Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Xue Lan got up from the ground, cast a small spell to remove the ash from her body, and changed into a new set of clothes.

Unsurprisingly, it's black again.

"Lan girl, are you heartbroken that the Illusionary Treasure Map is broken?" Master Chen Ruifang flew down from the city wall and landed among the crowd. His laughter was hearty, and his words were blatant mockery.

Xue Lan was not intimidated at all. "Of course I'm heartbroken, but I'll repair it later. I heard some time ago that you recently acquired a few tail feathers from the Peacock King. I wonder if you would be willing to part with them..."

"Don't even mention it!" Chen Ruifang resolutely refused. He stroked his beard and looked at Min Chang.

"Daoist Shunhua has already told me about your situation. The person who was watching you earlier was the one who made the move just now. He is a powerful expert in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

Before Master Chen could finish speaking, everyone present gasped in shock.

"His name is Xuan Shuo, and he is a henchman of the Demon God. Due to the constraints of the Lei Kui Formation, he had to suppress his cultivation level to the late Nascent Soul stage, but he is experienced and has many tricks up his sleeve."

"You little brats are nothing but ants that can shake mountains in his eyes!"

Master Chen pointed to the younger generation in front of him one by one, and finally emphasized Xue Lan: "You have good talent, but you are not focused on cultivation. You almost got killed!"

Xue Lan felt that it would be better for Master Chen to remain silent.

"Since you've decided to lure the enemy with your own body, you should be aware of the outcome of this trip. Xuan Shuo is extremely cunning, and the human race has used this method to lure and kill many demons over the years."

Master Chen looked at Min Shang with a solemn expression.

“Min Chang understands!” Min Chang bowed to Master Chen: “Min Chang’s cultivation in this life is not for immortality, but only to slay the demons. If I were to perish here, Min Chang would have no regrets.”

"It's good that you have this determination, but my human race is not to be trifled with. We would never send our human prodigies to pay for the lives of that monstrous beast. I have crafted an array for you."

Master Chen smiled and raised his hand, revealing a set of formations. The cyan formation flags slowly rotated on the formation plate.

"This formation is called Zhong Lei. It shares the same origin as the Lei Kui Grand Formation, and its formation inscriptions are connected to the Lei Kui Grand Formation. When necessary, it can mobilize a wisp of the wandering soul of the one within the formation. Even a wisp of the wandering soul is enough to give Xuan Shuo a headache. This is the glimmer of hope I'm giving you."

"Thank you so much, Senior!" Min Chang quickly expressed her gratitude, carefully accepting the cyan array plate in front of her with both hands and storing it in her storage bag. She cherished this so-called sliver of hope, not because she was afraid of death, but because she felt she shouldn't die and should kill more demons.

“Using this formation consumes a lot of spiritual energy. Let Xue Lan lend you the Spirit Gathering Cauldron from her Chonglou Illusionary Treasure Map.”

Everyone looked at Xue Lan, who gave an awkward smile, clutching her magical artifact tightly to her chest. She asked Chen Ruifang, "From what you're saying, Master, the matter of luring and killing the Demon King has nothing to do with me, right?"

Master Chen looked at the girl with almond-shaped eyes and slowly said, "What's wrong with not being able to accommodate someone like you?"

Just as Xue Lan was about to break into a joyful smile, Chen Ruifang abruptly changed the subject: "Since when did the front lines have anything to do with weapon refiners?"

"So you're still telling me not to go!" Xue Lan's face fell.

Master Chen nodded: "I won't let you go!"

Xue Lan, with her rebellious nature, bristled upon hearing this: "Who's stopping me?"

"Your master."

Xue Lan didn't react for a moment, thinking that the old man had left the Xuanhuang Sect for several years, yet he still remembered that he had a little white cabbage-like disciple.

It's true that the longer you live, the more ghosts you see.

"It's Master." Ji Jinjin looked at Master Chen excitedly and asked, "Senior, how has my Master been lately?"

Master Chen transformed into a nodding maniac: "Everything is fine, everything is fine!"

"My fellow disciples and I are all well. Please ask Master Chen to tell our master not to worry about us."

If she had been concerned about us, she wouldn't have abandoned us. Xue Lan cursed inwardly, but in the end, she still gave the Spirit Gathering Cauldron to Min Chang.

