Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"Grand Ancestor, is this the Tree Spirit Vine?" In the forging room, Yin Lifeng leaned in, too curious to resist asking about the root-like vine material in Qin Zhou's hand.

Qin Zhou nodded.

"Uncle-Master once told me that the Tree Spirit Vine is a broken root from the World Tree that holds up the sky and ground. When I was a child, I actually believed it—I really thought there was such a tree." But growing up, he realized there was no tree between the sky and the ground.

"He didn’t lie to you."

Yin Lifeng: ?!

Qin Zhou thought for a moment. "A World Tree does exist. But it’s not here."

The World Tree exists. Qin Zhou remembered that place—the Celestial Ranking Arena’s backdrop was that enormous World Tree. Its towering, evergreen canopy stretched into the clouds, as if it literally propped up the heavens.

As part of the *cross-server* event, Qin Zhou had often led the villagers to take on the Celestial Ranking Arena in the past, and he frequently saw that tree.

The World Tree existed in the game’s backstory, and the chronicles also recorded the origins of the Tree Spirit Vine.

However, ordinary people could not obtain the Tree Spirit Vine.

Like Meteoric Iron, it was a reward from the Celestial Ranking. Looking back now, most of his elite stash had come from the Celestial Ranking Arena.

"I’m the one who told Zhan Yu that story," Qin Zhou added.

Yin Lifeng fell silent.

After a while, Yin Lifeng blurted, "Grand Ancestor, are you the Lord of the Heavens?"

This time, it was Qin Zhou’s turn to fall silent.

He said nothing, just fiddling with the Tree Spirit Vine in his hand.

Yin Lifeng: ?

Did this silence mean… was it a yes or a no?

Zhan Yu possessed astonishing wisdom, while this little nephew of his seemed to have an almost beast-like intuition.

Back in the day, kids like this were the ones he’d have scooped up.

Qin Zhou, pretending not to hear, changed the subject. "Though the Tree Spirit Vine is a material, its texture is nowhere near as hard as Meteoric Iron—it doesn’t need smelting or reforging. First, shape it."

Qin Zhou split the vine into thinner strands using spiritual energy.

He wrapped them around his fingers and began swiftly weaving.

Weaving in and out.

A tiny, hollow net slowly formed between his fingers.

Yin Lifeng: ?

Hold up—how’d he do that?

Since when did forging need knitting skills?

Qin Zhou said as he wove, "This is actually a form of bamboo weaving. A true master can make bamboo items that don't leak water."

Yin Lifeng nodded emphatically, "That's amazing."

Experience +1.

"Only... I didn't see clearly. Great-great-grandmaster, could you show me again?" Yin Lifeng swallowed hard and asked with a bit of a blush.

Qin Zhou paused his weaving.

Lu San’s great-granddisciple was different from Lu San. Even if Lu San didn’t understand something, he would only watch silently, remember it, and then try to figure it out on his own when Qin Zhou wasn’t around. He would only seek help if he truly couldn’t manage it.

Yin Lifeng, however, was clearly more lively than Lu San.

Qin Zhou took out another Tree Spirit Vine, "You can follow along with me."

Yin Lifeng’s heart skipped a beat. Another... another Tree Spirit Vine?!

"Great-great-grandmaster, this isn’t... I’ll ruin the material."

"It’s tougher than you." Qin Zhou spoke the truth. As a broken root of the World Tree, the Tree Spirit Vine had a certain degree of toughness.

Although it could be split into strips, changing its form did not destroy the Tree Spirit Vine’s essence as a seventh-grade material.

To activate the Tree Spirit Vine’s properties as a seventh-grade material still required forging and tempering.

It was true that the Tree Spirit Vine was tougher than Yin Lifeng; it needed three strikes from the Galaxy Hammer, while Yin Lifeng’s body probably couldn’t withstand even one strike.

At this moment, Yin Lifeng trusted him completely. After all, in the entire cultivation world, there was probably only one person who could casually produce two Tree Spirit Vines.

Without hesitation, Yin Lifeng hurriedly began copying Qin Zhou's weaving technique.

Yin Lifeng's hands were surprisingly nimble.

While not quite as good as Qin Zhou's, he managed to replicate about sixty percent of it.

Two small net pouches quickly took shape.

"Next, we need to fully activate the Tree Spirit Vine's power," Qin Zhou said, pulling out his hammer anyway.

The moment Yin Lifeng saw the Galaxy, he completely lost his voice.

This... this...

A massive golden-red hammer!

Above seventh-tier?!

Qin Zhou always managed to show him something even more astonishing when he was already stunned. Casually producing two Tree Spirit Vines was impressive enough, but his Grand Preceptor Ancestor! Where did this hammer come from?!

"Grand Preceptor Ancestor, c-could I touch it?" Yin Lifeng asked in a hushed voice.

Qin Zhou: ?

"Galaxy..."

The Galaxy in Qin Zhou's hand spun away.

Galaxy: Hands off!

Yin Lifeng's pupils contracted again—a weapon spirit!

And it’s sentient too!

"Preceptor Ancestor, you are the Lord of the Heavens, aren't you?" Yin Lifeng's eyes gleamed brightly.

Qin Zhou remained silent, simply handing Galaxy over directly.

Even if it meant pimping out Galaxy, he refused to acknowledge that overly edgy title.

Yin Lifeng chuckled but didn't touch it, merely examining it carefully.

The spirit wouldn’t let him touch it, so better not provoke it.

Galaxy stood tall, letting him look his fill.

*Master, I like this kid!*

Qin Zhou nodded upon hearing its voice. Lu San’s grand-disciple was a funny kid.

