Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Chapter 443 Reliable
Wei Xi generally doesn't do things that force others to do things against their will.

It's not that Wei has high moral standards; it's just that the people being coerced generally don't have that ability.

Clearly, the still immature coccyx has limited language expression capabilities and is completely unable to answer Wei Xi's question.

Seeing that continuing the entanglement would be futile, Wei Xi simply let the demon go, saying that he was going to meet the leader of the Eastern Yi demons to find out the truth, and made a vague promise, behaving like a complete scoundrel.

Wei Lu had no idea about any of this. He only felt that he had done his third brother a great favor, and for a moment he was excited like a child. He couldn't think straight, so he just did whatever Wei Xi said.

Completely unaware that Yu Han harbored the intention to kill Wei Xi, it not only failed to help but also revealed all its secrets.

After tricking the ignorant but edible tailbone, Wei Xi finally managed to climb out of the passage using both hands and feet.

Wei Xi didn't rush out, but instead hid at the cave entrance, looking rather sleazy.

There was no sand at the narrow entrance, and the tide had not yet come in, so the water level was low. Some broken bones were scattered around, suggesting that the tailbone had not been cleaned properly. Looking out, there was an empty chamber, but no smelting furnace was visible.

There are all sorts of furnaces for refining weapons; Wei Xi has seen more than thirty kinds. Some are quite similar to the alchemy furnaces used by alchemists, but most are strangely shaped furnaces, and sometimes they are even custom-made according to specific needs.

Wei Xi had previously imagined the various refining furnaces treasured by the Eastern Yi Demon Chief, but he never imagined that this guy didn't have any furnaces.

"How strange," Wei Xi thought to himself, "I've never heard of anyone who forged magical artifacts without a furnace... Could it be that those who played with artifact forging in the early days were all like blacksmiths?"

However, there is good news: there is not a single monster to be seen in this place, so Wei Xi, who is temporarily safe, can cautiously cause trouble.

Wei Xi nimbly jumped down from the cave entrance and took out a dagger from his Qiankun bag, hiding it in his sleeve.

It's not that the machete is bad, but that the blade is too long and can't be used effectively.

Although in this situation, an ordinary dagger is no different from a fire poker, it's better than nothing, and it gives me strength in my legs.

As a result, half of her foot sank into the soft ground, which terrified her.

In this situation, you can't move your feet randomly, or someone's life will be in danger.

After regaining his balance, Wei Xi looked around to make sure there were no suspicious changes before looking down to examine his feet.

The fabric boots sank into the soft, white surface, looking like a layer of fine white sand.

Wei Xi bent down, picked up a bit of powder with his dagger, and examined it closely. After a moment, he was surprised to find that it was ash mixed with particles, and the amount accumulated was quite considerable, estimated to be half a zhang thick.

Almost instantly, Wei Xi understood why the place was deserted.

This room was the furnace where the Eastern Yi demon chief smelted metals, and she just barged in like that.

That's good, Wei Xi doesn't need to find the stove anymore, the stove has already trapped her.

Judging from the amount of ashes, the Dongyi demon beasts crafted a large number of magical artifacts. If it were just a hobby, that would be a bit too far-fetched.

However, after looking around, Wei Xi felt that it was also possible that this ancient demon preferred larger magical artifacts, which would also make sense.

According to a weapon refiner's eye, the passageway connected to the furnace is most likely used to remove impurities. Given that many materials used in refining magical artifacts are rare and precious, it is understandable to place the tail end in the passageway for recycling some of it.

Wei Xi thought to herself that the Eastern Yi demon leader was quite thrifty and hardworking, and guessed that the tail end in the passage must have profited quite a bit from it. To confirm her guess, Wei Xi moved step by step to the wall and confirmed that the wall was made of metal, and it looked to be the same metal as the Dead Water City metal plate she was holding.

This puzzled Wei Xi. He rubbed his fingers together and found the grainy texture was very obvious.

Metals with different properties are the materials favored by weapon refiners. The price summaries that Li Chun consistently sent clearly showed the popularity of metal materials.

Wei Xi was from Xizhou, which was the largest mineral resource in the State of Ju, and countless amounts of various metal ores were mined every year.

This is why, even though Wei Xichang lived in Tianshui Village, a place with scarce resources and land, she still gained some understanding of ore mining and metal smelting through exposure to what she saw and heard.

One of these is the processing of metal powder.

According to the village elders, when he was young, he worked as a laborer in a coal mine, where explosions of all sizes were commonplace. At first, they could keep it a secret, but later, as too many miners died, his relatives filed a lawsuit that brought the matter to the state government, which finally prompted an investigation.

It was later discovered that the new manager was unfamiliar with mining, and the coal dust hadn't been handled properly, leading to a series of explosions. The monks from the government office toured the mine, and the problem was finally resolved.

At that time, Wei Xi only heard the village elders marveling at the great abilities of these immortal masters and cursing the coal mine manager for being heartless; now, thinking back, it was the cultivators in the government office who used formations or magical artifacts to dispose of the coal dust in the coal mine.

Considering the cost, Wei Xi estimated that they were using a relatively inexpensive formation.

Wei Xi noticed this phenomenon when she practiced weapon crafting. Although she didn't understand the reason, she always cleaned the powder out of the furnace to reduce the risk of it exploding.

If this room really is the furnace of that Eastern Yi demon leader, why is there so much powder left?
Or perhaps the Eastern Yi demon chief has not used this furnace for a long time, so much so that the ashes inside have been left unattended?
As Wei Xi was pondering, he caught a glimpse of some sea anemones growing on the upper part of the wall. Perhaps due to assimilation with the environment, their color was very strange, and they could not be noticed unless one got close.

Wei Xi's gaze then moved upwards, and he noticed some lines on the top of the wall. After a moment, he realized that they were closed openings.

“It seems this room is part of the furnace,” Wei Xi thought. “The ashes come in from the opening at the top and settle at the bottom. Once they are stirred up, these sea anemones can absorb some of them.”

The design is ingenious yet retains the characteristics of the sea, something Wei Xi could learn from if he has the chance.

Looking at the room full of ashes, Wei Xi's smile gradually widened. He didn't look like a proper cultivator at all, but rather like a heretical cultivator.

……

Zuo Fei, dressed in tattered clothes, mingled among the laborers, waiting for his chance. He used a large rake to scoop the seaweed washed ashore into a wooden bucket. This useless Dongyi tribe had been raised from childhood to adulthood because the demon chief believed that any creature that came ashore without its permission was a traitor and did not deserve the favor of the ocean.

As the Green Moon tide approaches, more and more seaweed is washed ashore, forcing Luexi to bring in more people to clean it up, despite the shortage of manpower.

The tide had already risen, and Zuo Fei stood barefoot on the beach, her arms moving mechanically, relying on pills and willpower to keep going.

Zuo Fei had been waiting for a long time, but nothing seemed amiss. Every minute, people from the Eastern Barbarian tribes were being sacrificed. He finally made up his mind: he would no longer wait for unreliable allies and would find a way to infiltrate the ranks of the sacrifices himself…

Just as Zuo Fei was distracted, a dull bang startled him, causing him to lose his hearing briefly. Then, a tremendous force knocked him to the ground.

Huge plumes of smoke rose from the sea, and the waves roared toward the shore like wild horses.

Someone shouted, "The Dragon King of the Sea has turned the tables!" and the surrounding laborers scrambled and crawled toward the higher ground.

Zuo Fei was overjoyed—who said this ally was unreliable? This ally is incredibly reliable!

Safety in production is of paramount importance!