Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

Huanglong Mountain is located at the border of Huanglong County and Chengcheng County.

"Is this it?" Zhang San asked, turning his head as he looked at the towering mountain that was so close at hand.

The road construction foreman nodded: "This is it."

"The Huanglong Mountain stretches for several miles. If you want to build a road to Huanglong County, you would have to take a detour and travel a lot more. The fastest way is to build a tunnel through here."

The foreman said helplessly, "It's just that the tunnel we blasted out with the 'Sky Cry' technique is really too difficult to clean up, and we'll have to spend a lot of time repairing it later."

"That's why I was thinking of asking you to come and help me out!"

"Forget about wages," Zhang San asked impatiently, "when are we going to start blasting?"

Since Hancheng blew up the iron mine, perhaps because he made too much noise, the miners no longer dared to go into the mine to mine. Young Master Bai had enough iron ore, so Zhang San had no choice but to come back. He was not comfortable at the shooting range.

Fortunately, there's always a way out. Gold shines wherever it is. I didn't expect that after only a short time at the shooting range, the road construction team would come and come to clear the mountain.

Since that incident, he has been sent to various places to blast mountains and break rocks, and he has finally found some fun again.

The foreman's lips twitched: "It'll be fine now, just be careful."

"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Zhang San excitedly picked up Tian Ti and headed towards the mountain wall.

The road construction team members had long heard of his style, and upon seeing this, they retreated a great distance.

"Get out of the way!"

"Zhang San is about to make his move!"

Zhang San ran to the foot of the mountain, looked up at the mountain wall a few times, skillfully found a spot, put down the TNT, lit it with a flint and steel, and ran away as fast as the wind.

After being blown out of the hole, Zhang San was the first to rush back, glanced at it, and then lit the TNT.

The cave was blasted deeper and deeper, extending into the heart of the mountain.

After several loud noises, the road construction team estimated that the depth was sufficient and it should be safe, so they all crawled into the cave.

Deep inside the cave, Zhang San was still surveying blasting sites. Although there were uneven rocks on the walls, they were not numerous, and even without repairs, the basic shape of the tunnel was already clearly visible.

The foreman looked around, beaming, "Wow, impressive! Much better looking than what we blasted ourselves!"

He took a caged bird out and placed it on the ground.

The bird fluttered around a few times, hopping and jumping about, and only then did the foreman feel relieved and call out, "Alright, it's our turn to get started."

The group started moving the stones. The cobblestone blocks left over from the TNT explosion were easy to move; they were simply put into the donkey's backpack.

The protrusions on the cave walls could only be chipped off one by one by the stonemasons using pickaxes.

With the beacon, things became much easier, though it took a little more effort for the two of them to lift it up and put it into the donkey's backpack.

As for the pit, just fill it with round stones.

Every so often, centerline stakes would be erected to prevent lateral deviation, and then the caged bird would be led deeper into the enclosure.

TNT's unique design allows it to create a crater at least one meter deep, eliminating the need to measure whether the excavated tunnel is collapsing.

Another loud bang.

A furious shout suddenly came from the cave entrance: "What are you doing? Are you out of your minds?!"

Everyone in the cave stopped.

Except for Zhang San.

From the direction of the cave entrance, a man dressed as a Taoist priest, carrying a long spear, ran towards them.

The newcomer looked rather disheveled, his Taoist robe was covered in holes, and the hem and front of his clothes were blackened by smoke.

But the exposed skin was very clean, without a speck of dust on it, and two gourds were hanging from his waist.

"What brings you here, Taoist priest?" the foreman asked.

Feng Yuanzhen's face turned ashen: "Never mind that for now. I was peacefully refining pills on the mountain for two whole months, and I was about to reach the crucial moment when I heard a continuous rumbling in the mountains. That's why I came down to check the situation."

"When we came down to check, we found out it was you guys blasting the mountain here!"

"I think you're tired of living! You blew up a perfectly good mountain, and to make matters worse, you blew it so deep. You're lucky the earth dragon hasn't even turned over yet. Now's the time to run!"

As he was speaking, he saw that Zhang San completely ignored him, lit the TNT, and ran a few steps away.

Feng Yuanzhen's pupils contracted slightly: "Have you gone mad?!"

As the sky hissed and the white light intensified, Feng Yuanzhen, though unfamiliar with the object, instinctively sensed a deadly danger.

He threw down the spear and turned to run wildly out of the cave.

"Run!" Feng Yuanzhen shouted as he ran.

Before he had run far, he heard an explosion. Feng Yuanzhen's adrenaline surged, and without turning his head, he ran even faster.

He ran out of the cave and retreated to a distance beside an old tree, where he leaned on his knees, panting heavily.

"Amitabha! In all my years of life, this is the first time I've seen someone so audacious. I wouldn't even dare to act so recklessly when refining pills!"

Feng Yuanzhen raised his right hand and glanced at it subconsciously.

His right little finger was blown off at the root during an alchemy session, leaving only a bare stump.

"No, I need to wash my hands first."

Feng Yuanzhen took a gourd from his waist and then put a wooden ladle on the ground.

He poured out some water, wet his palm, and slowly washed it. The water flowed down his palm into the wooden ladle.

Feng Yuanzhen washed his hands and began to think calmly.

The explosion just now was truly astonishing, but upon closer reflection, it was strange in every way.

Why aren't those people afraid at all?

He had run all the way out of the cave without being hit on the head by a single rock.

He looked up at the cave.

The mountainside was perfectly fine; there was no landslide, not even a single fist-sized boulder rolled down.

He poured in some more water, and the washed water flowed into the wooden ladle.

After washing it three times, Feng Yuanzhen took out another gourd and carefully poured all the dirty water from the wooden ladle into it.

Feng Yuanzhen glanced at his clean hands, nodded in satisfaction, and hung the two gourds back on his waist.

Explosions echoed intermittently from deep within the mountain, causing Feng Yuanzhen's eyelids to twitch as he retreated.

But after waiting for a long time, the mountain didn't collapse, and no rocks fell.

Feng Yuanzhen's doubts deepened. After hesitating for a long time, he finally went inside again: "Fine, let's go take a look!"

The foreman saw him and said in surprise, "Master, you're back again?"

Feng Yuanzhen made a hand seal and bowed slightly: "Amitabha, I have some doubts in my heart, so I came back to take a look."

At the end of the tunnel, Zhang San reignited the TNT.

This time, Feng Yuanzhen didn't run away. He stared intently at the TNT flashing white light, his body tense, but he stood still in place.

When the loud explosion occurred, Feng Yuanzhen witnessed the tunnel being blasted further in.

The pit walls were eerily neat, with the rocks at the edges forming regular squares.

"What a violent fiery metal! I wonder which high-level cultivator forged it. It must have been due to excessive heat and a surge of energy in the furnace that caused this molted pill to emerge. The power of this molted object has actually reached this level?" Feng Yuanzhen looked around.

The explosion was so astonishing, but it only shattered the rocks in front of us.

Feng Yuanzhen's excitement intensified: "It can contain all the fire element in one place. Although the fire is fierce and violent, it does not damage the surrounding mountains."

"Impressive skill!"

"Who, a high-ranking immortal, crafted this?"

He asked the foreman.

"Given by Young Master Bai."

"Young Master Bai?"

Feng Yuanzhen asked in confusion, "Which Young Master Bai?"

The foreman looked surprised and asked, "You don't know?"

He cautiously followed up with, "How long have you been in these mountains? Haven't you noticed the changes?"

"I have been living in seclusion here for several years."

Feng Yuanzhen said in a deep voice, "These past two months have indeed been turbulent in the mountains. The earth's energy has been disordered from time to time, and we have seen several strange phenomena at night. The birds and beasts in the mountains have also been strange and unusual."

"But I'm at a crucial stage in my alchemy process and simply can't get away."

The foreman asked curiously, "What kind of elixir could keep the Taoist priest from leaving for two months?"

Feng Yuanzhen said solemnly, "This is a superior-grade Golden Stone Pill. It takes thirty days for one small cycle, sixty days for one large cycle, and ninety days for one complete cycle."

"This batch of pills has been refined for more than two months, and now it has reached the critical moment of stopping the fire and nourishing the pills. It needs to be continuously nourished with a gentle fire. The fire in the furnace must not be extinguished, and one must not leave it at will."

"If the timing is off, all the effort of the past two months will be wasted. Therefore, even though I sensed something was amiss in the outside world, I could only stay in the cave to guard the furnace."

"I have never heard of the Young Master Bai you speak of."

The foreman was about to explain.

Another loud noise came from the end of the tunnel.

Feng Yuanzhen picked up the spear he had thrown away earlier and was about to leave the cave: "Alright, I won't bother you any longer."

The foreman asked, "Where are you going, Taoist priest?"

Feng Yuanzhen said, "Chengcheng."

"I have an old friend there named Yan Chengren."

"We haven't seen each other for many years. Now that such a big change has happened outside, we should go and find him to ask what exactly happened."

The foreman asked curiously, "Aren't you supposed to be guarding that furnace of pills?"

Feng Yuanzhen shook his head.

The sound of the explosion and the roar of the mountain made him extremely worried. Dan was important, but if he was gone, Dan would be gone too. He could only come down to check the situation.

The fire in the stove has probably gone out long ago, so there's no point in keeping it burning.

It's fate, it's destiny.

That's good, we should ask why the world has changed.