He’d never had this much noise while forging.

Looking back, Lu San was way too quiet.

In this regard, Qin Zhou felt Lu San still had room for improvement.

"How has Zhan Yu been these years?"

Qin Zhou suddenly brought up his junior uncle, and Yin Lifeng obediently replied, "Preceptor Ancestor, Junior Uncle has been doing great. Other than his health acting up, everything else is fine."

"People claim the Immortal-Demon City is held together by its three lords, so no one dares act recklessly. But in truth, it’s Junior Uncle who manages everything. He only calls in those grand-uncles for the really tough fights."

"Hmm." Qin Zhou nodded, then—BANG!—brought the hammer down.

Yin Lifeng’s eyes lit up watching, then continued, "Though it might sound like Junior Uncle is struggling alone, he’s actually very capable. He’s got solid ties with the big righteous sects. Forget our Haoqi Sect and Yuanqing Mountain, even the demonic sects fear the Immortal-Demon City."

Qin Zhou paused mid-swing.

Of course the demonic sects were scared.

With Lu Yi and Lu Qi backing him, Zhan Yu wouldn’t suffer the slightest grievance.

"I see." Qin Zhou nodded and changed the subject. "Then, what’s this I heard earlier about the Guiyuan Sect rallying allies to unite against the great demon?"

At this, Yin Lifeng immediately perked up, words tumbling out like dice: "Preceptor Ancestor, you may not know this. The Righteous Path Alliance was proposed by the Guiyuan Sect’s new Sovereign, uniting several sects to exclude the Sword Sect and monopolize the credit for opposing the demonic sects."

"But after the secret realm ended, none of them came out alive. Upon closer inquiry, it turned out the Guiyuan Sect lost thirty Nascent Soul-stage disciples. The sect’s old monster probably found out and hit the roof. Now they’re rounding up every self-righteous faction to avenge their disciples by targeting the demon."

Qin Zhou’s eyelids drooped. "What’s the cultivation level of that Guiyuan Sect ancestor?"

"Must’ve just hit Unity Realm. Pretty sure I saw tribulation lightning in the Guiyuan Sect’s direction two days ago. If they’re here now, they pulled it off."

Yin Lifeng speculated, "If they can persuade Junior Uncle to mobilize the city lords and gather other Unity Realm ancestors from righteous sects, they might just pull off killing the demon."

"But it’s not certain. That demonic sect boss is no joke."

"You’ve never heard of Zhan Yu’s uncle?"

Yin Lifeng blinked. 'Huh?'

"I don't know. Shishu never mentioned him to me." Yin Lifeng paused, suddenly puzzled. Was Shishu's uncle connected to the Demon Sect? He had no idea.

Qin Zhou struck the hammer down again, the loud clang cutting off the casual conversation.

...

"Ahem. The Guiyuan Sect has made its stance clear to the Immortal-Demon City. Regarding the demon-slaying matter, I will pass along your request to the city lords on your behalf." On the other end, Lu Zhanyu was also dealing with the representatives from the Guiyuan Sect.

"However, the Immortal-Demon City has stood between the righteous and demonic factions for thousands of years—one misstep could upset the balance... I'm afraid the city lords won't easily agree."

"Junior City Lord, there's no need to worry. Once that demon is dead, the Demon Sect will be nothing but a rabble. Before any repercussions reach the Immortal-Demon City, the righteous sects will have wiped them out. Our sect’s elder is already at the Unity Realm, and with the assistance of powerhouses from the righteous sects, that demon will have nowhere to flee. If the city lords of the Immortal-Demon City are willing to contribute, the demon won’t escape this time."

Lu Zhanyu coughed twice again, his face growing even paler. "Just to clarify, is this demon the Supreme Demon Sect Master, or the one ranked first on the Celestial Ranking...?"

"The latter."

"If it's the latter, then even a few Unity Realm experts might still..." Lu Zhanyu frowned slightly.

"Junior City Lord, you forget—that demon is still imprisoned in the Immortal-Binding Dungeon. We've sent people to investigate the area, and the demon remains bound by Heaven’s decree. Even if he could escape, only his spirit could leave. No matter how strong the demon is, without his true body, a few Unity Realm elders are more than a match for him!"

Hearing this, Lu Zhanyu relaxed his frown slightly. "Understood. That’s reassuring."

...

Only after the Guiyuan Sect's representatives had left did Lu Zhanyu sit back down. He coughed quietly a few times, deep in thought.

After a short while, he stood up and walked out.

...

Qin Zhou finally landed the final hammer blow.

A crimson light erupted, piercing the heavens.

Yin Lifeng's eyes widened.

A 7th-grade Spiritual Artifact—just like this?

Well then, following Yuanqing Mountain, the Immortal-Demon City now also had a 7th-grade Spiritual Artifact appearing.

Qin Zhou thought to himself, once this was done, he would return to the village.

He had no desire for fame, much less to be called something like the Lord of the Heavens.

With that in mind, Qin Zhou put away his hammer and stored the freshly crafted Spirit-Containing Pouch.

It felt soft to the touch—at first glance, it looked like nothing more than a small pouch for holding protective charms. No one could’ve guessed this little thing was a 7th-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Just as he was about to take it to Zhan Yu—

Lu Zhanyu's voice sounded at the door. "Grandpa Village Chief."

Qin Zhou turned to see him, his brow tightly furrowed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhan Yu's already pale face was even whiter now, his eyes filled with worry. "I think trouble’s brewing."

Qin Zhou frowned. "What?"

"The Guiyuan Sect... is coming after my uncle." Lu Zhanyu took a deep breath and said.