At daybreak, Cloud Mist Villa was shrouded in morning mist. The air was filled with the fresh scent of plants and a faint spiritual energy, refreshing to the senses. Qin Yu rose on time and practiced the Heaven-Reaching Chart in the courtyard. Every move grew more refined as his body drove the Xiantian power through him. His fists stirred howling winds, scattering the mist around him. Xiao Hei circled nearby, occasionally letting out a clear cry to cheer him on.
Yun Ce sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, a cup of spirit tea in his hands as he watched Qin Yu with approval. After just one night of nourishment, the Meteor Tear's energy had completely fused with Qin Yu's body and meridians. His aura, at the peak of the late Xiantian stage, had grown steadier, and his physical strength had improved since the day before. In time, breaking through to the peak of External Martial Arts would come as naturally as water flowing downhill.
Just as Qin Yu finished his moves and began regulating his breath, a thought suddenly flashed through Yun Ce's mind. His eyes lit up—he had remembered another of Qin Yu's early opportunities from the original story: the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron hidden in the Stone Forest on Yunlan Mountain.
The Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron was a rare treasure of heaven and earth, containing vast amounts of fire-element spiritual energy. It was an excellent material for refining cultivators' spirit artifacts. Weapons made from ordinary iron, no matter how sharp, could not withstand a cultivator's spiritual power. But after being refined with a cultivator's True Fire, the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron could be forged into spirit artifacts of all kinds, such as sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. It was not only incredibly hard, but could also enhance fire-element power. It suited Qin Yu's future path of cultivation and would be a great help to him as he ventured into the cultivation world and faced the Conquest of Chu.
Now that Qin Yu had obtained the Meteor Tear and his body and meridians had been nourished to the utmost, this was the perfect time to find him a suitable weapon. Though the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron was hidden deep in the Stone Forest and would escape the notice of ordinary cultivators, Yun Ce's spiritual sense, at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, could find it without much difficulty.
With that in mind, Yun Ce set down his spirit tea without hesitation. His aura stirred faintly as his spiritual sense, at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, quietly unfurled like an invisible net. It spread across all of Cloud Mist Villa, then extended toward Yunlan Mountain.
Yunlan Mountain was steep, with lush vegetation. Its depths were scattered with jagged rocks, forming an expansive Stone Forest. People rarely ventured there, and its spiritual energy was richer than elsewhere, but its complicated terrain also concealed dangers. Ordinary cultivators would not dare venture far inside. That was why the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron had remained undiscovered until now.
Like flowing water, Yun Ce's spiritual sense swept slowly across every inch of Yunlan Mountain, carefully searching each unusual rock in the Stone Forest. Though the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron was concealed inside ordinary rock, it gave off a faint but distinctive trace of fire-element spiritual energy, unlike the energy around it. Even wrapped in stone, it could not escape the notice of spiritual sense at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage.
After regulating his breath, Qin Yu saw Yun Ce sitting with his eyes closed. His aura was calm, yet faint ripples of spiritual sense spread around him. Knowing his master was searching for something, Qin Yu did not disturb him. He simply led Xiao Hei to one side and continued refining his cultivation technique, occasionally glancing at Yun Ce with deep respect.
Time passed slowly as Yun Ce searched the Stone Forest on Yunlan Mountain, moving from its outskirts to its depths and overlooking no detail. At first, every rock he examined was ordinary, containing only common earth- and stone-element spiritual energy, with no trace of fire-element energy. But Yun Ce did not grow impatient. He continued his careful search, knowing that the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron was rare and deeply hidden. Finding it required patience.
Xiao Hei seemed to sense what Yun Ce was doing. It stopped circling and landed on Qin Yu's shoulder, its sharp eyes fixed on Yunlan Mountain as though it too were helping with the search.
About half an hour later, when Yun Ce's spiritual sense reached a massive boulder in the deepest part of the Stone Forest, he finally detected a faint yet pure trace of fire-element spiritual energy. It was wrapped in layers of thick rock and would have been nearly impossible to detect without a careful search. This was the aura of the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron! Delighted, Yun Ce rose and moved swiftly. The aura of the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage quietly emerged, and a flash of spiritual light appeared beneath his feet. In an instant, he had flown to the deepest part of the Stone Forest and landed before the enormous boulder. It weighed roughly ten thousand pounds and was gray-black, its surface covered in moss. It looked no different from the other rocks around it. Without his keen spiritual sense, he would never have noticed the treasure hidden inside.
