Liu Family Artifact Refining Workshop

I've got control of him!

Only then did Lu Wanyuan turn the creature over and withdraw the thorns.

The giant turtle before him had a shell as large as two dining tables.

He hadn't expected such a huge turtle to appear in the pond. After taking control of its soul, he learned the creature's origins.

It turned out that, when one of the Chu Family's ancestors was a child, he had put a little turtle in this pond.

Who could have guessed that, by a twist of fate, the turtle would find its way into the Spirit Spring? Inside the Spirit Spring Cave was a plentiful source of Spirit Spring water.

It had lived in the Spirit Spring for several hundred years. Only in the past few decades had it developed intelligence and become a Spirit Beast.

A few months ago, Lu Wanyuan had happened to open up the entrance to the Spirit Spring, allowing the creature to slip into the pond from time to time and steal Spirit Fish!

Baili Qiuyue stared at the scene before her, astonished. From Lu Wanyuan blocking the Spirit Spring entrance to him subduing the giant turtle, it had seemed to take a long time, but in truth, it had all happened in an instant.

The giant turtle had attacked furiously, yet Lu Wanyuan had held it off.

No wonder there were fewer and fewer Spirit Fish in the pond. This creature had been behind it all.

She had never seen a turtle this big before.

She had watched her husband fight it relentlessly, but fortunately, he had subdued the creature. The Spirit Fish should be safe from now on.

She hadn't expected her husband to have grown so powerful. He hadn't feared such a massive Demonic Beast at all; instead, he had defended himself and counterattacked methodically, then subdued it.

The whole battle had been under his control.

"All right, you can't eat the Spirit Fish in the pond anymore. It took me a lot of effort to get them. If you eat them all, we'll never find fish like these again!"

Lu Wanyuan immediately shouted at the giant turtle before him.

The turtle seemed not to react at all. It only showed a pair of tiny, pitch-black eyes, looking rather aggrieved. Compared to its enormous body, those eyes looked truly comical.

Green Bean Turtle was a fitting name indeed!

"All right, we need to breed these Spirit Fish properly. We can eat them once there are enough. If you keep eating them now, there'll be none left for you later!"

Lu Wanyuan pointed at the giant turtle's eyes and admonished it. After a moment's thought, he decided to warn it, too.

"If you dare eat these Spirit Fish again, I'll eat you instead! I'll put a big pot on the fire and stew you whole. A turtle that's lived for several hundred years must be packed with nutrients!"

Perhaps Lu Wanyuan's threat had gotten through to it, because the giant turtle looked a little frightened and shuffled backward a few steps.

Seeing that it was afraid, Lu Wanyuan immediately reassured it. "If you do a good job protecting these Spirit Fish, I'll give you even better ones to eat later. For now, you'll just have to be patient!"

At that, the turtle's gaze finally settled.

"Good. Go on, then!"

With that, Lu Wanyuan left the turtle to its own devices. The Thorn Spell he'd just used had been quite powerful. It had pierced the creature's skin and drawn a great deal of blood, increasing the pressure on it until it gradually gave up resisting.

The giant turtle was enormous, and in theory, a turtle that size should have incredibly strong defenses. Yet the Thorn Spell had still pierced it.

The main reason was that the Thorn Spell attacked from all sides. The creature had a huge shell on its back, tough enough to withstand the attack and impossible to pierce.

But the barbs on the Azure Vine had pierced its belly. That had truly been unexpected.

His Thorn Spell was still only at the beginner level. If he could cultivate it to Great Perfection Realm, its speed and range would improve, and it would produce many more Azure Vines.

It seemed he still hadn't brought out the Thorn Spell's full power!

Thinking of that, he looked forward to mastering the spell even more. He would have to put in some serious practice later!

"Mm, my dear, sorry for making you worry!"

Lu Wanyuan walked over to Baili Qiuyue and helped her sit down.

While he had been fighting the giant turtle, Baili Qiuyue had stood on the bank, her face full of worry.

"Did you already know why the Spirit Fish were disappearing?"

"Yes. I discovered this creature a while ago, but back then I wasn't strong enough to subdue it, so I had to retreat immediately and cultivate. That's how I broke through to the Qi Refining fourth layer and improved my strength. If I hadn't reached the Qi Refining fourth layer today, this creature might have broken through my defenses. The consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Lu Wanyuan spoke with lingering fear.

"Mm, you've had a hard time, dear. And I even complained that you'd left me on my own."

Baili Qiuyue said awkwardly.

"Mm, I didn't handle things well. I wasn't strong enough to keep you safe. I'm sorry!"

Lu Wanyuan hugged her and apologized awkwardly.

"It's all right, it's all right!"

At Chunfeng Road No. 300 stood a stone-walled courtyard. A tall pole by the edge of the yard bore a flag embroidered with the words "Liu Family Artifact Refining Workshop."

The clang of metal rang out from inside, audible from far away.

"Eldest Brother, this is the workshop. There are notices posted out front saying it's for sale. Looks like they're serious about selling!"

Lu Wanshan said excitedly to Lu Wanyuan.

After joining the Heavenly Craft Workshop, he'd earned the shopkeeper's approval by working hard, being conscientious, and steering clear of petty schemes.

He'd gotten the chance to gain hands-on experience refining artifacts, giving him the opportunity to make all kinds of magical artifacts and rapidly improve his skills.

Besides, he'd had a clear purpose in going there: to learn the craft and get as many chances as possible to practice refining artifacts.

On top of that, he already possessed a genuine first-stage Artifact Refining Legacy. So in just a year, he'd learned everything the Heavenly Craft Workshop could teach him. He could refine most kinds of magical artifacts, and that had given him the idea to strike out on his own.

He'd come here today to take over the workshop!

Lu Wanyuan looked at Lu Wanshan, who was brimming with excitement. He had a dark, sturdy build, thick arms covered in calluses, and a beard and eyebrows scorched yellow by smoke and fire. He clearly looked like a cultivator in the artifact-refining trade. His hard work over the past year or so had even put Lu Wanyuan to shame.

He hadn't expected Lu Wanshan to master the first-stage Artifact Refining Legacy in just a year, and to learn so much at the place where he worked.

When they'd made plans for all the siblings to develop their own skills in different fields, he hadn't expected Wanshan to be the first to come up with an idea like this.

"Mm, we'll know once we go in and have a look!"

Lu Wanyuan said with a smile.

Then he headed into the workshop, with Lu Wanshan close behind.

Before them stood a long building, constructed entirely of stone and divided into three rooms. Lean-tos had been built along the upper parts of the walls, their supports forming awnings to shield the area from wind and rain.

The tools for refining magical artifacts were all beneath the awnings: a furnace, bellows, an anvil, and a pair of fire tongs polished bright by friction. But the furnace by the wall had long since gone cold, and even the bellows were thick with dust. It was obvious the place hadn't been in operation for a long time.

At the other end, the refining materials lay scattered across the floor, and only a handful of goods remained on the shelves.

"Is the shopkeeper here?"

There was no one in the courtyard, so Lu Wanyuan called loudly toward the house, but no one answered.

He raised his voice and called again. "Is Shopkeeper Liu here?"

"Who's out there hollering like that?" an impatient voice came from inside.