Chapter 1930: Song Yuchan

"Greetings, Senior Uncle Song, Senior Aunt Song," Wang Changsheng said respectfully, bowing deeply.

"It's you!" exclaimed the maiden in the silver dress, her face showing a flicker of interest as she saw Wang Changsheng.

"Oh? Junior Sister Song, do you know Junior Nephew Wang?" Song Feng asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Wang Changsheng hadn't been transferred to Mysterious Spirit Island for long.

"No, not really. I just saw him a couple of times while shopping earlier. I didn't realize he was one of our fellow cultivators from Zhenhai Palace," the silver-clad maiden casually explained.

Song Feng's face showed a look of understanding. His gaze fell on Wang Changsheng, and with an approving expression, he said, "You've advanced to the Mid-Stage of the Nascent Soul realm? Not bad at all; you seem to have been diligently cultivating."

"What? Junior Nephew Wang was assigned to guard Mysterious Spirit Island while still in the Early-Stage of the Nascent Soul realm?" the silver-clad maiden asked, frowning, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Yes, that's correct. Is there a problem?" Wang Changsheng asked, completely bewildered and looking nervous. He thought he might have done something wrong, especially since this Senior Aunt Song didn't seem to be from the Ascension faction.

"Junior Nephew Wang and his wife ascended from the lower realms. It was the Grandmaster's order to have them stationed at Mysterious Spirit Island, and they haven't made any mistakes," Song Feng explained.

The silver-clad maiden's expression softened, and she said nothing further.

"Junior Nephew Wang, since you're not guarding Mysterious Spirit Island, what brings you to Mysterious Moon Island?" Song Feng asked pleasantly.

Wang Changsheng glanced at the silver-clad maiden, seemingly having something difficult to say. From her reaction, she appeared to be from the local faction, but Song Feng's attitude suggested otherwise. Regardless, according to palace rules, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to simply assist Song Feng.

"Junior Sister Song is one of us; just speak your mind, no need to be reserved," Song Feng explained.

"Disciple heard that Senior Uncle Song was looking for a refiner to assist him. I have some knowledge of artifact refining and would like to help Senior Uncle Song," Wang Changsheng said cautiously.

Song Feng frowned, about to refuse, but then his gaze shifted to the silver-clad maiden. "No problem at all, Junior Sister Song. You learned artifact refining from Senior Uncle Lin, so your refining skills are certainly no lower than mine. How about this: I'll leave Junior Nephew Wang to you. I'll give you some materials to process, and you can guide him in refining. This will also count as cultivating talent for our Zhenhai Palace. Junior Nephew Wang, you must learn diligently from Junior Sister Song. Being able to learn artifact refining from her is something many disciples can only dream of."

"Senior Uncle Lin? Junior Sister Song?" Wang Changsheng suddenly thought of someone: Song Yu-chan, the only daughter of the Grandmaster Song Yi-ming. Could the silver-clad maiden be her? Yes, only for Song Yu-chan would Song Feng be so polite. Among the Integration cultivators in Zhenhai Palace surnamed Lin, only Lin Tian-long was known, and only Song Yu-chan could have learned artifact refining from him. He had heard that she was a prodigy, reaching the Void Refinement stage in less than a millennium. Qin Ming had privately revealed that Song Yu-chan had good relations with both the Ascension and local factions and was very likely to become the next Grandmaster. Zhenhai Palace had only ever had one female Grandmaster in its history; most were male.

The silver-clad maiden was indeed Song Yu-chan. Her delicate brows furrowed. Song Feng's words had revealed her identity, and it was clear he didn't want to be disturbed by her.

"Please offer me much guidance, Senior Aunt Song," Wang Changsheng said politely, bowing to Song Yu-chan.

Song Yu-chan nodded. "Alright! In that case, you can follow me. But what about your assignment on Mysterious Spirit Island? Wouldn't finding a replacement be against palace rules?"

"Junior Nephew Wang is new to the sect and has much to learn. Palace rules are rigid, but what I'm doing is cultivating talent for our Zhenhai Palace. Junior Sister Song, you understand, don't you?" Song Feng said dismissively. He didn't want Song Yu-chan disturbing his artifact refining, so having Wang Changsheng occupy her was ideal. Given Song Yu-chan's status, he couldn't directly refuse her request, but he didn't want her interference. It was convenient that Wang Changsheng had come looking for him. Song Yu-chan had good relations with both major factions in Zhenhai Palace. This clearly indicated that Grandmaster Song Yi-ming was paving the way for her, and it was the best choice. Neither an Ascension faction nor a local faction leader would be good for Zhenhai Palace as a whole. Song Yu-chan was the ideal candidate; she was familiar with cultivators from both factions and could keep both in check.

"Alright, then! I'll guide Junior Nephew Wang well," Song Yu-chan agreed. As a fresh talent from the Ascension faction, she was indeed willing to offer him some pointers.

"Senior Aunt Song, there's a Junior Disciple Huang who is quite clever. She has some knowledge of artifact refining. Could I bring her along? She could easily handle some scrap materials," Wang Changsheng said, looking nervous.

"Go ahead and bring her along! Find her something to do," Song Yu-chan said indifferently. Her casual words carried significant weight for Huang Yun'er.

Wang Changsheng repeatedly expressed his gratitude. Then, as if remembering something, he took out two exquisite wine jars and respectfully said, "Disciple bought two jars of Snow Lotus Dew from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. I heard it tastes quite good. Senior Uncle Song and Senior Aunt Song might like to try it."

Song Yu-chan and Song Feng accepted them without ceremony. Song Yu-chan didn't particularly enjoy drinking, but it would have been impolite to outright refuse, so she took it.

"Alright, Junior Nephew Wang, go bring Junior Disciple Huang and settle into Mysterious Moon Hall! You must diligently learn artifact refining from Junior Sister Song and ask for guidance with an open mind, understand?" Song Feng emphasized the words "open mind." Wang Changsheng naturally understood Song Feng's implied meaning and agreed.

"I'll go back and rest now. Notify me when you're ready to start refining," Song Yu-chan said, rising to take her leave and walking down a bluestone corridor to her left.

Song Feng took out a shimmering blue spell disk, cast a spell into it, and instructed, "Junior Disciple Li, come to Mysterious Moon Hall. There's a task for you." "Yes, Senior Uncle Song," came the reply. Not long after, a blue-clad young woman with picturesque features entered. She was in the Late-Stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"Junior Sister Song will be guiding Junior Nephew Wang in artifact refining, so I need you to make a trip to Mysterious Spirit Island and stand guard there in his place. His wife is still on Mysterious Spirit Island," Song Feng instructed.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Sister Li. This is just a small token of my appreciation," Wang Changsheng said politely, taking out a green storage ring and handing it to the blue-clad young woman.

The blue-clad young woman initially intended to decline, but seeing Wang Changsheng's resolute demeanor, she went with the flow and accepted it.

Wang Changsheng took out his communication disk and contacted Huang Yun'er, asking her to come to Mysterious Moon Hall. She then moved in with him there, while the blue-clad young woman hurried to Mysterious Spirit Island to take over Wang Changsheng's guard duty.

Seven days later, the gates of Mysterious Spirit Hall closed. More than twenty artifact refiners gathered and began their work.

In one of the refining rooms, the stone walls were inscribed with numerous fire-attribute array patterns. In the center stood a silver cauldron, about a zhang (approx. 3.3 meters) tall. The silver cauldron had four feet and two handles, and a lifelike silver flood dragon was carved onto its body, emitting an astonishing spiritual energy fluctuation. It was clearly a low-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure.