“I see that you are already awake,” Zhao Yunxiao remarked after entering Lou Yuan’s hut.

“I didn’t sleep a wink!” Lou Yuan glared at Zhao Yunxiao. “How am I supposed to sleep when I clearly know that the bandits can enter and kill me at any time?!”

“Haha, you sure are energetic for someone who did not sleep!” Zhao Yunxiao laughed.

Of course, Zhao Yunxiao did not sleep either, albeit for a different reason.

It was just that as a cultivator at the Essence Gathering realm, he could easily go for days without any sleep. So, that was not exactly an issue for him.

“How can you still laugh? I wouldn’t be in this state if you had not just left me here to fend for myself all night!” Lou Yuan protested.

“So, did the bandits attempt to kill you at night?” Zhao Yunxiao asked nonchalantly.

“No...” Lou Yuan answered softly. “But I was awake, so maybe that’s why they didn’t try to do so. I’m sure I would not have lived if I had fallen asleep!”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao Yunxiao waved him off. “Forget that. Shall we get going?”

“Oh, to search for the celestial meteorite? Yes, let’s get out of here!” Lou Yuan got up and immediately started ushering Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang out of the hut.

The trio passed by several bandits on their way out, all of whom greeted them in a polite and scholarly manner.

Nevertheless, Lou Yuan could not help but hide behind Zhao Yunxiao every time.

It was to the extent that Zhao Yunxiao could no longer tell if Lou Yuan’s excitement was because they were going to search for the celestial meteorite, or if it was simply because they were leaving the bandits’ hideout.

After instructing the bandits to fetch their horses from the foot of the hill, the trio quickly descended Stoneyard Hill and, under the lead of Lou Yuan, began to head towards the last possible location that he had in mind.

While Lou Yuan had looked unreliable until now, he was surprisingly certain about the way. Perhaps this was what gave him the confidence to go exploring this region all by himself.

The group could feel subtle differences even before they arrived at their destination.

The further they walked, the hotter it got.

Bit by bit, signs of life were vanishing from the landscape. Not only were there absolutely no traces of animals, but the only non-cacti vegetations that could be seen were also all dried up.

As Lou Yuan had surmised, it took around half a day before they arrived at their destination – a wide desert.

“Isn’t there supposed to be a grassland here?” Zhao Yunxiao recalled.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Lou Yuan’s face no longer showed any hints of sleep deprivation, all of which were replaced by sheer excitement. “To think that a single celestial meteorite could completely change the landscape!”

“But this is a rather huge area,” Zhao Yunxiao frowned. “Do you know where the celestial meteorite is?”

“No, but that’s not an issue,” Lou Yuan said confidently. “We’ll just have to look for it!”

“I guess there’s no helping it,” Zhao Yunxiao heaved a sigh of helplessness. “Let’s get going then. This might take a while.”

“No, it’s not that complicated,” Lou Yuan corrected. “All we have to do is follow the differences in energy density. If the celestial meteorite has really fallen here, it will surely be emitting a certain degree of energy.”

“That’s true,” Zhao Yunxiao agreed.

With that, he closed his eyes and spread out his spiritual sense.

Lou Yuan was not wrong.

Despite the harsh environment, Zhao Yunxiao could sense that the energy density in their surroundings was much higher than normal.

It was not mere world origin energy either, but some form of refined energy instead. This meant that the higher energy density was definitely not something natural.

But that said, it applied to the entire environment.

No matter how he tried, Zhao Yunxiao could not detect any significant differences in energy level that could possibly suggest the direction where this refined energy originated.

“Managed to sense it?” Lou Yuan asked, apparently having guessed what Zhao Yunxiao was doing.

“No luck,” Zhao Yunxiao answered bitterly. “Do you sense anything, Senior Martial Brother Nie?”

“No,” Nie Hanchang shook his head as well.

“Tch! How pathetic,” Lou Yuan clicked his tongue in irritation. “What’s the use of learning how to fight when you can’t even do something this simple? Follow me!”

“Wait, do you have an idea on where to go?” Zhao Yunxiao questioned.

“Of course!” Lou Yuan snorted in disdain. “While I might not be able to fight as well as you do, this level of energy sensitivity is nothing to a famous designer like me!”

With that, Lou Yuan confidently walked into the desert.

Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang exchanged glances, then silently followed along.

While they were sceptical about Lou Yuan’s claim, it was not as though they had a better plan anyway. Since the next best alternative would just be slowly combing the desert, they might as well go along with Lou Yuan for now.

Lou Yuan never slowed down.

In fact, his pace only grew faster as they walked along, just like the excitement that was clearly showing on his face.

And for good reason as well.

It did not take long before they finally found what they were here for.

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From the top of a tall sand dune, the trio looked down at what appeared to be an enormous sand crater. Within the crater, one could see a huge black rock that was half buried in the sand.

The surface of this rock was smooth with a metallic sheen, perfectly reflecting the blazing sun that was bearing down on it.

It was clear that this was no ordinary rock.

That was not all, either.

The moment they arrived at the sand crater, the energy density in their surroundings had suddenly climbed to multiple times that at the edge of the desert.

“You really knew the way?” Zhao Yunxiao muttered in surprise.

Zhao Yunxiao had always been proud of his mastery of energy sensitivity and control.

But if Lou Yuan had truly found this place simply by following the subtle differences in energy density in their surroundings, then Lou Yuan was on a completely different level!

After all, even most inner disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect would be unable to exhibit such a level of energy sensitivity!

“Yeah, that’s a surprise...” Nie Hanchang absentmindedly added.

“Hah! Do you finally believe that I am a famous designer now?” Lou Yuan put his hands on his waist in triumph.

“What has this got to do with being a famous designer?” Zhao Yunxiao asked.

“What’s with that ignorant-sounding question? Don’t you know that energy sensitivity is a key trait for every famous designer?” Lou Yuan rolled his eyes. “Designing for cultivators is not just about appearances, but understanding the items’ innate qualities as well. One can have the coolest ideas in the world, but it’s still useless if these ideas are not physically viable. Only by having a good sense of the traits of each material, could one keep coming up with new designs that reconcile internally.”

“That might be true, but that doesn’t mean everyone with good energy sensitivity is a famous designer,” Zhao Yunxiao argued. “If you really want to prove that, then show me something that only a famous designer can do.”

“Like what?” Lou Yuan asked irritably.

“Like designing something good?” Zhao Yunxiao answered matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” Lou Yuan was slightly surprised by the simplicity of the answer. “That isn’t difficult! Come, give me a problem, and I will prove my designing skills to you!”

“Are you sure?”

“More than sure!”

“In that case, how about a halberd?” Zhao Yunxiao suggested. “I currently have a blueprint for a halberd that utilises the essence of the grimoire fruit as one of the main materials. If you can come up with a better design for a halberd that suits me, then I will believe what you say. Otherwise, there is no way that I am believing your lies!”

“What lies?! Fine, a halberd it is. I will definitely make you speechless!” Lou Yuan agreed immediately. “Just get ready to throw out that useless blueprint that you currently have!”

“I will be eagerly awaiting your finest work then, famous designer!”

“Of course!”

Watching from the side, Nie Hanchang was surprised to see how things panned out all of a sudden.

He had initially thought that Zhao Yunxiao was just engaging in childish banter with Lou Yuan. But who would have thought that Zhao Yunxiao would actually take this opportunity to make Lou Yuan design a halberd for him?

Even if Lou Yuan was just talking big, Zhao Yunxiao would not lose anything.

But if Lou Yuan was truly as good as he said, then Zhao Yunxiao could possibly gain a better design for the halberd that he was intended to forge.

This was an outcome that only had upsides for Zhao Yunxiao!

