Longzang

Chapter 543 Listen to my explanation

Seeing that Wei Yuan was about to say something, Yu Zhizhuo immediately said, "You don't need to say anything! Don't delay my research on Taoist techniques!"

Yu Zhizhuo returned to his desk and buried himself in his work. His eyes were bloodshot, his mind was sharp, and his calculation speed was much faster. He was obviously planning to come up with an improved version of the Melting Gold Technique and the Earth Transformation Technique as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Wei Yuan was about to leave when Yu Zhizhuo suddenly said, "I almost forgot to remind you, the Nether Crystal is extremely resistant to Daoist magic, so the Earth Transformation Technique should be ineffective. However, although the Nether Crystal is hard, it is also very brittle. With your brute force, you should be able to break it open."

A flash of inspiration struck Wei Yuan, and he instantly understood.

Both Nether Iron and Nether Crystal are renowned for their resistance to magical arts, especially Nether Crystal, which is ineffective against almost all Dharma Aspect level Daoist spells and most Sky-Controlling spells. Therefore, it is an important material for refining defensive spiritual treasures, protecting flying boats, and setting up defensive formations.

Wei Yuan had just used over a hundred Earth Transformation Techniques without any effect, so he gave up on Nether Crystals and focused on Nether Iron. Now, thanks to Yu Zhizhuo's reminder, Wei Yuan realized that Nether Crystals should be the main focus.

Wei Yuan then handed both pieces of Nether Iron to Yu Zhizhuo and immediately returned to the Netherworld.

With each step in and out, Wei Yuan noticed that his living space had shrunk slightly, losing about the size of a fist in a short time. It seemed that without Wei Yuan's support and resistance to pressure, the space he originally had would gradually shrink.

Fortunately, at this time, the Institute of Structural Mechanics finally released its first research result: an arched support structure. Furthermore, it had already begun advanced research: semi-circular dome supports.

Looking at the completely hand-drawn structural diagrams without any data or theoretical support, Wei Yuan suspected that this project was just a way to scam funding.

But he couldn't worry about that now. Wei Yuan adjusted his body structure, filling part of his body into the Nether Iron space, revealing the Nether Crystal below.

Then Wei Yuan conjured a steel chisel and used it to chisel at the Nether Crystal.

However, even after chiseling hundreds of times, he only managed to leave a faint white spot on the Nether Crystal. Wei Yuan then recalled what Yu Zhizhuo had said about the properties of the Nether Crystal: hard yet brittle.

Wei Yuan then enhanced his luck with the Immortal Orchid and began to think about how to deal with the Nether Crystal. Sure enough, not long after his luck increased, Wei Yuan had a flash of inspiration and instinctively came up with a solution.

He put away the steel chisel and replaced it with a small hammer with a smooth head, then struck the mirror-like surface of the Nether Crystal. The Nether Crystal emitted a clear, resonant sound that lingered, clearly causing the surrounding area to vibrate.

Wei Yuan's spirits lifted; this method was indeed feasible. So he created a straight channel, about two feet long, in the center of his body, and the small hammer fell along the channel, striking the Nether Crystal.

When, when, when!
Wei Yuan kept striking the hammer, constantly adjusting its weight, speed, and internal structure, trying to find the way to trigger the oscillation of the Nether Crystal.

After being struck hundreds of times, the echo from the Nether Crystal suddenly became sharp and then, with a snap, several cracks appeared!
Wei Yuan was overjoyed and continued to strike. More and more cracks appeared in the Nether Crystal. Finally, he sucked up a piece and put it into the mortal world.

With the new space, the hammer could travel a longer distance, increasing both speed and force, allowing for faster strikes. Before Wei Yuan could hold on, three more pieces were knocked off.

Returning to the Azure Netherworld, Wei Yuan materialized several pieces of Netherworld Crystal. The Netherworld Crystal was very light; the few pieces Wei Yuan knocked off, each about the size of a stool, weighed only a dozen kilograms. However, if converted into Heavenly Merit, it amounted to several thousand Heavenly Merit. Back then, Wei Yuan almost extinguished the lifespan of Yan Xin with a single spear thrust, and the Heavenly Merit he gained was no more than that.

Wei Yuan sighed, genuinely feeling that Youwu was unusually fat.

Wei Yuan then went to the Hall of Merit and found the Nether Crystal in the section for contributing rare materials. Sure enough, contributing one or two crystals would earn him fifty days' worth of merit.

Wei Yuan took two large pieces of Nether Crystal, weighing approximately ten pounds in total, placed them into the magic array, and teleported them to the main hall. Afterward, Wei Yuan browsed through information about the Netherworld Kingdom and exchanged it for over a thousand merit points.

