Chi Huo Old Ghost hurried forward. "Young Master," he said, "I’ve gathered news on that Celestial Artisan. He’s not currently in the city. He cultivates on Qiaojiang Mountain, five thousand li away."

"They say the man is eccentric and unpredictable. If you wish to hire him, Young Master, I’m afraid it will be rather difficult."

"Rarity creates value. You can count all the Celestial Artisans in the Daqi Cultivation World on two hands, and even fewer have reached Tier Two. It’s only normal for them to be a little eccentric.

"Besides," Song Changsheng said, glancing at him nonchalantly, "if it wasn’t for that tricky angle of your spell, why would I even need to hire him?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I deserve death." Chi Huo Old Ghost immediately bowed to apologize, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Enough. I was just making an offhand comment.

All of you go back to your rooms and rest. Tomorrow at 7:45 AM, I will pay a visit to the Celestial Artisan."

He waved his hand, shooing them back to their rooms to rest. Only then did he hurriedly place the sleeping child on the bed. When he looked down at his chest, he saw it was soaked.

Song Changsheng couldn’t help but smile wryly. ’You little rascal. In less than six hours, you’ve already soiled two of my outfits.’

Though he grumbled, he still unwrapped the baby’s wet swaddling clothes, washed them, and used his Spiritual Power to dry them before wrapping the child up again. Lacking any experience, the process was another clumsy ordeal.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Lingyun was jostled and turned every which way, yet he didn’t wake up. In fact, he slept even more soundly.

Come to think of it, Lingyun had only cried for a little while when Song Changsheng first found him. After drinking his fill of beast milk, he had fallen into a deep slumber and had been asleep for four or six hours now.

Neither loud noises nor being moved about had disturbed him in the slightest, which made Song Changsheng start to worry that something might be wrong.

But after a thorough examination, he found nothing wrong at all. The baby really was just sleeping.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Song Changsheng. It certainly saved him a lot of trouble. If the baby had been wailing for his mother, Song Changsheng would have been at a complete loss.

After getting the little guy settled, Song Changsheng collapsed wearily onto the bed. The day’s battle had left him physically and mentally exhausted—a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

After resting for a moment, he took an ancient-looking scroll from his Storage Bag. In the pitch-black room, the Scroll emitted a soft, white glow.

He slowly unrolled it, revealing a Tai Chi Diagram.

’Just what is your origin?’

Song Changsheng frowned. Even at such a close distance, he still couldn’t determine the grade of this Tai Chi Diagram, nor could he find any trace of an Array.

As both an Array Master and an Artifact Refiner, he had been working with Arrays and Magical Artifacts since childhood.

Typically, when an Artifact Refiner forges a Magical Artifact, they inscribe a compatible Array within it to enhance its function and power.

It was rare to see a Magical Artifact on the market that didn’t have an Array.

And yet, this Tai Chi Diagram had no Array.

This was what Song Changsheng couldn’t comprehend. Without an inscribed Defensive Array, how did it possess such terrifying defensive capabilities?

After racking his brain for a long time, he could only attribute it to the materials used in its creation.

The rods of the Tai Chi Diagram were over three feet long and made of a brown heartwood far harder than Refined Iron. It emitted a faint, fresh fragrance that could calm the mind and soothe the spirit.

Song Changsheng had never seen such wood before, but it was clearly no common material. It had to be incredibly valuable, yet it was only used for the rods.

The canvas for the painting was three feet long and three feet wide. All he could tell was that it was woven from some kind of snow-white silk, and it was extraordinarily resilient; the [Mountain-Flipping Seal] hadn’t left so much as a scratch on it.

To put it in perspective, the large, red banner in Chi Huo Old Ghost’s hand was a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, and it had been torn to shreds when struck head-on by the [Mountain-Flipping Seal]. Yet this scroll was completely unscathed.

This proved that the Tai Chi Diagram was, at the very least, a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

’In any case, this is a rare treasure. I’ll refine it first and worry about the rest later.’

Song Changsheng sat cross-legged on the bed. He pricked his finger, letting a drop of crimson blood fall onto the scroll. Then he closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to inscribe his Divine Sense Mark...

Meanwhile, Wum Yan contacted his band of brothers, and they all returned to the inn together.

Faced with a barrage of concerned questions from his brothers, Wum Yan thought for a moment before replying, "The Elder didn’t let me get close, so I’m not clear on the details. All I know is that he has already slain that monster.

"Do you remember the Ling Family we passed earlier? That monster annihilated their entire clan. If the Elder hadn’t removed the Poisonous Insects from our bodies, we’d all be dead by now."

The men all shivered at his words. ’Tens of thousands of people... an entire clan, wiped out just like that?’

"Alright, that’s enough. I’m getting tired. Everyone should go rest. Tomorrow, we’ll get back on the road to the Yua Kingdom."

Only after confirming that everyone was gone did Wum Yan sigh softly. ’Don’t blame me, my brothers. Without Elder Song’s permission, there are some things it’s better you don’t know.’

He then took out the Storage Bag that Song Changsheng had pressed into his hands, his heart pounding with a hint of excitement.

He hadn’t taken it out in front of the others, not because he was unwilling to share, but because the hearts of men can be treacherous. He didn’t know what Song Changsheng had put inside, and it was best to be cautious.

Taking a deep breath, Wum Yan slowly opened the Storage Bag. With just one glance inside, his breath caught in his throat.