Ye Shuang and Ye Tian would never have guessed it.
Those two guards they looked down on were, in fact, looking down on their mid-grade magical tools.
Second Elder had been a bit riled up when he first heard the name Ye Shuang, but after the guard’s outburst, he actually laughed. “Alright, alright, you’re both very sharp. Go on in and have the Grand Elder prepare to come out of seclusion. I’ll go arrange the other matters.”
Pleased with the compliment, the guards happily headed inside.
Over on the other side, Ye Shaohua had just completed the final step of artifact refining—carving the formation into the weapon.
The moment the formation settled, the silver short blade hovering in midair let out a soft hum before dropping into her palm.
Ye Shaohua tossed it to the floor with great disdain.
The short blade quivered slightly when it landed, as if deeply wronged.
The door of the humble bamboo hut slid open.
The visitor made no attempt to hide his presence. His white robes brushed the ground as he bent down slightly to pick up the silver short blade that Ye Shaohua had so carelessly discarded.
His dark, deep-set eyes narrowed a fraction, and his clear voice rang through the hut: “A top-grade spiritual weapon, and one that’s even developed its own consciousness—something that would set the three great sects fighting tooth and nail over it. And this is what you reject?”
“Give it to Auntie Liu as a gift,” Ye Shaohua said, brushing off her sleeves as she stood. “I was trying my hand at forging an immortal weapon, but it seems the legendary ones really are difficult to make. I’m stuck at the sixth-level formation and can’t break through for now. I might as well head home for a visit first—no rush on the breakthrough.”
At her words, Liu Yunchen’s hand, still holding the short blade, paused.
While a top-grade spiritual weapon wasn’t quite an immortal weapon, a top-grade offensive spiritual weapon was no less formidable than the lowest-grade immortal artifacts. Liu Yunchen wasn’t joking in the slightest.
If this top-grade spiritual weapon ever found its way to the outside world, it would throw the entire cultivation world into chaos. The great sects would gladly sacrifice a cultivator at the Divinity-Splitting stage if it meant securing this treasure.
This gift was undeniably extravagant.
He tilted his head slightly, his voice carrying a hint of lazy amusement: “…A dowry?”
“Give it back. Thank you.” After going through so many worlds, Ye Shaohua couldn’t be bothered with him anymore.
Still, this world was one of the longest she’d experienced out of all her journeys. Including the time-accelerated training, she’d already been here for about thirty-odd years, and there was still no sign of her mission being completed.
But at this point, Ye Yuan no longer posed any real threat to her. Her main quest, tied to artifact refining, had actually become the simplest part of it all. Her focus now was entirely on the Ye family and on advancing her forging skills.
As for things she’d taken into her hands? Liu Yunchen had no intention of giving them back.
He casually tossed her a spatial ring.
“Everything you asked for last time is in this ring.” At Ye Shaohua’s current level, the things she wanted were hardly ordinary. Luckily, Liu Yunchen was something of a loophole—though it took considerable effort, he’d managed to get everything she requested. “Your Grand Elder is waiting outside for you. I’m going home to rest for a couple of days. I’ll come find you at the Ye estate tomorrow.”
After months of nonstop travel, Liu Yunchen wasn’t in the best shape.
Besides, the Ye family’s Grand Elder had always held a prejudice against him. Liu Yunchen instinctively felt that he couldn’t handle that old man in his current state, so he decided to recharge overnight and return the next day.
Over the past three years, Ye Shaohua had also refined quite a few Foundation Establishment Pills. Every clan disciple had several in their possession.
The Grand Elder, who had once thought he had no chance of reaching Foundation Establishment, was shocked when Ye Shaohua shoved eight Foundation Establishment Pills at him at once. The pills cleansed his marrow and forged his meridians, successfully pushing him to Foundation Establishment. Thanks to the time-accelerated formation with its abundant spiritual energy and the steady stream of spiritual herbs Ye Shaohua provided, he had now reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.
In just fifteen days, the Grand Elder would face his Forty-Ninth Heavenly Tribulation—the trial for breaking into the Golden Core stage.
Ye Shaohua had initially hoped to forge an immortal weapon before then to help him safely weather the tribulation, but she hadn’t succeeded.
Still, she’d come out early. She absolutely had to keep a close watch on the Grand Elder’s tribulation—no mistakes could be allowed.
That said, even though the Grand Elder was now only one step away from Golden Core, he still couldn’t sense the presence of another person inside the bamboo hut.
Liu Yunchen slipped past the Grand Elder and headed back to the Liu family.
“Look at you, running off again for two whole months. How can Miss Ye possibly take a liking to someone like you if you don’t shape up?” Lady Liu couldn’t help grumbling when she saw her son’s state.
Lord Liu gave a light snort. “Shaohua must have been cursed with terrible luck in her past life.”
Liu Yunchen: “…”
He silently pulled out the top-grade spiritual weapon Ye Shaohua had given him and casually handed it to his mother. “Mother, this is a weapon Little Shaohua sent for you.”
Hearing that Ye Shaohua had gifted her something again, Lady Liu blinked in surprise.
Then she took it joyfully. “Shaohua sent me another gift? Is she still doing her blacksmithing? But why a short blade this time instead of hairpins or something?”
Over the past two years, Ye Shaohua had frequently sent her small presents—things like hairpins, bracelets, and sashes of indescribable material.
Putting aside everything else, every item Ye Shaohua sent wasn’t necessarily extravagantly valuable, but they were all absolutely stunning. Lady Liu felt that whenever she wore something from her, she seemed sharper than usual when playing dominoes with the other noble ladies.
And maybe it was just her imagination, but over the past couple of years, she’d run into friends who kept telling her she looked younger, even asking if she’d splurged on Youth Preservation Pills at the auction house.
But this time, a short blade was definitely an odd choice.
Still, even if she didn’t quite understand, Lady Liu thought the blade looked quite exquisite—very different from the usual market finds—and she was delighted all the same.
“Son, you should get your act together and set up a blacksmith shop for our family. Otherwise, when Shaohua marries into our house, she won’t even have a place to pursue her hobby!” At that thought, Lady Liu shot Liu Yunchen a glance.
If the Ye family could indulge Ye Shaohua, there was no reason the Liu family couldn’t do the same.
Earlier, when Liu Yunchen had first delivered a hairpin from Ye Shaohua, Lady Liu had asked him about it. He hadn’t openly mentioned artifact refining—that matter wasn’t ready to be made public yet—so he’d brushed it off, saying it was just an ordinary ornament and that Ye Shaohua enjoyed blacksmithing.
He never expected that rumor to spread… and now the whole city knew.
He: “…Mhm.”
