Chapter 576
**"Never!"**
The tone was resolute, a straightforward truth. What’s there to complain about? We hardly know each other.
"Then is it because of me, your master... that you’re unwilling to go to Haori Mountain?" Elder Jiu sneered, "Do you think I’ll believe that?"
To his surprise, Elder Jiu pressed on with his questioning, clearly skeptical.
Zheng Fa's mind raced as he crafted a reason:
"Actually... I really don’t want to go to Haori Mountain!" His tone dripped with disdain for Haori Mountain. "Even with my master here in the sect, I still feel uncomfortable."
"If I go to Haori Mountain, it’s a whole new world for me. As outsiders, how can we expect to have a good life there?"
Elder Jiu scrutinized Zheng Fa, noticing the genuine contempt on his face for Haori Mountain. It was clear he was being completely sincere. "You actually look down on the Five Sects?"
"I’d rather be a head of a chicken than a tail of a phoenix!"
This reasoning was somewhat acceptable, and what convinced Elder Jiu even more was the unmistakable disdain Zheng Fa displayed for Haori Mountain, even bordering on disgust!
It was real, indeed. If it weren’t for Haori Mountain, Zheng Fa might be experimenting with the secret techniques of the Demon Ancestor alongside his senior sister right now...
At this moment, Zheng Fa was fully in character!
Elder Jiu stared at him for a while, as if recalling something, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face:
"Then I won’t be passing on the secret techniques of weapon forging from Haori Mountain to you."
"Huh?"
Zheng Fa was genuinely taken aback, his eyes widening as he looked at his rather unorthodox master.
"Haori Mountain... is quite generous. Not only have they provided us, the Chongxuan Sect, with plenty of resources, but they’ve also opened up some secret techniques to outstanding disciples from various sects..."
"In the past, you probably weren’t qualified, but now that your mastery of the 'Fentian Great Method' is sufficient, you meet the criteria. You’re eligible to learn some of those secret techniques."
Zheng Fa now understood that the ancestors of the Chongxuan Sect were indeed connected to Haori Mountain, and the sect's techniques were intricately linked to it.
Even the weapon forging methods they excelled at were merely a surface-level understanding borrowed from Haori Mountain.
"Haori Mountain... is that generous?"
Elder Jiu sighed, "I don’t know what’s going on, but those secret techniques are real. I even obtained the true transmission of the transformation technique from Haori Mountain."
Zheng Fa could grasp the significance of the transformation technique.
After all, the strength of a Dao Fruit cultivator largely depended on the number of practitioners and their levels of cultivation.
In simple terms, Haori Mountain was poaching the population of cultivators from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
Even Elder Jiu, having learned the techniques from Haori Mountain, would find it difficult to betray them in the future.
As for the weapon forging secret techniques... he couldn’t quite figure out why.
But no matter how one looked at it, Haori Mountain might be despicable, but the weapon forging techniques were innocent!
...
More than half a month later, Elder Han rushed to find Madam Xuanhua, holding a jade tube, a smug look on his face:
"Xuanhua, I’ve found some techniques from my own knowledge of weapon forging that might be useful for the Shenxiao battleship!"
Madam Xuanhua also held a jade tube in her hand. Upon hearing his words, she didn’t even look up, seemingly engrossed in her own jade tube.
"Xuanhua?"
"Ah? Oh... the secret techniques, right?" Madam Xuanhua seemed to just register his words. "Wait a moment, let me finish experimenting with the weapon forging techniques from Haori Mountain that the sect leader learned from the Chongxuan Sect, and then I’ll try yours."
"Who? From where? What secret techniques did you learn?"
Elder Han couldn’t help but dig at his ears. He had relied on his keen hearing all his life and had never doubted it.
Until today, he felt as if he had lost his mind, mishearing Madam Xuanhua’s words.
But looking at her confident expression, Elder Han nearly shouted:
Are those people from Haori Mountain out of their minds!
Trying to steal my thunder?
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 425: Free Trade, Hope for Chongxuan**
Zheng Fa now held an unusual respect for Haori Mountain—so much so that he organized a seminar on Haori Mountain’s weapon forging techniques on Gongkai Island.
Watching Zheng Fa, Madam Xuanhua, and the disciples earnestly study the weapon forging techniques from Haori Mountain, Elder Han could only think:
You really don’t see Haori Mountain as a threat...
This is too much!
Both the Tianhe Sect and Haori Mountain were part of the Five Sects, and he felt a bit uneasy, inevitably experiencing a sense of sorrow for the fallen rabbit.
"Elder Han?" Just as he was lost in thought, Zheng Fa suddenly looked up and asked, "Aren’t you interested in the weapon forging techniques from Haori Mountain?"
