Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

Two silver wire bracelets with floral patterns jingled as she moved.

With each strike of her hammer, the bracelet made a ringing sound, perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the hammering, as if she were providing background music for herself.

Mu Tianmiao stood at the door without saying a word. He understood the rules of weapon forging; once the forging began, it could not be stopped.

Breaking a hammer blow could render the entire piece of material unusable.

This is common sense, but also a minefield for weapon refiners.

He found a stool in the corner, sat down, and waited quietly.

The thunderous roar of the giant hammer lasted for nearly fifteen minutes, during which Lin Yanluo even used one hand to sprinkle something onto the iron ingot.

Flames leaped three feet high, making her face flush red.

She squinted and nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the hammer again and continued smashing.

Finally, with the last hammer blow, the aura on the iron ingot suddenly faded, and a pure silver-white blank lay quietly on the forging table.

Lin Yanlu casually placed the giant hammer to the side, and the hammer handle hit the ground with a dull thud, causing the entire weapon-refining pavilion to shake.

She exhaled a long breath of white air, raised her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her face, then turned around and immediately saw Mu Tianmiao sitting in the corner.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

"You're here?"

Her voice was as clear as a silver bell, completely different from the one who had just swung the hammer and created a sonic boom.

Mu Tianmiao stood up and walked over, taking out the materials that Tang Ruoyin had divided from her Qiankun bag.

Scales, dragon tendons, dragon claws, and broken bones were neatly stacked on the workbench.

"I've arrived, and I've brought the materials. Elder Tang has already finished disassembling them. Would you like to take a look?"

Lin Yanluo didn't look at the materials. Instead, she tiptoed closer to Mu Tianmiao and looked him up and down several times with her bright eyes.

Then she raised her little hand and touched her chin, her mouth twisting into a typical little devil smile.

"You little punk, you've cultivated pretty fast! You're half as fast as I was back then!"

Mu Tianmiao's lips twitched.

Of the more than a thousand people in the entire Immortal Shadow Sect, he was the only one whom Lin Yanluo called a nobody.

He'd heard this title from the Qi Refining stage to the Golden Core stage, and now he's almost at the Nascent Soul stage. No matter how much his cultivation had increased, he would always be nothing but a nobody in front of this person.

Because Lin Yanluo certainly has the right to be arrogant.

She is fifty years old this year and has reached the ninth level of the Divine Transformation Realm.

What does fifty years old mean?

In the cultivation world, the vast majority of cultivators over fifty years old are still struggling in the Qi Refining stage, and those who can reach the Foundation Establishment stage are considered to be exceptionally talented.

Lin Yanluo, at the age of fifty, had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, only one step away from becoming a Divine Transformation cultivator.

In the ranking of combat power of the entire Immortal Shadow Sect, Sect Master Li Xizhao is first in the Nascent Soul stage, and the second place belongs to this little loli who is only 1.5 meters tall and wields a two-meter-long hammer.

Even the Nascent Soul stage elders in the sect, who had lived for over a thousand years, had to address her respectfully as Elder Lin.

Because in terms of cultivation, she was a whole major realm higher than them.

This cultivation speed can no longer be described as genius; it's simply monstrous.

Throughout the entire Eight Desolations World, there are only a handful of cultivators in history who have reached the Nascent Soul stage before the age of one hundred.

Mu Tianmiao really wanted to retort, but after thinking about the consequences of talking back last time—being chased around the weapon-refining pavilion thirty times by that two-meter-long giant hammer—she decided to behave herself.

"Elder Lin is right. How can my talent compare to yours?"

He spoke respectfully, his tone carrying a hint of forced, mocking laughter.

Lin Yanluo clearly appreciated the words, tilted her head back and hummed, before turning her gaze to the materials on the workbench.

"It's alright, I'll make do with it."

"The things made from dragons are nothing special. When you get me a real dragon, I'll forge you a precious sword!"

