After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 390 Opening up trade routes, upgrading minerals, and developing underground caves

Within the golden cocoon, the aura of Crimson Fire Lu Wu was gradually and steadily rising.

If it can absorb some pure solar energy during this transformation and turn it into nourishment for its own Luwu origin, then it will be worry-free in the next stage.

The surface of the large cocoon was blazing with the sun's heat.

Upon seeing this, Shen Can suddenly thought of the experience of a monkey that was being refined in a pill furnace.

After Chi Huo Lu Wu entered the transformation process, Yan Chong no longer needed to stand by and adjust the formation at any time, and began to lead people to build a blast furnace.

Centered on the array that draws in the true fire of the sun, four enormous blast furnaces covered with flame-inscribed runes were built around it.

Each blast furnace is hundreds of miles in size, with walls more than ten times thicker than city walls. Each layer is based on fire-elemental materials and is covered with fire-elemental magic arrays.

After seeing the array that draws the power of the sun operating smoothly, Shen Can also began to improve the array of the Giant Mountain Range.

During this period, the second layer of the Yin energy-drawing array in the mountains has been completed.

In the vast wilderness surrounding the location of the Black Bird, the chilling energy drawn from the underground cave had frozen the mountains into hard soil.

The intense cold meant that even a sixth-level cultivator couldn't stay here for long.

However, after inspection, Shen Can found that this was far from enough. The completed formation was still a little short of his expected effect.

The fact that he has not been able to discover the way the Black Bird absorbs source power for so long indicates that the way the Black Bird absorbs source power is very well hidden.

After inspecting the entire array inside the giant mountain, Shen Can appeared outside the underground cave.

The underground cave was constantly drawing in external energy, which made him wonder if the Black Bird was using the underground cave to absorb energy.
This possibility cannot be ruled out. According to rumors, the rise of the Black Bird was also due to the fall of a giant beast.

Beings that can advance to the seventh rank must know more about the underground world.

Is it possible that a portion of the source energy absorbed by the underground cave was quietly absorbed by the Black Bird?
Fortunately, the establishment of the two sixth-order arrays, along with the witch array sealing the entrance to the underground cave, has isolated external energy as much as possible.

The source energy absorbed by the underground cave is now less than three or four percent of what it used to be.

The underground cave contains many mysteries. It can absorb the power of the five elements and, to a limited extent, the power of the stars, transforming them all into yin and cold power.

Now that the Alliance has gained a significant number of Tier 5 creatures, it's time to explore deeper into the cavern.

Firstly, to capture more powerful spirits as materials to upgrade the second layer of the Yin-Cold Formation; secondly, to explore what kind of existence the underground cave is.

If, as the conjecture suggests, the Black Bird is actually using the underground cave as cover to secretly absorb some of the source energy absorbed by the cave, then perhaps this opportunity can be used to find the Black Bird's true hiding place.

A moment later, Shen Can's figure flickered and disappeared outside the cave.

The upgrade workshop over there by Tu Sunyan is ready. Next, we just need to wait for the smelter to produce materials of higher quality to upgrade the formation.

Before upgrading, he planned to further deduce the first layer of the Star-Attracting Array and the second layer of the Yin-Cold Array.

In addition, we need to arrange for people to form teams to hunt more monsters. As the ore is upgraded, the monsters also need to be upgraded. At the very least, we need to use fourth-tier monsters.

……

Alliance Hall.

"Alliance Leader, from our Juyue Mountains to the ancient city of Tushang, we pass through no fewer than a hundred regions along the way."

In some of these regions, various ethnic groups live together, while in others, a single ethnic group lives exclusively.

However, after investigation and observation, it was found that in most regions and territories of various tribes, there are traces of human habitation and reproduction, and in some places, large areas of human settlements can be seen.

Our trading company plans to select inhabited areas as transit points, gradually expanding the trade route to the ancient city of Tushang, and opening up the route for minerals and resources from the ancient city of Tushang to our Juyue Mountains.

Furthermore, we need the alliance to gather at least 50,000 people, including those who have cultivated the Wild Beast Battle Body or even show signs of beast transformation, with at least 10,000 at the fourth rank and at least 3,000 wizards, to go to Tu Shang Ancient City to help the alliance warriors who were previously there to establish themselves.

