Earthfire Furnaces, Hearts Blinded by Greed

Fire God Gully)

Although its name contains the word "gully," the current Fire God Gully is vast, encompassing more than a dozen mountain peaks.

Most of these mountains are actually quite beautiful, unlike the horrifying sight of scorched earth and red soil that most people might imagine after hearing their names.

Because of the natural geothermal activity, the soil is fertile, the trees are tall and strong, with glossy green leaves, and it is evergreen all year round.

However, near the workshops in the valley, medicated salt was deliberately sprinkled, causing the soil to become grayish-yellow and hardened, barren of any vegetation.

Hou Renyu was currently in a workshop in the eastern part of Fire God Gully.

The house had a tin roof and thick brick walls, with pillars over three zhang (approximately 10 meters) high, and large doors and windows everywhere, allowing for ventilation.

However, a deep crevice now runs across the floor of the workshop, narrow at both ends and wide in the middle.

In the widest part, one can see the crimson glow of the subterranean fire, which occasionally leaps up, its flames licking the stone bricks at the edge of the crack, sending sparks flying.

Hou Renyu had a handsome face, brown eyes with black pupils, thin lips and a long beard. Even though he was dressed in a gold-threaded white cloth outfit, he still had an elegant demeanor like someone wearing a tall crown and long robe.

But at this moment, he stroked his beard with one hand, the end of which trembled slightly, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.

"Have those blond-haired barbarians all confessed?"

A disciple behind him bowed and said, "Fellow disciples, they are currently interrogating you."

Hou Renyu suppressed his anger and turned to leave.

The torture took place not in a workshop, but several miles away, in a mountain valley, by a river.

Wooden stakes were driven into the riverbank, and a dozen blond men, their shirts removed, were tied to the stakes.

Everyone's belly, chest, ears, and cheeks were covered with patches of yellow mud of all sizes.

The elderly man at the head of the group, with blond hair and a golden beard, a broad forehead and a wide mouth, was still able to maintain his composure, but the young priests were clearly already filled with fear and unease, their eyes darting around nervously.

This kind of gunpowder, which resembles yellow mud, only requires a piece the size of a fingertip to blast a yellow ox to pieces, leaving no trace of its flesh and bones.

However, this drug is extremely stable and cannot be detonated by ordinary fuses. Even if it is thrown into a fire to bake, hammered on a red-hot iron brick, or struck by lightning, it will not explode.

Only the Death-Claiming Sword Technique, requiring at least the Fourteenth Sword level of Sword Intent, can unleash its power.

Legend has it that the Sword Death-Claiming Sword God went astray during his Fifteenth Sword strike, nearly leading him to his death.

After the revision, when the Sixteenth Sword was developed, he was able to achieve the simultaneous flight of his soul and sword, and control the flow of qi and fire, which is at the level of a top-tier master in the world today.

The Fourteenth Sword, while still some distance from that of a top-tier master.

But looking across the world, perhaps only one in several thousand martial artists can reach this level.

Those who not only reach this level but also specialize in Death-Claiming Sword Technique are even fewer.

Only in Fire God Gully, after developing this medicinal mud, did they specifically recruit talent, resulting in a large number of such swordsmen emerging.

Although Nations of the Far West had imported a lot of gunpowder from Great Xuan, they had never seen explosives of this grade.

After the church pursuers broke into Fire God Gully, they encountered the disciples on duty and a fight broke out. The disciples initially had the upper hand in martial arts.

As a result, after the patrolling disciples took out this gunpowder, their Sword Intent flew wildly, and mud droplets exploded, completely overwhelming the church's pursuers and holding them back.

As soon as Hou Renyu arrived, he captured them all.

But Hou Renyu then left in a hurry, leaving them waiting all night.

"You bunch of yellow-haired thieves, why don't you just confess the truth?"

The disciple in charge of the interrogation drew his longsword and snorted coldly.

"Your kung fu is ingrained in your bones, very good. You're resilient; you probably won't be killed in one or two rounds. But the medicinal mud we've applied to you isn't very regular, and we can't accurately predict your resistance."

"We don't even know what the result will be with each detonation."

"When the gunpowder explodes near the ear, will it only blow off the ear, blow away half the flesh of the head, or shatter the entire skull?"

"And the gunpowder in the belly—"

The disciple being interrogated, his expression and tone filled with a sense of danger, pressed the tip of his sword forward, pointing it at a priest.

The tone suggested curiosity: would the hole in his stomach explode towards his liver, or would it reach his lumbar vertebrae?

