Chapter 94: Divine Iron |
Southwest of the Jing Kingdom.
This place originally belonged to the barbarian tribes. After the Battle of the Thread of Sky, the barbarians were completely swept away.
From overlords of the mountain forests, they were reduced to slaves.
General Han Shizhong, although he had not crowned himself king, was called the King of the Southwest by everyone.
On a hilltop, a man with graying temples wearing armor looked down from above at the barbarian slaves being whipped.
Han Shizhong wanted to build a Mingxin Palace in the mountain forest, with a scale comparable to the Jing Kingdom's imperial palace.
A large number of barbarian slaves worked day and night.
They didn't have enough to eat or wear, and would be beaten if they paused even slightly.
Many soldiers took pleasure in tormenting the barbarians.
Over the past dozen years, the barbarians had resisted, but were all suppressed.
The older generation had died out, but the hatred of the younger generation was still spreading.
"What is Lord Liao looking at?" A centurion wearing light armor stepped forward.
Liao Shouyi withdrew his gaze from the slaves, looked at the centurion who had approached, and asked in return: "Do you miss home?"
The centurion was stunned by the question and subconsciously said: "Home is right here, what is there to miss?"
"I mean your previous home," Liao Shouyi said.
Without waiting for the other party to answer, he continued: "My wife is old, and my son should be grown up too. Isn't it time to go back?"
A trace of vigilance flashed in the centurion's eyes, and he said: "The General has ordered that no one is allowed to enter or leave the Southwest at will. How can we go back?"
Liao Shouyi looked at him, standing with his hands behind his back, and said: "You know, I joined the army to become a general admired by everyone on the New Year pictures. Now the refugee army is wreaking havoc, yet we are sitting here claiming to be kings."
"Here, we will never be painted on the New Year pictures."
The centurion said: "Your Lordship is already a Rank 3 Assistant Regional Commander, which is considered a general. What does it matter whether you are painted on the New Year pictures or not."
"As for the refugee army, that's just the incompetence of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, not even able to defeat a group of farmers."
Liao Shouyi shook his head and suddenly said: "I remember you are a soldier from the ninth year of Yongji?"
"Yes."
"The ninth year of Yongji, in just eleven short years, without any military merits, you climbed to the position of centurion. You have a pretty good fate."
The centurion chuckled dryly and said: "It's all thanks to Your Lordship's promotion."
"I have never promoted you. I only like to promote men with blood and courage, and you are not one."
Liao Shouyi looked at the other party's awkward appearance and said indifferently: "Presumably, this is the benefit of the General arranging for you to come over and monitor me at all times."
Hearing this sentence, the centurion felt his hair stand on end and subconsciously reached for the weapon at his waist.
"What, what do you mean by this?"
Liao Shouyi still looked at him, his voice gradually deepening.
"Nothing, just want to go home."
The tenth year of Chongming.
Autumn.
Assistant Regional Commander Liao Shouyi mutinied and killed the King of the Southwest, Han Shizhong.
Leading an army of thirty thousand, he left the Southwest and headed straight for the refugee army.
---
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.
Chu Xun stood by the Songliu River. The river water in front of him was turbulent, with waves stacking one upon another.
It had been half a year since he returned to Pinecone Village.
During this half year, he tried many times and finally condensed a wisp of the Essence of Ren Water from the river water.
For a python to transform into a flood dragon, it needs to fuse with the Essence of Ren Water to be able to control water.
But this thing was truly too difficult to condense; it took ten days to condense just one wisp.
Moreover, the Essence of Ren Water condensed from river water and well water was different.
The smaller the water source, the lighter the color of the Essence of Ren Water.
After multiple verifications, Chu Xun had basically determined that the Essence of Ren Water also had higher and lower grades.
The level of well water was lower than river water, and river water was lower than a great river.
The best, naturally, was seawater.
But the entire Jing Kingdom did not border the sea; it was said to be very, very far away.
