Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 285 Revisiting the old place

"Didn't such a large object entering the canyon trigger a reaction from the Thunder Barrier? Could it be due to its excessive speed?"

Li Mubai was a master of formations, and he was well aware of the formidable power of the Ten Thousand Thunder Barrier above the Valley of Heartbreak.

"Ji Xianlin was also puzzled by this at the time. Later, the young master solved the mystery. He said that when the spaceship entered the canyon, it absorbed all the lightning energy of the Ten Thousand Lightning Barrier. How could the barrier react if it had no energy? At the time, we didn't believe it. Later, Brother Xianlin and we carefully tested it together and found that the electrical energy contained in the lightning array was indeed pitifully small, almost undetectable. Even now, more than half a year has passed, and the lightning barrier has not recovered. Touching the lightning barrier now only gives people a slight tingling sensation. It is estimated that it will be impossible for the Ten Thousand Lightning Barrier to recover to its original state in less than ten or eight years."

"I also heard about the big explosion in Zhenglan Kingdom. I was traveling in Dan Kingdom at the time. If it weren't so far away, I would have liked to go and see it. Luckily I didn't go. Otherwise, it would have been a wasted trip."

Dugu Xian said.

"Where do we go down? I need to go see now, I can't wait!"

Zhang Tieqiao practically roared at Chu He.

"It's not too late to go after the banquet. You can't find these dishes anywhere else!" Qiu Shui said with a smile.

"Even the most delicious food is unappetizing now!"

Everyone said in unison.

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements. Everyone, please wait a moment. We'll exit through the secret door in a bit. It's best not to alert anyone. Now that the Thunder Barrier has lost its effectiveness, we need to be even more careful."

After finishing his speech, Master He got up and left the hall. About fifteen minutes later, he reappeared in the hall and led everyone out of the restaurant.

"This is already the garrison's barracks. No one can pass through here without orders."

Chu He led everyone along the Huilong Road. Less than fifty feet from the restaurant, there was a heavily guarded pass. The city gate was tightly closed, with a sentry post on each side of the gate and patrolling soldiers on the city tower.

Grandpa He arrived at a sentry post, said a few words to the guard, and the guard came out of the tower and gave a signal to the soldiers on the city wall. A dozen or so breaths later, the heavy city gate slowly opened, and more than a dozen fully armed soldiers came out and lined up on both sides of the road to welcome the old men.

Although everyone here is a seasoned veteran who has seen all sorts of things, being welcomed by a team of fully armed soldiers still makes them feel a bit emotional. Even Gan Ran and Sikong Nong, who were always bickering, shut their mouths, straightened their clothes, and followed Chu He and Qiu Shui forward with serious expressions.

The winding path from the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice to the Peerless Castle is over twenty miles long, and the inner part of the mountainside has been transformed into barracks that are half-houses and half-caves. Thousands of soldiers stood in formation outside the barracks, watching the old men pass by.

Although the distance was over twenty miles, the old men seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, but the lowest cultivation level among them was still a second-level Heaven Rank expert. Their movements possessed a strange rhythm, and they covered the distance in less than half an hour. Their seemingly casual stroll still greatly shocked the thousands of soldiers with only Earth Rank strength. Respect for the strong is a shared trait in this world. The sight of so many Heaven Rank experts passing by deeply moved all the soldiers.

After passing the military camp, we arrived at Wushuang Castle. The main structure of the castle was largely completed, and the paving and wall finishing were now underway. All the buildings in the original two towns had been demolished, and the roads leading in and out of the towns had been enclosed by walls, forming a large castle centered on a canyon. In addition to the giant fortress spanning the canyon, numerous buildings had been constructed around its perimeter. These buildings varied in height and shape, yet followed a certain pattern, echoing the main castle.

Stepping into the giant castle built of massive stones, and passing through winding passages, they arrived at the main building located above the canyon. The group went to the second floor of the castle, passed through several long corridors and rooms, and finally arrived at a secluded little room.

"I'm so confused, when will this end?" Gan Ran couldn't help but grumble.

"That's not it!"

"here?"

"This is one of the entrances."

As He Ye spoke, he pressed a button on the wall beside him, and the entire wall began to rotate, revealing a secret passage leading downwards. The group entered the passage and arrived underground. Before them lay a passage leading to a canyon cliff. As they opened the stone door of the passage, a thick fog billowed out.

