Li Youci watched Zhou Kai leave, and the cave abode instantly reverted to its usual deathly, icy silence.

For years, she had possessed no one truly trustworthy or capable under her command, save for her personal maid, Fish Baibai.

The Lawless No Word Heavenly Scripture was forbidden knowledge. Even within the direct line of the Li family, not everyone was qualified to cultivate it. She had never originally intended to pass it on to Zhou Kai. The implications were too vast; if exposed, it could bring catastrophic trouble.

But a Heaven-grade Spirit Root was enough to make her break the rules. It was worth the risk.

“Such unpolished jade…” she murmured, her eyes narrowing in the dim light. “If I don’t grasp him firmly in my hand, wouldn’t that be a waste of heaven’s gift? I need a sharp blade that is truly mine to use—one with limitless potential.”

On the other side, Zhou Kai’s excitement had not yet subsided, but his brain was already calculating furiously.

The profundity and power of the Lawless No Word Heavenly Scripture were beyond doubt. However, precisely because it encompassed everything, gaining even a basic mastery would be harder than ascending to the heavens.

He was currently at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. His immediate priority was Foundation Establishment. If he banged his head against this obscure, profound scripture now, who knew in which year of the monkey he would finally succeed?

I have a Heaven-grade Wood Spirit Root and an enlightenment buff, Zhou Kai thought to himself. If I use the Azure Spirit Qi Gathering Art for Foundation Establishment, it will be as easy as flipping my hand.

“Once I reach Foundation Establishment, my Divine Sense and Mana will surge. I can return to comprehending the Scripture then with half the effort. Since I have the Lawless No Word Heavenly Scripture as my ultimate foundation, I don’t have to worry about my base being unstable later on.”

Recently, he had finally understood the root cause of the saying, “The better the cultivation art, the slower the leveling.”

High-level arts demanded absurdly high Spirit Qi quality, Divine Sense intensity, and comprehension. The Communication Points requested by the System were essentially a tax to bridge the gap in these hard requirements.

If he could thoroughly master such profound arts, his foundation would be unshakable, benefiting his immortal path immensely.

But he was in a rush. He had another reason for urgency: he wanted to fully commit to the path of dual cultivation—body and magic.

Now that he had obtained the body-tempering art Starfall Myriad Manifestation Hammer, he naturally needed a weapon that fit his hand.

“Ordinary magical treasures either focus on Mana or Vitality. But this young master wants it all!”

Excitement danced in Zhou Kai’s eyes. “I need to forge a treasure hammer that can blast out a sky full of falling stars with Vitality, yet also manifest myriad phenomena with Mana!”

Once the idea took root, he couldn’t suppress it.

Fish Baibai’s cave abode was a stark contrast to Li Youci’s gloomy ghost domain. It was lively, cute, and filled with noise.

Before he even got close, he heard the crisp cling-clang of metal being struck, accompanied by faint, cheerful humming.

Zhou Kai landed in front of the cave and called out, “Senior Sister Fish, are you in?”

“Come on in! No restrictions!” Fish Baibai’s voice bounced out.

Zhou Kai walked inside and found a world of its own.

A massive furnace dominated a third of the space, flames roaring and heat waves rolling over him. Strange, exotic metals were piled in the corners, while the walls were decorated with an arsenal of hammers, tongs, and molds.

Seeing Zhou Kai enter, Fish Baibai grinned, revealing her pearly white teeth. “Yo, if isn’t Junior Brother Zhou! Did you think it over and decide my beating was actually quite good, so you came to thank me?”

Zhou Kai’s mouth twitched. “Senior Sister Fish, you jest. I’m here to ask for a favor.”

“Oh?” Fish Baibai blinked her large, spirited eyes. “Let’s hear it.”

“I want to ask Senior Sister to help me forge a giant hammer,” Zhou Kai said, cutting straight to the chase.

“A hammer?” Fish Baibai raised a delicate eyebrow, looking Zhou Kai up and down with amusement. “Junior Brother Zhou, you want a hammer too? Did you… gain some insight from getting beaten, and now you want to use a hammer to hit back?”

Recalling Zhou Kai’s disheveled state when she flattened him earlier, she couldn’t help but let out a pfft of laughter.

Zhou Kai’s old face reddened. He cleared his throat loudly. “Ahem! Senior Sister misunderstands. I am dual cultivating body and magic. The Grand Miss just bestowed a hammer technique upon me, so I lack a suitable weapon.”

“Dual cultivation? No wonder. With a Heaven-grade Spirit Root, it’s normal to take a wilder path.”

Fish Baibai paused, her expression turning professional. “What are the specs? Weight? Material? Special functions?”

“I hope this hammer can be driven by Mana, but also infused with Vitality. Ideally… both at the same time.” Zhou Kai laid out his ambitious plan.

“Stop, stop!” Fish Baibai waved her small hand in a ‘time-out’ gesture. “Junior Brother, your demands are sky-high. To make a magical treasure compatible with both Vitality and Mana without them conflicting—let alone complementing each other—is incredibly difficult. Tsk tsk, the difficulty is no joke.”

She pondered for a moment, tapping her chin. “How about this: I’ll first forge you a usable giant hammer. It will be primarily activated by Vitality, but barely usable with Mana. Later, if you find rare treasures like ‘Bloodline Secret Silver’ or ‘Dragon Elephant True Bone,’ we can fuse them in for a second tempering. Only then will you have a chance to meet your requirements.”

Zhou Kai thought about it. Reasonable. You can’t become fat with one bite. Hammers, like rice, must be handled one at a time.

