# Chapter 1617: Flame Gold City
Three months later, in a mountain cave dwelling located in a region very far from Yaoye Island, vast and surging demonic energy radiated outward, domineering and cold.
"Rumble!" The cave dwelling emitted thunderous sounds, and the entire cave trembled, followed by continuous cracking noises, as if rocks were splitting apart.
On a cliff face opposite the mountain cave, Mu Yi's gaze condensed, his eyes looking toward the cave dwelling halfway up the mountain, a strange light flashing in his eyes. Such a powerful demonic energy. He had seen Lin Feng fighting mostly using array talismans and had never truly witnessed Lin Feng's personal combat strength apart from his array dao. But judging by Lin Feng's movement speed and feeling this wild, overbearing demonic intent, Lin Feng's combat power would definitely be very formidable.
"Boom crack!" Another explosive sound detonated within the cave dwelling, and then he felt the mountain peak tremble. A terrifying demonic energy soared upward, and finally a loud explosive cracking sound vibrated through the void. Above the cave dwelling, huge rocks split apart, and a stream of demonic energy seeped out, transforming into rolling demonic clouds. The demonic aura actually pierced straight through the entire mountain peak.
"Ninth Layer of Sovereign Martial Realm, such domineering demonic intent." Mu Yi's expression condensed once more, inwardly startled. Lin Feng had already broken through the barrier of the Eighth Layer of Sovereign Martial Realm and stepped into the Ninth Layer of Sovereign Martial Realm.
Above the cave dwelling, within the rolling demonic clouds, a pitch-black figure rose slowly. Fierce black demonic light radiated boundlessly, as if dark light trembled before his pupils. His long black hair scattered over his shoulders, moving without wind. At this moment, Lin Feng was like a demon god. His bearing at this moment was enough to carve into a demon sculpture.
"Ninth Layer of Sovereign Martial Realm. One step further, and I too will be a Martial Emperor." Lin Feng's long robe rustled. Recalling the time when he looked up at the statues of the emperors, now, he was getting closer and closer to the Martial Emperor realm. Perhaps before long, he too would become a Martial Emperor. If he returned to the Small World, he would be looked up to by others, his bearing and appearance carved down for future generations to admire, allowing them to comprehend Will and Essence from his bearing.
Opening his mouth and inhaling, the rolling demonic clouds in the sky were swallowed into Lin Feng's body. The pitch-black color on his body gradually receded, and his demonic pupils returned to normal. That overwhelming demon sovereign aura seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by the harmless, handsome young man. With a step, Lin Feng arrived before Mu Yi and said cheerfully, "Uncle Mu Yi, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Excluding our travel time, it's only been about two months. To me, that passes in the blink of an eye. How could it be called waiting?" Mu Yi said with a smile. For a Mid-rank Emperor powerhouse, a few months were indeed too brief.
"Let's continue our journey. How much longer until we reach Flame Gold City?" Lin Feng asked Mu Yi. It turned out that the place Mu Yi planned to take him to this time was a main city called Flame Gold City. It was said that Flame Gold City was a great main city, even more vast and expansive than the nine main cities where the Nine Great Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses were located combined.
"We've already reached the edge of Flame Gold City's territory. About three more days of travel, and we'll arrive at Flame Gold City. Lin Feng, when you reach Flame Gold City, you might have your eyes opened wide. In this main city, there are too many magnificent weapons. This main city is famous for weapon refining, with many weapon refining sects or weapon refining family forces."
Mu Yi stepped forward with Lin Feng, flying through the air, while speaking to Lin Feng with a smile.
"A weapon refining main city!" A strange light flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. In the Small World, he had never heard of any powerful sect or force that specialized in weapon refining. Therefore, Imperial Artifacts were extremely rare, only existing in some Martial Emperor forces of the Eight Wastelands and Nine Nether regions, and almost all of them were non-renewable, passed down from the Great World to the Small World. Now, in this Great World, even a single main city was famous for weapon refining.
"Uncle Mu Yi, when you saved me before, you took out an Artifact Token. Could it really be from some weapon refining force in Flame Gold City?" Lin Feng asked Mu Yi.
"It does belong to a weapon refining force, that's correct. However, Flame Gold City is too vast, divided into five major regions: East, South, West, North, and Central. Each region has large and small weapon refining forces. The weapon refining forces in the five regions probably number over a hundred. If we also count those small weapon refining families and individual refiners, the number would far exceed that. I was once part of a weapon refining force in the North City of Flame Gold City, but due to some reasons, I was expelled long ago. Therefore, that Artifact Token was only used to scare Dust Inverse Martial Emperor. The key was to trap him for a moment; it didn't serve as a deterrent."
Mu Yi said casually with a smile, causing Lin Feng to shrug. That Dust Inverse Martial Emperor must have regretted that matter deeply. He was trapped by an Artifact Token, allowing Lin Feng to escape his control. Finally, Yaoye Island descended, causing Qing Di Mountain to suffer a great loss. However, Qing Di Mountain wouldn't start a war with Yaoye Island over a few Martial Emperors. There were so many demon islands around Yaoye Island. What Lin Feng and Yaoye Island truly feared was still the Wuji Palace.
