Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 178 The Source of Calamity
In Yanqiu, shrouded in mist, while the outside world was in turmoil over the Wujin Mountain incident, Jiang Chen remained completely silent, quietly digesting his own gains.

At this very moment, in Jiang Chen's cultivation secret place, a strange stone as tall as a person stands. It is perfectly round and decorated with streaks of white-gold patterns. If you get a little closer, you can feel a stinging sensation that is almost tangible. It is the Gengjin Stone.

Deep inside the Zhuang family's mine, Rat Tianjiao successfully brought out the second-tier ore that the Zhuang family had hidden deep inside, which was Jiang Chen's biggest gain on this trip.

"This piece of Gengjin stone is quite large. If it can be fully extracted, it should be enough to forge a flying sword. However, the extraction of Gengjin is not an easy task."

"The reason why the dealer left this piece of Gengjin stone deep in the vein is twofold: first, its existence is conducive to the development of black gold ore, like a hen that lays eggs; second, it is very difficult for the dealer to refine Gengjin using his methods."

"So far, the Zhuang family has only extracted two small pieces of Gengjin, both of which Zhuang Tianxing has refined into his magic weapon, giving them a slight possibility of becoming spiritual weapons in the future."

As Jiang Chen carefully examined the Gengjin Stone before him, various thoughts flashed through his mind.

Second-tier treasures are rare, and those suitable for forging flying swords are even rarer. It was precisely because of this that Zhuang Tianxing immediately set his sights on the existence of Gengjin Stone after learning about it from his memories, and took action immediately.

The longer it drags on, the more variables there will be. Once the dealers learn of Zhuang Tianxing's demise, they might give away the Gengjin Stone for the sake of their own position.

“It is extremely troublesome for me to refine Gengjin using my own methods. It is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also very inefficient. The best way now is actually to wait for Rat Prodigy to make further progress in his cultivation.”

"It is indeed quite difficult for it to refine Geng metal with its current metal-melting energy, but it will be different when its cultivation level is higher, and refining Geng metal will not be a big problem."

"It's a pity that Rat Prodigy's Golden Fusion Qi is only of the middle grade and has not reached the high grade. Otherwise, he might have been able to refine it by now."

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Chen began planning how to use the Gengjin Stone.

Just then, a soft rustling sound rang out, and Rat Tianjiao walked in from outside.

“Squeak, squeak…”

After barking a few times, Rat Tianjiao waved its tail and handed several storage bags to Jiang Chen. Unlike before, Jiang Chen no longer lacked storage bags.

"Is everything packed? Good."

After taking the storage bags and giving them a quick look, Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction. These storage bags contained all the spoils they had gathered in Changfeng County during this period. Although not everything, most of the valuable items were here.

"This time, his move to break through Wujin Mountain has made quite a splash. I'm afraid many people will turn their attention to Yanqiu next. This wouldn't be a problem in itself, but I'm afraid the Zhuang family might spread the news about Gengjin Stone out of revenge. If that happens, it will be troublesome if it attracts the attention of Dao Foundation level figures."

"Although this possibility is unlikely and would be more harmful than beneficial to the bookmaker, we still need to be on guard. We might as well take this opportunity to return to Qingyuan County and avoid the limelight."

"As for the foundation here, with Frost Dragon's reputation to keep it in check, there shouldn't be any problems in the short term. We'll see how things go later."

With his mind already set on leaving, Jiang Chen quickly collected all the treasures in the secret realm, especially the Flaming Sun Spirit Stone and the Gengjin Stone.

A moment later, Jiang Chen, along with Rat Pride, quietly disappeared, shrouding Flame Hill in mist. He left behind only a few local demon rats to maintain the operation of Flame Hill and create the illusion that the Flood Dragon was still stationed there.

These few demon rats weren't very intelligent, and they knew nothing about Jiang Chen and the Rat Prodigy's origins. Even if they were captured, they wouldn't be able to provide any clues. As for Du Zhong, Jiang Chen gave him a task and sent him out to travel.

