Young Noble Be Monster Slaying-Chapter 805: The Money Problem (II)

The valley was small, and the surrounding mountain walls and ground were pitch black. At the center of the valley, there was a stone platform covered in engraved enchanted formations. The Mount Zhong Sword Hut disciples placed the divine bronze on that platform, and everyone split up to stand on either side of the valley.

"The reason that the Mount Zhong Sword Hut has managed to persist for so long is largely thanks to the Mount Zhong Divine Fire," Chen Buyan explained to Chu Liang. "Your teacher's Samadhi True Fire is indeed powerful, but it is a fire of destruction—best suited for obliteration. When we're forging swords, we need to preserve as much of the material's spiritual qi as possible, so Samadhi True Fire isn't suitable for that purpose."

Chu Liang nodded in understanding.

In most cases, no one would consider using the Samadhi True Fire for tool-making—not even Baili Tong, the imperial city's swordsmith. It was only used as a last resort when dealing with exceptionally difficult materials.

For extremely high-quality materials, it didn't matter even if some of their spiritual qi was lost, as they would ultimately still be superior to lower-grade materials. It was in such cases that choosing to use the Samadhi True Fire would actually produce a positive result.

Chen Buyan continued, "The mountain divine fire that is unique to Mount Zhong might be lacking in destructive power, but it is much better than the Samadhi True Fire at getting into the nooks and crannies of materials. It is the best choice for smelting materials of all kinds."

Then he issued an order to his sect's disciples, "Activate the formation!"

Eight disciples stood around the valley, and at Chen Buyan's command, they simultaneously formed hand seals, activating the enchanted formation in the valley.

Boom!

A raging sea of purple-cyan flames erupted within the black-stone valley, engulfing the Tribulation-Forged Divine Bronze. The Mount Zhong Divine Fire was incredibly hot, so much so that the cultivators in the valley were instantly drenched in sweat. They felt as if they were being steamed alive by the intense waves of heat.

Yet, Chen Buyan furrowed his brows and ordered, "Put it on full blast!"

According to legend, the ancient deity of Mount Zhong was the God of Fire. He had been banished from the heavens and delegated to this area. That was why the enchanted formation to summon the Mount Zhong Divine Fire could only be activated there.

However, the cultivation world knew the true reason. Beneath Mount Zhong, there were mineral veins containing Fire-Spirit Ore, which fueled and greatly enhanced fire. The Mount Zhong Sword Hut had always forbidden mining in these veins, using the Divine Fire of Mount Zhong solely for forging swords.

If even the Mount Zhong Divine Fire couldn't be used to smelt the tribulation-forged divine bronze, then it would prove that this material truly did not belong to the mortal world. In other words, it would mean that it was impossible for humans to refine this divine bronze.

The Mount Zhong Sword Hut disciples swiftly changed to a different hand gesture, pushing the enchanted formation to its maximum output.

A thunderous roar erupted from the formation. The entire valley was swallowed by dazzling purple light, completely obscuring the fire and the divine bronze within.

With the scorching heat on his face, Chu Liang felt like his skin was about to melt.

Despite his incredibly durable corporeal body, Chu Liang struggled to withstand the heat from the Mount Zhong Divine Fire. That showed just how terrifyingly intense it was.

Chen Buyan's furrowed brows knitted tighter together. After focusing on the fire for quite a while, he suddenly commanded, "Everyone, step back!"

Chen An was one of the disciples working the enchanted formation, and when he heard his teacher's command, he looked over with concern. "Esteemed Teacher… are you going to summon them?"

At Chen Buyan's command, everyone hurriedly retreated over a hundred zhang.

Only Master Chen remained at the valley's edge. With a sweep of his sleeve, he conjured eight enormous flags, planting them firmly into the ground where the disciples had stood moments before. They fluttered violently in the scorching wind.

Then he formed a hand seal, and a burst of divine light shone through the valley.

Before long, the winds howled, and a resounding dragon's roar echoed from the distant sky. "Raaaaar!"

A massive Inferno Dragon with dark red scales twisted through the air before landing explosively in the valley!

However, it seemed that one Inferno Dragon was not enough. A second one emerged from the clouds!

Then came a third, a fourth, a fifth… a seventh, and then an eighth!

Eight Inferno Dragons descended upon the valley, their qi flames surging wildly. It seemed they were well accustomed to this process.

"It has been over thirty years since I joined the Mount Zhong Sword Hut, and I've only ever seen my teacher summon four dragons at most. I never imagined he'd summon all eight of the mountain's divine fire dragons!" Chen An exclaimed in shock. "That divine bronze of yours must truly be extraordinary."

At Chen Buyan's command, the eight Inferno Dragons wasted no time and acted immediately. They stretched their necks forward, unleashing their flames in unison toward the sea of purple fire below.

"Raaaaaar!"

The eight Inferno Dragons roared, accompanied by howling winds. The blinding radiance of their fire illuminated hundreds of li.

With such overwhelming force, Chu Liang thought that even one of the legendary artifacts ranked in the top ten of the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures would be reduced to molten essence, let alone a chunk of bronze.

