Chapter Eleven: Gray Wolf

  East of the city, twelve ironwork shops stood in a row, with the sound of hammering and tempering never-ending, smoke swirling around, and those coming and going were all rough-and-tumble heroes.

  "Halt! You young fellow, what brings you running to Yang Wei's ironwork shop?"

  A bare-armed big man holding a tiger-headed long knife pointed at Ye Yang and asked in a loud and powerful voice.

  Obviously, Ye Yang, despite wearing a deep blue tunic and carrying a three-foot long sword on his back, still looked too refined and cultured, especially with the trademark "modest smile" hanging at the corner of his mouth, making people feel that this young man was a soft persimmon that anyone could bully.

  "Buy iron!" Ye Yang turned around and said a sentence.

  The big Han burst out laughing, opening his five fingers to grab towards Ye Yang's shoulder, and said loudly: "Yang Wei Iron Shop has always only sold fine iron to heroes, you are still a stinky brat who hasn't dried off your mother's milk yet, go back home and drink milk!"

  But when his thick fingers, like iron claws, reached halfway, they could no longer advance even a fraction of an inch. Ye Yang gazed calmly at the other party as the Fire God's aura generated by the Fire God's residual scroll floated on his body surface, forming a powerful aura. This big fellow was at most only a first-level expert in the Earth Boundary realm; how could he possibly resist?

  Suddenly, beads of sweat appeared on the face of the big man.

  Ye Yang coldly smiled and said, "Now, can I still buy iron?"

  "Okay... okay, of course!"

  The great Han's heart still had lingering fear, the feeling from just a moment ago made one feel as if they were about to die. As long as this handsome young man took action, he would inevitably meet his demise.

  Entering the blacksmith's shop, I saw that one corner of the shop was piled high with various colored iron ore, stone ore and other minerals, in a multicolored pattern, some of which even gave off a faint glow, which must be rare minerals.

  "Little brother, what kind of iron do you need?" The big man asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  Ye Yang said: "Cold iron is best when it's thousand-year-old cold iron!"

  "The...". The big man hesitated for a moment, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

  "What's wrong, is there something wrong?"

  The big Han smiled and said: "Selling is possible, but... the government has issued a ban on military equipment for a long time. I sell iron to you, but you must guarantee that you are not privately making weapons. Otherwise, I would be violating the laws of Great Qin."

  Ye Yang couldn't help but smile, flipping open the outer robe to reveal a badge embroidered on his shoulder. It was a pattern of a fiery red long sword, which was the family crest of the Huo Shen clan. Although the Great Qin Empire had banned weapons, there must be a channel for casting them. The Ye family of the Huo Shen clan was an official heavy industry zone!

  So Yeyang bought iron and no matter what he wanted to do, he didn't need anyone else's opinion.

  Of course, the so-called ban on casting weapons is just a piece of paper. If someone becomes strong enough, such as Ye Nan Tian who has reached the fifth level of the Great Earth Realm, official restrictions have no effect on him at all. In any era, the strong are always respected.

  Looking at the Fire God emblem, the blacksmith's burly man immediately nodded repeatedly: "Alright, so this young master is a member of the Fire God clan, that's no problem at all! The iron ore from my Yang Wei Ironworks is top-notch, pure and of excellent quality. The cold iron is mined from deep within the Luoyue Mountains, one catty is worth 70 taels of silver, and we've already lost seven or eight laborers for the sake of this cold iron!"

  Ye Yang smiled and said: "70 taels of silver per catty? Then I'll buy more, give me a discount price. I want 20 catties of cold iron, give me the price for 1000 taels of silver, how is it?"

  The big Han counted on his fingers for a long time, muttering to himself: "70 taels of silver per catty, 2 catties is 120 taels, 3 catties is 190 taels... 19 catties is 780 taels, 20 catties is 840 taels. This is indeed a good deal!"

  "Deal!"

  Ye Yang nodded in delight, that Ming Huo sword was sold for 1800 taels of silver at the Qing Lei auction house, and after buying the Cold Iron, there would still be 800 taels left over. Not bad, not bad, this casting of soldiers originally was also a super lucrative business!

  He had bought 20 kilograms of cold iron, all wrapped up in bundles. Ye Yang carried these cold irons back to the mansion, placed them in his room, and then went out again, this time heading to Qingfeng Mountain to search for another casting material, Xuanling Stone!

  However, Ye Yang did not know the way and could only look for a guide first.

  In the Ye family's large courtyard, more than a dozen servants were practicing spear and staff techniques. These were all guards for the estate, but they were also just some rough-around-the-edges types who made a living by eating at the master's table. Not one of them had reached the Earth Realm, and they were all just second-rate martial artists.