Chu Xun reached out and flicked lightly, and a wisp of light blue Essence of Ren Water flew out.
Beneath the river surface, the green and white python suddenly darted out and swallowed the essence into its belly in one gulp.
It hissed, flicking its tongue, shaking its head and wagging its tail at Chu Xun, looking very happy.
Chu Xun said: "I can only feed you once every ten days. I don't know how long it will take to gather enough."
The body of the green and white python was now five zhang long, and it would grow even larger in the future.
The Essence of Ren Water it needed would only increase, not decrease.
Protecting its path to transform into a flood dragon was absolutely not an easy task.
But Chu Xun still had to do it; after all, it was related to his next cultivation advancement and how long he could live.
"Immortality is not easy..."
After sighing a few times, Chu Xun turned and left.
With the blessing of shrinking the ground into an inch, he returned to Pinecone Village in no time.
The villagers working in the fields took the initiative to greet him one after another.
During this half year, relying on his understanding of the villagers, Chu Xun had already become thoroughly familiar with them.
Coupled with the bumper harvest this year, the villagers had just finished harvesting the rice and obtained quite a bit of silver.
Now they were busy plowing the fields, sowing seeds, and transplanting rice seedlings.
In the fields, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl ran over and smilingly stuffed a handful of roasted beans into Chu Xun's hand.
"I roasted them, try some."
Chu Xun now had fair skin and delicate features. Let alone Pinecone Village, even looking across the surrounding ten miles and eight villages, one couldn't find a handsome young man better looking than him.
Coupled with the unique temperament and foundation brought by the Foundation Establishment stage, he truly looked like an elegant noble young master described in books.
The young girls in the village liked Grandpa Chu's grandson very much.
Before taking a few steps, another young girl ran over and secretly stuffed a tender cucumber into his hand.
"Just picked from the vegetable patch, washed clean, very crisp."
After saying that, the young girl ran away blushing.
In a short while, Chu Xun received a piece of watermelon, a handful of melon seeds, two cabbages...
When it came to popularity among young girls, he far surpassed his "former self" back then.
Holding a pile of food and drinks, Chu Xun couldn't help but think of Zhang Anxiu.
There was once a girl with similarly dark skin who hid a water pouch under her clothes and secretly gave it to him.
Hearing the shy, low laughter of the young girls from time to time, Chu Xun sighed and walked away holding the things.
With a thought, the soil in the fields became slightly softer.
Although it couldn't replace plowing, it could save the villagers a lot of effort.
It was just that they didn't notice anything unusual, only thinking that the fields had been managed well these past few years.
The young girls who returned to their parents naturally faced a bout of teasing.
But the villagers were all as clear as a mirror in their hearts. If anyone's daughter could really marry him, the family would be considered to have burned high incense.
The assets left by Brother Xun were truly immense wealth that couldn't be spent in several lifetimes.
Coupled with "Chu Chen's" delicate features and the demeanor of a large household in his every gesture.
If such a son-in-law fell into anyone's family, wouldn't that be a huge face-saver!
Unfortunately, this kid seemed to have no interest in the girls in the village.
He accepted things when given, but if you talked about marrying a wife and having children, he immediately fell silent.
The villagers thought he probably looked down on the girls here.
Little did they know that in Chu Xun's eyes, these young girls were all of his granddaughter's generation.
Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow!
Moreover, after the mental shock of Zhang Anxiu's departure, the decades-long lifespan of mortals seemed like a flick of a finger.
Chu Xun didn't want to experience the same thing again.
When passing by Shitou's house, Liao Licheng, who was grinding medicinal herbs in the courtyard, shouted: "Little Chen, have you practiced your sword techniques today? After I finish grinding these herbs, I'll go see how you're practicing."
"Haven't practiced today," Chu Xun replied.
Since returning to Pinecone Village, Liao Licheng had said he was a good seedling for practicing martial arts and insisted on teaching him the six military sword techniques.
