"Give face? But who are you?" Rex asked with a confused expression.
The woman became silent, Spirit Mountain Monarch also looked at him, but seeing that he was genuinely surprised, he relaxed his brows.
"She is Fairy Xue, the second ancestor of Sky Pagoda Sect," Spirit Mountain Monarch took the lead to explain.
Rex snorted at him then refocused on Fairy Xue.
"I apologize for my rudeness, due to being in seclusion for a long time, I don't have much intel on the events of this continent," Rex said when he saw that the woman seemed to really care about her fame, enough to froze her when he didn't recognize her.
"So this was the case, then it's understandable. May I ask what's fellow Daoist is called?" Fairy Xue recovered after hearing his words.
"Rex Andrews, the first Guardian of Frozen Flame, but that's for later. Fairy Xue wants me to cease the fight but how do Spirit Mountain Monarch wish to explain himself? Although I'm not sure about here but keeping an eye on others and trying to probe them isn't normal at my place," Rex said in a sarcastic tone.
This time Spirit Mountain Monarch took the lead and spoke.
"It was a misunderstanding, I simply got curious and tried to check if you were really a Calamity Lord, I'm willing to properly compensate you for my rash actions," Spirit Mountain Monarch said as he waved his hand and an azure sword appeared out of thin air.
It was a long sword, from one look, Rex could tell that it was a spirit rank high-grade sword.
Spirit Mountain Monarch was about to speak when Rex interrupted him and spoke.
"Are you trying to compensate an Artifact Refining expert like me with a mere spirit weapon?" Rex said as he waved his hand and several spirit rank weapon of the same grade as the sword appeared out of nowhere and floated in the midair, most of the weapons were more diverse and better in quality compared to the sword, there were even a few top-grade weapons. Rex hadn't taken out them before because it would cause a ruckus when selling them without showing enough strength but right now he was a Calamity Lord in everyone's eyes.
When the cultivators on the ground looked at the spirit weapons floating in the air, their eyes shined, most of them were still wielding common grade weapons even after being elders of famous sects, they longed for spirit weapons but it wasn't easy to get even the lowest grade one, it requires either a lot of money or some big contribution to the sect to get one.
Spirit Mountain Monarch and Fairy Xue's eyes were also gleaming, albeit they weren't looking at the spirit weapons but Rex.
If someone has to choose between a golden egg and a golden egg-laying hen then what would they choose?
They were simply more insightful than the people down below. At their level, the weapons that could really catch their eyes were top-grade spirit weapons and they could see Rex took out a few of them but there was another issue, that was compatibility, they couldn't just simply wield any random spirit rank top-grade weapon as instead of increasing their strength it might backfire.
But that problem was now solved, an Artifact Refiner that could refine such a weapon was standing in front of them. At this point, Rex's value has soared to a new level in their eyes. They weren't the only ones, the earlier commotion has attracted the attention of other experts too, it was the reason why Rex made such a commotion in the first place.
"So it's like that, I didn't know about this, I will prepare something else for the compensation," Spirit Mountain Monarch reacted and said.
Rex touched his chin, he looked at Lerna from the corner of his eyes and his lips curled upwards.
"This reminds me that my comrade here is short on cultivation techniques, that golden bell thing technique you used just now looked quite strong. If you seriously want to compensate me then I would prefer if you help this lady here in getting that technique," Rex said with a smile.
Spirit Mountain Monarch was startled by his words, he understood that Rex was asking for his ‹Indestructible Golden Bell› technique, others might think of it as a normal defense-oriented technique but Rex was able to see that it was actually a special cultivation technique that has been mastered to Return To Nature state by him.
Special cultivation techniques result in special phenomenon when they are mastered to Return To Nature state, once a cultivator achieves it they have a chance to receive a certain gift from the technique like a Special Physique, Inborn Flame, and even skill.
Rex had reached this stage in his main cultivation technique, he acquired his flames later because of his low cultivation base. He was able to sense that it was a special cultivation technique because he himself has mastered one to that level meaning if he had used flames right now then there was a small chance that Spirit Mountain Monarch may be able to see it.
Spirit Mountain Monarch didn't say anything, he was thinking of what excuse he should make, he didn't even consider giving up this technique, he wanted to compensate but the price was too much. He had gone through a big adventure before he was able to acquire it, it had proved to be a life-saving technique to him many times. If he knew that Rex would eye his technique then he wouldn't have used it earlier.
Rex saw his hesitation and spoke.
"If you give me that technique then I can promise you a spirit rank top-grade weapon of your choice, moreover I promise to not speared this technique to anyone else. How about it?" Rex added.
Fairy Xue raised her eyebrow, she didn't know what was so good about that defense technique that made Rex bring out a spirit rank top-grade weapon.
