Chapter 1153: At One's Wits' End
He forcefully bent it and found it easy to distort, which indicated that the sturdiness was still not sufficient.
He felt like he was missing a step, so he took out the Refining Secret Manual, looked through it, and discovered that to achieve more solid tools, he needed to keep hammering the hot steel.
Only with higher density can it become more robust.
Just like a sponge, only by compressing it can you achieve a more resilient effect.
Lin Yifan threw the iron ring he had refined back into the furnace for burning.
Because of the high purity of the iron ring, this time he only needed to melt it into liquid.
So he kept increasing the fire to raise the burning temperature.
In just a few minutes, the iron ring melted.
At this point, Lin Yifan poured it into the mold and used a blower to accelerate solidification.
The solidified iron ring was still hot; at this point, it had a feature, which was high flexibility, suitable for hammering.
So Lin Yifan picked up the big hammer beside him and hammered step by step evenly.
After the hammering, the iron ring indeed became more solid than before. Now, Lin Yifan needed the Peak strength of the Divine Transformation First Realm to barely distort it.
This was the tool Lin Yifan wanted, so he put the iron ring away.
With the iron ring refined, the next step was to refine the iron chain.
Lin Yifan used the same method to burn and refine.
After several failures, he obtained the iron chain he wanted.
The tool to bind the Long-Horned Squirrel was ready, so Lin Yifan went to put the iron ring on the Long-Horned Squirrel.
"Click," the door opened.
At this moment, the Enlightenment Tree and the Little Sun Fruit Tree, who were eavesdropping outside the door, were caught red-handed.
They acted dumb and confused: "Uh... This ceiling is so beautiful!"
"Get out of the way!"
Lin Yifan knew these two were eavesdropping on his tool crafting outside the door, but even if they knew what he was doing, he didn't care, so he didn't pursue the matter further.
The Enlightenment Tree and the Little Sun Fruit Tree quickly made way, knowing they would suffer bad consequences if they provoked this master.
Moreover, they saw Lin Yifan holding chains, seemingly intending to lock something.
If Lin Yifan targeted them, they would completely lose their freedom, possibly even losing the right to move within the Immortal Mansion.
After leaving the armory, Lin Yifan stepped into the room where the Long-Horned Squirrel was held.
It was then that the Enlightenment Tree and the Little Sun Fruit Tree realized who Lin Yifan intended to lock up; it turned out to be the creature he had previously captured.
"That guy is pitiful, totally losing its freedom," sighed the Enlightenment Tree with sympathy.
"What did it do to provoke this demon?" wondered the Little Sun Fruit Tree.
They still hadn't figured out what kind of creature Lin Yifan had captured, so they followed him quietly out of curiosity.
Peering through the crack in the door, they watched the situation inside unfold.
They saw a squirrel with two horns on its head being caught by Lin Yifan and then forcibly fitted with an iron ring.
The Long-Horned Squirrel screamed hoarsely and struggled continuously, looking very pitiful.
"Poor thing, it's about to be turned into a pet."
"What species is this? I've never seen it before."
"I don't know either, I've never seen it!" replied the Enlightenment Tree.
After securing the Long-Horned Squirrel, Lin Yifan left.
At this point, the Enlightenment Tree and the Little Sun Fruit Tree, who were spying outside the door, quickly moved aside and went back to playing with their things obediently.
Now, they felt a deep fear towards Lin Yifan and didn't dare to offend him in any way.
After closing the door, Lin Yifan left the blue Immortal Ring and returned to the real world.
He walked out of the small house and went to the vineyard to pick a large amount of grapes.
The workers tending the vineyard saw his extravagant actions and quickly reported this to the Sixth Elder of the Long Family.
The Sixth Elder of the Long Family rushed over after hearing the news and saw Lin Yifan picking grapes extensively; while feeling distressed, he was also full of doubts.
So he came over and asked curiously, "Little Brother Lin, why are you picking so many grapes?"
"Can't I eat?" Lin Yifan retorted.
"Do you still eat while in seclusion?"
The Long Family Elder was puzzled.
Others in seclusion had no time for other concerns, yet Lin Yifan had the mind to eat grapes, which left him speechless.
"Why, is there a problem?" Lin Yifan turned around, questioning sternly.
"No problem, just wondering if you can eat this much in one day?"
The amount of grapes Lin Yifan picked was a whole basket, far exceeding the average person's consumption; so he wanted to clarify.
"Do you believe I can eat your entire vineyard's grapes in one day?" Lin Yifan retorted.
"I believe! I believe!"
The Long Family Elder was frightened and immediately backed down.
He was truly afraid that Lin Yifan's words would come to pass, and then he'd suffer a great loss.
"Then why are you asking so much?"
Lin Yifan rolled his eyes, not showing any favor towards the Sixth Elder of the Long Family.
After picking the grapes and just before leaving, he turned his head slightly and said to the Sixth Elder of the Long Family: "Great things require not being petty. These few grapes, perhaps with a single assistance or a high-grade Elixir from me, can be returned multiple times; hence, one's vision should be long-term, and not fixated on small benefits."
"Little Brother Lin taught me well. I won't obstruct again next time,"
The Sixth Elder of the Long Family humbly accepted the advice; to be honest, he also felt that he had been too petty.
Leaving the vineyard, Lin Yifan went back to the small house, returning to that secret corner.
After ensuring that no one was spying outside the door, he entered the blue Immortal Ring again.
He picked the grapes for the Long-Horned Squirrel to eat.
He feared that the Long-Horned Squirrel might attempt suicide, and if it died, there would be no one to guide him to the Desert Dynasty; so he intended to use the squirrel's favorite food to show it the benefits of staying alive.
Precisely as he suspected, the Long-Horned Squirrel indeed had suicidal tendencies.
It kept banging its head against the wall, wanting to end it all.
Seeing this situation, Lin Yifan, who stepped into the room, immediately stopped it.
The Long-Horned Squirrel was quite ruthless, even breaking its own head, truly intent on dying.
Lin Yifan quickly treated the Long-Horned Squirrel's injuries to prevent the condition from worsening.
After spending considerable time, he finally pulled the Long-Horned Squirrel back from the gates of death.
At this moment, he took out the grapes and placed them in front of the Long-Horned Squirrel.
The Long-Horned Squirrel glanced at them, but didn't appreciate it.
"Oh boy, really stubborn!"
Lin Yifan knew that the Long-Horned Squirrel wanted freedom, so he said, "As long as you behave and help me with one task; once it's accomplished, I'll let you go."
Whether the Long-Horned Squirrel could understand or not, he could only try.
The Long-Horned Squirrel was a Spirit Beast, though its intelligence was higher than ordinary animals, it hadn't reached the level of a human, so it didn't understand a single word.
It was still struggling, trying to seek death.
At this moment, Lin Yifan felt a headache, unsure of what to do.
Just when he was at his wit's end, the Enlightenment Tree and the Little Sun Fruit Tree took action.