"Yes. I started learning at home when I was young."
"After more than ten years of study, I've reached the second rank in artifact forging."
At the mention of artifact forging, Guo Zhao couldn't hide his pride.
Though his cultivation talent was far inferior to that of his younger twin brother, Guo Xun, a prodigy who had joined the River-Facing Sect at the same time as him,
his accomplishments in artifact forging were nothing to scoff at.
At thirty, being a second-rank artifact smith made him a bona fide genius at crafting artifacts.
"No wonder you're from a prominent clan. Your family's learning runs deep."
Shen Mo felt a little envious.
Being born into a major cultivation household was a blessing. You could learn artifact forging from childhood.
Unlike a rogue cultivator like him, with no backing at all, who had entered the field halfway through life and had to fight for everything himself.
"If Senior Brother Guo needs anything, I'd be glad to help."
In his youth, the original Shen Mo had harbored a faint, hazy affection for Chen Mengze.
But after all these years, he knew that Chen Mengze was proud and high-minded, and had never thought much of him. That old longing had long since faded.
After transmigrating, Shen Mo felt even less for her.
So he naturally didn't refuse.
With a faint smile, Shen Mo said earnestly, "Still, compared to the Profound-grade low-tier Dragon Sparrow Sword you mentioned, I'm more interested in learning artifact forging."
Giving someone a fish was not as good as teaching them how to fish.
A Profound-grade low-tier artifact was certainly precious, but in Shen Mo's eyes, learning how to forge artifacts was better. Then he could make the artifacts he wanted himself in the future.
In his previous life, he'd loved grinding away at all kinds of game side professions and unlocking every achievement.
Now, when it came to the many arts of cultivation—artifact forging, talisman making, formations, alchemy, and all sorts of specialized crafts—Shen Mo wanted to master them all.
After all, he had an experience bar. As long as he practiced hard, he could gain experience and raise his rank.
He had a far greater advantage than others when learning these side professions.
His ultimate goal was to make himself a cultivation powerhouse who knew a little bit of everything.
"If you want to learn, Brother Shen, I'll teach you everything I know."
Hearing Shen Mo's answer, Guo Zhao grinned until his face crinkled and declared magnanimously.
"Then many thanks, Senior Brother Guo!"
Shen Mo was delighted. Getting guidance in artifact forging from a second-rank smith was undoubtedly the greatest reward of this trip.
By comparison, the fifty Spirit Stones Chen Mengze had promised him hardly mattered.
"Brother Shen, there's something I'd like to ask of you," Guo Zhao said. "Senior Sister Chen's birthday is coming up. I'd like to give her a gift to celebrate, but I don't know what she likes and can't settle on anything."
"You've known Senior Sister Chen since childhood and are close to her. You must know what she's fond of, right?"
"Well..." Shen Mo froze, genuinely at a loss.
He and Chen Mengze had been on good terms as children, but that was in the past.
Ever since she'd entered the Inner Sect, they'd barely seen each other over the past few years.
People changed as they grew up, and he no longer knew her well.
Besides, the original owner's childhood memories had long since grown hazy in Shen Mo's mind.
Faced with Guo Zhao's eager expectations, he really had no advice to offer.
"Ahem, ahem." He coughed awkwardly and said, "Senior Brother Guo, to be honest, I'll have to find out more before I can give you an answer."
"But I can tell you something else."
After a quick turn of thought, he continued, "Senior Sister Chen's father was injured recently while venturing into Fallen Mountain to search for treasure. He needs a Thunder-Dissolving Pill to treat his wounds."
"I've gathered all the supplementary ingredients, but I'm still missing the main ingredient, an Azure Water Pearl. I've searched everywhere without success."
"If you can find one for Uncle Chen, Senior Sister Chen will be deeply grateful to you when she hears about it."
Guo Zhao came from a major cultivation clan and was well-informed. There was a chance he knew something about the ingredient.
If he could help Shen Mo find it, Shen Mo would have a way to treat Uncle Chen by refining the pill.
And Guo Zhao would get the chance to make an impression on Chen Mengze.
Two birds with one stone.
"An Azure Water Pearl?" Guo Zhao furrowed his brow, apparently trying to remember. "I think I've heard of it, but I don't recall much. I'll ask around when I get back."
"I'd appreciate that, Senior Brother Guo."
Night fell beneath a sky bright with moonlight and scattered stars.
Guo Zhao and Shen Mo chatted in the cave abode until late into the night before returning to their rooms to rest.
The following morning.
Chen Mengze returned from her night patrol.
Guo Zhao was eager to impress her, and Shen Mo had already reached an understanding with him. For the promised reward, he willingly played along and created opportunities for the two of them.
Chen Mengze, however, seemed unmoved. She treated Guo Zhao's many overtures with polite distance.
"Senior Sister Chen, how about the two of us make dinner tonight?" Guo Zhao asked again, undeterred by her lack of encouragement.
"No need to trouble yourself, Senior Brother Guo. Just have Shen Mo come help in the kitchen." Chen Mengze furrowed her brows.
She knew what Guo Zhao was thinking and didn't want to give him any false hope.
But Shen Mo had taken his money, so naturally he had to do his part.
"Senior Sister Chen, I still need to refine pills tonight, so I can't cook with you. Let Senior Brother Guo help instead."
What's gotten into him today? Chen Mengze thought, irritation rising.
She had originally brought Shen Mo along to help with the guard duty.
She'd hoped he would fend off Guo Zhao's various advances and spare her the awkwardness of being alone with him during the assignment.
But Shen Mo hadn't helped at all. He seemed to have come solely to hole up and refine pills, indifferent to everything else.
That night, after the three of them finished eating,
Shen Mo promptly volunteered to patrol the mine tunnels, in case any Stone Spirits appeared.
He left the Guardian Cave Abode early.
"Senior Sister Chen, the moon is full tonight. The night is beautiful."
With Shen Mo gone, Guo Zhao and Chen Mengze were alone in the cave abode's main hall, facing each other.
I see all living things as grass and trees, but you alone are a green mountain.
Looking at Chen Mengze, Guo Zhao had already prepared a whole string of sweet confessions in his heart.
But when the words reached his lips, he just couldn't say them.
Chen Mengze seemed to sense something.
Avoiding his gaze, she said, "Please sit here a while, Senior Brother Guo. I'll go check on Shen Mo. His cultivation is still weak, and I'm worried about him patrolling alone."
With that, she stood and left.
Guo Zhao had been bursting with things he wanted to say, hoping to bare his heart beneath the lovely night sky.
But the moment she walked away, he fell silent.
"Never mind. There's always tomorrow."
He felt deflated, but reminded himself that they would be here for the next two months anyway.
As long as Shen Mo cooperated, he'd have plenty of chances.
That was how he reassured himself.
"Such an honest man."
That was Shen Mo's assessment of Guo Zhao.
Though Senior Brother Guo came from a distinguished family, he seemed a little too straightforward in the way he dealt with people—not the shrewd, worldly type.
Shen Mo honestly didn't think Guo Zhao had much chance of getting what he wanted.
I see the green mountain as bewitchingly beautiful; for the green mountain to see me the same way, I must be just as beautiful to it. Only then is there a chance.
If you see the green mountain as bewitchingly beautiful, but the mountain sees you as a lump of shit, then there's nothing you can do to force the matter.
They said a determined suitor could wear down even a virtuous woman, but Chen Mengze was no thoughtless little woman without a mind of her own.
Of course, whether Guo Zhao succeeded or not made no difference to Shen Mo.
All he needed was his reward and the chance to learn artifact forging.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
Before you continue