Before Song Mingyue could finish speaking, Ling Xiao’s hand had already touched the cauldron. A bone-chilling cold shot up from his fingers, as if it would freeze the blood in his entire body. The moment his hand made contact, it recoiled instantly. Only then did Song Mingyue’s voice ring out.

Song Mingyue glanced nervously at Ling Xiao, her face full of apology. "Brother Ling, are... are you all right? I’m so sorry, I forgot to tell you—that thing is extremely strange. You can’t touch it!"

Ling Xiao pulled his hand back and looked at his slightly dusty fingertips. There were no visible changes, but the cold felt as if it had frozen him to his very core. He had the feeling that if he had actually gripped it, it might have frozen his thoughts solid.

Still shaken, Song Mingyue looked at Ling Xiao and said, "Thankfully, you reacted quickly. If you’d been any slower, the consequences would have been unimaginable. It’s all my fault for not warning you. This thing is very peculiar. You can’t touch it with your bare hands, or you’ll get frostbite. One of my ancestors was injured by this thing before. My grandfather said it resembles the cold iron from the Land of Extreme Cold, though he couldn’t imagine who would have the skill to refine it. What it’s actually used for has always been a mystery, so it’s just been sitting here, ignored. Every family disciple who enters the treasury is warned not to touch it."

As she spoke, Song Mingyue couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly. "I was mischievous when I was little and didn’t listen well. The adults told me not to touch it, so of course, I thought, ’What’s so bad about touching it?’ The result was the same as you—the instant my fingertip touched it, I got frostbite. It took a great deal of effort to heal."

Ling Xiao gave a wry smile. He had never seen such a magical item either. However, a term appeared in his mind: ’Artifact Refining!’

’That’s right. This must be a treasured cauldron for Artifact Refining!’

’Song Mingyue’s grandfather was right, but not completely. This treasured cauldron did indeed come from the Land of Extreme Cold, but it was refined from Cold Iron Essence!’

’This Cold Iron Essence is a top-grade material among Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Its nature is extremely cold. Anyone without immense power cannot touch it; otherwise, their very soul will be injured!’

’It’s one of the best materials for a Cultivator to forge cauldrons for Artifact Refining and Alchemy!’

’A treasured cauldron made of Cold Iron Essence must be worked with True Flame. And True Flame... that’s something one can only barely use at the Golden Core Stage and can’t truly master until the Nascent Soul Stage.’

A question suddenly surfaced in Ling Xiao’s mind. ’This world... could there be Cultivators here? Or perhaps those people from the Ancient Era called Great Mages were already powerful enough to refine Cold Iron Essence? If that’s the case, then those so-called Great Mages must have been absolute powerhouses!’

"Brother Ling... Brother Ling?"

Song Mingyue, standing to the side, thought Ling Xiao had been injured and asked with a worried look on her face.

"Ah, I’m fine, I’m fine."

Ling Xiao snapped back to his senses. Looking at Song Mingyue, he was keenly aware of how precious this item was. Even if the Song Family didn’t know the cauldron’s purpose, they knew it was valuable. Although Ling Xiao knew that if he asked for it, Song Mingyue would, nine times out of ten, give it to him without a second thought, he felt unworthy of accepting something so precious. After all, he still wasn’t sure if he could find the materials for the Small Returning Pill her father needed.

"Has Brother Ling taken a liking to this item?"

Song Mingyue’s eyes held a trace of confusion. ’This Ling Xiao really is strange,’ she thought, ’to actually like such a terrifying thing.’ This cauldron-shaped object had practically become a headache for the Song Family. It didn’t look large, but it actually weighed over a thousand pounds!

It was a pity to throw it away, as everyone knew it was made of refined cold iron. Besides, even regular cold iron wasn’t this cold. But keeping it here ran the risk of injuring family members. For generations, disciples were warned from a young age not to touch it. There had been other curious children like Song Mingyue, but thanks to her recent example, no one had been frostbitten in the last decade or so.

"If Brother Ling likes it, please, just take it. But... may I be so curious as to ask if Brother Ling happens to know its purpose?" Song Mingyue asked with a light smile. "I mean no offense. I suspect that even if we knew its function, the Song Family wouldn’t be able to use it anyway."

Ling Xiao said casually, "I just find it interesting. I’d like to take it back to my sect and have them study it."

The smile on Song Mingyue’s face froze slightly. This was the first time Ling Xiao had mentioned his sect. ’To have the ability to study something like this...’ Song Mingyue grew even more suspicious that the sect behind Ling Xiao might very well be... some super-sect from the Ancient Era that had survived to this day!

"Ah, I see. In that case, Brother Ling, please feel free to take it!"

Song Mingyue didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret. Instead, she felt a sense of relief. ’That piece of junk is finally out of here.’

