Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

10: Black Water Knife, VixenThe blade was three feet, three inches long, two and a half fingers wide, and entirely glossy black, with only the cutting edge appearing silver-blue.

Lines of cloud patterns shimmered like waves, reflecting a cold light.

The guard was forged from a black metal, and the hilt was covered with an unknown black-blue leather, conveying a cool, pleasant sensation when held.

He slightly raised the blade and ran his finger along it; a deep, trembling hum, like a battle song, emanated, as if a volcanic power lay dormant within.

“What a fine blade!”

Qin Jiang couldn’t help but exclaim; to craft a blade of this quality in this era was truly impressive!

Liu Yize smiled upon hearing this. “Brother has good taste! This blade is named Blackwater.

It is made from ten-refined fine iron, folded and hammered multiple times by me, with soft gold inlaid using the sandwich-steel method, and then quenched with our Liu Family’s secret technique to become this blade! It can cut hair and slice through iron like mud!”

“How much?”

“Fifty taels of silver, if you please!”

“I’ll take my leave!”

“Hey, hey, hey!”

Liu Yize quickly grabbed Qin Jiang. “Brother, brother, don’t go, don’t go. It’s a business deal, you have to haggle a bit, right?”

Qin Jiang turned his head and held up one finger.

Liu Yize’s eyes lit up. “Ten taels? Ten taels… that works! Consider it my Liu Family making a friend!”

“One tael, I’ll pay a maximum of one tael,” Qin Jiang said.

Liu Yize’s smile dropped upon hearing this. “Even my ten-refined iron alone costs more than one tael. No, no, one tael is absolutely out of the question.”

“Then forget it. I can make do with an ordinary blade.”

With that, Qin Jiang started to walk out.

Liu Yize grabbed his sleeve. “No, no, no, the price is negotiable, the price is negotiable. How about this, I’ll sell it to you at cost, six taels, six taels of silver, no lower!”

“Brother Liu, no need to say more. One tael is one tael. I truly have no extra money.”

For Qin Jiang, one tael was his limit; his psychological expectation was actually no more than five hundred coins.

After all, it was just for insurance, and he might not even need to use it.

“Alright! One tael it is!” Liu Yize shouted, a pained expression on his face.

Qin Jiang turned back, looking Liu Yize up and down with some surprise.

Liu Yize gave an awkward smile. “One tael is definitely one tael, no more. However, Brother, you have to help me with something.”

“What is it?” Qin Jiang asked directly.

If it was too difficult, he would rather not have the Blackwater blade.

Liu Yize rubbed his hands. “There’s a blood metal mine in Dahei Mountain, opened by my great-grandfather back then, but something happened later, so it was sealed.

My request is that I hope Brother can go to that mine and help me retrieve forty catties of blood metal.

If you are willing, this Blackwater will be sold to you for one tael of silver!”

Qin Jiang’s gaze shifted slightly upon hearing this. Something happened?

He slowly spoke, “The ‘something happened’ you mentioned, does it refer to the Essence Spirit in Dahei Mountain?”

Liu Yize was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily. “Precisely, it’s a Fox spirit. But don’t worry! That Fox spirit hasn’t appeared for decades; she should have left long ago.”

He was truly out of options. The county magistrate came to him a few days ago, offering three hundred taels of silver for one of their Liu Family’s secret Blood Flame Golden Spears.

He had sought out several Martial Artists in the North City, and even contacted Martial Artist masters in the Inner City, but not a single one was willing to go.

Firstly, it was dangerous, and secondly, for those Martial Artists, the reward he offered was too little.

And this young man, at a glance, had an extraordinary demeanor. Although his clothes were simple, what commoner’s child could have such smooth skin?

He must be a Young Master from some family in the Inner City who had achieved proficiency in Martial arts and was sent out by his elders to gain experience!

It could be said that this was almost his only chance!

Otherwise, he would only be able to ask the county magistrate to make the trip himself.

But the magistrate was the buyer, how could he even ask him?

In the future, under the Nine Springs, wouldn’t he be reprimanded by his ancestors in turn?

Qin Jiang shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. Even without the Fox spirit, Dahei Mountain is not a good place to go.

