Li Meng looked at his Junior Sister with a sense of speechlessness.

Could she please not use the word “play” when referring to such a dangerous place as the Void Temple?

Couldn’t she maintain a more serious atmosphere? That was a perilous realm concerning life and death. Was “play” really the appropriate word?

Then again, thinking about it… Junior Sister saying she wanted to go “play” wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Li Meng had heard people talk about the “Void Temple” before.

Every time the Void Temple opened, the sect would hold an additional Inner Sect Grand Competition. The top five Inner Disciples would be allowed to follow a Supreme Elder to the Void Temple in search of opportunities.

While the Void Temple was indeed a dangerous place, it posed little threat to Nascent Soul cultivators. If one was only looking for some spiritual plants, staying within the relatively safe first level would suffice.

“Junior Sister, does the Void Temple contain something that can aid your Golden Core formation?”

Qi Wei nodded her little head vigorously.

“Mhm, I need a very special spiritual plant, and it can be found right in the first level!”

A thoughtful expression appeared on Li Meng’s face.

If it was just about gathering spiritual plants in the first level… then a trip to the “Void Temple” might be worthwhile.

He was currently short on rare ingredients for alchemy. If he could go to the Void Temple and plunder its resources, he wouldn’t have to worry about cultivation supplies before attempting to form his own Golden Core.

“Alright, when the time comes, this Senior Brother will go with you!”

Qi Wei’s eyes curved into crescents. She blinked at her little old man Senior Brother.

“Senior Brother, can you really make it into the top five in the Inner Sect Grand Competition? Master won’t be pulling any strings for you, you know!”

Li Meng chuckled softly, stroking his white beard.

“Underestimating your Senior Brother, are you? A mere Inner Sect Grand Competition is nothing in my eyes!”

Qi Wei smiled, pressing her lips together to suppress a giggle.

Of course she believed her Senior Brother. After all, he was incredibly capable. She was just worried he might be too low-key. If he held back too much during the competition, he might accidentally trip up.

She couldn’t very well sneak him in inside her storage bag when the time came, could she?

It wasn’t until two hours later that his chatty Junior Sister finally took her leave.

【+10 Favorability】

“Senior Brother, you can’t just slack off. That item might help you form your Golden Core too, so you must cultivate diligently!”

Qi Wei gave her little old man Senior Brother a sweet smile. Her petite figure leaped into the air, soaring away from the peak on her flying sword.

Watching his Junior Sister’s sword-riding figure gradually disappear into the distance, Li Meng smiled contentedly and stroked his beard.

With Junior Sister around, the atmosphere always seemed to become much more cheerful.

Is it because Junior Sister looks so young?

Yes, that must be it. Children always seemed carefree and innocent at heart.

No—innocent and pure-minded. Although Junior Sister’s age wasn’t that of a child, her temperament seemed to have remained at that precious stage.

Li Meng glanced toward the utterly quiet world beyond his peak’s barrier.

“Business is tough!”

He sighed deeply, then could only close his eyes again to meditate and cultivate.

The next morning.

Outside Moon Gaze Peak, an Inner Disciple arrived on a flying sword. He hovered in the air just beyond the swirling mists.

“This humble disciple is Inner Disciple Chen Feng. I seek an audience with the Master Artificer to commission a magical artifact!”

The Inner Disciple’s voice rang out clearly, amplified by mana.

Within Moon Gaze Peak, in the courtyard before the summit pavilion, Li Meng opened his eyes from his reclining chair.

“Excellent, finally someone has come!”

A faint smile touched Li Meng’s lips.

With a flick of his sleeve, the mists encircling Moon Gaze Peak stirred, parting to reveal a passage leading directly to the summit.

The Inner Disciple outside hurriedly guided his flying sword through the gap.

In the courtyard, Chen Feng arrived on his sword. He dismounted and landed gracefully on the grass.

Upon landing, Chen Feng saw Li Meng on the reclining chair—dressed in yellow robes, hair white as snow, yet with a face glowing with youthful vitality.

