Heart Ape Punishes Wicked Guests Unseen, Bestows a Book and Passes Down Immortal Metallurgy

"Most of the Wei Family are pigs and dogs. What does it matter if I treat them as nothing?"

Sword light shot from the reef islet, and wild winds and towering waves suddenly surged across the water.

"Still—"

A golden elephant head appeared behind Wei Lingzheng. The fierce wind wrinkling the water's surface instantly ceased.

The cold, severe sword light flashed before him. Wei Lingzheng remained utterly composed, pinching the flying sword between two fingers as he looked toward Fu Xiangfeng standing in the air.

"After Fu Xuanhe died, Cypress Sovereign Hall's younger generation only had half a person capable of holding up the stage—are you Fu Xiangfeng?"

That was offensive!

Hidden in the darkness, Heng Hua had sent the Heart Ape over to support the battle.

Hearing Wei Lingzheng's words, the Heart Ape flew into a rage. Golden Dragon Staff in hand, it bared its fangs and yearned to kill.

On the ship, Heng Hua felt the Heart Ape's emotions and his face darkened as well.

But Wei Lingzheng was telling the truth.

The sixth generation of Cypress Sovereign Hall numbered only twelve or thirteen people in total.

Fu Xuanhe, the eldest, had battled water demons thirty years ago and vanished without even a corpse left behind.

The second brother had died young, not long after his birth.

With those two gone, the eldest among those below them was Fu Xiangfeng, who was ninety-eight this year.

As for the two people younger than Fu Xiangfeng but older than Heng Hua, Fu Danwei had sent them away to study under masters in their early years. They were not in the Dragonreach Waters at all, so naturally they remained unknown.

Starting from Fu Henghua, aside from their seventh younger sister who had run away in a fit of anger, everyone else had cultivated at home and never ventured into the cultivation world.

Of course, Fu Liuhui, now ranked eighth, had also come out. But she had only recently entered Foundation Establishment, and her reputation had yet to spread.

"Over these years, only Third Brother has traveled outside. Even Cypress Sovereign Hall's plaque can barely be upheld anymore."

Having come out this time, Heng Hua keenly felt the pressure resting on his shoulders.

"Fourth Sister and Fifth Brother are not in Yanlong. Below Third Brother and above all those younger brothers and sisters, I can only rely on myself."

Heng Hua pulled himself together. While directing the Heart Ape to support the battle, he inspected Mei Zhongtian's Gold Essence.

Fu Xiangfeng wielded the Celestial Wind Sword Canon. Wind borrowed the water's force, and raging waves blotted out the sky and moon. Frost Wind swept forth in endless currents, while Sword Qi poured out without end.

Wei Lingzheng, meanwhile, unleashed the Elephant God Secret Method. His body was bronze-skinned and iron-boned, and relying on his invulnerability to blades and spears, he fought Fu Xiangfeng for a hundred exchanges without falling behind.

Lu Xin and his people watched from hiding, engrossed in the duel between the two.

"It is said that Coiling Dragon Island's swordsmanship is exceptional. Looking at this Fu Family man now, could he be the foremost swordsman among the younger generation?"

Qingxi watched Fu Xiangfeng's swordsmanship.

Lingfeng drifted through the air, sensing heaven and earth. His sword control was orderly and methodical; he truly possessed exquisite swordsmanship. Yet compared to the Fu Family members she had seen in the past, he still seemed somewhat lacking.

The gray-robed man to Lu Xin's right slowly said, "If this lad cultivates for a few more years, he could earn himself an upper-rank guard master position at our trading house."

"Master Nanguo rates him so highly?"

Cultivation merchant associations flourished in the White Expanse Waters, fond of recruiting cultivators of every rank as guard masters and escort masters. Jadeflame Trading House's upper-rank guard masters were mostly experts above Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment, who had refined Jade Liquid Mystic Wombs and begun harmonizing their dragon-and-tiger pill qi.

Nanguo Yannian spoke no further, silently watching the battle on the water.

After a hundred exchanges, the wind and waves showed no sign of weakening. Instead, borrowing the force of the night tide, they pressed forward with increasing ferocity. Yet Wei Lingzheng's physical body was formidable, forcibly withstanding the might of heaven and nature as he sought an opportunity to strike back from his disadvantage.

At the side, Wei Lingming and the others cast spells to conceal the battle's strange phenomena and keep demon beasts from drawing near. But seeing their clan brother fall into a disadvantage, they could no longer hold back.

"Everyone, set up the Five-Element Four-Symbols Formation with me. Imprison the tides in this stretch of water, then work with Brother Zheng to kill him."

Suddenly, the back of Wei Lingming's head throbbed with pain.

The protective mana around him scattered, and he immediately plunged into the water.

The Heart Ape was formless and without appearance. Once it succeeded, it raised the Thousand-Jun Golden Dragon Staff again and viciously struck another Wei Family disciple on the back of the head.

"Ow—"

The two people beside him were about to rescue him when the Golden Dragon Staff smashed them into the water one after another.

