After watching Xu Yunfan’s departing figure disappear through the main gate, Zhan Yan, who had been standing ramrod straight, finally relaxed. He immediately broke into a sprint, and in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he burst into the Mechanical Hall.

Inside the Mechanical Hall, steam billowed like a sea of clouds, obscuring everything. The Profound Steel Golden Ball in Mo Han’s palm, constantly whirring with the sound of gears, erupted with a three-foot-long azure flame. It cast flickering shadows across his deeply lined face.

The five fingers of his mechanical prosthetic suddenly clamped onto the sphere’s threads. With a sharp CLICK of springs, the chest cavity of the Mechanical Beast swung open, and the grinding of its three thousand six hundred gears made the floor tiles hum.

"Two years ago, when I asked for some Celestial Meteorite Cold Iron, Brother Zhan wouldn’t even deign to be polite."

Mo Han placed the metal sphere into the beast’s cavity. A shower of sparks flew as the armored plates closed, layer by layer. The Profound Crystal stones that served as the eyes of this Tiger-shaped Mechanical Beast began to emit a soft glow. As steam vented from the seams of its armored frame, its once-rigid body slowly started to move.

Seeing this, Mo Han couldn’t suppress a smile. He turned his head to look at Zhan Yan standing behind him.

"And now you’re willing to humble yourself for some brat?"

Zhan Yan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

An observation mirror seven paces away reflected his tense spine—a spine that hadn’t bent even when Divine Weapon Ridge was shattered thirty years ago.

His Adam’s apple bobbed three times before he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "The Thunderfire Qilin Hammer cost you three catties of Mo Sect Secret Silver. This time... I’m afraid I must trouble you again, Hall Master Mo."

"You, who have spent your life second to none and asking nothing of anyone!"

Mo Han’s face was full of undisguised mockery. "Back when Sect Leader Hong invited you time and time again to join Celestial Craft Cave and establish the Weapon Casting Hall, you looked down your nose at all of us."

Mo Han was overjoyed to see Elder Zhan looking so uncomfortable.

His Mechanical Hall was a money pit, whereas the Weapon Casting Hall could easily earn millions of taels and various other resources just by selling a single Treasure Artifact. Naturally, they were in high demand.

For years, the Mechanical Hall had been widely criticized, with many claiming that all the money from the Weapon Casting Hall was being thrown into its bottomless pit.

This went on until the Celestial Craft Fortress was unveiled, finally vindicating the Mechanical Hall and allowing them to hold their heads high, as it was proof of where all the money had gone.

Seeing Zhan Yan’s face alternating between pale and flushed, Mo Han didn’t dare provoke him too much further.

If he actually pushed Zhan Yan to the point of casting aside all pride and dropping to his knees, that would be taking things way too far.

Xu Yunfan’s aptitude was astonishing, and his Weapon Forging Skill was especially prodigious. Zhan Yan regarded him as his successor, so this matter couldn’t be treated lightly.

"Wait here. I think I read about something similar in an old book years ago."

With that, Mo Han turned and walked over to a study cluttered with various ancient scrolls. He began rummaging through chests and cabinets, leaving a stunned Zhan Yan behind.

About an hour later, Mo Han pulled a roll of yellowed rhinoceros hide paper from a corner. He shook off the dust, muttering to himself.

"Good thing I didn’t use this to wipe my ass back in the day. Most of this stuff is useless now."

Then, he raised his voice and yelled to the outside.

"Shisan, get in here and tidy up this study!"

Outside the door, Mo Shisan was speechless.

The two found a deserted spot, and Mo Han spread the ancient scroll out on a table.

"The Extreme Dao entrustment was originally created as a vessel to preserve one’s will, a way to resist the extinction of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit in the hopes of one day reviving. They’re baleful objects that defy the natural order. Back then, the Valley Master of Sword Forging suffered a backlash from a Sword Spirit—his body’s entire supply of Essence Blood transformed into three thousand streams of Sword Aura and erupted from him!

"If it weren’t for that damn mess caused by that witch, the Empress of Great Zhou, there wouldn’t be a problem now that some of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit has been stirred up. But that’s exactly where the trouble lies. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit is now in a volatile state, on the verge of dissipating just as it was two thousand years ago. And this has agitated these Extreme Dao entrustment objects."