“I’ll follow Senior Sister’s advice!”

“Good!” Fish Baibai nodded briskly. Then, she stretched out a small, open palm, smiling sweetly. “Junior Brother, you provide the materials. As for the labor fee… out of respect for the Grand Miss, I’ll give you a 99% discount. Three thousand Spirit Stones!”

“Three thousand?!” Zhou Kai’s eyes bulged. “Senior Sister Fish, you just beat me black and blue! And now you have the nerve to ask for money?”

He had hoped to rely on their colleague relationship for a deeper discount, or perhaps a freebie.

Fish Baibai pouted, speaking with righteous confidence. “One thing has nothing to do with the other! Beating you was the Grand Miss’s order. I was just doing my job, and I even showed mercy! Forging is my personal craft—I cheat neither the old nor the young. Besides, our Calamity Abyss Valley doesn’t do fake things like ‘Contribution Points.’ The Sect is practical, and so are the disciples. Three thousand is already the ‘Friends and Family’ price. For anyone else, it starts at five thousand, and that depends on my mood!”

Zhou Kai was speechless.

However, he knew nothing about forging materials. Where to buy? What to buy? He was blind. He might as well use this chance to curry favor with the little girl.

“Senior Sister Fish,” Zhou Kai forced a bright smile, pulling a high-quality spirit fruit from his Storage Bag and handing it over. “I’m clueless about materials. How about… Senior Sister takes me to the sect shops for a stroll? You can point out what I need, and I can buy it all at once.”

Fish Baibai took the spirit fruit and took a loud crunch. Juice splashed; her eyes curved into happy crescents.

“Mmm, not bad. You have some tact. Alright, seeing your sincerity, I’ll take you to the Inner Sect’s trading hub—the Three Watches Market. Prepare to have your horizons broadened.”

The “Three Watches Market” lived up to its name: it was bustling from the third watch of the night until the next third watch. It never slept.

As soon as Zhou Kai stepped into the market, he was stunned.

The entire district was built into the mountainside, streets winding in organized chaos. Shops lined every path, their bizarre signboards dazzling the eyes.

The shops here weren’t just varied; they were insane.

“Carefree Inn — Nascent Soul Experience Card! Only 998! Dream of the Peak, Don’t Go Home!”

A massive banner hung over a pavilion. Below it, fine print read: [We provide high-level Illusion Array services! Experience the supreme pleasure of being a Nascent Soul Patriarch! Split mountains, sever seas, and roam the galaxy… all in your dreams!]

Several cultivators were lying on special array beds outside, their expressions drooling with intoxication.

“That shop’s effects are realistic, but it wastes your Dao Heart,” Fish Baibai explained casually. “A lot of people come out with unstable foundations, genuinely believing they are the reincarnation of a Nascent Soul expert.”

“And over there.” She pointed to a street stall.

The owner was a scruffy Foundation Establishment cultivator with a beard like a bird’s nest. A wooden sign in front of him read: “Tongue War Heavenly Venerable”.

Below that, bold calligraphy declared: [Professional Proxy Arguer! Guaranteed Win! No Win, No Pay! Whether it’s a Dao Companion spat, mutual insults between disciples, or Sect debates—as long as the Spirit Stones are right, I dare to curse a Nascent Soul Old Monster until his Dao Heart collapses and he questions the meaning of life!]

The stall owner was currently screaming at a straw dummy, spitting flying everywhere, his momentum so ferocious it felt like he was about to curse the sky into collapsing.

Fish Baibai giggled. “Junior Brother Zhou, if you have a grudge but are too embarrassed to make a scene, hire him. Rumor has it the ‘Tongue War Heavenly Venerable’ once cursed a Golden Core Elder until the man went into seclusion for three years out of shame.”

Zhou Kai’s eye twitched. This is a valid profession here?

Walking further, it only got more ridiculous.

A corner was crowded with female cultivators surrounding a sign: “Spirit Pet Matchmaking Corner: Give Your Furry Baby a Home!”

Not far away, a line of grim-faced men with swords on their backs waited outside a shop called “Swordsman Bachelor Hall.” The ad board read:

[Still troubled by a lifetime of loneliness? We provide the Full Sword Cultivator Charm Package! Customizable Sword Glare Trails (Heart, Rose, Puppy shapes available)! Plus exclusive ‘Sword Intent Pick-Up Lines’ to help you carry the beauty home!]

“Well, Junior Brother Zhou, is it an eye-opener?” Fish Baibai looked at Zhou Kai’s country-bumpkin expression with pride. “In Calamity Abyss Valley, we value following one’s heart. Carefree and unfettered!”

But what left Zhou Kai truly dumbfounded was a magnificently decorated building in the center of the market, swirling with immortal fog. The plaque bore three golden words: “Decent Pavilion.”

The name sounded decent. But the female cultivators at the door were dressed in barely-there silk, casting silky, seductive glances at passersby. They looked anything but decent.

“Senior Sister Fish… that ‘Decent Pavilion’ is…?”

Fish Baibai followed his gaze and covered her mouth, chuckling. “Oh, that’s our famous brothel. The owner says they do legitimate flesh business, so naturally, it’s called the Decent Pavilion.”

Zhou Kai felt his worldview suffering a billion points of damage.

Unfazed, Fish Baibai grabbed the dazed Zhou Kai and dragged him forward. “Stop staring. Buying materials is more important. To forge your hammer, we need special Refined Gold and Heavywood. I know a place with the best stock.”

After seven turns and eight bends, Fish Baibai stopped in front of a shop with a grand sign: “Material Brilliance.”