The two of them walked side by side through the streets of Sacrifice City.
For a while, neither spoke.
The city at night was unusually lively. Spirit lamps cast soft light across the stone-paved roads, and distant voices from taverns and auction halls drifted through the air, mingling with the metallic scent unique to this city. Yet between Xiao Yan and Xun'er, there was only a quiet that felt strangely natural.
"I can help you," Xun'er said softly, her gaze lowered.
Xiao Yan was startled for a fraction of a second, then laughed as if it were nothing, patting his chest with exaggerated confidence.
"Help me? Don't you trust me?" he said brightly. "I'm a genius, you know. From three stages of Dou Qi to Dou Master in one year. That bet—I'm destined to win it."
Xun'er didn't respond immediately.
She walked a few more steps, then suddenly looked up. There was a faint glint of mischief in her eyes, the kind that only appeared when she had already made up her mind.
"Then…" she said slowly, drawing out the word, "Xun'er wants Xiao Yan gege to do her a favor. Can he?"
Xiao Yan's steps faltered almost imperceptibly.
"Hm?" He glanced sideways at her, an inexplicable sense of caution flickering in his heart. "What favor?"
Xun'er smiled, her expression gentle and innocent.
"Xun'er recently…" She paused deliberately, then continued with a light, almost casual tone, "discovered that she seems to have a bit of talent in Artifact Refining."
She carefully watched Xiao Yan's reaction before adding, her voice softening with a hint of plea, "But Artifact Refining needs a lot—really a lot—of materials for practice. It takes too much time for Xun'er to gather them herself."
"If I order everything directly from the Sacrificial Shop, it's too wasteful of sacrificial coins. So Xun'er was thinking… could Xiao Yan gege help me collect some materials?"
Xiao Yan stopped walking.
He looked at her for a moment.
He knew better than anyone how tight his own schedule was. The three-year agreement loomed like a blade over his head. Every spare moment had to be converted into strength, resources, or sacrificial coins.
And yet—
When he met Xun'er's gaze, calm and earnest, he sighed inwardly and nodded without hesitation.
"Don't worry," he said. "Leave it to me."
The moment the words left his mouth, Xun'er's face lit up as if spring had arrived overnight.
"Thank you, Xiao Yan gege!" she said happily.
Before he could say anything else, she pulled out a scroll from her storage ring and stuffed it straight into his hands, clearly prepared in advance.
"Small matter," Xiao Yan replied reflexively as he unrolled the scroll.
His voice abruptly changed.
"…Already?! So much?!"
The scroll unfurled, revealing line after line of dense, unfamiliar names:
Red Flame Lizard Tailbone.
Hundred-Year Sunken Yin Wood Core.
Star-Patterned Black Iron.
Tier 3 Wind-Attribute Magic Core.
Earth Core Flowing Flame Sand…
Xiao Yan's eyes swept downward.
One glance.
Then another.
There were hundreds of entries.
"Is Xiao Yan gege finding it troublesome?" Xun'er blinked, her expression perfectly innocent.
Xiao Yan closed the scroll slowly.
"No," he said, forcing a wry smile. "It's just… Xun'er, you know my situation. The three-year agreement is pressing. I still need to desperately earn sacrificial coins for a Tier 3 inner armor. Time is really tight—"
"Oh." Xun'er nodded, her expression instantly turning understanding. The faint disappointment in her eyes disappeared just as quickly, replaced by calm composure.
She tilted her head slightly, revealing her true intent.
"Then let's consider it hiring Xiao Yan gege," she said gently. "I was planning to post a bounty mission in the Mission Hall anyway."
"As for the reward, we can calculate it according to standard bounty prices—or offset it directly with the spiritual artifacts I refine. How about that?"
Xiao Yan opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
He understood immediately.
This was Xun'er's way of helping him without bruising his pride.
After a long silence, Xiao Yan met her gaze and nodded solemnly.
"Then let's offset it with spiritual artifacts," he said. "I accept this mission."
From that day on, Xiao Yan's life was split cleanly into two halves.
One half belonged to blood, danger, and urgency—charging into life-and-death missions, fighting desperately for sacrificial coins, inner armor, and cultivation resources.
The other half belonged to dust, sweat, and endless searching.
Auction houses.
Black markets.
Chaotic trading zones.
And even the perilous outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
He went everywhere.
Not for himself—but for the bizarre list of Artifact Refiner materials.
