Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 12: The Great Artifact-Crafting Endeavor

The green-robed sword cultivator’s name was Lu Jiu—a rogue cultivator with no sect affiliation, around thirty years old and at mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Although she was older than Ye Su and the others, in the cultivation world, anyone under a hundred was still considered a young person.

After they agreed to work together, Ye Su led her junior siblings in thoroughly "assessing" the Red Mantis.

"Its forelimbs are fully scarlet, with sharp serrated edges and small suction cups at the ends," Xiyu said as she bent down and tapped the limb. "Perfect for crafting blades."

"It’s a shame the head got pierced—otherwise, it would’ve been great material for armor," Xia'er circled around to the side and lifted one of the mantis’s forewings. "The hindwings are thin, light, and semi-transparent, with a radial purple-red pattern. Could be used to make a hunting net."

Ming Liu Sha had already crouched by the mantis’s abdomen. He pulled out a dagger, made a cut, and quickly took out a bottle to collect the dripping fluid.

Ye Su, standing beside him, explained to Lu Jiu, "That’s Scarlet Essence. It’s used to draw inscription patterns on magical tools. Best used fresh."

Lu Jiu, completely baffled: "…"

Normally, she just tossed the entire beast into her storage pouch and sold it to a materials merchant after leaving the secret realm. She’d never seen this kind of operation before.

"You guys really know your stuff. You’re practically professional artifact refiners," she said to Ye Su, who stood beside her.

"We are artifact refiners," Ye Su replied casually, tilting her head. "This kind of knowledge is essential."

More precisely, it was because the Qianji Sect was constantly short on materials. The disciples spent their days buried in books, trying to ease their desire to refine magical tools.

Lu Jiu: "?"

"You mean… wait, I thought you were talisman masters?" Lu Jiu stared at the group for a long time before finally voicing her confusion. When they fought the Red Mantis, Ye Su had thrown out multiple talismans in one go. She’d even seen her draw one by hand—and then Ye Su had flown on a sword!

Lu Jiu was completely lost.

"No, that’s just a way to make a living," Ye Su said, pointing at herself and her junior. "We’re all proper artifact refiners."

Lu Jiu fell silent. Just a way to make a living, she said. Every hardworking talisman master out there would probably cry if they heard that.

"Senior Sister, where are we heading next?" Xiyu asked as he stored the Red Mantis in his storage pouch. Ming Liu Sha and Xia'er followed behind.

Ye Su thought for a moment and said, "Red Mantises usually live near Moon Grass. That herb’s useful for alchemy."

Lu Jiu stared at her in disbelief. "Don’t tell me… you know how to make pills too?"

Ye Su shook her head with a modest smile. "You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Lu. I just read about it in a book. Moon Grass is commonly used by alchemists, so I figured we could pick some to sell when we leave. Refining artifacts is our real calling."

……

Lu Jiu led them back to where they’d first encountered the Red Mantis. Following the tracks, Ye Su soon found a patch of Moon Grass, just as she’d expected.

Moon Grass was light purple, a spiritual herb commonly used in alchemy. It only grew in secret realms, but since there were many such realms, it wasn’t considered rare or particularly valuable.

Still, in Ye Su’s mind, any wool from a passing sheep was worth collecting—after all, everything inside a secret realm was ownerless.

"You’ll need a sickle to harvest it properly," Xia'er said after inspecting the base of the plant.

"I don’t have a sickle," Xiyu raised her hand.

"I… don’t… either," Ming Liu Sha added slowly.

Ye Su glanced around. "Fellow Daoist Lu, would you mind keeping watch for us?"

Lu Jiu readily agreed, though she couldn’t help asking curiously, "What are you guys about to do?"

"Make some sickles," Ye Su said as a small flame of spiritual fire flared up at her fingertips.

At the same time, flames appeared in the hands of the other three. Ming Liu Sha even spun his fire in a dramatic flourish.

Everyone knew—when it came to playing with fire, alchemists and artifact refiners were unmatched.

Lu Jiu shut her mouth. She was finally convinced: these people really were artifact refiners.

Making a sickle wasn’t complicated—far simpler than refining a full magic artifact. Ye Su could even craft two at once.

With the secret realm rich in spiritual energy, their flames burned stronger than usual. In less than fifteen minutes, two sickles made from black iron were complete.

