The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3066 Iron Chain Bridge

After the two pillars of the building stood erect following the sound, the iron chains continued to operate.

However, the operation of the iron chains consumed a considerable amount of innate energy. Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing kept switching positions and consuming pills to replenish their innate energy. Meanwhile, the mechanisms of the building operated slowly, with only one click every few minutes, and the iron chains themselves moved very slowly.

Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing naturally wouldn't give up. They had already taken several pills, and if they stopped, it would be a real loss. It was better to continue.

Chen Mo, watching from a distance, frowned slightly. It wasn't that he regretted the large number of pills the two had lost, but rather that he was somewhat disgusted by the small amount of energy contained in their innate power. This lack of energy caused the entire formation's energy circuit to operate slowly.

If spirit stones or the true essence of cultivators were used as input, the entire formation would definitely have been fully deployed by now. However, so far, only two pillars have been erected, while everything else is progressing very slowly.

Although the entire mechanism operates slowly, it is working diligently to get things going. It may be slow, but it will eventually be completed.

As the mechanism began to operate, the entire organization gradually began to reveal its overall appearance.

Suddenly, a chain made of huge iron rings slowly emerged from the lake, passed the tops of two pillars, and entered a hole in the ground behind the building.

Gradually, the iron chains emerged completely from the lake, and finally, with a click, the mechanism of the entire building was completed.

For a moment, everyone stared in shock at the objects revealed by the entire iron chain mechanism.

Even the two old men, Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing, did not rush to meditate and restore the innate power that was lacking in their dantian. Instead, they stared at what was being displayed before them and remained silent for a long time.

Chen Mo was the same; he never expected to see such a strange and somewhat shocking object here.

What is now being presented to everyone is truly astonishing.

This is a lake crossing bridge formed by two massive iron chains. The entire bridge is approximately 500 meters long and over 2 meters wide. The bridge is supported by huge cylindrical pillars on either side of the shore, with massive iron chains acting as tension, spanning the 500-meter-wide lake. There are no other supporting structures or other load-bearing points in the middle; it relies solely on these cylindrical pillars on either side of the lake and the iron chains for support.

The bridge is about two meters high, and the bridge deck is made of wooden planks, each about two meters long. The planks aren't very thick, but they're about four fingers thick, and they're bluish-black. It's unclear what kind of wood they are, but they've been submerged in water for so long and are still intact, without any signs of decay.

Moreover, although the wooden planks on the bridge are not tightly packed together, they are arranged with a spacing of one step between each plank. Each plank is connected to the others, and there are also connections between the planks and the reinforcing cables supporting them.

The connecting elements are like finger-thick iron rings, one nested inside the other, linked together. Although the material of the entire iron chain bridge looks simple, it bears the marks of time.

However, what is most puzzling is that these iron chains, iron rings, and even the wooden planks of the bridge seem to be unaffected by corrosion in the lake water. No part of them shows any signs of rust or decay.

If it weren't for the fact that it had just left the water and the entire bridge was still dripping water, anyone who saw it would think that this bridge hadn't existed in the water for a thousand years, but was merely an iron chain bridge that had been built a few years ago.

As the entire bridge was revealed, the single horn once again popped out from the wall behind the building.

After Zhou Zixing took out the unicorn, the entire bridge body was not retracted; it remained standing quietly on the lake.

"Roar!" At this moment, the unicorn beast that had been lying by the lake for a long time looked up and roared when it saw Zhou Zixing holding the unicorn.

After glancing at the strange beast, Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing said, "Let's return this unicorn first. If needed, we can summon the beast back."

He just checked and found that after removing the unicorn horn, the button in the recess didn't appear, meaning the bridge doesn't need anything to summon the beast. Perhaps once the bridge is created, it won't be restored.

However, it is now known that this building is the bridgehead of the ferry crossing the lake, and in order to get the bridge out, the horn on the head of the unicorn beast is needed to make the whole mechanism work.

Knowing all this, there's no problem in returning the unicorn horn to the beast.

Seeing that Zhou Zixing was still holding the unicorn horn and hadn't moved, the beast howled again, as if urging him on. Zhou Zixing nodded after hearing Qian Ying's words, then, still holding the unicorn horn, went to the beast. He watched as the beast merged the horn back into its head, then turned and leaped into the lake. After swimming a few times, its massive body disappeared completely.

It seems that the beast's injuries have almost healed, otherwise it wouldn't have made such a big move or jumped into the lake.

