After silently offering a prayer for that child, hoping Huayi wouldn't truly mess up a perfectly good living person by treating them like a mere toy, he was already certain that this child named Lingzhu would likely never grow up to be a towering, strong man. "Well... the Immortal Realm will soon have another effeminate cultivator..."

This was almost a certainty, as quite a few techniques within the Demonic Arts were explicitly created for women, with many movements even possessing a captivating allure. Imagining Lingzhu, a male, executing those moves was a bizarre prospect.

Scratching his head, Ye Wen felt some things were best left unexamined too deeply. After chatting with Huayi for a while, he headed straight back to his room, wanting to search for or ponder suitable cultivation methods for Liu Fushun and Steward Zhou.

He searched for half the night before finally locating a suitable technique. He had summoned it back when he was in the Changbai Immortal Realm. At that time, he had casually drawn forth a manual. Since he and everyone else already had appropriate techniques and wouldn't be switching anytime soon, Ye Wen had only used that summoning chance to avoid wasting the opportunity.

The technique obtained from that summoning had been tucked away in his ring ever since, to the point that he had almost forgotten he possessed such a secret manual.

In truth, the power of this cultivation method was not bad, and it was quite well-known. However, this manual possessed a specific characteristic that caused Ye Wen to set it aside and nearly forget about it.

If it hadn't been for the sudden recollection of the Sunflower Manual, he might never have remembered this secret text in his possession.

This secret manual was the Azure Mirror Scroll. It belonged to the same series as the Primordial Chaos Mirror Compendium and the Innate Heaven and Earth Technique—a rather unique skill within that series. Its defining feature was... only a eunuch could practice it.

Upon completion, azure energy would swirl around the practitioner, giving off a somewhat immortal aura. However, the movements were a bit too ruthless. But for Ye Wen, this wasn't a major issue; in his view, once you decided to fight someone, the goal was naturally to strike them dead! A little ruthlessness was no big deal.

This technique was inherently good, but because of that restriction requiring castration, Ye Wen hadn't developed any interest in it, tossing it into his ring without even flipping through it.

Now, taking it out and glancing over it, he noticed the scroll only contained a few moves, and the azure energy cultivated by the Azure Mirror Scroll wasn't a verdant immortal energy, but rather ghostly energy!

When practiced to its highest level, the Azure Mirror Scroll allowed the practitioner to invite the Yin Spirit of Yama to possess them. However, the version obtained from the ring was clearly far more potent. According to this manual, a person who reached this level basically possessed a sliver of Yin Spirit power. In Ye Wen's understanding, this meant that reaching this stage meant one had crossed the threshold to becoming an immortal, achieving the status of an Earthly Immortal; continuing to cultivate to the highest degree would grant the Yin Spirit Body.

Ye Wen didn't know the true strength of a Yin Spirit. Perhaps this technique could allow one to cultivate to the level of a Heavenly Immortal?

Of course, many techniques from the Shushan Sect could also allow cultivation to the Heavenly Immortal level, provided one could reach that stage! Thus, Ye Wen didn't covet this technique, especially given the restriction that kept him perfectly calm; he certainly didn't feel like abandoning his current blissful life for this Azure Mirror Scroll.

"So, this thing still has some use after all. Now it's come in handy!" It was useless sitting there anyway. Moreover, since Liu Fushun was quite loyal to Wei Hong, and Wei Hong was a Shushan Sect disciple, Liu Fushun could be considered one of Shushan's own. Cultivating him well would be beneficial to the Shushan Sect. With this in mind, Ye Wen saw no need to hoard the technique. He directly copied a portion of the Azure Mirror Scroll, intending to give it to Wei Hong tomorrow, allowing Wei Hong to pass the scroll to Liu Fushun for practice.

He wasn't worried that Wei Hong would become jealous after reading the technique. After all, Wei Hong's aptitude was not poor; he had diligently practiced the Purple Haze Divine Art for decades and had already mastered it thoroughly. Now that he was in the Immortal Realm, he just needed to properly temper his body, and then he could aim for the Earthly Immortal realm.

He didn't even need Ye Wen to teach him other methods. Currently, Wei Hong was single-mindedly focused on mastering the Purple Haze Divine Art! He hadn't even practiced the subsequent technique, the Innate Purple Qi.

This disciple, who had once been an emperor, possessed great perseverance and willpower. At least Ye Wen didn't think he could bring the Purple Haze Divine Art to such a degree if he practiced it himself.

Of course, this was partly because Wei Hong focused purely on internal arts and neglected external training, but enduring that kind of dull monotony showed the man was extraordinary.

As for Steward Zhou's problem... Ye Wen thought it over and decided the Absolute Domain or the Seven-Colored Battle Qi would suffice! He could, of course, specifically summon a secret manual for Steward Zhou, but he truly didn't think it was necessary to use a precious summon just for him, especially since summoning opportunities were becoming rarer. He was eager to see what surprises the ring's recent changes held and wanted to test it out!

Thinking of this, he remembered it had been a while since he last used the ring and wondered if he could use it again now.