"Everyone hold your breath. We are in a misty illusion array. Don't get knocked out by the poisonous fog."

After saying this, River Master led everyone into the mist. After walking ten feet into the mist, a hanging cabinet appeared in front of them. After entering the cabinet, they finally arrived at the bottom of the valley after a quarter of an hour.

"This is the big guy!" After leaving the hanging cabinet, the group did not stop and flew directly to Xianghe Valley at top speed, arriving at the spaceship parked not far from the giant stone monument.

A dozen or so old men stared speechlessly at the behemoth before them, unable to utter a word for a long time. Even though they had heard some rumors beforehand and tried their best to consider all the possibilities, they realized after seeing the actual spaceship that they had underestimated this behemoth.

"It really is made of meteorite iron! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"

Zhang Tieqiao stroked the black fuselage of the spaceship repeatedly, muttering to himself.

"This strange ship does indeed weigh hundreds of thousands of kilograms. How did they manage to forge such a massive vessel using meteorite iron? The craftsmanship is outrageous; it's practically the work of a god!"

"What a pity! What a pity!"

Dugu Xian looked at the huge thing in front of him and said "what a pity" several times.

"What's a pity?"

Qiu Shui asked, puzzled.

"It's such a waste to use so many good materials just to make a flying spaceship. If we used them to forge divine weapons, we could make countless of them and help countless martial artists improve their combat power! That would be much more practical."

Dugu Xian had never possessed a suitable weapon. Although with his current profound cultivation level, obtaining a decent Xuan Iron treasure wouldn't be difficult, and he might even find a Soul Iron spirit weapon, none of these were what he desired. He had long ago made a decision for himself: his weapon should at least be an acquired spirit treasure. Otherwise, he would rather not use a weapon at all than settle for an ordinary one.

The huge object in front of him was the perfect material to forge a postnatal spiritual treasure, so how could he not be tempted? However, to forge the spiritual treasure, he would have to cut up the spaceship, which would destroy it. Therefore, Dugu Xian felt it was a pity.

"Haha, boss, do you want to forge a divine weapon? There's no need to covet this spaceship. Young Master has already prepared the materials for you. I just don't know if Brother Tieqiao can refine it! I heard from Brother Xianlin that at least a level seven weapon refiner is needed to attempt to refine a meteorite iron spirit treasure. That's why Young Master has hidden hundreds of thousands of kilograms of meteorite iron materials here and hasn't taken them out."

Chu He laughed heartily as he spoke.

"You mean the hundreds of thousands of kilograms of meteorite iron aren't in this spaceship?"

Upon hearing Chu He's revelation, everyone present was once again stunned.

"Young Master is reluctant to destroy this spaceship. Even if it can't be used on the Tianxuan Continent, he will keep it, after all, it saved his life. So Young Master has also provided tens of thousands of catties of meteorite iron for everyone to use in forging weapons. Young Master also said that if Brother Tieqiao's cultivation level is not high enough, he can practice with tens of thousands of catties of meteorite iron first, and then forge weapons for everyone when his skills improve."

"Using tens of thousands of kilograms of meteorite iron for practice? Do you think meteorite iron is free, like cabbage?"

Upon hearing this, Tieqiao exclaimed, "When did meteorite iron, once considered a divine-grade refining material, become so worthless?"

"But that's exactly what Young Master said to Brother Xianlin back then. Ah He, Xiao Xiao, and I were all there and heard it all clearly!"

"Stop talking, let me have some peace and quiet!"

Of all the old men present, Tieqiao was undoubtedly the most deeply moved. Ever since he heard about the meteorite, his emotions had not calmed down. If it weren't for his profound cultivation of martial arts to stabilize his mind, he might have already gone mad.

"Divine artifacts aren't so easy to forge. Besides meteorite iron, many other auxiliary materials are needed. Hundreds of thousands of catties of meteorite iron could equip an army, and the required auxiliary materials are also quite staggering, at least tens of thousands of catties. Those things are rare items, and they're not so easy to gather. Let's complete the preparations first!"

After calming down for a long time, Tieqiao finally spoke.

"Where are those meteorites? I want to check their quality first."

"The spaceship is filled with cannon barrels, some as long as ten feet and several feet thick, others nearly ten feet long and about a foot thick. Some are intact, while others are broken and twisted. However, there are many mechanisms inside the spaceship, and we don't know how to get in. Only the young master knows how."

