Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 289 Rock Crystal Core

"Of course, Master Ji is no exception. Whether it's the Li family or any other family, we will pay for any treasures we need, or exchange them with our local specialties. We won't put you gentlemen in a difficult position. Our Xuan Iron treasures are inexpensive and of high quality, and I believe everyone will like them. If any family has treasures they are willing to exchange, we can sell Xuan Iron treasures at a 10% discount."

Mo Yuming said earnestly.

“Ming’er’s idea is excellent. Xuan Iron Treasures are the most commonly used weapons among martial artists, with a huge demand and high consumption. The quality of Xuan Iron Treasures in Great Xia is above average, but they only sell for the price of mid-range treasures, making them highly sought after by buyers. The weapon factories are unable to meet the demand. If the price is reduced by another half percent, it would be equivalent to the price of a mid-to-high-quality treasure at the price of a mid-to-low-range treasure. This would be very attractive to all aristocratic families. Even Zhang Family Fort cannot achieve this price. After all, production is limited, and the cost of production cannot be reduced. However, it would still be profitable for Great Xia’s weapon factories. Therefore, exchanging Xuan Iron Treasures for those treasure materials is the best choice.”

Iron Bridge affirmed.

"Brother Tieqiao, Zhangjiabao is the only family known for its weapon forging, so you should have a good supply of these auxiliary materials, right, Brother Tieqiao..."

Just as Ji Xianlin was about to ask Zhang Tieqiao to go back to Zhangjiabao to find a solution, Li Mubai, who was standing behind him, bumped into him, signaling him to stop talking.

Ji Xianlin immediately understood that Zhang Tieqiao must have left Zhangjiabao just like him, and that his situation was even worse, as he might have made enemies.

"Brother Xianlin is right, but I am no longer a resident of Zhangjiabao, and I will never go there again, so it doesn't matter who goes to Zhangjiabao to buy materials. Besides, the equipment shops in Zhangjiabao mainly sell finished weapons, and they sell very few materials, so there is not much hope."

Iron Bridge said.

"In that case, I'll refine a few more communication soul jades. Everyone will be familiar with how to use them, so we can communicate promptly after we leave."

Mo Yuming had already given Tieqiao the blueprints for the communication soul jade. Tieqiao's weapon-refining skills were several levels higher than Elder Huo's. In just two hours, he refined more than twenty communication soul jades, each half the size of those refined by Elder Huo, and their quality was also significantly improved. Tieqiao refined them in Elder Huo's weapon-refining room, without any attempt to conceal the process. Elder Huo and the others watched carefully, gaining considerable insights.

"Let's set a three-month timeframe. Once we've gathered the materials, we'll return to the Valley of Heartbreak. I'll first choose a location in the valley to build a 'Two Elements Furnace' and process some rough prototypes using the materials we have. If you encounter my wife while gathering materials, tell us about the current situation and ask her to stop searching and hurry back to the Valley of Heartbreak to help me refine the weapons."

After distributing the Soul Jade to everyone, Tieqiao said this.

“Take some of these with you. They’re not very valuable and won’t be of much use to you, but they can be very useful as a stepping stone in a critical moment.” Mo Yuming took out a bunch of small jade bottles from his pocket and gave a few to each person.

"This is a Heavenly Profound-grade pill? Where did you get it?" Sikong Nong, who had some knowledge of pills, asked in surprise after taking a look.

"These are all Heavenly Profound level pills. Although they are the lowest level of pills, namely the Detoxifying Pill and the Spirit Gathering Pill, they are very effective for martial artists below the Heavenly Rank. They are essential pills to keep on hand. Most importantly, they are all rare Heavenly Profound Pills, which are very attractive to martial artists with some wealth." Ji Xianlin had personally witnessed Mo Yuming refining these pills, so he was very familiar with them.

“Low-priced Xuan Iron treasures and rare Tianxuan pills are very attractive to any family! They are indeed a good stepping stone!” Li Mubai said with a smile.

After everyone had dispersed, Mo Yuming and Tieqiao walked together toward the Valley of Heartbreak.

After entering the spaceship, Mo Yuming stood in front of a hatch and gently pressed the hatch switch.

With a slight mechanical hum, the hatch slowly opened, revealing a full hold of meteorite iron cannon barrels to Tieqiao. Although he had heard beforehand that the quantity of these meteorite iron cannon barrels was enormous, Tieqiao still couldn't help but gape in disbelief when he actually witnessed it.

The jet-black meteorite iron cannons were neatly arranged, gleaming with a faint but undeniable light. They were like slumbering behemoths, waiting to be awakened and unleash their astonishing power.

34; These meteorites have undergone extremely refined processing, and their purity is exceptionally high. 34;

As Tieqiao spoke, he walked over to one of the cannon barrels and gently stroked its cold, smooth surface.

&34; It can be used directly for refining magical artifacts with almost no further processing. In the past, it would take at least a month just to refine a meteorite iron magical artifact, from the extraction of raw materials to the final shape.