“Let’s leave it at that then,” Zhao Yunxiao answered in a nonchalant manner. “For now, why don’t we focus on the matter at hand?”

Even though Zhao Yunxiao’s nonchalance irritated Lou Yuan even more, Lou Yuan knew that there was nothing he could say now that would change anything.

Thus, he turned his attention back to the sand crater as well.

“We are too far away to see anything,” Lou Yuan remarked. “Let’s go down to take a closer look.”

“Are you sure?” Zhao Yunxiao asked. “The temperature down there is a lot higher than where we are.”

“Hah! Don’t underestimate me!” Lou Yuan tugged lightly on his luxurious-looking robe. “This robe does far more than just look good!”

Without waiting for Zhao Yunxiao’s response, Lou Yuan started making his way down.

Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang quickly followed, though they continued to keep an eye on Lou Yuan.

The temperature in the sand crater was significantly higher than that outside, but it did not prove to be a problem for the trio.

That was only natural for Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang. However, they were surprised to see Lou Yuan show absolutely no signs of discomfort, either.

It was likely that his robe had some ability to shield him from the heat.

To think that he was wearing a treasure robe as well. This guy really did not know the dangers of travelling alone!

“So, this is the celestial meteorite,” Zhao Yunxiao examined it with his spiritual sense. “With this thing around, no wonder there hasn’t been any rainfall in the recent months!”

The celestial meteorite was constantly emitting huge amounts of heat energy, almost turning the area into an open oven.

Under such conditions, how were clouds supposed to form?

Without clouds, how could there be rainfall?

But this also made their objective clear.

Since the celestial meteorite was likely to be the cause of the drought, they would just have to get rid of it to ease the situation!

“You mentioned that you are here to see if there is anything that can be used as material for your future designs?” Zhao Yunxiao asked. “Are you satisfied with what you see?”

“Yes, very!” Lou Yuan nodded excitedly. “Hurry up and destroy it!”

“Destroy it? Didn’t you say that you want it as material?” Zhao Yuxniao raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but I don’t want the shell! What I want is inside!” Lou Yuan explained.

“Inside?” Zhao Yunxiao turned his attention back to the celestial meteorite.

Yet despite his repeated attempts, his spiritual sense was still unable to penetrate the outer layer of the celestial meteorite.

“Stop doubting me and do it!”

“Yes, yes...”

Zhao Yunxiao did not know what Lou Yuan was referring to, but he decided to go along with Lou Yuan, especially since destroying the celestial meteorite aligned with his initial intention as well.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhao Yunxiao retrieved his trusted halberd from his spatial pouch.

Not knowing the actual material of the celestial meteorite, Zhao Yunxiao dared not hold back.

Driving his dantian to the limit, he fully imbued his halberd with essence energy before smashing down as hard as he could.

Bang-!

Zhao Yunxiao’s eyes widened in surprise.

Tough!

Despite putting all of his strength into it, he had actually only managed to chip away a portion of the celestial meteorite.

There was no doubt that the celestial meteorite was harder than iron!

If not for use of essence energy, perhaps his halberd might even give way before the celestial meteorite did!

Thankfully, that was not the case here.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

Zhao Yunxiao continued to hammer away at the celestial meteorite, chipping chunk after chunk from the surface.

And with one finally strike, Zhao Yunxiao finally got through the outer layer of the celestial meteorite.

As the core was exposed, a bright light immediately shot out from within the celestial meteorite.

At the same time, a wave of heat erupted in all directions, sweeping across the trio like a blazing inferno.

Zhao Yunxiao quickly summoned his essence energy to form a defensive barrier, making sure to cover Lou Yuan as well.

Nie Hanchang did the same.

Thankfully, the explosion of heat was not too devastating and only lasted for a short moment.

After enduring through it, the trio simultaneously looked towards the broken celestial meteorite to see the glowing stone within that had just been exposed.

“Is that... a fire ruby?” Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed in disbelief.

It was at this moment that he finally understood why Lou Yuan had been so excited about this!