Minglong

Chapter 232 An unexpected gain
Although there are towns in the southern wilderness, most of them are concentrated on the outskirts and near the sect's residence. The mountains are full of ferocious beasts, and it is common to not see any human trace for thousands of miles.

A coal ball soared through the sky, scouting ahead, followed closely by three figures. They crossed the Gobi Desert, which offered no cover, and plunged into the dense, shady forests of southern Xinjiang.

Nangong Ye had been taking Qi-Nourishing Pills to recover, but after such a long period of exertion, he was already at his limit. After entering the mountains and forests, his speed slowed down as he moved among the towering trees, searching for a place of shelter.

Xie Jinhuan was carried away without expending any energy. He held the soft, voluptuous body in his arms, keeping his eyes constantly on the rear. Only after confirming that they could not be caught did he check on the person in his arms.

On the way, he had already checked the general situation. Senior Sister Hua's soul had been severely damaged and she had been knocked unconscious. Fortunately, the leader of the Witch Cult was a cultivator of the soul and also a martial artist, so she was particularly resilient and should be able to recover after a period of rest.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the serene beauty he was embracing from behind had her full bosom wrapped around his arms, soft and supple...

?

Xie Jinhuan sensed something was wrong and pulled down a little, glancing at the ice block above.

Seeing that Bing Tuozi hadn't noticed this irregularity, he breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little strange.

After all, what image does Fairy Nangong have in his mind?
A peerless swordsman renowned throughout the land, the second-ranked patriarch of Danzhou, the strongest first-class warrior who has slain countless demons and evil spirits, and the dream girl whose name has resounded since childhood...

It was hard to say before, but now, Bing Tuozi's demeanor is indeed exactly the same as Nangong Fairy's...

Xie Jinhuan had actually had doubts before, but Bing Tuozi had covered them up in various ways, so he didn't dare to be sure. Now, he finally understood the reasons for all the awkward things that had happened in the past.

He was very accepting of the situation, but Mo Mo would probably find it hard to believe, and Bing Tuozi wouldn't be able to accept it either...

What to do...

Or perhaps we could ask the White-Haired Fairy to issue a 'divine decree,' since the master's command is absolute...

Xie Jinhuan knew Bing Tuozi's personality; if he were to call him "Senior Nangong" now, he would be so ashamed and indignant that he would run away a hundred and eight thousand miles away on the spot. Thinking about this, he looked up:
"Heroine Mu, did Master Qixia secretly teach you thunder magic?"

"?"

Nangong Ye kept an eye on the surrounding enemy situation. After entering the forest, he began to feel uneasy, unsure of how to explain himself.

She was slightly taken aback when Xie Jinhuan suddenly said that:

"Oh, yes."

"I knew it! Last time at Zihui Mountain, when Master Qixia secretly sent me away, I was curious about what he was doing. You kept saying it concerned the inheritance of the Qingming Sword Manor. I guess Master Qixia taught you a few techniques because you look like a fairy and you focus on thunder magic, right?"

"..."

Nangong Ye hadn't expected this brat to have such a vivid imagination, and nodded like a lump of coal:
"Indeed."

Xie Jinhuan then looked at Bu Xianzi, whom he shouldn't be holding in his arms:
"How did Senior Sister Hua, a martial artist, learn to use poison mist? Could it be that Master Qixia also taught her that?"

Seeing that his disguise hadn't been exposed, Nangong Ye felt a surge of relief and quickly made up a story:

"We've always been rivals. I lean towards Taoist arts, while she leans towards witchcraft. I dabbled in some of those in the past. It's not appropriate to go into details about what happens within the sect. Let's find a place to rest first."

"Oh……"

Xie Jinhuan didn't say much upon seeing this. He wandered through the mountains and forests, eventually finding a concave crevice under a cliff.

The two crawled inside, and Xie Jinhuan placed Bu Xianzi on the ground to check her pulse.

Nangong Ye's heart pounded as he kept observing Xie Jinhuan's expression.

