Da Zaojun

Chapter 159 The Grave-Digging Duo

After refining the Dragon-Tiger Inner Elixir, Song Wuji experienced a change in his essence, energy, and spirit, especially after mastering a skill and a supernatural power.

The stove compartment was even more indistinct, as if something was about to emerge, but it was held back, as if something crucial was missing.

Song Wuji estimated that it was one of the other methods among the Seven Methods of the Kitchen God, since he had only learned how to light the fire and build the stove, as well as how to chop wood, carry water, sharpen knives, boil the pot, and fan the flames.

It was most likely just fanning the wind, Song Wuji thought. He not only knew the Wind-Summoning Divine Power, but also the Wind-Following-Tiger Divine Power. Just now in the weapon-forging illusion, he was also doing the work of fanning the wind at the beginning.

"Looks like I need to find a suitable banana leaf fan to fan the flames."

There's only one pig demon core left, and Song Wuji can only wait until the next time to refine it. Right now, his stomach feels "full," and he can't eat much.

Upon leaving the kitchen office, they saw the people coming and going, all full of energy after Song Wuji had applied his laws.

The disaster victims, in particular, no longer wander aimlessly like stray dogs when they fled before; now they feel more identification with Taichang City.

After the ritual for the Ninth-Rank Heavenly Craftsmen was completed, many disaster victims were inspired by it. Because in the post-disaster reconstruction, apart from a few true artisans, the reconstruction was basically carried out by them based on their past experience in doing corvée labor. In particular, the repair of the old city walls and the expansion of the city walls were basically done by them.

Although most of them were bricklayers with limited technical skills, they still possessed a craft. The knowledge gained from completing rituals made them more professional.

At that moment, all I could think about was building a nice house for myself once the city walls were finished.

With hope, you have the strength to work.

Beside the road, there was a makeshift shed where people sang folk songs, danced, and performed acrobatics—all street performers.

Lacking the courage to leave the city to slay demons, and lacking the strength to do heavy work, they cleared a plot of land and returned to their old ways.

Even after finishing their work, ordinary people still have spiritual pursuits.

The most popular one was Lin Pandi, but she still hadn't completed the nine-rank ritual. She just played a tune on a jade flute, playing a section and singing a section. The songs she sang weren't exactly classical Chinese lyrics, but rather borderline ones.

The blind old beggar singing next to him, even with his Lotus Flower Ballad Technique fully activated, was not as alluring as the sight of a single toe sticking out of the other man's body.

If she were to let out a soft moan while singing, it would be enough to steal one's heart and soul.

Song Wuji remembered Magistrate Tian's instructions: to promote Lin Pandi to the ninth rank as soon as possible, and to open a brothel if necessary... In this world of demons and monsters, under the pressure of oppression, the people in the city need a place to relax.

Although Song Wuji had no interest in running a brothel, these entertainment venues did have some effect, so he could turn a blind eye to them.

Lin Pandi's ninth-rank ritual is called "Flower Fairy". She needs to find her natal flower, cultivate a "flower fairy", and master advanced artistic skills such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting. Her abilities are charm, illusion and removing negative status, making her a very good support.

If courtesans could be mass-produced, Song Wuji would simply consider this brothel a temple to the goddess of flowers. But is this profession something that only women can achieve, or can men also achieve it?

After all, Song Wuji remembered that in ancient times, there was no distinction between men and women when it came to prostitution.

Once outside the city, Song Wuji used his dust-trapping escape technique, summoning a gust of wind, and headed towards Luohu.

Even from a high vantage point, though not very high, just three feet above the roof of the two-story building, one can still see a large lake and a mountain gate on its shore. This mountain is Xiaoyao Mountain. On Xiaoyao Mountain, one can vaguely see the eaves and brackets extending from the trees, and a wisp of smoke, unaffected by wind or waves, reaches straight to the sky.

Song Wuji descended from the clouds and arrived at the shore of Luohu Lake, where he saw Luo Chuan fighting with a large fish in the lake. Although the fish he was fighting was not of high quality, it weighed about a hundred pounds and was a giant black fish.

Song Wuji didn't interfere, waiting until Luo Chuan had firmly gripped the fish's gills, exhausting it, and dragged it ashore before approaching to inquire. Upon seeing Song Wuji, Luo Chuan was somewhat embarrassed and flustered: "City Lord, what brings you here?"

Song Wuji said gently, "You have awakened the Hundred Trades Ritual, haven't you? I wonder what abilities it has?"

Luo Chuan explained repeatedly, "I didn't hide it before. It was only when I got close to the lake, swam around for a while, and caught a big fish that I realized it was called 'Nine-Rank Wave-Fighting Warrior.' When I was low-ranking, I was just a fisherman."

Song Wuji nodded slightly: "Where are they?"

"They went into that water palace and haven't come out yet! They told me to stay here and guard the demon's corpse, but the demon's corpse attracted other demons, so I went into the water."

"Lead the way, let's explore the Water Palace together!"

Luo Chuan became excited, but then hesitated: "The Taoist priest at the temple said that the Water Palace is very cold, so I need to take some medicine..."

"It's alright, a little cold is not enough to cause illness."

Song Wuji said, "Even if you get a little bit of it, just warm yourself by the fire in front of the stove and it will dispel the chill."

Despite saying that, Song Wuji still gave Luo Chuan a piece of firewood.

The two entered the reeds and saw a whirlpool in the shallow water, so they immediately jumped in.

Inside the water palace, there were sounds of fierce fighting, and Wan Xiangping and Xiong Hao were being chased by a group of water demons.

What he was holding was a pearl the size of a human head.

The water demons that were chasing them were shrimp soldiers, but they were covered in armor made of ice crystals, and the weapons in their hands were also cold. Each shrimp soldier had an aura that was close to the ninth rank.

The two men ran and shot, weaving and leaping around the shrimp soldiers. After killing one, they repeated the same trick to wear down the rest.

Upon seeing Song Wuji, the two were both startled: "City Lord!"

Song Wuji nodded: "It's nothing. I just came to check on you since you haven't sent any news back for so long."

The two said, "This water mansion is strange. There is such a big gate here, but it can't be pushed open. We can only wander outside. But fortunately, there are some good things outside."

After saying this, Wan Xiangping showed Song Wuji the treasure he had found.

“There’s a grave over there. We first lured and killed the demon guarding the grave, then dug it up and took a look.”

"There was no body in the tomb; it was an empty mound with only some burial objects."

Song Wuji opened his mouth slightly, unsure of what to say. Digging up graves right in front of someone's doorstep—no wonder the sentient demons in those secret realms called us extraterrestrial evil spirits who only knew how to burn, kill, and plunder! This was far too dishonorable.

"As for this pearl, it grew on that pearl tree, but we don't know what it's used for. City Lord, you have the ability to identify objects, could you please help us take a look?"

Song Wuji glanced at it and identified the ingredients through the Kitchen God's Book: "This is a treasure used by the dragon to nurture a pearl with a pearl. The dragon needs to consume a lot of its essence to nurture the dragon pearl, so it has a clever way of using the spirituality of a large pearl to nurture the dragon pearl. Ordinary old oysters take too long to form a pearl, so there is this kind of spiritual root that absorbs the essence of heaven and earth and the spirit of the sun and moon."

(End of this chapter)