Mundane martial arts didn't have much meaning to Chu Xun.
No matter how flashy, it couldn't block a single spell.
But he knew that Liao Licheng had played with the sword techniques skillfully over the years but had nowhere to use them, which was why he wanted to show off by taking the opportunity to teach him.
So for half a year, Liao Licheng frequently urged Chu Xun to practice the sword.
It was just that recently Qiaohua had caught a cold, and Liao Licheng ground and boiled medicine for her every day, so he came fewer times.
Chu Xun glanced in the direction of the house. Through the water vapor in the air, he could clearly sense that Qiaohua's condition had improved.
He nodded and said: "Then come over, we'll eat together at noon."
"Alright!"
A moment later, Qiaohua came out of the house.
Her face was still a bit pale, but compared to a few days ago when she was too weak to walk, she was much better.
She heard the conversation between her son and Chu Xun and said: "Don't always pester Little Chen, aren't you afraid of annoying him."
Liao Licheng said: "His temper is about the same as Grandpa Chu's, very patient, how could he be annoyed."
Arriving at his own courtyard, the courtyard door was wide open, and the white-haired Li Guangmao was transporting charcoal into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, a brick and stone furnace identical to the one in the Cheng family's blacksmith shop had been built.
Chu Xun had tried forging some kitchen knives, hoes, shovels, and the like on his own, and his skills were already quite proficient.
He also incorporated a portion of the Qi of Metal Essence into these iron tools.
At first, when the villagers saw a young man like him actually taking up blacksmithing work, they were very astonished.
They just thought he had nothing to do and was passing the time.
It wasn't until Liao Licheng picked up a kitchen knife and easily chopped through a wooden stake as thick as a thigh that the villagers were all shocked.
Old Man Sun, who was best at blacksmithing in the surrounding ten miles and eight villages, couldn't forge such a kitchen knife either.
It was so sharp that it could simply be called cutting hair blown against the edge.
For a time, the iron tools forged by Chu Xun were hard to come by in Pinecone Village.
He wasn't stingy either, forging some for every household, and also forging a few swords and sabers for himself.
Although it wasted some time, to Chu Xun, it was only proper for the villagers to get some benefits.
The most important thing was that he hadn't yet obtained a divine stone that satisfied him.
Without a divine stone, weapons forged from ordinary iron billets could at most withstand one wisp of the Qi of Metal Essence.
In the future, when protecting the path for the flood dragon transformation, relying solely on such mundane items would not be enough.
"Transported another cart of charcoal today, it should be enough for you to use for a while." After Li Guangmao finished speaking, he showed no intention of leaving.
Chu Xun saw through his thoughts and asked: "Want to drink again?"
Li Guangmao chuckled, rubbed his rosacea nose, and said: "Just a little drink, just a little drink."
Since Li Shoutian passed away, Li Guangmao had returned to his old ways, having to drink a couple of mouthfuls every day before he could sleep.
Everyone in the village knew that in Chu Xun's house, the Remaining Years Brew from the Bai family's old shop never ran out.
Prices had soared these years, and the price of alcohol had also risen.
At three taels of silver a jar for the Remaining Years Brew, Li Guangmao was reluctant to buy much.
When his own ran out, he came to Chu Xun's to scrounge.
He didn't drink for free either, helping to transport charcoal and pull iron billets, never accepting silver.
Chu Xun sighed: "At your age, you should drink less."
Li Guangmao still smiled and said: "Just a little drink, just a little drink."
Not long after, Liao Licheng arrived.
Chu Xun cooked a few dishes, and they drank a meal just like that.
By the time they finished drinking, Liao Licheng had already forgotten that he came to urge Chu Xun to practice sword techniques.
After sending the two away, the sound of horse hooves gradually reached his ears.
"May I ask, is this Master Chu's house?"