Qiu Shui shared what he had seen with everyone.

"Where's that kid? Call him over. We've come all this way and he hasn't even shown his face! That's outrageous!"

"Young Master is currently at Zhongyuan University. Zhongyuan University just started its semester a few days ago and has enrolled many students. He is probably discussing teaching methods with the teachers."

"Hehe, he's quite the troublemaker. Not only did he create a kingdom, but he also started establishing an academy," Li Mubai laughed.

"Young Master not only established a university in Zhongyuan City, but also middle and primary schools in various prefectures. These schools are all free of charge. Many children from commoner families have come here to study!"

"This is a huge investment. It sets a precedent in the Tianxuan Continent. No other kingdom has done this before. Even the royal academies charge hefty tuition fees, and admission depends on one's status and position. It's not something you can just get in with money."

"Let's travel around the Great Xia Empire and take a look around first. We've heard so much and it's been so interesting, we should definitely go and see for ourselves!"

"Grandma Water, Grandpa River, you've come!"

After returning to Yishi Valley, as they passed through Yishi Village, several children ran out and cheerfully greeted Chuhe and Qiushui.

"Who are these children? Why do they live in this secluded valley?"

Dugu Xian asked in surprise. After leaving the valley, they had agreed not to let outsiders know the secrets beneath the Valley of Heartbreak.

"These are orphans that the young master took in at great risk. Gentlemen, you must keep your mouths shut and never tell anyone!"

Chu He said sincerely. Then he told everyone how Wu Ji had used the Witch Clan to frame Mo Yuming, but ended up harming herself instead.

"The matter of the Witch Clan is indeed quite significant. I've heard about them recently during my travels. Originally, the Witch Clan was an extremely powerful race on the Tianxuan Continent, possessing extraordinary physical abilities. They are an ancient race. In the era before I fell into the canyon, the Witch Clan was at its peak. For some unknown reason, they were gradually separated by the Feather Emperor Palace and are now described as a sinful race. There must be something fishy about this. I remember back then, the Witch Clan members were just like us ordinary people, without any distinction between 'you' and 'me.' Although there were some wicked individuals among the Witch Clan, the vast majority were very friendly. How did they become a sinful race just a few decades later? The Feather Emperor Palace hasn't given a concrete explanation, which is hard to believe!"

"These children are so young, yet they've been branded as remnants of a sinner, a label that may stay with them for life. It's truly pitiful!"

"Let's go. They are all pitiful people. Let them live freely in this world. This should be the best place for them to live right now."

"We were all forced into this canyon. We endured it for many years, and now we can come and go freely. I hope they don't have to endure it for too long!"

The group wandered around Yishi Valley, exploring every nook and cranny. This place held so many memories for them, and returning here now filled them with a mix of emotions. Finally, they sat down in the long corridor where they used to gather and chat, and had a long talk. Pu Yazhu, along with a group of children, picked fruit and brewed fragrant tea to entertain the old men. Gan Ran and the others, who loved lively conversation and flattery, told the children many of their legendary tales, eliciting gasps of amazement and admiration from the children. The old men's faces beamed like chrysanthemums, feeling as if they had reached the pinnacle of life.

Surprisingly, his old rival Sikong Nong didn't come to provoke him. Instead, he gathered some children elsewhere and told them strange tales.

Li Mubai, Dugu Xian, and others were drinking tea and chatting with Pu Yazhu.

The whole afternoon passed by unnoticed, and everyone forgot about everything else.

What a beautiful picture of human harmony and happiness! In the evening, we even lit a bonfire with the Wu children and had a barbecue and fun together.

The old men stayed in the canyon for one night and left the next day.

Although the Valley of Heartbreak was hundreds of miles away from Shangyuan City, the group still arrived in the city by noon the next day. Mo Yuming, Ji Xianlin, and Shi Potian had also arrived from Zhongyuan City early that morning to join them. The group gathered in a private room at the Fuyuan Hotel. Si Rongnong also came to meet them. After exchanging polite greetings for a while, Tieqiao and the others eagerly suggested visiting the arsenal. Naturally, everyone readily agreed to the suggestion of a master craftsman from a top-tier weapon-refining family; they were all eager to see it for themselves.