Lu Chen presented his well-planned trade route to the warriors of the various palaces.

He was among the first group of Alliance warriors to go to Tu Shang Ancient City. He lived among the weaklings for more than half a year, and on the way back, he was taken by the giant beast clone to explore the areas of various races along the way.

The alliance sent 50,000 people who had cultivated the Wild Beast Battle Body and showed signs of beast transformation, in order to use the skin of the Weak Human race to establish their own clan in the Tu Shang Ancient City.

It is indeed somewhat stifling to establish oneself under the identity of a beast, but the Great Wilderness has been like this for a long time, and there is currently no ability to change it.

Once humans appear on a large scale, they will easily be targeted.

It's not that all alien races view humans as food or slaves. There are also some races in the Great Wilderness that have a good relationship with humans and protect them as they reproduce and thrive.

For example, the resources produced by the human race are essential to a certain race. The human race's martial arts are weak, while the martial arts of other races are strong, forming a mutually beneficial alliance between the two.

However, such cases are rare. In the eyes of many other races, the humans protected by their allies are no different from domesticated creatures.

If you're being kept by someone, don't talk about independence.

That's the situation, it's hard to accept, but that's reality.

Otherwise, the forces of the ancient city of Tu Shang wouldn't have crossed the vast wilderness to capture them as slaves.

"Alliance Leader."

The head of the Reclamation Division stood up and continued, "Our Reclamation Division is also preparing to act together with the merchant divisions."

Shui Donglai, the head of the Reclamation Division, was born into the Changhuan tribe. After advancing to the fifth rank, he participated in the aerial battle with the Tongbei tribe.

After the war, he was transferred to the position of Director of the Reclamation Department.

Back then, the alliance issued two land reclamation orders, one for Daizhou and one for Yunzhou.

However, due to the threat from enemies in Tu Shang Ancient City, the Human Alliance had to retreat again, and the human race from various states and cities entered the Giant Mountain Range.

To put it bluntly, this helplessness of having to migrate when faced with danger is due to the weakness of the human race.

As a result, the reclamation department is now on the verge of shutting down.

Shui Donglai, who was personally mentored by the senior Changhuan, and who had become the head of the Alliance's reclamation department, did not want to waste his time like this.

We must strive to improve ourselves.

"Alliance Leader, the Military Hall is also preparing to follow suit and help the Merchant Guild open up trade routes."

Yan Jiang, who had become the Hall Master of the Military Hall after the aerial battle, also stood up and spoke.

"Any other palace officials have anything to say?"

The volcano sits facing south, and his years of experience leading the league have taught him to remain calm and composed.

"Alliance Leader, I have no other skills, I just want to farm."

Although the Palace Master Yan of the Farming Hall is a fourth-order Great Witch, he is used to traveling around to investigate the mountains and rivers and the fertility of the land, so much so that he has gradually become like an old farmer, just like a kind old farmer uncle.

Like the Wilderness Search Division, the various departments of the alliance were shrinking, and he, as the head of the Farm Palace, had nothing to do.

How can we not allow farming?
It's normal to hide when a powerful enemy attacks.

But you can't always hide away.

Every few days, this happens, and the cultivated land suffers from alternating periods of abundance and scarcity, which is quite distressing.

Huo Mu, the Beast Hall Master, touched his nose. "Alliance Leader, it's the same for me. All the beasts I painstakingly raised were killed and put into the Alliance Treasury."

With so many people in the league, there will eventually be a time when they're all gone.

We've trained so many skilled livestock herders over the years; they can't all just sit idle.

Not only does the Beast Hall have a large number of skilled animal husbandry workers, but the Farm Hall also has a large number of skilled farmers.

Under the alliance's artisan system, the number of artisans of all kinds who have reached the artisan rank is approaching 20 million.

This doesn't even include the array craftsmen within the Giant Mountain Range.

The Hall Master of the Weaponry Hall, Yan Shu, remained silent. Throughout the entire alliance, he was the busiest, building blast furnaces and forging armor, warships, and so on.

