Chapter Seventy-Three: Meteoric Iron Heart

  "Boom!" Xia Chen stood firm, his face pale, but his voice was cold and stern as he shouted.

  The man in green clothes suddenly stopped in his tracks!

  He raised his palm, and it began to tremble involuntarily. In the center of his palm was an extremely fine blood hole. Deep within the invisible flesh, a crackling, sky-piercing aura flashed, transforming into a true energy spear that was destroying the internal structure of his palm.

  The man in blue robes let out a loud roar, and his blood surged like a tidal wave, transforming into countless tiny blood hammers that instantly shattered the Heaven-Cleaving Blade's edge into nothingness.

  But his right hand had turned blood red, and fresh blood was constantly seeping out of the surface of his palm.

  Xia Chen gazed coldly, silently lamenting the pity. He combined Lei Ting Yin and Lie Tian Feng's sharpness to finally break the green-robed man's acquired True Fire, and successfully launched a sneak attack in secret.

  Unfortunately, the cyan-robed man's strength was too terrifying, and after Lian Tian Feng's departure from his body, he could no longer control it. Otherwise, he could have severely injured the cyan-robed man's palm.

  But even so, the man in green won't be much better off, at least his palm injury is a certainty.

  "Bastard! You're dead meat today!" The man in green clothes had an uncontrollable anger in his eyes.

  He didn't expect that Xia Chen was so formidable, almost crippling one of his hands. In a fit of rage, the power of the Eight-Peak Heavenly Summit surged wildly, reaching its peak in an instant.

  With an endless sense of oppression, the man in green clothes walked towards Xia Chen.

  Suddenly, his footsteps stopped, and his entire demeanor vanished into thin air.

  He saw Xia Chen taking out a pale yellow talisman, on which was a pattern of water turning into ice.

  "Take one more step and you're dead!" Xia Chen said calmly.

  Ice Seal! The man in green clothes' eyes violently contracted, although he was a postnatal eighth layer cultivator, but he also didn't have the confidence to escape with his life under this talisman.

  "If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have let you buy the Frost Crystal during the transaction." The anger on the face of the man in green gradually dissipated, returning to calmness.

  "That's your own wish!" Xia Chen said, "Even if your family wealth increases tenfold, it won't be able to stop me."

  The man in blue clothes flashed his eyes: "What are you after all?"

  "This is exactly what I wanted to ask you." Xia Chen said calmly.

  The man in the blue robe fell silent, then suddenly turned and left, disappearing into the night in an instant, leaving behind a faint voice: "I suppose you're also here for that ancient treasure, we'll meet again when the time comes."

  Xia Chen remained vigilant and motionless until the Su Er Gong Fa confirmed that no more sounds were heard, then slowly exhaled a breath of air, finally relaxing his tense mood.

  He took out a Yuanqi Dan and swallowed it, and Xia Chen silently operated his breath to adjust his injuries. The palm of the man in green had left him severely injured.

  It seems that there is still a significant gap between him and the Eight Heavens, if not for the Ice Seal Symbol, he would have lost to him today. In any case, he must break through to the Sixth Heaven as soon as possible... Xia Chen thought silently.

  He turned his body and disappeared into the night.

  When he returned to the inn, Xia Chen changed his appearance again with his Thousand Face Technique and became a short and slightly pale young man, so much so that the innkeeper didn't recognize him and almost drove him out.

  After a night of practicing internal energy, at dawn, Xia Chen slowly opened her eyes and let out a mouthful of turbid air. A rosy glow also appeared on her face.

  This night's cultivation, Xia Chen felt incredibly good, not only did his injuries recover, but also the last meridian that had been stagnant for many days miraculously opened up several inches again, and was now less than half a finger away from its final position.

  This is a rise after a fall following a great war. Although the breakthrough to the fifth peak of the acquired realm has not been achieved, the cultivation has advanced several levels.

  Moreover, after a bout of comparison with the azure-robed man from eight days ago, the opponent was remarkable in both their mastery of skills and combat experience, allowing Xia Chen to gain a lot, and his understanding of power deepened by another layer.

  He took out the incredibly heavy scrap iron and pulled out the Heavenly Book of Odd Tricks. Xia Chen flipped through it, looking at it. Now that he had returned safely from the trading floor, it was time to sort out his spoils of war.

  Apart from the Dan medicine, Ice Symbol and Yuan Qing Mu obtained through competitive bidding, the most puzzling thing is this piece of scrap iron. The Treasure Basin has hints, but it won't tell Xia Chen where the extraordinary place of the scrap iron is.

  Half a day later, Xia Chen finally found a material in the Heavenly Book of Oddities that was extremely similar to the description of the scrap iron: Meteoric Iron!

  Meteorite, extremely heavy, divided into two parts, the outer part can be used to refine the all-in-one defensive treasure, with excellent effect. However, its true value lies in the inner meteorite core, which is liquid and has infinite self-generating ability, with many uses!

  Looking at the passage of Tian Shu Qi Shu, Xia Chen fell into deep thought.

  This scrap iron should be the meteorite, but what can make the聚宝盆 transmit a strange feeling is definitely the meteorite heart inside, liquid metal, and it can also infinitely regenerate itself. It's really amazing, it seems that I've got another great deal this time, only I don't know how to take out the meteorite heart.

  He picked up the meteorite and gripped it tightly, but the meteorite didn't budge, instead his fingers felt a sharp pain.

  So hard! Xia Chen was slightly surprised, his current grip strength was extraordinary, even ordinary steel would shatter with a single grasp, yet this meteorite didn't change in the slightest.

  He raised his finger, lightly touched it, and the sharp edge of the sky burst out from the tip of his finger, drawing a line on the meteorite, bursting into a cluster of dazzling sparks. But after the sparks dispersed, Xia Chen's eyes widened suddenly.

  The iron meteorite remained intact without any damage, and there was not even the slightest mark on it, as if the previous scratch had only been made by a paper knife.

  What to do? Xia Chen scratched his head, his most powerful technique now was the Sky Splitting Wind Slash, but the Thunder Seal was too powerful and not suitable for use on this meteorite iron. There was no way to cut open the meteorite iron, and therefore he couldn't obtain the meteorite heart.

  Perhaps the acquired true fire can melt this meteorite, Xia Chen suddenly remembered the acquired true fire that the man in green had used, the high temperature of that flame still made him feel a lingering fear.

  Unfortunately, he was only a half-step away from the Sixth Order of Post-Heavenly Realm. Even if his strength surpassed that of the Seventh Order of Post-Heavenly Realm, without reaching the required realm, it would be impossible to give birth to the True Fire of Post-Heavenly Realm, which is exclusive to cultivators above the Sixth Order of Post-Heavenly Realm.

  It seems like another treasure that can only be admired but not eaten, Xia Chen sighed.

  But Xia Chen didn't feel too disheartened, after all he wouldn't be using the fallen iron heart anytime soon, just like how most of the extraordinary techniques in the Heavenly Book couldn't be applied yet, but could be saved for later use.

  He put away the meteorite, and Xia Chen took out the Yuqing wood. Then he took out that half piece of already refined bear skin, and then took out a black plant that looked like ginseng, putting them all together.

  He is preparing to refine this cracked bear skin into a knife-proof leather jacket. Now the materials are all ready and can be refined.

  That black plant is called Yun Qing Zhi, a kind of spiritual medicine that can be used for medicinal purposes and also serves as an adhesive to perfectly combine Yuan Qing Mu wood and Lie Chi bear skin.

  Bring out the Moonfall Cauldron, and Xia Chen lifts the lid of the cauldron. Inside the Moonfall Cauldron is a movable platform that can be arranged to refine elixirs or refine equipment.

  Thinking of the mysterious woman, Xia Chen felt a pang of melancholy. Although they had only spent half a month together, the mysterious woman had transformed him, changing his fate for the second time.

  Nor did he know what year or month it would be before they could meet again, Xia Chen thought to himself as he looked at the jade pendant in his hand that still held a faint warmth.

  He spread the bear skin flat on top of the tripod, spewed out a mouthful of true energy, and with a whooshing sound, the flames below the tripod suddenly ignited into a raging fire. The bear skin, which had already turned completely white, suddenly emitted a sizzling sound as it was roasted.

  Refining equipment and refining elixirs are not the same, but in essence they both rely on a single word "refine", which is to test one's control over fire timing and materials. Xia Chen himself had a foundation in refining elixirs, so although it was his first time refining equipment, his movements were not awkward at all.

  Gradually, the bear skin emitted a steaming heat, and the moisture inside was evaporated, leaving the remaining part even more tenacious.

  A moment later, countless small holes of varying thickness appeared on the bear skin, densely packed. Xia Chen picked up the Yuqing wood and with a flick of his true energy, instantly crushed the entire piece of wood into sawdust, which he then evenly swept onto the bear skin.

  Wood shavings fell on the bear skin, immediately ignited by flames, turning into countless tiny green sparks, and then as if with consciousness, drilled into small holes in the cracked bear skin.

  Immediately, the bear's fur changed from white to deep blue, as if a pool of blue paint was being brushed on non-stop, and just a moment later, it had completely turned blue.

  The dense small holes on the bear skin have disappeared, and the originally somewhat rough surface has gradually become smooth and shiny. During the firing process, the bear skin is constantly refined and becomes light and soft, just like silk.

  Seeing that the fire had reached its peak, Xia Chen picked up Yun Qingzi again, pinched it into a medicinal powder, and sprinkled it on the seamless fusion of He Yuanqing's wooden teeth and bear skin.

  The medicinal powder of Yun Qingzi instantly turned into countless extremely small droplets, rushing into the gaps between Yuanqingmu and Liezhi Bear Skin fusion, firmly bonding the two together.

  Xia Chen let out a sigh of relief, and with that, the process of refining equipment could be considered a great success. Although he had only refined the simplest defensive leather armor, it was his first time refining equipment after all, and it was impossible for him not to feel nervous.

  The next step was to burn the leather into shape, and Xia Chen thought for half a day before burning the bear skin into a set of inner garments. Although the bear skin had been processed to be very close to fabric, wearing it on the outside still made Xia Chen feel somewhat strange.

  The fire died down slowly, and Xia Chen picked up the finished leather jacket.

  Although this leather jacket has just been tempered, it is not very hot, but rather has a very slight warmth, and is extremely light and comfortable to the touch, with a good hand feel, which is simply worlds apart from the original black thick heavy bear skin.

  Xia Chen pulled with all his might, and with his pulling force, even steel would break in two, but the leather jacket only stretched a little longer, without any signs of damage.

  Then Xia Chen used the Sky Splitting Blade and flames to test it a few more times. With the sharpness of the Sky Splitting Blade, he was surprisingly unable to pierce through this leather armor. The flames burning on it were also completely ineffective, which made Xia Chen extremely delighted.

  He put on his leather jacket and then wore his outer cloak, left the inn, and headed towards the ancient Tibetan region.