However, if these meteorites were used to forge it, it would only take ten days at most, or even just six or seven days if things went faster! I really can't understand who possesses such superb skills to forge meteorites into such huge and precisely sized objects? It's simply divine skill! &34;

Iron Bridge was thrilled. He eagerly stepped into the cabin and began to carefully examine the materials of the cannon barrels. With each step, his amazement grew. After examining all the cannon barrels, he looked up, still wanting more, and turned his gaze to the other parts of the spaceship.

The spaceship's interior was spacious and bright, with various complex and sophisticated instruments and equipment arranged in an orderly fashion. The walls were inlaid with gems of all sizes, emitting a dazzling array of colors, adding a touch of mystery and splendor to the entire space. Walking along the passageway, the person on the iron bridge frequently stopped to admire the dazzling mechanisms and ingenious designs, muttering to themselves incessantly:

&34; Incredible... Truly a masterpiece! &34;

"You're saying that such a huge thing can fly freely without the support of magic arrays and the assistance of various energy crystals? And it can even be automatically controlled?"

"Iron Bridge asked incredulously."

"This spaceship is powered by a massive amount of cosmic energy. To put it simply, think of this energy as various energy crystals containing enormous amounts of energy. It's pretty much the same, just existing in a different form. As for the magic array, the network of wires, sensors, and processing chips that are densely packed throughout the spaceship is similar in nature to a magic array, except that it's a magic array from another civilization, which is simply not suitable for our world."

In essence, the spaceship's defensive shield functions similarly to a defensive magic array, only the form is different. However, expressing it in words is somewhat cumbersome.

Mo Yuming scratched his head, unsure how to explain it to Tieqiao.

"Grandpa Iron Bridge, since meteorite iron can gain the recognition of this world after adding other auxiliary materials and engraving runes, can some runes be engraved on the surface of this spaceship so that it can be used like a meteorite iron treasure?"

Mo Yuming suddenly asked curiously.

"Hmm? Logically speaking, this spaceship is also a type of spiritual artifact. Those royal spaceships are also spiritual artifacts made of various materials. After auxiliary magic arrays and runes are inscribed on them, they can fly in the air. However, the material of this spaceship is meteorite iron, which is a bit special. There is no precedent for this on the Tianxuan Continent, so I cannot be sure whether it can be used on the Tianxuan Continent." Tieqiao said after pondering for a while.

"Since the spaceship already exists, if it fails, it's just a waste of effort. Why not give it a try? Maybe it will work!"

"Inscribing runes on such a large volume is a massive undertaking. I don't know how long it would take me to finish it by myself. I also have so many meteorite iron treasures to refine. Where would I find the time to do this? Besides, those royal spaceships not only have runes inscribed on them, but also have many magic arrays set up inside the hull. Building a spaceship requires a huge amount of manpower and resources. Moreover, the hull of this spaceship is made of meteorite iron, which is much more difficult to inscribe than black iron."

Don't think that simply inscribing runes is enough. That only works on materials produced on the Tianxuan Continent, such as Xuan Iron. This spaceship is made of meteorite iron, so you must first apply the bile of the Gold-Eating Turtle to the areas where you want to inscribe the runes. The bile of the Gold-Eating Turtle has a temporary softening effect on the meteorite iron. You can only inscribe the runes after the surface of the meteorite iron has softened. Otherwise, no matter how strong your Xuan Gong cultivation is, you won't be able to inscribe any marks on its surface. After drawing the runes, you also need to use a mixture of Void Gold and Thunder Hidden Stone powder, mixed with a glue made from Fire Dragon Scales, to apply to the patterns of the runes. Just the Void Gold, Thunder Hidden Stone, and Gold-Eating Turtle bile needed to inscribe the runes on its surface is a huge consumption.

Iron Bridge explained.

“I’ll do the carving, you teach me, consider it practice! I can already forge weapons.” Mo Yuming said, taking out the sleeve arrow and carving brush he had forged.

"I can teach you weapon crafting, but to practice on meteorite iron before even starting is far too frivolous. Mystic iron artifacts require over ten types of runes, soul iron artifacts at least a hundred, and meteorite iron artifacts require hundreds. It's not that simple. Take the simplest meteorite iron short sword, for example. First, you need to inscribe over a dozen basic runes like Imprisonment, Ethereal Spirit, Spirit Guidance, Thunder Concealment, Spirit Gathering, and Soul Guidance on the sword blank. Then, after attaching the soul iron to the meteorite iron, you need to inscribe five or six more runes. After adding all the other auxiliary materials, you still need to inscribe several related composite runes to complete it. For such a large object, although the runes can be scaled up, the number of runes cannot be reduced, and several additional composite strengthening runes need to be inscribed. If one person were to inscribe it, unless your sea of ​​consciousness is stronger than a high-level Heaven-rank weapon crafter, allowing you to inscribe continuously for twelve hours without stopping, it would take at least three to five years to complete." "This requires your weapon-refining level to have reached the Master level."

