Chapter 32: The Plea for Help

Su Chen’an was a charming, free-spirited man who spent much of his life indulging in fleeting romances, never getting attached. However, at an auction, he fell deeply in love with Qin Xixue, who captivated him completely. From then on, he dedicated himself to her, doing whatever she asked of him.

In the original story, many of Qin Xixue’s powerful spiritual tools were specially crafted for her by Su Chen’an.

But later, due to certain events, Su Chen’an realised that Qin Xixue had only been using him all along. Heartbroken and disillusioned, their relationship shattered, and they parted ways.

By then, Su Chen’an had already become a renowned refiner across the land. When Chang Yu approached him to forge a natal spiritual tool for Qin Xixue, Su Chen’an refused without hesitation, humiliating both of them.

As the saying goes, “A small kindness can earn gratitude, but a greater kindness can breed resentment.”^[1]The original Chinese phrase is “升米恩斗米仇”, which literally translates to “A sheng of rice is a kindness, a dou of rice becomes enmity.” A more idiomatic English … Continue reading From that point on, both Qin Xixue and Chang Yu harbored resentment towards him.

Su Chen’an, a distinguished guest elder of the world’s most prestigious artifact refininers’ guild, not only rejected their request but also publicly blacklisted them from the Artifact Pavilion. He refused to refine any spiritual or magical tools for either of them.

Thus, the two sides became sworn enemies.

In the original novel, Su Chen’an eventually became one of the notorious villains.

His end, naturally, was tragic. In fact, the word ‘miserable’ could describe his fate perfectly.

He died just moments before his greatest masterpiece was completed.

—Su Chen’an was struck down by Chang Yu, who cast him into his own refining furnace. Using his blood and flesh as a sacrifice, Su Chen’an’s body fused with the forming sword embryo, giving birth to the first divine tool on Lingyuan Continent in nearly ten thousand years: the Xuanling Sword.

This sword was later bound to Qin Xixue, helping her ascend to unimaginable heights of power, capable of slaying gods and demons alike.

The memory ended there.

Chu Sang looked at her dashing and gentle Fifth Senior Brother with a mixture of pity and regret in her heart.

Su Chen’an pulled out a blueprint and examined it. “Who drew this?”

Tantai Ming eagerly raised his hand, proud of himself. “Our little junior sister drew it!”

Su Chen’an’s eyes, often filled with flirtatious charm, now showed a hint of surprise. “You drew this?”

Chu Sang nodded, and Su Chen’an asked, “You’re still quite young, and your aptitude is mediocre. You’re not a refiner, are you? Where did you learn all this?” He pointed to the design. “And this ‘gun’ design… It’s truly strange. In my ten-plus years of refining, I’ve never seen such an odd weapon. And these inscriptions—where did you learn about them?”

Su Chen’an didn’t think his juniors would joke about such matters, but he still found it hard to believe. “I’ve achieved some success in artifact refinement, and while I can’t claim to have read over ten thousand books on the subject, I have gone through at least a few thousand.”

“As for these inscriptions, they aren’t entirely unfamiliar. In the ancient texts on artifact refinement from ten thousand years ago, there were indeed records of adding inscriptions to tools.”

“But ten thousand years have passed, and most of those ancient texts have long been lost. Only a few scattered fragments remain, and the patterns are incomplete… Even if modern-day refiners wish to restore these inscriptions, it’s nearly impossible.” He sighed.

“However, the few lines you drew on this blueprint—though mostly simple, low- to mid-level runes—are unexpectedly smooth and natural.”

Su Chen’an fixed his gaze on her, filled with curiosity. “Even I can’t accurately deduce the connections between each rune. Where did you learn this?”

Tantai Ming chimed in, “Our little junior sister is a talisman master!”

Su Chen’an pondered over her for a moment before looking away, refraining from asking further. “The art of runes indeed shares some common principles with artifact refinement. In many cases, they overlap.”

“This magical tool can be made, but it will take some time.” He carefully put away the blueprint.

Chu Sang looked up, her eyes sparkling, “Fifth Senior Brother, I want to learn Artifact refining from you!”

“Why do you want to become an artifact refiner?” Su Chen’an raised an eyebrow, his narrow eyes containing a hint of amusement.

Chu Sang looked at him earnestly, stating matter-of-factly, “I’m poor.”

“…”

Although it seemed a bit unreliable, it was indeed an irrefutable good reason.

In the following days, Chu Sang learned artifact refining from Su Chen’an.

The biggest advantage of having a fire spirit root was the ease of choosing a profession, and the ability to switch careers at any time.

Besides sword cultivation, one could also develop side careers like becoming an alchemist or an artifact refiner.