He glanced around his empty room. Ning Ruxue was still in the training chamber practicing, likely not returning tonight. Huayi had gone to instruct Lingzhu and wouldn't be back anytime soon.

He had already figured out solutions for those two; he was idle now, so why not try summoning again?

No sooner said than done, Ye Wen sat down and casually channeled his inner energy into the ring. His control over his power was now so adept that he didn't need any special posture; he could even summon while sipping tea, though he still disliked being interrupted.

As soon as he sent his inner energy in, Ye Wen heard the familiar prompting sound and rejoiced: "Success! I can summon again!"

At the same time, he mentally estimated that only a few months had passed since the last summoning, which was slightly faster than the previous half-year interval. He wasn't sure if this was due to his increased cultivation or some other reason, but for him, it was ultimately a good thing.

What troubled Ye Wen, however, was that while the ring began absorbing his inner energy this time, it didn't prompt him with messages about detecting his inner energy attributes as it had before. This situation was similar to the very beginning—it seemed to be granting a secret manual entirely at random.

"Did its abilities regress after evolving?"

He felt quite troubled, unsure whether to be happy or uneasy! Just as he was considering stopping the energy flow, he noticed that the moment the thought arose, the ring seemed to instantly sense it and decisively halted the process.

Then, an object suddenly appeared in Ye Wen's hand. This sensation was intensely familiar from the last few decades: every summoning concluded by draining almost all his inner energy, followed by a secret manual materializing in his grasp. No matter what posture he adopted, the manual would rest steadily in his palm.

However, this time, the summoning ended before his inner energy was completely depleted—a situation that greatly concerned Ye Wen.

"Could the channeling of inner energy now be controllable?" Ye Wen glanced at the ring on his finger. "If so, is the technique granted lesser than when I summon at full power?" Turning his gaze downward, Ye Wen instantly froze! Because what lay in his hand was not a secret scroll or book, but a folded piece of paper.

The paper was folded neatly and squarely, feeling just like those manual books to the touch, which was why he hadn't looked at it immediately. It was only upon closer inspection that he realized his assumption had been wrong.

Puzzled, he unfolded the paper, finding it was just a single sheet. He couldn't tell what material it was made of, as even folded this way, it retained no wrinkles. But when he tried to fold it back, it returned to its original fold as if guided by fixed indentations.

"I don't know what material this is; if I could study it, it would probably be a magical treasure itself!" After testing it a couple of times, Ye Wen set aside the material examination and opened the paper. What finally greeted him was the blueprint for a magical treasure. It wasn't that Ye Wen understood what a treasure blueprint entailed, but the moment the paper opened, he saw the most prominent title written in bold, thick characters: Zijuan Sword (Knockoff) Design Schematics.

"Holy smokes! It gave me a treasure blueprint?" Ye Wen blinked, confirming he wasn't hallucinating. His ring had indeed provided him with a blueprint for a magical treasure. This was precisely what he was struggling with the most right now! He had been planning to earn more money to supply the artisans in the Artifact Crafting Pavilion, hoping they could develop the ability to design and manufacture standard-power magical treasures within a century. Now, it was as if a pillow had arrived right when he was sleepy! He had just been thinking they needed to broaden their minds and research design methods for magical artifacts, and his dear ring delivered such a huge gift.

"With this blueprint, think how much time and material it will save!" If they had to research from scratch, even if Shushan Sect had several low-quality, knockoff Zijuan Swords for Zheng Ying to take apart and study, it would probably take an untold amount of time to thoroughly understand and replicate the design concepts.

But with this blueprint, things were different. It detailed almost every step. As long as a disciple skilled in refining treasures followed the instructions, a standard knockoff Zijuan Sword could be forged, provided no errors were made.

Although Ye Wen was still somewhat dissatisfied with the word "knockoff," after reading the detailed explanations on the blueprint, he realized this knockoff version was much better than the ones he currently held. Even though it was a imitation, its power was considerable. While Ye Wen couldn't yet judge the power levels of magical treasures in the Immortal Realm, or what tier this knockoff Zijuan Sword would be after crafting, he could compare it to the treasures he knew from Earth.

He determined that if it could be manufactured successfully according to the blueprint, meeting the specified standards, the Zijuan Sword would absolutely be an exceptional item on Earth—though perhaps not enough to drive every sect crazy, the established major sects would only allow their elders or sect masters to wield such a flying sword.

"What a treasure!" Ye Wen gazed at the blueprint, the light in his eyes growing more intense. He was practically drooling over the schematic; if someone walked in right then, they might mistake the Great Sect Master for reading some kind of lewd picture album!

Lost in his excitement, Ye Wen suddenly remembered that he hadn't exhausted all his inner energy during the previous summon. What could he have summoned if all his energy had been drained?

"Maybe I could summon the genuine Zijuan Sword?" Although the probability was low, it didn't stop Ye Wen from dreaming. And even if he couldn't summon a Zijuan Sword, anything else would be good.

Unfortunately, when Ye Wen excitedly tried to summon again, the cold, emotionless message—"Cooling down..."—left him speechless. "You're a ring! You're a magic treasure, not a computer! Cool down your—!"

