Shui Miao’s mind quickly pieced things together and immediately saw through Jue Ying’s intentions.
From Hua Yuting’s memories, Jue Ying was an extremely proud and cold person who never spoke to any disciples within the sect. During all the years Hua Yuting spent in the Jade Void Huafu, he had never even exchanged a single word with Jue Ying.
A person with such a personality would never casually form a sworn brotherhood with anyone. This was obviously just a trick to win someone’s favor.
Shui Miao inwardly sneered. He himself was a master at manipulating people’s emotions—how could he possibly be fooled by Jue Ying?
“Hmm…”
Shui Miao hesitated slightly before saying, “Sister Jue Ying, this isn’t about respect or lack thereof. During all my years in the Immortal Realm, I’ve inevitably offended a few immortals. I don’t want our sworn brotherhood to cause those immortals to view you as a thorn in their side. So I’ll just call you sister, but let’s skip the sworn brotherhood. If you need to forge any immortal treasures, feel free to tell me—I promise I’ll do my utmost to craft them perfectly for you.”
Shui Miao’s words were carefully chosen, maintaining politeness while clearly distancing himself from Jue Ying.
This brat actually still refuses?
In the Immortal Realm, even Emperors of Immortality would seek my friendship, yet he turns down a sworn brotherhood with me? Jue Ying looked at Shui Miao with surprise and grew even more intrigued. After a pause, she said, “It doesn’t matter. No matter who your enemies are, I’ll eliminate them for you.”
Was she bluffing? Shui Miao inwardly sneered again and shook his head. “Sister, the more you care for me, the more I fear dragging you into danger. Let’s drop this topic and talk about forging instead. What kind of immortal treasures do you need crafted?”
“Since you insist, fine…” Jue Ying sighed helplessly and gave Shui Miao a faint smile. “Let’s talk about forging then. But I’m not particularly interested in immortal treasures—I want to forge a Holy Artifact or even a Supreme Treasure. Do you think you’re up to that?”
“I’ve never even seen a Holy Artifact, and I’ve only heard a little about Supreme Treasures. I have some confidence in crafting top-grade immortal treasures, but for anything else, I really can’t say I’m confident. But if you have any formation blueprints, I might be able to give it a try. However, considering the rarity of the materials, maybe we should just forget it,” Shui Miao shrugged. He hadn’t planned to make any deals with Jue Ying anyway, so avoiding entanglements with powerful figures was probably wise.
Jue Ying remained cautious and still harbored doubts about Shui Miao. Who in this world could be such a simple immortal? She nodded slightly. “Fine then. I’ll gather more materials first. So now, little brother, where are you planning to go?”
“Oh, I’m planning to go to the Forging Bureau for a rank assessment. First, I want to know exactly how skilled I am in forging, and second, it would be good to obtain a blacksmith’s qualification so I won’t have to wander around aimlessly anymore.” Shui Miao was cautious too, trying his best to act like a poor, struggling artisan.
“Not bad. Ambitious,” Jue Ying nodded. “But the ninth heaven’s evaluation is too basic for you. If you’re already capable of forging supreme immortal treasures, why not aim for the sixth heaven’s evaluation? I happen to have some connections with the examiner there, so I can arrange for you to be assessed directly, without enduring long waits.”
“This won’t be too much trouble for you, will it, sister?”
Shui Miao scratched his head, feigning embarrassment.
Seeing Shui Miao’s expression, Jue Ying suddenly felt convinced that he was indeed a simple person.
“Stop being so polite with me. You’ve already called me sister—helping you with a small matter is only natural. I’ll take you there right away. Later I still need to return to investigate my junior brother’s murder. Let’s go!”
Shui Miao’s apparent simplicity awakened Jue Ying’s protective instincts.
She grabbed Shui Miao’s arm, and with just two Runes of the Taoist talismans, they instantly arrived at the entrance of the Forging Bureau in the sixth heaven.
“We’re here!”
Jue Ying smiled slightly at Shui Miao and walked into the Forging Bureau, directly approaching two young female apprentices and asking, “Is your master Hong Lian available?”
“She is. I’ll go get her right away.”
One of the apprentices quickly flew inside.
Shui Miao, wide-mouthed in astonishment, looked at Jue Ying in disbelief. “Sister, what talismans did you just use? How did we cross several heavens and travel such a great distance in an instant!?”
This time, Shui Miao’s amazement was genuine.
Seeing Shui Miao’s wide-eyed, naive expression, Jue Ying was actually amused. “You really don’t need to be so surprised. What I used was a Heavenly遁符 talisman. These are quite extraordinary. Created by Emperors of Immortality using their imperial aura, they can memorize the unique energy of various locations and instantly transport you there, no matter how far away. Of course, these talismans are extremely valuable—Emperors of Immortality themselves rarely use them.”
As she spoke, Jue Ying placed a Heavenly Runes talisman into Shui Miao’s hand. “Here, this one is for you. After you complete your evaluation, activate it and think of the place we came from—it will instantly transport you back. But remember, don’t let your mind wander. If you accidentally think of somewhere dangerous, it might take you there, and that would be quite troublesome.”
In fact, Jue Ying only had three of these Heavenly Runes.
These talismans had been crafted by Jin Chi, the Emperor of Immortality who pursued her, using his imperial aura. Each was worth as much as ten supreme immortal treasures.
That’s right—ten supreme immortal treasures.
One Heavenly遁符 could be exchanged for ten极品 immortal treasures, and even that was a rare commodity.
Now Jue Ying had given one of these talismans to Shui Miao, and she herself would have to fly slowly to the ninth heaven.
“That’s incredible!”
Shui Miao was shocked again. To express his sincerity, he decided to flatter Jue Ying. “Sister, you’re truly too kind to me. In my heart, you’re like a goddess of compassion! If it weren’t for the many enemies I’ve made, I would really, really want to be your real younger brother. Sister, I promise you, one day I will forge the most beautiful Holy Artifact for you.”
They say women like to hear sweet words, and Shui Miao figured Jue Ying should be no exception.
“The most beautiful Holy Artifact?” Jue Ying asked curiously. “Why the most beautiful?”
Shui Miao shamelessly replied, “Because you are the most beautiful, so the Holy Artifact you use must also be the most beautiful!”
He felt his flattery was overly exaggerated, even to himself.
But this time, Jue Ying finally smiled happily. “Little brother, you really know how to make me laugh…”
“Hey, there aren’t many men in this world who can make my little sister Jue Ying laugh!”
At that moment, a female immortal dressed in red imperial robes flew out.
Shui Miao turned his head and was instantly shocked—Hong Lian looked almost exactly like Lin Qing’er!
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