"So troublesome? It seems we'll just have to take it slow," Mo Yuming said helplessly.

“We’ve gathered some materials. Let’s choose a location and build the Eryi Furnace first,” Tieqiao said.

"The so-called Yin-Yang Furnace is designed to gather the Yin and Yang energies of heaven and earth to create the Five Elements True Fire. Only this Five Elements Fire has the heat to refine meteorite iron. However, the Yin-Yang Furnace will make a lot of noise when it melts meteorite iron. Although there is a large illusion array above the canyon, it is difficult to ensure that it can completely isolate the heavenly lightning. Therefore, in order to prevent any accidents, it is necessary to use a closed array for protection."

"The Fire Cloud Cave is a vast space, and the underground palace where we collect 'Water Souls' has abundant spiritual energy. Moreover, there are lava fire veins below that can provide additional energy. Isn't that an ideal place?"

"That place is indeed feasible, but it's not as good as the Crimson Spring Cold Pool. The Crimson Spring's water is blood-red, yet incredibly clear, without a trace of turbidity. Although it's scalding hot, it doesn't produce much steam. Why is that? Because that Crimson Spring isn't ordinary spring water; it's formed from the ultimate Ren Water spiritual energy. As for the Cold Pool's water, it's not clear and transparent, but a translucent blue-green. Although it's extremely cold, it doesn't freeze, also because it's not ordinary ice water, but rather formed from the ultimate Kui Water spiritual energy. That's precisely where Yin and Yang energies meet, which is why such a spectacle exists."

Yin and Yang, the two energies, transform into the Five Elements, and each of the Five Elements has its own Yin and Yang aspect. Therefore, the area between the Crimson Spring and the Cold Pool is precisely where Yin and Yang energies are most abundant. Building the Two-Element Furnace there would be the best location!

Upon hearing the iron bridge's explanation, Mo Yuming suddenly understood. This grand canyon indeed held great secrets. It seemed the ancient powerful being had a specific purpose in sealing this place.

"So what should we do?" Mo Yuming was already eager to try.

"The longest of these cannon barrels is over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) long and weighs several thousand jin (approximately 500 kilograms). They need to be cut into several pieces first. However, meteorite iron is difficult to cut without being heated in a furnace. It requires a lot of bile from the gold-eating turtle to soften it. Gold-eating turtle bile is very rare. We can only try to make the furnace as long as possible so that we can use less bile to soften the meteorite iron and reduce the use of bile. But if the furnace is too large, it will be difficult to control. Therefore, we need to register all the materials first, see how much of the most suitable size is available, and then figure out how to build the furnace."

Iron Bridge continued, "Before building the furnace, we need to find some special materials. Fortunately, there are some in this canyon, but they are difficult to extract."

"what material?"

"The rocks in the underground lava caves contain a type of highly heat-resistant ore. Only this ore, as the main material, can withstand the flames generated by the Yin and Yang energies. The reason why Zhangjiabao is able to forge high-grade meteorite iron weapons is because it has mastered this material for building the Yin-Yang Furnace. It can use flames at even higher temperatures to forge weapons. The weapon forgers of the Refining Masters Association and the Dan family have not yet mastered this technique, so they have always been suppressed by Zhangjiabao in the forging of high-end weapons."

"Does the Fire Cloud Cave contain this kind of material?"

"It can be found in any rock in a lava cave, but apart from a few members of the Zhang family who know how to refine it, no one else knows. I just happen to be one of them."

"That's great, let's go right now."

"But the poisonous fumes in that cave are a bit of a problem. We need to make adequate preparations first."

"It's alright. I've already checked it out. Only one of the caves had poisonous smoke; the other lava caves didn't have any."

"Is that so? Then let's not delay, let's go right now!"

Zhang Tieqiao left without hesitation. After cleaning up all the cannon barrel materials on the spaceship with Mo Yuming, he immediately called Mo Yuming and headed towards Huoyun Cave.

"Under the constant erosion of magma, the rock walls of the cave have also undergone changes. Some of the rocks with low heat resistance have been melted by the magma, leaving only the rocks that are resistant to high temperatures. However, these rocks still cannot withstand the Five Elements True Fire. Only the rock crystals extracted from them can be used. These extremely heat-resistant stone crystals are mixed in with other rocks. Only a special method can separate them."

The two arrived at one of the lava caves. Tieqiao stood on a protruding rock, looking at the constantly rolling lava below, and pointed to the rocks that were being constantly eroded by the lava.

"How are we supposed to get those scorching hot rocks? Aren't these rocks we're standing on enough?" Mo Yuming asked, pointing to the huge rock beneath his feet.

“These rocks won’t work. Only rocks that have been immersed in magma for years and have been washed by magma can form crystal nuclei.”