But the ring clearly lacked sentience. No matter how much Ye Wen cursed inwardly, the ring remained silently on his finger, offering no response. Only when Ye Wen attempted to channel his inner energy again did he hear that cold, utterly impassive: "Cooling down..."

"Fine! It seems I'll have to wait a while longer to summon treasures!"

Although Ye Wen felt a bit annoyed, he couldn't entirely suppress his excitement. However, after a moment, he calmed down, recalling that his sect's Artifact Crafting Pavilion had only just been established. They hadn't even finished studying the treasure-making technology brought over from Earth. The best disciples, Zhang Ling and Zheng Ying, were merely novices. Even if he gave them the design schematics for the true Zijuan Sword now, they probably couldn't build it.

"Perhaps... I shouldn't be in such a rush. Should I summon a series of treasures from low to high first? Let these two disciples hone their skills first?"

Having calmed down, Ye Wen began seriously considering how to utilize this newfound advantage. In the future, Shushan Sect wouldn't need to brainstorm what kind of magical treasures to create; they could simply see what the ring offered and choose which ones to build, which would be more than enough for Shushan's needs.

Besides, the Shushan Sect didn't rely on magical treasures for its sustenance. They could likely sell many of the items they produced, earning enough material to allow their disciples more practice!

"This way, we can enter a positive feedback loop! We build, sell for materials, and while crafting for our own people, we also handle the sales!"

"In that case, we need to pay close attention to controlling the failure rate!"

He turned his gaze back to the success rate notations on the blueprint. Ye Wen found a rather arrogant statement scribbled in the bottom corner: "If this blueprint's procedures and steps are strictly followed during construction, the success rate can reach one hundred percent!"

Ye Wen was overjoyed. If Shushan Sect could perfectly convert all materials into magical treasures, the profit from one treasure could easily allow them to forge several more of the same type. This was pure profiteering.

However, Ye Wen soon noticed that this wasn't easily achievable! Firstly, the blueprint stipulated many minute details, even specifying precision down to milliseconds and milligrams. Even a slight deviation could lead to failure. Under such stringent requirements, ensuring disciples made absolutely no mistakes was nearly impossible.

Not just the person refining the treasure, but even a machine couldn't achieve such precision. Therefore, that final, ostentatious claim on the blueprint was merely a theoretical possibility.

Reflecting on this, Ye Wen calmed down again. Comparing it carefully, he concluded that Shushan Sect still held a massive advantage. Other sects manufacturing treasures probably wouldn't have such detailed procedures. Even when forging familiar artifacts, they only relied on a general impression, at best knowing the quantity range for X material. It was impossible for them to be precise down to the milligram. Thus, the failure rate for manufacturing treasures in other sects would be far higher than for Shushan Sect, which possessed the design schematics.

"In short, this blueprint is an advantage, but also something that cannot be easily shown to others. It seems I’ll need a convincing excuse before passing it down..."

After considering, Ye Wen realized that if he didn't understand treasure crafting himself, even if he wanted to present this item and claim he designed it, no one would believe him. Ultimately, he would have to learn the basic methods of treasure fabrication from the specialized teachers he hired.

"Sigh... my life is hard!"

Little did Ye Wen know that his difficult days were just beginning. Not long after officially starting to learn treasure crafting, Ye Wen, out of sheer boredom, casually tried summoning again, and the ring, quite helpfully, succeeded once more.

This time, Ye Wen used very little inner energy, so the resulting paper was small. Ye Wen initially assumed it was a blueprint for a minor treasure or perhaps just some introductory internal cultivation method.

But when he looked closely, his eyes blurred, because what he saw was page after page of numbers measured in milligrams and endless lists of medicinal herbs.

"Good grief, a prescription?"

Ye Wen looked at the ring on his right hand, then at the prescription resting in his left, feeling speechless. "Did the ring upgrade so that it can summon magical treasure blueprints and the formulas for immortal elixirs?"

Examining the prescription carefully, he noticed one formulation had a name that was both familiar and utterly ridiculous: Boiled Egg!

Yes, Boiled Egg. And whether by accident or deliberate mockery, one of the ingredients listed was, indeed, an egg—specifically stating it had to be laid by an old hen.

Then, boiling the egg with a large collection of other herbs meant the elixir was formed! Its effect was to grant an ordinary person a rudimentary sense of Qi, allowing them to step onto the path of cultivation—commonly known as Foundation Establishment!

The name "Boiled Egg" was clearly a homophonic pun on the "Foundation Establishment Pill" (Zhù Jī Dān), rendered in a highly absurd manner.

To be honest, this elixir was of little use to the Shushan Sect. It was intended for disciples in special circumstances or those eager to start quickly. In the Immortal Realm, it was something no one would even bother picking up off the street—if you couldn't even establish a foundation, how could you cultivate immortality? Go home and play!

Therefore, although Ye Wen obtained the recipe for the Foundation Establishment Elixir, having learned some common knowledge of the Immortal Realm in his free time, he casually tucked the formula away, acting as if it didn't exist.

However, after Li Xiaoyao accidentally spotted it, Boiled Egg became one of the standard breakfast items at the Shushan Sect.