A huge thanks to Katy for the kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters!

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A strange phenomenon appeared in the Shanning Realm, causing the entire Spirit Mountain Realm to tremble.

The Sect Master and several Elders sat dumbfounded outside the blacksmith’s shop in Shanning Realm—the very place responsible for forging artifacts—guarding the entrance and staring blankly at the golden light in the sky that refused to fade.

They had merely lent that elder a place to forge weapons. Had a divine artifact already emerged after just a short while?

Should they go in and ask?

They didn’t dare. They were afraid of disturbing the elder. But this is a divine artifact!

Just what kind of divine artifact had been forged? It was truly a source of immense curiosity.

When Qin Zhou opened the door, he was met with the sight of a row of sect masters and elders from the Shanning Realm seated in a line.

“Gentlemen, would you like to come in?”

The group of cultivators nodded vigorously.

Once they stepped inside and took in the full view of the blacksmith’s shop, they all had a strange feeling: “Wait, is this really the blacksmith’s shop of our Shanning Realm?” After all, their Shanning Realm had produced a divine artifact. It felt as though every object around them had been gilded with gold.

“Senior, have you finished forging? If we’re disturbing you, we’ll step aside,” the Sect Master asked tactfully.

Qin Zhou shook his head. “Lu San and Yan Qi are using it. I’m just taking a short break.”

In truth, he had already finished forging them.

He only needed to forge five items. Since they were relatively small, it didn’t take much time. There should have been five beams of golden light in the sky, but he thought that five would be too conspicuous and difficult to explain if anyone asked, so he used a little trick to generate only one beam.

He’d simply left a way out for Shisi.

“Yan Qi—he knows how to forge artifacts too?” the Sect Master asked, sounding slightly surprised.

Qin Zhou nodded. “Yan Qi can draw the designs; Lu San handles the crafting.”

“Senior, may I ask, where exactly are you all from…” the Sect Master asked cautiously. To be honest, he didn’t dare ask Wen Jue—that man clearly had a fiery temper. But the man before him was calm and steady; just looking at him, he felt a certain sense of familiarity.

With several figures suddenly appearing in the Spirit Mountain Realm whose power exceeded their comprehension, it was no wonder the Sect Master was curious. Qin Zhou replied, “We come from beyond the heavens and will not be staying here for long.”

From beyond the heavens, you say?

Qin Zhou said no more, and the Sect Master did not press the matter further.

As long as they didn’t affect the Spirit Mountain Realm, there was no need for concern.

“By the way, is there still any Jingning Wood in the Shanning Realm?”

The Sect Master paused for a moment. “Yes. You can find it in the valleys of the Shanning Realm.”

Just as the Spirit Beast Mountain in the Red Cloud Sea supplies disciples from all factions with resources for their Spirit Awakening, the Shanning Realm has its own specialty—the Jingning Wood, the raw material used to craft beast tamers’ staffs.

Jingning Wood possesses properties that calm the mind and soothe the spirit. When infused with spiritual energy, it not only subdues the wild nature within spirit beasts but also alleviates pain. The Shanning Realm derives its name from this very quality.

“If you need it, Senior, I can send a disciple to fetch it immediately.”

Qin Zhou pondered for a moment. “Jingning Wood over a thousand years old—a piece the size of a palm would suffice.” The mere mention of wood over a thousand years old made even the Sect Master wince slightly.

Of course, Qin Zhou wasn’t asking for it for free; he knew that Jingning Wood, which had grown for over a thousand years, was considered the finest of the finest.

“In return, I can forge a seventh-tier spirit artifact for your Shanning Realm to serve as its treasured emblem.”

The Sect Master’s eyes lit up instantly.

Fearing that Qin Zhou might change his mind, the elders hurriedly said, “Sect Leader, I’ll go fetch the Jingning Wood for the Elder right away.” 

The Sect Leader cut them off, “Wait a moment!”