Each time he dragged his exhausted body to the small courtyard Xun'er used exclusively for refining, what greeted him was often not success.
Boom!
A dull explosion would echo through the courtyard wall.
The ground would tremble slightly.
Thick smoke mixed with the stench of scorched metal would billow outward.
And Xiao Yan's heart would sink in perfect sync with the blast.
By now, he was experienced. He raised a hand to wave away the smoke and pushed open the courtyard door.
Chaos greeted him.
The Artifact Refining furnace still emitted faint wisps of smoke, its mouth scorched black. The ground was littered with fragments of failed materials.
Xun'er stood nearby, her cheeks smudged with ash, her neatly arranged hair slightly disheveled.
She stared at the dark red slag inside the furnace, her brows knitted in frustration and confusion.
"Failed again?" Xiao Yan asked carefully, suppressing both his exhaustion and the dull ache in his chest.
Xun'er turned at the sound of his voice.
The moment she saw him, her eyes reddened.
"Xiao Yan gege…" Her voice trembled. "I messed up again! The steps were right, the heat control was right—why did it still explode?!"
She pointed at the ruined materials on the ground.
"That piece of Sunken Yin Wood Core… and the Ice Soul Stone Powder I finally managed to get… it's all gone…"
Xiao Yan felt as if his heart were being stabbed repeatedly.
Each material name corresponded to a dangerous memory. Blood. Running. Narrow escapes.
A tiny voice inside him wailed:
My sacrificial coins… my time… my battered body… all gone again…
But when he met Xun'er's tear-filled eyes and saw the soot smudged across her face, all that anguish was forcibly buried.
He inhaled deeply and broke into a bright, almost exaggerated smile.
"What's this?" he said lightly, even teasingly. "Which Artifact Refiner became a master without exploding a few furnaces? When I learned alchemy, I blew up far more furnaces than this."
He stepped closer and gently wiped the ash from her cheek.
"Failure is the mother of success," he said warmly. "Every explosion means you're one step closer."
"Materials?" He waved a hand. "If they're gone, we get new ones. Your Xiao Yan gege might not be good at many things, but finding materials? First-rate."
"I'll get you new ones tomorrow."
Xun'er stared at him, warmth flooding her eyes. She nodded softly, lowering her head, her lips curving into a small, sweet smile.
Xiao Yan, however, silently exhaled.
Tomorrow.
Another den of beasts.
Another risk.
Time passed like this—rushing, explosions, comfort, and rushing again.
Scars accumulated on Xiao Yan's body.
His gaze sharpened.
Under relentless pressure and constant combat, his strength surged, and he successfully broke through to Great Dou Master.
Then, one night beneath a sky filled with stars—
Xiao Yan returned from battle, carrying several chunks of Blazing Fire Flowing Gold.
Before he reached the courtyard door, a completely different fluctuation washed over him.
Gentle. Restrained. Steady.
It brushed against his soul like a soothing tide.
"This is spirit power… and it's stabilizing the soul?" Yao Chen's surprised voice sounded in his mind. "Did she succeed?"
Xiao Yan's heart tightened.
He pushed open the door.
The courtyard was spotless.
No smoke. No scorch marks.
The furnace glowed quietly.
Xun'er stood before it, bathed in soft light.
She turned, exhaustion and joy interwoven on her face.
On her palm lay a small, exquisite ring—jade-white, threaded with flowing silver patterns, radiating a calming aura.
"Xiao Yan gege," she said hoarsely but proudly,
"the Lingxi Ring… it's finished."
Xiao Yan froze.
Then—
"It's done!" he shouted, laughing wildly.
He rushed forward, lifted Xun'er into a hug, and spun her around, joy bursting out uncontrollably.
"You did it! I knew you could!"
Xun'er laughed softly, cheeks flushed.
After setting her down, Xiao Yan stared at the ring in awe.
"Amazing… absolutely amazing…"
She placed the ring onto his finger.
"Although it's only Tier 1," she said softly, "it's the first spiritual artifact we refined together."
Xiao Yan closed his hand gently.
"I'll protect it."
As the silver patterns shimmered, a question surfaced in his mind.
"Xun'er," he asked, "where did you get the schematics for rings?"
Xun'er smiled.
"My family became VIP customers of the Sacrificial Shop."
Xiao Yan inhaled sharply.
Then his expression turned serious.
"Xun'er… can you help me ask about the conditions to purchase a Heavenly Flame?"
Hope ignited once more.
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