"I didn't expect that Uncle Mu Yi's study of array dao was actually for weapon refining." Lin Feng said with a smile. "And with Uncle Mu Yi's formidable strength as a Mid-rank Emperor, you were still expelled. Are the forces in Flame Gold City very powerful?"
"Not as terrifying as you think. The forces in Flame Gold City mainly focus on weapon refining. As for strength, they are a bit stronger than the nine main cities of the Nine Great Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses, but there are no Emperor-level forces. Once a weapon refining master reaches the Great Emperor realm, they become honored guests everywhere. They will inevitably leave Flame Gold City. Wherever they go, they will be treated with respect. The Great Emperor powerhouses who have come out of Flame Gold City, without exception, are all terrifying weapon refiners. To improve themselves, Flame Gold City can no longer satisfy them; they need to find a broader path."
Mu Yi explained to Lin Feng. "As for my study of array dao, it is indeed related to weapon refining. Lin Feng, do you know what conditions a weapon refining master must first meet?"
"Weapon refining and array dao are inseparable. Array dao is naturally one important factor. Additionally, flame is indispensable, and also soul perception power. Finally, without good refining materials, everything is futile."
"You're right. The name Flame Gold City comes from flame, metal, and other refining materials. These are the most basic elements of weapon refining. But for a refiner, controlling flame is a must, and materials naturally won't be lacking, only a matter of quality. What truly restricts a refiner is still array dao and soul power. The most difficult is array dao. Generally, any array dao expert, with proper training, will never have poor weapon refining ability."
Mu Yi nodded and said. In fact, weapon refining and alchemy had similar principles, quite alike. But weapon refining relied more on array dao ability than alchemy did.
"Uncle Mu Yi, you brought me to Flame Gold City. Does it have something to do with weapon refining?" Lin Feng glanced at Mu Yi beside him. Mu Yi was well aware of his array dao ability.
"If you're interested, you could try weapon refining. It will only benefit you." Mu Yi said with a noncommittal smile, making Lin Feng feel like he had fallen into Mu Yi's clever plan this time. However, he was also interested in witnessing the miraculous art of weapon refining, to see how Imperial Artifacts were born in the hands of weapon refining masters.
The two chatted as they walked, and Lin Feng became more familiar with weapon refining. This vast region seemed to have several major forces nearby, even Emperor-level forces. Moreover, they all paid close attention to Flame Gold City. Many forces even had very close ties with the weapon refining forces of Flame Gold City. Flame Gold City could provide them with the Imperial Artifacts they wanted, while they could accept disciples from Flame Gold City's weapon refining family forces to train in martial arts, benefiting both sides.
Three days later, ahead on the vast plain, a main city appeared, radiating boundless expanse. Looking out, the plain was no longer visible, only towering buildings stood.
"We've arrived." Mu Yi said to Lin Feng with a smile. Flame Gold City, of course, couldn't be like the Nine Great Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses, where one could come and go freely without any restrictions.
Mu Yi and Lin Feng stepped into Flame Gold City. They didn't continue flying but walked slowly on the flat ground. The most common sights on both sides of the streets were trading stalls, much like the streets of a previous life, very bustling. And most of them were related to weapon refining transactions.
"The entire Flame Gold City is also a huge weapon refining trading market. Many people travel thousands of miles to Flame Gold City to find some refining materials. Even in Flame Gold City, flames can be directly traded. So weapon refining masters don't need to worry too much about flames, as long as you have enough power to control them."
Mu Yi's words made Lin Feng smile bitterly. The main cities of the Great World were truly extraordinary. Even some powerful exotic flames could be obtained through trade, as long as you could pay the price.
As for Imperial Artifacts, as long as you had enough capital, you could naturally obtain them through trade as well.
"Are you interested in looking at some weapon refining jade slips, or notes from some weapon refining masters?" Mu Yi asked Lin Feng.
"Where can I get them?" Lin Feng asked.
"Come on, we can first look at some basics." Mu Yi smiled, then led Lin Feng into a trading pavilion. It turned out to be a library. On the bookshelves were some very ancient books, as well as jade slips. But whether books or jade slips, they all had annotations.
"Introduction to Weapon Refining." Lin Feng saw a relatively new book and couldn't help but stop, flipping through it. It introduced some of the most basic things about weapon refining, including the levels of refiners.
"Those who can refine Sacred Artifacts can only be called entry-level, not even worthy of being called refiners?" Seeing this classification, Lin Feng was stunned. How would the master-level figures in the Small World who refined Sacred Artifacts feel about this? They couldn't even be considered refiners.
"Imperial Artifacts are divided into three, six, and nine grades. Those who can refine a first-grade Imperial Artifact are first-grade refiners. Those who can refine a ninth-grade Imperial Artifact are ninth-grade refiners. Refiners above the sixth grade can be called refining masters. And only those who can refine Emperor Artifacts are qualified to be called refining grandmasters."
Lin Feng looked at this introduction. A refining grandmaster could forge Emperor Weapons. That was absolutely terrifying!