Chapter 349: Not Ordinary Iron

The few of them played around in the mountain forest for a while, then began to prepare dinner.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi gathered some wild fruits and mushrooms, Ximen Kankan dug out several nests of bird eggs, and Duan Rong hunted some game in the forest.

When Ximen Kankan swiped a nest of several bird eggs, he was just happened to be discovered by a pair of iron-winged birds that had returned. Ximen Kankan jumped down from the tree, and those two iron-winged birds were still flapping their wings, chasing and striking his head. Ximen Kankan was annoyed by the disturbance, so he grabbed them one by one and twisted the heads off those iron-winged birds.

In the evening, Xiao Yu used a type of sour fruit for seasoning, added mushrooms and a wild chicken, and boiled a large pot of soup that tasted very delicious.

The few of them sat around the campfire, eating while chatting. For the past three months, it was rare for them to be this relaxed and happy.

After finishing the meal, they chatted and chatted until they talked about going to the Guanglu Courtyard tomorrow to accept missions and earn Contribution Points.

Regarding this aspect, Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi had all been quite busy during the three-month training period, and many common facts were blind spots for them.

Duan Rong explained a lot to them with great patience.

Seeing that the campfire had burned out and their sleepiness had come on, they finally dispersed.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi stayed in Pan Yong's cave, while Ximen Kankan followed Duan Rong to his cave.

Duan Rong returned to the cave, fished out a Fire Folder, and lit the Candle Lamp.

He lay down on the stone bed, pillows his hands behind his head, and looked at the rugged stone wall on the ceiling of the cave with a contemplative expression.

He was still thinking, in the five or six days at Ximen Kankan's place, he had devoured so many weapons, so why was there not a single weapon of the Qi Refining Realm?

"Could it be...?"

Just as Duan Rong was thinking this, Ximen Kankan looked around the cave and began to mock him with a "tsk, tsk, tsk." "You are too shabby, aren't you? Living in a cold cave and suffering!"

Inside this cave, there were originally some daily items, but because they were things belonging to a dead person, Duan Rong felt a bit uncomfortable, so he had thrown them all to the bottom of the cliff.

Therefore, at first glance, this cave was indeed a bit shabby.

However, Duan Rong did not care much about these things, and he acted as if he hadn't heard Ximen Kankan's mockery.

Seeing that Duan Rong had no reaction, Ximen Kankan lost the interest to continue digging at him. He caught sight of a plate of fruit on the Stone Table, with a few already shriveled; he picked a fuller one, took a bite, and lay down beside Duan Rong.

Ximen Kankan lay down, and with one shift of his buttocks, he squeezed Duan Rong against the stone wall again.

Duan Rong glared at Ximen Kankan and said, "How much have you eaten tonight, and you're still eating?"

"That fruit of yours has already shriveled from being left out; if you don't eat it, it'll go bad."

That was a plate of fruit Duan Rong had picked before going to Ximen Kankan's place, and it had already been sitting there for seven or eight days.

Duan Rong said, "Eat too much, and you'll just be farting all night."

"Whether I fart or not, it won't make a difference because of this one fruit."

Seeing Ximen Kankan's incorrigible appearance, Duan Rong stopped paying attention to him and went back to pondering the doubts in his own heart.

Duan Rong pondered, and he suddenly remembered one thing.

That was when Chen Hu died, he had thrust the Nine-Section Steel Whip toward Shang Xiangyu and tried to take the opportunity to escape.

At that time, a white glow faintly flickered on Shang Xiangyu's fingertips, and with one point, he tapped the tail blade of the Nine-Section Whip, and in that instant, the tail blade and a section of the steel chain of the Nine-Section Whip turned into powder.

"Could it be that..."

Duan Rong seemed to have suddenly thought of an answer.

He then began to search in his mind, within the digested information from the Spirit Tools of the discarded miscellaneous items of Shang Xiangyu that he had devoured, for information related to his guess.