"Alliance Leader, the Wilderness Patrol Division is also willing to contribute to opening up trade routes," Li Wanyang added.

Volcano was not surprised by everyone's attitude; constantly being confined to the Juyue Mountains was not a solution.

The Great Wilderness is a place where various tribes are intertwined, and the territory is as chaotic as an oasis. No one has the strength to fight their way out in one go.

Only by gathering the scattered human races from all over the world, forming alliances with friendly human races, and gradually expanding our influence can we succeed.

Furthermore, through repeated battles, they aimed to enhance the prestige of the human race and establish its authority.

From the Juyue Mountains to the ancient city of Tushang, countless creatures roam. If a smooth trade route could be established, it would help the alliance accelerate its development.

Several days later, a plan that incorporated the opinions of many martial artists in the alliance was released.

Open up a trade route to Tu Shang Ancient City, and establish the Canren race as the stronghold of the Human Alliance in Tu Shang Ancient City.

Along this trade route, among the various tribes, we temporarily searched for territories where humans lived and thrived, and dispatched patrol officers to conduct detailed investigations into the living conditions of these humans.

Given the Alliance's current resources, when choosing transit points, priority should be given to human territories of the fourth or fifth tier as transit point locations.

Strengthen support for human tribes along the way, similar to the Giant Raven tribe in the Fallen Moon Wasteland, to at least ensure that the human race has a preliminary ability to resist surrounding alien races.

With the release of this plan, the alliance began to draw fourth-tier warriors and beast-transformed warriors from within the alliance.

In addition, various types of Five Elements wizards and craftsmen, encompassing martial arts, witch doctors, planting, animal husbandry, pharmacists, forging, and other categories, were selected for intensive training.

This is all based on the experience gained in the Fallen Moon Wasteland, where the development of humans in other places is far behind that of the Alliance in various aspects.

There are many reasons for these situations. For example, under the harassment of foreign tribes and in the environment of daily battles, even the best traditions will wither away due to excessive casualties.

Furthermore, surviving under the threat of alien invasions is already difficult enough, leaving little energy for anything other than martial arts.

In another scenario, being raised by a different race would naturally lead to various restrictions on martial arts training and daily life.

There are countless ways to raise animals in the Great Wilderness, with each species, from the Earthworms to the Wood Ginger Clan, employing a variety of methods, making it a diverse and vibrant ecosystem.

As for why humans are everywhere...

To put it bluntly, we have to thank the alien races.

For example, the human race of the Giant Mountain Range was the one whose shipwrecked in the Giant Mountain Range back then.

More often than not, many other races preferred to buy human slaves to use as sacrificial offerings.

Over time, some slaves escaped their captivity and gradually hid in the mountains and forests to reproduce and multiply.

Not all humans are cowards. Some, after recuperating to a certain extent, will inevitably try to rescue their fellow humans who have been captured.

Perhaps there will be heavy casualties in the process, but the human race has a strong ability to reproduce. As long as the flame is not extinguished, they will naturally reproduce again.

Humans can reproduce, but martial arts, their inheritance, and various skills require accumulation from generation to generation.

However, the fundamental reason why the human race in many places has been unable to truly rise is the lack of sufficiently high-level martial arts and witchcraft inheritances.

Without high-level inheritance, there would be no high-level martial artists or sorcerers to protect you.

Even if the human population in a region grows to hundreds of millions, without military strength, they are nothing more than prey in the eyes of other races.

……

The alliance launched a plan to increase trade routes and pass on the torch, which Shen Can naturally strongly supported after learning about it.

Only when humans unite together and have a large base of people can more geniuses emerge.

The Human Alliance spreads its teachings far and wide, gathering talented individuals from all over the world. It nurtures these talents, making the Human Alliance stronger so that it can protect the human tribes on a wider land.

Previously, we lacked the strength, but now we barely have the strength to go out.

The slave-hunting teams in Tu Shang Ancient City show that you can't be safe just by guarding your territory. As long as you are useful in the eyes of others, danger will always be with you.

Despite the immense power of the Baxia Dragon Clan, the remains of a sixth-tier Baxia still managed to appear at an auction.