The fear of uncertainty is even more agonizing.

The priest said sadly, "Priest, suicide will not get you to heaven, but enduring the devil's torment is too terrifying. This seems to be a misunderstanding. Perhaps we should—"

"Shut up!!"

The blond man leading the group was a cardinal priest, a man of considerable authority in the church. He spoke in a beautiful, fluent native tongue as he rebuked his subordinates.

"Upholding the glory of the church, how can we easily bow down to foreigners? This is a test from the Lord for both of us. Only when the other leader calms down and treats us with courtesy can we begin the puzzle."

The disciples in charge of the interrogation looked suspicious. "What are they saying in gibberish?"

"These barbarians don't usually speak this fast. Are they chanting scriptures?"

Before they could finish speaking, Hou Renyu strode over.

"You have the guts!!"

Hou Renyu could tell at a glance that the other party had not yet confessed, and ignoring the expressions of the crowd, he waved his hand.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Of the dozen or so stakes along the riverbank, seven or eight were blown up.

Limbs flew everywhere, and blood mist filled the air.

When the bloodstains landed on the survivor's face, they were still warm, whether from the blood itself or the explosives, it was unclear.

Two or three unlucky souls, surprisingly, weren't killed in the explosion. After being thrown into the air, they fell back onto the riverbank, struggling and howling in pain.

The disciples of Fire God Gully were startled.

This isn't the Ministry of Justice's prison. Although it sounds scary, they rarely actually do these torturous things.

Those unlucky fellows, if encountered in battle, even if they are enemies, should be finished off with a sword and given a quick death.

But the sect leader was in a fit of rage at the moment, and since he didn't speak, the others didn't dare to move and could only listen to the wails.

Hou Renyu remained silent, listening quietly for a dozen breaths until he heard someone groan and die. His gaze then turned to the remaining stakes.

"Wait, wait!"

The priest was greatly alarmed. "This is a misunderstanding. I can explain. Wait, my beard is golden. I am the rightful successor of the Lord, appointed by the Great Xuan!"

"Please don't make a move. Our church has connections with the current imperial concubine—"

Um?

Hou Renyu's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at the people around him and said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense! Explain yourself clearly first: why did you trespass into my Fire God Gully, and who ordered you to destroy the four treasure furnaces where I forged divine weapons?"

The priest dared not presume to speak, and told the truth.

They had no idea that this was Fire God Gully; they were chasing after a fugitive and, seeing a very ordinary cave, they went inside.

But as soon as they entered the cave, the entrance closed.

The cave was filled with various sounds and smells that interfered with their senses, and they were ambushed more than a dozen times during the long period of darkness.

Some looked like traps, others looked like attacks by living people.

When they emerged from the end of the cave, they saw the disciples of Fire God Gully charging towards them menacingly, and a fight naturally broke out.

As for the matter of the divine weapon and treasure furnace, this group of people had no idea.

Hou Renyu was secretly annoyed.

Fire God Gully has thirteen divine weapon furnaces, all powered by earth fire, specially for forging weapons for imperial nobles and martial arts masters.

The people who caused trouble last night seem to have dug another cleverly hidden passage next to the underground fire tunnel.

When the troublemakers broke into the secret passage, they caused the entrance to collapse, plunging the treasure furnace into the underground fire.

The furnace was round, and as it was swept by the flow of subterranean fire, it rolled erratically through the intricate network of underground fire channels.

Even Hou Renyu was unable to remove it immediately.

What's even more infuriating is that one of those four treasure furnaces was a precious sword that was specifically forged for the Commander of the Brocade Guard.

"What did you say was the name of the person you're chasing?"

"Toyo Copernicus, the Ju Zhenli ----"

Upon hearing these two names, Hou Renyu's eyelids drooped slightly, and he uttered the words.

"The Ju Zhenli? The Fang Zhenyi!"

The priest exclaimed, "Yes, that seems to be a valid translation."

Upon hearing this name, some of the disciples present subtly changed their expressions.

"Put these people in the water dungeon and keep them under strict guard. They are not allowed to speak to anyone."

Hou Renyu's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he swept his gaze over everyone present. He then ordered, "Notify everyone in the department to start from west to east, in each workshop and furnace, to gradually quell the fire by adding medicine and sending earth."

One of his trusted disciples exclaimed in surprise, "Sect Leader, if we keep suppressing the fire like this, and then it gradually rises again, we'll have to stop work for at least three days in total."

"It's just four furnaces that have rolled into the subterranean fire. Why don't we ask the elders to use their internal energy to protect themselves and go down to search?"