Duan Rong did not find clear evidence, but there was a lot of suggestive information.

Shang Xiangyu was obsessed with the way of medicine and poison and seemed completely indifferent to these matters, so the information in the Spirit Tools of those discarded miscellaneous items of Shang Xiangyu that he devoured was all scattered fragments regarding this aspect.

Just then, Ximen Kankan suddenly climbed down from the stone bed, pulled up his pants, and said, "Sigh... a bit bloated, I'm going out to relieve myself."

Hearing this, Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan and said, "Idle people have a lot of shit and piss."

"Keep muttering, and I'll pee in your cave."

"If you dare to pee, I'll kill you!"

Ximen Kankan pulled up his pants and walked out of the cave with a strange laugh.

He walked a distance along the edge of the cliff before finding a place, unfastened his Belt, and let it out toward the bottom of the mountain cliff.

After Ximen Kankan finished, he gave a shake and couldn't help but shiver. He was just about to pull up his pants and go back, when he suddenly heard the faint laughter of Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi coming from that side.

Ximen Kankan's eyes rolled, and while tightening his Belt, he walked toward that side.

He turned around the protruding corner of the cliff and saw the entrance to the cave where Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi lived; dim yellow light shone out, illuminating a patch of mist lingering there.

A flash of hesitation crossed Ximen Kankan's eyes, but he still wanted to hear what Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were chatting about, laughing so happily just now.

Ximen Kankan tiptoed to the side of the cave entrance and pricked up his ears to listen inside.

"Do you know this? They crushed rat droppings and sprinkled them into the Nanny's tea. The Nanny even said that this year's Pu'er is good and tastes mellow when drunk..."

As Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi spoke, they laughed heartily again.

Xiao Yu laughed while gently punching Shen Mizhi and said, "I think it was you who did it."

"It wasn't me, I was just watching from behind."

As they talked and laughed, Ximen Kankan was originally barely holding it in, but when he remembered what Shen Mizhi said about the Nanny of the Elder Council drinking Pu'er mixed with rat droppings and even praising it for being mellow, the more he thought about it, the more hilarious he found it, so he accidentally let out a grunt in his throat.

Ximen Kankan immediately covered his mouth, thinking that his sound was very small, and since Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were laughing happily just now, they shouldn't have heard it.

But Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were very alert, and both of them heard that grunt of his.

Shen Mizhi looked at Xiao Yu with suspicious eyes, suspecting that she had heard wrong.

Xiao Yu nodded at her.

Shen Mizhi immediately got off the bed with light steps.

Xiao Yu provided cover for her and was still saying there, "That Nanny was really messed up by you all..."

Ximen Kankan covered his mouth, listening to them still chatting, and his heart suddenly relaxed. But just at this moment, a black shadow suddenly flashed; Ximen Kankan's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to retreat and flee, he had already been grabbed by the ear by Shen Mizhi.

"Alright! You guy, daring to eavesdrop here!" Shen Mizhi twisted Ximen Kankan's ear and twisted him straight into the cave. "Sister Xiao, look at him, eavesdropping at the cave entrance."

"It hurts! Be gentle..." Ximen Kankan kept yelping as he was twisted by Shen Mizhi.

Xiao Yu looked at Ximen Kankan's comical appearance and couldn't help but be amused. "Why aren't you sleeping properly, running over here to eavesdrop blindly?"

Shen Mizhi twisted Ximen Kankan's ear a full circle; how could he possibly speak properly now?

Xiao Yu looked at Shen Mizhi with a smile, and Shen Mizhi understood, loosening it by half a circle for him.

Ximen Kankan's pain eased slightly, and after a roll of his eyes, he said, "Duan Rong told me to come."

"Bullshit!" Shen Mizhi suddenly increased the force on her hand and twisted it back again. "You ran over to eavesdrop yourself, yet you blame it on someone else."