This is enough to show that there is no absolute power; even the most powerful race has its weaknesses.

The human race is currently incomparable to the Baxia Dragon race; the latter possesses the legacy of the Ancestral Dragon, while the human race only has two hands.

Faced with the alliance's expansion abroad, Shen Can's task is to solidify and strengthen his base.

As long as the Giant Mountain Range stands, even if the Alliance fails ten or a hundred times in its external expansion, it can recover.

Compared to when the alliance was first established, Shen Can now has more trump cards at his disposal. On a larger scale, with two sixth-order formations, as long as they can be upgraded, they will reach the upper-grade sixth order.

Within the alliance, in recent years, more and more members of the Blazing Flame tribe have joined the alliance and taken on various positions, such as stewards and guards in the halls, workshops, and cities set up by the various tribal princes.

Because of the foundation laid by his temple, the people of the Blazing Flame tribe are well-versed in everything from cultivation to various crafts, and they often take on leading roles in various alliance missions.

Over the course of more than a century, by completing various alliance missions, the people of the Zhiyan tribe and the people of other tribes in the alliance have come to know each other better, strengthened their ties, and developed a deep bond of fighting side by side and sharing life and death. Over time, they have formed various connections such as marriage alliances, taking on apprentices, recognizing godparents, and fighting against former subordinates, thus creating an even closer bond.

After these relationships were established, some of the formations, precious medicines, and magical weapons that were originally only researched within the Blazing Flame Earl tribe were gradually transferred to the Witch Academy.

Currently, the wizards of the Blazing Flame Tribe are the main force, leading talented wizards selected from all over the Alliance to conduct various research projects.

The selection of exceptionally talented individuals is not limited to the Witch Academy or the Martial Academy; any tribe within the entire alliance can be selected, since some talents are not cultivated through martial arts or witchcraft and are therefore difficult to discover.

However, since the alliance has focused most of its energy on building large formations in recent years, there have not been many new achievements in various research areas.

There's no other way; if we don't build up defenses first, we won't be able to protect any research results once we encounter danger.

The arrival of the four-armed, long-backed tribe confirms this.

Although the results were not many, the framework had been set up, and a nine-story tower was built in the witch's academy, named the Tower of Kindling Fire.

The intention behind this is to protect and pass on traditions; regardless of the actual outcome, this spirit is commendable.

After all, being unable to do something and not doing it are two different things.

Shen Can also plans to upgrade the Inheritance Tower, taking on the role of tower master himself and leading the research and development of inheritance.

This tower serves as a symbol of civilization for the entire Human Alliance.

In the future, we can recruit talented individuals from all over the world.

If the alliance is free from the threat of the Sacred Hou Clan of the Ancient City of Tu Shang and the worry of the Xuan Bird within, it will undoubtedly be the best time for the alliance.

Unfortunately, the combination of these two crises turned into the worst time for the league.

Like walking on thin ice, the situation may seem promising, but it is highly likely that everything could be overturned overnight.

While Shen Can was working on improving the grand formation, he was also keeping an eye on the news from Tu Shang Ancient City.

Fortunately, the news is not bad; the infighting within the ancient city of Tushang is not over yet.

He still hasn't received a message from the Holy Hou tribe, despite possessing a communication jade tablet from the Four-Armed Tongbei tribe.

A month and a half later, Shen Can returned to the forging workshop next to the Sun Array.

This place is still under construction, but the first blast furnace has already begun smelting ore with the help of the sun.

When the first batch of smelting was completed, the first piece of ore, still steaming hot, was delivered to Shen Can.

After personally inspecting it, he found that the smelting was excellent, the texture was solid, and the quality not only reached the fourth-grade low-grade level, but also the excellent quality among them.

“Temple”.

The eldest disciple, Sun Yantan, stood beside Shen Can. In front of the many alliance warriors, he did not address Shen Can as his grandmaster.

"After the forging array incorporates some solar power, five pieces of third-tier ore can be refined and upgraded to produce one piece of fourth-tier ore."

With the blessing of the sun's power, a large amount of impurities were burned away.

Shen Can nodded. The power of the sun was truly domineering. In the past, blacksmiths would have to forge the metal countless times to remove impurities.

