Chapter 248: Legacy of the Divine Dragon

"Customer, take a look, have a look, buy whatever you like."

The vendor at the stall saw Li Rui stop.

He immediately shouted enthusiastically.

Li Rui walked up.

He looked at a piece of emerald green, round, and smooth jade that the vendor had placed in the most conspicuous spot in the middle.

"How much for this jade?"

The vendor looked at Li Rui and blinked.

'A Yu Kingdom person?'

Immediately, he beamed with joy.

Yu Kingdom people are great!

There were many Yu Kingdom merchant caravans in Wu Bei City now, and these people were all foolish and rich, and they were especially generous when it came to jade.

"Customer, it's not expensive, not expensive, ten thousand taels and you can take it home."

Li Rui rolled his eyes: "One thousand."

Upon hearing this, the vendor immediately straightened his face: "Customer, don't joke, how can you cut the price by ninety percent directly?"

A look of regret appeared on Li Rui's face: "It seems this old man doesn't have enough fate with it, so forget it."

After saying this.

He was about to stand up and leave.

Having only walked a few steps, he heard the vendor calling: "Hey, let's talk more."

Li Rui acted as if he hadn't heard and kept walking forward.

Seeing that Li Rui was really going to leave, the vendor ran out of the stall and grabbed Li Rui: "Customer, the price can be negotiated."

"Three thousand, give me three thousand and I'll sell it to you."

Li Rui didn't even lift his eyelids: "One thousand one hundred taels."

"Two thousand five hundred taels, not a penny less."

"One thousand two hundred taels."

"Hey, customer, business can't be done like this."

Finally, Li Rui bought the jade for one thousand five hundred taels. While watching the vendor wrap it up, he picked up a large gray-white stone and said: "This thing is a bit strange, give it to me as well, I'll take it back to put at home."

The vendor glanced at it and grinned: "If the customer likes it, just take it."

Li Rui didn't stand on ceremony, picked up the large stone, and took the wrapped jade from the vendor's hand.

Then he went straight back to his room.

In the spacious room, Li Rui sat alone by the bed.

He discarded the jade bought for a thousand taels of silver to the side, his eyes fixed on the large gray-white stone on his lap.

"This stone emits dragon Qi."

"It really is Long Xian Incense!"

The world thinks Long Xian Incense is the excrement of whales in the sea, but in reality, there is true Long Xian Incense.

It is the crystal formed after the death of a Flood Dragon above the Third-Rank.

That is the true Long Xian Incense.

Li Rui never expected that he would see this legendary divine object at a small stall in Wu Bei City.

Truly, it was a case of "finding it without effort after breaking through iron shoes"!

'That Flood Dragon must have been dead for at least ten thousand years; the dragon Qi of the Long Xian Incense has been completely covered. If I didn't possess the Dragon Form, it would have been impossible to see it.'

A stroke of luck.

A true stroke of luck!

Li Rui's mouth couldn't help but lift slightly.

If this Long Xian Incense were placed on the market, its value would be immeasurable.

And more importantly, Long Xian Incense is the best material for raising Immortal Soldiers and helping the artifact spirit Koi cross the Dragon Gate.

"Senior Tie should like it very much."

Li Rui intended to give this Long Xian Incense to Elder Tiekuang to help him complete his dream of forging an Immortal Soldier.

He had always been the type to repay even a drop of kindness with a gushing spring.

If it weren't for Elder Tiekuang, he would definitely still be struggling to open his Qi Sea, and it was even possible that because his foundation was unstable, he would have remained stagnant.

Elder Tiekuang had gone to great lengths to borrow the Heaven-Burning Hammer, which had been a huge help to him.

This kindness, of course, had to be repaid.

'An unexpected joy.'

Li Rui found a large wooden box and put the Long Xian Incense into it.

Because this Long Xian Incense had been buried for too long, it was mixed with too many impurities and needed Elder Tiekuang to refine it before it could be used.

It was only because the Southern Border had always been a place where demonic beasts gathered that one could encounter such a buried treasure; in the Yu Kingdom, there was almost no possibility of picking up such a bargain.

At noon.

Tan Hu and the others finally walked out of their rooms one after another.

Each of them looked refreshed.

Like generals who had won a battle.

"Brother Li."

"Boss Li."

Tan Hu and the others saw Li Rui already sitting in the courtyard and greeted him.

Li Rui saw them, picked up the box, and stood up: "Let's go, it's time for us to return to Qinghe."

Tan Hu was a bit reluctant: "Since we're here, why not stay a while longer and interact more with Brother Dao?"

Li Rui rolled his eyes.

Interact with Dao Mo?

Interacting with the Wu girls would be more like it.

He saw through Tan Hu and the others' little thoughts at a glance.

If it were a normal day, staying two more days wouldn't matter, but now that he had the Long Xian Incense, to prevent long nights and many dreams, it was better to send it to Elder Tiekuang as soon as possible.