As Shen Mizhi increased the force, Ximen Kankan cried out in pain. "It was him! If you don't believe me, go ask him. Go ask."

Shen Mizhi looked toward Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu said, "Let's go, let's go ask Duan Rong."

Since Ximen Kankan mentioned Duan Rong, Xiao Yu really did want to go see him.

Duan Rong was lying on the stone bed, his eyes flickering in deep thought, when suddenly he heard a commotion outside.

Shen Mizhi was twisting Ximen Kankan's ear, dragging him inside.

Duan Rong's expression was one of astonishment; he didn't know what this was all about.

Xiao Yu looked at Duan Rong with a smile in her eyes and said, "This kid was eavesdropping at our cave entrance, and he said you were the one who sent him."

When Duan Rong heard this, he really wanted to kick Ximen Kankan in the face, but he suppressed his anger, smiled, and said, "What is going on with you? Didn't I tell you to go get that hammock? Why were you eavesdropping there?"

When Ximen Kankan heard this, his eyes immediately lit up, and he said, "Exactly. I was going to get the hammock. You scared me so much that I forgot all about it. Let go, you need to let go."

Ximen Kankan suddenly gained confidence and pried Shen Mizhi's hand off his ear. While rubbing his ear, he said, "He thinks I'm fat and always crowds him, so he told me to go over and get that hammock in your cave. I had just walked to the cave entrance when I heard you all talking about putting mouse droppings in Nanny's tea, and I couldn't help but laugh, and then I was caught by you."

"Who put mouse droppings in Nanny's tea? Don't talk nonsense!" Shen Mizhi glared at Ximen Kankan.

Xiao Yu smiled as she looked at Duan Rong; she knew Duan Rong was lying.

Shen Mizhi looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Did you really send him?"

Duan Rong said, "Look at this stone bed of mine; it's only this big! And look at his big butt. When I was at the Weapon Workshop, I was squeezed against the stone wall by him every single day."

Shen Mizhi's gaze swept over the two of them with suspicion, and just as she wanted to say something else, Xiao Yu said, "Alright, Mizhi. Let's go."

As Xiao Yu spoke, she took Shen Mizhi's arm and walked out of the cave. The two walked to the cave entrance, and Xiao Yu suddenly turned her head and said, "Second King, aren't you here to get the hammock? Why are you still standing there stunned?"

Ximen Kankan then really went over, brought the hammock back, and hung it up in Duan Rong's cave.

As soon as Ximen Kankan finished setting it up, Duan Rong lay down on it. Ximen Kankan didn't mind, and looking at Duan Rong, he smiled and said, "Big Brother, it's a good thing you reacted quickly and saved my life."

He had been anxious at the time, and with his ear being twisted by Shen Mizhi, he couldn't think of an excuse to get away, but he trusted that Duan Rong would definitely be able to come up with one.

"You're a real pal!" Ximen Kankan was still very grateful to Duan Rong; he exclaimed while gently rocking the hammock for Duan Rong.

Duan Rong rolled his eyes at Ximen Kankan and said, "Get lost. Don't rock it randomly."

"Yes." Ximen Kankan immediately let go and slid onto the stone bed.

Just as he lay down, Duan Rong suddenly said, "Kankan, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?" Ximen Kankan lay on the stone bed with his legs crossed.

Duan Rong said, "In your Weapon Workshop, are there... Qi Refining Realm weapons?"

Duan Rong asked in an almost tentative tone because he didn't know if his description was accurate. However, he had already roughly guessed the answer, though the terminology might be off.

"Qi Refining Realm weapons?" Seeing Duan Rong suddenly ask about this, Ximen Kankan's expression was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Duan Rong to know this; he had only learned of it by occasionally hearing the supervisor mention it.

"No. Qi Refining Realm weapons can only be forged in the workshops over at Tie Feng Mountain."

Duan Rong said, "What is the difference between Qi Refining Realm weapons and the weapons you have there?"