Upgrading the grade of ore requires a significant investment, and the resulting ore may exhibit uneven quality.

But in the face of true fire transformed from a little bit of the sun's power, everything was so easy.

"Go and see the quality of the alloy forged after multiple minerals are smelted together."

Yan Tan took away the still steaming ore. The first blast furnace has only been built so far, and it will naturally take some time to complete the alloy smelting.

It was half a month later when the first batch of alloy was melted and delivered to Shen Can.

There are many types of minerals in the Great Wilderness, but the Alliance usually uses about twenty of them, such as Obsidian Iron, Blue Gold Iron, First Sun Copper, Purple Vein Gold, and Breath Cloud Soil.

After all, the rarer something is, the more scarce it is, and the more resources are needed to build a large array.

After being fused with the five elements of minerals, the smelted alloy metal emits a five-colored luster, and upon closer inspection, some patterns can be seen.

After inspecting the batch of alloys, Shen Can discovered that the quality was much better than he had imagined, with the lowest grade reaching the fourth-tier superior level.

Although some have only just entered the fourth-tier high-grade level, there is still a significant difference between the fourth-tier high-grade level and the fourth-tier mid-grade level.

Of these, 20% reached the fifth tier.

"This is the total output for the first batch, and there are no discrepancies?"

Shen Can looked at his disciple Yan Tan.

“Master, even if you gave me ten thousand lives, I would never dare to lie to you.”

This is the first batch of five-element alloy ore that has been smelted. Except for the part that was of poor quality before it came out of the furnace and was considered substandard scrap, the rest are all here.

Even the scraps can be recycled and reused.

It wasn't that Shen Can had any doubts, but rather that the quality of the alloy smelted in the solar blast furnace was far better than he had expected.

A pile of fourth-tier ore was smelted into fifth-tier quality; the power of the sun is truly amazing.

"How's the consumption?"

"It takes about five parts to melt into one. After observation, it was found that when five parts of fourth-order five-element minerals are scorched by the true fire transformed from the power of the sun, a large number of impurities will be burned away during the fusion process."

Shen Can didn't take it to heart. True gold is not afraid of being tested by fire; what is burned away is not true gold.

The most important part of this upgrade to the grand formation was to upgrade all the third-tier formation bases within the formation to fourth-tier formation bases.

Seeing the new generation of array base materials produced, Shen Can felt that this upgrade was stronger than he had imagined.

In addition, in improving the formation, he envisioned increasing the range of the formation's coverage.

Even if it's impossible to include all four states of Yong, Dai, Mu, and Yun on both sides of the giant mountain into the great formation, we should try our best to include the flat lands as well.

We cannot always shrink our forces when we encounter danger. Migrating for safety is certainly not a problem, but repeated migrations have too much impact on production and development.

With so many people, there is a need for food and meat, which requires land for farming and animal husbandry.

With the improvement in the quality of the array base, these ideas are easier to implement.

The only downside is that the mineral alloy, after being smelted by the sun's true fire, emits a scorching heat belonging to the sun.

Even in fifth-tier quality alloy ores, this scorching heat is even more pronounced.

This means that this batch of ore can only be used to upgrade the first level of the Star Array.

If used on the second layer of the Yin-Cold Formation, it might cause a situation of Yin-Yang repulsion.

As for the union of Yin and Yang, Shen Can can only resolve it in bed; he cannot do so through formations or cultivation.

In that case, the upgrade of the second major formation can only be achieved using ores that have not been smelted by the true fire of the sun.

Although the second major array was built using half spirits and half minerals, and consumed less than the first star-guiding array, half the quantity was still quite large.

Moreover, it requires fourth-grade or even fifth-grade minerals, and there is a difference between producing them yourself and purchasing them from outside.

Besides, this upgrade doesn't mean it will remain unchanged forever.

Since the alliance can produce Tier 5 minerals, it will inevitably replace all the large formations with Tier 5 minerals in the future.

Where will we buy so many Tier 5 minerals? The Alliance doesn't lack Originium, but we still need a place to buy them.

Even if you have to dig it yourself, you still have to find a place.

