"Hah!"

A thunderous sound erupted from Xu Yunfan’s throat as his muscles released like a taut bowstring.

The Thunderfire Qilin Hammer flew from his grasp, the iron chain coiling into a spiral around his wrist.

Su Zhenhe brought his Folding Fan up to block, only to see the hammerhead whip around at the end of the chain. It traced a bizarre arc, bypassing the Fan Surface, and the Chain Hammer hooked squarely onto his Jade Belt.

"Rise!"

With a ferocious shout, Su Zhenhe was swung into the air.

Xu Yunfan shattered three green bricks underfoot. The Heavy Hammer fell like a meteor, but it froze dead still just before touching Su Zhenhe’s Hair-Binding Jade Crown.

The wind from the hammer’s descent made Su Zhenhe’s Hair-Binding Jade Crown shatter with a CRACK, his long black hair spilling over his shoulders.

"You let me win."

Xu Yunfan withdrew the hammer and stepped back. The chain retracted with a CLICK, and the weapon once again became a long-handled Heavy Hammer.

Su Zhenhe stared at the jade crown, now in eight pieces on the ground, and suddenly let out a soft laugh.

He looked up at Xu Yunfan, his expression calm. "Brother Xu, I have one more move. I wonder if you can take it?"

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn’t be some life-or-death, Heaven and Earth Return Together technique, would it?"

He advised earnestly, "Brother Su, let’s not ruin the good atmosphere. This isn’t a fight to the death; we haven’t even used our real killing moves. Why injure yourself just to save face? Look, how about we just say you won this time, alright? If that’s not good enough, we could even compete in poetry. I’ve got quite the collection stored up; it would blow your mind."

Su Zhenhe: "..."

’You’ve said everything, so what’s left for me to say?’

Hong Baichuan also chose this moment to step forward, beaming. "Let’s end the spar here. If you keep going and bring out your True Flame, it won’t be a neat ending."

Old Daoist Guanshan snorted, not bothering to deal with Hong Baichuan, who was acting gracious after getting the upper hand.

"Zhenhe, I’ll let you use your sword next time. This Nephew Xu is also at Third Level Perfection. He has a body of steel and iron, and he’s exceptionally gifted with astounding strength. This loss is no fault of your own."

Su Zhenhe’s expression brightened at these words. He cupped his hands in a salute to Daoist Guanshan. "Thank you, Master!"

Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything more.

’I still have my Gilded Mace. It’s not like I’m complaining.’

At that moment, Daoist Guan He walked out from the crowd with a strange smile, looking at the ginkgo tree that Xu Yunfan had snapped.

"Brother Hong, do you happen to know who planted this ginkgo tree?"

Hong Baichuan, who had just gained a great deal of face, was glowing. He replied casually, "Who? I’ll just compensate them."

"Ye Linyun. Junior Sister Ye."

Hong Baichuan’s expression froze instantly. After a hollow laugh, he quickly took his leave, seemingly unwilling to stay a moment longer, and pulled Xu Yunfan into a dash down the mountain.

Seeing Hong Baichuan flee, Daoist Guanshan shook his head slightly.

Daoist Guan He watched with a chuckle, then sighed. "If Hong Baichuan hadn’t been injured forty years ago, he’d have at least reached Organ Cultivation by now. What a pity..."

Daoist Guanshan pondered for a moment before saying, "Celestial Craft Cave is a Great Foundry Sect. Now that they’re relocating to Shu State Ghostly Wail Abyss, we must make a gesture. Send an Elder down the mountain to escort them for a time. It will also serve to declare our stance to the world."

"What about the Jiuyao Sect?"

Daoist Guanshan’s face filled with scorn. "If that old bastard dares to overreach, I’ll personally go and break his claws."

A Great Foundry Sect had come to pledge allegiance, and they had already clarified the annual tribute during the banquet. By all reason and sentiment, the Profound Daoist Sect had to lend some support.

This meant a stable source of Treasure Artifacts.

In all the world of weapon forging, only a handful of factions could produce Treasure Artifacts, to say nothing of the fact that Celestial Craft Cave had people from the former Divine Weapon Ridge among them.

And Divine Weapon Ridge... they had produced a Divine Weapon.

-----------------

’Definitely some juicy history there!’

Watching Hong Baichuan silently drag him down the mountain, Xu Yunfan tried to ask what was going on several times, but was forced to shut his mouth by Hong Baichuan’s sharp glare.

