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--- Chapter 104 ---
Deep inside the mountain range of the Fallen Orchid Sect, Baek Ain and Queen Medusa walk into an ancient smithery enchanted with the help of an active volcano.
The fire energy in this area is more refined yet wild compared to the one on the Blue Orchid Lake, causing both Baek Ain and Cai Lin to be surprised.
"Oh wow, if this queen has such a place in the Tager Desert. Advancing to the peak Dou Venerate Realm wouldn't take this long." Cai Lin commented casually.
Baek Ain rolled his eyes and returned sarcastically, "If I didn't fight you one year ago, you wouldn't reach this stage."
"And within that one year, you will be stuck in peak Dou Emperor Realm."
"Hmph, this queen knows. Just stating a fact." Queen Medusa huffed in dissatisfaction. She knew very well that Baek Ain was her lucky star from the beginning until now.
Without him, she won't be able to evolve into Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python and receive the variant Divine Beast Behemoth's bloodline.
As a dignified queen, she is willing to admit such things, but cowering before Baek Ain is not her liking. So what if Baek Ain conquered her with that ridiculous member and skill on the bed, she's still staying on top of him.
If Baek Ain knew what Cai Lin was thinking, he would laugh and shake his head uncontrollably. The definition of a win for Cai Lin is definitely different.
They entered the ancient smithery and discovered a flow of lava in the cave, illuminating the area. Baek Ain flicked his finger and created a wisp of deep purple flame.
Ding!
The deep purple flame struck a metal pillar in the middle of the cave, causing the whole room to tremble violently before opening another room nearby. It was a secret room for forging that the Fallen Orchid Sect's Master told him after the recovery.
After all, he broke his weapon on the previous battlefield, and this cave stored several valuable materials to compensate for that. Unknown to the sect elder Lan Tianxue, Baek Ain's inventory is stacked with several rare materials thanks to his Sign In System.
"Oh, wow..." Baek Ain's eyes widened in surprise.
Before them, the cave walls were carved with several holes and used to store goods like precious minerals or even bones of Ancient Beast. On the floor, a pile of black-colored stones scattered everywhere.
"Damn."
"I thought they were poor, but actually a tycoon in disguise."
Even Cai Lin was speechless.
When the Fallen Orchid Sect organized themselves, they appeared as 2nd Class Sect on the Demonic Faction. Yet what is this shining amount of resources?
Her kingdom back in the Tager Desert isn't this rich.
Baek Ain and Cai Lin didn't know that because the Fallen Orchid Sect burned some ancestry texts, materials like these couldn't be utilized to their full potential, so they just accumulated and decayed in this storage.
Don't underestimate a sect with four centuries worth of foundation. They might lose their former power, but they still have some backbones.
Picking some treasures, Baek Ain left the important ones for the development of the Fallen Orchid Sect.
Cai Lin also picked a few things that caught her interest, probably something to help with her constitution.
Knowing she obtained and has awakened a variant of his Behemoth's Bloodline, Baek Ain couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'How could she awaken Behemoth's Bloodline before me?' Baek Ain shook his head helplessly. He pressed Alicia about this matter yesterday, and she answered monotonously about needing a massive amount of Life Energy.
He still has the Impure Draconic Bloodline from Li Qinghe's corpse, which contained abundant Life Energy, but that was not enough to awaken his Ashen's Eyed Behemoth's Bloodline.
[Your only hope is to absorb Life Energy from Ancient Void Dragon Tribe as they possessed the best nutrient to help awaken Ashen's Eyed Behemoth's Bloodline] Alicia suddenly commented with her usual monotonous tone.
Baek Ain rolled his eyes because the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe was out of its limit right now. Not only are they strong, but their base is separated into pieces.
The fastest way to travel there is through Spatial Gate. And no way in hell Baek Ain just barged into their front door, demanding Dragon's Blood.
As they walked out, Baek Ain heard a notification.
[Ding! A Great Universal Aura has gotten detected!]
[Do you want to Sign In to Ancient Refining Smithery?]
'Huh?' Baek Ain frowned inside.
'What the...'
He activated Sixth Sense, Profound Temporal Eye, and Ashen's Eyes to check something. After Sign In for over a year, he discovered a pattern to trigger such notifications.
He looked down the crack beneath his foot and stomped the ground heavily.
Cracks!
Boom!
