Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

After dinner and a short rest, Qiu Rang, Cheng Mo, and Xia He returned to the work area.

They began to try to interface the newly manufactured modules with the remaining core furnace body of the body-shaping furnace through interface modules.

The docking process went relatively smoothly.

Qiu Rang placed the two roughly crafted iron galls into the furnace, walked to the simplified control panel, and began to carefully guide his own Qi into them.

Empty... slurping...

Click click...

A sound far more chaotic and unstable than the previous operation of the cultivation furnace came from inside the furnace.

Xia He nudged Cheng Mo with her elbow and lowered her voice, "This commotion isn't right, is it? It sounds like it's about to fall apart at any moment!"

Cheng Mo nodded silently, his eyes fixed on the connection points of the new modules: "The stability of the interfaces wasn't handled well, and the stress is uneven. I don't think they'll last long."

About fifteen minutes later, Ding Ziheng curiously ran out to see the progress and saw that Qiu Rang had stopped transmitting Qi and looked depressed.

Ding Ziheng asked, "Why did it stop? The light hasn't turned green yet."

Qiu Rang sighed, "We can't afford to lose again. If we lose any more Qi, the structure might collapse."

He had barely finished speaking—

Bang! Crash! Splash...

With a series of loud noises, the modules that had just been assembled scattered all over the ground, returning to their original state as parts.

The core furnace itself also shook, but fortunately it did not suffer any further damage.

"what?"

Everyone turned their heads at the sound, and Ma Xianhong was already standing at the door of the inner room, quietly looking at the pile of freshly burned remains on the ground.

The air froze instantly.

Chou Rang glared at Ding Ziheng resentfully, exchanging glances: Why did you let the cult leader out?

Ding Ziheng looked completely innocent and responded silently: How should I know! He was lying there obediently yesterday!

Cheng Mo coughed lightly, trying to explain, "Um... Lao Ma, let me explain, we're doing modular testing, and there might still be some minor issues with the interface design..."

Xia He quietly tugged at Cheng Mo's sleeve from behind, giving him a meaningful look: What's the point of explaining? Let's run away before he gets angry.

To everyone's surprise, Ma Xianhong waved his hand without showing any anger. He even praised Qiu Rang, saying, "Rang, you were quite clever this time. That's how you learn weapon crafting. You have to combine theory with practice to learn quickly. Well done."

He then turned to Cheng Mo and smiled, "Brother Cheng, there's no need to worry. Actually, after the last experiment, I've been thinking about making major modifications to the Body Refining Furnace. You guys can use this old one to practice first. It'll be perfect. After I rest for another day and feel better, we can discuss it properly together."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it's great that the cult leader/Old Ma thinks this way.

They tacitly agreed not to bring up the fact that the stove had already exploded once.

Qiu Rang chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe, whatever you say is good, Master! We were just speculating, just speculating..."

Ding Ziheng quickly chimed in, "That's right, that's right. I always said the leader is magnanimous. Old Chou, why are you worrying unnecessarily?"

Qiu Rang: "..." You've said all the nice things.

He turned to Ma Xianhong excitedly and talked about the idea of ​​modular design, emphasizing that it was mainly Cheng Mo's idea.

Ma Xianhong nodded repeatedly, his gaze towards Cheng Mo filled with even more admiration: "This idea is indeed ingenious. Brother Cheng, you are simply a genius in weapon crafting."

Cheng Mo said helplessly, "I can't even sense Qi, so what kind of genius am I at refining artifacts?"

Ma Xianhong chuckled: "That's two different things. Let's talk about this modularization. I think the collaborative design of the interface module and the protection module is very important, otherwise, like just now, it's easy for it to fall apart..."

Qiu Rang repeatedly agreed: "Yes, yes, yes! We've been thinking about it, the interface's stability is still not enough. It couldn't even withstand the forging of two iron galls just now."

Ding Ziheng punched him lightly: "The leader isn't fully recovered yet, and you're rambling on and on. What if you tire him out?"

