The Seventeenth Chapter: The Round Moon and Autumn Water

  Two people were chatting and laughing when suddenly Huan Jin said: "Hei Ri is back!"

  As soon as the words fell, a cloud floated down from the edge of the sky and a black sun appeared in front of them. He had a dark red face, obviously extremely happy. As soon as he saw them, he smiled and said:

  "You've been waiting for a long time, right! Little girl is sending you something to make you happy."

  He patted his belly and said, "I'm full." Yu Xue only then noticed that his belly was slightly protruding, like a pregnant woman's, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. Heide, with a pleased smile, opened his mouth and spat out a stream of golden jewels and precious stones, which rained down on them. When the rain stopped, Yu Xue stared in shock at the mountain of treasures before her eyes. The mountain was taller than she was, with countless gold sands and blocks at its base, and numerous bright pearls, agates, and jades scattered about, mixed with large clusters of coral trees, big bouquets of colorful precious stones, and large chunks of Tianbai jade... it was an atmosphere of wealth and luxury that was beyond human imagination! But to her, it was useless - she couldn't eat or wear them, and even if she took them out, she would have to rack her brains to explain where they came from. At that time, among the Mongolian tribes, most trade was done through bartering and merchant caravans... taking out such valuable things would make outsiders think that their tribe had dug up a treasure trove and would bring disaster upon themselves! Thinking of this, she could only laugh and say:

  "Thanks for your trouble, Hei Ri Da Ge!"

  Phoenix Golden already knew his intention jumped up and pinched Hei Ri's ear:

  "You old dragon! Trying to pawn off unwanted things on us! Do you think I don't know this pile of junk is just stuff from your Water Palace's floor?! Bring out some good ones! Otherwise, we're not done today!"

  "Let go! Let go! I still have some!" Hei Ri shouted, and another wave of "clattering" sounds erupted as a rain of weapons fell from the sky. In an instant, a mountain of weapons appeared before them. This mountain of weapons was much larger than the treasure mountain. Countless swords, guns, and spears exuded a chilling aura, and it was clear at a glance that they were no ordinary weapons, but rather the legendary Dragon Palace's divine arms. Yu Xue's heart bloomed with excitement. In this chaotic era, even if one had money, there was nowhere to buy such fine weapons. Each and every one of them was far superior to the Western Treasure Knife her father had given her! If they could arm all their tribesmen, who would dare challenge the Zhe tribe on the grasslands?!

  Phoenix Golden saw Jade Snow silly and giggling looking at the mountain of weapons, and put down his hand that was twisting Hei Ri's ear:

  "You old dragon won't do anything! First take these out and I won't bother you! Just take out the Qiankun bag with a smile!" He said, stretching out his hand.

  "This time Hei Ri didn't hesitate to spit out the Qian Kun bag: 'I've been ready for a long time! Do you think I, Hei Ri, don't care about Ya Tou?'"

  The snowflakes fell on her ears, but she didn't hear them, only staring at the mountain of weapons in front of her. Inside, there were many curved knives, which was her favorite weapon. After rummaging through for a while, she finally found one that looked the best and most special. When she held it in her hand, it felt heavy, weighing around 50-60 kilograms. The black scabbard was particularly curved with a large arc and was very long and sharp. As she drew out the knife, a clear sound echoed, and a flash of autumn water appeared, revealing that it was actually a pair of knives! The handles of the two knives were each half-circular, forming a complete circle when combined; the guards were interlocking, with one concave and the other convex, fitting together seamlessly. The blades were flat and tightly attached. As a result, when the two knives were closed, they looked like a single curved knife, but with just a light push of her fingers, they separated into two curved knives. Each knife was three-tenths thick from the base to the tip, gradually narrowing down to form an extremely sharp hook. On the front side of each knife near the guard, there were two golden silk characters: "Round Moon" and "Autumn Water". The tips of the two knives faced each other, almost forming a circle. Although the blades were thin, they were solid and refined; although the bodies of the knives were black, they shone with a bright light that seemed to ripple like water at all times. Indeed, it was a pair of extraordinary, world-class knives, just like "Round Moon" and "Autumn Water"!

  Hei Ri saw Yu Xue and couldn't help but praise:

  "Good eyes, girl! This curved knife is the best of all knives, which I took from a mother Jiaolong's hand after defeating her. At that time, she cried and said it was her proud magic weapon, forged from the finest iron at the bottom of the sea and mixed with her two hardest Jiaolong whiskers. When used on land, it is just an ordinary magic tool that mortals can't withstand a single knife; when used in water, it can automatically split the water without any effort, stretch and shrink freely, and inject spiritual power to become a treasure. With this knife, you won't need to recite the water-splitting spell when going into the water, and the water will part like flat land. Even the deepest sea trench of ten thousand feet is accessible!"

