Chapter 839

Da Bai heard it with a start: "Holy shit? How could two such masters possibly gather together, not afraid of being surrounded and killed by other strong ones?"

"Huh? Surround and kill? Why?" Xiao Feng asked, puzzled.

"You're stupid!"

Da Bai explained: "Weapon forging and pill refining are the two most profitable and highest-consumption industries in the cultivation world! Countless people painstakingly train just to reach a higher realm. And the top experts in these two fields are even more sought after by countless strong ones! Their influence is great enough to shake the entire cultivation world! If two such powerhouses allied to form a faction, the outcome is easy to imagine!"

Xiao Feng thought about it and seemed to have a point.

If the person who makes the best equipment and the person who makes the best potions allied, the world's two most precious types of items would both be concentrated in their hands.

Their combined networks form a huge relationship web, stronger than some divine kingdoms! Moreover, they can exchange precious items with each other, no longer needing to ask others for help gathering things.

Over time, their abilities will gradually become independent, forming an uncontrollable faction.

This is a major security threat to all the divine kingdoms, endangering their status in the Yuan Su Shen Yu!

But… it seems Baba Wulu has no intention of competing with the divine kingdoms; he hasn't opened his forge to craft a main divine artifact for over two thousand years, clearly living in seclusion, pursuing a higher realm.

And his guest Erde Si isn't necessarily a top‑tier alchemy master; he's probably just a fairly skilled alchemist.

"Never mind them; anyway, we're not participating in the NPC showdown—just get done what we need to do." Xiao Feng said.

Melting Gold Mountain is still quite large; it can be called a small world.

The mountain body is over a hundred kilometers high and over a hundred kilometers wide; most of it is composed of rock and vegetation, and intelligent beings are very scarce.

Moreover, the mountain's temperature is relatively high, with average temperatures above 60 degrees; ordinary vegetation cannot survive, so it's mostly dark-colored plants growing, giving the whole mountain a dark hue and an eerie feeling.

Some areas of the summit are uninhabited, not even a cave.

After flying down several tens of kilometers, Xiao Feng finally saw a small house.

That house is made of stone, resembling a watchtower, and inside there is a fire spirit very similar to Babawulu keeping guard.

Xiao Feng looked at the other's information; the name was "Baba

Wulu", is a 500-level titled god, only one step away from breaking into the main god realm.

"Babawulu, may I ask where you know Elder Erdess is?" Xiao Feng inquired.

"Huh, are you a newcomer? How come I haven't seen you before?" Babawulu saw that Xiao Feng was a 429-level Upper God and was somewhat surprised.

Because there are hardly any weaklings of such low level on Melting Gold Mountain!

Xiao Feng said: "Well, I just arrived; I was brought in by the senior First Divine Artificer. I just finished a fair contract order with the senior, and I want to wander around the mountain base, then leave later."

Upon hearing this, Babawulu exclaimed in shock: "What? The ancestors actually opened the furnace just for you! This hasn't happened in over two thousand years!"

Obviously this is quite surprising, like an elder brother who announced his retirement from the circle suddenly returning.

Xiao Feng muttered: "You're actually a descendant of Senior Babawulu; I thought you were a brother… Well, the senior is still designing equipment and preparing materials; I estimate he'll start working in these two days."

"This…"

Babawulu froze for a moment, then quickly showed an expression of delight and said: "Then I must gather the Babawu clan members to go observe the ancestors' artistic works—this will surely be a great masterpiece!"

Then he told Xiao Feng: "If you want to find other guests, go directly to the lowest layer of Melting Gold Mountain, find a large cave, inside there is a tavern where most guests gather."

Saying that, he didn't wait for Xiao Feng to leave; he flew out of the watchtower himself, heading toward the mountainside.

Originally, the purpose of this watchtower was to guard Melting Gold Mountain, preventing anyone from approaching the summit without permission.

But since Babawulu is on the summit, nobody dares to sneak up, so his duty naturally became merely decorative.

"The cave below the mountain, the tavern…"

Xiao Feng noted the location and drove Da Bai toward the mountain base.

A mountain over a hundred kilometers is nothing to Da Bai; even without going full speed, it arrives in just a moment.

All around the base of Melting Gold Mountain is a ring of grayish-white rock with a metallic sheen.

After flying half a loop around the mountain, he finally found the cave Babawulu had mentioned.

Rather than calling it a cave, it's more like a dungeon.

The cave entrance is over fifty meters wide; after going in, there occurred

a spatial fluctuation, and immediately thereafter one entered another space.

Inside lay a separate cave world; the dark-toned scenery disappeared, replaced by a lush green meadow filled with bird song and floral fragrance.

This is a basin several kilometers across, surrounded by rocky mountains and a fake blue sky, similar to a dungeon world; flying a certain distance will be blocked by an invisible wall.

In the middle of the basin are grassland, lake, and small groves, with not much complexity; even the variety of vegetation is very scarce.

Beside the central lake stands a two-story building covering about four to five hundred square meters—not too big, not too small—with a sign beside it bearing the Shen Jie characters "Melting Gold Tavern."

Even from a distance, Xiao Feng could hear the tavern's sounds of merriment and laughter.

Obviously there are quite a few people inside, enjoying a leisurely life, drinking and making merry.

"Da Bai, let's go over." He rode the great bird across the green ground to the tavern entrance.

Just as he stepped down from Da Bai's back, he heard a hearty laugh from inside: "Brothers, guests have come outside. Let's bet—will this visitor be male or female?"

"Haha, I guess it's a man; the women of Melting Gold Mountain can be counted on one hand!"

"Then I guess it's a woman; if I'm right, you guys buy me a drink!"

The hearty voice carried out, and the number of people is still quite a few.

Xiao Feng sensed from these words a flavor akin to the spirit of wandering heroes, and couldn't help but smile.

Whoosh

The tavern's main door swung open; a crowd clutching beer mugs streamed out, while many more appeared at the side windows and the second‑floor balcony, forming a throng of onlookers.

The first to come forward was a short, stout dwarf about 1.4 meters tall, his beard so dense it resembled a mop, while his brown hair was sparse.

He held a beer mug in each hand, strode straight up to Xiao Feng, and roared with laughter: "Haha, you're a guy—whoever said you were a girl just now, down thirty cups as penance! Good buddy, come, this drink's on us!"

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, Xiao Feng couldn't very well refuse and accepted the cup.

He glanced to see what sort of liquor it was.

【Molten Gold Mountain's Strong Liquor】: Tier 3 Divine Medicine, instantly increases max HP by 250,000; each use grants a 'Molten Gold Liquor' state, restoring 0.5% HP per second for 30 minutes.

Xiao Feng:...

(End of chapter)