The competition results were soon in.

Baixing and Lu Wu undoubtedly took first place.

“Please have the Village Chief forge a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace for Baixing.” Lu Wu’s eyes shone brightly. Just as Lu Qi had sought a life-saving talisman for his son Lu Xiao, he too hoped his disciple Baixing could possess his own Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace.

The Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace differs from an ordinary spiritual energy Pill Furnace. A Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace was an object bound to its master through a blood oath. To an alchemist, it was like a sword to a sword cultivator—both a weapon and a soul-bound artifact.

The requirements for forging a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace were also extremely demanding. The higher one’s cultivation, the higher the grade of furnace they could wield.

He had once asked Lu San to help forge a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace for Baixing, but unfortunately, it had failed.

Now, the chance for Baixing to possess a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace was right before him. He was determined to seize it at any cost.

Baixing stared at his master in astonishment. Lu Wu’s long hair was inevitably dusted with dirt and grime, and even his gentle, flawless face bore traces of muddy smudges.

His heart suddenly softened.

Master, he had gone to such lengths for him.

“Master, I don’t want the Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace,” Baixing declared.

Lu Wu:?

“What are you saying?”

Baixing spoke softly, “I am different from you, Master. Though I am an alchemist and healer, I also cultivate martial arts. The Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace holds little significance for me.”

Lu Wu was stunned.

“You have no idea what the Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace means!” A crack appeared in Lu Wu’s usually gentle expression as he stared at his disciple in incomprehension.

Baixing shook his head. “Master, my mind is made up. If you are willing to relinquish this reward to me, then your disciple humbly requests that the Grandmaster replace this requirement with repairing your Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace.”

Lu Wu was both furious and anxious. “You… how could you even consider such a thing!”

His alchemy furnace… his alchemy furnace was already…

“Impossible! I’ve made my decision.” Lu Wu flatly refused, his usually gentle demeanor turning unusually firm. He bowed to Qin Zhou and said, “Village Chief, please forge a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace for Baixing.”

Baixing also bowed to Qin Zhou, “Grandmaster, in this competition, I exerted myself more than my master. Please grant my request to repair his Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace.”

“You…” Lu Wu was both furious and flustered. “At the start, the Village Chief never said whoever exerted more effort could make the request.”

Baixing remained silent, but the stubbornness in his eyes was unmistakable.

The others stood by, watching the master and disciple argue.

Shisi, puzzled, whispered, “Can’t we just ask the Village Chief to forge two?”

Lu Qi placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do you think a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace is some commonplace thing? Alchemists abound in this world, but those possessing such a furnace are few and far between. Do you know why?”

Wen Jue frowned and cut straight to the point, “Because it’s incredibly difficult to forge.”

The difficulty of the Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace lay not in the furnace itself, but in the process of infusing it with the alchemist’s essence, blood, and spiritual energy after its forging. Naturally, a furnace capable of withstanding an alchemist’s essence blood, and spiritual energy could never be an ordinary item. This was precisely why the higher an alchemist’s cultivation level, the lower their chances of possessing a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace.

Baixing was at the Nascent Soul stage. Even in the upper realm, someone at that level could be called an ancient ancestor. Precisely because of this, Lu San dared not rashly agree to Lu Wu’s request to forge a Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace for Baixing.

In the cultivation world, the status of an artifact forger rivals that of a Pill Furnace. If a top-tier Pill Furnace possesses the power to create gods, then a top-tier artifact forger possesses the power to create divine artifacts.

Creating a god still depends on the cultivator’s physical constitution, but forging a divine artifact… whoever wields it becomes a god.

The village chief before them was likely the only person in the world capable of forging a protective alchemy furnace for Baixing.

This was why the usually mild-tempered Lu Wu had turned pale with urgency for the first time.

Of course, Baixing was equally aware that only his great-grandmaster could repair his master’s damaged Dao-Protecting Alchemy Furnace.

“There’s no need for you to argue,” Qin Zhou finally spoke.

Lu Wu and Baixing both turned to look at him.

Qin Zhou: “I still haven’t found my forging hammer. The artifact refining can wait. Has anyone seen my storage shed?”

