The Merit Furnace: Karmic Sin Descends Along With It!

He could make somewhat inferior cast iron in his own furnace.

But steel was different. It was already considered military equipment.

Techniques like the finery process and the crucible steel process could only be controlled by the imperial court or the great clans.

And even among the great clans, many had never mastered these techniques.

Yet now Chen Fan had simply slapped his forehead and said he was going to make steel.

Wei Zheng would have to be out of his mind to believe him.

"Don't believe me? If you don't, you can leave!"

Chen Fan chuckled and teased Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng had guessed right. Chen Fan hadn't brought up this technique on a whim.

The main reason was that Chen Fan knew his wife's true identity.

He needed to pick up the pace and make Li Shimin realize how important he was as soon as possible.

And compared with the increase in grain production, which wouldn't be seen for another six months,

making steel was something that could clearly boost the army's combat strength right away.

It was exactly what Li Shimin wanted!

After all, everyone knew that although Emperor Li Er was wise and mighty, he was also petty.

The White Horse Alliance by the Wei River was the greatest humiliation of Emperor Li Er's life.

As long as he could smelt steel, Li Er's favorability toward him would shoot through the roof!

Of course, the most important thing was that this earthen kiln wasn't only useful for currying favor with Li Er.

He could also use it to make glass!

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes. Although this world's Great Tang had gods and demons walking among mortals,

the art of making colored glass still hadn't spread to Great Tang.

As a result, brightly colored glass remained valuable in Great Tang.

The only problem was that glass without Spiritual Energy might not fetch a high price.

The reason jade and glass were so precious in this world

was that they contained pure Spiritual Energy, which could nourish the body and prolong life.

Faced with Chen Fan's words, Wei Zheng wisely stayed silent.

Until he saw proof, Wei Zheng wasn't about to make any rash judgments.

"Chen Fan, should I get started?"

Nezha hopped over to the earthen kiln and turned to look at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan nodded calmly, then said to Wei Zheng,

"Lord Wei, the kiln will get extremely hot, and molten iron can easily splash out.

You're not wearing protective gear, so don't come near it. Keep your distance!"

Wei Zheng looked at Chen Fan, then at Nezha, who didn't even reach his waist.

For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to shove Chen Fan's head into the blast furnace.

You know the place is dangerous, yet you're sending a child over there?

Although the child looked like a cultivator,

a child was still a child. How could anyone put him in danger?

"That's Nezha!"

Chen Fan said calmly. He had learned Wei Zheng's identity from Zhang Tianyu,

so there was no need to hide Nezha's identity from him.

Sure enough, Wei Zheng immediately relaxed when he heard that.

He even took half a step back without making it obvious.

There was no helping it. Nezha's reputation as a devil incarnate was well known in the Heavenly Court.

Wei Zheng had once been merely a Heavenly Court clerk. Even though he had now become a ranked official in the Bureau of Justice,

a mere seventh-rank official was nothing compared to the mighty fourth-rank Marshal of the Central Altar.

He wasn't even worthy of carrying Nezha's shoes.

Still, Wei Zheng didn't want anything to do with Nezha.

Given his temperament, if he had to deal with Nezha,

there was only one possible outcome: he would try to stop Nezha from running wild,

then get run through by the Fire-Tipped Spear and wait to be revived in the Immortalizing Pool.

"Wind Fire Wheels, go!"

Nezha leaped three yards into the air, kicked both legs, and landed with a backflip.

Two rays of Golden Light shot out from beneath Nezha's feet and disappeared into the earthen kiln.

"Remember to control the temperature. Don't melt the iron ore!"

Chen Fan called out anxiously. Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels burned at an extremely high temperature.

They couldn't match Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace, but ordinary iron ore still couldn't withstand them.

If they hadn't been unable to find a sufficient supply of coal in the short term,

Chen Fan wouldn't have turned to Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels.

"Got it! Leave it to me!"

Nezha slapped his chest proudly and called back.

Since the Investiture of the Gods, Nezha's cultivation had been capped at the Golden Immortal realm.

Cultivation alone could no longer raise his level,

so Nezha could only improve his combat strength by honing his Magic Power and mastering his spiritual treasures.

At the Golden Immortal level, Nezha was practically in a league of his own.

After all, anyone with talent and resources had already broken through ages ago.

"Good! Dazhuang, Acai, hurry up and get the iron ore in!"

At Chen Fan's command, basket after basket of iron ore was carried over.

Then Niu Acai tossed it into the earthen kiln.

The Wind Fire Wheels spun, and wind and fire surged. The iron ore melted in an instant.

Thick black smoke poured out of the earthen kiln, and streams of molten iron flowed from another opening.

"Hurry, hurry! Pour the molten iron into the molds!"

A seasoned blacksmith came out and hurriedly took charge.

Bai Qianli, who had been silently watching from a distance, suddenly looked up. The winds and clouds were churning overhead.

Golden Light covered half the sky, while a roiling mass of black-red karmic clouds filled the other half.

"Merit and Karmic Debt are descending together. This thing may well be going against the natural order!"

With his vast knowledge, Bai Qianli immediately pinpointed the source of the Karmic Debt.

That black smoke was actually polluting Spiritual Energy!

Nezha looked up as well, his little face full of conflicted feelings.

He liked merit, but merit mixed with Karmic Debt was a real pain in the neck!

At the same time, in a lush, verdant Spiritual Mountain an unknown distance from Zhao Family Village,

a child in red seemed to sense something and lifted his head.

"Is my opportunity over there?"

"Chapter Forty-Three: A Blast Furnace Brings Merit, and Karmic Debt Descends Too!"

"Guards!"

Red Boy rose from the stone chair, looked east, and summoned a group of little demons.

"Bring those Mountain Gods and land gods here!"

At Red Boy's command, the little demons cheered and brought over the Mountain Gods and land gods.

Three Mountain Gods and five land gods were forced to their knees by the little demons.

"Great King, we've brought the Mountain Gods and land gods. There are still dozens more farther away..."