Chapter Eleven: Minion Flings, You Think I Didn't Notice?

Lin Yanluo stretched out her small hand, palm facing up, and hooked her five fair fingers together.

"Where's what I wanted? Small fish!"

Mu Tianmiao sighed.

Lin Yanluo never called him by his name in private.

There's only one reason why the name Mu Tianmiao comes out of her mouth: she's saving face for him in front of outsiders.

When no one else is around, his code name is always "minor fish".

He took out a sachet from his Qiankun bag and handed it over.

The sachet was made of the finest Yun brocade, embroidered with a few crooked little flowers, the stitches so rough they looked like they were sewn by a beginner.

He had bought this sachet countless times, and he would bring back a new one every time he went out, even more punctually than when he offered it to his master.

Lin Yanluo took the sachet, skillfully unpacked the old one, replaced it with the new one, hung it back around her neck, and even lowered her head to smell it before nodding in satisfaction.

Mu Tianmiao remembered the events of a year ago very clearly.

That day, Lin Yanluo forged for five days and five nights in a row, and finally finished a complete set of dragon scale armor. She was so excited that she insisted on riding on his neck and spinning around in the weapon-forging pavilion to show off.

He had a moment of madness and blurted out, "The smell of sweat is so strong."

Four words resulted in a beating that lasted the entire afternoon.

Finally, he ran all over the three nearby markets before he could buy a sachet as an apology, and Lin Yanluo said it was some kind of rubbish.

But from that day on, she always wore this sachet around her neck. When it got old, she would ask Mu Tianmiao to buy her a new one, and she never bought one for herself.

Later, Mu Tianmiao started making her own sachets.

"It's alright, they didn't cut corners."

Lin Yanluo patted the new sachet around her neck, her mood clearly improved, and she reverted to her usual shrewish demeanor.

"At least you, a nobody, have some conscience."

Mu Tianmiao stood aside, watching Lin Yanluo pick and choose among a pile of dragon materials.

Her small hands rummaged through the scales and bone fragments, occasionally picking up a piece to examine its quality in the firelight. If she wasn't satisfied, she'd toss it back, and if she was satisfied, she'd stack it on the other side.

"What are you planning to fight?" Mu Tianmiao couldn't help but ask.

Lin Yanluo didn't even look up, but picked up a dragon pearl and twirled it between her fingers.

"The materials from the dragon are not actually suitable for making very strong weapons."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that this jiao is almost a dragon. A jiao is still a jiao, and it's a far cry from a real dragon. It's not hard enough to make a sword."

"Let's do nails. They're not tough enough. This thing isn't cut out for this."

She tossed the dragon pearl into the air and caught it steadily, her tone slightly mischievous.

"So, most of the materials from the dragon are used to make jewelry. Do you know why?"

Mu Tianmiao touched his nose guiltily. Of course he knew.

He had personally experienced the properties of dragon blood. Wearing ornaments made of dragon bones and scales, while not as potent as dragon blood, would still cause one's blood to surge and emotions to stir over time.

In the cultivation world, there are many male cultivators with ulterior motives who specifically buy these dragon bone jewelry pieces to give to female cultivators they admire.

Once someone has worn it for a long time and can't resist the temptation, they'll take advantage of the situation and start a good show.

This kind of thing has almost become an industry chain in the lowlife circles.

"But then,"

Lin Yanluo changed the subject abruptly, a sinister glint appearing in her eyes.

"That's why this thing is so sought after on the market."

“Those bastards from the Hehuan Sect spend enough spirit stones on dragon ornaments every year to form a mountain.”

"These people practice dual cultivation, and their need for this stuff is even greater than our need for Foundation Establishment Pills."

She turned around, holding a thumb-sized dragon pearl in her hand. The pearl was pure white and had a faint pinkish glow in the firelight.

She held the bead up in front of Mu Tianmiao and waved it, asking with a grin.