"Hey! This guy's moving pretty fast, like he's afraid of being left on the shore..." Zhou Zixing said to Qian Ying with a hint of sarcasm upon seeing the beast's actions. The beast had just leaped into the lake, and if Zhou Zixing hadn't immediately used his innate domain to envelop himself, he would have been drenched.

The beast was over twenty meters long, nearly thirty meters long. When it leaped into the lake, the splash it made was absolutely like a wall of water rushing up the lake surface.

Perhaps the beast did it on purpose; otherwise, it wouldn't have jumped so high right by the lake and then crashed into the water.

"I think this beast deliberately ran away and deliberately splashed so much water." Zhou Zixing said speechlessly, but he didn't hear a reply. He turned his head and saw that Qian Ying had walked to the iron chain bridge and was touching the entire bridge body and surface with her hands.

"Elder Qian, what have you figured out?" Zhou Zixing immediately stepped forward, walked onto the iron chain bridge, and stood behind Qian Ying to ask.

Incidentally, he also stepped on the wooden planks of the bridge, and his hands were not idle either. Like Qian Ying, he touched the iron rings to see if the material was as smooth as sheep dung, or if it was already corroded into dust inside.

However, it felt icy cold to the touch, with a metallic feel. Furthermore, the entire chain was metallic in color, without a trace of rust.

"These are truly amazing! These iron rings and wooden planks are definitely not ordinary things." Qian Ying squatted down and touched the wooden planks, but she couldn't tell what kind of wood they were made of. All she could tell was that the wood was all made of dark wood, which was very sturdy and even produced a metallic sound when struck. It was definitely a high-quality item.

With a clang, Qian Ying drew his innate short sword and chopped down at a piece of wood, but apart from the crisp sound, nothing else happened. The place on the wood that was chopped only had a small mark, nothing else.

"So sturdy?!" Zhou Zixing, unconvinced, drew his innate short sword and slashed at it with all his might. His wrist even trembled; it was indeed extremely sturdy.

"I wonder if all these pieces of wood are equally sturdy." Qian Ying stood up and looked along the bridge, seemingly spotting the suspension bridge across the lake.

However, because the bridge is located on the lake and there is still more than 500 meters away, and the lake surface is covered by water mist, the building on the other side cannot be seen clearly, only a blurry outline.

“It seems that if we want to get through this, we still need to test the waters first,” Qian Ying said to Zhou Zixing again.

"Yes, we need to test it. Otherwise, it would be bad if the bridge collapsed while we were walking on it," Zhou Zixing said.

“Yes, that’s right. Let Ouyang Nan’s team scout it out. As long as they can safely cross this suspension bridge, then we can all cross safely,” Qian Ying said with a slight smile.

Zhou Zixing was immediately dumbfounded. When did he say that he wanted Ouyang Nan's team to explore and test it? Was that what he just said? He only mentioned that the bridge might collapse or something, he really didn't say that he wanted Ouyang Nan to test it.

Damn it, if this gets back to Li Mo, will he even want to live?

I remembered encountering that guy in the thick fog of the hills. He grabbed me by the neck with one hand and lifted me up with the other, leaving me no chance to resist.

He's a second-level Innate Realm expert, yet he didn't put up any resistance. If something unexpected happens, wouldn't I just be handing over my head?
Qian Ying, that old bastard, definitely has no good intentions; he's absolutely trying to set him up.

"Hehe, Elder Qian, having Ouyang Nan and his team test it might not be a good idea. After all, their strength is limited. It would be better if you and I walked across this bridge ourselves. We could better investigate whether the bridge is sturdy. And after crossing the lake, we could see the situation on the other side immediately." Zhou Zixing definitely didn't want to face Chen Mo, so he could only offer his opinion tactfully.

"How much strength do we have left? We've just been continuously circulating our dantian energy and taking replenishing pills, and the innate power in our dantians is almost gone. We're also physically and mentally exhausted. If a strange beast appears now, I'll have no choice but to retreat." Qian Ying was speaking the truth; both of them only had about a third of their innate power left in their dantians. Furthermore, after taking replenishing pills, they needed to meditate and rest.

Hearing Qian Ying's words, Zhou Zixing was also taken aback. He had been thinking about Chen Mo's strength, but he hadn't realized at all that his own strength was already depleted and he needed to rest and recover.

"This..." He fell silent for a moment.