Chapter 804: The Money Problem (I)

Inside the thatched hut, there were four elderly men dressed in varying styles sitting around a large square table. They were playing an intense game of mahjong. Beside them, there was a small table with pastries, dried fruits, and tea, but no one had the free time to eat. They were too engrossed in the game.

So this is what he meant by “searching for inspiration”?

The three guys from Mount Shu all grinned.

Thought you'd seek inspiration by contemplating some Dao essence or meditating on sword intent. Instead, it turned out that you spend your days playing mahjong. In that case, everyone in the Mount Shu Sect must be a master of finding inspiration.

Chen An whispered, "The other three elders are the sect leaders of nearby immortal sects. They're my teacher's regular ‘inspiration-seeking partners.'"

Then he stepped forward and bowed to the elderly man sitting in the seat situated to the east of the table. "Esteemed Teacher, I have some friends from Mount Shu who wish to meet you. They would like to make a request for your assistance."

The elderly man wore a gray robe with a purple lapel. His face was long and skinny, highlighted by his elegant, almond-shaped eyes that resembled those of a phoenix. His brows were knitted in deep concentration, exuding a fierce aura. He was, of course, the master of the Mount Zhong Sword Hut, Chen Buyan.

Upon hearing Chen An's words, Chen Buyan gave a slight nod and said, "Wait until I finish this round."

"Understood," Chen An replied, stepping back over to Chu Liang's group. "That's the most I can do to help. We'll have to wait for my teacher to finish this round."

"That shouldn't take too long," Chu Liang said nonchalantly.

"Their ‘one round' refers to a full rotation of that sundial over there," Chen An explained as he pointed at the courtyard, where a sundial stood and cast its shadow under the sun.

"Isn't that an entire day?!" Lin Bei exclaimed in surprise. "These old bros have some serious endurance. Don't they get tired after sitting for that long?"

"Haha," Chen An chuckled. "My teacher and his friends don't differentiate between day and night when they're playing mahjong. They have sessions that last for a long time, often only feeling satisfied when they've played for more than ten days."

Chu Liang wasn't too surprised. For ordinary people, physical limitations would prevent them from playing for days on end. However, cultivators didn't experience fatigue, so it wasn't unusual at all for them to play mahjong for ten to fifteen days straight.

Chu Liang smiled and said, "That's fine. We'll just wait here. Since we're asking for a favor, we should show our sincerity."

After that, he discreetly extended a finger.

Whoosh.

A beam of light, visible only to Chu Liang, entered the elderly man sitting opposite Chen Buyan.

That elderly man had been staring intently at the tiles in the preceding player's hand, watching him hesitate repeatedly without playing a tile. The moment the light touched that elder, his face twisted with rage, and invisible devil horns sprouted from his head.

"Are you ever going to play a tile?!" He slammed his hand onto the table with a loud bang and shot to his feet. "Thinking, thinking, thinking! You just keep thinking about it! You're like a dung beetle rolling a pile of manure—slow as hell! It's just one tile, is it that hard to decide? Are you waiting to figure out what your aunt's having for lunch today before you put out a tile?? I just need your Two Wan tile. It's not like there's any point for you to hold onto it, so why aren't you putting it out? What, are you saving it for your parents' burial or your daughter's dowry?"

The stout old man sitting across from him was completely dumbfounded by the outburst. He had no idea what had triggered such fury and was too stunned to come up with a retort.

At that moment, Chu Liang pointed at another elder, who was dressed in long robes. When the Evil Heart Curse struck this long-robed elderly man, a fierce, menacing aura erupted from him.

"And you have the nerve to call

him

slow?!" the long-robed elderly man raged at the elderly man sitting opposite Chen Buyan, even grabbing him by the lapels of his robe. "It's not like you're any better! You're collecting Wan tiles, aren't you? Then why haven't you discarded a single Bamboo tile? Where are your Bamboo tiles? Did you eat them with your noodles this morning?! The guy across from you has an All in One Suit, and the guy whose turn is before yours has the Four Great Blessings! You didn't block them, but you're blocking my tiny-ass hand! You're targeting me on purpose, aren't you? Just because I won the most yesterday, now you're holding a grudge! You don't want to play fair? Fine! Then no one plays!"

Chen Buyan reached out a hand and tried to mediate. "What are you all doing…"

However, just then, another beam of light shot out from Chu Liang's fingertips and into the stout elder.

The stout elderly man suddenly leaped up and let out a furious roar. "

Aaaaaarghhhhh!!!