Ximen Kankan said, "Qi Refining Realm weapons are not made of ordinary iron."

"Not ordinary iron?!" Duan Rong's heart stirred.

"Right. The Heaven and Earth Qi is violent in nature; ordinary ironware collapses upon contact and simply cannot withstand the infusion of Heaven and Earth Qi."

"Violent in nature? Collapses upon contact?" Duan Rong's eyes flickered; he once again recalled the scene where Shang Xiangyu shattered Chen Hu's Nine-Section Whip with a single finger, which was indeed just as Ximen Kankan had described.

So, the weapons used by Martial Artists of the Qi Refining Realm were no longer ordinary iron. No wonder that in the cave where he stored discarded weapons at the Weapon Workshop, he had devoured so many Spirit Tools, yet the highest was only at the True Qi Realm Fourth Layer.

Duan Rong's eyes moved, and he said, "Can you go to Tie Feng Mountain?"

"I can't go," Ximen Kankan said. "Even our supervisor hasn't been there. That place is also a forbidden area. You can't just go in and out as you please. It's not just the Qi Refining Realm weapons that are there; it seems the Star Disk we use is also forged inside Tie Feng Mountain. That place is highly confidential."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong sighed slightly. The authority of a Registered Disciple was truly too low!

Since he could not reach the Qi Refining Realm for the time being, he would first bring his True Qi Realm to Consummation.

In fact, these four layers of the True Qi Realm were not so easy to achieve.

Although he had used three months to achieve the First Layer of the True Qi Realm.

However, each subsequent layer was more difficult than the last. If he wanted to cultivate the True Qi Realm to Consummation, he would have to put in a great deal of effort.

Duan Rong actually already had a preliminary plan in his mind.

He prepared to start refining Pills himself.

This point was also his original intention for choosing to be a Medicine Boy under Qin Laotou in the Lower Courtyard.

Now, Shang Xiangyu had gone far away. Pan Yong and Chen Hu were dead. This lonely mountain peak had become a place no one cared about.

And because he had devoured the miscellaneous items Shang Xiangyu had kept for many years, Duan Rong had already inherited quite a bit of his knowledge of medicine and poison. Plus, with the foundation he had originally inherited from Shen Ping, Duan Rong was quite confident about refining Pills himself at this time.

Duan Rong had already calculated that if he refined them himself, he would only need to exchange for the raw materials.

This way, he would only need about one-third of the Contribution Points required to exchange for Pills directly from the Medicine Pavilion.

In this way, combined with the Contribution Points from Xia Honghua and the Contribution Points he earned by taking on tasks at the Guanglu Courtyard, he should be able to support his own cultivation without any major shortages.

The key was that the Pill Furnace, Earth Fire, and various Artifacts for processing medicinal herbs here were all ready-made, and he could use them to his heart's content.

The few of them slept for one night, and early the next morning, under Duan Rong's lead, they arrived at the square in front of the Guanglu Courtyard.

Duan Rong had not only devoured those old, discarded miscellaneous items of Shang Xiangyu, but later he had also devoured everything in Pan Yong and Chen Hu's caves.

Therefore, at this time, he was already very familiar with the various tasks at the Guanglu Courtyard.

Duan Rong chose a task for the four of them to repair a palace.

Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi were a bit confused by the various miscellaneous tasks. Although some tasks offered higher Contribution Points, those entries always contained some information that was very unfamiliar to them, and they basically all required the True Qi Realm.

The three of them had not yet stepped into the True Qi Realm at this time.

Duan Rong had previously told them about the situation regarding the missions here, and upon seeing it now, it was basically the same as what Duan Rong had described.

Duan Rong had said that the work of building palaces was quite sought after.

Since Duan Rong had chosen, the three of them were still quite convinced.

After they made their selection, they took their Sect Cloud Token and went to the Guanglu Courtyard to sign up.

(End of this chapter)