With such a great favor, not to mention staying on the mountain for a while, even if I continued to live on the mountain permanently, the other elders would not oppose it at the moment.

People change with time, which is normal. In the morning he was eagerly being chased out as a sect offender, but by evening he had become the sect's honored guest.

The only issue was that the turnabout in attitudes was so swift that even the upper echelons of Wukang Mountain found it somewhat difficult to adapt.

Not to mention the disciples of the Punishment Court.

Bian Weiyin summoned someone to arrange a suitable residence for Shi Chun, but Shi Chun declined, saying he had grown accustomed to living in the Punishment Court and would prefer to stay there.

And so Pang Tiansheng, who was bossing people around at the Punishment Court, was taken aback once more, and then he emptied out the best room he had for Shi Chun.

Afterward, he went to find Bian Weiyin to clear up exactly what was going on. He was uneasy and afraid in his heart; no one could stand being beaten all the time.

After greeting a group of old acquaintances at the Punishment Court, Shi Chun turned his attention to the huge stone mill in the middle of the courtyard. He circled the large stone mill a few times.

The material used for this great stone mill was not ordinary—it was sourced right from Wukang Mountain, hewn from that giant "tree stump."

There were similar locally sourced objects in other courtyards, and some houses were even carved directly into the "tree stumps." Still, he was not very familiar with those places. He felt that the stone mill was of little use where it was and would serve his purposes well, which was the main reason he wanted to stay there.

It wasn't long before Pang Tiansheng returned, having apparently figured out what was going on. Since the Sect Master's younger sister had asked that the guest be treated with respect, he had no choice but to comply. On this matter, others might not support the younger sister, but he had to give his full support.

Even if he had no chance to become the younger sister's husband, he still had to support her. After all, his master was Bian Jixiong, and he was naturally on Bian Weiyin's side.

Shi Chun, who was sitting under the eaves chatting with a group of friends, saw Pang Tiansheng return. He got up, waved him over, and led Pang Tiansheng to the front of the large stone mill, asking, "Don't you think such a big thing is an eyesore here?"

Pang Tiansheng immediately yelled at those who were lounging under the eaves, "Are you all deaf? Get this eyesore out of here now!"

Alright, a group of people immediately came over, ready to lift and move the stone mill.

"Wait, what was that?" Realizing his mistake, Shi Chun hurriedly called a halt and explained, "I didn't mean it should be moved away; I'm saying, wouldn't it be better to change its appearance?"

Pang Tiansheng immediately put on a forced smile and asked, "What would Brother Chun like to change it into?"

Alright, Shi Chun saw that this fat guy would agree to anything, so he didn't have to beat around the bush. Pointing to the large stone mill, he said, "A gourd. Don't you think carving it into gourds would look better? Such a big thing could probably be carved into quite a few gourds."

Seeing that Pang Tiansheng was a bit confused, he put it even more bluntly, "I want to craft some gourds to keep things in, and this stone mill seems suitable. Could you help me out with that, Brother Pang?"

"Consider it done!" Pang Tiansheng slapped his chest and then immediately asked, "How big should the gourds be?"

Shi Chun gestured at the stone mill and said, "Just make them this thick. However many we can cut, that's how many we'll make."

Understood. Pang Tiansheng immediately shouted at everyone, "Get to work, move it!"

Shi Chun didn't disturb them any longer; he went back inside, closed the door, and continued refining the demon flames inside his body. He had previously been locked up in a cell, his cultivation restrained, and had wasted many days.

The quality and quantity of demon flames he had absorbed this time far exceeded those he had refined for nearly forty days from Sun Shigang. He truly didn't know how long it would take to complete the refinement.

"Gourds? Continuously cultivating in seclusion indoors?"

Having heard Pang Tiansheng's report, Bian Weiyin was quite puzzled.

The sturdiness of that "tree stump" on Wukang Mountain was no weaker than gold and iron. The group from the Punishment Court really exerted themselves; it took a pack of monks a whole day and a half to turn the entire stone mill into twelve big gourds.

Each was just slightly shorter than the sitting height of an adult's upper body. Their height was about the same as the original thickness of the stone mill. The inside of the gourds had been smoothed out very well, and the outside was even smoother, coated in a layer of gloss paint. The original rusty color had gained a different kind of texture and looked rather nice.

It was clearly a job well done.

Upon inspecting the mouth of the gourds over and over, Shi Chun kept praising them, "Very good, very good. Thank you, Brother Pang."

Pang Tiansheng beamed with joy, "No trouble at all, just let me know if you need anything else, ha."

Once the fat man had left and closed the door, Shi Chun took out another talisman, the one used to communicate with Bian Weiyin.

He directly sent a request message: Send me a basket of the discarded talisman paper and scraps you don't need for refining talismans.

He didn't beat around the bush, nor did it seem polite in any way; it was a straightforward request.

He had put a lot of effort into supporting Bian Weiyin's rise to power, and to secure her position, he had even used one of Wei Mo's promises, and not just because of romantic feelings.

He definitely intended to maximize his benefits.

Just as he had told Young Master Nan, "It's impossible that I labored in vain at Wukang Mountain!"

Now what he wanted was not just the talisman refining secret technique but the entirety of Wukang Mountain!

Of course, what he wanted wasn't so direct but to have it at his disposal whenever he needed it.

Some of the things that the Demon Path planned to do had, to some extent, been intercepted by him.

Bian Weiyin didn't respond at all and simply ignored him.

But that night, Pang Tiansheng sneaked to Shi Chun's door and tossed a large bundle to Shi Chun before scurrying away as if he had done something dishonorable.

