Chapter 63: How Bones Are Forged

"Xingzhou." Shen Tang's voice came from not far away. The master and disciple turned their heads and saw Shen Tang alone, struggling up the mountain in her wheelchair, braving the snow.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned. His first reaction was: "So Bai Mao doesn't even push you anymore?"

Shen Tang's smile vanished instantly. "Should I lock the two of you in a secret room so you can watch each other every moment, every day?"

Lu Xingzhou held A'nuo, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless. "I was clearly concerned about you. On a snowy day, you came up the mountain alone in a wheelchair..."

Shen Tang knew his pitiful look was just an act, yet for some reason she couldn't get truly angry. She just kept a straight face and said, "I am a fourth-grade Wu Xiu. Are you telling me about the snow?"

"But that doesn't change the fact that you came braving the snow."

Shen Tang fell silent. After a long while, she said, "I don't know how you and she fought over there. I feel she gained greatly and is now in seclusion to break through. She was already at the threshold of the fourth grade; coming out, she should still be fourth grade."

Lu Xingzhou nodded.

On the surface, this operation seemed to yield almost all benefits for him; others contributed greatly yet received nothing. In reality, this place, once fully explored, could be considered the territory of the Tianxing Sword Sect. The entire secret realm, including the spirit stone mine, belonged to Shen Tang. Although he held the property rights to this back mountain, and theoretically the secret realm's ownership should be half his, he obviously would not contend with Shen Tang over this.

As for A'nuo, her own daughter never distinguished between self and others.

So only Bai Mao truly gained nothing. Since she could gain benefits from the battle and break through, it was not a wasted trip.

As for material supplies, we will find a way to repay her later...

Speaking of which, her breakthrough was likely related to a spiritual soul shock... just hope she doesn't become colder with every breakthrough.

Shen Tang added, "So how exactly did you fight? I saw no enemies at the scene... Was her breakthrough due to harmonizing Yin and Yang?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Facing A'nuo's wide-eyed, gossiping gaze, Shen Tang finally felt her own sarcastic behavior made no sense. Ultimately, their relationship was merely that of tenants and landlord, or guest elder and sect master.

She finally took a deep breath and tried to speak in a light tone. "If you truly like Miss Qingli, you must seize the opportunity. Because Miss Qingli left the Cold River, her primary purpose was originally training and seeking the path to the upper three grades. Protecting me was merely a task within her training. Now that the Tianxing Sword Sect is firmly established, she likely has no reason to stay long. Having now broken through to the fourth grade, she may leave at any time."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Firmly established is not certain. With the Incense Burning Pavilion now an irreconcilable enemy, and we having lost Jinming Xiu, our strength is much weaker. If they decide to be ruthless, we have no sure guarantee of victory..."

Shen Tang ground her teeth.

He didn't deny liking Miss Qingli... Right, from the moment they met, his liking for Miss Qingli was an open secret.

Lu Xingzhou added, "Furthermore, the matter of where Xu Bingkun's demons came from and who injured him remains unresolved. I have no confidence in my heart and feel there must be some unknown risk hidden. This risk is quite possibly related to our secret realm, after all, the special aspects of Xiazhou are mainly concentrated here... You should pay extra attention as well."

"Understood." Shen Tang was naturally aware of these matters. She asked again, "So your combat strength is crucial... How is the Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent now?"

"It works. This place is uniquely suited for practicing this technique. I practiced for most of the day today and have already reached the ninth grade."

Shen Tang was stunned. "So fast!"

"For an experienced Wu Xiu, re-entering the path is simple, but the subsequent progress won't be this easy..." Lu Xingzhou felt a headache. "It is a brand new technique. I alone need quite some time to fully digest it. There are parts I haven't quite understood yet. The higher I practice, the greater the obstacles will be."

Shen Tang nodded. "That is unavoidable... If there are problems, you can discuss them with me and Miss Qingli. Speaking of which, since you have entered the ninth grade, the intent of Yin and Yang has already taken shape. Now is the time to truly attempt forging the leg bone, right?"

"Yes." Lu Xingzhou's eyes sparkled. "Is everything prepared?"

"I came here, of course, to bring you things."

Lu Xingzhou took a deep breath. "Then... let's go again."

A'nuo was left behind to run errands once more.

Refining bones and refining pills may be similar, but they are truly not the same. The essence is closer to forging artifacts. A'nuo, the auxiliary cheat for pill refining, was useless for this matter. Lu Xingzhou used the excuse "You just overexerted yourself and haven't recovered; you need to rest well" to leave A'nuo at home to watch the house, while he and Shen Tang dove into the pool water.

A'nuo hugged her knees and squatted by the pool, looking resentfully at the ripples spreading in the water. She felt her master actually just wanted to take a private bath with Sister Shen Tang and didn't want a big lantern nearby.

A'nuo guessed correctly.

Shen Tang's appearance, soaking wet as she emerged from the pool, was particularly beautiful. With many people around, it was embarrassing to look too much, but now she could look openly.

Shen Tang emerged from the pool, dripping wet. Seeing Lu Xingzhou sitting in the wheelchair, clean and fresh, she laughed in anger. "Your wheelchair is quite interesting; it can even navigate underwater."

Lu Xingzhou glanced around at her, her curves outlined even more beautifully by being soaked through, her inner dudou faintly visible. It was truly a feast for the eyes.

