Yuan Ming touched his nose, a bitter smile playing inside his heart.

Just the day before, he had been struggling with fate to survive the treacherous environment of the Ten Thousand Mountains, yearning to break free from his identity as a Fur Beast Slave and join the Biluo Cave. He had even been on the brink of despair, yet he could never have imagined that in just one day, he would enter the Sect in such a manner.

After settling down cross-legged, he took out the Heart Cleansing Pill given to him by the Three Cave Masters, opened the bottle stopper, and poured out a bright red elixir pill that emitted a faint refreshing fragrance.

After giving it a brief look, he tilted his head back and swallowed the pill.

In an instant, a warm current began to rise from his abdomen, gradually floating up toward his heart.

Yuan Ming felt his heartbeat abruptly accelerate, as though it were about to burst out of his chest the next moment, and his breathing became somewhat short.

Before he could take any action, he suddenly felt an irresistible urge to retch. He quickly opened the door and rushed to the stone wall outside the room, bending over to vomit.

After hacking up a lump of foul-smelling black mucus, the surging feeling slowly faded, and his heartbeat returned to normal.

After resting for a moment, Yuan Ming felt his Spirit Platform clear and bright, as if all the gloom had been swept away, leaving him feeling refreshed.

"According to the Three Cave Masters, I need to take the elixir for three consecutive days to completely purge the poison of the Corrosive Heart Pill. This feeling of mental clarity and alertness is probably not a sign that the poison has been entirely neutralized but the actual effect of the Heart Cleansing Pill," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

After he returned, he felt the changes within himself and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yuan Ming relaxed abruptly, yet he found himself completely without the desire to sleep.

He knew in his heart that Biluo Cave was ultimately not his home; the Central Plains, deeply buried in his memory, was where he belonged. No matter what, he had to find a way to return there and understand who he truly was.

However, after stepping into the Cultivation World and experiencing a series of events, he realized just how insignificant he was and that his own power was also meager. He had no idea who was responsible for bringing him to such a state, and a hasty return could lead to unforeseen dangers, perhaps even rendering him incapable of self-preservation.

And for now, he had just officially joined the Biluo Cave; there were still many things worth exploring on his own.

"At the very least, I should wait until my cultivation has advanced and I have some means of protecting myself before leaving. Otherwise, the journey of a thousand miles might be too difficult to overcome," Yuan Ming thought in silence.

Even so, he already had a rough plan in mind for returning to the Central Plains.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Ming gathered his thoughts, sat cross-legged on the bed, and continued to practice the Nine Elements Technique.

…

"Knock knock"

The next morning, Yuan Ming, who was immersed in cultivation, was awakened by a series of dull knocks on the door.

He opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

Such a state of tranquil meditation, where he forgot both himself and the outside world, had rarely been possible in the perilous Ten Thousand Mountains.

Yuan Ming stood up and opened the door, seeing a young boy in brown clothing outside. The boy had a plain face, slightly thick lips, and at first glance, he seemed an honest and straightforward person. Need character sheets and glossaries? Visit *.

"Greetings, superior immortal. I am the servant responsible for this area, and I will take care of the cleaning and maintenance here," the boy said politely, his head bowed, his hands holding a stack of clothes.

Atop the clothes lay a white waist card the size of a palm with "Biluo Cave" written on it in Southern Border script.

Yuan Ming picked it up and discovered that there was a vertical line of characters on the other side reading "Registered Disciple."

"What is your name?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Bo Tu," the boy replied.

"The clothes will do. You need only clean here once every three days, not every day. Do not move any objects in the room," Yuan Ming nodded and instructed.

"Yes, superior immortal," Bo Tu responded.

Yuan Ming took the clothes from his hands, turned to close the door, and noticing that the boy was still standing outside, he frowned and said:

"You can go now."

"Superior immortal, after you change your clothes, I will guide you to the Fire Workshop," Bo Tu said.

Yuan Ming remembered that Chen Wan had mentioned the previous night that he should visit the Fire Workshop in the morning, so he nodded and replied, "Alright."

He closed the room door, spread out the clothes in his arms, and found two sets of short green tunics for changing, with "Fire Refining Hall" embroidered on the chest.

After changing his clothes, he hesitated for a moment but eventually wrapped the White Ape Beast Skin around his waist as before, hung the Registered Disciple waist card on the left, and hung the Green Fish Sword on the right, then stepped out the door.

Guided by Bo Tu, Yuan Ming left the dwelling of the Registered Disciples and headed towards the back mountain. After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they approached a cluster of buildings enclosed by red walls.

Upon reaching the main entrance, Yuan Ming saw a stone standing beside the gate with the inscription "Fire Workshop, No Trespassing for the Uninvited."

After sending Bo Tu away, he stepped into the Fire Workshop alone.

Just as he ascended the third layer of steps and had yet to enter, Yuan Ming felt a wave of hot air hit him in the face, mixed with the complex scent of sulfur and saltpetre.

He wrinkled his nose and stepped inside.

Passing through the gate and entering the courtyard, various clanging and banging sounds could be heard.