Shi Chun smiled upon seeing the package. Upon opening it, there was no mistake—it was filled with a large pack of discarded talisman paper.

With the materials at hand, he had work to do. He carefully and meticulously affixed the discarded talisman paper inside the Big Gourd, applying several layers one by one.

Without the talisman paper, it would be useless. He had observed and confirmed that the "stump" material from Wukang Mountain, although it could contain the sky-fallen Weilan substance, could not keep it fresh for long. After some time, the Weilan substance would vanish into the unknown, and only those sealed within the talisman paper could be preserved.

He even meticulously affixed it inside the stopper of the gourd.

In the days that followed, he never ventured through his main or second door, instead staying in his house to enter closed-door cultivation, refining the demonic flames to increase his cultivation.

It wasn't until the fifth night after his return to Wukang Mountain that the "dong dong dong" of the resonant bell rang out, once again filling the night sky above the mountain.

The entire Wukang Mountain was abuzz with activity.

Listening to the commotion outside, Shi Chun, who was meditating cross-legged, showed no reaction, continuing to seize every moment to refine his demonic flames.

Roughly two or three hours later, when he heard the sounds of Yulan Bamboo being collected from outside, he finally opened his eyes, took out the mother-child charm, and sent a direct request to Bian Weiyin: Leave a small bottle of the solution used to soak the talisman paper for me.

Bian Weiyin also ignored him, giving no response whatsoever.

Only after the hustle and bustle outside had completely subsided did he open his right eye's superpower, picked up a Big Gourd, and stepped out the door.

The spread-out Yulan Bamboo had been completely cleared away, but he could see a vast amount of Weilan substance still remaining in every corner.

He was well aware that no matter how the Yulan Bamboo was flipped, it could only hold a thin layer on its surface. In other words, the Weilan substance left on the ground was the real majority, far exceeding what Wukang Mountain had collected using the Yulan Bamboo.

He opened the mouth of the gourd and, while moving stealthily, swept up the substance into his gourd with his spells.

Once full, he found a corner where no one could see him, quickly tossed it into the Qiankun Bracelet, and switched it out for an empty one to continue.

Even if someone was watching secretly, they couldn't discern what was happening.

After filling twelve gourds, he carried the one in his hand back to the Punishment Court and back to his room to continue meditating and refining demonic flames.

After the second half of the night, the knock on the door rang again. Pang Tiansheng once more sneaked in, left a small porcelain bottle, and departed.

Shi Chun, who had just finished his meditation, took the porcelain bottle and sniffed it. He definitely detected a scent of the solution and, after observing with his right eye, saw the red substance swirling in the water. His guess was confirmed, and he couldn't help but inwardly sigh, Bian Weiyin had indeed succeeded.

Then he opened a Big Gourd's mouth, added a few drops of the solution, and quickly sealed the opening again.

He knew what this meant—once the Weilan substance had been transformed by the solution, it would not be able to come into contact with the outside environment anymore. Contact would cause an immediate violent reaction, similar to the transformation caused by an immobilization charm.

Therefore, he could not easily open the gourd again. When opening, he had to do so with spells, preventing the Weilan substance inside from making contact with the external environment. Otherwise, the entire contents of the gourd, trapped between illusion and reality, would be rendered useless, effectively acting as a one-time use immobilization charm.

After sealing the gourd's mouth, he brought it close and observed the changes inside with his right eye's superpower. He saw, just as in the experiment he conducted earlier at Bian Weiyin's residence, the red substance in the solution quickly infecting and corrupting the surface of the Weilan substance, transforming it into the altered Weilan substance found in immobilization charms.

Once the transformation was complete, he sealed the gourd with spells, extracted a small ball from the gourd, resealed the mouth, and then smacked the small ball onto himself.

As expected, there were no surprises. It was indeed the effect of an immobilization charm, affixing him solidly in place.

He immediately broke the spell and regained his freedom. With a slight smile, he muttered, "Immobilization skill..."

Confident in its effectiveness, he no longer hesitated. He immediately took out all twelve Big Gourds and arranged them in a row.

He opened the mouth of one gourd, dropped a few drops of the solution, and then promptly sealed it tightly.

In this manner, he successfully transformed all the Weilan substance in the twelve gourds and then stored them together in the Qiankun Bracelet.

Afterward, he continued his meditation and cultivation.

It wasn't until dawn lit up Wukang Mountain and the sounds of a new day's labor reverberated in the Punishment Court that Shi Chun ceased his cultivation, opened his eyes, and took out the mother-child charm to communicate with Bian Weiyin: I'm leaving, may we meet again if fate allows.

"Brother Chun."

"Brother Chun, good morning."

"Brother Chun, did we disturb you?"

Shi Chun, stepping out the door and seeing a group of people greeting him, nodded slightly and greeted everyone, "Good morning. Are you off to work again?"

Someone sighed, "Yes, the same old rules can't be changed."

Shi Chun smiled, walked into the courtyard, and with a flip of his hand, revealed the Magical Treasure Wind Scale in his palm. Amid the envious gaze of the crowd, he released a large number of fluttering scales.

Inside the main hall of Wukang Mountain, Bian Weiyin, dressed in a dark-colored long dress, hurriedly walked out and stood on the steps. She looked toward the direction of the Punishment Court, only to see the flashes of dawn climbing the mountain and rising into the air, eventually becoming a distant streak of light that faded away.

She knew that this time he was truly gone, her face showing a look of forlorn loss, standing motionless for a long time.

Above the door behind her, the newly made signboard was fresh with lacquer—the four characters for "immovable as a mountain" shone brilliantly in the morning sun...

(End of Volume Two, Preview of Volume Three: Who Will Compete for Supremacy!)

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