Still inside the Scripture Pavilion, and with plenty of time remaining before his due time to end, Gu Yuan continued browsing the shelves.
After reading through several scrolls on spirit herbs and ores, he turned his attention to books related to artifact forging, spending the remainder of his time immersed in them.
One detail, in particular, caught his attention.
For cultivators like him, who lacked a Fire Spiritual Root yet still wished to wield flames more effectively while forging, there was a way to make up for that deficiency, which was obtaining a treasured flame.
Such treasures were far beyond his current reach, but that didn’t stop Gu Yuan from quietly setting it as one of his goals.
Running away from the Black Desolation Sect was a necessity.
Pursuing immortality was his lifelong aspiration.
And now... obtaining a treasured flame had become another objective.
With that thought, Gu Yuan left the Scripture Pavilion and made his way back to his residence.
...
Time flowed like an unending river, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Everything gradually returned to normal, as though his encounter with the twins had been nothing more than a passing dream.
The twins, however, continued to rise. Already the center of attention before, they became even more dazzling after officially being accepted as the Sect Master’s personal disciples. Although Gu Yuan never crossed paths with them again, rumors spread quickly throughout the Outer Sect, claiming that both had already stepped into the Golden Core Realm.
Meanwhile, he had only reached the Fifth Stage of the Qi Refinement Realm.
He was already close to breaking through once more, but compared to the Heavenly Twin Stars, the gap between them remained vast.
Gu Yuan, however, didn’t dwell on it. His days passed quietly between cultivation and working at the forge, and he found genuine satisfaction in that routine.
His cultivation had improved steadily. So had his forging.
Today, for the first time, he finally stood inside the forging room, watching Deacon Zhao work.
The room was oppressively hot, flames dancing inside the furnace as sparks scattered through the air. Even so, Gu Yuan’s attention never wavered.
For the past six months, all he had done was perform simple maintenance, using his Metal Qi to restore damaged weapons.
Watching a weapon being forged from beginning to end was an entirely different experience.
His eyes remained fixed on every movement Zhao Ping made, afraid of missing even the smallest detail.
Before long, Zhao Ping completed the final step. He set the saber aside and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Thank you for allowing me to watch, Deacon Zhao," Gu Yuan said sincerely as he stepped forward. "It was truly an eye-opening experience."
His gaze fell onto the newly forged saber.
Among the countless weapons he had repaired over time here, there had actually been more than a few of a higher quality.
Even so, looking at a weapon that had been forged piece by piece before his eyes carried a completely different feeling.
Zhao Ping, however, merely clicked his tongue.
"It’s a failed product. It barely qualifies as a low-grade Spirit Weapon."
Gu Yuan couldn’t help but glance at him.
A low-grade Spirit Weapon. Even among the Outer Sect disciples, only a small handful possessed one. Yet Deacon Zhao still regarded it as a failure.
Picking up the saber, he examined it one last time before casually extending it toward Gu Yuan.
"Take it."
Gu Yuan’s eyes widened slightly.
He’s giving it to me? The question reached the tip of his tongue, but Gu Yuan swallowed it back. Afraid that Zhao Ping might change his mind, he immediately accepted the saber with both hands and bowed.
"Thank you very much for your generosity, Deacon Zhao."
Zhao Ping gave a faint nod. Watching Gu Yuan carefully receive the saber with both hands before bowing respectfully, a trace of approval flashed through his eyes.
After returning disappointed from the last gathering at Hundred Refinements Peak, Zhao Ping had lost all hope of advancing further within the sect hierarchy. He had decided to change his approach, no longer pouring every effort into artifact forging alone, but instead focusing on building useful connections to solidify his position.
Gu Yuan might possess nothing more than a Second-Grade Spiritual Root, the same as his own, yet his cultivation speed was several times faster than Zhao Ping’s had ever been.
It was a speed comparable to that of disciples with top-grade spiritual roots.
How? Were single-element Spiritual Roots truly that exceptional? Ping was certain they were not. Then how else could such speed be explained?
If he had not observed the youth for a long time and known his background so thoroughly, he might have attributed the progress to some fortuitous encounter or the use of pills. But that was not the case. It was pure hard work. That was precisely why he was choosing to invest in him now.
Unaware of Deacon Zhao’s many calculated thoughts, Gu Yuan’s attention remained on the saber in his hands.
A low-grade Spirit Weapon. Depending on its quality, one could easily sell for more than ten middle-grade spirit stones.
Meanwhile, all of his savings amounted to barely three hundred low-grade spirit stones, equivalent to three middle-grade stones. In other words, he could never have afforded such a saber on his own, even if he emptied his entire fortune.
Receiving it so suddenly, when he least expected it, left him genuinely pleased. His already favorable impression of Deacon Zhao only deepened after this incident.
In a good mood, Gu Yuan properly thanked Deacon Zhao once more, stored the saber in his storage bag, and set off toward his residence.
He had barely taken a few steps when the voices of other disciples drifted toward him.
"Is that him? The disciple rumored to be a spy?"
"Yes. Two years in the sect, and he’s never even hurt a mortal, let alone killed one."
The second speaker sounded shocked. No matter how carefully someone tried to avoid stepping on ants, after two full years it was almost impossible not to crush a few by accident.
"Now that I look at him," the first continued, "he really does seem like one of those righteous sect hypocrites."
Though surprised by what he overheard, Gu Yuan continued walking without slowing or responding. He simply ignored the two outer sect disciples discussing him.
To the disciples of the Black Desolation Sect, mortal lives held little value. Most wouldn’t deliberately travel to a village simply to slaughter its inhabitants. But if a mortal happened to get in their way, or they sought amusement... killing them was hardly worth a second thought.
That mentality was especially common among Outer Sect disciples. Those in the Inner Sect generally considered targeting mortals beneath them, preferring to direct their schemes and conflicts toward fellow cultivators instead.
Setting that aside, the larger question remained: why had such rumors about him suddenly begun circulating?
It was a strange situation. Nevertheless, Gu Yuan made no attempt to dig for answers.
The Black Desolation Sect wouldn’t act on something as baseless as a rumor, and he certainly wasn’t about to waste his time tracking down whoever had started it.
Unfortunately, not everyone shared his way of thinking.
Halfway back to his residence, three disciples stepped into his path, blocking the narrow trail ahead. Each wore the same mocking grin, the kind that made their intentions obvious without a single word being spoken.
Gu Yuan stopped. His expression remained calm as he cupped his fists.
"Greetings, Senior Brothers."
Liu Feng, the strongest among the three, took a step forward and smiled.
"Junior Brother is quite polite."
The other two quickly chimed in.
"The problem is that he’s too polite."
"...Right?"
Gu Yuan remained silent, while Liu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly before he started scolding.
"What are you saying? Can’t a disciple of the Black Desolation Sect show respect to his seniors?"
"Senior Brother is absolutely right. Our thoughts fell short." The other two immediately bowed in exaggerated apology.
How should I deal with them?
Though not intimidated, Gu Yuan still found himself troubled as he looked at the three disciples who were clearly intent on causing him problems.