Thanks to Katy for the kofis. enjoy the bonus chapters!!

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Wen Jue arrived.

Qin Zhou turned and left.

Once out of sight, Qin Zhou summoned Tunfeng and headed straight for the forging hammer’s location.

Tunfeng was too conspicuous, so he hadn’t summoned it initially.

But with Wen Jue here, he needed to move faster.

He should make it back to the Immortal-Demon City in time after grabbing the forging hammer and riding Tunfeng.

With Tunfeng’s speed, Qin Zhou traveled much faster.

Along the way, he encountered numerous spirit beasts. The moment they saw him, they bared their teeth and snarled, clearly unwilling to let him pass.

The closer he got to the forging hammer’s location, the more formidable spirit beasts guarded the area.

It seemed they were protecting something.

However, without exception, every spirit beast they encountered fled in panic upon seeing Tunfeng.

Tunfeng’s rank appeared even higher than he had imagined.

Thus, in less than an hour, Qin Zhou reached his destination—a barren Gobi desert where vegetation was scarce.

The spirit of the forging hammer had ceased moving, signifying he had arrived.

Sure enough, atop the golden sands stood a stone platform. Resting quietly upon it was an iron hammer. The hammer was a deep blue-black, its profound hue speckled with flecks of gold, resembling a starry night sky.

That was Qin Zhou’s hammer.

Strictly speaking, it was the only eighth-tier artifact in this cultivation world.

The term “Eighth-Tier” signified a supreme artifact standing above all others.

Qin Zhou was so certain it was the only Eighth-Tier artifact because its origins were extraordinary.

It was the first week after the official launch of the ‘Heaven-Piercing Rankings’ feature in the game ‘Small Cultivation Mountain Village’. In the inaugural rankings, Qin Zhou’s village had twelve villagers listed, making his ‘Small Cultivation Mountain Village’ the strongest combat-capable village in the entire game.

The Forging Hammer was the reward the official platform granted to Qin Zhou, the first village chief, at that time.

A true artifact in every sense.

Its acquisition sparked Qin Zhou’s journey into artifact forging. From basic weapons to intricate jewelry, nearly everything worn by his villagers bore his craftsmanship.

“Galaxy.” Qin Zhou murmured the name.

Suddenly, the hammer resting on the stone platform trembled.

Qin Zhou named it Galaxy. Firstly, because of the hammer’s appearance, and secondly, because in the game, tier levels were represented by ‘stars’.

One star, two stars—the highest-tier divine artifacts bore seven stars.

This hammer, named Galaxy, could effortlessly forge divine artifacts with seven stars.

Qin Zhou observed the stone platform holding the hammer. Surrounded by yellow shifting sands, this place must be extraordinary to serve as the ‘final gate’ for obtaining a supreme treasure.

These shifting sands probably wouldn’t dare be forced through without considerable strength.

“Can you come over here?” Ultimately, as a mere Golden Core cultivator, Qin Zhou could only ask this.

The hammer seemed to understand his words. It suddenly flew up, a massive hammer half a person’s height, and slammed down with a thunderous crash.

With that strike, a light screen fully revealed itself before Qin Zhou’s eyes.

A barrier.

This barrier bore a striking resemblance to the one Wen Jue had set up in the village. It required no barrier stones for sustenance. Yet, much like that barrier, it would likely alert its master the moment anyone took the hammer.

Just as Qin Zhou pondered how to proceed, the hammer began striking again.

Clang—

Clang—

It hammered away at the barrier with relentless enthusiasm.

The barrier’s creator likely never imagined it could block external cultivators yet fail to prevent the hammer itself from escaping.

Galaxy struck three times, yet the barrier showed no signs of damage.

Galaxy tilted its hammer, seeming slightly dejected.

Its master stood right before it, yet it couldn’t reach him.

“Keep hitting the same spot,” Qin Zhou urged with resignation. Galaxy’s hammer could shatter celestial meteorites—this barrier should be no challenge.

Receiving its master’s command, Galaxy redoubled its efforts.

Its posture mirrored Qin Zhou’s as he tilled the soil.

Dull clangs echoed steadily. Qin Zhou didn’t rush him, simply waiting.

Before long, a crack indeed appeared in the barrier’s spirit shield.

Suddenly, Tunfeng beside Qin Zhou let out a cry.

He looked over, Tunfeng’s sharp gaze fixed on another direction across the Gobi Desert.

Qin Zhou frowned. “Someone’s coming?”

Tunfeng nodded.

“Many?”

Tunfeng shook his head.

Qin Zhou asked directly this time, “Can we defeat them?”

Tunfeng shook his head decisively.

Qin Zhou frowned. We can’t win.

Suddenly, Qin Zhou thought of something and asked again, “An acquaintance?”

Tunfeng nodded.

Familiar faces.

So Qin Zhou remained still.

What was there to fear from familiar faces?

But Qin Zhou forgot that while they were familiar to Tunfeng, they might not be familiar to him.

When Xuan Yiling arrived, both Qin Zhou and she paused in surprise.

Qin Zhou: …Not exactly familiar, but somewhat familiar.

Seeing Qin Zhou there, Xuan Yiling was first taken aback. Aside from her brothers, how could anyone have reached the treasure’s location before her? Then, upon seeing Tunfeng, Xuan Yiling’s expression changed entirely.

Tunfeng’s origins were well known to her. It was a gift from Brother Lu Er to Lu Xiao, yet now it appeared here, controlled by someone else.

Xuan Yiling immediately assumed Qin Zhou was a demon cultivator.

Thus, before Qin Zhou could speak, she declared, “I’m only here to guide the Righteous Path Alliance. I have no interest in this treasure.”