Ye Su caught both sickles as they floated midair and handed one to Lu Jiu. "Here you go, Fellow Daoist."

And so, five people—each with a sickle in hand—lowered their heads and got to work harvesting.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cultivators scattered across the realm were already locked in chaotic battles.

……

Once they finished gathering the Moon Grass, the group headed in the opposite direction from where they came. Along the way, they ran into a few mid- to late-Foundation-stage demon beasts. Lu Jiu fought them head-on with her sword, while Ye Su and the others supported from the shadows with thrown talismans. It went smoothly.

Night fell and dawn came again in the secret realm. The group moved steadily and hadn’t really stopped to rest.

"Senior Sister, look!" Xia'er pointed ahead. "An abandoned residence!"

Ye Su looked up. The residence in the distance was half-collapsed, though it still showed traces of its former grandeur.

In general, places like this—where people had once lived—often held treasures like magic artifacts or pills. Of course, it was also possible that previous cultivators had already cleaned them out.

"Let’s take a look," said Ye Su.

The group hurried toward the ruins. But the moment they stepped inside, the surrounding spiritual energy twisted strangely.

What they had seen from afar—collapsed rubble—vanished. Ye Su looked around and realized they now stood in a damp, dim cave.

"It’s a realm within a realm!" Lu Jiu exclaimed. She had more experience and recognized it instantly.

"Realm within a realm… does that mean it’s more dangerous?" Xia'er asked.

"Yes, but it also means there could be treasures inside," Lu Jiu said, gripping her sword warily. "I’ve only heard stories, but some powerful cultivators are said to intentionally hide their legacy items in ordinary secret realms."

Xiyu shook her head. "That seems unlikely. We got in way too easily."

"Maybe that expert just wants everyone to die in here," Ming Liu Sha muttered slowly.

Ye Su noticed faint marks along the cave wall. She crouched and touched the ground—her fingertips came away sticky with blood. "Someone’s been here recently."

They tried to retrace their steps, but the entrance had vanished, replaced by solid stone.

Lu Jiu, the only sword cultivator and thus the strongest attacker among them, took the lead, with the others following behind.

After walking a while, they reached a fork with three paths. Lu Jiu turned and asked, "Which way should we go, Fellow Daoist Ye?"

The three paths looked exactly the same. Ye Su was about to pick one at random when a familiar melody drifted from the rightmost tunnel.

"Senior Sister, that sounds like the Mourning Formation from the Silent Sect," Xia'er recognized it right away.

Silent Sect? That meant Ning Qian Yao and Yi Xuan were here too.

According to the laws of novel logic, that path was likely dangerous—but it probably held valuable opportunities too.

"Our junior brother and sister are likely there," Ye Su said, righteously. "As their seniors, it’s only right that we go help them."

Lu Jiu, hearing this, was deeply moved. So this is the kind of deep bond that comes from being part of a sect… something rogue cultivators like me never get to experience.

The group turned and headed into the rightmost tunnel.

Halfway through, Lu Jiu overheard Xiyu whispering behind her, "Senior Sister, what exactly are we going to do when we get there?"

Obviously to risk your lives saving your juniors, Lu Jiu thought.

Ye Su’s voice drifted from behind. "Take a good look around for anything valuable and pocket it. Don’t start fights with other cultivators. If a fight breaks out, throw a Sleep Talisman at them. If it’s a demon beast, run. And keep the Diamond Talisman ready."

Lu Jiu, walking in front: "???" Weren’t we here to save people?!

As they continued deeper, the melody grew louder. Though the music was beautiful, the longer they listened, the more uncomfortable it became.

That was the power of a sound cultivator—a strong one could literally kill with a single note.

When they finally emerged from the tunnel, they found themselves in a vast underground chamber. The cavern stretched over thirty feet high, ringed with rising tiers of circular platforms. A stream flowed at the bottom, scattered with ever-burning candles, their light illuminating the corpses of both cultivators and demon beasts.

Disciples of the Silent Sect stood on the topmost platform, playing their instruments and channeling the Mourning Formation. But across from them were five or six clearly late-Foundation-stage cultivators—relaxed, almost casual. Their leader, Xin Xin, already had blood dripping from his ears.