Yun Ce looked up at the boulder, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. He raised his hand and struck it with a palm, concentrating the spiritual power of the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage in his palm. He used no unnecessary force, landing the blow precisely on the boulder's surface. Boom! The entire Stone Forest trembled faintly as stone fragments flew through the air and the ten-thousand-pound boulder shattered. Dust filled the air. When it cleared, a fist-sized, deep-red crystal giving off faint fire-element spiritual energy lay among the rubble. It was a piece of the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron!
Yun Ce waved away the rubble, revealing the deep-red crystal. It was remarkably unusual: about half as tall as Qin Yu, shaped like a regular cylinder—or, more precisely, like a rod, though much thicker and shorter than an ordinary one. It was roughly as thick as an adult's thigh, deep red all over like a blazing flame, and its surface had a warm luster. Vast amounts of fire-element spiritual energy swirled around it, purer and richer than the energy in ordinary Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron. "I didn't expect to find something like this as well," Yun Ce murmured, a flicker of delight in his eyes. He bent down and gripped the red crystal rod with both hands. The moment he touched it, a warm sensation spread from his palms through his body. It was not scorching, but warm and weighty, like sunlight. He secretly circulated his spiritual power to gauge its weight and understood at once: the crystal rod weighed a full two thousand pounds!
Yun Ce stored the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron in his storage ring, then returned to the courtyard at Cloud Mist Villa. Qin Yu had heard the distant crash and was still wondering what had happened. When Yun Ce returned carrying a red crystal rod half his height and as thick as a thigh, Qin Yu's eyes lit up. He quickly stopped practicing, stepped forward, and bowed. "Master, what did you find? Was that loud crash just now your doing?" His eyes stayed fixed on the red crystal rod. He could clearly sense the vast fire-element spiritual energy within it, and he was astonished.
Seeing Qin Yu's curiosity, Yun Ce did not hide the truth. He explained gently, "I found a rare material deep in the Stone Forest on Yunlan Mountain. It's called Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron. This red crystal is an excellent material for refining spirit artifacts. That crash was from my breaking apart a ten-thousand-pound boulder to retrieve it. I found it by chance, hidden at the very core of the boulder. It weighs a full two thousand pounds and contains pure fire-element spiritual energy." As he spoke, Yun Ce set the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron on the ground. It landed with a dull thud, making the earth tremble faintly.
"A ten-thousand-pound boulder! Two thousand pounds of Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron!" Qin Yu stared in shock. He reached out to touch the crystal, but the moment he felt its warmth, he flinched and quickly pulled his hand back. "It's so heavy! And its fire-element spiritual energy is so powerful! Master, can this crystal really be used to refine a spirit artifact?" He had not tried to lift it, but he could feel the rod's weight from the tremor in the ground. His respect for Yun Ce grew even greater. The ability to shatter a ten-thousand-pound boulder with a casual strike—that was the power of a great expert at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage!
Xiao Hei seemed to understand the word "weapon." It let out a clear cry and spread its wings, circling above the courtyard in excitement.
Yun Ce nodded slightly, his eyes lingering on the red crystal with a thoughtful look. "We've found the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron. I'll use it to make you a suitable weapon, one that matches your current physical strength. This material is unusual. It contains exceptionally pure fire-element spiritual energy, and its shape is regular. Once you break through to the peak of External Martial Arts and your body grows stronger, I'll forge it into a spirit artifact for you. It'll be perfectly suited to your cultivation. Now that Qin Yu has the Meteor Tear nourishing him, his cultivation speed has increased greatly. It won't be long before he reaches the peak of External Martial Arts. When that time comes, with a spirit artifact in hand and his formidable physical strength, Qin Yu's combat prowess will rise to a whole new level."
The morning mist gradually dispersed. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell over the courtyard at Cloud Mist Villa, illuminating Qin Yu's resolute face and the red crystal, which gleamed brightly. He looked at the crystal, then at Yun Ce, his heart filled with anticipation—anticipation of the day he would break through to the peak of External Martial Arts, the day he would own a weapon of his own, and, most of all, the day four years from now when he could lead an army into the Conquest of Chu with a spirit artifact in hand and avenge his mother.
Yun Ce stood to one side, watching Qin Yu with hopeful eyes. He knew Qin Yu's journey had only just begun. The Meteor Tear was an opportunity, and the Stone-Embedded Yan Chi Iron was another. All he could do was pave the way for Qin Yu and accompany him as he grew, until he could stand on his own.
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