Chapter 7

Xiao Tianren did not talk about how to deal with the pest problem in the spirit fields. Instead, he reminisced about something that happened over a hundred years ago.

Although Lin Xun found it a bit strange, he still listened quietly.

"At that time, this place was desolate, with no one living here. But one day, a cultivator from Donglin City, while passing by, accidentally discovered a small vein of 'Crimson Cloud Fire Copper' buried here..."

According to Xiao Tianren, over a hundred years ago, a mine vein rich in Crimson Cloud Fire Copper, an excellent material for making mid-grade mundane artifacts, was buried in the Liewyan Mountain, several dozen miles behind Crimson Cloud Village. A piece of Crimson Cloud Fire Copper the size of a baby's fist could be exchanged for three imperial silver coins in the city!

There was no doubt that this mine vein was a huge fortune.

To excavate this mine vein, some of the big figures from Donglin City mobilized and captured many slaves to mine.

It took a full ten years to completely excavate this mine vein, after which it was abandoned, and those Donglin City cultivators all returned with full loads.

Because they found it troublesome, those big figures did not care about the lives of the mining slaves, abandoning them all in this remote mountain village and leaving on their own.

Xiao Tianren, the village chief, was one of the surviving mining slaves from back then, and the other villagers were all descendants of the mining slaves who were abandoned here.

Crimson Cloud Village was named after the Crimson Cloud Fire Copper.

After hearing all this, Lin Xun couldn't help but sigh. He had grown up in that dark and sunless mine prison and knew all too well how miserable the lives of the mining slaves were, with their lives as cheap as grass and their fates not in their own hands.

The fact that the current village chief of Crimson Cloud Village, Xiao Tianren, was once a mining slave was indeed surprising to Chen Xi, who also felt a bit of admiration.

To have been abandoned in this remote wilderness and still manage to establish the current layout of Crimson Cloud Village, allowing the descendants of the mining slaves to thrive, required a level of skill and courage that not everyone possessed.

As if reading Lin Xun's thoughts, Xiao Tianren waved his hand and said sarcastically, "I'm not as capable as you think. The current layout of Crimson Cloud Village is entirely due to the efforts of a spirit pattern master who once lived in this courtyard."

Speaking of this, Xiao Tianren seemed a bit nostalgic, "It was that spirit pattern master who opened up the spirit fields for us and taught us how to plant spirit grains. Without him, we in Crimson Cloud Village would have long starved to death in this remote wilderness."

Lin Xun couldn't help but ask, "Given the harsh environment here, why doesn't everyone leave?"

Xiao Tianren shook his head, "This place is located deep in the Three Thousand Mountains, beyond the southwestern border of the empire, known as the 'Heavenly Chasm Land.' How easy is it to leave? The nearest city is over eight thousand miles away, and the journey is fraught with dangers, with fierce beasts and venomous insects everywhere. Without a powerful cultivator to guide, no one can survive the journey."

Only then did Lin Xun understand that although he had entered the territory of the Ziyao Empire, he still faced many challenges to reach the populated cities.

However, Lin Xun was not worried. As long as he was alive, he would eventually achieve his goal.

At this moment, Xiao Tianren suddenly smiled and patted Lin Xun's shoulder, saying, "Young man, I know you're not content with staying here for life. But I can assure you that as long as you stay in Crimson Cloud Village, we will treat you as one of our own."

Lin Xun nodded seriously, "Uncle Xiao, rest assured, I will also treat everyone as my own."

Xiao Tianren laughed heartily, "That's good."

Lin Xun said, "Uncle Xiao, we shouldn't delay. Let's start arranging how to help everyone eliminate the pests in the spirit fields."

Xiao Tianren nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea."

That day, under Xiao Tianren's guidance, Lin Xun went to the six-acre spirit field of villager Liu Dabiao and used the bone powder of the Gold Devouring Rat to inscribe another 'Light Attraction Spirit Pattern,' drawing down the essence of sunlight to eliminate the pests in the spirit field.

However, this also completely depleted the already limited spiritual energy in Lin Xun's body, preventing him from continuing.

He would have to wait until the next day to help the other villagers eliminate the pests in their spirit fields.

At noon, Liu Dabiao and his wife prepared a sumptuous meal to warmly entertain Lin Xun, expressing their gratitude.

Leaving Liu Dabiao's house and walking along the village path, Lin Xun saw from a distance a flat area in the center of the village where over a dozen children were practicing martial techniques.

The sun was scorching, and the children were all bare-chested, their bronze-colored skin glistening with sweat under the blazing sun.

Despite this, not a single child complained, all of them focusing on practicing a set of boxing techniques.

The boxing techniques were simple but powerful and vigorous, sometimes like galloping horses, sometimes like sudden attacks by tigers and wolves. Although the children were only seven or eight years old, they performed the boxing techniques quite skillfully and with proper form.

This surprised Lin Xun. He recognized the boxing technique, known as 'Marching Fist,' which was the most popular basic boxing technique among the warriors of the Ziyao Empire.

What Lin Xun didn't expect was that the children in Crimson Cloud Village could practice this set of boxing techniques so well, clearly not just for show.

Lin Xun had learned some martial techniques to strengthen his body from Mr. Lu when he was young, including the Marching Fist.

However, after watching for a while, Lin Xun noticed some differences. The Marching Fist practiced by the children was indeed well-structured, but there were many flaws in their force application techniques. Although the power was strong, the force in the techniques was somewhat scattered.

The saying "form may be scattered, but spirit must not" also applied to the Marching Fist. The key was to concentrate the force, like a thunderbolt, to present a powerful and vigorous aura of "iron cavalry trampling the mountains and rivers, a great army conquering the world."

The 'Marching Fist' practiced by the children had some errors in force application techniques, preventing the force from being concentrated, thus lacking the powerful and vigorous aura of a thunderbolt.

If the children continued to practice this way, it would strengthen their bodies but would be detrimental to their martial cultivation.

Lin Xun thought for a moment and ultimately shook his head. He didn't know who had taught the children, so he couldn't just go up and correct them.

"What, do you also know something about the Marching Fist?"

At some point, Village Chief Xiao Tianren had walked over and looked at Lin Xun thoughtfully.

"Yes, I practiced it when I was young."

Lin Xun nodded frankly, seeing no reason to hide it.

"Oh, what do you think of these kids' practice?"

Xiao Tianren asked with interest. He suddenly found it harder to understand this young man, who not only knew how to inscribe spirit patterns but was also familiar with the Marching Fist, which was quite unexpected.

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PS: Thank you, Brother Half a Marlboro, for your support. Welcome back!