Qin Zhou wanted to agree, but he had placed his forging hammer in the storage, only for the storage itself to vanish.

Logically, the storage should still be within the village.

Yet after returning, Qin Zhou had searched every corner of the small courtyard without finding it.

“Is it that large spatial chest?” asked Fourteen.

Qin Zhou nodded. “Exactly. “

Just like a regular game inventory. Qin Zhou’s game storage had long reached its maximum level, boasting a full hundred pages of capacity filled with all manner of in-game items.

Though outwardly plain—neither gold-inlaid nor silver-trimmed, appearing rather drab at first glance—

This unassuming chest concealed immense power.

Half of its hundred pages held the fruits of Qin Zhou’s eight-year gaming career—all top-tier materials. Forging materials occupied several pages alone, as did alchemical ingredients. From celestial meteorites to seventh-tier alchemical materials, most were items rarely seen even today. Combined with the elixirs and spirit artifacts he’d crafted himself, they filled the entire warehouse.

When he quit the game, he locked all his valuable items in the warehouse, organizing everything before finally logging off.

But since his save file still existed, his game warehouse should still be there too.

Without his forging hammer, crafting artifacts would be quite troublesome.

The few people present all fell silent.

“None of you know?”

“No,” they replied in unison.

Their perfect synchrony struck Qin Zhou as odd.

Qin Zhou: “Alright.”

Without the forging hammer, the requests from Lu Wu and Baixing, master and apprentice, would have to be put on hold for now.

That said, it took the group an entire day to harvest all the fruit.

Then came the plowing.

They turned the spirit fields twice, loosening the soil to prepare for planting new fruit seeds.

Business as usual.

Meanwhile, Qin Zhou’s Little Mountain Village level rose once more.

[Little Mountain Village Level Up: Spirit Field Crop Level +1]

Qin Zhou thought to himself, Just as expected.

When the village was at Level 2, he could already cultivate Tier 2 Spirit Heart Fruits. Now that it had risen to another level, his spirit fields could grow Tier 3 Spirit Heart Fruits.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than another notification appeared—

[Due to the village reaching Level 3, the ‘Affinity System’ has been reactivated.]

Even Qin Zhou was momentarily stunned.

The Affinity System was a crucial element in most “character development” games. Most such systems featured this functionality: gifting specific affinity items to increase a character’s favor. Once affinity reached a certain threshold, special storylines with that character would unlock.

But for Qin Zhou, who had already transmigrated into this world, this system didn’t seem particularly necessary.

Qin Zhou lifted his head slightly and glanced at Shisi, who was tilling the soil nearby.

[Affinity: 80]

He glanced at Lu Er.

[Affection: 80]

Then at Lu Qi.

[Affection: 80]

Qin Zhou: …

What the hell?

Finally, Qin Zhou turned to look at the white-robed Immortal Lord tilling the soil behind him.

[Current Affection of ‘Wen Jue’ towards You: 90]

Qin Zhou raised an eyebrow.

A good one.

Wen Jue sensed his gaze. “Why are you looking at me?”

Qin Zhou shook his head. Nothing.

Though somewhat expected, Wen Jue’s affection rating being higher than everyone else’s actually pleased him.

“Village Chief, should we plant after turning this soil?” asked the diligent Fourteen.

“We should plant.” Qin Zhou considered. “Plant second-tier crops.”

Although the small mountain village had leveled up, he didn’t possess any third-tier Lingxin Fruits, and Snowflake Pavilion likely couldn’t supply him with that many either.

Lu Wu had brought him some third-tier pill ingredients, but clearly, they weren’t sufficient for farming.

This time, Wen Jue had used Spirit Marrow to accelerate the harvest cycle, causing the small mountain village to level up—both outcomes were unforeseen developments.

However, it did reveal that Spirit Marrow could function as fertilizer to accelerate crop maturation.

To obtain substantial quantities of third-tier Spirit Heart Fruit seeds, he would likely need to venture to the upper realm.

The breakthrough pill he needed for the Golden Core stage had been refined after obtaining the Nine-Sting Needle. It seemed the breakthrough itself could no longer be delayed.

He was actually quite eager to see the upper realm.