Regarding the forging of the Immortal Soldier, Li Rui treated it as his top priority.

"There will be plenty of opportunities later, let's go."

Tan Hu saw his thoughts were exposed and smiled foolishly: "Listen to Brother!"

Immediately.

Li Rui took the Tiger-Galloping Cavalrymen to find Dao Mo.

After stating his purpose.

Dao Mo naturally tried to persuade him to stay, but seeing Li Rui's firm attitude, he stopped persuading.

"Brother Li, remember to come often in the future."

"Definitely."

Li Rui said goodbye and then left the Wu Kingdom's borders under the escort of the Wu Kingdom army.

After passing the Yu Kingdom checkpoint.

They galloped through the night for five hundred li and returned to Qinghe.

Dong, dong, dong.

The hour of the Ox (1-3 AM).

Every household's doors were tightly shut, and a series of urgent knocks sounded at the blacksmith shop.

"Who is it, disturbing people's dreams in the middle of the night."

"If you want to forge iron, do it during the day, we're closed."

The knocking didn't stop.

"Mas... Master?"

Liu Tiezhu pushed open the door of the blacksmith shop, sleepy-eyed, and jumped when he saw Li Rui.

"Master, why are you here?"

Li Rui smiled slightly and lifted the large wooden box in his hand: "Sending something to Senior Tie."

Liu Tiezhu said "Oh" and was about to turn around to call Elder Tiekuang.

He saw Elder Tiekuang had already appeared behind him. Liu Tiezhu was startled; he clearly remembered that when he woke up just now, the old man's snoring was louder than thunder, how could he have even put on his clothes in the blink of an eye?

Like seeing a ghost.

"Sending it to me?"

Elder Tiekuang looked at Li Rui with great interest.

It was the hour of the Ox, and except for farmers feeding cows and horses, almost everyone was sleeping; sending things at this time was not according to etiquette.

But Li Rui was not someone who didn't know the rules.

Coming to find him in the middle of the night must mean there was something important; since he was sending something, it must be something important.

What was important to Elder Tiekuang?

Of course, it could only be a treasure related to an Immortal Soldier.

Elder Tiekuang couldn't help but be curious about what Li Rui would give him.

"Yes, Senior, please look."

Saying this.

Li Rui lifted the lid of the large wooden box, revealing the large gray-white stone inside.

Elder Tiekuang and Liu Tiezhu's gazes were quickly attracted to the large stone.

"Master, this is... this is..."

Liu Tiezhu stared for a long time but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

This large stone looked like it was just a stone, with nothing strange about it.

He thought of all the rare materials he knew, but still had no clue.

Elder Tiekuang also frowned slightly.

It wasn't just Liu Tiezhu who couldn't see what it was; he, a great weapon smith, was also baffled. It seemed to be just a plain, even slightly ugly stone.

"Little Li, tell me about it."

Elder Tiekuang had never been stingy about asking questions in fields he didn't know.

Li Rui slowly spat out three words: "Long Xian Incense."

"Long Xian Incense..."

Elder Tiekuang and Liu Tiezhu couldn't help but repeat it.

Elder Tiekuang's eyes instantly became sharp; he grabbed the large gray-white stone, first knocked on it with his knuckles, and then leaned in to sniff it for a long time.

He looked at Li Rui suspiciously: "Little Li, how did you see that this thing is Long Xian Incense?"

According to ancient records.

Long Xian Incense should have a strange fragrance, smellable from ten miles away, otherwise, it wouldn't have earned the word "Incense."

Li Rui explained: "This Long Xian Incense has been buried for ten thousand years; I obtained it unintentionally in the Wu Kingdom. It needs Senior to remove the dross and keep the essence before its true form can be revealed."

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Elder Tiekuang's eyes lit up instantly.

He immediately urged Liu Tiezhu to work in the middle of the night.

"Light the fire."

"Start working!"

A moment later, the room was illuminated bright red by the furnace.

Elder Tiekuang carefully put the large gray-white stone into the iron furnace, then sank his Qi into his Dantian, and slowly injected Fire-Form True Qi into the furnace.

The scorching True Qi burned the air until it distorted.

Elder Tiekuang's eyes burned.

Soon.

Under the gaze of Li Rui and Liu Tiezhu, the pitch-black stone began to peel off layer by layer, then melt.

At the same time.

A strange, refreshing fragrance drifted out from the furnace.

"It really is fragrant for ten miles!"

This fragrance was even more noble than agarwood worth thousands of gold.

Elder Tiekuang frowned slightly.

He immediately gripped his palm.

The Fire-Form True Qi instantly wrapped and sealed the inside of the furnace, not letting a single bit of fragrance leak out.

Li Rui understood Elder Tiekuang's intention.

Besides the government and the Anning Guard, there were also people from the Eight Great Sects in the city; if those people were attracted, it would be troublesome.

As it was continuously refined.