Early Foundation Establishment?

Chen Feng’s brow furrowed slightly.

A mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator dared boast about custom-forging spiritual treasures? Perhaps there was someone else here—the real master?

Although doubtful and somewhat suspicious, he still had to maintain proper etiquette. This was Elder Ruoshui’s territory.

Chen Feng offered a casual cupped-fist salute. His gaze flickered past Li Meng toward the pavilion.

“This humble disciple is Inner Disciple Chen Feng. I seek an audience with the Master Artificer!”

Li Meng, still reclining, glanced at Chen Feng lazily.

“What type of magical treasure does Senior Brother wish to forge? Please present all your materials.”

A flicker of hesitation passed through Chen Feng’s eyes.

He’s the artificer?

With a sweep of his sleeve, various forging materials flew out from a storage pouch at his waist, arranging themselves neatly on the ground.

Li Meng looked over the materials.

“A third-tier demon beast skull, metal attribute. A complete skeleton of a third-tier demon beast, earth attribute. Third-tier demon beast hide, earth attribute. A piece of lightning-struck wood. A lump of copper essence of decent Quality.”

The materials were average—nothing particularly rare or precious—but they were sufficient to forge a high-grade magical artifact.

Li Meng looked up at Senior Brother Chen.

“What type of artifact does Senior Brother Chen desire?”

Chen Feng had already decided on the artifact type before coming.

“I require a defensive-type magical artifact!”

Li Meng flicked his sleeve, gathering all the materials from the ground into his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

“Return in half a month to collect it. The fee will be covered by the leftover scraps from these materials you’ve provided.”

Delight flashed across Chen Feng’s face.

He was currently short on spirit stones—cultivation was inseparable from spending money. If payment had been demanded in spirit stones, he truly couldn’t have afforded a custom piece.

Originally, Chen Feng had planned to negotiate hard with this Junior Brother… Now it was settled without any discussion needed.

“Then I shall not disturb the Master Artificer further!”

Chen Feng turned, leaped into the air, and soared away into the distance on his sword.

This was Moon Gaze Peak after all—the cave abode of Golden Core Elder Ruoshui. The possibility of being scammed or deceived shouldn’t exist here.

Watching Senior Brother Chen’s figure gradually recede into the distance, Li Meng narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“So I’ve been looked down upon?”

Li Meng chuckled softly but didn’t mind much. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Very well, then let Moon Gaze Peak gain a Master Artificer named ‘Iron Ox.'”

Li Meng rose from his reclining chair and strolled leisurely toward the pavilion’s main door.

After all, this was his first customer. He needed to forge a proper Zenith Artifact. Once he established his reputation, business would surely follow.

With a soft click, Li Meng pushed open the pavilion door and stepped inside.

Returning to the pavilion, Li Meng entered the forging chamber.

He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and opened his Treasure Pavilion interface, browsing through its artifact library.

“I’ll forge a Yellow Luo Umbrella.”

That third-tier demon beast skeleton could be forged into an umbrella shaft. The demon beast hide could become its canopy fabric.

By inscribing three formation patterns onto it, he should be able to elevate its quality to the Zenith grade.

The number of formation patterns determined an artifact’s Tier.

Ordinary artifacts could only bear one pattern; their strength depended heavily on their materials.

Artifacts bearing two formation patterns were called Zenith Artifacts.

Above artifacts were Magical Treasures (Fǎbǎo). These could bear two to four formation patterns.

Above Magical Treasures were Spiritual Treasures (Língbǎo), which could bear four to ten formation patterns.

And above Spiritual Treasures were Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures, capable of bearing ten to twenty formation patterns.

Li Meng flicked his sleeve once more.

The third-tier demon beast skeleton flew out from his Sword Nurturing Gourd and hovered suspended in mid-air before him.

Li Meng formed hand seals with both hands and pointed toward the skeleton.

WHOOSH!

Five-colored spiritual light erupted from his body as a ball of True Essence Fire enveloped the demon beast bones, beginning the refinement process.