28: Chapter 28 This hairpin, I like it very much.

Zhao Ruoan finally finished his work.

He turned around and only then noticed that the doorway was already packed with people at some unknown point.

He saw Revered Master Yun Qinghan and Luo Li.

A somewhat embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

With a slight movement of his Divine Thought, the breathtaking ice phoenix divine hairpin transformed into a stream of light, fluttering over to float quietly before Yun Qinghan.

"Revered Master, are you satisfied with this gift?"

Yun Qinghan did not speak.

She merely looked at the hairpin floating before her, its ice-blue halo reflecting off her flawless profile.

The surrounding air was frighteningly quiet.

After a long while.

"Cough."

Hall Master Liu Xi gave a dry cough.

As an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, he felt it necessary to say a few words for this divine masterpiece.

He cupped his fists in the direction of Zhao Ruoan, his tone filled with irrepressible excitement and admiration.

"Junior Martial Nephew... No, Grandmaster Zhao. This old man... I, Liu Xi, apologize to you for my doubt just now."

As soon as he spoke, everyone was stunned.

Zhao Ruoan was also somewhat surprised.

However, ignoring all else, Liu Xi continued speaking on his own, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"Using Tier 4 scarlet flame essence gold as the main material, supplemented by Zichen starry gold, to actually refine a top-grade Spiritual Artifact containing Dao rhythm... Such a method is something this old man has never heard of nor seen before."

"To be able to witness firsthand the birth of a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, and even contribute a part to it, this old man has no regrets in this lifetime!"

This Elder of revered status on Tianhuo Peak spoke with utmost sincerity at this moment, even slightly bowing his body toward Zhao Ruoan, a Junior.

This completely subverted Feng Chuan's worldview.

His Master, that ordinarily arrogant Artifact Refining Grandmaster who ignored everyone, was actually performing such a grand bow toward a teenager in his teens?

Zhao Ruoan hurriedly stepped forward and gently supported him with an imaginary gesture.

"Elder Liu, you exaggerate; this Junior does not dare accept such praise."

"If it weren't for Elder disregarding the consumption and using your own spiritual power to stabilize the furnace fire for me, with this Junior's meager cultivation, it would be utterly impossible to smelt that scarlet flame essence gold."

What he said was also the truth.

With his current cultivation, his Divine Thought control was more than enough, but his spiritual power output was his fatal flaw.

Without Hall Master Liu Xi acting like a portable power bank by his side to hold out, he would have failed right at the first step.

Hearing this, Liu Xi felt immensely gratified in his heart.

Look at that.

What is called a Genius?

This is a true Genius!

His Heaven-Defying talent aside, he was also humble, polite, and knew how to be grateful.

Compared to Grandmaster Zhao, his own Disciple Feng Chuan was simply not worth mentioning.

Just as the two of them were mutually flattering each other commercially.

A cold, clear female voice sounded.

"So, this is the reason why you ran over to Tianhuo Peak to mess around?"

Zhao Ruoan's body stiffened.

Only then did he snap back to reality, realizing that he seemed... to have indeed sneaked out secretly.

Now he was completely screwed.

Caught red-handed.

He turned around and organized his words.

"Revered Master, this Disciple knows my wrong."

First, he candidly admitted his mistake, then pointed at the hairpin with a sincere attitude.

"This Disciple only wanted to personally prepare a gift for you before Revered Master's birthday."

"This ice phoenix hairpin consumed a lot of this Disciple's efforts, so please Revered Master do not disdain it. Consider it just a meager token of this Disciple's sincerity."

As his voice fell.

Hall Master Liu Xi and the others almost failed to catch their breath.

A meager token of sincerity?

A top-grade Spiritual Artifact is just a meager token of sincerity to you?

This wave of flexing was so fresh and refined that it made people unable to even feel envious.

Yun Qinghan's expression did not change.

She simply looked quietly at Zhao Ruoan.

Looking at his face, which was slightly pale due to excessive consumption of Divine Thought.

Looking at the un-dried sweat beads on his temples.

Looking at his clean, clear, yet apprehensive expression.

The trace of anger she brought with her when she arrived had somehow dissipated completely.

She extended her slender jade hand and gently pinched the shaft of the ice phoenix divine hairpin.

