Chapter Bonanza (4/10)

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“Great-Grandmaster, is this the Tree Spirit Vine?” In the forging workshop, Yin Lifeng craned his neck, unable to resist his curiosity about the vine-root-like material in Qin Zhou’s hand.

Qin Zhou nodded.

“My junior master once told me this Tree Spirit Vine is a severed root from the World Tree that supports the heavens and earth. When I was little, I actually believed it—truly thought such a tree existed.” But looking at it now as an adult, there was no tree between heaven and earth.

“He didn’t deceive you.”

Yin Lifeng: ?!

Qin Zhou pondered, “Indeed, a World Tree that supports heaven and earth exists in this world. But it’s not here.”

The World Tree does exist. Qin Zhou remembered that place—the backdrop of the Sky-Piercing Arena was that colossal World Tree. Its evergreen, lush canopy stretched all the way into the clouds, as if truly supporting the heavens and earth.

As a ‘cross-server’ event, Qin Zhou had often seen that tree when leading villagers to battle in the Sky Piercing Arena.

The World Tree existed within the game’s lore, and the chronicles indeed recorded the origin of the Tree Spirit Vine.

However, ordinary people could not obtain the Tree Spirit Vine.

Like Celestial Meteorite Iron, it was also a reward from the Heaven-PiercingLeaderboard. Looking back now, most of his top-tier inventory came from the Heaven-Piercing Arena.

“I should be the one who told Zhanyu that story,” Qin Zhou added.

Yin Lifeng: “…”

After a moment, Yin Lifeng suddenly blurted out, “Great Grandmaster, are you the Lord of All Heavens?”

This time, it was Qin Zhou who fell silent.

He said nothing, merely twirling the Tree Spirit Vine in his hand.

Yin Lifeng:?

What did this silence mean… yes or no?

Zhanyu possessed an stonishing intellect, while this young disciple seemed to have a beast-like intuition.

Children like this, back in the day, would have been taken home by him.

As if not hearing, Qin Zhou changed the subject. “Though the Tree Spirit Vine is a material, its texture is far softer than celestial meteorite iron. No smelting or recasting is needed. First, we must shape it.”

Qin Zhou tore the Tree Spirit Vine in his hand into finer strands with his spiritual energy.

Wrapping it around his hand, he began weaving rapidly.

Pressing one strand over another.

Weaving through, weaving back.

A small, hollow-centered net gradually took shape between his fingers.

Yin Lifeng:?

Wait, how is this woven?

Does artifact forging require this kind of weaving skill?

Qin Zhou continued weaving as he explained, “This actually belongs to the art of bamboo weaving. A true master can create bamboo items that are watertight.”

Yin Lifeng nodded emphatically, “Impressive.”

Experience +1.

“It’s just… I didn’t see clearly. Grandmaster, could I watch again?” Yin Lifeng swallowed hard and asked, thickening his skin.

Qin Zhou’s weaving motions halted.

Lu San’s great-grandson had a different temperament than Lu San himself. Even when Lu San didn’t understand something, he would just watch silently, memorize it, and then figure out the problem on his own when he wasn’t around. Only when he was truly stuck would he come to ask him directly.

Yin Lifeng, however, was clearly more lively than Lu San.

Qin Zhou pulled out another tree spirit vine. “You can follow my movements.”

Yin Lifeng’s heart sank. This… another tree spirit vine!!

“Great Grandmaster, this is… I’ll ruin the material.”

“It’s tougher than you,” Qin Zhou stated truthfully. As a severed root of the World Tree, the Tree Spirit Vine possessed considerable resilience.

Though it could be torn into strands—altering its form—this did not diminish its spiritual essence as a seventh-tier material.

To activate the Tree Spirit Vine’s full potential as a seventh-tier material, forging and tempering remained the only path.

Qin Zhou was also correct in saying it was tougher than Yin Lifeng. The Tree Spirit Vine required three Galaxy Hammer blows, while Yin Lifeng’s physique likely couldn’t withstand even one blow.