Seeing this, Wei Lingzheng no longer cared about fighting Fu Xiangfeng and immediately moved to save them.

Then he felt a fierce wind attack from behind his head.

"Where did this rat come from, daring to sneak-attack your grandpa—"

The fierce wind abruptly dispersed, but a strange stream of true qi emerged at his waist.

"Not good, that spot!"

Wei Lingzheng was horrified. He hurriedly circulated his art to block it. But the true qi moved with astonishing speed. After entering his Life Gate acupoint, it sealed all the mana throughout Wei Lingzheng's body. Like his four clan brothers, he fell into the water.

"This is..." Nanguo Yannian's expression turned grave as he carefully observed the five people in the water.

"Someone attacked them from the shadows? Judging by these methods, could it be..."

He gave nothing away, silently sweeping the water's surface with his Divine Sense.

But as an out-of-body Spirit Soul, the Heart Ape possessed some of the traits of a Golden Core Realm Yin Spirit. Even after observing for a long while, Nanguo Yannian could not locate the person who had struck from hiding.

"Could they have used an 'Invisibility Art' or a 'Concealment Talisman'? At minimum, they have a Mystic Womb—perhaps they are even comparable to me."

On the ship, Heng Hua smiled faintly and recalled the Heart Ape. Wei Family? I know your cultivation art's circulation like the palm of my hand.

Heng Hua had studied the Wei Family's Foundation Establishment cultivation art not merely a hundred times.

With a distant glance from the Heart Ape, relevant information surfaced in Heng Hua's mind:

"Earth-Spirit Mystic-Elephant Art, eleventh level. Excels in physical strength; the body is as sturdy as the Elephant God. Its weaknesses are the Life Gate and Bubbling Spring acupoints."

"Mighty Xiongpi Formula. Possesses the strength of a black bear."

"Origin Dragon Soaring Canon. Dragon Transformation Secret Method."

To Heng Hua, those five people were like five cultivation-practice puppets, allowing him to manipulate them with effortless ease.

The Heart Ape raged, unwilling to be subdued by the Eight Trigrams Furnace. It swung its staff wildly within the Mud Pellet Palace.

Heng Hua silently circulated his mysterious art. Eight chains extended from the eight directions of the Mud Pellet Palace, binding the Heart Ape and dragging it back into the furnace for suppression.

His hands did not rest either. He picked up a dark brown piece of Gold Essence and examined it.

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. He used the Golden Bell Shield Technique to cover himself and Mei Zhongtian, then explained matters to Mei Zhongtian alone through the Wind-Sound Technique.

Mei Zhongtian did not understand why, but Xin Mao caught on. He gave Mei Zhongtian a deep look, then turned and left.

Not far away, Nie Xing and Liu Xu noticed the situation. Liu Xu asked quietly, "Is this Fellow Daoist Mei the Metallurgy Daoist?"

"Probably. From the looks of it, he has truly produced some extraordinary composite Gold Essence."

The cultivation world bloomed with a hundred flowers. Though it did not have all three hundred and sixty trades of the mortal world, it still possessed occupations from every walk of life.

Metallurgy, as a crucial preliminary stage of artifact refinement, contained knowledge so profound that it had separated from the field of artifact refinement and formed its own system.

One kind of cultivator did not study how to refine magical treasures, but focused instead on smelting Gold Essence and spirit materials, supplying raw materials to artifact refiners. Such cultivators were called Metallurgy Daoists.

"This is Separation-Union Mystic Gold."

"This is Ninefold Silver Copper."

"This is Lilygod Iron."

"This is Blazing Fire Iron."

Heng Hua named the pieces of Gold Essence one by one.

"These are all composite Gold Essences. By grade, they count as basic Gold Essence materials. But because they are exceedingly rare on the market, their prices are no lower than those of ordinary intermediate Gold Essences."

After Mei Zhongtian recorded each one, he asked, "What are their specific prices? What are they generally used for?"

The moment he said that, Heng Hua understood. "Fellow Daoist's metallurgical art was picked up midway, after inheriting the legacy of some senior? When making these Gold Essences, you probably did not merely follow the formulas left by your predecessor. You also muddled through some of it on your own?"

"This..."

The burly man scratched his head and nodded sheepishly.

Heng Hua sighed and reminded him, "From now on, whenever you conduct metallurgy, remember to record the steps and materials involved. It is possible that through blind luck, you have created entirely new formulas for refining Gold Essence. If you record the steps and materials, you will be able to refine them again in the future."

"Got it."

Heng Hua then informed him of the uses and approximate prices of every piece of Gold Essence.

By a rough estimate, Mei Zhongtian's several dozen pieces of Gold Essence were worth the equivalent of over a thousand Bright Moon Pearls. It was precisely because they were so valuable that Heng Hua did not dare explain it openly.

"If Fellow Daoist intends to use fish bones for artifact refinement..." Heng Hua thought for a moment, then selected Separation-Union Mystic Gold and Ninefold Silver Copper.