But how could Xie Jinhuan's physical appearance and demeanor, honed since he was three years old, possibly reveal any flaws?

Seeing this, Nangong Ye could only assume that they hadn't been exposed yet, and helped Bu Yuehua up from the side:
"You rest for a while, I'll look after her."

Xie Jinhuan didn't interrupt, and went to the outer edge to look at the tree canopy.

puff puff~
Coal Ball had eaten the fasting pill again, but it was hungry after flying all day. It landed on the shoulder and started shaking its head and opening its mouth, clearly demanding its share of the profits!
But Xie Jinhuan really couldn't find another divine gift for Coal Ball. He fed it a handful of dried meat, then told Coal Ball to continue keeping watch. He sat down in front of it and took out two objects to examine them.

The item was picked up from the last unknown old ghost. It was a black tube about the length of a finger, containing several scraps of paper with a peculiar texture and the contents being cultivation techniques.

The ghostly wife, who had been following him like a shadow, appeared in front of him at this moment, and briefly looked him over:
"The fragments of the 'Zhu Man Sacrifice Witchcraft Classic' are a compilation of ancient witchcraft techniques, compiled by the Corpse Ancestor. They were all destroyed after the war. It seems that the techniques of the Crescent Moon Manor were also derived from this forbidden book."

Xie Jinhuan knew that Wanyi's cultivation technique was extremely powerful, but the side effects were also enormous. It seemed that someone had tampered with it, and she might eventually become a vessel for evil spirits.

If they are all fragments of cultivation manuals compiled by the Corpse Ancestor, then it is very likely that the Corpse Ancestor deliberately created a divine skill to harm people. After the war, various forces unknowingly seized it, and the ancestors of the Crescent Moon Manor were lucky enough to obtain a portion of it...

Xie Jinhuan felt that although this thing was rare, it was not a good thing, so he put it away first and then looked at another broken piece of iron.

The iron block was carved from something unknown; its flat side showed fine lines, and it was very thick and heavy.

Ye Hongshang examined it carefully, a hint of doubt in his eyes:

"This seems to be fish-scale copper, which comes from the Qilin Cave. Like the purple gold stone, it can be used to refine immortal artifacts, but this piece has already been refined."

Xie Jinhuan could tell from the texture that it was carved from a pre-refined immortal artifact. However, the cost of immortal artifacts was exorbitant; they were usually palm-sized magical tools such as the Yin-Yang Ruler, the Demon-Subduing Pestle, and the Fire-Controlling Token, while the raw ore would require a whole cartload.

Large-sized immortal artifacts like the Zheng Lun Sword, which have two attributes, require even more extravagant materials. If it weren't for the White-Haired Fairy's ability to steal them, it would be impossible to gather them all.

This iron block, about the size of a fist, is completely unrecognizable as to what it was carved from, suggesting that the original object must have been very large.

Could it be the Emperor's Cauldron...?

Xie Jinhuan had never seen what the Human Emperor's Cauldron looked like either, so he immediately turned to look at the ice block:

"This looks like fish-scale bronze. Can you tell what kind of magical artifact it came from?"

Nangong Ye, who was absentmindedly pinching the demoness's cheek, turned around upon seeing this, his gaze sharpening as he carefully examined the iron block.

"It really looks like fish-scale bronze. Where did you get it?"

"I just picked it up after I killed that unknown old ghost."

"You were still in the mood to pick things up at that time?"

"Practice makes perfect; you can't fight for nothing..."

Nangong Ye also admired Xie Jinhuan and immediately studied the matter carefully:
“The celestial artifact is more valuable than the gifts from the Five Gods, but this thing… has no array patterns on the crack, it seems to have been knocked off from an insignificant place, and I can’t tell what the original was.”

Xie Jinhuan then casually put his arm around Nangong Jianxian's waist.
"Then we'll investigate later. Is such a large piece even suitable for forging a celestial artifact?"