Mo Han couldn’t help but grin. "The world thinks this is a great opportunity, but it might just be a great disaster."

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhan Yan pressed him.

"Is there a solution?"

"Patience, patience."

Mo Han’s withered finger traced across the page. He studied it carefully for a long while before his finger stopped on a line of tadpole-like ancient script. "It says, ’One must find a person on the brink of death to serve as a Human Cauldron. When their soul is on the verge of scattering, the Three Jiao spiritual passes are at their most permeable.’"

Zhan Yan’s pupils shrank.

"You mean, find someone who has just died to use as a Human Cauldron, and transfer the Extreme Dao entrustment onto them?"

Mo Han continued to study the text, then shook his head.

"The conditions are too demanding, making it nearly impossible. Besides, the required materials are no longer available."

A chill went down Zhan Yan’s spine. "Is there no other way?"

"He has to rely on himself. If he can pull through, his future will be limitless. It will be like a fish leaping over the Dragon Gate."

Zhan Yan was silent for a long time, unwilling to accept it.

Mo Han sighed to himself and offered some comfort. "Your disciple has peerless talent. Besides, who knows how long those Extreme Dao entrustment objects have been around? Ninety-nine percent of their divine power has probably dissipated. Otherwise, do you think he’d still be standing before you, perfectly fine?"

Hearing this, Zhan Yan’s tense expression finally relaxed, and he gave a slight nod. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Thank you for letting me know."

-----------------

「In Xu Yunfan’s small courtyard within the Weapon Casting Hall.」

Xu Yunfan spread the Relic Shell flat on his desk and stared at it in silence.

He recalled the face of the woman from his dream, and it seemed to overlap with the image of the woman on the Ancient Jade Wall that had been dug up from the Ninggu Tower Mine.

’It’s her!’

Emotions surged within Xu Yunfan. When he had first obtained this Relic Shell from Ninggu Tower, he had barely examined it. It was incredibly tough, flexible, and could disperse force, making it impervious to blades and spears.

Because of these properties, he had either used it as a rope or worn it tied around himself like a vest, which was how it had saved his life during his encounter with the Gilded Mace.

Only now, upon close inspection, did he realize with a jolt that the entire form’s skin was seemingly condensed from a soft, flowing, moon-like luminescence.

Its hair cascaded like clouds hanging low in the sky. Each strand shone with the inky-blue of a young crow’s feather, and the last three inches of the tips gradually turned transparent, like Celestial Silkworm Threads dissolving into the air.

’That’s where I tied the knots when I wore it as a vest.’

When his fingertips brushed the corner of its forehead, he was surprised to feel a warmth spreading up from his finger pads.

It wasn’t the soft elasticity of living skin. It felt more like stroking a piece of suet jade that had been warmed by Earth Core Fire for a millennium, its gentle heat suffused with an indescribably dense smoothness.

Upon closer inspection, a rosy glow seemed to flow faintly beneath the skin, like clouds drifting past Kunlun Peak in late spring, blooming into a faint golden-crimson blush against the porcelain-white complexion.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze narrowed. ’This seems... different than before. It used to be cool to the touch and would only warm up from my body heat when I wore it. But now, it’s warm all by itself.’

The lips on the shell’s face were held in a curve, as if about to part. The lines on them were so fine it seemed only morning dew could trace their contours.

The most peculiar feature was the network of faint blue veins on its neck, which remained strikingly vivid. They didn’t follow the pattern of mortal blood vessels, looking more like the natural imprint of cedar branches on glazed porcelain.

As his hand traced down the spine, the texture gradually changed.

The skin at the small of its back shimmered with the luster of mother-of-pearl, feeling exquisitely fine and smooth under his fingertips.

The entire Relic Shell showed no signs of decay. Even its fingernails looked like freshly shucked pink shells, their surfaces shimmering with an iridescent sheen.

Icy skin, shimmering with a rainbow’s halo; snowy cheeks, glowing with the light of dawn.

(I can’t... I can’t write anymore. I’ll aim for 10,000 characters tomorrow. Thanks, everyone!)