  Yu Xue was delighted to hear that the knife had this advantage, and immediately hung the Yuan Yue Qiu Shui knife on his waistband, with the Western Region curved knife on either side, forming a interesting contrast.

  Yu Xue saw that pile of weapons seemed to be different from ordinary ones, with a dark color and a glossy black finish, but extremely sharp. Heidei explained:

  "These weapons, some of which I've collected over the years and others that were crafted by masters, all contain at least a small amount of Sea Bottom Mystic Iron, making them no less than magical artifacts. While they can be used by ordinary people, it's best if they have some foundation in the Way to avoid misusing such powerful tools and committing grave mistakes."

  Jade Snow calculated that among the six hundred children she had trained, nearly three hundred had already opened up their meridians and were making good progress in their cultivation. The other three hundred or so, who were a bit older, originally had trouble opening up their meridians, but now with the help of the Mysterious Jade Dew, they also had a solution. In the future, all six hundred children would be able to pass on some breathing and qigong techniques, forming a large army of cultivators and becoming the backbone of the Zhe Department. The rise of our clan was imminent. Jade Snow's emotions were stirred up, and she couldn't help but feel excited.

  Phoenix Golden smiled and said:

  "Ordinary people would be delighted to see treasures and gold, but only you are happy about a pile of black weapons. It seems that you have the spirit of the Western Queen Mother, thinking of saving your tribe. However, you must grasp the measure well. Letting your tribe hold more power is a good thing, but it's easy to attract envy from others. Take the Kunlun Sect for example, can they let others sleep soundly by their bedside? Other tribes on the grasslands will also have evil thoughts, firstly. Secondly, can you guarantee that every one of your tribesmen is a good person? With greater power, won't they also have ambitions to conquer Central Plains?"

  Jade Snow shakes her head:

  "We cultivators won't have such worldly thoughts. My clansmen are all kind-hearted and good people, and they trust me, so as long as I guide them properly, there's absolutely no problem. Let's discuss our countermeasures later."

  Hei Ri handed over the Qian Kun bag:

  "Put things away."

  Yu Xue carefully put away the Qian Kun bag and then pinched a seal to store the Bing Qi Shan. Huang Jin saw her hesitating while looking at the Zhu Bao Shan and smiled:

  "Also, take this trashy treasure mountain. Although it's not useful now, if we go to the Central Plains in the future, it might be of great use. The people there value money over relationships, so having these will make things easier."

  Yu Xue's heart moved as she listened, thinking that from now on, whenever they encountered a merchant caravan, they could exchange some gold sand for cloth, salt, and other necessities. She then happily stored the treasure trove of jewels in her Qian Kun bag. The Qian Kun bag appeared to be a small brocade pouch with a dazzling glow, its material unknown. It was only the size of a palm, but its internal space was vast, capable of holding countless items. Whenever she needed it, she would recite the Qian Kun bag's incantation and it would appear in her hand. When thinking of storing something, she would recite the "storage" incantation and the item would immediately be stored; conversely, when releasing an item, she would recite the opposite incantation. After use, reciting the incantation again would cause it to disappear into her palm, truly a must-have magical treasure for cultivators traveling or at home.

  Hei Ri spat out a large amount of seabed Xuan Jing Tie and said that this thing was pressing down on his stomach. He sent it to Yu Xue, who would have the opportunity to refine some instruments later. What Yu Xue learned did not include refining instruments, but she had the Nine Heaven Xuan Nü True Scripture's second part, Array Method. At this time, the array method she had already read through, and with this foundation, plus two extraordinary dragon and phoenix, it wouldn't be too difficult to try to refine instruments. Yu Xue saw that Hei Ri's stomach was full of endless things and curiously asked:

  "Hei Ri Da Ge, how can you eat everything? Won't your stomach hurt?"

  Hei Ri Ha Ha Big Laugh:

  "You don't understand this, do you? We dragons are born with the best universe bag - our own belly. Whatever is inside, we know exactly where it is and it's completely safe. Unless someone cuts open my belly, no one can take anything from me. The only downside is that I shouldn't carry too many heavy things, or my body will become clumsy and uncomfortable, making it hard for me to fight. But something like a magic treasure doesn't matter."

  "What about the things we eat? Like Xuan Yu Lu and so on? Can they also be stored in the belly without being digested?"

  "That won't do, you must pack it in a container. Otherwise, a swarm of bees will open up inside my belly and even I, with my dragon body, will be killed by the pain!" Yuxue found this interesting and turned to ask Huangjin:

  "And you, sister? I see that you also spat out the last jujube from your mouth. It won't be digested in your stomach?"

  Huang Jinxiang said:

  "We phoenixes are born with a body of fire spirit, and from birth, we can absorb the true fire of the sun and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to grow and cultivate. We don't need to eat like Lao Hei, who still needs to satisfy his hunger and thirst by drinking some spiritual spring water and eating some spiritual fruits. But those are basically just concentrated spiritual energy, so our bird bodies' crop is useless and becomes a portable Qian Kun bag.