Finally, only three thumb-sized, crystal-clear small stone beads remained in the furnace.

Seeing this.

Elder Tiekuang slowly withdrew his True Qi.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It really is Long Xian Incense, Heaven helps me!"

This Long Xian Incense was a divine object for nourishing the Dragon-Form artifact spirit, something that could be met but not sought.

Even the imperial treasury didn't have much.

Even he couldn't get it, yet Li Rui had just sent it to him so easily.

"Good, very good."

Elder Tiekuang looked at Li Rui with appreciation: "With this Long Xian Incense, the speed of raising the soldier will definitely increase greatly. Old man, I can create an Immortal Soldier, and you should take the top merit."

This trip to Qinghe was the right place to come.

If he hadn't met Li Rui.

He actually had no possibility of forging an Immortal Soldier at all.

Even one percent was slim.

Regarding this, Li Rui felt genuinely happy: "As long as I can help Senior, that's enough."

Elder Tiekuang pondered: "This Long Xian Incense is precious, I will find a way to compensate you."

Li Rui immediately became solemn:

"Senior, what are you saying? This is just a little token of my heart."

Elder Tiekuang's white eyebrows lifted.

Good fellow.

Long Xian Incense, a little token of his heart.

The tribute for the Emperor was probably at this level; this was not small at all.

Elder Tiekuang finally understood that Li Rui's goal was him.

"Forget it, forget it, forget it, old man, I am indeed tight on hands right now, let's just say I owe you, kid."

Li Rui laughed:

"We are all family, what's this about owing or not owing."

Elder Tiekuang squinted his eyes and pretended to sigh.

'Truly a terrifying young man.'

This was Long Xian Incense.

Even if it wasn't used as a material for raising a soldier, for someone like Li Rui who possessed the Dragon Form, it was also a great tonic, no worse than a Great Elixir.

Li Rui's move was not small.

At least if it were him, he definitely wouldn't be willing.

Li Rui laughed.

Was he unwilling?

Naturally, a little.

But to him, this Long Xian Incense was an unexpected gain, worth only a thousand taels; changing his perspective, spending a thousand taels to make his relationship with Elder Tiekuang even better.

It was simply a huge profit!

By the time Li Rui returned to his home in the Anning Guard, the horizon was already turning a fish-belly white.

Having finished the matter.

Li Rui felt light.

Returning to his room, he had no sleepiness, so he picked up the blade beside him and practiced until dawn.

"Master, when did you return?"

Early morning.

Wang Zhao had just woken up and saw Li Rui practicing with the blade, feeling surprised.

If he remembered correctly.

Master had gone out of the city.

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Returned in the middle of the night; I thought you were all asleep, so I didn't call you."

"Oh."

Wang Zhao didn't think much of it, just nodded and went to cook porridge.

Now he was the only young person in the courtyard, so it was only right that he should be light-footed.

Two quarters of an hour later.

The hot meat porridge was ready.

Smelling the food, Yang Yong walked out of his room.

Li Rui looked at his old brother: "Old Yang, I asked someone in the capital for an elixir that has the effect of prolonging life; it should arrive in a few days."

Yang Yong felt a bit pained: "I'm just a useless old thing, why waste such a good thing? Just leave it for Little Zhao and the others to eat."

He felt his life had already been worth it.

Living one more day in the future was a huge profit.

When he was young, who would have dared to think of living in a four-courtyard mansion and eating meat every meal.

He wouldn't even dare to think about it.

It was only because Li Rui, this old brother, was righteous; otherwise, not wanting to look at old friends after getting rich was the norm in the Yu Kingdom.

Li Rui was the exception among exceptions.

So he didn't dare to ask for more.

Li Rui glared at Yang Yong: "What, you want to go before me again?"

He, the white-haired one, had sent off too many black-haired ones.

He really wanted to keep Yang Yong, this old friend, for a few more days.

He was only seventy; finding a few more life-prolonging elixirs to supplement, living to a hundred shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"I'm telling you, kid, you have to live to at least a hundred; when the time comes, I'm going to ask the imperial court for a reward."

Yang Yong was amused by this:

"Fine, fine, a hundred it is."

There were many martial artists who lived to a hundred, but for ordinary people, a hundred was pitifully rare; often, you wouldn't even find one in a whole city.

The imperial court viewed a seventy-year-old as a merit of a well-governed world, and a hundred-year-old was even more of a sage among sages.

It was a sign of great prosperity.

When the time came, maybe the Emperor would even send an imperial envoy to visit.

A great honor!

The three in the Li residence ate the meat porridge.

Li Rui chatted with Yang Yong for a while; he had been busy with official business and practicing martial arts lately, and the opportunities to talk to Yang Yong were truly pitifully few.

Until noon.

Yang Yong was annoyed by the talking and wanted to go out to play mahjong.

Li Rui then walked out of the Anning Guard with his hands behind his back, laughing.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 249 =====