Spirit Mountain Monarch looked deeply at Rex, earlier he was doubtful but now he was sure that Rex understood the value of the technique, he sighed then nodded. He first wanted to save the technique but after thinking about the overall picture, he realized that the ‹Indestructible Golden Bell› technique didn't have the same value as past for him, compared to the value of a tailored made spirit rank top-grade weapon, it appeared pale.
Of course, if he knew that it was not hard for Rex to analyze, fuse, and even upgrade the technique for himself, he might have declined purely out of jealousy.
"It's a relief that both the Daoists does not have amenity towards each other anymore and have come to compromise, so how about all three of you come to my Sky Pagoda Sect base to have a meal together and exchange a few words on this occasion," Fairy Xue asked in her mellow tone. Spirit Mountain Monarch has got his weapon and now it was her turn.
"I apologize Fairy, but the battle just now has given me some insights so I want to go in seclusion and ponder over them," Rex politely rejected.
Fairy Xue and Spirit Mountain Monarch were at a loss.
The three rounds of exchange gave you insights? Then why don't we go for another 300 rounds, you might get the whole enlightenment by the end? At least think of a better excuse dammit! They thought.
Although they inwardly felt this way, they still politely nodded.
Rex left the place and headed back to his room. Lerna also changed into her humanoid form and followed behind him, when her form changed, a blinding white light covered her body and in the next second, she was wearing her long white dress with a white veil covering her face. When she moved, her every moment looked elegant but when the people thought about her barbaric form a few seconds ago, they failed to muster any idea of approaching her.
Ji Biyu looked at their disappearing silhouette and shook her head.
{Don't even think about it master, you have decided on the road already we cannot back off. It will just make us look unsightly,} She said when she saw Ji Baozhai wondering about something.
Rex proved to be a Calamity Lord and except for Lerna, he now had connections with a Calamity Lord and a Sky Body Formation Expert.
Ji Biyu was an insightful woman, when Ji Baozhai decided to ally with her friends she had proposed allying with Black Scorpion Sect instead, but her proposal was rejected. She obeyed her master but now that she had chosen her ally she won't back off just because the choice wasn't the best. She was thinking while putting herself in Rex's shoes, if she was in his place and Rex had joined another team then came back to her, she won't even spare him a glance, that's why she knew backing off now would be just unsightly.
After this incident, Sung Lee discussed with Rex if they should take care of Green Mantis Sect but Rex refused. According to him, Spirit Mountain Monarch was planning to make use of them as cannon fodders so it's better to wait patiently, if not then he would have willingly killed a few to please Rex, he likely believed that Rex understood his motive so he didn't speak. After they fulfilled their role as cannon fodders, he can easily deal with them. Furthermore, Rex told him to focus on preserving strength and collect information instead of battling other forces.
Sung Lee was doubtful of Rex's decision at first but when his Grand Elder came back from his exploration with injuries covering his body and 10% of the people being killed, he understood the meaning behind Rex's words. Inside the inheritance, traps were the secondary problem, they were being treated as outsiders and will likely be hunted when meeting the people of other sects.
Rex and Lerna were strong but Calamity Lords had an unspoken rule to not directly interfere in the fights of cultivators weaker than them.
It was why Spirit Mountain Monarch was trying to hide his strength when Rex attacked him. Although no one would attack them even after they broke this unspoken rule but they will get isolated from the circle of powerhouses and would be disdained by others, these type of things would be problematic for anyone unless they are from the Evil or True Devil faction.
In the evening, Spirit Mountain Monarch sent a man to deliver his technique and letter stating the requirements for his weapon.
The technique was sealed in a one time used jade slip with a seal on it, the seal was made in a way that only the spiritual sense of a Calamity Lord can undo it, Rex had Lerna so it was not a problem for him to remove the seal before using it.
He could break the seal using other ways but why would he waste his time in using alternatives when the solution was sitting on his bed and reading a book?
Rex then read through the letter and got slightly surprised by the requirements, the weapon Spirit Mountain Monarch asked for was a mace, a big mace that was clearly not made to be used by a human. Rex guessed that he wanted a weapon that he could use in his beast form.
He left the refining of weapon to his clones while he studied the ‹Indestructible Golden Bell› technique.
From the description, it looked like a supplementary technique for a Buddhist body cultivation technique. He had the Diamond Shell so the current ‹Indestructible Golden Bell› was of no use to him, he just modified it a bit according to Lerna's body and gave it to her.
The clones completed the refining soon but Rex waited for one whole day before sending the mace to Spirit Mountain Monarch. Although he spent one day which was already too much in his eyes, but in the eyes of others, he looked like a genius, refining a spirit rang weapon especially top-grade ones have a high failure rate it is why the number of top-grade weapons is so low. In the end, they forced themselves to believe that it was luck that let him succeed in just a few tries and felt relieved.
After a few days, it was finally time for Calamity Lords to step inside.
At Dawn...
Rex, Lerna, Fairy Xue, Spirit Mountain Monarch, and three other peak realm powerhouses made their appearance in front of the pyramid.