  "Master!"

  A group of guards saw Ye Yang walking over and immediately knelt down respectfully.

  Ye Yang nodded and asked: "Does anyone of you know how to get to Qingfeng Mountain?"

  Suddenly, the crowd was in an uproar, and every face of the family servants showed a look of astonishment. After a while, one of the older family servants asked: "Young Master, what do you want to go to Qingfeng Mountain for? I heard that in recent years, all the wild beasts deep in Qingfeng Mountain have run out, Young Master is going there rashly, and it's likely that those wild beasts will take your life!"

  "Don't worry about me, I just need a guide!"

  As soon as Ye Yang's voice fell, someone came from behind, it was Ye Nantian: "Zi Yu, are you going to Qingfeng Mountain for training?"

  "No, just searching for the Xuanling Stone!"

  "Oh, Xuanling Stone?" Ye Nantian's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but laugh: "Xuanling Stone is a high-grade ore, as far as I know, only master-level armorers would use such a rare ore. Zi Yu, how has your equipment refining technique progressed?"

  Ye Yang said: "I'm not too clear either, just want to try a higher grade of mineral properties!"

  "Oh!" Ye Nantian shook his sleeves and smiled: "Since that's the case, I'll accompany you to Qingfeng Mountain. Even if we encounter ferocious beasts or high-level magical creatures, you won't be in any danger!"

  Ye Yang shook his head: "No need, you'd better stay at home and rest well, just find someone to guide me!"

  Ye Nan Tian hesitated for a moment before shouting loudly: "Song Jiao Tou!"

  As soon as the voice fell, a person floated down, about 30 years old, wearing a suit of chain armor, holding a fine steel trident, majestic and powerful.

  Ye Nan Tian said: "Song Jiao Tou is the guardian captain of my mansion, with a powerful strength of level 3 of the Grand Earth Realm. Let him lead ten elite guardians to accompany you to Qing Feng Mountain!"

  Ye Yang reluctantly nodded, this fat old man's love for his son was so deep, it was impossible to refuse.

  Song Jiao's head clasped his hands together and said: "Please be at ease, sir. We will definitely protect the young master with our lives!"

  Ye Nan Tian nodded and smiled: "Alright, bring enough food and water, you can set off immediately!"

  "Yes!"

  This Song Jiao Tou is obviously an experienced strongman, he turned around and selected 10 people with amazing bones, full of spirit, and overwhelming momentum from the crowd. Each person only brought their weapons, armor, two bags of clear water, and ten kilograms of beef. This way, even if they were to spend a week in the mountains, they wouldn't starve or die of thirst.

  Ye Yang rushed into the kitchen, under the astonished gaze of two maidservants, took a salted leg of mutton, fifty kilograms of beef, and two jars of fine wine, then secretly stuffed all of them into the Qiankun bag. These things weighed over 100 kilograms in total, but when placed in the Qiankun bag, they felt weightless.

  It was Qin Fang in the Divine Dragon Cauldron who suddenly woke up, sniffing hard and laughing: "So fragrant!"

  "Grandfather Qin Fang, are you awake? This is the dry rations I've prepared, I'm going to Qingfeng Mountain for training!"

  "Hmm, very good indeed!" Qin Fang sniffed his nose, licked his lips and said: "It's been several thousand years since I last smelled such a fragrant fine wine. Ye Yang, can you give me a jar of good wine?"

  Ye Yang couldn't help but smile: "You go ahead, just leave me some dry rations!"

  "Good!"

  The scene in the Qiankun bag was invisible to Ye Yang, and those delicacies and fine wines had already been transferred to a specific space. The Divine Dragon Cauldron and Qin Fang were also there. What exactly happened, even Ye Yang couldn't do anything about it.

  ……

  A group of people set out with their own swords and enough dry rations and water bags.

  Outside the city of Liang, it was a sunny spring day in March. The area outside the city was covered with lush thickets, where grass grew tall and birds flew about, butterflies danced and fragrant flowers bloomed. A warm breeze carried the scent of flowers and grass, sweeping through the thickets and causing the leaves to rustle.

  Ye Yang stepped out of Liang City for the first time, feeling a little excited. He could finally see what this world 2,000 years ago was like!

  Song Jiao Tou walked alongside Ye Yang, his three-pointed knife at the ready, his demeanor stern and serious as he cautioned: "Young Master Zi Yu, this Qing Feng Mountain is fraught with danger. In the past, it was a popular destination for woodcutters and hunters, but over the past century, many ferocious beasts have appeared on the mountain. While tigers and wolves are formidable, a few strong hunters can still take them down. However, some of these beasts reside deep within the mountains, absorbing the power of heaven and earth, growing internal cores that transform them into magical creatures. The strength of these magical creatures is far beyond that of ordinary beasts. Let us hope we do not encounter any on our journey!"