“Senior, one shouldn’t accept a gift without having earned it. Even a thousand-year-old Jingning Wood isn’t worth trading a divine artifact for…”

Hearing this, Qin Zhou merely waved his hand. “It is my goodwill.”

He wasn’t just paying lip service; he genuinely intended to give it! The Sect Master clenched his fist in excitement before replying, “In that case, the Shanning Realm will humbly accept your offer! Should there be anything else you require, please do not hesitate to ask, Senior.”

Qin Zhou gave a soft “Hmm.”

As the creator of the Spirit Mountain Realm, these sect NPCs weren’t as close to him as the villagers of the Lu family, but he couldn’t exactly call them outsiders either.

Qin Zhou felt it was no trouble to offer them a little extra care.

The elders dashed off to fetch the Jingning Wood, leaving only Qin Zhou and the Sect Master sipping tea.

Unlike Shen Yun, the Sect Master of Shanning Realm had a steadier temperament and a clear sense of right and wrong; he was considered one of the fairer sect masters in the game. He was also one of the NPCs Qin Zhou liked the most.

“Is that Jingning Wood very useful to you, Senior?” the Sect Master asked. “Jingning Wood can also be used as an ingredient for elixirs.”

“I’ve heard of that,” the Sect Master said. “In the past, alchemists did indeed visit Shanning Realm to obtain Jingning Wood for refining elixirs, claiming it could reset a spirit beast’s innate talents.”

Beast tamers, after all, fundamentally rely on spirit beasts for combat.

When a spirit beast’s innate abilities improve, the beast tamer’s overall strength is greatly enhanced.

Qin Zhou: “When Jingning Wood is mixed into elixirs, its primary function is to soothe a spirit beast’s wild nature and alleviate its pain; when it comes to refining innate talents, its effectiveness is somewhat lacking.” What Qin Zhou sought was solely the soothing effect of Jingning Wood.

It can neutralize the harshness of the Marrow Cleansing Pill and alleviate the pain felt by the user.

If the two could be combined, Zhanyu’s body would be able to withstand the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

The Sect Master said respectfully, “Senior, you are a master of artifact forging. I didn’t realize you were also skilled in alchemy…” 

“I know a thing or two,” Qin Zhou nodded.

With the Jingning Wood in hand, the only remaining objective of this journey was the World Tree.

Meanwhile, Wen Jue had already arrived in the mountains.

As luck would have it, the place Shen Yun had brought him to was none other than the rear valley of Shanning Realm. There was an entire forest here.

Every Jingning Tree stood tall and straight, its branches and leaves lush and vibrant.

The area was enveloped in spiritual energy, so the entire forest thrived.

“What kind of trees are these?” Wen Jue asked curiously.

“These are Jingning Trees,” Shen Yun explained to Wen Jue.

“The spot where the spiritual energy is most concentrated lies just beyond this grove.”

Wen Jue followed Shen Yun forward.

After passing through the entire Jingning forest, they came upon a vast clearing in the valley.

Even as he approached, he could feel the dense spiritual energy washing over him, carrying a dampness as if the energy had condensed into droplets of water, settling on his eyelashes and between his lips.

Wen Jue stopped in his tracks, his expression grave.

He had experienced this sensation before—though not quite as intense—and he was certain he remembered it.

It was the feeling he’d had back when the Zhutian Realm was still abundant with spiritual energy, when the Tongtian Secret Realm had first opened, and Qin Zhou had led their group into it. Back then, the World Tree stood right before their eyes, its branches and leaves lush and teeming with majestic vitality. The very air they breathed was filled with that rich, almost damp spiritual energy. The World Tree of the Spirit Mountain Realm must be here. Wen Jue had only to sense that spiritual energy to be certain of it.

At that very moment, Wen Jue couldn’t help but look up.

What he had seen back then was the World Tree of the Zhutian Realm. But what he saw now was an unobstructed expanse of sky.

As for why there was nothing before his eyes, Wen Jue did not know. Perhaps the World Tree here, like the one in the Zhutian Realm, existed within a parallel dimension similar to the Tongtian Secret Realm.