"Me? Can I?"
Zheng Fa nodded, responding as if it were obvious: "You’re also a member of the Tiangong Pavilion."
"I’m interested!"
Elder Han’s eyes lit up as he moved closer to Zheng Fa and the others, hardly having time to feel sad—if the rabbit is dead, the fox might as well share some meat... tears of sorrow would probably flow from the corners of his mouth.
Objectively speaking, the weapon forging techniques provided by Haori Mountain couldn’t solve all the problems the Jiushan Sect faced in weapon forging:
For instance, how to integrate the Shenxiao battleship with the immortal formations might be beyond Haori Mountain’s capabilities.
"This 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue' only covers the Golden Core stage, but it truly lives up to the name of the Five Sects’ secret transmission."
Putting down the jade tube in her hand, Madam Xuanhua sighed sincerely, clearly impressed.
Elder Han opened his mouth, shaking his head: "Among the Five Sects, my Tianhe Sword Dao is unparalleled, and the Taishang Dao and Dan Dao are exceptional. Haori Mountain’s weapon forging techniques are also second to none."
"I used to think that while Haori Mountain’s weapon forging was impressive, my Tianhe Sect couldn’t be too far behind."
"Just looking at this 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue' makes it clear that Haori Mountain’s accumulation in weapon forging over these several epochs is far beyond what my Tianhe Sect can compare to..."
Zheng Fa silently agreed.
The weapon forging techniques in the Xuanwei Realm were largely a matter of accumulated experience.
For the Jiushan Sect, the hundreds of thousands of years of experience accumulated by the Tianhe Sect was something they could never catch up to.
The problem was, Haori Mountain was even older than the Tianhe Sect!
Even if the Tianhe Patriarch had collected a wave of secret techniques from various sects, it was easy to imagine that after the Tianhe Patriarch’s death, the Tianhe Sect wouldn’t be able to retain those techniques.
A technique that only reached the Golden Core stage, like the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue,' forced Elder Han to reluctantly admit that the Tianhe Sect was inferior to Haori Mountain in weapon forging.
To sum it up:
The favor from Haori Mountain is still unpaid!
...
"Although the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue' only reaches the Golden Core stage, its system is complete and is extremely suitable for our Jiushan Sect’s current situation..." Madam Xuanhua smiled brightly, clearly very pleased, "What we lack is the foundation."
This resonated deeply with Zheng Fa.
His vision for the industrial technology of the Jiushan Realm boiled down to two things—leveraging the experience and foundation of the Xuanwei Realm’s myriad arts of cultivation, and transforming them through scientific principles and methods.
Higher-level techniques are certainly good.
But foundational techniques are often the most important—like Jiushan agriculture, which grew gradually from basic techniques.
Not to mention, this material is perfect for training new weapon forgers.
How complete is the system of the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue'?
It contains not only weapon forging techniques but also analyses and designs of many common magical artifacts, as well as comparisons of various forging materials—something other sects lack:
This vast amount of raw data requires conscious, long-term collection.
Haori Mountain’s accumulation in this regard surprised Zheng Fa.
What delighted him even more were the experimental results of these secret techniques.
Looking at the experimental data, Zheng Fa’s face lit up with joy as he turned to Madam Xuanhua and asked:
"Using this 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue,' can we reduce the cost of crafting magical artifacts to 80% of the original? And the effectiveness is on average 20% better than before?"
Madam Xuanhua’s eyes sparkled with joy as she pointed to several numbers in the records, smiling:
"According to the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue,' there are actually improvements to our previous methods of crafting magical artifacts... Some materials, in fact, not only are useless but can even damage the artifact’s power."
"From the experimental results, flying magical artifacts will be over 30% faster than before."
"Offensive magical artifacts will have their power increased by 15%."
"Defensive magical artifacts will be 20% sturdier than before."
"And this is still with our disciples not having fully mastered the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue.'"
Madam Xuanhua’s tone was filled with anticipation.
Zheng Fa’s heart brimmed with imagination:
If the first experiment with the 'Tianhuo Lianbao Jue' yielded such results, if the Jiushan Sect could fully absorb and master this knowledge, they would likely make even greater strides.
The path of weapon forging for the Jiushan Sect might just soar to new heights on the shoulders of the giant that is Haori Mountain!
As for whether Haori Mountain would be willing to let them stand...
That’s up to them!
Zheng Fa sighed to the two, "In the future, when our Jiushan Sect’s Tiangong Pavilion flourishes, we must offer a tablet to Haori Mountain!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Han furrowed his brows, feeling something was off:
Why does that sound like he’s wishing for Haori Mountain’s downfall?
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