Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 63 How Bones Are Made

"Ride a boat." Shen Tang's voice came from not far away. The master and disciple turned around and saw Shen Tang rowing a wheelchair alone up the mountain with difficulty, braving the snow.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned, and his first reaction was: "Little White Hair, you're not even going to push me?"

Shen Tang's smile disappeared immediately: "Should I help you lock you two in a secret room and watch you all the time, every day!"

Lu Xingzhou held An Nuo in his arms, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless: "I'm obviously concerned about you. It's snowing, and you're pushing your wheelchair up the mountain alone..."

Shen Tang knew that his pitiful look was just an act, but for some reason he couldn't get angry. He just said with a straight face, "I'm a fourth-rank martial artist, and you told me it was snowing."

"But it doesn't change the fact that we came here in the snow."

Shen Tang fell silent for a moment before saying, "I don't know how Qingli and you fought over there, but I feel like she's benefited greatly and is currently in seclusion to break through. She was already on the cusp of the fourth rank, so she'll be at the fourth rank when she comes out."

Lu Xingzhou nodded.

On the surface, almost all the profits from this operation belonged to him, while others contributed greatly but received little. In reality, this area, once thoroughly explored, could be considered the territory of the Tianxing Sword Sect. The entire secret area, including the spirit stone mine, belonged to Shen Tang. Although he had property rights to the mountain behind him, and theoretically owned half of the secret realm, he clearly wouldn't compete with Shen Tang for this.

As for Anuo, he never differentiates between his own daughters.

So only Little White Hair gained nothing. Since she was able to gain benefits and breakthroughs from the battle, it was not a wasted trip.

As for the supplies, I'll find a way to return some later...

To be honest, her breakthrough is probably related to the impact on her soul... I just hope she doesn't become more indifferent as she makes more breakthroughs.

Shen Tang continued, "So how did you fight? I didn't see any enemies at the scene... Was her breakthrough due to harmonizing yin and yang?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Facing Anuo's eyes that looked like he was eating melons, Shen Tang finally felt that his sarcastic behavior seemed to make no sense. In the final analysis, the relationship between everyone was just that of a tenant and a landlord, a guest official and a clan leader.

She finally took a deep breath and tried to maintain a calm tone, "You really like Qingli. You should seize the opportunity. Qingli left Hanchuan primarily to gain experience and seek the path to the Third Rank. Protecting me was just one of her tasks in this journey. Now that the Tianxing Sword Sect is firmly established, there's probably no point for her to stay. Now that she's broken through to the Fourth Rank, she might leave at any moment."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Safety isn't necessarily a given. Seeing that Fenxianglou has become our mortal enemy, and we've lost Jin Mingxiu, we're much weaker in comparison. If they're determined to attack, we have no guarantee of victory..."

Shen Tang gritted his teeth.

He didn't deny that he liked Qingli... Yes, since I got to know him, his love for Qingli was obvious.

Lu Xingzhou continued, "Besides, where did Xu Bingkun's demon come from, and who injured him? This matter has not been resolved. I have no idea, and I always feel that there are some unknown risks. And this risk is still possible to be related to our secret realm. After all, Xiazhou's special places are mainly concentrated here... You should pay more attention to it."

"Got it." Shen Tang was well aware of all this and asked, "So your combat power is crucial... How is your Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent now?"

"It's feasible. This place is particularly advantageous for practicing this technique. I've been practicing for most of the day and have already reached the ninth level."

Shen Tang was stunned: "So fast!"

"For experienced martial artists, starting over is easy, but the subsequent steps won't be so easy..." Lu Xingzhou felt a headache. "It's a brand new technique, and it'll take me a while to fully grasp it. There are some parts that I don't even fully understand. The more advanced the practice, the greater the obstacles will be."

Shen Tang nodded. "That's unavoidable... If you have any questions, you can discuss them with Qingli and me. Now that you've reached the Ninth Rank, the concept of Yin and Yang has taken shape. Now is the time to try refining your leg bones, right?"

"Sure." Lu Xingzhou's eyes sparkled. "Are the things ready?"

"Of course I came here to bring you something."

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

…………

Anuo was once again left alone to play a supporting role.

No matter how similar bone refining is to alchemy, it's not really alchemy. Its essence is closer to refining weapons, and the alchemy auxiliary plug-in An Nuo is of little use in this matter. Lu Xingzhou said, "You just overdrew and haven't recovered yet, you need to rest well." He left An Nuo at home to look after the house, and he and Shen Tang went into the pool.

Anuo squatted by the pond with his knees hugged, looking at the ripples spreading in the pond with resentment. He always felt that his master actually just wanted to take a bath with Sister Shen Tang in private, and didn't want there to be a big lantern next to them.

Anuo guessed right.

Shen Tang looked particularly handsome when he got soaked after diving into the pool. It was embarrassing to look at him too much because there were so many people around, but now he could look at him openly.

Shen Tang emerged from the pool dripping wet. She saw Lu Xingzhou sitting in the wheelchair, looking clean and refreshed. She laughed out loud: "Your wheelchair is very interesting. It can even sail underwater." Lu Xingzhou looked at her curves, which were made more graceful by the wetness. The bellyband inside was faintly visible, which was really beautiful.

