"This little girl has indeed started to cultivate."

Yuan Ming's heart stirred slightly, and upon closer feeling, he indeed detected a trace of mana fluctuation in her body.

Although it was faint, the presence of mana meant that she had already set foot on the path of cultivation.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps approached from outside, and the little girl immediately gathered up the sheet of cultivation technique paper, carefully folded it, and stuffed it into her bosom.

As the door was pushed open, Tuya had already leapt off the bed and threw herself into the arms of a dark-skinned woman.

"You little rascal, why have you been staying inside the house lately, not going out to play?" Hagon's wife squatted down, stroking her daughter's hair with concern.

"Tired, I've been unable to sleep enough lately." The little girl lied effortlessly.

"Lately I haven't made you do..." Hagon's wife didn't finish the word "chores" when she remembered that the pile of firewood in the yard had all been gathered by her daughter.

In fact, not only had she gathered it, but she had also broken those thick, adult-arm-sized dry branches with her bare hands.

"If you're tired, don't help me with chores anymore, we still have some money," Hagon's wife said.

Yuan Ming had initially given quite a lot of Silver Coin to them, and as a mother and daughter alone, it was unclear whether they were accustomed to living in poverty or intentionally kept their wealth hidden, but they appeared to live quite modestly.

"Mhm. I know, mother, is the meal ready? I'm hungry again..." Tuya rubbed her stomach and let out a "gurgle," she was truly hungry.

Hagon's wife stood up, smiled tenderly, and said, "It's ready, I made your favorite bamboo shoot stew with mountain chicken."

"Yay!" The little girl cheered and ran out.

The voice of the woman trailing behind her expressed some confusion: "Always able to eat and sleep, and seems to have grown taller lately?"

Yuan Ming's gaze followed Tuya to the outside of the house, where he saw a small farmhouse courtyard.

The yard was not large, surrounded by a low wooden fence without an entrance gatehouse, and the ground inside the courtyard was firm hard soil, not paved with bricks, yet it was swept very clean.

At that moment, a clamor came from outside the courtyard, as a team of over ten people riding various strange beasts stopped outside the yard.

Upon hearing the noise, the woman inside was greatly surprised and rushed out, pulling her daughter back into the house.

However, the courtyard gate had already been pushed open.

A slender woman, wrapped tightly in a white robe, wearing a straw hat, and her face covered with a veiled hat, rode into the courtyard on a beast that resembled a fierce tiger.

Hagon's wife was shocked at the sight and hurriedly placed her daughter behind her for protection.

But the young Tuya, who was not the least bit scared, peeked out from behind her mother, curiously sizing up the newcomer.

"Is it her?" Yuan Ming's mind was shaken the moment he saw the appearance of the woman.

Looking again at the group outside the gate, he noticed many tattooed knights riding beasts with half-bared chests, just like the team he had seen when he was lying unconscious by the river, the team that had delivered the medicine that saved him.

"It really is them!" Yuan Ming confirmed.

This woman was his benefactor; if it hadn't been for her antidote and healing elixir, he didn't know what might have become of him.

After confirmation, Yuan Ming was a bit puzzled, why would these people appear here?

Just then, he saw the woman riding the beast raising her hand and throwing out a Five-Colored Disc, which spun through the air and came to a stop hovering above Tuya's head.

The next instant, the disc shone brightly, and a green Light Pillar shot up into the sky, stirring ripples of Spiritual Charm.

The woman's veil obscured her face, so her expression was unclear, but her eyes revealed a hint of joy.

Hagon's wife was initially suspicious, but seeing that there seemed to be no malice, she steadied her mind and stepped forward to ask, "What are you going to do?"

"Your daughter has rare cultivation talent, we wish to take her under our wing. In the future, she will leave the ordinary world's joys and sorrows behind and set out on the path of cultivation," the veiled woman spoke.

If it were an ordinary woman, she would probably be trembling with fear, not understanding what the other party was saying.

But Hagon's wife had seen such cultivators before and also knew how cruelly these people fought; she instinctively refused and said, "You... you must be mistaken, my daughter is just an ordinary person, she doesn't want..."

"Mother, I want to go," Tuya interrupted before her mother could finish.

"Tuya..." Hagon's wife was taken aback.

"Mother, I want to cultivate and become like big brother. I want to protect mother and not be bullied by bad people anymore," Tuya spoke coherently and with unwavering determination.

The veiled woman saw this scene, her eyes flickered slightly, and the joy in her eyes intensified.

Without waiting for her mother to agree, Tuya already looked towards the veiled woman and said, "Sister, I want to go with you, but I have to take my mother with me."

"What if I say no?" the veiled woman frowned and said.

"Then I won't go. I want to cultivate to protect my mother. If mother isn't by my side, how can I protect her?" Tuya didn't hesitate and shook her head as she spoke.

At these words, Hagon's wife was taken aback, and couldn't help but let two lines of tears fall.

"Okay, let's go together. Remember your words today," the veiled woman nodded in agreement.

She then instructed her subordinates to help Tuya and her mother pack their things and leave together.