"So I plan to make a batch of dragon pearl jewelry and sell it to the Hehuan Sect to make a good profit from them."

"How about it, you little fish? Want me to give you a dragon pearl necklace first? It's free, consider it payment for helping me bring in the materials~"

After she finished speaking, she winked at him, but her expression didn't look like she meant any good.

"I'm a gentleman, I wouldn't do such a thing." Mu Tianmiao puffed out his chest, speaking with righteous indignation.

Lin Yanluo glanced at him.

That single glance contained a wealth of information, ranging from disdain to mockery.

"You little punk, do you think I didn't notice?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, her 1.5-meter height looking up at Mu Tianmiao, yet her aura made it seem as if she were looking down at him.

"From the moment you walked in, your eyes have been scanning my backside and front of me at least seven or eight times. And you call yourself a gentleman? Tsk~"

Mu Tianmiao's expression froze.

He thought he was being discreet in his peeking, but in front of this fifty-year-old monster in his distracted state, the other man could see right where his eyes were wandering.

Seeing his discomfiture, Lin Yanluo laughed even harder and patted his shoulder on tiptoe.

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you a batch of materials so you won't be without props if you want to do something bad in the future. After all, this is all the small fry you can do."

She squatted down again to sort the materials, continuing to speak as she did so.

"Hey, you little brat, you little brat~ Hurry up and get to work, I'm getting in the way. You're just standing here getting in my way~"

Mu Tianmiao was too ashamed to stay any longer and slunk away...

After leaving the weapon refining pavilion, Mu Tianmiao walked west along the mountain path and arrived at the sect's supplies procurement department.

This place is in charge of all external procurement matters for the Immortal Shadow Sect.

From spiritual materials and medicines to the pens, ink, paper, and inkstones used by disciples daily, from alchemy furnaces and vessel blanks to the rice, flour, and cooking oil in the canteen, every item that goes in and out must pass through the hands here.

The person in charge was a female cultivator at the Golden Core stage, surnamed Zhou, and everyone in the sect called her Manager Zhou.

When Manager Zhou saw Mu Tianmiao enter, he immediately put down his work and greeted her with a big smile.

The bowing and scraping movements were fluid and natural, neither overly obsequious nor lacking in respect.

The woman appeared to be in her forties, with an average appearance; she was indeed not particularly eye-catching in the Immortal Shadow Sect, where beauties abound.

But the reason she's been able to stay in the purchasing manager position for so many years has never been because of her looks, but because of her skills.

It is said that she was very familiar with all the big and small businesses within a radius of thousands of miles, and her bargaining skills were exceptional.

With the same amount of spirit stones, she could always buy 20% more items than others.

This is also a rare case of a woman like Mu Tianmiao who has absolutely no thoughts.

The two had a purely professional relationship, completely innocent, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of ambiguity between them.

"What brings the young sect leader here today?"

Manager Zhou asked with a smile, and as he spoke, he quickly brought him a chair.

"Is there anything you want? A batch of spiritual tea from Nanling just arrived at the market. Would you like me to save two catties for you?"

Mu Tianmiao waved her hand and sat down: "Don't rush the spirit tea, I want to look at the recent purchase ledgers."

"Oh, looking at the ledgers? No problem, no problem."

Manager Zhou turned around and pulled out several thick ledgers from the shelf, handing them over with both hands. He didn't stop talking as he turned the pages, introducing them as if they were his own treasures.

"Look, this is a batch of spirit silk that just arrived last month. It's of excellent quality; the robes woven from it are so light they feel like you're not wearing anything at all!"

"And this, a full nine hundred catties of Xuan Iron Essence transported from the Northern Territory. Half of it was sent to Elder Lin, and the rest went into the sect's warehouse."

"Oh, right, we recently received a batch of Yun brocade sachet material. Elder Lin personally specified the pattern. I don't know why she's suddenly become so interested in sachets..."