Chapter 75 of 100
Chapter 75
12 min read2,990 words
The Snow God Peak at the northernmost end of Jietian Ridge is perennially covered in ice and snow. Its belly is hollow, harboring a deposit of black gold ore, a secret passed down by the elders of the Pingyuan Sect. Sect Master Ji Hongru had been planning for a long time but was frustrated by the harsh climate of Snow God Peak and the fact that the black gold ore was deeply buried in the mountain's belly, lacking effective means to mine it. By chance, Ji Hongru learned that the sect master of the Xuantong Sect, Han Chisong, had three rock-eating worms that had been raised for a hundred years. He was immediately intrigued and proposed to exchange a fine flying sword for the rock-eating worms and the method to control them.
The rock-eating worms resemble earthworms, are enormous in size, and have sharp teeth in their suction-cup-like mouths. They can spew corrosive fluid and devour rocks, making them invaluable assistants for immortals in mining and tunneling. However, Han Chisong was a shrewd man. Although the flying sword was good, he was more concerned about Ji Hongru's purpose in exchanging for the rock-eating worms. Despite the increasing offers, he refused to budge. After several months of correspondence, Ji Hongru, who was in need, had to reveal the truth and proposed a joint effort between the two sects. They would take advantage of the winter hunt to jointly excavate the black gold ore in Jietian Ridge, dividing the ore equally.
The Pingyuan Sect sent Qian Juanan, and the Xuantong Sect sent Cao Yu. Both were outstanding disciples of their respective sects, capable of handling important tasks.
At the start of the winter hunt, Qian Juanan and Cao Yu flew to Snow God Peak, chose a location, and had Cao Yu drive the rock-eating worms to dig a tunnel into the mountain's belly. Snow God Peak was ravaged by wind and snow, with bone-chilling cold and fine iron sand mixed in the rocks, making progress extremely slow. To mine the black gold ore, Cao Yu did not hesitate to use secret techniques to overwork the rock-eating worms, spending nearly a year to finally dig a tunnel connecting to the mountain's belly.
Once the tunnel was completed, the three rock-eating worms were exhausted and died.
Black gold is a variant of iron ore, an excellent material for casting flying swords. Adding a bit of black gold to a flying sword can significantly improve its quality and increase the speed of flying, making it invaluable to sword cultivators. Bringing back the black gold ore to their sects would be a great achievement for Qian Juanan and Cao Yu.
However, the black gold ore was firmly embedded in the rocks. Without the rock-eating worms, they could only use iron picks to chisel it out, a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. Cao Yu, having exhausted much of his energy driving the rock-eating worms, left the task of chiseling the ore to Qian Juanan. Despite his high cultivation, the daily hard labor was unbearable.
Wei Shizhong's appearance offered them another option. He was of a lower generation, strong and willing, and volunteered to help. Giving him a few pieces of ore would be a reasonable reward, and it would be acceptable to explain to Sect Master Xi Huzi of Xiandu.
Wei Shizhong took the iron pick, weighed it in his hand, and aimed at the edge of the black gold ore. He summoned the earth qi and swung the pick, which deeply embedded itself in the rock. With a strong lever, a large piece of rock containing the black gold ore rolled to the ground.
Cao Yu was surprised and covered his mouth, laughing, "What a great strength!"
Qian Juanan nodded inwardly and instructed him to break the rock and extract the black gold ore, arranging it neatly in a corner by size.
Wei Shizhong did not spare his strength, swinging the iron pick and working hard like an tireless puppet. He chiseled out dozens of pieces of ore in one go, seemingly still having energy to spare.
Qian Juanan could not help but ask, "Are you a disciple of Wei Rongniang? What cultivation technique do you practice?"
Wei Shizhong straightened up and respectfully replied, "I am a disciple of Master Xun, practicing the Moon Howl Technique of the Yunya Sect, a body-cultivation technique."
Qian Juanan was slightly taken aback, pondering who in Xiandu was surnamed Xun. Cao Yu, however, recalled someone and said, "His master is the chief disciple of Xiandu's sect master, Xun Ye," adding in his mind, the acting sect master who has yet to break through the flying sword barrier.
"Why didn't Xiandu pass you the 'Taiyi Foundation Building Scripture'?"
"It was passed to me, but my talent is dull, and I made no progress. Master Xun said the Moon Howl Technique is more suitable for me, so I switched to body cultivation."
Qian Juanan snorted, somewhat disdainful of Xiandu, "A sword cultivator guiding a body cultivator, that's a first! Don't you feel wronged?"
"There is no high or low in cultivation techniques; what matters is suitability. Being able to join Xiandu is a blessing, and I do not feel wronged."
"You are quite open-minded. However, fate has its way. If you were not a body cultivator, you wouldn't be able to help us today!" Qian Juanan hesitated for a moment, then took out a Soothing Pill from his pocket and flicked it to Wei Shizhong, "You fell from above and suffered some internal injuries. Take this Soothing Pill, rest a bit, to avoid any lingering damage."
Wei Shizhong thanked his uncle and swallowed the Soothing Pill, sitting cross-legged to meditate and recover.
Cao Yu calculated the days, saying, "The winter hunt is almost over. In about twenty days, Jietian Ridge will be engulfed by demonic qi. We need to hurry."
Qian Juanan said, "In ten days, even if we can't finish mining, we must set off."
Cao Yu glanced at Wei Shizhong and smiled, "With the help of our nephew, it should be enough. As his uncle, don't forget to reward him a bit."
Qian Juanan's eyes flickered, but he did not respond.
Wei Shizhong rested for a while, picked up the iron pick, and continued mining the black gold ore. He had already cultivated the Moon Howl Technique to the fourth level, with abundant qi in his acupoints, making such physical labor easy. However, to avoid arousing suspicion from Qian and Cao, he worked for an hour and then pretended to be exhausted, meditating for a long time.
To save time, Qian Juanan gave him a bottle of Five Elements Qi Recovery Pills to help him recover his qi.
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