Yin Lifeng trusted him completely at this moment. After all, in the entire cultivation world, he was probably the only one who could casually pull out two strands of Tree Spirit Vine.

Without a second thought, Yin Lifeng quickly mimicked Qin Zhou’s movements.

Yin Lifeng’s hands proved unexpectedly dexterous.

While not quite matching Qin Zhou’s skill eightfold, he had grasped about six-tenths of the technique.

Thus, two small nets took shape.

“Next, we must fully activate the Tree Spirit Vine’s spiritual essence,” Qin Zhou declared, producing his own hammer.

The moment Yin Lifeng saw the Galaxy, he was utterly speechless.

Th-th-this…

A golden-red iron hammer!

S-super seventh-tier?!

Qin Zhou always managed to show him something even more astonishing when he was already stunned. Two Tree Spirit Vines casually produced were one thing, but his great-great-grandmaster… what was the deal with this hammer?!

“Great-great-grandmaster… may I… may I touch it?” Yin Lifeng whispered.

Qin Zhou:?

“Galaxy…”

The Galaxy in Qin Zhou’s hand instantly shifted its orientation.

Galaxy: No touching.

Yin Lifeng’s pupils contracted further. A spirit!

A sentient spirit!

“Great-grandmaster, you are the Lord of All Heavens, right?” Yin Lifeng’s eyes gleamed brightly.

Qin Zhou remained silent, simply handing the Galaxy over.

Even if it meant sacrificing the Galaxy’s appearance, he refused to acknowledge that ridiculously pretentious title.

Yin Lifeng chuckled softly but didn’t touch it, instead examining it carefully.

The artifact spirit wouldn’t let him touch it—better not provoke it.

The Galaxy stood upright, allowing him to scrutinize it.

Master, I like this kid!

Qin Zhou sensed its voice and nodded. Lu San’s great-grandson is a rather interesting child.

He’d never experienced such liveliness during artifact forging before.

Thinking back now, Lu San was still too quiet.

In this regard, Qin Zhou felt Lu San still had room for improvement.

“How has Zhanyu been these past years?”

Qin Zhou suddenly brought up the junior master uncle, and Yin Lifeng obediently answered, “Great Grandmaster, Junior Master Uncle has been doing quite well. Aside from his health not being the best, everything else is fine.”

“Others say the Immortal-Demon City has three city lords holding sway, so no one dares act recklessly. But in truth, it’s all managed by Junior Uncle. Only when faced with something beyond his handling does he seek assistance from those senior uncles.”

“Hmm.” Qin Zhou nodded, raised the hammer, and struck!

Yin Lifeng’s eyes brightened at the sight, then he continued, “Though it may sound like Junior Master Uncle is struggling alone, he’s remarkably capable. He’s established excellent relations with all the major righteous sects. Our Haoqi Sect and Yuanqing Mountain go without saying. Even the Demon Sect holds the Immortal-Demon City in considerable awe.”

Qin Zhou paused mid-swing with the hammer.

The Demon Sect naturally fears it.

With Lu Yi and Lu Qi on the Demon Sect’s side, Zhanyu wouldn’t suffer the slightest injustice.

“I see,” Qin Zhou nodded, shifting to another question. “Then, about what you mentioned earlier… the Guiyuan Sect is seeking allies everywhere, wanting to gather strength to confront the great demonic tyrant. What’s the story with that?”

At this topic, Yin Lifeng immediately perked up, rattling off the details to Qin Zhou as if popping beans: “Grandmaster, you’re unaware of this. The righteous alliance was actually proposed by the new head of the Guiyuan Sect. They united several sects, ousted the Sword Sect, and sought to claim sole credit for confronting the Demon Sect.”

“But when the secret realm ended, not a single one of them survived. Upon investigation, it turned out the Guiyuan Sect lost thirty Nascent Soul disciples. Word of this likely reached the ancient patriarch behind the sect, who was furious. Now they’re rallying self-proclaimed righteous cultivators everywhere, planning to confront the demonic overlord and avenge their fallen disciples.”