Witnessing this, Yuan Ming also felt sentimental, but he was simply unable to express it.

It wasn't until the caravan started moving again that Yuan Ming suddenly remembered he didn't know which sect the woman belonged to. Just as he was about to look around for any flags or signs, his vision blurred again, and his divine soul returned to his body.

When the scenery before his eyes cleared once more, Yuan Ming sat in silence for a long time, marveling at the wonder of fate.

The very benefactor who had saved him in the past had now taken Tuya, the girl he had saved, into their sect. He just didn't know what they meant by her rare aptitude. Regardless of how the sect was, encountering such a disciple meant they would likely not treat her poorly, he thought.

With the backing of a sect, Tuya's life was undoubtedly secured, and Yuan Ming felt somewhat relieved.

He got up, pushed open the window of the inn, and looked at the moonlight streaming in. He grabbed a meditation cushion and sat down on the floor, beginning to practice the Moonlight Technique.

...

Time flew by, and seven days passed.

During these days, Yuan Ming had gone to the Longevity Immortal Tower again to buy some elixirs to aid his cultivation.

He had intended to buy elixirs that could help with Foundation Establishment, but Zhuo Lingling bluntly told him that such elixirs were very precious and specific in their effects, making them a treasure that was priceless and rare to find on the open market.

They were not available at the Longevity Immortal Tower, nor in the workshops throughout Black Rock City.

Undeterred, Yuan Ming spent several days searching, visiting the Ghost Market every day to try his luck, only to come back empty-handed.

Tonight, Yuan Ming did not go out. He was supposed to collect his Eight Diagrams Mirror and snake skin armor the next day. According to the bald man, Master Huo Lian was going to start refining his magical artifacts tonight.

An image of the short and skinny old man came to mind, and Yuan Ming suddenly thought:

"Let's see how Master Huo Lian refines artifacts?"

He wasn't just being idle; he was genuinely curious why the old man, who could repair top-grade magical tools, only crafted low-grade ones. There must be a reason.

With that thought, he immediately took out an incense burner and lit some Black Incense.

As his vision grew familiarly blurry, Yuan Ming's divine soul once again plunged into darkness.

When his vision returned, Yuan Ming felt waves of intense heat wash over him.

He looked around and saw the casting furnace not far away, with fierce flames soaring, processing something.

The sound of "clang clang" hammering reached his ears. The rhythm was steady and continuous.

"Refining the embryo?" Yuan Ming was surprised.

But as he followed Master Huo Lian's gaze downward, he noticed the old man holding a piece of soft armor that clearly featured snake scale patterns, while in his other hand, he wielded an engraving knife, skillfully carving detailed runes into it.

The old man's technique was proficient; he engraved the spiritual patterns quickly, certainly surpassing Yuan Ming's own skills.

His gaze continued down to discover that the runes being inscribed were a rare defensive type, particularly strong against tears and thrusts but less effective against blunt heavy strikes.

This was particularly suitable for the nature of soft armor.

"Wait, Master Huo Lian is engraving runes, so who is refining the embryo? Could it be that they have a second, hidden Artifact Refiner?" Yuan Ming suddenly thought, puzzled and perplexed.

Unfortunately, the sound came from behind him, and he could not control Master Huo Lian to turn around.

"Master, business has been getting better and better lately; you'll probably have to work hard for a while," a voice came from behind at that moment.

Yuan Ming immediately recognized it as the bald man's.

"Could it be that he is refining the embryo? To simultaneously refine and speak, with the hammering sound unbroken and the breath during speech undisturbed, isn't he also a master Artifact Refiner?" Yuan Ming grew even more astounded.

Master Huo Lian did not respond until he had finished all the runes. Only then did he speak, "Don't talk to me when I'm engraving runes. Have you forgotten that?"

As he spoke, he kept his focus on the soft armor in his hands, not turning to look at the bald man.

"I'm sorry, Master," the bald man immediately responded.

"Go, fetch me a Spirit Stone, and be careful not to get it wrong. I need one with Wood Attribute," Master Huo Lian ordered.

Not long after the words were spoken, the bald man came over with a green Spirit Stone in his hand, asking in confusion, "Master, using Spirit Stones for Enriching can save Spiritual Power, I understand that. But aren't Defensive Magical Artifacts usually more suited to Gold and Earth Attributes? Why use a Wood Attribute Spirit Stone for Enriching?"

"What do you know? This Snake Scale Soft Armor's features are toughness, not rigidity; it's made to resist cutting and piercing, a sharp weapon. Naturally, we must use the Wood Attribute for its flexibility, which is what we call 'using materials according to their properties,'" Master Huo Lian said irritably.

"So that's how it is. I never knew that there was so much attention to detail in refining and enriching artifacts," Yuan Ming mused silently, etching Master Huo Lian's words deep into his memory.

No sooner had he agreed with this in his mind than a new question arose, "If the bald man is in front of him, then who is refining the embryo?"

While they spoke, the "clang clang" of the hammering continued steadily and persistently.

Yuan Ming suddenly found himself clawed by curiosity.

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