Chapter 70

"Rest assured, although Yuan Ming is a newcomer, he has thoroughly read the 'Basics of Alchemy,' and identifying minerals will not be a problem." Chen Wan said.

"I can't be at ease. Well, can you identify these minerals?" Wu Ri glanced at Yuan Ming and pointed to the nearby shelf with his chin, where over a dozen types of minerals were placed.

Yuan Ming's gaze swept over the shelf and said in sequence, "Black Iron Stone, Fire Jade, Moon Gazing Iron, Kunshan Sand..."

At first, Wu Ri had a bit of disdain for Yuan Ming, but as he listened, he finally became somewhat moved.

Today, he was refining a peculiar hidden weapon, and the materials used were all very obscure. Yuan Ming actually named these minerals without hesitation.

"... As for the last one, it should be Yin Marrow Crystal." Yuan Ming looked at the last piece of black crystal, which was only the size of a fist, and paused for a moment before speaking.

"Good, you actually recognize this item?" Wu Ri's expression of surprise grew even more intense.

He had only received this Yin Marrow Crystal yesterday. It was a very rare and obscure spiritual material, and he wouldn't have recognized it if not for this task.

"I happened to see it recorded in a book on spiritual materials." Yuan Ming said.

This Yin Marrow Crystal was not found in the 'Herbal Collection' or the 'Basics of Alchemy,' but he learned about it from the 'Mingyue Technique.' This item contained dense yin energy and was a spiritual material needed for the subsequent cultivation of the 'Mingyue Technique.'

"Good, I'll take this person." Wu Ri's face showed a smile as he turned to Chen Wan and said.

"Then I'll leave him to you." Chen Wan did not stay any longer and turned to leave.

"You're called Yuan Ming, right? Work well for me, and I won't treat you badly." Wu Ri looked at Yuan Ming and encouraged him.

"Yes, please take care of me, Wu Ri." Yuan Ming said respectfully, maintaining a humble attitude.

"Very good, start working. Follow Lina's instructions for what to do." Wu Ri was satisfied with Yuan Ming's attitude, pointed to the tall female disciple who was sorting materials, and continued to hammer the casting block.

"Lina Senior Sister, please instruct." Yuan Ming walked to the tall female disciple and said.

"First, crush ten pieces of Black Iron Stone." Lina didn't even look up and said coldly.

Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows, not knowing when he had offended this woman.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it. He took ten pieces of Black Iron Stone from the shelf, picked up a hammer for crushing stones, and struck it with all his might.

A loud "clang" echoed, and the hammer bounced back, making his fingers tingle, but the Black Iron Stone only cracked slightly.

Yuan Ming was surprised. Just now, Lina and the round-faced female disciple had struck the minerals, and they split into several pieces with one blow. Could it be that his strength was less than that of a woman?

While he was thinking, he took a deep breath and swung the hammer again, using even more force, but the effect was still poor.

"Channel your magical power into the hammer." A soft voice came from the round-faced girl, who gently reminded him.

Yuan Ming's eyes lit up. He channeled his magical power into the hammer, and a faint golden pattern appeared at the bottom of the hammer head, like two intersecting cracks.

"What is this?" He was secretly amazed and swung the hammer at the Black Iron Stone.

A loud "clang" echoed, and the stone, which had been abnormally hard just now, suddenly became fragile and shattered into several pieces.

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Yuan Ming was delighted and thanked the round-faced girl.

In the Bi Luo Cave, seniority was determined by the order of entry. Although the round-faced girl looked younger than him, he still had to call her Senior Sister.

The round-faced girl's cheeks turned red, and she didn't respond, focusing on her work.

Yuan Ming smiled slightly and turned his attention back to the Black Iron Stone in front of him.

Having mastered the technique, his efficiency in crushing stones greatly increased, and he swung the hammer quickly.

Although he couldn't continuously swing the large casting hammer a thousand times, he could easily handle this small stone-crushing hammer. He quickly finished processing a basket of materials and handed the crushed stones to the round-faced girl.

"Next is Moon Gazing Iron." Lina handed him a basket of Moon Gazing Iron.

Yuan Ming raised his hammer and continued working.

With Yuan Ming's help, the sorting work became more organized, and Wu Ri's casting speed also increased. By midday, they had completed the day's task.

"Very good, if you can maintain this speed, your pay will increase by thirty percent at the end of the month!" Wu Ri was very satisfied with today's progress.

On the way, Chen Wan had mentioned that working in the Fire Workshop was not compulsory labor, and the Bi Luo Cave would provide a certain amount of compensation.

However, this compensation was directly given to the forging disciples like Wu Ri, and the pay for the sorting and stoking personnel was distributed by the forging disciples, which was one of the reasons why the forging disciples felt superior.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu Ri!" The bald young man was the first to thank him, and the two women sorting the materials echoed his words.

Yuan Ming also thanked him.

Wu Ri encouraged them a few more times before turning to leave the casting house.

Yuan Ming had been hammering stones all morning, and his arms were sore. He was about to finish the last bit of work and return to his residence to rest when he suddenly heard the bald young man's voice behind him:

"Hey, come here for a moment."

"Akula Senior Brother, is there something else?" He turned around.

