Chapter 103: Gathering the Profound Ores

CLANG!

The bronze doors of the Artifact Pavilion swung open.

Aunt Lin strode into the courtyard.

Several disciples looked up from their work. A few exchanged surprised glances, while others simply stared. For the past few weeks, Aunt Lin had barely left her room.

The Qi Stagnation had drained much of her strength, leaving her pale and tired, and the pavilion had slowly grown used to her absence.

But today, she was back.

Her golden-brown artisan’s robes were neatly tied around her waist, and her hair was pulled into a simple bun. She still looked a little pale, but the tiredness in her eyes was gone.

She looked around the courtyard with a clear and steady gaze.

The furnaces were burning. Disciples were moving spiritual ores between the halls. Weapons were being carried from one workshop to another.

Aunt Lin noticed everything.

Her gaze soon stopped at the furnaces in the third courtyard.

"Deacon Zhao!"

Her voice carried across the courtyard.

A middle-aged deacon in grey robes turned around. He nearly dropped the bundle of spiritual swords in his arms, quickly caught them, and hurried over.

"Manager Lin." He bowed, then looked at her with some surprise. "You look much better today."

"I feel much better." Aunt Lin pointed toward the third courtyard. "The furnaces there aren’t burning hot enough. Check the wind-attribute array nodes and find out what’s wrong. Also, have someone go through the inventory while you’re at it. I’ll inspect the profound ores myself."

Deacon Zhao hesitated for a moment. "You’re checking the ores yourself?"

Aunt Lin glanced at him. "Is there a problem?"

"No, of course not." He quickly shook his head. "I’ll have everything prepared before you get there."

"Good." Aunt Lin nodded. "And if one of the array nodes is damaged, don’t just replace it. Find out what caused it to fail."

"Understood, Manager Lin."

She nodded and walked toward the storage hall.

Deacon Zhao watched her leave for a moment before turning to the disciples.

"What are you all waiting for? Get back to work."

The disciples quickly scattered, and the courtyard returned to its usual rhythm.

Aunt Lin reached the storage hall and picked up the first piece of profound ore.For the first time in weeks, she had something else to think about besides her illness.

Lin Tian had given her a task, and she intended to do it well.

The disciples exchanged relieved glances. Aunt Lin seemed like her old self again.

Without wasting time, Aunt Lin walked past the roaring forges toward the most heavily guarded part of the pavilion—the Primary Vault.

The vault was protected by a Tier-3 restrictive array and stored rare materials reserved for the Inner Sect and important sect projects. As a 1-Star Peak-Level Array Engraver, Aunt Lin was allowed to enter when materials were needed for sect-mandated work.

Two elite disciples stood guard outside the stone door, their hands resting near their sword hilts.

"Manager Lin."

They stepped aside.

Aunt Lin took out her bronze token and pressed it against the door. A thin stream of Qi flowed into it, and the ancient runes carved into the stone glowed blue. The heavy door slowly opened.

She stepped inside.

The vault contained shelves of spirit-wood filled with glowing crystals, refined beast cores, and various rare metals.

Aunt Lin’s eyes quickly found what she needed.

Inside a glass case rested a small black stone that seemed to absorb the light around it.

Void-Stone.

Beside it lay a heavy ingot of Deep-Sea Profound Steel.

Both were extremely valuable materials, normally kept in reserve for the sect’s higher-ranking elders and major projects. Void-Stone was useful for formations involving spatial energy, while Deep-Sea Profound Steel was known for its strength and density.

Aunt Lin’s fingers tightened.

Lin Tian needs these for the Abyssal Suppression Pagoda.

She glanced toward the entrance.

Taking materials like these without authorization was a serious offense. If the Punishment Hall found out, she could lose her cultivation and be expelled from the sect.

She hesitated.

Then she remembered Lin Tian and the relief she had felt when the Qi in her chest finally began to settle.

Her hesitation faded.

Aunt Lin took out a blank requisition slip and began carving an authorization onto the jade with her Qi. She listed the Void-Stone and Deep-Sea Profound Steel as emergency materials required for repairs to the sect’s outer boundary.

She checked the inscription once.Everything looked in order.She placed the requisition slip against the storage case.

The requisition was a lie.