  After we phoenixes have achieved success in our cultivation, the first thing we usually do is refine our crop into a Qian Kun bag. As our cultivation deepens, it can also continuously expand. We can store anything inside, including flowers, fruits, grasses, and medicines. However, we can't keep them for too long - after over a thousand years, edible spiritual medicine will automatically enter the belly.

  Sometimes my sisters would pick some medicine and put it in there, only to forget about it. After a long time, it would automatically go into their belly. If you think that's just supplementing the medicine, then it's fine, but if it clashes with our body's balance or has some toxicity, then we'd be in trouble! That's why we usually only store spiritual energy-type supplements inside and forget about them - it won't cause any problems."

  Yu Xue laughed: "Sisters, your Phoenix is really clever! This method can also be thought of. Tomorrow I will also practice fasting and turn my stomach into a Qiankun bag. Sisters must teach me the method!"

  Huang Jin was startled and hastily said:

  "Hey, don't be reckless! Our phoenix is a bird born with a crop to store food, completely different from your human body. Don't mess around and cause someone's death!"

  At this point, buried grievances with her for a long time before stopping. Yu Xue actually followed her joke seeing her so serious and solemnly agreed. Huang Jin again searched for many good things of Hei Ri: Wannian Lingzhi, Shuifang Bishui Zhu, Bihuozhu, etc., even the seabed Wannian Xuanyan Jade was all given to Yu Xue and put into the Qiankun bag, making the old dragon heartbroken with a dark face.

  Jade Snow couldn't bear it. Huang Jin only said these dark days were all useless, but Jade Snow's cultivation was not enough, and it was very useful to force her to accept them. Only after she accepted did he laugh and say:

  "Since you've acknowledged us as your elder sister and brother, it's only natural that you should give us a meeting gift. From now on, our family will treat you the same whether you're at our place or yours. Lao Hei, don't look so gloomy, we'll be good to you! We won't have to return to that suffocating Sealed Beast Ring again. Just occasionally go in and check on it to prevent those demonic beasts from causing trouble inside. For now, let's discuss how to explain our origins when we return to the tribe."

  The dark day scolded and turned into joy. Three people discussed for a while and made a decision. Hei Ri, in human form, returned with Yu Xue, saying she was lost in the mountains and rescued by Hei Ri. Hei Ri had no home to return to and relied on the tribe. As long as he showed some skills, the tribespeople would respect and accept him. After a while, he would reveal his divine powers and use them to deceive the heavens and cross the seas, solving the problem of the child's cultivation at the same time. However, when Huang Jin transformed into human form, her bright red hair was unsolvable. Although it could be changed to black, after a long time, it would unknowingly return to its original red color. Hei Ri looked like a fierce and powerful man, but at least he was still human. If they added a red-haired, demonic girl, the two of them returning together would make the tribespeople uneasy. Therefore, Huang Jin reluctantly transformed into a small vermilion sparrow, thinking of another method later. The discussion had been decided, and seeing that it was already dawn, they were about to return. It turned out that several people had seen Xuan Feng discussing secret news and collecting treasures, and a day and night had passed.

  Yu Xue said: "Wait a minute, I've obtained the Yuan Yue Qiu Shui knife and want to comprehend its swordsmanship."

  She chose a spacious mountain valley and stood in the center, closing her eyes to think about the Four Small Elephant Combination Strike from yesterday. After a moment, she heard a sound of "ding" as the Round Moon Autumn Water Twin Blades were unsheathed. She saw herself stepping on the Four Elephant positions, operating the Heart Mirror Body Technique with incredible speed and agility, her knife moves like continuous autumn water pouring out endlessly. Because it was a double-bladed technique, sometimes left attacking right defending, sometimes left defending right attacking, sometimes both sides attacking together, and sometimes both sides defending together. The virtual and real, real and virtual, were intertwined, making this set of knife techniques truly unpredictable and unparalleled in the world. She felt that she had created an unprecedented and unmatched skill, and her heart was stirred to inject spiritual energy into the knives. Suddenly, only the sound of thunder could be heard as the knife momentum swung out, and a piece of substantial silver crescent-shaped knife energy flew out ten miles away, condensing without dispersing, and exploding with a shocking force that sent surrounding mountains and rocks flying. She hastily injected spiritual energy to reduce the magnitude and slow down the movement, which barely avoided a massive explosion. Her body flashed as she rose into the air, changing to the Eight Trigrams position, making the knife momentum even more dense and entangling. The sky was filled with small, substantial silver crescent-shaped knives flying silently in all directions, forming a large knife energy net that covered an area of several dozen miles. She knew that this was no longer ordinary martial arts, and she had created another set of Eight Trigrams Royal Knife Body Techniques. Even if she encountered cultivators, she could use this technique to defend against them, making it even more difficult for them to defend against than the Golden Light Flying Sword.