Chapter 251: Cold Jade Mystic Silk Hand

"Stop pretending to be pitiful. Go now."

Hou Wanshan suppressed his thoughts and urged again.

Lin Jingyi stood listlessly on the cloud, taking the forged steel hammer handed to him by his daughter-in-law, holding it slantwise in his hand.

Having stayed too long in the peaceful region of Li Zhou, he had nearly forgotten when he last fought.

Well, it was fate's destined calamity.

He sighed, preparing to levitate away.

A streak of crimson suddenly flooded into everyone's view.

The red clouds surged like streaks of light from afar, arriving in an instant above the Qi Sect's mountain peak.

In the entire Great Qian realm, Lady Lin had seen only one person who dared to ride such blatant demonic clouds.

She blinked, then cried out in delight: "No need to go! The Inspector General has returned!"

"Huh."

He didn't need her to remind him—Lin Jingyi had already tossed the hammer aside, clumsily leaping down from the cloud, then wiping sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.

May heaven protect us.

Damn that sneaky fox—it's lucky it didn't push things beyond redemption.

Even if the Great Qian is in decline, it still has a Soul Transformation realm cultivator standing guard.

A dead camel is still bigger than a horse; grudges are better resolved than deepened.

"You're lucky."

Hou Wanshan glanced at the old man, then turned to the red clouds, standing with hands behind his back, forcing a faint smile onto his face.

The General-in-Chief is under the Inspector General's jurisdiction.

But Li Zhou is so prosperous thanks to his efforts—he deserves some favor, and even facing a newly appointed Inspector General, he needn't be overly humble.

Yet before all eyes, the red clouds did not descend among the crowd.

They hovered briefly in midair.

Shen Yi's figure landed at the edge of the mountain's hollow, gazing curiously downward.

"..."

Seeing this, Lin Jingyi suddenly felt something was off.

Still, he hurried forward: "Inspector Shen, are you alright?"

As he spoke, he glanced again at the sky.

Three went out—why did only one return?

"Fine."

Shen Yi nodded, his gaze unmoving, still fixed on the thick white mist within the hollow.

This mist was not caused by fire—it resembled a chilling fog.

He asked, slightly curious: "What is this?"

Hearing this, Lin Jingyi's expression grew even stranger.

In the entire Great Qian realm, anyone with even a little knowledge knew the Qi Sect possessed one bottom-tier treasure.

The Inspector General was asking knowingly—what did he mean by this?

Lin Jingyi fell silent for a moment, then answered honestly: "Reporting to Inspector Shen, what lies beneath is our Qi Sect's sacred treasure: the Cold Jade Mystic Silk Hand."

Though he was merely a blacksmith, when it came to his own treasure, his mind instantly sharpened.

He quickly added: "It is the only peerless treasure in the Great Qian realm. The Wumiao elders ordered us to guard it carefully, striving to refine it into a true artifact, then deliver it to Wumiao—it would be a valuable asset."

"Hmm."

Shen Yi nodded, glancing sideways, thoughtful: "You summoned the Qingqiu fox spirit for this?"

The young man's expression and voice were perfectly normal.

But Lin Jingyi scratched the back of his head hard, pleadingly glancing at his daughter-in-law and Hou Wanshan: "..."

The woman coughed twice, turning her face away.

Hou Wanshan had summoned his Yin Spirit—unseen by others—and now feigned complete indifference.

"Sigh."

Lin Jingyi sighed again, abandoning all pretense: "Inspector Shen, we did indeed invite the Hu True Person from Qingqiu to assist us—but whatever he intended to do has nothing to do with this treasure... If you wish to take the treasure back for inspection, old man dares not obstruct you, but I only feel it's a pity..."

Take it back for inspection?

Shen Yi raised an eyebrow—he was indeed curious about what lay inside, but earlier his thoughts had been on the demon's lifespan; now he had time to ask.

If the fox spirit truly possessed such talent for forging artifacts, he could learn from it later.

"The Great Qian primarily cultivates Yin Spirit, so it does not value artifact forging."

Lin Jingyi sighed helplessly: "One peerless treasure can make the Qi Sect famous throughout the Nine Provinces, but if we can forge a true artifact, only then will our name spread beyond the Great Qian... Please wait a little longer, old man promises you—we will deliver it to Wumiao ourselves."

"What step is still missing?"

Shen Yi asked casually—if it wasn't troublesome, he could ask the fox spirit later.

"I've nearly finalized the method to elevate the treasure with Hu True Person. Now we only lack a supreme-cold substance as a catalyst—he said he'd find a way." As he spoke, Lin Jingyi suddenly remembered something, frowning: "Where is Hu True Person?"

"I sent him away."

Shen Yi brushed past the topic simply.

After witnessing the overwhelming dominance of a Soul Transformation cultivator over ordinary warriors and demons, he felt greater wariness toward true great powers.

His Golden Body has not yet fully formed—he is at his weakest now.

Better to stay as low-key as possible.

Put bluntly, even if he were strong enough, with only one man and one Dharma Form—just two hands—how could he possibly guard the Nine Provinces?

You've taken so many benefits from the Wumiao, don't go causing trouble for them anymore.

"A substance of utmost cold?"

Shen Yi rummaged at his waist, gripped the white dragon's core, hesitated, then put it down, finally pulling out a pair of massive dragon horns and placing them on the ground.

"Does this count?"

The pair of dragon horns were entirely milky white, translucent and gleaming; merely touching them sent a chilling cold seeping into the skin.

"What is this?!"

Lin Jingyi might be useless at other things, but having spent a lifetime forging iron, his eye for treasures was razor-sharp.

He sniffed once and immediately recognized its quality, exclaiming in shock: "Dragon horns from a Peak Realm demon king! Where did Lord Shen find these?"

"Given to me before," Shen Yi turned his gaze back to the depression. "Can you use them?"

"Of course."

Lin Jingyi's face tightened as he stole a glance at the still-damp bloodstains at the base of the horns.

If he wasn't mistaken, they'd been severed no more than two hours ago.

Did True Person Hu lead the Inspector away from Daqian and slay a Peak Realm demon king?

No.

If that were true, True Person Hu would have returned with him.

That old fox wouldn't let such a treasure fall into someone else's hands.

So…

Lin Jingyi swallowed hard, his body trembling unconsciously.

Either True Person Hu lured the demon clans to ambush Lord Shen, or there was a dispute over the spoils—either way, the only one left alive was likely this young man before him.

Yet his expression remained calm, as if nothing had happened.

This is what you call ruthless—this is what true ruthlessness looks like.

A mere blacksmith couldn't possibly bear the guilt of this.

The old man's voice shook as he spoke: "I—I—I'll begin the final step right away. At most a month—I guarantee Lord Shen will be satisfied."

Lin Jingyi's odd behavior drew the attention of others.

Hou Wanshan turned back to the two, his eyes filled with confusion: "..."

(End of Chapter)