“Look, this is hundred-year-old dark iron, this is five-hundred-year-old dark iron, and this is thousand-year-old dark iron,” Su Chen’an took out three seemingly identical iron blocks for her to see. “The older the dark iron, the blacker and deeper its color. It feels cool and smooth to the touch, and when tapped with a finger, it produces an extremely crisp ringing sound. As for how to distinguish them, besides a refiner’s daily experience, one also needs to use spiritual sense to detect the quality of the iron, which is more accurate…”

“Different weapons have different characteristics, and the raw iron needed for forging also varies.”

“There are about two hundred types of raw iron commonly used in the market. Besides the most common dark iron, there’s also this mountain-breaking iron, which is harder and heavier than ordinary dark iron, suitable for making heavy swords and hammers.”

“This raw iron is called Shenlo silk iron. It’s light and soft, suitable for making soft swords and long whips often used by women,” he continued. “Shenlo silk iron is expensive and extremely fragile, requiring very high forging skills from the artifact refiner. With the slightest mistake, the raw iron can be damaged like soft silk, unsuitable for beginners to practice with.”

Although Su Chen’an was a typical genius-type expert, his explanations were very orderly, clear, and patient.

Su Chen’an handed her several dozen books on refining. “Aside from remembering the basic raw materials, you also need to familiarise yourself with commonly used spiritual materials, such as Sacred Fire Mirage Skin and fire Jade. Take these books back and study them. Once you’re done, I’ll teach you how to refine.”

Chu Sang accepted the books and earnestly absorbed all the knowledge she’d been learning over the past few days.

The art of runes and artifact refinement were two entirely different disciplines.

Though she could design weapon blueprints, when it came to the actual practice, she realised how much more there was to it.

She allocated her recently earned skill points into Comprehension.

【Comprehension: 13】

“Little Junior Sister, how’s your studying going?” Su Chen’an asked when he hadn’t seen her for days. As expected, he found her buried in books, and it pleased him.

“I’ve memorised them.”

Chu Sang set down the book and smiled sweetly. “Fifth Senior Brother, why don’t you test me?”

Su Chen’an’s eyes widened in surprise. “It’s only been five days, and you’ve already memorised an entire book?”

Chu Sang shook her head. “I’ve memorised all thirty-four of them.”

Su Chen’an’s hand trembled, thinking he must have misheard. “What did you say?”

“I’ve memorised all thirty-four books. Test me on anything.”

Her words were outrageously bold.

At first, Su Chen’an thought she was exaggerating and didn’t take her seriously. But when he asked a few questions, Chu Sang answered each one fluently.

Su Chen’an immediately sensed that this matter wasn’t simple.

He proceeded to question her on all thirty-four books, page by page, without missing a single one, and she answered everything without hesitation. Not a single question stumped her.

Unable to hold back, Su Chen’an exclaimed, “Little Junior Sister, have you memorised these books before?”

Memorising over thirty books in just five days—he couldn’t have managed something that monstrous even in his prime!

“No, I’ve only read a few books on artifact refining from the sect’s library.”

This was absolutely unbelievable.

Su Chen’an really wanted to pry open his little junior sister’s head and see what exactly was inside! He quickly stopped himself from entertaining such wild thoughts—only their Third Senior Brother would do something that insane.

After a moment of silence, he offered, “Little Junior Sister, how about I teach you how to craft artifacts?”

“So soon? Don’t you want to teach me something else first?” Chu Sang blinked, clearly surprised.

“I’ve got nothing more to teach. Let’s jump right into practice.”

Su Chen’an dragged her to the forge.

—Distinguishing materials, selecting them, using fire to purify, removing impurities, fusing, refining again, and finally, forging the raw iron made from dozens of different materials into shape.

Normally, the process would end once the artifact was forged.

However, Chu Sang still had one more critical step left.

It was also the most important—inscribing the runes.

Chu Sang tried her hand at creating a small double-edged boomerang, called the Windbreaker Blade.

To truly give it the effect of breaking the wind, she needed to carve a ‘Windbreaking Rune’ onto the blade.

Though she could easily draw runes on paper, engraving them onto a weapon was a completely different experience.

The difficulty increased by tenfold—if not a hundredfold.

“Carving runes consumes a lot of spiritual energy, and the failure rate is high. You should practice on smaller objects first. Sketch the outline with pitch before carving,” Su Chen’an advised.

Chu Sang heeded his advice, carefully sketching the rune with pitch on the blade before slowly engraving it.

Normally, drawing a simple rune like this was something she could do in a few strokes without much effort.

However, it took her the entire night to finish engraving this single rune onto the weapon.

By the time she was done, she felt as though all her spiritual energy had been drained in an instant. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. Her hands trembled so much that she nearly dropped the blade.

No wonder artifact refiners made good money.

This was definitely not a profession you could simply take up on a whim!

“Not bad. You actually succeeded on your first try. Even though it’s just a small object, it’s still impressive.”