"

The other three elderly men froze mid-argument and looked at him strangely. "Why the hell are

you

shouting?"

"I WANT THE GREAT FOUR BLESSINGS!" The stout elderly man stomped twice. "There's definitely something wrong with the fengshui in this damn sword hut! Why do I always get a great starting hand, but I

never

draw the tiles I need? Every time I play here, bad luck sticks to me like plaster. I can't shake it off no matter what! And the sight of your three miserable, ugly old faces just makes me sick! Absolutely disgusting!"

"

RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

"

The three elderly men got into a brawl. As the sect leaders of smaller immortal sects, their cultivation levels were quite high, so their fight stirred up a huge commotion.

"Quick! Somebody, break them up!" Chen Buyan shouted urgently.

Fortunately, the sect leaders hadn't used lethal force even though they were enraged.

A group of Mount Zhong Sword Hut disciples rushed in. After much effort, they managed to break the three elderly men apart. Chen Buyan immediately ordered his disciples to escort the three elderly men home. He did not dare to let them stay and play any longer.

Good grief. We were practically gambling with our lives.

After seeing them off, Chen Buyan sat down and let out a sigh. "Why have I never noticed that they had such bad tempers?"

A moment later, he finally looked up at Chu Liang and his companions. "You're the young men from Mount Shu, right? What brings you here? Lucky for you, I happen to be free today, so let's hear it."

Chu Liang quickly stepped forward with a bright smile. "Who would've thought? What a coincidence indeed."

…

Upon hearing that they wanted him to smelt a material, Chen Buyan was visibly displeased. After all, he was the greatest swordsmith of the era, and smelting was merely the first step in sword-making—work he often left to his apprentices. It was rather beneath his status to do such work.

"Rest assured, Master Chen," Chu Liang said. "It may be a small job, but we're willing to pay the fee of a big one."

"Do you think this is about money?" Chen Buyan glared at him. "We follow the ancient methods and traditions of forging swords. We are not motivated by worldly concerns—"

"This is the deposit," Chu Liang said, interrupting him and handing over a storage jade slip. "Whether you succeed or not, this is yours. If you do succeed, you'll get ten times more."

Chen Buyan's pupils dilated slightly. He hesitated for a moment before standing up. "Well, considering that even the Samadhi True Fire could not smelt it, I would certainly like to see what kind of material it is."

He then walked away. However, after taking a few steps, he turned back to say, "This is

not

about the money."

Xu Ziyang conjured the Tribulation-Forged Divine Bronze from his storage enchanted tool, and the moment Chen Buyan laid eyes on it, he stood there stunned.

"Oh, heavens." Chen Buyan stepped forward, running his hands over the surface of the divine bronze. He remarked in awe, "This… this is not a material that should exist in the mortal world…

"I may not have forged many swords in my lifetime, but I have seen and experienced a lot. I have seen more than half of the top ten legendary artifacts in the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures.

"The reason I never dared to dream of forging something of that level is not just a lack of skill. It's because there has never been a material in this world capable of bearing such immense spiritual qi. Every one of those legendary artifacts had been made from materials that came from beyond the heavens."

"This Tribulation-Forged Divine Bronze…" His voice trembled. "This is clearly a material that can be used to make legendary artifacts, yet it was found in the mortal world…?"

"This is the only thing that remained after Jiuli's Bronze City was struck by heavenly tribulation," Xu Ziyang explained. "That's why it is called Tribulation-Forged Divine Bronze."

It would not be accurate to call this chunk of divine bronze a mere remnant of Jiuli's Bronze City. When the heavenly tribulation struck, the chunk of divine bronze absorbed nearly all the spiritual qi contained within the city. That catastrophe was like a great fire boiling down a broth, and what remained was the condensed essence. Furthermore, enduring the heavenly tribulation resulted in a tempered essence, elevating its quality by a notch.

In other words, a power that did not exist in the mortal world had entered the chunk of bronze, resulting in a material that should not exist in the mortal realm.

Chen Buyan rubbed his hand across the divine bronze for quite a while.

Then he said, "I can't guarantee I'll be able to smelt this, but I can give it a try."

Chen Buyan pressed his palms together and bowed toward the divine bronze. It was like he was paying his respects to ask for forgiveness because he was about to offend it.

However, according to Xu Ziyang, the spirit of Bronze City had already dissipated. Who exactly was this bow meant for?

After paying his respects, Chen Buyan called his disciples over and had them move the Tribulation-Forged Divine Bronze into a narrow mountain valley deep inside Mount Zhong.

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD