My Apprentice Is Too Diligent

Chapter 70: The Moment of Harvest (Please Subscribe)

The sun was at its zenith.

The golden sunlight illuminated the earth.

In an unnamed valley.

Chen Wuji stood in the shadows, blowing the cool mountain breeze, and let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.

"Finally escaped."

During these seven days of escape, he could say that he never relaxed for a moment.

His spirit was constantly tense, paying attention to the movements around him.

At this moment, the mark disappeared, and the invisible pressure vanished.

He felt clear and transparent from the inside out.

"Although I successfully escaped, there are still accomplices of Shi Jiang who can confirm it!"

"I wonder how many people from this mysterious force have come?"

"Every official member is a True Qi Realm Martial Master..."

"Hiss~!"

Chen Wuji suddenly felt a toothache for no reason.

"Never mind, I won't think about it."

"Now that I have all the remaining maps in my hands, they no longer need to monitor County Lord. It shouldn't be long before they leave."

"Staying in White Water for a long time as a True Qi Realm won't help cultivate!"

Thinking of this, Chen Wuji let go of unnecessary thoughts, stabilized his mind, and took out all the remaining maps, stacking them together.

"Envelop them with True Qi..."

Recalling Qi Zhongshan's explanation, Chen Wuji mobilized his True Qi, and a stream of True Qi covered the animal skin paper, pages, and scrolls.

A magical scene occurred.

The animal skin paper, pages, and scrolls that recorded the remaining maps, under the envelopment of True Qi, visibly touched each other, and the excess parts directly fell off and turned into ashes.

Only the map parts remained, piecing together to form a complete topographic map of mountains and rivers.

At the same time, a thin line with an arrowhead symbol appeared clearly on the map.

The thin line started from the ancient county town and pointed deep into the mountains.

And at the end, on both sides of a mountain, two lines of words were written.

"Sunset Eagle Mountain appears, the golden key is revealed."

What does this mean?

"Sunset refers to the time of sunset?"

"Eagle Mountain appears... right, there is a mountain called Eagle Horn Mountain, so the entrance to the alchemy room should be in Eagle Horn Mountain?"

Chen Wuji pondered.

"The meaning of the whole sentence is that at sunset, the entrance to the alchemy room will appear on Eagle Horn Mountain, and it can be opened with a golden key?"

"Golden key, a key made of gold?"

"To open the alchemy room, I need a key!"

Chen Wuji frowned.

Having the map was not enough; he also needed to find the key.

Made of gold, or something that looks like gold...

Wait a minute!

"I remember the Wang family's heirloom weapon, the Golden Dragon Mace, which is mostly made of gold."

"Could that pair of long and short golden maces be the key?"

Chen Wuji looked puzzled.

When he joined forces with the Li family to annihilate the Wang family, they discussed the spoils of war. Chen Wuji asked for silver and the golden maces, the latter purely because of the vest "Qin Shubao," the weapon used by Qin Erge, which was a pair of maces.

It was just a whim to consider the pair of golden maces as one of the spoils of war.

If this pair of golden maces is really the key to open the alchemy room...

"Hoo!"

Taking a deep breath, he stabilized his mind.

Chen Wuji regained his composure, squatted down, picked up the complete map, and put it in his pocket.

Then, he found the direction and hurried back to the county town.

...

Back at the Chen Family courtyard.

He found his second disciple and inquired about the situation in the county town over the past seven days.

"Nothing major happened."

Han Ying respectfully replied, "If I have to say something, it would be that the conflict between the Wild Dog Gang and the Big Knife Gang has become more intense. There are deaths every day among the members of the two gangs."

"The county government turns a blind eye to this and allows them to fight."

"Even yesterday, members of the two gangs fought in the street, affecting two shops. Three employees died, but the county government didn't care."

"By the way, something strange happened. County Lord has been absent these days, so the yamen runners and constables have become lazy and negligent in their duties."

It's no wonder Qi Zhongshan hasn't shown up. After having the map snatched away right in front of him, all his plans for the past few decades have gone up in smoke. If he still has the mood to show his face, then I'll be damned!

Chen Wuji thought to himself.

"Let's not inquire about the Zhang family, Li family, or the county yamen for now."

"Furthermore, do not make contact with any outsiders who appear in the city."

Chen Wuji instructed.

"Disciple understands!"

Han Ying agreed, "In fact, there haven't been many outsiders these days. The commotion caused by the Moon Bay treasure has attracted various groups of people, but they have already left."

That's because your intelligence system hasn't been fully established yet...

Chen Wuji thought to himself.

A complete intelligence agency only covers a small county like this.

If there are any outsiders appearing, we would know almost immediately.

Han Ying's path to becoming the Intelligence King has just begun...

...

He didn't stay at home for long.

After obtaining the golden Dragon Staff from Longjian, Chen Wuji set out again and headed towards the ancient county city.