Su Chen’an recalled his own first attempt at artifact refining. He was around twelve at the time and had made a small dagger—without engraving any runes. He ruined about ten blades before he finally succeeded.

Chu Sang, being a talisman master, had steadier hands and a stronger spiritual awareness than most cultivators… Su Chen’an was surprised, but considering her freakish talent for memorisation, he accepted it rather calmly.

“Fifth Senior Brother, how about we make a bet? If I manage to memorise ten thousand books on artifact refining, will you grant me one request?”

“What is it you want?” Su Chen’an skipped straight over the betting part, getting straight to the point.

Chu Sang thought that her senior brother was really on the same page as her, making her smile even sweeter. “If I memorise ten thousand books, after I reach the Golden Core stage, would you forge a natal tool for me?”

“Deal,” Su Chen’an agreed without hesitation.

“Senior Brother, we haven’t even set a time limit yet! We didn’t say if it’s a year, ten years, or a hundred! Of course, I could finish memorising them all in a hundred years!”

“Even if you don’t finish, I’ll still forge it for you.”

Su Chen’an reached out and smoothed down a stray tuft of hair on her head.

…

A month later, Su Chen’an finally finished crafting a handgun for Chu Sang.

Chu Sang went to the back mountain to test the handgun.

Just as she was about to fire, a paper crane came fluttering toward her.

“What’s this?” someone asked.

Mu Chihui opened it and his expression changed slightly. “It’s a distress signal from Fourth Senior Sister!”

“Didn’t Fourth Senior Sister go home to visit her family recently? Why is there suddenly a distress signal?” Tantai Ming was puzzled.

Mu Chihui spread the letter out for everyone to see. “This letter was sent by the head of the Sikou family. He says Fourth Senior Sister was kidnapped a few days ago, and her whereabouts remain unknown.”

“The kidnappers seem to be cultivators from a local sect, which is why the Sikou family head sent this plea for help to our sect, hoping we can find Fourth Senior Sister.”

“Fourth Senior Sister got kidnapped again?” Su Chen’an was quite calm about it. After all, when it came to getting kidnapped, no one was more experienced than him.

In the sect, the two experts at being kidnapped were none other than Su Chen’an and Sikou Qiu.

The former was an up-and-coming artifact refininers, wealthy beyond measure. Su Chen’an was extremely flashy and flamboyant in public, making him an obvious target for thieves.

The latter… well, her name spoke for itself.

The Sikou family was indisputably the wealthiest in the mortal world, a financial empire rivaling even the Eight Great Immortal Sects and the prominent cultivation clans.

Sikou Qiu’s mother passed away early, and as the family’s only treasured daughter, Sikou Qiu was deeply doted on by her father.

Fearing that thieves might target his beloved daughter, Sikou Qiu’s father went to great lengths to have her admitted into an immortal sect, even though her spiritual roots were of the lowest grade—Five Element Roots.

Though none of the Eight Great Immortal Sects would accept someone with such poor potential, a twist of fate led Sikou Qiu to be taken in by the Lingqing Sect.

…

Outside Yun City, a rugged mountain path stretched ahead as a carriage jostled along the bumpy road.

Inside the carriage sat a young girl dressed in a light blue floral gown. With her delicate eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and soft peachy complexion, she looked both innocent and adorable.

Yet when she spoke, her voice was filled with arrogance and harshness. “Are you in such a rush to die? Can’t you slow down a bit? I’m about to throw up my dinner from last night! If I vomit all over you, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Damn, can this girl ever stop talking? She’s been cursing us the whole way. Doesn’t she ever get tired?” one of the kidnappers grumbled.

A dainty embroidered shoe flew out, hitting him right in the face.

The kidnapper’s face twitched as a bright red shoe print bloomed on his cheek.

“Shut up! Who do you think you are, talking behind my back like that?”

Sikou Qiu lifted the curtain and glared at him, nose in the air. “I’m a hostage, so show me some respect!”

“Treat me well! If anything happens to me, you can forget about getting any ransom money!” She huffed, lifting her chin arrogantly. “You better listen up, got it?”

“Y-Yes, of course, Miss! We understand!” The kidnappers muttered meekly.

The next second, they realised something was off. Wait… she knows she’s the hostage, so why is she acting so high and mighty??

The leader of the group, who had been doing this for twenty years, was at his wits’ end. He had never encountered someone like her.

He waved his hand impatiently, saying to his underlings, “Whatever, just keep her satisfied. We’ll hand her over to the sect leader when we get back…”

The large man chuckled coldly, a sinister gleam in his eyes.

Just then, the carriage came to a halt. Someone had blocked the road ahead.

“Who goes there?” one of the kidnappers shouted.

“Your mother’s calling you home for dinner.”

Before he could react, a blade pierced the man’s chest, sending him crashing to the ground. The Windbreaker Blade spun through the air, returning to the hand of a girl.