She glanced back and caught sight of the object on the stone platform, her eye twitching.

No one could possibly take this thing away.

For the Righteous Alliance to covet it? They were dreaming.

“They actually brought this hammer to fool people,” Xuan Yiling sneered.

An eighth-tier master-bound hammer—not just ordinary cultivators, but even Senior Brother Lu Yi couldn’t wield it.

This supreme treasure… was it pathetic or extravagant?

“If you value your life, you’d better leave. The Righteous Path Alliance should be arriving soon. I won’t protect you then. Of course, if you can produce enough spirit stones to guarantee your safety, I might reconsider.” Xuan Yiling pulled a chair from her Cosmos Bag and sat down, her diviner’s robe draped over the edge of the shifting sands.

The Xuan Yiling before him bore no resemblance to the Xiao Baiyi Qin Zhou remembered, save for her face.

Qin Zhou recalled Xiao Baiyi as lively and fond of color.

The Xiao Baiyi before him, from her attire to her demeanor, showed not a trace of liveliness—she seemed almost lifeless.

“Why are you helping the righteous faction?” Qin Zhou asked.

Xuan Yiling hadn’t expected this Golden Core junior to actually ask her a question. But she wasn’t as unapproachable as others imagined, so she replied, “They pay better.”

“Those who are content can leave this place with some decent spiritual treasures. But those who are greedy beyond measure will never escape this secret realm. I’m just earning a little extra on the side, as long as I don’t interfere with my brothers’ affairs.“

”Why are you guarding this place? Did your Elder Wen order you to stand watch?” Xuan Yiling was puzzled. Why would the Demon Sect station someone here, especially a mere Gold Core cultivator?

The young cultivator Qin Zhou paused. Elder Wen?

Someone surnamed Wen? Coincidentally, he knew one.

“The hammer’s stirring. Elder Wen sent me to check,” Qin Zhou continued.

No sooner had he spoken than the hammer on the stone platform, as if understanding its master’s intent, clanged twice more against the barrier.

Qin Zhou looked at Xuan Yiling, signaling, See? That’s exactly it.

Xuan Yiling: “…”

But Xuan Yiling reacted in a split second, drawing her weapon—a nine-section whip.

Utterly unexpected. She looked like a divination sorceress, yet the weapon she produced… that whip in her hands didn’t look like something to trifle with.

Qin Zhou: “…” Alright, he remembered now. He had forged that whip himself.

“Did you think you could fool me? He sent a Gold Core cultivator to guard this place?” Xuan Yiling’s eyes now held a hint of murderous intent. At this moment, the slightest movement from the young Gold Core cultivator before her would trigger her to strike.

“The Elder Wen you mentioned wouldn’t let just anyone guard this hammer. Also, I’m quite curious—how did you get the Wind-Swallowing Horse and the hammer to cooperate with your act?“

Xuan Yiling’s words were sharp as knives, her gaze piercing through Qin Zhou as if trying to bore a hole through him.

Qin Zhou, however, remained unruffled. ”So, this place was indeed set up by Wen Jue.”

What was the true purpose of this secret realm that had endured for millennia?

“Who exactly are you?” Xuan Yiling fixed him with an intense stare.

“Don’t you have any idea who could make that hammer cooperate in a performance?” Qin Zhou paused, then called out, “Xiao Baiyi.”

Xuan Yiling froze.

A girl’s intuition was always a bit more accurate.

Only this time, the gap between intuition and confirmation felt unnervingly short.

No one could command that hammer.

Just as no one but her senior disciples would ever call her “Xiao Baiyi” again.

Yet there was one exception—

“The Village Chief…?” Xuan Yiling’s whip fell from her hand, her voice trembling slightly.

The Village Chief?

But how could that be…

“Mhm.” Qin Zhou acknowledged it with casual indifference.

Xuan Yiling didn’t know how to react.

She was the youngest among the Lu family’s hundred members. She was still small when the Village Chief vanished, but that didn’t mean she held no affection for him.

“I…” Xuan Yiling opened her mouth, her eyes instantly brimming with tears. “You still remember Xiao Baiyi…”

“Xiao Baiyi possessed innate strength. Unlike Lu Shi, who couldn’t lift with his hands or carry on his shoulders, Xiao Baiyi could haul four buckets of water from the well each time to irrigate the fields,” Qin Zhou chuckled, teasingly.

Xiao Baiyi was so eager to fetch water as a child.

Though a girl, she worked tirelessly.

Her favorite senior brother was Lu Shi. But Lu Shi was frail and delicate, spending his days tinkering with mystical arts. Xiao Baiyi adored Lu Shi, so she’d fetch four buckets each time, always saying the extra two were for Brother Lu Shi.

Upon hearing this, tears finally overflowed from Xuan Yiling’s eyes.

Besides the village chief, perhaps no one else would say that Xiao Baiyi was so capable, always managing to fetch four buckets of water from the well for farming.

Like a daughter reuniting with her long-absent father, all the pent-up grievances and sorrow surged to the surface at once.

Without another moment’s hesitation, she threw herself into Qin Zhou’s arms, tears streaming down her face—

“Village Chief!”

“Brother Lu Shi is dead!!”

The smile froze on Qin Zhou’s face.

Lu Shi was gone. He’d known this when he’d flipped through the registry.

But he’d always subconsciously ignored it.

He even avoided opening that registry altogether.

Qin Zhou had always believed he could handle the villagers’ deaths with composure.

Yet only when Xiao Baiyi threw herself into his arms, her sobs shaking the air, did he realize he might not be as calm and unfeeling as he’d imagined.