Ma Xianhong waved his hand with a smile: "It's alright, but talking too much does make me a little dizzy. How about I talk to you in detail tomorrow?"

Cheng Mo stepped forward and patted Ma Xianhong on the shoulder: "Alright, Lao Ma, you get some rest. We'll go back first." He then nodded to Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng, and pulled Xia He away from the Xiu Shen Tang.

Once Cheng Mo and Xia He were out of sight, Ma Xianhong's body went limp, and he quickly grabbed Qiu Rang's arm: "Quick, help me back to bed... I can't stand anymore..."

Qiu Rang: "..."

Ding Ziheng: "Hahaha, Master, so you were just putting on an act earlier? You still have an idol image to maintain?"

Ma Xianhong glared at Ding Ziheng with annoyance.

Back at the cabin, Xia He couldn't help but ask Cheng Mo, "Do you think Village Chief Ma was sincere just now? I get the feeling... he doesn't seem that concerned about the fact that the cultivation furnace is broken again?"

"Maybe people in tech are more accepting of failure?" Cheng Mo poured himself a glass of water, shook his head, and said, "I don't understand. Oh well, time to practice and sleep. I'll think about it tomorrow."

In a guesthouse in a small town in Guizhou, Bi Yuan lay on a hard bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He thought about the events in Biyou Village that he had discussed with the president earlier—the unexpected arrivals of Cheng Mo and Xia He, Qiu Rang teaching Cheng Mo the Divine Refinement Technique, and even working together to modify the Body Refining Furnace.

He had expected the president to react, or at least give some instructions, but the president simply replied calmly, "I understand."

Bi Yuan turned over and stared at the moldy spot on the wall.

What exactly is the president planning to do? Does he genuinely not mind, or... does he have other plans?

The mournful hooting of owls drifted in from outside the window.

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply closed his eyes.

Never mind, the president's thoughts are never easy to fathom. Just do your job well.

……

The next day, Bi Yuan returned to Biyou Village and ran into Ding Ziheng delivering ingredients. After chatting for a few words, he went straight to the Cultivation Hall.

Ma Xianhong was still lying in bed when he heard footsteps and opened his eyes: "Grandpa Bi is back?"

Bi Yuan sat down on a chair by the bed, somewhat puzzled: "When I first arrived, I ran into Ziheng, and he said you were able to get out of bed and walk around by yourself yesterday."

Ma Xianhong forced a smile: "I can walk, but I'm a bit tired. After thinking about it, I think I'll just lie down more."

Just then, Qiu Rang brought in a basin of hot water, wrung out a towel, and handed it to Ma Xianhong: "Master, wipe your face."

As he served him, he muttered, "The leader stood for too long last night, and his body is still weak."

After wiping his face, Qiu Rang suddenly remembered something and his eyes lit up: "By the way, Master, Brother Cheng mentioned an idea before, which I think is quite interesting."

Ma Xianhong: "What?"

Qiu Rang gestured: "It's about using runes that store information to pre-design the rules of action and create an automatic puppet. In this way, the puppet can take care of the sect leader 24 hours a day, lend a hand when forging weapons, and even be used in battle."

Ma Xianhong nodded: "I've also considered that, but I've been focused on the Body Cultivation Furnace lately and haven't had time to think about it in detail. Now that you mention it, perhaps we can make the automated puppet first."

Qiu Rang asked curiously, "Wasn't the cultivation furnace broken? How can it still be used to make puppets?"

Bi Yuan immediately glared at him.

Qiu Rang chuckled and scratched the back of his head: "It's nothing, the sect leader saw it all last night."

Ma Xianhong waved his hand: "Grandpa Bi, don't blame Qiu Rang. I think he did a good job this time. Anyway, the furnace is going to be greatly modified, so it's perfect for teaching. Qiu Rang can also gain more insights."

Qiu Rang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes."

Bi Yuan felt something was off, but seeing that Ma Xianhong didn't seem angry, he let it go.

Just then, Ding Ziheng, along with Cheng Mo and Xia He, arrived to deliver tonics to Ma Xianhong.