Hou Renyu said indifferently, "Do they have that ability?"

Those four divine weapon furnaces could have withstood the earth fire, gradually calming the flames and adjusting the airflow, so that when they were taken out, the divine weapons would still be undamaged.

Even if these elders were to go down, with their skill, it would be difficult to maintain the changes in firepower and prevent damage to the divine weapon's spiritual essence when forcibly moving the treasure furnace.

Everything else is fine, but Gu Qiuxing's knife is something we needed too urgently, leaving no room for error.

If Hou Renyu were to go down personally—although he is strong, he does not actually specialize in fire-attribute techniques.

The Fire God Gully is divided into two branches: one specializes in firearms, and the other specializes in divine weapons.

Hou Renyu's main cultivation method focuses on the cold quenching technique within the Divine Weapon lineage, which is not applicable to the current stage of those Divine Weapons.

The repair and maintenance of the underground fire tunnels and the operation of the various firearms workshops were not originally his responsibility.

Even the Death-Claiming Sword Technique specifically used to detonate the medicinal mud was only practiced by him after he entered the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking. He only managed to master the Fourteenth Sword, which was barely enough for his needs.

It's just that Fang Mizhi the bigger picture, repeatedly complaining and submitting memorials to the court regarding the deployment of firearms.

He was also discovered by the Brocade Guard to have associated with fugitives while traveling.

Although, at that time, the fugitive was not yet a fugitive.

But given that they had this past relationship, who knows if Fang Mizhi continued to secretly associate with the prisoner afterward?

"Fang Mizhi and his son are truly the eternal sinners of Fire God Gully!"

Hou Renyu roared, "If Fang Mizhi had submitted to me willingly and obeyed my every command, how could that little thief have escaped? If he hadn't escaped, how could my Fire God Gully have suffered such losses today?"

"To ensure that future generations remember this event, a three- or four-day work stoppage is not a great loss."

The disciples readily agreed and obeyed the order.

The various workshops and mechanisms were put into operation, and medicine and sand were added, the firepower was gradually reduced, and the ventilation vents were adjusted.

From morning till night, anyone from the surrounding towns who climbed to a high vantage point could see thick smoke rising from one of the dozen or so hills every now and then.

It wasn't an accidental fire, but a small pit specifically designed for ventilation and smoke extraction.

Upon seeing the blood-red pigeon letter that had arrived again, Hou Renyu had no choice but to write back, explaining the situation.

Until the second day, at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Hou Renyu calculated the level of refinement of the divine weapon and estimated that it should be fine to open the furnace now and bring it out through the tunnel.

The moon was still in the sky when he entered the workshop where the earth had cracked, and floated into the hole.

The underground fire passage has walls as black as jade.

It still retains enough heat to ignite ordinary firewood.

When people walk here, they always feel as if there is a red light source at the end of the passage.

Hou Renyu slightly activated his internal energy to protect himself, and without touching the ground, he floated forward.

He didn't want to cause any more damage to the underground fire passage. He didn't trust the skills of the elders in the workshop as much as he trusted Fang Mizhi's abilities.

Minor repairs are fine, but if the damage is too great, the benefits after the elders finish repairing it will definitely not be as good as before.

"You think you're so capable that neither the court nor I would dare to touch you, do you?"

Hou Renyu scoffed inwardly, "Fire God Gully isn't a place for narrow-minded Lineage and master-disciple lineages."

"Through extensive teacher-student mentorship, outstanding talents are selected, progressing step by step, like sifting out a few red beans from millions of mung beans. Finally, with the guidance of a master and apprentice, it is only a matter of time before the student surpasses the master."

"You're nothing more than a red bean; no one can replace you in ten years, but in another ten years, someone will surely take your place."

"Under such regulations, it's laughable that they dare to oppose me and the imperial court, refusing to even serve as our loyal dogs."

Hou Renyu vaguely sensed the location of the divine weapon, turned several corners, and finally saw the treasure furnace lying in the underground passage.

This precious censer is taller than a person, with a pale gold texture and a large, round belly.

The air around the treasure furnace still produced a scorching, distorted heat. The furnace door was sealed with crystal that had been nurtured by a master's skill, allowing one to peek inside.

Hou Renyu glanced at it through the crystal mirror, then suddenly stopped.

The stove was empty!

The location of the divine weapon he sensed, to be more precise, was opposite the furnace.

"Not bad a knife."

Across from the stove, someone snapped their fingers.

Bite!!