Despite seeing that, Chen Buyan's expression grew more solemn.

The blazing onslaught continued for over an hour. Then Chen Buyan suddenly waved his hand, signaling for the eight Inferno Dragons to withdraw. One by one, they pulled back, looking rather weak and dispirited.

Inferno Dragons were dragons that specialized in fire. Nevertheless, they had released so much divine fire at such a high intensity and for so long, so it was no surprise they were exhausted.

Chen Buyan turned to the trio from Mount Shu and said, "I can sense it. This divine bronze has a spirit. If you want to refine this divine bronze… I'm afraid you'll have to wait for it to be willing to let you smelt it."

"Huh?"

Lin Bei frowned. Is this old man just making excuses because he can't smelt it?

Wait for the bronze to be willing to let us smelt it…? Psht. If it were you, would you ever be willing to be smelted?

Yet, upon hearing what Chen Buyan said, Xu Ziyang looked up. "I understand now."

…

Meanwhile, in the ice mountains of the distant Northern Regions…

Amidst the seemingly endless land of Mysterious Ice, there was an unexpected sight. It was a towering ancient tree with lush jade-green leaves and vines that swayed gently in the frigid northern winds.

One of its vines was wrapped tightly around a plain-looking blue apparition. The tree seemed to be absorbing something from the blue apparition. Tiny specks of pale blue light flowed continuously from the apparition into the tree's trunk.

Beside them, a tall man wearing a conical hat sat idly. As he yawned, his weathered face carried an expression that said he was bored out of his mind, like he was just there to see if something interesting would happen.

"Isn't that enough already?" the blue apparition asked. "I feel like I'm about to die."

"Not even close," the man in the conical hat replied without even looking.

"Huh?" the blue apparition uttered. Then he exclaimed, "Don't trick me! I can clearly see the gourd is almost full!"

A small incision had been made at the base of the tree. Golden liquid trickled out from it, slowly filling a gourd.

"Oh, you meant that?" The man in the conical hat scratched his head and chuckled. "Yeah, that's enough Emerald Divine Tree Sap. But I meant you—you're nowhere near dying yet."

"…" The blue apparition was speechless. In the end, instead of getting angry, he replied calmly, "Then hurry up and let me down. I can't move anymore."

These two were, of course, Chen Erniu, the Sword Emperor of the West Sea, and Jiang Tiankuo, the Whale-Riding Immortal.

When Daoist Yan challenged the Sword Emperor for control over the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, the Whale-Riding Immortal knew that the Celestial Charm Sect had sabotaged the Sword Emperor in the competition but chose not to warn the Sword Emperor. Later, he invited the Sword Emperor to join him in traveling across the world and gathering the materials needed to reconstruct the Sword Emperor's corporeal body.

Now, they had everything they needed for the reconstruction.

A little earlier, they had lacked one last thing, and that was the pure golden sap of the Emerald Divine Tree. This ancient tree could only produce its golden sap by absorbing the power of a pure divine soul. The Whale-Riding Immortal and the Sword Emperor discussed, and of course, it was the Sword Emperor who then "volunteered" to be bound by the tree's vines, offering his soul power in exchange for the golden sap.

It was basically a direct sale from the manufacturer to the customer—quite an efficient process.

The Sword Emperor's soul power could be replenished later using various treasures of nature. However, his drained soul power wasn't the thing that bothered him most. While he was bound by the vines, the Emerald Divine Tree injected a potent numbing toxin into his very soul. The experience was far from pleasant.

So, the moment they had collected enough sap, the Sword Emperor was desperate to be freed.

With a flick of his fingers, the Whale-Riding Immortal sliced through the vines, releasing the Sword Emperor.

After shaking off the vines, the Sword Emperor hovered in midair. "That should be everything now, right?"

"Actually, there's still one thing missing," the Whale-Riding Immortal replied.

"What?" the Sword Emperor asked hastily.

"Money," the Whale-Riding Immortal said with a grin. "The divine physician I know can absolutely reconstruct your corporeal body, but he won't do anything for you unless you pay him. And for a big job like this, the price will be enormous."

The Sword Emperor grimaced in distress. "This…"

"You're the Sword Emperor of the West Sea. Money shouldn't be an issue for you, right?" the Whale-Riding Immortal asked.

"Of course, it's an issue! And it's a huge one. The West Sea is made up of small kingdoms and remote, poverty-stricken lands. Where would I even find a way to get rich?" The Sword Emperor sighed helplessly. "If we're talking about spirit-stone coins, the West Sea probably isn't even as wealthy as a large immortal sect."

"Then there's no other way," the Whale-Riding Immortal said. "Why don't you get a job for a few years and save up?"

"Work?! That's impossible!" The Sword Emperor waved his hand decisively. "Can't you just lend me some?"

"Can't help you there." The Whale-Riding Immortal shrugged. "We're all broke brothers here."

As the two of them bickered, a dazzling beam of swordlight shot over from the distant skies, landing before them.

When the swordlight faded, a person emerged. It was Jiang Yuebai.

The Whale-Riding Immortal smiled. "You're back."

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GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD