Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

Meanwhile, the Chen family.

Chen Tiansheng practiced martial arts in the backyard, while Xie Yaoyin leisurely managed the account books by herself.

Chen Tianshen and Chen Tianlang stood to the side, not daring to breathe.

After a long while, Xie Yaoyin finished dealing with her tasks before looking at the two guys.

"So, tell me, what trouble have you caused this time?"

"Sir, no...no."

"So you're short on money? How was your visit to Chunfeng Tower?"

A faint, almost imperceptible aura emanated from the air, startling the two of them so much that they dared not utter a word.

The two stared intently at each other, and in the end, Chen Tianshen gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

"Sir, we have found a clue to what you are looking for."

"Oh?" Xie Yaoyin became interested after hearing this news.

She went to great lengths to infiltrate Qingshan County, not to become some kind of matriarch; that was only a secondary purpose. She had a primary objective.

"Sir, it's like this, we found the item you requested with the scent at a certain junkyard."

As he spoke, Chen Tianshen pulled out a broken piece of porcelain from his side.

Xie Yaoyin's expression turned strange upon hearing about the scrap metal recycling station.

What are these two doing at the recycling station?

Then, thinking about their races, he suddenly realized something.

It makes perfect sense for a wolfhound to go to a recycling center.

She picked up the broken porcelain shard; the aura emanating from it was exactly the same as the aura of the golden pages within his body.

Yes! This is what he's been looking for.

"Well done! This is your reward! I need more detailed information!"

As he spoke, he tossed out two dark, round objects.

The two men's eyes lit up when they saw this.

Lord Elvis is so generous! He just casually gave away two of these demon beast pills.

You should know that this is the essence of an entire demon beast.

Consuming it will cause a surge in your cultivation level!

After receiving the items, the two excitedly promised to complete the task!

The door closed, and Xie Yaoyin looked at the empty room.

Golden pages floated in his hands as he muttered to himself.

"Where will you find yourself, amidst this unknown legacy?"

……

Two days later.

Tong Yue kept his promise and personally delivered a wax-sealed wooden box to the side hall of the Chen residence.

The box was filled with yellowed paper pages, tattered bamboo slips, and several hand-bound booklets.

The database of the Tongxin Alliance was more scattered than Chen Zhuo had expected. There were no categories or catalogs, as if it had been hastily packed into a box and never opened again.

Chen Zhuo spent the entire afternoon going through these materials.

The vast majority of the content consists of mineral production records and mining logs, which are dry and tedious.

His gaze suddenly stopped when he opened an old booklet with a peeling cover.

This booklet records a large-scale mining operation during the heyday of the Tongxin Alliance.

The location was an unnamed mine deep in the mountains, and the mined ore was divided up among the gang's high-ranking members.

The booklet contained a distribution list written in crooked handwriting, with the names of the people listed in the first few lines, followed by the amount they received.

A portion of the ore was distributed directly to the miners involved in the mining as a reward for keeping quiet and demonstrating loyalty.

Turning to the last page of the list, the scribe had written a small note at the end:

"The green mountain stone produced in this mine has an extraordinary texture. Placing it on a desk can calm the mind and soothe the spirit. It is an auspicious object, and those who obtain it often display it in their halls and treasure it as a family heirloom."

Chen Zhuo's finger paused on the three characters "Qingshan Stone".

Its unusual texture is said to have a calming effect and is considered an auspicious object.

These descriptions don't completely match Originium, but the direction is consistent.

The "coolness" of Originium is a bone-chilling cold, while "Green Mountain Stone" is merely "calming and soothing." This may be due to differences in grade or the fact that the effect is weakened after being removed from the mineral vein environment.

He continued flipping through the pages and discovered an even more crucial document.

This is a transaction record showing that the Tongxin Alliance was forced to sell a batch of "Qingshan Stones" to obtain operating funds during its decline.

The buyer's identity was concealed, but the transaction record included a goods list, which was filled with details of the size, weight, and destination of the stones.

Some of the stones were marked with specific names and addresses; they were purchased by prominent merchants and artisans in the outer city when the Tongxin Alliance declined.

On the back of the last page, Tong Yue wrote a line in charcoal:

"After the long night of lockdown, supplies became scarce, and many families in the outer city dug out their most treasured possessions to exchange for food."

Greenstone is among them. Recently, there's been a private gathering called the "Greenstone Society," which specializes in appraising these kinds of items. It's located in an abandoned teahouse next to Chunfeng Tower. The next meeting will be in three days.

Chen Zhuo closed the booklet, already having a plan for the next step in mind.

Qing Shi Hui.

This clandestine gathering was a special market born out of the long night lockdown.

During times of scarcity, people would bring their family heirlooms, collections, and jade and raw stones of unknown origin for appraisal, hoping to find valuable items to exchange for food and medicine.

Those Qingshan stones that flowed out of the Tongxin Alliance back then may have been kept in these people's collection rooms for more than ten years.

Now it has been unearthed again and sent to the appraisal market as a valuable treasure.

The risk of going to the Qing Shi Society is very low. It's a public gathering with many people and no need to reveal your identity.

However, the potential gains could be enormous. If clues to the source stones could be found among the scattered green mountain stones, then the batch of raw stones would have a basis for cutting them open, and the origin of the source stones could be further pinpointed.

Chen Zhuo resealed the box, got up, and walked to the window.

The long night outside the window continues.

……

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was time for the Qing Shi Gathering.

During this period, in addition to studying the scriptures, Chen Zhuo had another task to do.

That means cutting open that batch of raw stones.

Especially the white and green quality rough stones.

Unfortunately, the white ones contain fragments of earthenware pots, while the green ones contain materials from demons.

This made Chen Zhuo even more curious about why these things would be found inside the stone.

In other words, who put these things inside the stone? Could there really be something underground?

While pondering, he arrived at the outer city.

The Qing Shi Society was located in an abandoned teahouse next to the Chunfeng Tower.

This teahouse was once one of the busiest shops in the area before the outer city fell.

Now, half of the door panel is crooked, and a section of the second-floor railing is missing. Only a few rows of candles have been lit again in the hall, casting flickering light on the peeling calligraphy and paintings on the surrounding walls.

When Chen Zhuo arrived, he found that the teahouse was already packed with no fewer than thirty or forty people.

In the center of the hall, several square tables of varying heights were joined together, covered with a gray cloth, serving as display stands.

A crowd gathered around the booth, including scholars in long robes, warriors in short tunics, refugees with headscarves, and a few who were clearly just there to watch the spectacle.

The air was filled with the smell of burning candle smoke, the astringent smell of tea leaves, and the smell of stone dust that rose up when the raw stone was cut open.

He had just stood still when someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.

"Junior brother! What brings you here?"

Gu Qing'e's melodious voice came from behind my ear, filled with undisguised surprise.