Task End

The night was deep. On Qingping Mountain, Zhou Yang, as usual, lit his lamp and studied the artifact forging insights written by the Old Clan Leader when he was a Second-Rank Artifact Forger, preparing for his own future promotion to Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

According to the records in the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's artifact forging insights, a First-Rank Artifact Forger could attempt to forge Second-Rank Artifacts after their success rate in refining First-Rank high-grade Artifacts reached over thirty percent.

Only when an artifact forger's skill reached the Second-Rank could they rely on artifact forging to earn Spirit Stones. Otherwise, if they continued to forge First-Rank Artifacts, even with a hundred percent success rate, it would at best break even.

Therefore, except for rogue cultivators who switched professions halfway and didn't understand the nuances, families and sects that cultivated artifact forgers would typically have them attempt to become Second-Rank Artifact Forgers once their success rate with First-Rank Artifacts exceeded thirty percent.

However, the spiritual items required for forging Second-Rank Artifacts were already quite valuable. Even for a Foundation Establishment Family like the Zhou Family, they would generally only provide thirty sets of materials for free when cultivating a Second-Rank Artifact Forger. If they couldn't succeed after using these thirty sets, the artifact forger would have to pay out of their own pocket to improve their artifact forging skills.

Zhou Yang's current success rate in forging First-Rank high-grade Artifacts was less than twenty percent, so he was still some time away from attempting to become a Second-Rank Artifact Forger. However, when the elder Zhou Quan brought him materials last time, he had already brought the thirty sets of materials for his attempt at becoming a Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

Perhaps it was because he had failed fewer times when he first became a First-Rank Artifact Forger, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan believed he had good artifact forging talent. Thus, the number of materials provided this time was not special; it was entirely according to family rules.

As he read by candlelight until the early hours of the morning, Zhou Yang's expression suddenly changed, as if he heard a humming sound.

His heart stirred, and he quickly walked out of his room to look in the direction of the humming sound. Then, his expression instantly changed.

He saw that the object emitting the humming sound was none other than the main flag of the "Cloud Sea Light Splitting Array" planted outside his door. The flag was now being shaken as if by an invisible hand, trembling violently.

"This is the spiritual mountain of our Jade Spring Zhou Clan! Who dares to trespass!"

He shouted loudly, quickly stepping forward to grasp the formation flag, inputting Mana to stabilize the formation, and using the formation's power to search for the intruder.

However, before he could find the intruder, he heard a "swish" sound, and a hand was placed silently on his back.

"Little Jiu'er, don't be agitated. This is just a small test from this old man."

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhou Yang's extremely tense body relaxed. He then turned to face the person and couldn't help but say with a wry smile, "Great-grandfather, do you have a problem with your grandson? Your grandson is timid and can't handle you scaring him like this!"

It turned out that the person who had suddenly trespassed in the middle of the night was none other than the Old Clan Leader of the Zhou Family, Zhou Minghan, who was originally stationed at the Jade Spring Lake Oasis.

"Hahahaha, Little Jiu'er, are you blaming this old man? Then do you know how panicked this old man was when Quan'er told me that you almost stumbled into the lair of the Poison Fire Scorpion?"

The Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan looked at Zhou Yang with a smile, and his words made Zhou Yang's heart pound.

"Do you know how high my expectations are for you? Do you know how high the expectations of the dozens of cultivators in the Zhou Family are for you? You carry the expectations of so many of us, and not only do you not cultivate properly on the mountain, but you also hid it from me and the family to go deep into the sand sea to pursue Demonic Beasts. Do you know how great the blow to our Zhou Family would be if something happened to you?"

"What our Zhou Family lacks now is a mineral vein or a spiritual mountain?"

"No! What our Zhou Family lacks now is a qualified successor, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who can take over from me and guard this family business after I pass away!"

"You say you are timid, but in my eyes, you are not only not timid, but you are also reckless and unafraid of death!"

The stern words spoken by Zhou Minghan, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, were like Zhou Yang's use of the First-Rank spell "Clear Sound Art" to speak to the mortal miners that day. Every word pierced his heart, making him stagger back repeatedly, his face ashen, unable to utter a single word of defense.

"I know you were precocious since childhood and have your own ideas about everything, but you must know that the dangers and cruelty of the Cultivation World are far more complicated than what you've learned from ancient texts and from the elders!"

"You want to see the outside world, and I don't object, but ask yourself, are you prepared to die at any moment?"

"Like today, if it wasn't this old man who came, but a Third-Rank Demonic Beast, or a hostile Foundation Establishment Cultivator, even with the formation here, do you think you could hold on until the family arrived for reinforcements?"

The stern questions from the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan struck directly at the depths of Zhou Yang's heart. The usually eloquent Zhou Yang was now sweating profusely, unable to answer a single word.

"Great-grandfather, please calm your anger. Your grandson knows he was wrong. Your grandson knows he was wrong!"

