She’s still a child!

Xu Jinghuai nodded slightly.

“Mhm, no need for formalities, Martial Nephews.”

“This Venerable has come to find your master to discuss some important matters.”

The two Forging Peak disciples exchanged glances before addressing Xu Jinghuai.

“I see. Please wait a moment, Uncle-Master Youyun; we will find Master and inform him of this immediately.”

“Sorry to trouble you both.”

“Not at all! It’s no trouble at all. Uncle-Master, you are far too polite!” the two disciples replied, appearing quite flattered.

One of them promptly nudged the other, sending him scurrying into the tower to find their master.

The remaining Forging Peak disciple scratched his head and said with a simple-minded grin, “It may take Junior Brother a moment to locate Master. Uncle-Master, Junior Sister, please follow me to the guest room to wait.”

He made an inviting gesture.

Xu Jinghuai nodded.

Old He was a rough person, but he was honest and meticulous in his work; the disciples of Forging Peak, influenced by him, were basically the same.

However, that didn’t mean they lacked manners. Their hardworking nature bred a sense of duty, and even Forging Peak strictly observed basic etiquette and hierarchy.

It was just that years of heavy labor had made them slightly slow, giving them a bit of a “clueless” air.

Forging Peak was one of the peaks Xu Jinghuai visited most often, partly because the people here were comfortable to be around.

On the other hand, back when Xu Jinghuai was developing the Oracle Network, he would occasionally run low on materials or hit technical snags and would come to seek Old He’s help.

Leading Xia Jin behind the disciple, the group entered the tower’s interior.

The moment they stepped inside, the most immediate sensation was a wave of scorching heat that far surpassed the temperature outside.

If being outside the tower felt like being at a volcano’s mouth, entering the tower was undoubtedly like diving straight into the volcano’s core!

However, heat of this intensity was usually negligible once a cultivator reached the Golden Core stage and developed protective True Qi.

Xu Jinghuai glanced sideways at Xia Jin.

With the double protection of his heat-insulating shield and the Extreme Cold Jade Bracelet, Xia Jin looked completely different than she had outside.

She appeared perfectly fine, instead curiously scanning the distance.

Following Xia Jin’s gaze, he saw a massive, circular rock in the center emitting a blistering aura. The rock was covered in cracks where fiery red lava flowed, making it glow like a miniature sun.

Seeing Xia Jin’s curiosity, Xu Jinghuai introduced it to her.

“Disciple, that is a Lava Behemoth, a natural spirit of the fire and earth attributes birthed from Earth Fire.”

“Though named a ‘behemoth,’ its nature is gentle, and it rarely loses its temper.”

“The one you see now just reached adulthood a few years ago; it is currently at the Demon King Realm.”

“Demon King… Realm?” Xia Jin murmured in confusion.

The Forging Peak disciple walking ahead beat Xu Jinghuai to the explanation.

“The realm divisions for demon beasts are different from ours, but overall they aren’t too far apart. The Demon King Realm is equivalent to us human cultivators’ Human Immortal stage.”

“It’s very strong. This realm is already the highest peak most cultivators of our generation can hope to achieve in a lifetime.”

Xia Jin fell into deep thought, her small mind recalling Xu Jinghuai’s earlier words.

It seemed her cultivation needed to reach a certain level before she could descend the mountain.

As for exactly what level, Xu Jinghuai hadn’t told her.

The words of this Forging Peak disciple caused Xia Jin to misunderstand and set a “small” goal for herself.

‘Reach the Human Immortal stage within fifty years!’

At this moment, Xu Jinghuai had no idea his disciple had set such an outrageous goal. He simply smiled and said, “Disciple, with your talent, as long as you cultivate well in the future, you will reach the Human Immortal stage—perhaps even higher.”

Xu Jinghuai’s words acted as a reassurance, making Xia Jin even more determined.

“Mhm! Immortal Master, Jin’er will definitely work hard!”

Xu Jinghuai nodded.

Led by the disciple, they arrived at the guest room.

As a room intended for guests, the layout was noticeably cleaner and more refreshing than the rest of the tower, and the scorching heat was absent.

Not only the heat—even the Extreme Cold Jade Bracelet on Xia Jin’s wrist stopped emitting its chill.

This room was outfitted with formations designed to suppress the effects of various artifacts and spirit treasures.

The original intent was to facilitate better negotiations; after all, no one wanted a conversation to suddenly turn into a duel.

Conveniently, this saved Xia Jin the trouble of having to take the bracelet off and put it back on.

While Xu Jinghuai was musing, the disciple named Fang Ying brought over two kettles and asked warmly, “Does Uncle-Master wish for a drink?”

Xu Jinghuai shook his head decisively.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Martial Nephew, but there’s no need for me.”

Without even looking, Xu Jinghuai knew those kettles contained wine!

That’s right—where others used tea to welcome guests, Forging Peak used wine!

Old He loved wine to a life-threatening degree and had no interest in tea, claiming it had no flavor and lacked “kick.”

Consequently, there was practically no tea on Forging Peak. Aside from water for the ordinary disciples, the rest was wine.

Most importantly, it was all strong liquor…

It was quite absurd.

Xu Jinghuai asked, “By the way, Martial Nephew, what is your name?”

“Reporting to Uncle-Master, I am called Fang Ying.”

Fang Ying didn’t seem discouraged by the rejection. Instead, he turned to Xia Jin.

“Junior Sister, would you like a drink of—”

“Stop, stop, stop!”

Xu Jinghuai stood up abruptly, interrupting the man. He frowned and said, “She is still a child; how can you let her drink wine?”

Xia Jin blinked and whispered, “Immortal Master, um… Jin’er is already twelve and considered an adult… I’m not a little child…”

“Even if you are an adult, it’s no use.”

Xu Jinghuai spoke in a tone that brooked no argument: “On my Youyun Peak, regardless of gender, no one is allowed to drink until they are eighteen. Understood?”

In his eyes, the twelve-year-old Xia Jin was a child. How much could her tolerance be?

She clearly didn’t understand the principle that “alcohol leads to trouble.”

He had finally taken a disciple and found such a good one; if she was led astray by Fang Ying, he would be depressed to death.

“Jin’er understands…”

Xia Jin cautiously shifted her seat closer to Xu Jinghuai and whispered, “Immortal Master… are you angry?”

Xu Jinghuai shook his head, his face as calm as ever. He wasn’t angry.

He looked at the somewhat cornered Fang Ying and said helplessly, “Of course, I don’t hate people who drink, and I know your intent was kind, Martial Nephew Fang. However, please do not force your personal preferences onto others.”

“Your Junior Sister is still so young; how much can she drink? What if she gets drunk?”

“I have many arrangements for her today; wouldn’t getting drunk delay our itinerary?”

After this simple lecture, Fang Ying finally realized his mistake and bowed honestly.

“I’m sorry, Uncle-Master. I know I was wrong.”

He then bowed to Xia Jin as well.

“My apologies, Junior Sister. I truly didn’t think it through.”

“Next time, I’ll wait until you are eighteen to treat you to a drink.”

Xu Jinghuai: “…”