Nangong Ye tensed up, but remembering the brat's behavior earlier, he let him touch him.
"When forging immortal artifacts, various materials must be added to form them in one go, which is extremely difficult. Once destroyed, they cannot be repaired."

"This piece of fish-scale copper has already been refined and cannot be used to forge other immortal artifacts, but it can be used to make a protective armor. Protective armor made from fragments of immortal artifacts is very difficult for even the Vajra Pestle to penetrate."

Xie Jinhuan understood what it meant—this was an alloy with a special formula. Even if the immortal artifact was remelted after being damaged, it would not be able to pre-form the array and would lose its properties, but its sturdiness would still remain.

A fist-sized block of iron, after being melted and flattened, can be used to make items such as breastplates and arm guards. The range is not large, but it is definitely invincible and can be considered top-quality equipment.

"Why didn't that old ghost melt it down and make a breastplate? If we had such a thing, we wouldn't be able to break it at all."

"Without a blazing fire, how can this thing be smelted? Put it in a furnace and burn it; even if the furnace burns out, the thing will still be there."

"Oh, that's true..."

"By the way, where did you get that Huang Lin Seal that you just pretended to use to cast a fire spell? That's a magical artifact produced by Huang Lin Temple."

"Obtained by chance from killing...slaying demons and monsters in the past."

……

Huhu~
The night wind howled outside, and three figures, two sitting and one lying down, chatted idly.

Nangong Ye examined the iron block carefully for a moment, wondering why he had run into so many ruthless and powerful people today.

Lu Wuzhen said that the world is a Gu altar because there are too few resources and too many cultivators, but breaking through realms is very dependent on resources.

Phoenix Feather Grass, Tiger Bone Vine, and other precious materials are produced at a rate of one plant per year. Originally, there were five, but after the establishment of the Witchcraft Sect, only four remained. Without these materials, only those with talents similar to Xie Jinhuan and Ye Sheng could possibly cross the threshold of the Celestial Realm on their own.

Therefore, over the course of 120 years, at most 500 Super Grade cultivators have appeared in the world. Considering those who die of old age, are damaged, or are not used, the actual number is far lower than this, and the density is naturally extremely low. The Great Qian Dynasty still has a relatively large number of top-level cultivators, which are distributed across the 32 states, with only one or two people in each state.

If the news spreads after the winter solstice, it wouldn't be surprising if Fire Phoenix Valley produced many top-tier cultivators. After all, this only happens once every sixty years, giving cultivators a chance to advance to the fifth realm. Top-tier cultivators would definitely come to try their luck once they heard the news.

But it's not even October yet, and it's one thing for Lü Yan to have come early to search for treasure using divination and the Fire-Controlling Token, but how did the other three even get here...?

……

Nangong Ye pondered silently, unable to fathom the situation, when suddenly he noticed the hand behind his waist slowly sliding down and kneading.

?

Nangong Ye glanced at Bu Yuehua, and seeing that the demoness was still asleep, his eyes turned slightly cold:
"what are you doing?"

Xie Jinhuan was just bored. When he saw Bing Tuozi turn his head, he immediately went over to him.

Kiss kiss~
? !
Nangong Ye shrank back, gesturing to the demoness beside him:
"Senior Sister Hua is still here. She got injured saving you, and you're heartless, aren't you?"

Xie Jinhuan thought to himself that he couldn't very well kiss Fairy Bu; she was resting, and he couldn't very well stare at her. So he said helplessly:
"I'm a bit excited after surviving such a disaster, I'll talk about it when I get back."

What will you say when you go back?
Nangong Ye felt that he would be driven crazy by this smug brat when he got back, but since he had taken so many good things, he couldn't just ignore him. He just showed a hint of disgust between his brows and moved to the side.

After the two of them played around like this and rested for half an hour, Qi Hai recovered more than halfway with the help of medicine.

Still in a dangerous place, they dared not linger. Xie Jinhuan picked up Fairy Qi again, while Nangong Ye led the two of them and flew north once more...

(End of this chapter)