Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 164 The Body of Stubborn Stone
The original heat on the hill disappeared, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

Following behind Rat Tianjiao, looking at the frost covering the ground and the red foxes turned into ice sculptures, Du Zhong felt a chill in his heart. Through the ferocious faces of the red foxes, he could feel their despair at that moment.

The dragon's breath descended, rendering the Red Fox Clan's prized secret technique utterly useless and a complete joke.

"Good riddance. Although the root cause of the destruction of my Du family lies with the Yellow Wind Sect, most of my clansmen died because of this group of red foxes."

After the initial shock, the chill in Du Zhong's heart dissipated, replaced by a sense of exhilaration.

"The dragon was able to wipe out the Red Fox Clan in one blow, so its strength is absolutely unfathomable. Even the Yellow Wind Sect might not be able to deal with it. If I join its ranks, I might be able to use its power to deal with the Yellow Wind Sect. At the very least, I can gain some peace and stability and grow stronger."

With a sudden thought, the last trace of unease in Du Zhong's heart disappeared. If he could avenge his clansmen, what harm was there in joining the demon?
Thinking about this, his initial restraint disappeared, and he became more and more at ease.

Walking ahead, Rat Tianjiao noticed Du Zhong's change and felt somewhat puzzled, not understanding why this person's temperament had suddenly changed, but it didn't say anything more.

After advancing to the Qi Refining stage, its wisdom increased further. It was precisely because of this that, upon learning that Du Zhong might be skilled in weapon crafting, it decided to take Du Zhong to meet Jiang Chen. It knew that a large part of the reason Jiang Chen came to Changfeng County this time was to collect weapon crafting inheritance.

Deep within Yanqiu, inside a grand hall, Jiang Chen, who was reading the Du family's Daoist scriptures, was quite surprised after hearing the report from Shu Tianjiao.

"A weapon refiner? The Du family's cultivators weren't all killed by the Red Fox Clan? Interesting. Bring him in."

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Jiang Chen became somewhat interested.

After searching the souls of the Red Fox Clan, he clearly knew that the Red Fox Clan had once massacred the Du family cultivators to eliminate future troubles. The human slaves left behind were all ordinary people and martial artists, not a single immortal cultivator. The fact that the other party could survive in this fox den until now was truly remarkable.

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, knowing that he had not done anything wrong, Shu Tianjiao immediately ran out and brought Du Zhong in.

Following behind Rat Tianjiao, Du Zhong entered the hall and was surprised to see Jiang Chen sitting cross-legged, reading a Taoist book. This was completely different from what he had imagined. In his mind, the dragon should be powerful and ferocious, but at this moment, he saw Jiang Chen as a Taoist master with a gentle aura and a calm Taoist heart.

"You want to join my ranks?"

A deep voice rang out, and Jiang Chen turned his gaze to Du Zhong, his eyes filled with interest.

Upon hearing this, Du Zhong was immediately startled. Jiang Chen already gave him a strange feeling, but now that he was speaking human language, he was even more surprised.

"Du Zhong, a descendant of the Du family, pays respects to the Dragon King."

"The Du family was slaughtered by the Red Fox Clan, and now the Red Fox Clan has been suppressed and killed by the Flood Dragon King. I am willing to join the Flood Dragon King's ranks and serve him. I beg the Flood Dragon King to take me in!"

Realizing Jiang Chen's special nature, Du Zhong became even more respectful, knowing that this dragon might be even more extraordinary than he had anticipated.

Looking at Du Zhong like this, Jiang Chen became even more interested. Through his Yin Spirit Eye, he discovered something special about Du Zhong. It seemed that the other party possessed a special physique. It was precisely because of this physique that the other party was able to conceal his cultivation level, deceive the Red Fox Clan, and disguise himself as an ordinary person, thus surviving for so long on this Flame Hill.

Feeling Jiang Chen's gaze fall upon him, Du Zhong suddenly felt as if he had been seen through.

“You seem to have some kind of special constitution, but that’s not enough…” After observing for a moment, Jiang Chen spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Du Zhong was immediately jolted awake. He did indeed possess a special physique called the Stubborn Stone Body. Although it didn't offer much help in cultivation, it was adept at concealing one's aura, had a strong physical body, and was quite capable of recovering from injuries. However, he hadn't expected that this dragon would notice something amiss about him at a glance, especially since he was no longer deliberately suppressing his aura at this moment.

"Reporting to the Dragon King, I do indeed possess a special physique called the Stubborn Stone Body, which enhances my physical body."

"Besides that, I am also skilled in crafting artifacts. I once successfully crafted a low-grade magic artifact."

Realizing the extraordinary nature of the dragon and knowing that continuing to conceal it would only invite disgust, Du Zhong offered his biggest bargaining chip.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen's face showed a hint of surprise. This was something he hadn't expected. He himself had some knowledge of weapon crafting, and because of this, he knew exactly how difficult it was to refine a magic weapon, even if it was only a low-grade one.

Under normal circumstances, it is very difficult for a cultivator in the Inspiration stage to refine a magic weapon.

"The Du family's weapon-forging method is the Thousand Hammers Weapon Forging Technique. This is a painstaking process that involves constantly hammering and refining spiritual materials. It consumes a great deal of energy from the weapon-forging master. From this perspective, his stubborn body is indeed particularly well-suited to this weapon-forging technique."

As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Chen realized the fundamental reason why Du Zhong was able to refine a low-grade magic weapon with his Spiritual Awakening cultivation.

Seeing Jiang Chen fall into silence and remain silent for a long time, Du Zhong thought that Jiang Chen did not believe him and became a little anxious. However, just as he was about to explain again, Jiang Chen spoke up.

"With a body of unyielding stone, and the ability to refine a low-grade magic weapon during the Inspiration period, you are indeed quite impressive."

"When you joined my ranks, did you simply want my protection, or do you want to use my power to deal with the Yellow Wind Cult?"

With a glint in his eyes, Jiang Chen looked at Du Zhong.

When their eyes met, Du Zhong was momentarily lost in thought.

"I want a safe place to cultivate. If I have the chance, I will find a way to deal with the Yellow Wind Cult to avenge the destruction of my family."

Almost instinctively, Du Zhong spoke his deepest thoughts.

However, just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly lowered his gaze, no longer daring to meet Jiang Chen's eyes.

Seeing this scene, a strange light flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes. He did not expect that Du Zhong, who was only at the Spiritual Awakening stage, could break free from his bewitching.

"It seems that although this stubborn stone body cannot speed up cultivation, it does benefit the physical body and even the soul. At the very least, it can enhance the soul's resistance to some extent. It's really interesting."

With this new discovery, Jiang Chen became even more interested in the so-called Stubborn Stone Body. In fact, this was the first special physique he had encountered. Although it was not the famous Spirit Body or Treasure Body, it still had its own wonders.

To be honest, he never expected that a not-so-powerful Du family could produce a cultivation seed with a special physique; it was truly quite strange.

(End of this chapter)