After spending the morning in the casting house, he had learned the names of the others. The bald young man was named Akula, and the round-faced girl was named Qiqige.

"You're Yuan Ming, right? After work every day, clean the casting house before you leave." Akula pointed to various parts of the casting house and ordered him condescendingly.

Yuan Ming looked at Akula without saying a word.

He had been in the Fire Workshop for some time and was not completely unaware of the situation. In other casting houses, the daily cleaning was done by everyone except the forging disciples. Akula's request for him to do it alone was clearly a deliberate provocation.

"What, do you have a problem with that?" Akula stood up, cracked his knuckles, and made a loud popping sound.

Yuan Ming pursed his lips, picked up the broom in the corner, and started cleaning.

"You're smart." Akula chuckled, stretched, and walked out.

Lina followed, and Qiqige hesitated for a moment before also leaving the casting house.

Yuan Ming spent half an hour cleaning the house.

He had been hammering stones all morning, and his physical strength was greatly depleted. After the arduous cleaning, he was exhausted and his back ached.

He knew that if he really fought the bald young man, the other party wouldn't necessarily have an advantage. However, as a newcomer, he didn't want to cause any trouble and decided to keep a low profile.

With no one in the room, Yuan Ming closed the door, sat cross-legged, and practiced the Nine Elements Technique.

The Nine Elements Technique had the effect of quickly restoring physical strength, and the fatigue from hammering soon disappeared, and his strength returned.

"This Nine Elements Technique is truly mysterious. I wonder what attribute it is? With such strong recovery ability, it must be either wood or water attribute." Yuan Ming stood up and stretched.

Cultivators had different attributes of spiritual roots, and techniques were the same. The Nine Elements Technique did not specify its attribute, and his cultivation was still shallow, so he couldn't discern it on his own.

However, the five elements had their own characteristics: metal and fire were good for attack, earth for defense, and wood and water for recovery. Based on the effects of the Nine Elements Technique, it was likely to be either wood or water attribute.

Yuan Ming shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and walked out.

He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped. His eyes turned bloodshot, and a sinister and fierce aura emerged from his body. The blood-colored mist in his mind began to surge, indicating that the Fur Cloak Technique's malevolent energy was acting up again.

Yuan Ming quickly sat cross-legged, took out the mysterious incense burner, and silently practiced the Mingyue Technique.

The heat from the incense burner and the effects of the Mingyue Technique eventually suppressed the malevolent energy.

Yuan Ming's clothes were soaked with sweat, and he looked exhausted, his brows furrowed.

The poison in his body had been neutralized, and he had not used the Fur Cloak Technique recently. The white ape skin was also kept at a distance, yet the malevolent energy still frequently resurfaced. This was the third time in recent days, not much less frequent than when he was drugged by Elder Huhuo.

"Could there still be Lingxi Incense in my body?" Yuan Ming's expression was grim.

At that moment, footsteps approached from outside.

Yuan Ming quickly put away the incense burner, leaned on the iron anvil, and stood up.

With a loud "clang," he accidentally knocked the hammer off the anvil.

"Who's there!" The door to the casting house was suddenly pushed open, and Chen Wan rushed in.

"Senior Sister Chen, what are you doing here?" Yuan Ming had calmed down, picked up the hammer, and asked.

"Today Fang Ge had something to do, so I'm checking the Fire Workshop. I saw this casting house was closed but not locked, so I came to check. The Fire Workshop has already finished work, why haven't you left?" Chen Wan asked curiously.

"I stayed behind to do some cleaning and practice a bit." Yuan Ming said half-truthfully.

Chen Wan's gaze fell on the hammer in Yuan Ming's hand and his damp shirt, and her eyes showed a hint of realization: "You haven't given up and are still practicing hammering?"

Yuan Ming's expression froze, but he didn't explain.

"Central Plains people have a naturally weaker constitution, which is indeed disadvantageous for learning the Southern Border alchemy techniques. If you are truly interested in alchemy, I have a method." Chen Wan seemed moved by Yuan Ming's diligence and said after a moment's thought.

Yuan Ming was somewhat amused. He had only wanted to deceive Chen Wan to avoid revealing the mysterious incense burner due to the Fur Cloak Technique's malevolent energy. However, he had to follow Chen Wan's lead: "Please, Senior Sister Chen, guide me."

"Go to the Guizang Pavilion and exchange for the 'Object Driving Technique.' It might help." Chen Wan said.

"Object Driving Technique? Is it one of the Five Elements techniques?" Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows.

"The Object Driving Technique is not a Five Elements technique. It is a method to control objects with magical power and is the foundation for controlling magical artifacts. If you can master it, you can use it to assist in hammering and reduce the burden on your body." Chen Wan explained.

Yuan Ming nodded slowly.

He could imagine the effects of the Object Driving Technique, which would indeed help him hammer. However, he currently wanted to improve his cultivation and refine the Mingyue Technique to counteract the malevolent energy in his body. He had little interest in alchemy, which he had only taken up to establish himself in the sect.

However, if there was an opportunity, he would indeed like to learn the Object Driving Technique.

This technique could drive magical artifacts, and his Green Fish Sword was a semi-magical artifact. He wondered if the Object Driving Technique could unleash more of its power.