As they ventured deeper inside, Ye Chu eventually gave up hope and prepared to leave with Zhong Wei.
“Ye Chu, look over there!” Just as Ye Chu was losing his enthusiasm, Zhong Wei suddenly showed a look of joy.
“Hmm?” Ye Chu followed Zhong Wei’s gaze and saw a pile of sulphur emitting a pungent odour. There was nothing unusual about it, as they had seen plenty of similar things along the way.
“I am not telling you to look at the sulphur, but at the stones in those karst caves,” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu.
Only then did Ye Chu notice some differences. The stones here were all dry and cracked, with absolutely no water drops. Moreover, they were not as smooth as the stones in other places. However, unless one looked closely, one would not notice at all. After all, it was just an area of less than a metre, and if one was not paying attention, a single glance would easily miss it.
“Sulphur Essence possesses the law and principle of fire, and it can affect its surroundings. These stones are dry and cracked, could it be because of it?” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu. “Blast that area open. Sulphur Essence is bred within the stone, and it is also known as Sulphur Jade!”
Ye Chu also felt a bit of anticipation. He waved his arms, and power surged out. It struck the stones, cleanly slicing them open. Yet, Ye Chu found nothing.
“Cut again!” Zhong Wei clenched her delicate fists and shouted at Ye Chu.
Ye Chu nodded and kept cutting. The stones were sliced deeper and deeper, but he still saw nothing. However, Zhong Wei did not give up and told Ye Chu to continue cutting.
Finally, after cutting extremely deep, Zhong Wei told Ye Chu to stop. She looked at a piece of sliced stone, a smile blooming on her face. “It is exactly the same as in the ancient texts!”
“What is exactly the same?” Ye Chu looked at the beautiful woman. Seeing the smile blooming on her bright and smooth face, his confusion only grew.
“On the stone you just cut, there is a small patch of cyan. If you do not look carefully, you will find it is no different from the colour of the stone. But if you look closely, you will see the colour is a few shades deeper. Sulphur Essence is indeed good at hiding itself. Dig out that patch of cyan!” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu.
“You say this is Sulphur Essence?” Ye Chu was stunned for a moment, but he still dug out this small patch of cyan from the stone.
After it was dug out, the original cyan instantly turned yellow. A scorching aura violently erupted from it. Laws and principles intertwined into textures, vibrating endlessly in the void.
“It really is Sulphur Essence!” Ye Chu was excited. He used his power to suppress the Sulphur Essence and looked at Zhong Wei with some excitement.
“Dig a bit deeper and see if you can dig out a little more,” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu.
Ye Chu nodded and continued to dig deeper. However, after digging for a long time, he never encountered a similar stone again. Obviously, there was only this one piece of Sulphur Essence here. But just this tiny piece weighed a hundred jin.
Ye Chu put it away safely and continued searching in the area with Zhong Wei for a long time, but they never found another spot.
“It seems Mount Liuhuang has truly declined. Even finding this small piece counts as good luck for us,” Zhong Wei could not help but sigh. “Thinking about Mount Liuhuang recorded in the ancient texts, it once possessed countless Sulphur Essences.”
“I am already content. Having this one piece is enough,” Ye Chu said to Zhong Wei. “We should leave quickly. There is no knowing when this volcano will erupt.”
Zhong Wei nodded and quickly left the karst cave with Ye Chu.
The two of them were quite lucky. The volcano did not erupt, which made them feel somewhat relieved.
Leaving Mount Liuhuang, Ye Chu set off for the next destination.
With Zhong Wei leading the way, everything seemed so wonderful. This woman was indeed well read in classical texts and knew countless things. No wonder Shigu had reminded him.
Ye Chu felt that having Zhong Wei by his side was like carrying a treasure with him. Although this woman’s strength was extremely novice, her treasure hunting ability was not bad.
Following Zhong Wei, the materials Ye Chu needed were found one by one. These materials were things that could not be bought with ten thousand gold pieces, being priceless and unavailable on the market!
Ye Chu had originally thought that since he was forging his own artefact with immortal materials, finding materials to slowly perfect it would take who knows how many years to find even a single piece. But with Zhong Wei’s help, Ye Chu obtained one piece after another in the Mortal Realm.
Although it was unknown how many materials it would take to perfect his artefact to the extreme, at least the ones he had now could improve the artefact considerably.
By refining his primordial spirit through the perfection of the artefact, his own cultivation realm would also increase significantly.
“We have already obtained the Opening Jade, Water Spirit Stone, and a few other items. Among the materials possessing intent and law in this area, only the Tashan Jade remains,” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu after helping him obtain the Opening Jade. “It is just that although I know the Tashan Jade is here, I only know its approximate location. It will be somewhat difficult to find it.”
Ye Chu put away all the materials they had found and said to Zhong Wei, “It would be best if we can find it, but do not force it if we cannot!”
“The Tashan Jade is the most precious this time, and it can be considered a holy material. The other items you obtained are indeed good. However, it is impossible to perfect the artefact with them alone. They must first be fused with holy materials or immortal materials, and then combined with more immortal and holy materials, before they can possibly be integrated into the artefact!”
Ye Chu naturally knew about this issue, so he desired the Tashan Jade even more. If he could obtain the Tashan Jade, he could refine his artefact once again. However, this desire could not be forced.
“How is the Tashan Jade recorded?” Ye Chu asked Zhong Wei.
“Legend has it that the Tashan Jade was created when a saint used his own laws to nourish a mountain range, forging the mountain range into a kind of artefact. Within this mountain range, its essence bred the Tashan Jade,” Zhong Wei said to Ye Chu. “The ancient texts record that it is beside Mount Kaishan and by the shores of Mount Liuhuang, which is clearly this area. However, we have not discovered any strange mountain ranges around here either.”
Ye Chu nodded, thinking to himself that searching aimlessly like this was not a solution.
“Let us go to the Flowing Water Sect to sit for a while. Firstly to rest, and secondly to ask for a cup of tea. We have been travelling everywhere these past few days, covered in dust, and we need to recuperate,” Ye Chu said with a smile. He did not mind, but seeing Zhong Wei looking exhausted, he suggested it.
Zhong Wei nodded and immediately said, “That is fine too! The Flowing Water Sect is considered the largest sect around here. We can also ask them if they have any clues.”
They headed to the Flowing Water Sect together with Zhong Wei. Although the Flowing Water Sect did not know Ye Chu, upon sensing his strength, they hosted the two of them very well.
The strong are easily respected anywhere. Ye Chu’s current strength could barely be considered that of a strong expert.
In a sect like the Flowing Water Sect, no one was willing to offend people easily. It was best to form a good relationship with Ye Chu.
Zhong Wei was obviously extremely tired. After cleaning herself up in the Flowing Water Sect, she actually fell asleep in Ye Chu’s room.
Ye Chu looked at this charming and enchanting woman. She was lying on her side on Ye Chu’s bed, her curves graceful and extremely alluring.