She sat cross-legged on the wooden bed.
With a shift of her thoughts, she took out the miniature Shu Xi Palace she had carried for a long time and held it in her hands.
"The power of faith… seems really formidable."
She quietly recalled the events at Yan Family Fortress, thinking of Mu Jialing who every night drew the Buddha Light Sun Seal on her gate.
"I wonder what technique that is. Even evil cultivators fear him. Can I learn it?
Buddha Light… should be something every demon cultivator fears."
Yao Ranran closed her eyes, recalling the moment Mu Jialing unleashed his move. Her palms naturally lowered the Shu Xi Palace, and in midair, she rotated it to form a series of Taiji illusions.
While she could not see, the palm-sized Shu Xi Palace flew above her head. The old Taoist temple seemed to vanish. Countless white dots flew from the villagers' brows into her body.
It was as if she had dreamed countless dreams, seeing the lives of innumerable people. Their faces were both strange and familiar, like the villagers she often saw.
In the dream, truth and falsehood mingled, fleeting in an instant.
She activated a hidden power within her body, and a layer of white light slowly bloomed. The Shu Xi Palace above absorbed the white dots. When Yao Ranran opened her eyes, the palace still quietly floated before her.
She looked at her hands and saw a faint white halo coating them.
"I cannot cultivate Buddha Light, so I'll borrow the power of faith to act as it. I wonder what effect it will have?"
She took out the Ancient Appraisal Mirror to examine herself. Her attributes had not changed; she was still a tenth-stage Qi Refining.
"This power of faith seems endless. Let it be consumed for now. Maybe tomorrow I'll see what it can do."
Muttering to herself, Yao Ranran stored the mirror, retrieved the Shu Xi Palace, and lay back on the wooden bed to rest.
Shortly after she fell asleep, the Shu Xi Palace in her arms rotated slightly, flashing a white light.
An elegant figure, An Xiao Lin, looked around in surprise and then gazed at her sleeping face.
"My body… how was it condensed?"
He raised his jade-white hands and rotated them before his eyes several times, his expression gradually turning astonished.
"She has obtained the power of faith!
My obedient disciple is far too impressive!"
Already surviving was his greatest wish, but he never expected that following this disciple would also let him meet a peer from his own era after so long.
Though they had met in battle, the fact he could appear at all meant she had never forgotten him. She had truly broken the curse and was not afflicted by the "forgetfulness" disease!
An Xiao Lin stared at Yao Ranran's sleeping face. "Obedient disciple, I never imagined there would be a day to see the light of day again.
I did not wish to die. I only could not allow everyone in Shu Xi Palace to vanish. But today…"
For the first time, his clear and gentle gaze showed confusion.
"Obedient disciple… are you truly one who defies fate itself?"
The next day.
The sun was high in the sky.
Clang, clang, clang!
Yao Ranran had been busy in the blacksmith shop for a long time.
The refining materials were scattered across the floor. She looked at the pile of half-human-high treasures and smiled for the first time that morning.
"Taking this opportunity, I should also earn some spirit stones in the village."
In a morning, she refined a batch of farming tools. With her current refining skill, each set of tools was at least a fifth-stage treasure.
In the cultivation world, a craftsman who produces their first treasure becomes a junior refiners. To advance to a mid-level refiner, their success rate must not fall below fifty percent. Above fifty percent, and capable of refining spiritual treasures, marks a senior refiner.
Beyond that is a master-level refiner.
Master-level refiners seemed nonexistent in this cultivation world. Whether in the original story or what she had heard, master-level refiners were extremely rare. Even in the Spirit Realm where Master Shang resided, there were only a handful—like near-extinct rare creatures.
Perhaps only two or three existed.
A master-level refiner could already refine immortal treasures.
Immortal treasures—the sword protagonist Shen Yuefu possessed in his youth, the Lushuangyun Immortal Sword, was one such artifact. He wielded it to dominate the lands before coming of age, invincible among peers.
Yet even with such a weapon, he suffered greatly. Immortal treasures had their own will and chose their master. Without sufficient ability, one could not control it.
"Spiritual treasures… immortal treasures…" Yao Ranran summoned a green-gold hoe from the void. Its handle gleamed brightly, the interior swirled with fine clouds, strong and sentient.
Her proficiency was now at its peak, and this green-gold hoe, refined with a surge of luck, had become a spiritual treasure.
"As long as I have money, I can become the next master-level refiner!"
Even Shen Yuefu's immortal treasures, she could one day refine at will!
"Boss, the spirit water you wanted is ready!"
Xiao Rong knocked on her door. Yao Ranran could see Tang Xiangyin and him, tall and short, behind the door.
She lightly waved her hand. The wooden door opened, and the blacksmith shop folded away.
Xiao Rong's eyes sparkled. "Boss, are we really going to use Xiao Tang's bathwater to water the spiritual plants?"
Yao Ranran nodded. "She owes me spirit stones. Let this slowly pay off her debt."
Tang Xiangyin blushed and looked at her gratefully. "Fairy, don't worry. From now on, caring for the spiritual plants is my and Xiao Rong's responsibility. I'll also learn cooking from Grandma Zhang, to prepare more spiritual food for you!"
Yao Ranran smiled with satisfaction. "Xiang Yin, keep it up. I'll be waiting for your delicious dishes!"
If only she could add a bit of part of Lingzhi meat, it would be even better!
"Boss, what's in your room? Wow! These are all treasures… and spiritual treasures!!"
Xiao Rong glanced to the side and saw the pile of farming tools Yao Ranran had refined.
"Yes, these are for the two villages and for Biliu Sect."
Yao Ranran explained.
Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin nearly had their eyes pop out.
"Boss, with their ability, do they deserve such good treasures?"
It was not that they looked down on them, but under Zhou Shengqian's careful management, disciples of Biliu Sect could at most obtain a single artifact. Even Zhou Shengqian and Zhou Lili themselves had few treasures.
Not to mention these farming tools, all of which were fifth-stage treasures!
"No problem. Let them pay in installments, and we'll grow together!"
Yao Ranran smiled faintly. With proper tools, the spiritual plants in the fields would thrive.
Xiao Rong quickly hugged her with teary eyes. "Boss, I don't have spirit stones, but I also want these things…"
Rarely, Yao Ranran did not push away the poor boy.
"You were working while I was making these. Naturally, I prepared a set for you."
With a wave of her hand, two sets of fifth-stage spiritual farming tools landed before them.