How to open the gateway to this alternate dimension, and how to enter it—that was a whole new challenge. What was certain was that the migration of the spirit beasts was indeed connected to the appearance of the World Tree.

And the whereabouts of the World Tree had already been discovered.

It was often the little wooden puppet sat in the box while watching Yan Qi bustle about. Once they arrived at the blacksmith’s shop, the roles were finally reversed.

Yan Qi’s eyes lit up as he watched the little wooden puppet pull a miniature hammer from his pocket-sized Cosmos Bag. Lu San’s hammer was also a spirit artifact that recognized its master.

It could grow larger or shrink smaller.

But having shrunk to the size of a finger just for its master’s sake, the spirit hammer still felt a twinge of resentment.

“It’s unhappy,” Yan Qi said suddenly.

Lu San picked up the hammer and turned back:?

“An artifact spirit.” Yan Qi pointed to the tiny iron hammer in the little wooden puppet’s hand, no bigger than a pinky finger. Lu San paused for a moment before asking, “How do you know?”

“I’m an artifact spirit too,” Yan Qi said. As he spoke, as if afraid Lu San wouldn’t understand, he produced a tiny square cauldron. The cauldron had three legs, with coiled dragons adorning its body, and was entirely golden.

This was his true form.

Lu San reached out and touched the square cauldron, praising it, “It’s beautiful.”

Yan Qi looked a little pleased. “Thanks.”

The team leader had entrusted him with designing the NPC weapons, including the divine artifact used to combat the demon beast subdued by the Red Cloud Sea—all of which he had personally designed.

Although ending up as the Golden Dragon Cauldron was a bit of a twist of fate, Yan Qi was delighted to have earned the approval of a master smith. “Your hammer is also very beautiful.”

Lu San lifted the small hammer in his hand. “The village chief made it for me.” He really liked it. Having received praise from another artifact spirit, his own artifact spirit stopped causing trouble.

“When the time comes, I’ll be the one to take on the monster,” Yan Qi whispered, revealing his true feelings. “I’m a little scared. I don’t want to go.”

“Savior”—just the title felt like a huge burden. If he failed, would it be worse than having his boss yell in his face? Probably.

Because when the demon beast emerges, so many people will die.

“Don’t worry,” Lu San said. “Big Brother is a real fighter.”

Yan Qi stroked his little golden dragon cauldron. “But I still need to be prepared.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Lu San could only offer this reassurance, patting his hand.

If Big Brother didn’t go, he’d help out anyway. Yan Qi was his good friend.

His words of comfort were simple, but Yan Qi was still pleased. “Alright.” 

“Let’s make weapons. Hot weapons,” Lu San said.

When the conversation turned to a topic they both loved, Yan Qi’s spirits clearly lifted.

“Not hot weapons. The team leader said we can’t make hot weapons. Let’s start with this.” Yan Qi pulled out one of the blueprints—it was a beautiful spear.

Lu San knew at a glance whose weapon this would be.

Among the Lu family, the one most skilled with spears and halberds was none other than the Fourth Brother.

The Fourth Brother would be happy.

“This is my first time forging with my small body, so it might take a while.” Lu San gazed at the blueprint, his eyes shining. He had a feeling that the finished product, created from the perspective of his small body would give him a different perspective and result in a finished product unlike anything he was used to.

Perhaps this was a good opportunity for him to push past his limits. “No rush.” Yan Qi glanced out the window; it was still early. Besides, the weather was beautiful.

……

The weather really was beautiful.

Qin Zhou, sipping tea outside the blacksmith’s shop, looked up at the sky.

He thought to himself, the five gold ornaments were all finished—he wondered if Wen Jue would understand his meaning. Probably not.

At this thought, Qin Zhou’s lips curved into a smile.

……

Meanwhile, in a distant part of Shanning Realm, a demon wolf was still galloping at full speed, carrying its master toward Shanning Realm. The journey would take another two days.