It felt icy to the touch, yet not piercingly cold; instead, it had a warm and smooth texture.

The ice phoenix carved at the head of the hairpin was crafted with supreme ingenuity, and an aloof, cold Dao rhythm rushed toward her, perfectly matching her own aura.

She truly liked it.

"This hairpin, Revered Master likes it very much."

Yun Qinghan spoke, and the chill within her tone melted away a lot.

After speaking, she flipped her wrist, and the ice phoenix divine hairpin vanished, put away by her.

Then, Yun Qinghan extended her hand and gently placed it on Zhao Ruoan's shoulder.

A gentle, pure, yet vast as the sea spiritual power slowly poured through her palm into Zhao Ruoan's body.

That spiritual power was like a clear spring, instantly flowing through all his limbs and bones, scouring his Meridians and Sea of Consciousness which were exhausted from excessive consumption.

The bouts of dizziness originally brought on by the overdraft of Divine Thought rapidly receded under the nourishment of this power.

In just a few breaths' time, Zhao Ruoan felt as if he had come back to life, his state even slightly better than before Artifact Refining.

This... is this the healing power of an Immortal Emperor-tier powerhouse?

"Thank you, Revered Master."

Zhao Ruoan expressed his thanks sincerely.

Yun Qinghan withdrew her hand, her tone calm.

"I have received your sincerity, but let this be an exception."

"The path of Artifact Refining consumes immense mental energy. That you succeeded today has an element of luck. In the future, do not be so rash; you must know that consolidating one's foundation and nurturing the origin is the Righteous Path."

Was she caring about him?

From that calm tone, Zhao Ruoan heard a sense of concern.

Hall Master Liu Xi on the side also hurriedly chimed in.

"Peak Master Yun is right! Grandmaster Zhao, with your talent, you must absolutely not be overly eager for quick success."

"Refining top-grade Spiritual Artifacts emphasizes heavenly timing, advantageous terrain, and human harmony; state, state of mind, and inspiration are all indispensable. Today you have already performed extraordinarily, so you should not force it further and should properly recuperate for a while."

Elder Fu Gao and Lu Xing also nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.

Just kidding, if such a precious treasure of a talent were ruined in practice, it would break their hearts to death.

Zhao Ruoan naturally understood this reasoning as well. His spirit was indeed somewhat overdrawn right now, so he smoothly agreed.

"Thank you for the concern, Elders; this Disciple understands."

Seeing Zhao Ruoan agree, everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the matter was concluded, Yun Qinghan prepared to lead people away.

"Since that is the case, you will follow me back to Qinghan Peak."

She turned around, her white robes fluttering, and was about to walk outward.

Zhao Ruoan and Luo Li were just preparing to follow.

"Wait!"

An urgent voice sounded from the side.

Hall Master Liu Xi took a stride forward, blocking in front of Yun Qinghan, his face written full of anxiety.

"Peak Master Yun, please stay your steps!"

Yun Qinghan stopped her steps, turned to look at him, her cold and clear face carrying a trace of puzzlement.

Hall Master Liu Xi also knew that his current action was somewhat abrupt, but he couldn't care about that anymore.

Let Zhao Ruoan go?

What an international joke!

An Artifact Refining prodigy who could refine a top-grade Spiritual Artifact using Tier 4 Materials, just let him go back to a godforsaken place like Qinghan Peak to practice swordsmanship every day?

This is a terrible waste of natural resources!

He took a deep breath, mustered all the courage of his life, and said to Yun Qinghan.

"Peak Master Yun, Grandmaster Zhao's Artifact Refining talent is rare through the ages. If he only cultivates on Qinghan Peak, it would be far too wasteful."

"I earnestly request Peak Master Yun to let Grandmaster Zhao stay on our Tianhuo Peak, to be jointly taught by the four of us! We guarantee that in less than a hundred years, we will surely cultivate another Great Grandmaster of Artifact Refining for our Qingxuan Sect!"

As the voice fell, the entire Artifact Refining Room once again plunged into a death-like silence.

Wang Qi in the corner silently covered his face.

It's over.

Elder Liu has lost his head.

To actually dare to snatch a person right in front of Peak Master Yun.