With a pale face, he lowered his head, not daring to meet the Old Clan Leader's stern and sharp gaze, and repeatedly begged for forgiveness.

After all, he was his most valued descendant, and it was not good to be too harsh. Seeing Zhou Yang like this, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's anger gradually subsided.

His expression softened, and he said in a calm tone, "Get up. If I truly wanted to punish you, I would have sent someone to bring you back to the family long ago. This time is just to teach you a lesson, to let you know that as a family disciple, when acting, you must not only consider yourself but also think more about the family and your family members. Your parents work hard every day in the market town, for whom are they doing it? Don't you really know?"

"Your grandson knows. Your grandson will definitely remember Great-grandfather's teachings from now on and will never make the same mistake again!" Zhou Yang looked up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, his expression extremely firm, clearly having truly taken the Old Clan Leader's words to heart.

Seeing this, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's eyes flashed with relief, but he showed no expression as he waved his hand and said, "Alright, enough talk. I cannot leave the family for too long. While there is still some time, you will forge an artifact in front of me and let me see your techniques. If you have any problems with your cultivation, you can also tell me about them."

Great-grandfather still loves me!

Zhou Yang rejoiced in his heart, knowing that he had passed this hurdle for the day. Without further ado, he quickly took out his artifact forging cauldron and materials and began forging on the spot.

This time, he was highly focused, adopting the attitude he would have when facing an inspection from a leader in his past life. He completed the entire forging process in one go, successfully refining a First-Rank high-grade Artifact, the [Mysterious Steel Shield].

"Please guide me, Great-grandfather."

As the artifact came out of the furnace, Zhou Yang, without bothering to wipe the sweat from his forehead, quickly handed it to the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who was sitting cross-legged beside him.

Unexpectedly, after receiving the artifact, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan didn't even look at it. He directly flicked a sword qi, cutting the artifact into several pieces, then moved the artifact fragments in front of him, pointing out the flaws and errors in his forging process one by one.

"Look here, these broken lines are chaotic, indicating that you did not completely refine the impurities in the metal. These impurities, though seemingly not affecting the artifact's use, actually reduce the artifact's load-bearing capacity, making this spot a weakness of the artifact!"

"And the techniques you used during the forging process..."

When it came to technical skills like artifact forging and alchemy, having a master teach you versus not having one made a world of difference.

Before receiving the hands-on guidance from the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, a Third-Rank Artifact Forger, Zhou Yang, despite having read numerous artifact forging texts and repeatedly studied the insights summarized by the Old Clan Leader, still had many errors and omissions in his forging that he was unaware of.

In such situations, even after failing, he wouldn't know where the failure occurred. To find the point of failure on his own would require countless failures.

However, these errors and omissions, which he didn't know or discover, were as clear as lice on a monk's head to the Third-Rank Artifact Forger, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, leaving no room for concealment.

Thus, these points of error, which might have taken him countless failures to discover, were easily pointed out by the Old Clan Leader, and he was even directly told how to solve them.

After this face-to-face guidance, Zhou Yang's artifact forging skills underwent a leap forward. He felt that as long as he could digest the knowledge taught by the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan today, he could attempt to become a Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

After guiding Zhou Yang in his artifact forging techniques, the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan also answered some of his cultivation-related questions. Then, just as quietly as he had arrived, he quietly departed.

Although the Old Clan Leader did not say where he was going, Zhou Yang knew that he must have gone to the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein that he and the elder Zhou Quan had discovered.

As expected, the day after the Old Clan Leader left, Zhou Yang received a sound transmission talisman from him.

In the sound transmission talisman, the Old Clan Leader informed him that there was indeed a Third-Rank Low-grade Spirit Vein and a Third-Rank Poison Fire Scorpion King at the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein, and warned him not to go near that area again. However, he did not explain how to deal with the matter.

Since the Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan didn't say anything, Zhou Yang didn't ask further. After all, the matter involved a Third-Rank Demonic Beast, which was beyond the capabilities of Qi Refining Cultivators like them to handle or decide. The Old Clan Leader would certainly know more about how to deal with it than he did.

He only felt a bit of pity for the elder Zhou Quan. After all, until the ore vein was officially put into production, they wouldn't receive their share of the profits from discovering it. Given the elder's age, he might not live to see the day the ore vein was officially mined.

Two more years passed. Zhou Yang's assignment guarding Qingping Mountain also came to an end.

Having been stationed at Qingping Mountain for five years, he now intensely missed the Jade Spring Lake Oasis, the scenery on Jade Spring Peak, the sweetness of the Jade Spring Lake water, and his parents, whom he hadn't seen in seven or eight years.

Therefore, when the family elder who came to take over his post, his seventeenth uncle Zhou Xuanzhao, arrived, Zhou Yang completed the handover without delay, eager to leave. Amidst his youngest elder's complaints, he set off on his journey home, impatient to return.

Requesting recommendation tickets and investment in the new book group. Today, I received rewards from two more readers. Thank you, thank you!