Ling Xiao’s heart, however, trembled slightly. With a wave of his hand, he stored the cauldron, cobwebs and all, into his ring. He let out a long breath. ’Lying wasn’t my intention, but the purpose of this thing is just too difficult to explain. Am I supposed to tell Song Mingyue, "This is a treasured cauldron, used specifically for refining powerful magic artifacts... artifacts that can level a mountaintop in a single blow"?’

’Never mind whether Song Mingyue would believe me. If word got out, someone would. I already have enough trouble as it is. I really don’t want to stir up any more.’

Ling Xiao searched for a while longer in front of the dust-covered wooden shelves but found nothing else that satisfied him. Most of the items were various vessels. It seemed these Ancient Ruins must have once belonged to an Artifact Refining Master. The vast majority of items on the entire row of shelves were related to Artifact Refining.

Ling Xiao became more and more certain. ’Even if the original owner wasn’t a Cultivator, they must have been an incredibly powerful Mage. Ordinary mortal fire is completely incapable of heating this Cold Iron Essence cauldron, let alone refining anything with it!’

Ling Xiao reached the end of the row, slightly disappointed. But he immediately chided himself for his greed. ’I have to remember, if the treasured cauldron I got today were to appear in the Cultivation Realm, it would absolutely become an object of frenzied competition for everyone!’

’Because this treasured cauldron itself can be refined into a magic artifact! It could be made large or small, even shrunk down to the size of a grain of rice! Yet it could hold several mountains!’

’When ambushing someone, I could bring it out, let it suddenly expand above their head, and it wouldn’t just crush a single person—it could flatten an entire mountain!’

’If I were in extreme danger, I could also jump into the cauldron to hide. Forget a Sword Emperor, even a full-force strike from a Sword Venerable... wouldn’t be able to scratch this cauldron forged from Cold Iron Essence!’

’Song Mingyue thought the cauldron had no lid only because she didn’t understand the mechanisms on it at all!’

’It’s just that I don’t have the Artifact Refining skills right now. I’ll need to reach at least the Mid-Golden Core Stage to re-refine this treasured cauldron and stamp my own mark on it. Only then can it be used as a magic artifact!’

In any case, "bountiful harvest" was no longer enough to describe what Ling Xiao had gained on this trip. Feeling a little ashamed of his greed, he turned around. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes fixed on a shuttle-shaped object about three fingers wide and a palm long.

Seeing Ling Xiao pause, Song Mingyue followed his gaze. When she saw him staring at the shuttle-shaped thing, she said dismissively, "Brother Ling, why are you looking at that useless junk? That thing has probably been sitting there untouched for a thousand years. It’s just an ordinary Magic Beast Crystal Core, one that doesn’t even have a rank!"

Ling Xiao walked over and picked up the shuttle-shaped object. It was extremely light, as if it had no weight at all. There were no Spiritual Power fluctuations coming from it either; it looked completely unremarkable.

But just as Ling Xiao had turned around, he had distinctly felt a powerful demonic aura from it!

Although it was fleeting, Ling Xiao was certain it wasn’t a hallucination. In that instant, the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword in his ring had trembled slightly, as if it wanted to fly out.

"It looks fun. If you have no use for it, you can just give it to me," Ling Xiao said, a bit embarrassed. "I can’t just accept these things for free without offering anything in return. From now on, I will provide your family’s Beauty Pills free of charge!"

"Ah, really?"

Song Mingyue’s voice was filled with pleasant surprise. Then, feeling her reaction was a bit too excited, she smiled shyly and said, "My mother took a Beauty Pill and instantly looked twenty years younger! Now all the women in the family, even those of my grandmother’s generation, are clamoring for them!"

Ling Xiao smiled. ’With these two items,’ he thought, ’forget a long-term supply of Beauty Pills for the Song Family. What would it matter if I gave every woman in your family an Anti-Aging Pill? Besides, this move also serves to build a good relationship with the Song Family.’

’The Song Family has always been reclusive, but their strength is undeniable. I don’t know how long my fictitious sect can fool the world. Having a powerful ally is absolutely necessary!’

Inside the treasury, there were also all sorts of ancient books. Ling Xiao saw many Heaven-rank and Earth-rank sword techniques and couldn’t help but sigh internally: ’For a hidden family, these sword techniques that ordinary people might spend their whole lives pursuing are really no big deal.’

Next were various medicinal herbs. Many were quite good; while they couldn’t be considered Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, their quality was extremely high. This time, Ling Xiao didn’t stand on ceremony. He picked out a good number of them and put them in his ring. He planned to first refine some Elixirs to temporarily restore the consciousness of Song Mingyue’s father, Song Yi.

Song Yi’s current lack of consciousness and long-term coma were caused by his twisted Dantian, which had in turn damaged his Sea of Consciousness where Spiritual Power is stored. Therefore, he could first refine an Elixir to repair the Sea of Consciousness and wake him up. That would be much more persuasive.

Even if he couldn’t find all the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures needed to refine the Small Returning Pill in the future, he could at least guarantee Song Yi could live for several more decades as an ordinary person.

Ling Xiao was confident he could at least do that much.

***

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