The ancient county city was a ruin left over from three hundred years ago, less than fifty miles away from the new county city.

Chen Wuji displayed his lightness skill and rushed all the way there.

Upon arriving at the ancient county city, he followed the route indicated on the map and headed towards Eagle Horn Mountain where the alchemy cave was located.

The first half of the journey didn't require referencing the map and had no impact.

But the second half of the journey would completely deviate from the direction without the map.

Although the alchemy cave was indeed in Eagle Horn Mountain.

The route indicated on the map led to the back of the mountain.

However, the normal entrance to the mountain would go through the front or side, making it difficult to reach the back of the mountain.

Because Eagle Horn Mountain was high and dangerous, filled with poisonous insects.

Ordinary people would find it difficult to climb and enter the back of the mountain.

According to the map's instructions, Chen Wuji had to enter the water, pass through a hidden cave in the mountain, and enter an underground cave until he reached a closed valley, standing at the bottom of a cliff shrouded in miasma.

On the moss-covered mountain wall, there were no signs of any doors or openings.

Wait until sunset!

When the sun sets, the golden key will appear.

Chen Wuji turned around and patiently waited.

Even if an ordinary person entered this bottom of the cliff, they wouldn't be able to last long.

The toxic miasma in the air, centipedes, venomous snakes, and scorpions lurking in the corners would appear from time to time.

An ordinary Martial Master wouldn't be able to stay for long.

Time passed.

The sun hanging high in the sky gradually slanted westward.

When the last ray of sunlight shone through the mountain peak opposite, onto the mountain wall.

A prominent spot of light appeared on the cliff wall half a zhang above the ground.

Chen Wuji saw it and immediately stepped forward, shifting his weight, and punched at the spot of light.

Crack!

"Whoosh~"

The broken stones fell, revealing a gap in the mountain wall where his fist had struck.

Inside the gap, two small holes, one above the other, were exposed.

Keyholes?

Chen Wuji took out the golden Dragon Staff and first tried inserting the longer end into the hole on the upper left.

As a result, it could only go in halfway and couldn't go any deeper.

The hole on the upper left must be used with the shorter end?

Chen Wuji switched to the other end of the golden Dragon Staff and slowly inserted the shorter end into the hole on the upper left.

When only the handle area was left, it fit perfectly.

"It's actually a key..."

Chen Wuji held his breath, suppressing his excitement, and inserted the longer end of the golden Dragon Staff into the hole on the lower right.

As expected, it fit perfectly.

The golden Dragon Staff, the Wang family's heirloom weapon, was indeed the key to opening the alchemy cave!

This was too unexpected.

I guess the Wang family didn't know that there was such a deep secret behind these golden Dragon Staffs.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have treated them as weapons and occasionally used them to kill enemies.

As for why the golden Dragon Staff was passed down in the Wang family...

Chen Wuji had two guesses.

The first one was that the ancestor of the Wang family was the medicine boy who left behind the Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pill back then!

The other party kept the Golden Mace, intending to use it themselves or pass it down to future generations.

However, an accident occurred midway, and the secret behind the Golden Mace was lost.

Only the Golden Mace was preserved as a family heirloom.

The second guess was that the ancestor of the Wang family snatched the Golden Mace from the descendant of the medicine boy.

Because of this, they didn't know the hidden secrets behind the Golden Mace.

Regardless of which possibility it was, both represented that the Golden Mace came from the hands of the medicine boy back then.

Chen Wuji sighed for a moment, holding a Golden Mace in each hand, trying to rotate them.

He tried both directions, left and right, to determine the direction of rotation.

Immediately after, there were several cracking sounds.

The entire mountainside suddenly shook, and debris and soil kept falling.

Right before Chen Wuji's eyes, a section of the mountainside three steps to the right sank inward and then rose up.

A one-zhang tall and seven-chi wide cave appeared with the final sound.

Phew!

The air inside the cave mixed with the outside air, creating a vortex.

Chen Wuji walked over, leaned in to take a look, and stepped inside.

Not long after entering the cave, he saw a winding downward passage.

Continuing forward and turning a corner, an ancient bronze door suddenly stood at the end, blocking the way.

At the top of the door were several ancient characters.

Feiyun Sect, Pill Refining Cave.

"Found it!"

Chen Wuji's face was full of joy.

He walked slowly to the bronze door, looked around up, down, left, and right, but didn't see any mechanisms.

There were no iron locks or chains on the bronze door either.

Immediately, holding his breath, he pressed his hands against the bronze door and tried to push it inward with force.

Crack!

The dusty door that had been sealed for three hundred years made a strange sound, and a large amount of dust fell off.

Crack! Crack!

Thud! -

With a muffled sound, the heavy door was pushed open to both sides, revealing the space behind the door.

A hot and cold breath swept out with the opening of the door.

Hoo~

Chen Wuji covered his body with True Qi, unaffected by it.

He slowly entered this spacious underground cave.

Although it was underground, the cave was dimly lit.

This was due to the glowing stone spheres embedded in the walls on both sides and above, emitting a faint white light.

As Chen Wuji walked in, he could see a tall alchemy furnace standing in the center of the cave.

The area below the furnace was full of ashes.

There were some tools and utensils scattered on the ground around.

Nothing else.

Hmm?

No, there's someone!

Chen Wuji's heart skipped a beat, he stopped, mobilized his True Qi, and vigilantly looked towards the tall figure squatting in the corner on the right.

He carefully observed and used his spiritual sense.

No heartbeat, no breath, and not even a trace of life force.

Not a person?

Just a corpse?

Chen Wuji slowly approached, getting closer step by step.

When he got closer, he could see the appearance of the tall figure.

Not a person!

Although it had limbs and a head, it was indeed not a Perfected Being, but a mechanical puppet.

Or more accurately, an automaton?

"A mechanical puppet for making medicine?"

Chen Wuji looked at this puppet holding a pestle, with the pestle stopped in a huge mortar, maintaining the posture of pounding medicine.

"Is the secrecy level of the Feiyun Sect's alchemists so high that even the preparation work is done by mechanical puppets?"

Chen Wuji sighed and looked up at the other corners.

At the other three locations, it was discovered that there were also mechanical puppets.

Each of the four mechanical puppets is responsible for a task.

Chop, pound, steam, mix.

They are all functioning.

The remaining work only requires a medicine boy to run errands.

Even without a medicine boy, the Alchemist can move around and retrieve things on his own.

"Dong dong~"

Chen Wuji raised his hand and knocked on the shell of the mechanical puppet, which was as hard as steel.

He took out his treasure weapon, infused it with True Qi, and turned it into a flaming sword. He lightly slashed the shell, but it didn't break or even leave a crack.

With a strong cut, only a white mark was left.

Impressive, the mechanical puppet.

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to control it, and I'm not sure if it can still be used."

Chen Wuji sighed slightly and didn't bother with it anymore.

He put away his treasure weapon and turned to the alchemy furnace.

"Where is the Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pill stored in the Spirit Sealing Box?"

After circling the alchemy furnace, Chen Wuji found a raised, independent circular herb pattern on the ground.

He had a thought and stepped on it with his foot, exerting force.

Crack!

A strange sound.

The circular step retracted downwards.

On the other side, a stone pillar emerged from the ground.

With a slight tremor, the stone pillar rose higher and higher.

It stopped when it reached the height of a person.

At the same time, Chen Wuji saw a hollow hole in the center of the stone pillar.

In the hole, there was a palm-sized, dark wooden box that was over ten centimeters long.

The surface of the wooden box was covered in intricate patterns, with grooves along the edges.

Thump!

Thump~

His heartbeat accelerated.

Chen Wuji walked over slowly, picked up the wooden box, and slowly opened it.

Click~

The wooden box had no mechanism, and as Chen Wuji opened it, the interior space immediately appeared.

Ten deep brown pills with intertwined patterns on the surface were arranged in two rows, lying quietly in the grooves designed in the wooden box.

A refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out as the wooden box opened, surrounding his nose.

The scent of the pills!

"Haha, what a Spirit Sealing Box, what an 'Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pill.' After three hundred years, it can still maintain its original state!"

Finally obtaining the Treasure Pill, Chen Wuji couldn't control his excitement and burst into laughter.

It wasn't easy.

It took a lot of effort to collect all the incomplete maps.

Now, it was finally time to reap the rewards.

"When a Martial Master consumes the Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pill, it can remove impurities and directly enter the True Qi Realm. The first pill increases cultivation by thirty years, the second pill by twenty years, and the third pill by ten years."

"According to this pattern, if the fourth pill is consumed, it should have no effect."

"There are ten Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pills here, so they can be used to their maximum potential. Each of my seven disciples can take one!"

Thinking of this, joy filled Chen Wuji's eyes.

After a while, he suppressed his excitement and regained his composure.

He closed the wooden box, put it in his embrace, looked around, and quickly left.

He left the pill refining cave and closed the door.

Returning along the same path, he went back through the passage to the bottom of the cliff.

He turned the golden mace, causing the moving mountain wall to return to its original position and closing the entrance.

Chen Wuji took out the golden mace, found a stone of similar size, and placed it in the gap. He sprinkled some dirt and leaves around the perimeter to camouflage it as much as possible.

Everything was done.

Leaving the bottom of the cliff, he climbed up a steep cliff and headed straight for the mountaintop.

He chose an open spot on the mountaintop and sat on a flat rock.

Chen Wuji opened the wooden box, picked up one Ascending Cloud Good Fortune Pill, and put it in his mouth.

"Boom!"

Thanks to "Are the Gods Here" for the 100 coins reward.

(End of this chapter)