The ground shattered as Baek Ain hugged Cai Lin's waist to prevent her from falling and used Parasite to stick on a wall. A hole the size of an adult appeared, spewing dust everywhere.
"Warn me first or something, aih..." Cai Lin sighed while cleaning dust from her clothes and Baek Ain's shirt.
Baek Ain laughed and returned, "Surprise."
"Haha, funny." Cai Lin remarked while giving him a dreadful look. She definitely would get her payback later.
Baek Ain didn't mind her gaze because he knew something would be spicy tonight. He laughed and jumped into the unknown hole with Cai Lin in his arms.
They landed a minute later with a thud, causing the landing ground to crack slightly. This hole is much deeper than they expected.
Baek Ain summoned his flame and saw a vast hall with a unique-shaped statue lying across it. He scanned the room and noticed a flickering scroll on a decree stand, inviting anyone to touch it.
[Ding! A Great Universal Aura has gotten detected!]
[Do you want to Sign In to Ancient Refining Smithery?]
The same notifications echoed in Baek Ain's head.
'Alicia, scan that scroll first.'
[Okay]
[Scanning...]
[Ancient Refining Technique(Imperfect)]
[I didn't detect any negative aura in this area, so the scroll should be okay to touch]
Even though Alicia said so, Baek Ain was still cautious because who the fuck would put a treasure in such a place without any traps or hidden meanings?
As he approached the scroll, Baek Ain gently retracted his hand and picked it up.
"Ah, Arrrrghhh~!" He groaned in pain.
"A-Ain!" Cai Lin hurriedly ran to his side. She lashed her hand to part the scroll from her life companions but found a grin on his face instead.
At this moment, Cai Lin knew she got tricked by this bastard.
"You!" She punched him in the guts, making him choke slightly.
Baek Ain retracted his smile and said, "That hurts. You know?"
Cai Lin glared at Baek Ain and responded coldly, "Do that again. I'll beat you to a pulp."
Baek Ain apologized because his jokes went too far, which Cai Lin forgave after some persuading. It seems Cai Lin's feelings for him were genuine, as no stranger would run in such a hurry to help someone.
Considering their past relationship, Cai Lin treated him dearly and really saw him as her future husband.
[That should erase your wariness, right?] Alicia suddenly commented.
Baek Ain smiled inside and didn't reply to Alicia's question, but the system knew the answer from his warm silence.
Cai Lin locked her arms around Baek Ain's elbow and said, "Hurry up, open the scroll."
Baek Ain shrugged and opened the scroll, revealing several ancient inscriptions that struck their heads with information.
A headache filled with a massive surge of knowledge overwhelms their brain for a minute.
Baek Ain opened his mouth and spat, "Fuck!"
"This vile..." Even the dignified queen couldn't help but curse.
They felt like shit for a full minute.
Poof!
The scroll combusted and disappeared into dust.
"..." Baek Ain.
"..." Cai Lin.
[Ding! You have learned a skill]
[Ancient Refining(F)]
[Since the Ancient Refining Skill is incompleted, the current grade growth is "unfortunately." capped at A Grade]
'Tsk!' Baek Ain's mouth twitched.
As Baek Ain received a notification from Alicia, Cai Lin experienced the same thing with a slightly different approach.
She heard an ancient voice and accepted the knowledge about Ancient Refining, like a cultivator who received an inheritance from a heavenly being.
Of course, that was just a Will left behind by a Saint Expert called Jing Moshen. And Alicia filtered it for Baek Ain.
"Ain, do you get the inheritance too?" Cai Lin asked somewhat excitedly.
Baek Ain nodded and replied, "Yeah."
Cai Lin's red eyes flickered as she continued, "Good, I want to try to refine something. So what about a small competition?"
"Heh, a competition?"
"Yes, and whoever Refines a better treasure wins!"
"Sure." Baek Ain returned casually.
"As for the reward for the winner?"
Hearing that, Cai Lin fell into deep thought as a playful smirk appeared in her beautiful voice. "The loser shall grant one wish for the winner." She said with brimming confidence.
"Deal." Baek Ain responded immediately.
Cai Lin flew up and returned to the storage room, taking several treasures for her first refining item.
Beneath her, Baek Ain shook his head and commented, "Haha~! You would never know what's coming after you, Cai Lin..."
"Alicia, Sign In!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host!]
[You have obtained...]