Chapter 60: An Unexpected Visit (2)

The question about the condition of the Heavenly Twin Stars had sounded casual, yet Lin Hao’s eyes became sharper as he watched Gu Yuan’s expression.

"Of course I don’t believe something happened to the Heavenly Twin Stars," Gu Yuan said calmly.

He had already noticed that something about Lin Hao’s behavior was unnatural. Even so, he had no reason to hide this much.

"Then I’m relieved." Lin Hao let out an exaggerated sigh before quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, we haven’t met for so long. We should have a drink."

He took some wine and snacks from his storage ring and placed them on the table before inviting Gu Yuan to join him.

Gu Yuan didn’t refuse.

With the wine between them, the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed. Their conversation returned to more ordinary matters, and, as usual, it eventually circled back to women.

"By the way, I heard that Peak Master Tie Shan is holding a gathering for all Forging Masters in the sect at Hundred Refinements Peak. Are you planning to attend?"

"A gathering? At a time like this?"

With the situation around the sect becoming increasingly tense, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but find the timing strange. Shouldn’t the sect be more concerned with preparing for the possibility of an attack?

Lin Hao chuckled. "It’s precisely because of the current situation that they’re holding it."

"If the sect can still gather its forging masters together for something like this, it will show the disciples that things haven’t reached the point where they need to panic. At least, that’s probably what they’re trying to convey."

That actually made sense.

Gu Yuan thought about the gathering for a moment. Should he go?

He had no particular interest in social gatherings, but a gathering of forging masters could still be useful. Before he could reach a conclusion, Lin Hao suddenly spoke again.

"Actually, Brother Gu, I have quite a few forging materials with me. Do you want to take a look?"

"Let me see what you have."

Lin Hao nodded and began taking things out of his storage ring one after another.

Ores, refined metals, spirit stones and crystals used in forging, rare stones, and various materials harvested from demonic beasts soon covered a large portion of the table.

Spirit ores of various grades, refined metal ingots, demonic beast bones and cores suitable for forging, along with several rare stones... materials of every kind spilled beside the table making a small mountain.

Gu Yuan couldn’t help but look at Lin Hao strangely... did he rob some Forging Master?

"Haha, don’t look at me like that." Lin Hao laughed. "During my last trip outside the sect, I came across the inheritance site of an Embryo Realm cultivator. As it happened, that cultivator was also a forging master. I obtained all of these from his inheritance."

"Oh?"

Gu Yuan’s interest immediately increased.

"If you obtained the inheritance of a Forging Master, then you should have more than just the materials. You should have his forging inheritance as well. You’re not planning to sell that too?"

Lin Hao shook his head.

"One of my women is a Forging Master as well. She’s still only a beginner, nowhere near your level, but I intend to leave the inheritance to her."

Gu Yuan glanced at the pile of materials before looking back at Lin Hao.

"The inheritance of a Forging Master isn’t something that can only be studied by one person. I could study it together with her."

He had no master who could guide him in forging, so an inheritance left behind by an experienced Forging Master was extremely valuable to him. If there was even a possibility of obtaining it, naturally, Gu Yuan wasn’t going to give up so easily.

Lin Hao thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"That’s fine. I’ll bring Pei Qingluo with me when I come to see you in the future. You can study the inheritance together with her then."

Gu Yuan smiled at that, clearly pleased. He finally turned his attention to the materials spread out before him. He didn’t know the exact value of everything, so he carefully estimated their worth as accurately as he could before giving his price.

"Five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones for everything."

It was the most expensive purchase he had ever made, and even as he said the number, he felt a little heartache. Still, Gu Yuan knew the forging materials in front of him were worth the price, perhaps even more.

"You’re quite generous, Brother Gu. I didn’t expect you to pay this much." Lin Hao looked genuinely surprised.

Gu Yuan smiled. "My price includes your promise to let me study the forging master’s inheritance."

"Even then, four hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones should be enough."

Gu Yuan naturally had no objection to paying less. He immediately handed over the four hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones and stored the forging materials, already looking forward to what he could make with them.

The deal left both of them satisfied.

Lin Hao was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.

"Actually, there’s one more thing. I obtained this token from the inheritance, but I have no idea what it does. Can you take a look?"

Gu Yuan looked at the black token lying in Lin Hao’s palm. He probed it with his spiritual sense, but couldn’t sense anything unusual from it.

He then used his Thread of Providence ability to appraise it.

[Name: Nameless Token]

[Description: A token forged by the Ouyang Clan and distributed throughout the Cangchen Mortal World. Once a sufficient number of Tokens have been refined, they will resonate with one another and open the secret realm containing the inheritance of the Origin-Seeking Emperor.]

Gu Yuan’s expression became peculiar as he read the description.

The token practically screamed that it was suspicious.

"I don’t know what this token is for, but I recommend that you don’t refine it carelessly."

Lin Hao played with the token for a moment, his expression thoughtful, before putting it away.

"Understood. Thank you, Brother Gu."

With that, he finally took his leave.

Gu Yuan watched him walk away, and just before Lin Hao disappeared from sight, he decided to appraise the man as well.

[Threads of Providence]

Name: Lin Hao

Age: 112

Cultivation: Golden Core Realm, Eighth Stage

Spiritual Root: Fire and Wood Root (First Grade)

Providence: Medium (High)

Special Note: Lin Hao, a core disciple of the Black Desolation Sect. He has high luck with women. Recently, after hearing the rumors spreading throughout the sect, he became uneasy and came to you, who lived in a cave abode that once belonged to the Great Elder, hoping to learn the truth of the situation.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Great Elder? Gu Yuan blinked.

For a moment, he was genuinely taken aback. Then, all kinds of thoughts ran through his mind before he finally sighed.

If he had known this cave abode was so significant, he probably wouldn’t have chosen it as his residence.

No, perhaps he still would have taken it. But at the very least, he wouldn’t have casually told Lin Hao where he lived.

Gu Yuan shook his head and decided not to dwell on it. The reason behind why he had been given this particular cave abode was actually easy enough to figure out.

His master, Luo Yunjin, was the Deputy Sect Leader, after all.