Yuan Ming had already envisioned the scene inside the Fire Workshop, but due to a front hall separating them, he couldn't see anything yet.

The front hall was empty at the moment, so Yuan Ming walked through it on his own.

The moment he stepped out from the front hall, Yuan Ming froze in his tracks.

He saw a spacious courtyard in the back, dotted with a number of open door huts that resembled workshop sheds, lined up one after the other, at least fifty or sixty in number.

At the moment, most of the huts had a fire pit burning vigorously, with flames roaring within.

Bustling figures moved around in these huts, some smelting metal, some adding refining materials, and some with their upper bodies bared, swinging hammers on the anvil to shape iron ingots, making a loud tinkling noise as sparks flew in all directions.

Yuan Ming glanced over and saw that the majority were brawny men with broad shoulders and waists; there were few women like Chen Wan. The occasional few women he did see were all busy, wielding hammers slightly smaller than the men's on stone platforms, working on refining materials.

They smashed palm-sized raw stone materials into pieces, then ground them with stone mills, and after that, managed them through sieves of varying fineness, repeatedly sifting them.

On one side was the rough hammering, on the other was the meticulous sieving; together with the constant din of hammering and the sporadic shower of sparks, they blended into a unique tapestry.

Every person in this tapestry was immersed in their work, oblivious to Yuan Ming's arrival.

Looking at this scene, Yuan Ming, despite noticing some difference from what he had imagined, couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation.

Just then, a man dressed in short clothes with a red headband, and a square face, spotted Yuan Ming. He walked through the rows of casting houses and approached Yuan Ming.

The man was robust, with tight muscles outlining powerful lines, and his short-bearded, earnest face exuded a serious demeanor, as he stopped in front of Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming glanced at the green waist card hanging from the man's waist; it was similar to Chen Wan's, seemingly exclusive to Inner Sect Disciples.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Fang Ge," Yuan Ming greeted with a cupped fist salute.

The previous night, Chen Wan had told him the person in charge of managing the casting in the Fire Workshop and teaching the basics of artifact refining to Registered Disciples was this Senior Brother Fang Ge.

Senior Brother Fang Ge, who did not carry the surname Fang, was a man from the Southern Border, and his name was Fang Ge.

"You're the new Registered Disciple, right? Your name's... Yuan Ming, isn't it?" Fang Ge looked Yuan Ming up and down and inquired.

His voice was deep and resonant, fitting well with his overall persona.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother," Yuan Ming nodded and replied with his fists clasped.

Fang Ge inwardly nodded, seeing that although Yuan Ming's stature wasn't particularly robust, he had a solid frame and was quite polite, which made Fang Ge somewhat favorably disposed towards him.

Nevertheless, his face showed no smile as he began to speak,

"You have arrived late. The rule of our Fire Workshop is to light the fires by 5:45 AM and keep them burning until 11:45 AM. Afterward, you're free to do as you wish, whether you continue refining or practice on your own. Since this is your first time, I won't hold it against you, but do not let it happen again."

"Understood, Senior Brother," Yuan Ming responded.

"Our Fire Refining Hall may not be the biggest or have the most people, but our status within the Sect is only second to the Beast Taming Hall. Many of their spirit beast mounts need saddles, bridles, or chains for restraint—all of which require our Fire Refining Hall for the refining," Fang Ge continued, pride evident in his voice.

Yuan Ming knew that Biluo Cave established itself on the principle of Beast Taming, and almost every disciple in the Sect prided themselves on having spirit beasts as companions, although not everyone had the ability to tend and train spirit beasts.

It was primarily the responsibility of the Beast Taming Hall Disciples to mass breed, capture, and tame spirit beasts.

"Aside from these, we also refine weapons, hidden weapons, and even magic artifacts. The former two can be completed by ordinary Registered Disciples as long as they have the standardized designs. As for magic artifacts… those are too far beyond you for now. You don't need to know about them yet," Fang Ge said, continuing his explanation.

Magic artifacts were something Yuan Ming had already learned a bit about from Zhao Tong; he knew that they could only be refined by Artifact Refiners who had reached at least the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Come on, let's have you try your hand at the fire pit," Fang Ge said, leading Yuan Ming to an empty casting hut.

Walking inside, Yuan Ming saw the whole setup clearly; there was a fire pit built against the left wall, sealed on all sides except for the front and rear where pathways were left for airflow and smoke, ensuring the heat would not escape.

Next to the fire pit was an anvil platform for forging, and on adjacent racks lay some ores and metal powders on the upper shelves, while wood and charcoal were stacked on the lower ones.

"Wood is used to start the fire, igniting the charcoal. Once the temperature rises, then you begin smelting the ore. These metal powders are the refined materials, already sieved and sorted into various types; you'll get to know them slowly later on," Fang Ge explained.

Yuan Ming's gaze swept over them, recognizing many that he himself had once sold to Zhao Tong.

"Today, don't worry about anything else and focus on practicing the most basic task, forging," Fang Ge said, picking up the hefty hammer from the anvil platform, and effortlessly tossed it to Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming caught it immediately; despite being ready, his arm still sank from the weight.

The hammer was much heavier than he had anticipated.