He had no intention of taking Du Zhong back to the Taiping Sect in the short term; his identity as a dragon needed to be distanced from the Taiping Daoist. While Jiang Chen chose to lie low for the time being, a strange calm emerged in Changfeng County, which seemed to be on the verge of a major upheaval.

The cultivation families and the Yellow Wind Sect seem to be having a lot of trouble, with small fights today and big fights tomorrow, but it's all just for show. Neither side has actually engaged in a real life-or-death struggle.

The cultivation families of Changfeng County could only attribute Huangfeng Sanren's actions to the fact that Huangfeng Sanren had not yet emerged from seclusion and that the Huangfeng Sect was in disarray. After all, most of the Huangfeng Sect's cultivators were originally independent cultivators, and they were naturally ruthless when they had nothing. Now that they had something, they naturally began to cherish their lives.

Although they were unsure whether their guess was correct, the cultivation families were collectively relieved by the changes in the Yellow Wind Sect.

With Zhuang Tianxing's death, the Zhuang family suffered a heavy blow. They were already lacking in confidence to deal with the Huangfeng Sect, so they were naturally happy to ease the conflict with the Huangfeng Sect. It was precisely because of this that the two sides had their current superficial fighting tactics, which seemed to be quite powerful, but in reality did not cause any fundamental damage.

As a result, Changfeng County, which was originally in chaos, ushered in a rare period of rest and recuperation.

On the contrary, new undercurrents were brewing in Qingyuan County, which was originally in a relatively stable state, but most people had not yet noticed them.

In the ancestral land of the Lu family, the Lu family patriarch, Lu Yongnian, was cultivating. At this moment, a jade slip was placed beside him, and a powerful aura flowed around him, faintly exceeding the limit of Qi Refining, which was completely different from the serious injuries rumored outside.

At this moment, even more bizarre tattoos emerged from his neck, spreading upwards to his cheeks, eventually outlining the shape of a flower, which looked quite eerie.

"After so much effort, the initial integration with the Calamity Flower is now complete."

Sensing the change within himself, Lu Yongnian slowly opened his eyes. His once azure eyes now held a hint of crimson.

"After planning for so long, the Lu family has finally seen a glimmer of hope..."

Thinking of the Lu family and his own schemes over the years, Lu Yongnian felt a pang of regret.

Building a foundation for cultivation is no easy task. The restrictions on cultivation resources become increasingly strict at higher levels, and there is an insurmountable chasm between Qi Refining families and Foundation Building families, which is normally impossible to cross.

The Lu family was fortunate enough to obtain a secret method for cultivating the rare and powerful flower, the "Calamity Flower," and after a long period of planning, they have achieved what they have today. But even so, they have only seen a glimmer of hope.

"My Lu family has reached a cooperation agreement with the Third Prince. He supports my Lu family to be promoted to a Dao Foundation family and replace the Qingmu family. In return, my Lu family needs to govern the four southwestern prefectures and support him to ascend the throne."

As his sighs subsided, Lu Yongnian picked up the jade slip containing the experiences of Dao Foundation cultivators breaking through to the next level.

This item is not rare among Dao Foundation families, but it is a treasure that is hard to come by among Qi Refining families. This is one of the gains from the cooperation between the Lu family and the Third Prince.

“The Third Prince is by no means benevolent, and the royal family is absolutely untrustworthy, but my Lu family has no other way to go.”

With all distracting thoughts gone, Lu Yongnian began making final preparations for breaking through to the Dao Foundation stage. His previous so-called serious injury was just a charade staged by Huang Feng Sanren.

On the one hand, he took the opportunity to withdraw and prepare for breaking through to the Dao Foundation; on the other hand, he gave the Lu family a reasonable excuse to let the flood rage and promote the growth of the Calamity Flower. In addition, he also took the opportunity to hand over a considerable amount of supplies to the Huang Feng Sect.

The Lu family was also supporting the Huangfeng Sect's development so smoothly.

(End of this chapter)