He answered with a straight face. "After all, I've sat in a wheelchair for a lifetime. It was crafted to the specifications of a magical treasure, capable of handling climbing knife mountains and wading through fire seas..."

Shen Tang was speechless, silently circulating her qi to evaporate her clothes dry.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou staring unblinkingly, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Pervert."

That glance was truly full of charm. Lu Xingzhou felt as if he had been electrocuted. He coughed dryly. "Don't talk nonsense. Everyone has an appreciation for beauty. What's wrong with looking a few times?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Sneaking peeks so many times while treating your leg was also an appreciation for beauty."

This direct strike caught Lu Xingzhou off guard.

Are you saying it so directly now?

Seeing Lu Xingzhou's stunned look, Shen Tang acted as if nothing had happened and naturally pushed his wheelchair toward the passage.

Lu Xingzhou also fell silent. The atmosphere became quiet for a moment, with only the sound of the wheelchair rolling through the passage, particularly clear in the empty cave dwelling.

Both of them felt the same thing... It seemed they had many words they wanted to say to each other, yet for some reason, when the words reached their mouths, they felt there was nothing to say. It was as if speaking would touch the paper screen, so they wanted to speak but held back, ultimately remaining silent.

It was better to silently push the wheelchair and walk together... As if many years later, a pair of white-haired elderly people, pushing their spouse's wheelchair, at dusk after a meal, the moon hanging over the willow branches, strolling through the streets and alleys of the county town. The wheelchair rolling on the bluestone pavement made a rhythmic clacking sound, and both their hearts gradually became peaceful with this sound.

Lu Xingzhou's face was originally calm, but in his heart he was more anxious and uncertain than A'nuo just now. His heartstrings were tense with nervousness, yet they slowly calmed within this peace.

Looking back, what was he nervous about before?

He couldn't remember... There was no enemy at all. It was just refining a treasure. What was there to be nervous about?

Unknowingly, the two arrived at the Dragon-Tiger Convergence.

A'nuo's well lid had already been taken by Lu Xingzhou. Any magical treasure would eventually be damaged by such prolonged burning, and Lu Xingzhou couldn't bear to have A'nuo wake up crying.

Now, a cluster of flames rose from the cave entrance. As the tongues of fire flickered, high heat spread throughout the entire secret realm.

"I knew there must be earth fire here, but I didn't expect there to be something within the fire... This child A'nuo..." Lu Xingzhou sighed and finally broke the silence.

Shen Tang said softly, "You treat her as your own life, so naturally she will have the same heart."

As soon as these words left her mouth, her face suddenly felt hot again. She felt it sounded a bit like a double entendre.

Lu Xingzhou didn't know if she had heard it; his mind didn't seem to be on such matters. He quickly took a pill furnace out of his ring and slammed it down with a "Thud" at the spot where the earth fire erupted.

Different pill furnaces serve quite different functions in pill refining. Lu Xingzhou carried several types. The one he used now was capable of concentrating high heat, specifically for refining some heavenly materials and earthly treasures that were difficult to melt, though it had little value for extracting and blending medicinal effects. Yet it was perfectly suited for this place.

"First, refine the fire. Although it is harder to melt, at least there will be no mutual repulsion, making explosions less likely." Lu Xingzhou took a deep breath, first throwing the Essence of Blazing Fire into the furnace, then taking the several flux materials Shen Tang handed him and putting them in as well.

The furnace lid closed.

The alchemical furnace had a specially made window to observe the condition of the pills inside; Lu Xingzhou stared tightly, watching the flux materials slowly soften the Essence of Blazing Fire bit by bit.

Shen Tang, an outsider to alchemy, leaned her head over, watching with some curiosity.

It is hard for an outsider to imagine how a pile of herbs or minerals thrown into the furnace can become round; now, just by observing from the side, she had gained a little knowledge.

The interior of the furnace was somewhat like a whirlpool, constantly rotating as it heated, stirring everything thrown inside into a single mass; after a thousand or ten thousand turns, it naturally became round.

In fact, in the hands of alchemists like Lu Xingzhou who possessed powerful control, the internal rotation was controllable; for instance, it could be divided into several zones rotating simultaneously, which is how multiple pills are refined in one furnace at once. And if such blending of medicinal properties was not needed, an alchemist could also control the angle of rotation, choosing to refine the pills into other shapes.

A'nuo had once tried refining pills shaped like little rabbits, but the medicinal effects were uneven, making them failed pills.

With the earth fire available, Lu Xingzhou did not need to consider the problem of the alchemical fire at all; all his essence, energy, and spirit were devoted to internal control.

Shen Tang watched with wide eyes as the Essence of Blazing Fire softened, like a bright red gummy candy. Lu Xingzhou threw in a few more auxiliary medicines to simulate the fusion of refined bone and flesh, scattering them and kneading them into the gummy candy. Then, applying pressure and rotation from various angles, he forcibly pressed the Essence of Blazing Fire into a slender pillar shape.

Then, grinding left and grinding right, the shape of a bone gradually emerged, red as red jade, and faintly shimmering with flowing light.

The heat here was intense, and Lu Xingzhou was fully immersed; unknowingly, sweat flowed into his eyes.

Lu Xingzhou instinctively reached to wipe it, but Shen Tang had already taken out a silk scarf and gently wiped it for him: "Do not be distracted; I am here."

(End of this chapter)