The sect’s record-keeping array would automatically record the withdrawal and send the information to the Inner Sect.

Aunt Lin knew that. She pressed her bronze token against the storage case, and the forged authorization was accepted. The seal opened, allowing her to take the two materials.

She quickly stored the Void-Stone and Deep-Sea Profound Steel in her spatial ring before leaving the vault.

She had barely stepped outside when the head deacon approached.

A small jade compass in his hand was flashing red.

"Manager Lin, the record-keeping array just detected a high-grade resource being taken from the vault." He glanced toward the vault, then back at her. "Void-Stone and Deep-Sea Profound Steel? What are they being used for?"

Aunt Lin’s heart tightened, but she kept her expression calm.

"They’re needed for a confidential array repair in the Inner Sect."

The deacon frowned. "But I don’t remember receiving—"

"It’s confidential."

Her voice turned cold.

"If you have doubts about the order, you can ask the Inner Sect Matriarchs yourself. Otherwise, return to the furnaces."

The deacon’s expression changed at once. He lowered his head.

"Understood, Manager Lin."

Aunt Lin walked away without looking back.

Only after she had turned the corner did she let out a slow breath.

She had passed the first hurdle.

Whether the record would cause trouble later was another matter.

---

High above the clouds, Madam Shen was reviewing the Inner Sect’s resource records when an array disc on her desk suddenly flashed red.

She picked it up and looked at the information recorded on the jade slip.

Void-Stone

Deep-Sea Profound Steel

Authorization: Manager Lin

Madam Shen paused.

Aunt Lin was careful. She had worked in the Artifact Pavilion for years and knew how strictly the sect controlled its rare materials.

So why would she take these two?

Madam Shen thought for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

The Abyssal Suppression Pagoda.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.So that’s what they’re for.Whatever Lin Tian was preparing, he needed these materials.

Madam Shen looked at the jade slip again. If the Punishment Hall noticed the unauthorized withdrawal, Aunt Lin would have serious trouble.

She picked up her seal.

With a few strokes of divine sense, she altered the record. The two materials were now listed as having been damaged by elemental instability while in storage.

She checked the revised record once before setting the seal down.The red light on the array disc faded.Madam Shen leaned back in her chair and looked toward the window.

"Be careful, Aunt Lin."

She then returned to the records on her desk.

***

Deep beneath the Cloud-Sea Pavilion, the underground forge sat carved directly into the mountain’s bedrock. At its center stood a colossal anvil of black meteorite iron, a vein of Earth-Fire roaring beneath it in violent crimson light.

The heat in the room was staggering, the air thick with sulfur and molten metal.

The stone doors slid open. Aunt Lin stepped inside.

The forge’s heat hit her like a physical blow. But it wasn’t only the fire that stole her breath.

Lin Tian stood before the anvil, upper robes discarded, sweat catching the firelight across his chest and scarred skin. His liquid Qi rolled off him in heavy, oppressive waves — and woven through it, his Yang scent, thick and inescapable in the confined space.

Her legs went weak instantly.

She shut the heavy doors behind her and leaned against the cold stone to keep from sinking to the floor. The sudden clash between the blazing heat in the room and the frozen ache in her chest sent a violent jolt through her meridians.

"Ahhh..." She gasped, hand flying to her chest.

Heat pooled low and sudden, her illness throbbing somewhere between agony and hunger, both of them answering the same fire standing across the room.

Lin Tian turned, forging hammer in hand, eyes finding her trembling figure. He caught the grimace on her face — and the stubborn resolve sitting right behind it.

He kept his voice level. Whatever reward waited for her later could wait.

"You brought the materials, Aunt Lin," he said, his voice cutting through the sulfur-thick air.

She nodded, pushing through the ache, and raised her hand. The Void-Stone and Profound Steel dropped from her spatial ring onto the stone table with a heavy thud.

"I secured them," she said, voice rough from the weight of the room around her. "The logistics have been bypassed clean. We have everything we need."

Lin Tian looked at the ores, then back at her, a dark smile settling on his face. The foundation was set. The materials were here. The forge was ready.

"Excellent." He stepped toward the anvil. "Prepare the engraving tools, Aunt Lin. Tonight, we rewrite the laws of refinement."