1,080 Earthly Formation Boards were stacked in front of Ou Yangming. He smiled gladly as he looked at the fruits of his hard work from these few days.

Practice made perfect. Ou Yangming was not fast when he first started smithing, and he consumed a lot of energy. Nonetheless, as he continued to smith, he completely understood all of the detailed changes. Not only did the young fellow's speed improve substantially, but his consumption also reduced.

Similarly, as he refined more Earthly Formation Boards, he gained a deeper understanding of them.

Several days ago, he only learned how to refine Earthly Formation Boards and obtained the Linkage Method from the spiritual world, but everything was theoretical knowledge. He was not confident about using them and unleashing the formation boards' powers to their limits.

After refining over 1,000 formation boards, Ou Yangming felt entirely different.

He had gained a specific idea about the overall structure, which he apprehended from constantly refining.

Learning was extremely important, but it was sometimes more important to put learning into practice. This was what Ou Yangming got the most out of his experience.

When Ou Yangming was refining the formation boards, the 3 Venerable Ones watched from afar and dared not disturb him.

They were all gathered because the king kong's suit was being prepared for it to advance into a Venerable One, hence this had nothing much to do with Yuqi the Venerable One from the Beast King Sect. Even so, the Venerable One attached a lot of importance to this and was not much more relaxed as compared to the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One.

This was because Yuqi the Venerable One understood better than anyone else that Multi-armed King Kong was only the first candidate. If it succeeded, at least 3 top-grade Spiritualists from the Beast King Sect would be qualified to try.

Nevertheless, while those 3 powerhouses were top-grade Spiritualists, they were not peerless God-favored ones such as Multi-armed King Kong and Immortal Fox. If they were to attempt to advance into Venerable Ones under normal circumstances, their success rates would not be high even if they were protected by treasures bestowed to them by the sect.

Perhaps their chances of being killed by the Heavenly Thunderbolts would be higher than their chances of succeeding.

Now that Ou Yangming could smith Thunderbolt-resistant Suits, everything would be different.

Ou Yangming stood up slowly and shook his clothes, then he opened his interspatial bag to keep the Earthly Formation Boards that he had refined through hard work.

Far away, 2 figures looked at each other. They hesitated for a while but decided to approach the young fellow.

Yuqi the Venerable One chuckled and asked, "Master Ou, you're done?"

The 10,000 Beasts Venerable One was even more straightforward. "Master Ou, you worked hard."

Ou Yangming turned to grin at the Venerable Ones. He was surprised when he turned to look. "Where's Elder Macaque?"

Yuqi the Venerable One tensed up a little and quickly answered, "Master Ou, Elder Macaque has gone to the Alchemy Hall to consume an Eternal Pill." He kowtowed to Ou Yangming and expressed his gratitude, "Master Ou, the Beast King Sect will remember your grace forever."

Given his identity, the fact that he was giving such a salutation to an Intermediate Spiritualist was shocking even if the spiritualist was the Phoenixes' messenger.

Yuqi the Venerable One was only doing it willingly because Ou Yangming had really helped the Beast King Sect too much.

Ou Yangming flashed to avoid the salutation at once. The Venerable One could humble himself in making acquaintances, but he could not be thick-faced and indifferent.

The 10,000 Beasts Venerable One's eyelids twitched as it had been thinking about the Eternal Pill as well. At the end of the day, nobody—not even a supreme powerhouse like the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One—would complain about having a longer life.

After moving aside, Ou Yangming cleared his throat and asked, "Yuqi the Venerable One, has Elder Macaque passed the stage?"

Consuming an Eternal Pill came with a certain risk. If one lacked willpower, one might be burned into nothing by the hint of the Heavenly Phoenix Fire contained inside the pill. Ou Yangming was confident in the old macaque, but he could not help but ask at this time.

Yuqi the Venerable One laughed out loud. "Master Ou, don't worry. Elder Macaque's a Venerable One too. Its willpower is remarkable, so it shouldn't face any problem."

Ou Yangming nodded. He was glad, but a look of worry could be noticed from the frown on his face.

Yuqi the Venerable One and the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One were sharp-eyed enough to spot his expression. They looked at each other again, then the latter said in a deep voice, "Master Ou, if you need help to do anything, feel free to let me know."

Upon hearing it, Yuqi the Venerable One was slightly stunned, and he thought, 'This old fella has been convinced by Master Ou too; it has finally humbled itself instead of priding itself on being a senior.'

In actuality, if a Venerable One had no desires, one would naturally not mind Ou Yangming's feelings. However, not to mention the Thunderbolt-resistant Suit that was smithed by the young fellow, even the Eternal Pills and the Self-recovery attribute alone would be enough to make most Venerable Ones humbled themselves in front of him.

Ou Yangming sighed. "I have someone dear to me that has not only aged but also doesn't practice martial arts. I've prepared some life-prolonging spiritual pills, but they'll be used up one day."

Yuqi the Venerable One's eyes flickered. "Master Ou, I understand what you're saying; you'd like that person to live for a long time."