’Alright, better not poke the bear. If I hit a sore spot...’

’Even if I’m a peerless genius, the prized treasure of Celestial Craft Cave, I’ll definitely get a beating.’

The trip to the Profound Daoist Sect had truly served to establish their new footing.

When the various powers of the Lingnan Dao Mortal World learned that Celestial Craft Cave was coming to settle in Lingnan Dao, and that the Cyan Mountain Profound Daoist Sect—the top Sect and leader of Lingnan Dao—had specially sent an Elder to escort them, any ideas the numerous Mortal Martial Sects might have had were extinguished.

On their way back to the Celestial Craft Fortress, Xu Yunfan and Hong Baichuan were accompanied by a red-faced, bearded old Daoist.

This was Daoist Guan Ming, the Observatory Master of Zilang Temple on Purple Peak, one of the nineteen peaks. He was a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

"Hey, no need to be so formal. Just call me by my secular name, Xiong Kun."

Xiong Kun forced a smile onto his face and moved closer to Hong Baichuan.

Hong Baichuan leaned back slightly.

"Brother Xiong, if you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need for all this!"

Xiong Kun’s old face flushed. He’d been an Observatory Master for too long, holding a position of power for so many years that he’d forgotten how to squeeze out a fawning smile.

"Brother Hong, to be perfectly honest, my great spear was accidentally destroyed three years ago, and I haven’t found a suitable weapon since. With you, Celestial Craft Cave, moving here, you’ve really solved a pressing problem for me!"

Xiong Kun looked somewhat helpless. "That day, I was exploring an ancient site and got caught up in a conflict. My great spear was shattered by someone, and it’s been a headache for me ever since."

Hong Baichuan’s expression softened slightly.

"I recall that the Profound Daoist Sect has its own Forging Soldiers Department. Why not ask them to craft one for you?"

Xiong Kun slapped his thigh.

"Don’t even mention that plague-ridden bunch! I went through hell to find that Celestial Fire Iron—it’s good enough material to forge a Divine Weapon! But they hammered it into a pile of scrap metal! Said the iron was too hard, that there was no way to melt it... If it wasn’t forbidden for sect members to kill each other, I’d have snapped their tendons, chopped off their dicks, and shown them what ’not hard’ really feels like!"

Hong Baichuan: "..."

Xu Yunfan: "..."

’He knew that as a Weapon Casting Sect, Celestial Craft Cave was in high demand, but he never imagined they were *this* in demand.’

A Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster from a top-tier Sect was shamelessly sucking up to them, just hoping they’d forge a weapon for him.

They naturally coveted the weapons forged by Celestial Craft Cave.

Top-tier Sects did indeed dabble in all sorts of fields, but compared to a Sect like Celestial Craft Cave, which specialized in a single craft, they were naturally more than just a step behind.

-----------------

In the desolate borderlands of Shuzhou, by the Ghostly Wail Abyss, the morning mist had yet to dissipate. Thirteen mechanical Giant Kites were already circling above the Celestial Craft Fortress.

Their iron wings, stretched over Profound Steel frames, were the size of war chariots. Compressed air sacs at the base of the wings hissed white vapor every ten breaths.

This was a new warning system modified by Mo Han and Mo Shisan. Within a thirty-li radius, not even the flutter of a mountain sparrow’s wings could escape the surveillance of the Profound Crystal Goggles in the kites’ bellies.

"The Blood Banner Alliance’s scouts have withdrawn."

Mo Shisan pulled his gaze back from the observation port, a trace of exhaustion showing in his eyes. "Last night at Midnight, they drove seventeen climbing spikes into the western cliff face of the Ghostly Wail Abyss. If Hall Master Zhan hadn’t intervened, a fight would have likely broken out."

As he was speaking, a sound like muffled thunder suddenly rolled in from the end of the mountain path.

Sixteen black steeds shattered the morning frost. The old man in the lead, wearing a Peacock Feather Cloak, was none other than the Hu Family’s Third Elder, Hu Zhenyue. The great saber at his waist glinted coldly with the rise and fall of his horse.

But the riders reined in their horses two li from the Celestial Craft Fortress, their way blocked by three Iron Swords with black silk ribbons wrapped around their hilts, which had flown from the sky to embed themselves in the stone path ahead.

*(Daily ten-thousand-word update complete! Thank you all for your support!)*