He wasn't in a hurry to go back, so he stayed in the Hall of Merit and Honor to read. However, to speed things up, Wei Yuan also manifested two enlightened Dao foundations and one enlightened Dharma form, so that they could read the materials together.

The information they read is automatically stored in the Human World. Since this was discovered, various documents have become a major part of Wei Yuan's expenses in the Hall of Merit, and the information stored in the Human World is increasing daily. However, there is a drawback to using the Enlightened Warriors to read the information: just because they have read it doesn't mean Wei Yuan has. If Wei Yuan wants to understand the relevant knowledge in the future, he will have to learn it all again in the Human World. But at least, Wei Yuan can get rid of most of the unimportant and uninteresting information.

Wei Yuan's lack of interest doesn't mean ordinary people aren't interested. There are over 700,000 ordinary people in the world right now, with all sorts of hobbies and interests. Even low-quality, mindless stories and doggerel have their dedicated researchers.

As Wei Yuan read, he waited for his Dao power to recover. Just then, a message came from the Hall of Merit that a total of five thousand Heavenly Merit Points had been added to Wei Yuan's name.

Upon seeing this message, Wei Yuan's mind went blank for a moment, finding it hard to believe that obtaining the Heavenly Skill was so easy. He recalled that acquiring his first Heavenly Skill was a near-death experience.

However, as the Heavenly Merit Points entered the tent, Wei Yuan discovered that the price of Nether Crystals in the Hall of Merit had changed, from one tael for fifty Heavenly Merit Points to one tael for one Heavenly Merit Point.

The price fluctuation was indeed quite large, but considering the boundless expanse of Nether Crystals beneath the Netherworld, Wei Yuan felt that one tael of Heavenly Merit was perfectly acceptable. However, Wei Yuan estimated that after submitting several dozen more kilograms, the Nether Crystal submission channel would likely be closed, just like with the Netherworld Land.

Wei Yuan's magical power had almost recovered, so he put the two remaining pieces of Nether Crystal, weighing a total of five or six pounds, into the magic array and chose to donate them free of charge to make a contribution to the palace.

Following this round of donations, the price of Nether Crystals changed again, becoming five taels per day.

Wei Yuan was quite satisfied and hummed a little tune as he headed to the Netherworld. He had earned enough Heavenly Merit Points in this round and made some contributions to the palace, so he was in a great mood.

Upon entering the Netherworld, Wei Yuan discovered that the space he had painstakingly created had shrunk somewhat. He then materialized a cauldron with an arched structure and began reinforcing the space. However, just as he finished setting up two arches, the golden mountain above sank slightly, and the newly erected arches shattered instantly!

Wei Yuan was furious. He immediately cursed the mortals of the Structural Mechanics Research Institute amidst the smoke and fire of the human world. Then, he sent down hail and torrential rain, soaking all the people who hadn't even finished building their houses. He then continued digging for Nether Crystals.

After being scolded, the mortals remained silent on the spot, but as soon as Wei Yuan left, they began to blame each other, trying to clear themselves of any wrongdoing while attempting to bring down their rivals and expel them from the research institute.

After a lot of commotion and fuss, the mortals finally changed the sign of the research institute to: Institute of Structural and Materials Mechanics.

This name reveals the true thoughts in the hearts of ordinary people: they don't think the problem is with the arch structure, but rather that the materials Wei Yuan used were too inferior.

……

At the main mountain of the Primordial Palace, a pair of young cultivators flew back and headed straight for the Hall of Merit. The two were a man and a woman; the man was handsome, and the woman was sweet.

The young male cultivator, beaming with joy, laughed heartily, "Junior sister, this time your senior brother has had an extraordinary stroke of luck, obtaining a full five taels of Nether Crystals! When we go to the Hall of Merit later, I'll give you two taels, so that you can also surpass one hundred Heavenly Merit and be on the list. Soon, True Lord Beihai will be selecting his true disciples, and perhaps you'll catch his eye then."

The female cultivator was both surprised and delighted: "Really?! This, this is too much for me to accept. I... have no way to repay you..."

The male cultivator lowered his voice and said, "Junior sister, you know how I feel..."

The young female cultivator blushed instantly and said shyly, "Oh, you're so naughty..."

The young male cultivator laughed heartily, and then the two chatted and laughed as they entered the Hall of Merit.

A moment later, a mournful wail suddenly rang out in the Hall of Merit.

The young female cultivator, her face contorted with anger, stormed out of the Hall of Merit and flew away. The male cultivator gave chase, calling out as he flew, "Junior sister, let me explain..."

(End of this chapter)