  Ye Yang nodded, but in his heart he was hoping that if they encountered a magical beast, he would use the rotten sword in his hand to slaughter it. In the Harmonious Era, he had never tasted heavy-flavored delicacies like tiger meat and wolf meat. Now that he had come to this mystical world, wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't try some?

  At this time, a voice sounded in Ye Yang's heart: "Zi Yu!"

  "Grandpa Qin Fang?"

  "Ah, it's me!" Qin Fang smiled and said: "If you really encounter a demon beast, with your strength, you can at most kill demon beasts below level 4. Once you encounter high-level demon beasts like level 4 or 5, just run for your life!"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Moreover, killing the magical beasts allows one to extract their cores from their brains. The core is an energy body that condenses the spiritual power of heaven and earth. Placing the cores together in the Divine Dragon Cauldron for smelting can enhance the grade and strength of the weapon!"

  "Oh?" Ye Yang secretly got excited, having made up his mind that this time he must bring back a demon beast core, no matter what. First, he would forge a suitable weapon!

  Qin Fang seemed to have seen through Ye Yang's thoughts and couldn't help but laugh: "Kid, don't be too impatient, the road of cultivation is still very long!"

  "Uh-huh, I know, Grandpa Qin Fang!"

  "Alright, I'll continue resting then."

  After finishing speaking, Qin Fang fell silent, his soul power was indeed extremely weak.

  ……

  After rushing through the forest path for half a day, finally, when I looked up, I saw a towering blue mountain peak, like a sharp sword piercing the sky, and the entire mountain was covered with green forests. It can be imagined that there must be fierce beasts roaming in this deep mountain.

  Song Jiao pointed with his three-pronged dagger towards the front and said, "Young Master, that is Qingfeng Mountain. It has one main peak and seven smaller peaks, stretching for dozens of miles. Demonic beasts are abundant, and human footprints are rare. Legend has it that the strongest demonic beast in the mountain already possesses strength at the sixth level of the Great Land. Many powerful warriors have lost their lives here while searching for high-level cores!"

  Ye Yang's eyes swept around and nodded: "Let's go, we're going to the main peak. The Xuanling Stone should be nearby!"

  "Good!"

  A group of people continued forward, having walked for over two hours, the surroundings became damp and dark, and on the ground, piles of wild animal dung could be seen from time to time.

  "Hmm!"

  A nurse walked forward, using the long gun in her hand to lift open the outer shell of the feces and said: "This is the feces of a gray wolf, probably excreted about five hours ago. The surface is not too dry, but there is no heat."

  Ye Yang sighed in amazement, but just then, a pale figure suddenly pounced over, which was a giant wolf with white fur, baring its teeth and dripping thick saliva from its fangs.

  The guard was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he stumbled backward in a hurry. However, the wolf's speed was even faster, and with one leap, it arrived behind the guard, opening its bloody big mouth!

  "Crack!"

  A faint sound, the head of the guard had already been gnawed by the gray wolf in its mouth, his body convulsing, still struggling, blood gushing out, instantly dyeing his entire garment crimson.

  "Bastard!"

  Song Jiaotou let out a loud roar, stirring up his true energy, and his entire body was enveloped in a layer of pale blue light, which was the symbol of the third level of the Great Earth Realm!

  The trident knife drew an arc and stabbed straight into the gray wolf's forehead!

  "Crack!"

  With a crisp sound, the blade entered the brain, and the robust gray wolf let out a mournful howl. Its body, about two meters tall, crashed to the ground, and its life was ended with just one knife!

  Ye Yang walked forward, looking at the body of the guardian on the ground. He hadn't expected to suffer a loss before even entering the mountain, and now one of the guardians was already dead.

  Song Jiao Tou understood what Ye Yang was thinking, and said with a big smile: "Young Master Zi Yu, don't be sad. These guards are all loyal house servants who have sworn to serve the mansion, dying here might be their best destination!"

  Ye Yang nodded, but from the eyes of several other guards, he read out fear.

  He picked up the skull of the gray wolf with a tray and Ye Yang asked: "Is this a demon beast?"

  "No, just an ordinary beast. If it were a magical creature, I wouldn't have been able to kill it so easily."

  "Oh..."

  Ye Yang let out a low sigh, grasped his iron sword and said: "Bury the corpse of this Nameless Guardian and continue onward!"

  "Yes, young master!"

  In ten minutes, they hastily buried Ding's body and continued deeper into the mountains with their 11-man team.