Chu Xun turned to look and saw a person riding a horse over.
Chu Xun nodded, and only then did the person jump down from the horse.
Holding a large bundle, he said: "This is what Lord Zhang, the Minister of Revenue, asked me to deliver to Master Chu."
A few months ago, Huan'er had returned for a visit.
He originally wanted to visit his uncle, but didn't expect his uncle to be gone, and an adopted cousin-nephew had appeared.
Regarding Chu Chen's identity, Huan'er didn't have too many doubts.
Because Chu Xun easily spilled all the details of his youth completely clean.
He even knew where he peed when he wore split-crotch pants.
"Uncle told you in such detail?"
"Afraid you wouldn't believe it, so he informed me of every detail, big and small."
"Did he say when he would be back?"
"Probably won't be coming back."
Huan'er sighed upon hearing this. He didn't expect that after parting last time, the person was still alive, but they might never see each other again.
Chu Xun then discussed with him, wanting that piece of "star" that Zhang Sanchun had picked up.
Huan'er naturally couldn't agree; after all, that was his parents' token of love, and he had to go back and discuss it with his mother first.
Unexpectedly, Lin Qiaoxi was very generous, saying that this piece of star was originally pointed out by Chu Xun, which was why Zhang Sanchun went to pick it up.
Now that Zhang Sanchun had been dead for many years, and Chu Xun was also wandering the four directions, it would be better to take this stone, considering it a gift from her as an elder.
As for whether it was a memento or not, Lin Qiaoxi was very open-minded about it.
When the person is gone, whatever is left behind is empty.
Chu Xun took the bundle and conveniently handed over two taels of silver: "Troubling Your Excellency, please accept this."
The person hurriedly waved his hand to decline: "I am just a lowly courier official. Doing errands for Lord Zhang is only right and proper, I wouldn't dare accept silver."
After saying that, he glanced at the dozens of crows squatting on the eaves.
Their massive size was very frightening.
"Lord Zhang's relatives are indeed all extraordinary."
The courier official cupped his hands in farewell, got on his horse, and left.
Watching him leave in a hurry, Chu Xun muttered to himself: "It seems the administration of officials nowadays has indeed shown results."
In past years, what official wouldn't dare to accept silver.
Back when the land reclamation order first came down, even a lowly land surveyor dared to take fifty taels of silver from him.
It had to be said that the two Ministers of Revenue, Tang Shijun and Huan'er, had indeed brought changes to the Jing Kingdom.
It was just that Huang Qi was leading the refugee army to attack everywhere, and it was unknown what the future would hold.
Entering the courtyard, he closed the door.
Chu Xun opened the bundle, and inside was indeed the extraterrestrial meteorite that Zhang Sanchun had picked up.
Its weight was many times heavier than an ordinary iron billet. Chu Xun carried it to the front of the furnace: "Coming from outer space didn't destroy you, so you can be considered divine iron."
He added charcoal to the furnace, and with a thought, a flame was born.
Fire Starting Spell +1
Fire Starting Spell 7475/30000: Can produce a very small flame.
In just half a year, the Fire Starting Spell had been cast thousands of times.
In a short while, the charcoal pieces were ignited.
Chu Xun stuffed the extraterrestrial meteoric iron inside, and then began to pull the bellows.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The bellows sent a large amount of air into the furnace, making the charcoal fire burn more vigorously.
An iron billet of this size could be burned red in less than half an hour, but the quality of this extraterrestrial meteoric iron was extremely high. It took two or three hours of burning before it barely changed color.
At this time, it was already late.
Chu Xun wasn't anxious; instead, the smile on his face grew wider.
It was indeed divine iron. Weapons forged from it would certainly be able to withstand more Qi of Metal Essence.
The wind that could blow apart a python transforming into a flood dragon was absolutely not comparable to the old bat's astral wind.
Before protecting the path, Chu Xun had to make all adequate preparations!
[End of Chapter]