If your mine is on the outskirts, it’s fine, but if it’s in the inner areas or even the depths, let alone selling it to me for one tael of silver, I wouldn’t take it even if you gave it to me for free.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yize looked anxious. “Brother, don’t worry! This mine only goes slightly into the inner area, and our Liu Family has a safe route!

If it weren’t for my insufficient strength, having not yet become a true Martial Artist, I wouldn’t have to ask Brother to do this for me.”

He had finally gotten an opportunity, how could he let it go easily?

Qin Jiang shook his head. “Not enough.”

Liu Yize pursed his lips slightly, then let out a long sigh. “How about this, if Brother is interested, leave one tael of silver as a deposit.

If Brother can bring back the blood metal, besides returning the silver in full, I will add ten more taels of silver as a tea fee! How does that sound?”

Qin Jiang pondered for a moment. He had originally planned to go deeper and enter the inner area to dig for herbs.

Getting the Liu Family’s map actually meant he was taking advantage.

“Good!”

He agreed, then spoke again, “What if I take more blood metal?”

Take more?

Liu Yize stroked his chin. The demand for blood metal wasn’t actually that high, after all, not many people could afford it.

But if he didn’t agree, he was afraid the person in front of him wouldn’t agree.

“If you take more, then the upper limit is one hundred catties, one catty of blood metal for one tael of silver!”

Qin Jiang’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. One catty of blood metal for one tael of silver?

He remembered that one catty of ten-refined fine iron couldn’t even sell for one tael of silver!

One hundred catties meant that if there was enough blood metal, he could get a full sixty taels on this trip!

Then he could learn several more Martial arts!

With the existence of the potential panel, he could ignore Cultivate time and directly get the Cultivate results.

Although there was no stable way to increase potential points yet, there would always be one in the future!

At that time, with several Martial arts stacked on him, how could his strength be compared to a Martial Artist who had only learned one Martial art?

To stand firm in this chaotic world, one must have strength that surpasses others!

Only holding a fist is protection!

Dahei Mountain, year-round, never-dispersing dark clouds covered the mountain range, like a black crown.

In the slightly dim black locust forest, Qin Jiang used a small wooden knife to remove herbs, leaving the roots and sprinkling some white powder.

These powders could help the herbs recover, allowing them to sprout new shoots without waiting until next year.

Whoosh ~

Just as he was about to stand up, white mist rose around him, carrying a slightly bitter fragrance.

Seeing this, he quickly walked to a large locust tree and gently squatted down, his right hand on the Blackwater blade at his waist.

A chill came from all directions, and blurry black shadows flickered in and out of the dim vision, with faint, mournful howls audible.

A moment later, the black shadows gradually receded, and the white mist also thinned, following the shadows as they departed.

After adjusting his Qi for a moment, he took out the map Liu Yize had given him, confirmed his direction, and continued towards the inner area of Dahei Mountain.

After traveling about ten li, encountering several wild beasts along the way and dispatching them, he had already entered the inner area of Dahei Mountain.

Walking through the dense forest, he confirmed his direction against the route map.

Suddenly, a touch of red appeared in his line of sight.

Looking over, ten meters away, a crimson fruit the size of a Dragon’s eye hung on a half-meter-tall small tree.

The fruit was covered with white patches, some light, some dark, like clouds.

Joy appeared in Qin Jiang’s eyes. Cloud Pattern Fruit!

This was a rare medicinal material! With simple processing, it could be made into a high-quality hemostatic medicine!

On the market, this single Cloud Pattern Fruit was worth two taels of silver!

Dahei Mountain was indeed full of treasures, even having Cloud Pattern Fruits.

Walking over, he squatted down, took out a handkerchief from hisPregnant and held the Cloud Pattern Fruit, then swung the wooden knife in his hand, cutting it off along with a small piece of branch.

He carefully wrapped the Cloud Pattern Fruit and put it in hisPregnant, a slight smile on his lips.

Just as his body relaxed, the surroundings suddenly became silent. All insect chirps ceased, and even the sound of the wind disappeared.

He turned sharply. Unbeknownst to him, a thin mist had already begun to swirl in the dim, dense black forest.

Two white-furred foxes, as tall as a man, stood upright, their vertical pupils glowing with a faint green light, staring directly at him, a subtle smile on their lips.

— —!!!!

Qin Jiang’s pupils contracted to pinpricks, a tingling chill spread, and all the hairs on his body stood on end!