He answered seriously, "After all, I've been using a wheelchair all my life. It's built to the specifications of a magic weapon, and it can handle anything..."

Shen Tang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and silently used his internal energy to steam the clothes dry.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou staring at her intently, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him: "Pervert."

This glance was truly charming, and Lu Xingzhou felt as if he had been electrocuted. He coughed dryly, "Don't talk nonsense. This is called loving beauty. Everyone has a heart. What's wrong with taking a few glances?"

"Yes, yes, I touched my legs so many times while they were being treated because I loved beauty."

This straight ball caught Lu Xingzhou off guard.

Are you speaking so directly now?
Seeing Lu Xingzhou's dazed look, Shen Tang pushed his wheelchair towards the aisle naturally as if nothing had happened.

Lu Xingzhou also fell silent. The atmosphere was quiet for a moment. Only the sound of the wheelchair rolling in the passage was heard, which was particularly clear in the deserted cave.

They both felt the same way... they had so much to say to each other, yet somehow, the words seemed to reach their lips and they felt a strange sense of being speechless. It was as if the very thought of saying something would be thwarted, leaving them speechless.

It’s better to quietly push the wheelchair and walk together... It’s as if many years later a pair of white-haired old people, pushing their spouse’s wheelchair, strolling in the streets of the county town at dusk after dinner, with the moon on the willow branches, and the wheelchair rolling on the bluestone slabs making a rhythmic clattering sound, and the hearts of both of them gradually become peaceful with this sound.

Lu Xingzhou's face was originally calm, but in fact he was even more anxious and worried than An Nuo just now. He was so nervous that his heartstrings were tense, but he slowly calmed down in this tranquility.

Looking back, what were you nervous about before?
I don’t remember... There was no enemy at all, it was just a sacrifice of treasures, what was there to be nervous about?
Before they knew it, they had reached the point where the dragon and the tiger met.

Anuo's manhole cover had been taken away by Lu Xingzhou before. Any magic weapon would be burned out if it was exposed to such burning for a long time. Lu Xingzhou didn't want to see Anuo wake up and cry.

What you see now is a cluster of flames rising from the cave entrance. As the flames spew out, high temperature spreads throughout the entire secret realm.

"I knew there must be underground fire here, but I never thought there was something in the fire... This kid Anuo..." Lu Xingzhou sighed and finally spoke to break the silence.

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

As soon as I said this, my face suddenly felt hot again, as if there was a double entendre.

Lu Xingzhou didn't know whether he heard it or not, as his mind didn't seem to be on these things. He quickly took out a furnace from his ring and pressed it down on the place where the underground fire was erupting.

Different alchemy furnaces have quite different uses for alchemy. Lu Xingzhou carries several types with him. This one, however, is capable of gathering high temperatures, specifically for refining insoluble natural treasures. While it's not very useful for extracting or blending medicinal properties, it's perfectly suited for this purpose.

"The one that is refined with fire first, although it is more difficult to melt, at least there will be no mutual repulsion and it will not explode easily." Lu Xingzhou took a deep breath, first put the essence of fire into the furnace, and then took a few pieces of fluxing materials handed over by Shen Tang and put them in together.

The furnace cover is closed.

The alchemy furnace has a special window to observe the condition of the elixir inside. Lu Xingzhou stared closely, watching the flux material slowly soften the essence of fire bit by bit.

Shen Tang, who was an amateur in alchemy, leaned over and watched with some curiosity.

It is difficult for outsiders to imagine how a bunch of herbs or minerals can be transformed into a round shape by mixing them together and putting them into a furnace. Now, after watching this, I have gained some insights.

The inside of the furnace is a bit like a whirlpool. As it heats up, it keeps spinning, stirring up everything put into it into a ball. After thousands of rotations, it will naturally become round.

In fact, in the hands of alchemists with powerful control, such as Lu Xingzhou, the internal rotation is controllable. For example, it can be divided into several zones and rotate simultaneously, so that multiple pills can be refined in one furnace at the same time. If such a combination of medicinal properties is not required, the alchemist can also completely control the rotation angle and choose to refine the pill into other forms.

Anuo once tried to refine a pill that looked like a little rabbit, but the medicinal effect was uneven, so it was a useless pill.

With the earth fire, Lu Xingzhou didn't need to worry about the Dan fire problem at all, and all his energy was put into internal control.

Shen Tang watched helplessly as the Fire Essence softened, resembling a piece of red gummy candy. Lu Xingzhou then poured some of the auxiliary ingredients used to refine bone mimicry and blend flesh and blood into the furnace, breaking it up and kneading it into the gummy candy. Then, applying pressure and rotation at various angles, he forcibly compressed the Fire Essence into a thin column.

Then, after grinding left and right, the shape of a bone gradually emerged, as red as ruby, and with a faint glow.

It was very hot here, and Lu Xingzhou was fully engaged, and sweat flowed into his eyes unknowingly.

Lu Xingzhou subconsciously wanted to wipe it, but Shen Tang had already taken out a silk scarf and gently wiped it on him: "Don't be distracted, I'm here."

(End of this chapter)