevate it to a Great Perfection Spirit Treasure?" Yuan Ming handed over the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter.

"Oh, this looks like something nice, let me have a look." Xi Hezi took it with great interest.

"Your spiritual treasure was originally a Great Perfection Spirit Treasure, but one critical rune was damaged and became dormant, and the artifact spirit was annihilated, causing it to fall. However, repairing it isn't too difficult." Xi Hezi quickly concluded after a brief examination.

"Great, as long as it can be repaired. Do you need any spiritual materials?" Yuan Ming became excited immediately.

"It's just about awakening a dormant rune and adding an artifact spirit, no need for auxiliary spiritual materials, just wait a moment." Xi Hezi shook her head, disappeared with the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter, and flew back into the Xi He Tablet.

Yuan Ming blinked, only reacting after Xi Hezi's figure vanished, realizing she had immediately started working, truly efficient.

He just didn't know how long Xi Hezi would need; if it took too long, he couldn't wait.

While waiting, Yuan Ming wandered around the hall, soon arriving at a candlestick, picking up and playing with the silver lamp beneath.

His expression gradually turned solemn; after putting down the silver lamp, there was already a look of shock in his eyes.

The material of this silver goblet is very ordinary, it is a second-grade spiritual material called Radiant Iron Stone. Though it looks radiant and brilliant, in reality, it lacks toughness, making it unsuitable for artifact refining. The cultivation world usually grinds and carves this material for use as a decorative item.

Xi Hezi actually refined this kind of unsuitable ore into a decently graded magic treasure. The silver goblet surprisingly contains seven runes.

He walked to another candlestick, picked up that silver goblet for a brief inspection, and surprisingly found it to also be a seven-rune magic treasure.

Yuan Ming walked around the hall, examined all the silver goblets, and found they were all seven-rune magic treasures.

"It seems I underestimated Xi Hezi's artifact refining technique. Lucky indeed, encountering a true artifact refining master." Yuan Ming smiled slightly.

He walked back to the desk and patiently started waiting.

After a short half day, red light flashed on the Xi He Tablet, and Xi Hezi appeared, holding the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter in hand.

The Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter at this moment emitted a bright red aura that vibrated from time to time, radiating circles of red spirit light outward.

"There, it's repaired." Xi Hezi casually tossed the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter over.

Yuan Ming reached out and caught it, exerting a bit of mana to inject into it.

The scepter was indeed completely restored, with thirty-six runes forming a perfect rune array, and the artifact spirit was recondensed into a red-clothed woman, cooperating exceptionally well with Yuan Ming's refinement.

"Xi Hezi, your artifact refining technique has surely reached the seventh level, hasn't it?" Yuan Ming asked probingly.

"What seventh level? I don't know, Master never mentioned it." Xi Hezi shook his head and said.

Yuan Ming's eyes flickered briefly, then cupped his hands and said, "I actually have some knowledge of the artifact refining technique myself and have one unresolved matter that I wish Xi Hezi would clarify, could you?"

"Whatever question you have, just ask outright without hesitation." Xi Hezi waved his hand and said.

"I'm curious, how did Xi Hezi gather the artifact spirit just now? It's incredibly difficult to gather an artifact spirit for a spiritual treasure; refining for a hundred years may not necessarily succeed." Yuan Ming asked with a smile.

His Soul Destroying Sword had long reached the level of a spiritual treasure in terms of runes, yet after years of refinement, he still hadn't managed to gather an artifact spirit.

"That's simple. Your stick has nice material, and its spiritual power is abundant. I split a portion of the artifact soul, infused it, and let it nurture slightly, and it succeeded." Xi Hezi glanced at Yuan Ming strangely, as if saying what's so perplexing about such a simple matter.

Yuan Ming recalled the red-clothed woman artifact spirit and indeed found some resemblance to Xi Hezi, realizing it was condensed from Xi Hezi's artifact soul.

"Splitting the artifact soul must have considerable impact on you, should I help you recover?" he hastily asked.

The artifact soul of an artifact spirit is equivalent to the soul of a cultivator, not something to split at will.

"No worries, my artifact soul is strong, this is nothing." Xi Hezi shook his head, his aura indeed not showing any weakness compared to before.

Yuan Ming scrutinized Xi Hezi for a moment, seemingly assessing him.

"Do you still have questions? You sure have a lot. Ask quickly so we can leave this ghostly place; I don't want to stay even for half a moment." Xi Hezi pouted slightly and grumbled.

"Just one last question: earlier you mentioned my cultivation level is insufficient and without the Dao Treasure Formula, it's impossible to refine the Xi He Tablet. Could it be that the Xi He Tablet is a Dao treasure?" Yuan Ming smiled and asked.

"It used to be, but now, well, it's only at the level of a Great Perfection Spirit Treasure." Xi Hezi shook his head slightly, his tone rather regretful.

Yuan Ming was about to pursue why but remembered the promise not to ask further, so he swallowed his words.

"The Xi He Tablet is the lifebound Dao treasure of the Qilin Demon Emperor from the Ancient Sky Demon Royal Court. During a certain battle, I was destroyed by an enemy, causing the Dao treasure to fall to the level of a spiritual treasure. Afterward, the master worked hard to restore me, but ultimately could only bring it back to the level of a Great Perfection Spirit Treasure." Xi Hezi explained to himself, looking somber.

Sky Demon Royal Court?

Yuan Ming had previously heard this term from Sima Changqin, supposedly an incredibly powerful demon clan force from ancient times, whose descendants are now the Ten Thousand Demon Country.

So, Xi Hezi has existed since ancient times; why did it appear here? Did people from the Ten Thousand Demon Country put it here?

He suddenly recalled when driving the Great Sun Glaze Flame to activate the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Sealing God Prohibition, mentioning it was originally intended to target another person. Could it be Xi Hezi? Do they have grudges?

"If there's a chance, I'll also try to help restore you back to a Dao treasure." Yuan Ming, without further inquiry, said this after a moment of silence.

"With you? Forget it. Things that even the Qilin Demon Emperor couldn't achieve back then, what can a mere Dharma Phase cultivator do?" Xi Hezi spoke straightforwardly.

"I may not be able to now, but in the future, who can say for certain?" Yuan Ming replied without getting angry.

"That said, to defeat the Great Sun Glaze Flame does show some capability, perhaps one day reaching the Mahayana Realm capable of helping me." Xi Hezi recalled something, his expression becoming somewhat serious.