Qin Zhou’s eyelids drooped. “What cultivation level is that Guiyuan Sect ancestor?”

“He should have broken through to the Union Realm. Two days ago, I even saw lightning tribulations appearing in the direction of the Guiyuan Sect. Now that they’ve come all the way to the Immortal-Demon City, he’s likely already broken through.”

Yin Lifeng speculated, “If we can persuade Junior Uncle to summon several city lords from the Immortal-Demon City, plus a few Core Formation elders from righteous sects, we might just trap that demonic tyrant to his death.”

“But it’s not certain. That demonic tyrant from the Demon Sect is famously formidable.”

“You don’t know Zhanyu’s great-uncle?”

Yin Lifeng?

“No, Junior Master Uncle never mentioned him.” Yin Lifeng paused, suddenly puzzled. Was Junior Master Uncle’s great-uncle connected to the Demon Sect? He had no idea.

Qin Zhou’s hammer struck again, its clanging sound abruptly ending the idle chat.

“Ahem. The Immortal-Demon City understands the Guiyuan Sect’s intentions. Regarding the demon-slaying matter, I shall convey your message to the city lords.” On the other end, Lu Zhanyu was also dealing with the Guiyuan Sect’s envoy.

“However, the Immortal-Demon City has stood between the righteous and demonic paths for millennia. Pulling one hair affects the entire body… The city lords likely won’t yield easily.”

“Young City Lord, there’s no need for concern. Once that demonic tyrant is dead, the Demon Sect will be nothing but a rabble. Before they can threaten Immortal-Demon City, the righteous sects will wipe them out completely. My clan’s Patriarch is already a Core Union Realm powerhouse. Combined with several great masters from the righteous sects, that demonic tyrant will have nowhere to flee. If the city lords of Immortal-Demon City are willing to lend their strength, that tyrant will surely meet his end this time.”

Lu Zhanyu coughed twice more, his face growing paler. “May I ask, which fiend are you referring to—the Supreme Patriarch of the Demon Sect, or the one ranked first on the Heaven-Piercing List…”

“The latter.”

“If it’s the latter, then even several Core Union Realm cultivators might still…” Lu Zhanyu frowned slightly.

“Young City Lord, you forget—that demonic fiend remains imprisoned within the Immortal Restraint Prison. We have already dispatched scouts to investigate the vicinity. He is still bound by the Heavenly Dao. Even if he were to escape, only his divine spirit could emerge. However formidable he may be, without his true physical form, several of our Union Realm elders would be more than sufficient to deal with him!”

Hearing this, Lu Zhanyu’s frown eased slightly. “I see. That’s good then.”

Only after the Guiyuan Sect disciples departed did Lu Zhanyu sit back down. He let out a few muffled coughs, seemingly deep in thought.

After a brief pause, he rose and walked toward the exit.

Qin Zhou delivered the final hammer blow.

A crimson light blazed, shooting straight into the heavens.

Yin Lifeng’s eyes widened.

A seventh-tier spirit artifact—already?

Well, well. After Yuanqing Mountain, a seventh-tier spirit artifact has now appeared in the Immortal-Demon City, too.

Qin Zhou thought to himself: Once this is forged, he’d return to the village.

He had no desire for fame, much less to be called the Lord of All Heavens.

With that thought, Qin Zhou stowed the hammer and gathered the finished Spirit Storage Pouch.

Soft to the touch, it looked at first glance like a simple pouch for holding a peace knot. No one would ever guess this little thing was a seventh-tier spirit artifact.

Just as he was about to take it to hand over to Zhanyu,

Lu Zhanyu’s voice already echoed at the doorway, “Village Chief.”

Qin Zhou turned to see him frowning deeply and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhanyu’s pallid face had grown even whiter, his eyes filled with worry. “Trouble is coming.”

Qin Zhou:?

“The Guiyuan Sect is targeting my uncle,” Lu Zhanyu said, drawing a deep breath.