Not to mention, even Tier 3 ore can be refined to Tier 4. Once the alliance's array for drawing solar power is upgraded again, it is possible that Tier 4 high-grade raw ore can be refined to Tier 5.

Looking at it now, using fourth- or fifth-tier raw ore is still a bit of a waste.

As Shen Can pondered, his thoughts drifted to the spirits and monsters.

How about we improve the second layer of formation and use all spirits and monsters?
After having this idea, he felt he could give it a try. All things in heaven and earth are spiritual beings. When resources were scarce when building the great array, even witchcraft artifacts were used to make up the difference.

This underground cave, located inside the Juyue Mountains, is a place where further excavation should begin, even if the goal is simply to find the channel through which the Xuan Bird draws its source energy.

After the first batch of alloy ore was produced and passed inspection, the subsequent smelting workshops accelerated the construction of blast furnaces and began to produce high-quality alloy ore in a continuous stream.

At this point, a problem arose: with higher alloy quality, it became more difficult to inscribe the Wu script on the alloy.

The only opportunity to inscribe the Five Elements witchcraft was to take advantage of the fact that the heat of the alloy ore had not completely dissipated.

Even so, the scorching heat still made it difficult for many craftsmen to adapt.

In addition, many of the craftsmen who inscribed the witch runes were not very skilled, so a group of older witch rune craftsmen had to retire and turn to teaching. The alliance urgently recruited young and strong men from various departments for training.

one year later.

The large cocoon of fire, located in the center of the blast furnace, began to ripple, and wisps of golden flames swept out.

As soon as this change occurred, Shen Can went outside the workshop and, using his telekinesis, moved the giant fire cocoon away from the workshop area.

If Chi Huo Lu Wu were to cause trouble here, the newly built blast furnace workshop would probably be completely destroyed.

Hey!
The Crimson Fire Lu Wu, who had been moved to a valley, let out a muffled roar from inside the cocoon.

The sound reverberated through the mountains and forests, causing the mountains to tremble.

Roar!
Immediately afterwards, a second roar resounded, and this time the enormous fire cocoon burst open with raging flames, sweeping in all directions.

The terrifying heat scorched the mountains, forests, and vegetation, and the mournful cries of birds and beasts echoed from all directions.

With a snap, a large golden claw tore open the fiery cocoon, and then a head as huge as a mountain emerged from it.

Roar!
Then, a ball of golden flame exploded on Lu Wu's body, burning away the fire cocoon, and its body began to swell.

A terrifying aura belonging to the peak of the fifth rank erupted at this moment.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Wu transformed into a golden tiger a thousand feet tall, with nine golden tails swishing and golden flames surging around it.

In an instant, the entire valley was filled with drifting golden flames, obscuring Lu Wu's figure. Only a pair of golden eyes the size of millstones shone brightly, with golden flames constantly dancing within their pupils.

"Awooo!"

The tiger's head, with golden flames dancing in its eyes, opened its mouth as wide as a chasm and swallowed the flames that filled the sky.

"I want to hit ten!"

"Alright, let's go to the underground cave."

On a distant mountain peak, Shen Can looked at the massive, mountain-like Lu Wu, his divine sense having already swept over its entire body.

After its transformation, the Crimson Fire Lu Wu became even more divine and handsome, its nine tails whipping around, the gathered flames stirring the sky.

A small sun was born within its spine from the continuous flow of fire power.

This is the perfect time to leave the pass, as we are short of combat power to explore the underground caves.

"Okay, here you go."

Upon hearing Shen Can's voice, Chi Huo Lu Wu restrained its aura, transforming into a size several meters in length, with its nine tails drooping behind it.

This solar energy is truly a wonderful thing; I need to bask in it.

It has made up its mind to go out and sunbathe whenever it has free time to replenish its solar energy.

This is just the beginning; it's going to keep getting sunburned.

At that time, it will fight ten of all kinds of caves and monsters. Even if the dragon-headed monster it encountered before came out, it could tear its body apart.

It would even dare to provoke a sixth-tier opponent.

Oh, I was talking about sixth-order spirits, not sixth-order temples.

(End of this chapter)