Ou Yangming nodded without any hesitation. "Yes. Venerable Ones, may I ask if you know of any helpful magical tricks?"

Even though the Beast King Sect's library was fully accessible for him, he had not been in the Spiritual Realm for a long time, thus he could not grasp everything yet. Furthermore, some secret techniques were also hidden in certain unique copies that he might not be able to get his hands on.

Therefore, if he encountered unsolvable problems, seeking help from powerhouses would unquestionably be the best choice.

Yuqi the Venerable One asked after some thought, "Master Ou, has that close kinship of yours come to the Spiritual Realm?"

Ou Yangming replied to him in a deep voice, "I've asked my companion, and he told me that he'll arrive soon."

When he previously spoke to Wu Yuanwei in private, he had raised the question. Plenty of energy would be consumed to bring people from the lower realm into the Spiritual Realm, but the young fellow believed that the powerhouses on Mount Wuzhi would not stint on helping him after they received an Eternal Pill.

Yuqi the Venerable One stroked his beard and said, "Since he'll come to the Spiritual Realm, this will be easier."

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up. He had been bothered by this problem for a long time, but his hands were tied because he could not guarantee that Old Craftsman would be strong-willed enough to withstand the Eternal Pill's backlash.

"Venerable One, please give me some pointers," Ou Yangming asked sincerely.

Yuqi the Venerable One smiled but sighed to himself and thought, 'This young fella's finally helpless.'

Ou Yangming's performances thus far had been more than just astounding. In fact, Yuqi the Venerable One began to think that nothing in this world was beyond his capability.

This was why he was relieved when Ou Yangming finally made a request.

Even the Phoenixes' messenger was not almighty.

"Master Ou." Yuqi the Venerable One curbed his thought and noted, "Since you're worried that your close kinship won't be strong-willed enough, you can let him cultivate martial arts first to strengthen his will." He raised his eyebrows and continued, "As long as he has enough resources, I assure you that he'll enter Extreme Grade and will have the willpower to withstand the Eternal Pill's effect."

Ou Yangming's face twitched. He initially thought that Yuqi the Venerable One would give him a good suggestion, but it turned out to be a dumb idea.

He naturally understood that one's will could be strengthened through martial arts cultivation, but if Old Craftsman was willing to learn, he would not have waited until this moment. Besides, given his age, he probably could not be worked anymore.

Seeing how Ou Yangming was not agreeing with him, Yuqi the Venerable One chuckled and asked, "Master Ou, do you not trust me?"

Ou Yangming smiled embarrassedly and said, "Venerable One, you're joking. Who dares to not trust you?"

Yuqi the Venerable One waved his hand as if he was mocking himself. "Master Ou, are you worried about your close kinship not being to practice martial arts due to his old age?"

The young fellow answered after a moment of hesitation, "Yes, I've given him a life-prolonging spiritual pill in the lower realm. If not…" He did not continue, but the 2 Venerable Ones understood him well.

"Hehe, Master Ou, you don't need to worry." The 10,000 Beasts Venerable One laughed. "This is the Spiritual Realm, where countless magical spiritual medicines can be found. In any case, he'll be able to practice martial arts successfully."

Ou Yangming's eyes flickered. He glanced at the Venerable Ones and saw how confident they were.

They were neither trying to comfort him nor were they being half-hearted. Instead, they were exceptionally confident about fulfilling their promise to him.

Ou Yangming was moved. He recalled how honorable they were and the various unpredictable tricks that they probably knew.

In terms of equipment smithing, he could do the impossible due to his Heavenly Phoenix Fire; in terms of life and cultivation experiences, he was not worth mentioning as compared to the Venerable Ones.

For all he knew, things that could not be done by him were probably easy tasks for them.

Ou Yangming nodded and bowed at Yuqi the Venerable One. "If that's the case, thanks for the trouble, Sir Venerable One."

Yuqi the Venerable One flapped his sleeves and laughed. "It's just a small matter, so it's not worth mentioning at all." He was filled with joy because this would make Ou Yangming more involved with the Beast King Sect.

He had decided to train Ou Yangming's close kinship to Extreme Grade at all costs.

At the spur of the moment, the 10,000 Beasts Venerable One asked, "Master Ou, are the preparations for my son done already?"

Ou Yangming answered seriously, "Yes."

"Alright, I'll undo the restriction on my son and let it rest for 3 months to recover its energy, essence, and spirit to their peaks before it attempts to advance into a Venerable One."

"Of course." Ou Yangming nodded.

3 months would be enough for Multi-armed King Kong to adjust itself and adapt to the suit.

The 10,000 Beasts Venerable One later scanned Ou Yangming and blurted, "Master Ou, you're a blacksmith and a caster, but you shouldn't lag in martial arts cultivation." He added meaningfully, "Blood Shadow's still lying in ambush in the Spiritual Realm."

Ou Yangming tensed up a little, and he had a grave look on his face.

Blood Shadow might not be a threat to him, but there were countless living beings in the Spiritual Realm that could threaten him.

Indeed, he had neglected martial arts for far too long.