And it wasn’t just the top platform—fighting raged throughout the entire cavern: cultivator versus beast, cultivator versus cultivator…

"Fellow Daoist! Need a Sleep Talisman? Just one hundred mid-grade spirit stones each! Or how about a Swift Movement Talisman, works for all levels—look how fast I’m moving? That’s this talisman at work!"

Ye Su spotted a skinny cultivator in yellow robes, skillfully dodging through the chaos as he hawked his talismans to anyone and everyone.

"Fellow Daoist! Talismans have a price—but life is priceless! For just a hundred mid-grade stones, you could put that beast in front of you right to sleep. C’mon, give it a try!"

Ye Su turned to look at Ming Liu Sha.

"He talks better than you," she said.

Ming Liu Sha: "……"

"Senior Sister, over there!" Xiyu had sharp eyes. She spotted Yi Xuan on the side of the highest platform. He was holding a sword, standing protectively in front of Ning Qian Yao.

"Those are your junior brother and sister?" Lu Jiu, a seasoned sword cultivator, quickly spotted something odd in the scene. "Those powerful sword cultivators seem to be surrounding them… Maybe they have something those guys want."

Ye Su turned her gaze toward them. Her junior brother’s swordsmanship was average at best—he was just swinging on instinct. The two sword cultivators facing him were clearly superior in both technique and movement.

Yi Xuan’s dark robe was torn, revealing a snow-white inner layer that quickly became stained red with blood. Ning Qian Yao tried several times to move in front to protect him, but each time, Yi Xuan pulled her back behind him.

As they went back and forth, Yi Xuan only ended up taking more injuries.

Ye Su: "……"

Elder Yang only has one personal disciple, she thought to herself. He’s probably given her all the best treasures. If she’s been allowed out of the sect, she’s definitely carrying some powerful magic artifacts. These Foundation-stage sword cultivators shouldn’t be able to hurt her at all.

……

Yi Xuan gritted his teeth, refusing to kneel. He held himself up with one hand on his sword, trying to stand again—but he couldn’t.

One of the sword cultivators sneered and swung his sword from a short distance away.

"Senior Brother!" Ning Qian Yao’s eyes welled up with tears. She threw herself in front of Yi Xuan, desperate to shield him.

Clang—!

Lu Jiu stepped in just in time, deflecting the sword strike. The other sword cultivator charged at them, only to be intercepted by Ye Su.

Ye Su could control a sword, but she wasn’t trained in swordsmanship—so she didn’t even bother drawing her sword. She just kept slapping Diamond Talismans onto herself.

The enemy’s sword may have been fast, but there was no way it could compete with Ye Su’s talisman application speed. Before he knew it, she was already in front of him.

A small flame of spiritual fire lit up at her fingertips. She aimed it straight for his eyes. Instinctively, the sword cultivator dodged, shifting his upper body to the side—right in time to catch a brutal palm strike to the chest.

He looked down at the talisman now stuck to his chest: "…"

Ye Su glanced sideways at the now-snoozing sword cultivator lying on the ground and calmly turned to the three standing nearby. "Beat him."

Ming Liu Sha, Xiyu, and Xia'er rushed forward as if on cue—slapping on talismans, punching, stealing his sword—each with their own job, working in perfect sync like they’d done it a hundred times before.

The other sword cultivator, while technically a level higher than Lu Jiu, lacked her ruthlessness. Bit by bit, he fell behind. Seizing the moment, Ye Su casually tossed a Sleep Talisman at him.

"Senior Sister?" Ning Qian Yao had braced herself for pain, but the sword never came. Instead, she felt Yi Xuan’s body, once tense, gradually relax. She turned her head—and finally noticed the four disciples from Qianji Sect had arrived.

"Oh, long time no see," Ye Su waved casually. Then she turned back to her group: "Watch over Junior Brother and Junior Sister."

Xia'er responded immediately, "On it!"

As the group fanned out, Lu Jiu accidentally caught a glimpse of the two unconscious sword cultivators. A cold chill ran down her spine.

For a sword cultivator, their sword was like a second life—but now, not only were those two black and blue all over, their swords had been reforged into chains. They were tightly bound and nailed to the stone platform like criminals.

—Is this what refiners are like these days?! So twisted?!