"Young friends, please leave now. Xue Lan, please stay." Master Chen said, and the others could not remain any longer. So they all left, including Yan Chengxue who was beside him.

In the end, only Xue Lan and him remained.

"Your master asked me to bring you something." Master Chen waved his sleeve again, and a sandalwood box appeared in front of Xue Lan. Xue Lan took it and opened it, inside was an extremely fiery red robe.

It wasn't fabric produced by the Jiangyun Sect; it was cloth made by ordinary people, but its color was extremely vibrant, like the fiery red clouds on the horizon at that moment.

It was a color that Xue Lan had never worn before.

"This color doesn't suit me. The old man is buying things randomly again!" Xue Lan said softly, turning over the bright red dress.

"No, your master said you'll like it." Master Chen smiled as he looked at Xue Lan. The girl said she didn't like it, but her movements were extremely careful, as if she was afraid of crushing this fragile thing from the mortal world with her bare hands.

Master Chen couldn't help but recall the bets he and Ling Yuanzi had made about Xue Lan.

The year Xue Lan first started learning weapon crafting, Ling Yuanzi took the little girl to the War Puppet Mansion to order some puppets for use during weapon crafting. He bet with Ling Yuanzi that the child was just doing it on a whim, but now almost ten years have passed, and the child is still persisting.

Ling Yuanzi picked up Zhu He at the Ascension Ceremony. Master Chen bet that Xue Lan wouldn't like that loud and boisterous child, but Xue Lan put up with Zhu He and even did everything she could with Ling Yuanzi to help Zhu He overcome his cultivation obstacles.

Ling Yuanzi understood Xue Lan and trusted her. This trust, built up in the short few years they spent together, was as solid as a rock.

It seems like we can trust each other forever.

"Your master said that if you encounter any insurmountable obstacles in the future, you should go and see the human world!"

Without hesitation, Xue Lan said, "What's so interesting about the mortal world? Mortals are bustling around, living their own lives. Immortals would only feel like they're an oddity there."

Just like in her previous life, Xue Lan, as the eldest lord of the wolf clan, was either on the path of conquest or cultivating. No matter how lively the scene, as soon as she appeared, the joyous singing and dancing would instantly become lifeless. The mischievous juniors would suddenly become stiff and rigid.

She was high above them, like a mountain pressing down on them, ready to collapse at any moment.

Because the mountain is too high, its true appearance is unknown, and even though the top of the mountain is covered with beautiful flowers, no one dares to explore it.

“Mortals would want immortals to see this. You couldn’t have been fighting that demon here because you couldn’t stand him, could you?”

Xue Lan didn't speak. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Master Chen.

"You stubborn fool! Do you know why I don't want you to lure and kill demons?" Master Chen stopped insisting on persuading Xue Lan to go and see the human world, and instead changed the subject.

"Why?" Xue Lan was already somewhat unwilling to talk to Master Chen, and responded lazily, as if to say, "I don't know, I don't want to hear it, but you're an elder, so I'm giving you face."

"The Wan Gong Fang is about to open." Master Chen said slowly, without getting angry.

"The Ten Thousand Crafts Workshop!" Xue Lan perked up immediately. She moved closer to Master Chen: "The War Puppet Mansion plans to support me in competing for the Ten Thousand Crafts inheritance and becoming the workshop's head?"

The Myriad Crafts Workshop is a secret realm that existed in Xue Lan's previous life, and it's one of the few inheritances in the lower realm of Yuanming that could arouse the interest of those in the upper realm. Legend has it that the Myriad Crafts Workshop's inheritance holds the secret to forging eternal divine weapons. Obtaining the inheritance is equivalent to directly succeeding to the Myriad Crafts Workshop and becoming the master of the divine weapons stored within for ten thousand years.

"Yes!" Master Chen's voice was firm.

"The War Puppet Mansion is one of only two sects out of the six sects and twelve factions to possess the Wan Gong Fang entry token. I made a bet with Ling Yuanzi and secured you an opportunity to take the War Puppet Mansion weapon-refining assessment." Master Chen looked somewhat smug.

"If you can become a Grandmaster of Weapon Forging during the assessment and imbue a magical artifact with spirit, you will be eligible for this opportunity."

Xue Lan pondered quietly for a while, then smiled faintly.

"When?"

"Four months later."

Xue Lan figured that four months later, Demon Lord Xuan Shuo's demon core should be in her hands. So she readily agreed.

"I attended!"