"Silver Copper Essence can neutralize demonic qi, while Separation-Union Mystic Gold can stabilize the material of a magical treasure."

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist."

Mei Zhongtian put away the two pieces of Gold Essence, then generously pointed to the rest.

"Fellow Daoist, choose whatever you like. We agreed that I would give you three pieces."

Looking at several of them, Heng Hua smiled. "Fellow Daoist is not afraid I will take the three most valuable ones?"

"If not for Fellow Daoist, I would not even recognize all of these Gold Essences, much less know their selling prices. If Fellow Daoist has taken a liking to them, simply take them."

Mei Zhongtian had originally been an islander. By chance, he obtained the inheritance of a Rogue Cultivator. After cultivating for several decades and reaching Foundation Establishment, he had only recently begun wandering outside.

He did not understand the value of the Gold Essences he casually refined. But he was not stupid. Had he encountered someone harboring malicious intentions, he might have lost his life already.

Since the other party bore no ill intent, he ought to accept this favor as well.

Heng Hua stared at the Gold Essences on the table.

Should he directly take the three best pieces, each worth over a hundred Bright Moon Pearls? That would make his appetite look too ugly, and it would not be convenient for establishing further ties later.

Metallurgy Daoists were simply too rare.

The Fu Family had many cultivators, yet the only workshop truly studying metallurgy was on White Iron Islet. Aside from two Foundation Establishment cultivators and one aged Mystic Womb cultivator, no one else there researched this trade.

Heng Hua intended to establish a lasting relationship. Naturally, he would not take the three most valuable pieces of Gold Essence and let Mei Zhongtian easily settle this debt of gratitude.

After pondering for a long time, he chose one piece of Mystic Gold, one piece of Spirit Silver, and one piece of Mystic Heart Gold.

Seeing him take two basic Gold Essences, Mei Zhongtian was somewhat surprised.

"Fellow Daoist, is this not too..."

"I have recently been making a kind of 'Puppet Gold,' and these three pieces of Gold Essence are just what I need as materials."

"Puppet Gold? The special Gold Essence that enhances mana transmission and is used to make puppets?"

Mei Zhongtian had seen it in a senior's notes. This kind of Gold Essence was troublesome to make, and its customers were limited to puppet masters. Ordinary artifact refiners had no use for such things.

"Yes. Watermoon Silver, Mystic Heart Gold, and Seven-Evil Grass can be smelted into Puppet Gold. Also, I will give Fellow Daoist a book."

With a casual gesture, Heng Hua retrieved Immortal Metallurgy from the room and gave it to Mei Zhongtian.

"My family has another copy of this book. This one is for Fellow Daoist. It records many metallurgical methods that Fellow Daoist can make use of."

Mei Zhongtian was a straightforward man and did not wish to owe favors.

Seeing the other party give him a book, he intended to offer several more pieces of Gold Essence.

Heng Hua shook his head and politely declined. "I am not an artifact refiner, and I have no need for too many metal tools at present. Fellow Daoist should take these things back and sell them for money."

Mei Zhongtian looked at Fu Henghua and silently considered: Although I tinker with these things, the Fu Family has a great estate and vast holdings. They may not necessarily think much of such basic Gold Essences. When Fellow Daoist Fu chose those three just now, he was likely also considering my dignity.

After thinking it through, he put away Immortal Metallurgy and the Gold Essences, then solemnly bowed in thanks.

"Perhaps these Gold Essences cannot catch his eye. One day, if I can refine upper-grade Gold Essence, I will surely repay the favor of this gifted book."

Heng Hua shook his head and said openly and generously, "It is only a book. Fellow Daoist need not take it to heart."

Afterward, he saw Mei Zhongtian off and entered the second transaction into the account book.

"Rogue Cultivator Xin Mao exchanged the full skeleton of a Silverbell Demon Carp for two taels and five qian of Mei Zhongtian's Gold Essence."

The Fu Family's reputation had been built from these small, inconspicuous matters one by one.

Even at a boat market formed merely through chance encounters, the Fu Family recorded every connection and transaction, making it easier to investigate matters and uphold justice should trouble arise in the future.

Supplementary Record:

Gold-Parting Flying Radiance Sword, the seventh famed sword of the Fu Family, an upper-grade spirit artifact. Its material was Golden Radiance Profound Separation Alloy, refined by Metallurgy Daoist Mei Zhongtian. When the sword emerged, its splendor dazzled the eyes, and its qi stirred the vault of heaven.

Placed in storage.

—Records Three, Sword Manual, Donglai Imperial Dynasty Treasury—

Mei Zhongtian, master of the Nine Profound Gold Palace and the great grandmaster of metallurgy in this age. When he first entered the Dao, the Heavenly Ancestor gave him a book; later, he returned the favor with divine gold. The Heavenly Ancestor forged the Flying Radiance Sword from that gold, ranking it nineteenth in the world sword manual.

—Fu Family Annals: Biography of Fu Henghua—