From the first day of the Lunar New Year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Wang Chen spent time at Xu's house.
He had mastered the "Suyin Huanzhen Harmony Secret Technique" to a proficient level and brought Xu Xinlan into the door.
For the past half month, Wang Chen's life could be described as envious of mandarin ducks rather than immortals.
His practice did not suffer because of this, because Xu Xinlan gave him all the essence of the Five Elements secretly stored in the Xu family.
Enough for Wang Chen to break through the third floor of Zifu!
In the past half month, Wang Chen has also enjoyed Xu Xinlan's tenderness and thoughtfulness.
If it were someone else with a weaker will, I'm afraid they would really indulge in it and lose their fighting spirit and their heart for the Tao.
But Wang Chen kept his heart.
Because he has always known where his own path lies!
The day after celebrating the Lantern Festival with Xu Xinlan, Wang Chen and Uncle Zhong rushed to the Xu family's mine together.
There are two mines in the Xu family, both of which are located in the mountains five hundred miles away from Wanling City. The two of them took a flying boat together and arrived at their destination in only half an hour.
This mine that secretly produces the essence of the Five Elements is not large in scale, with only more than a hundred miners and a dozen supervisors and managers.
Uncle Zhong piloted the flying boat and landed directly in the mine.
He usually comes here to inspect every now and then, and he knows the situation here very well. He first introduced the management of the mine and related situations to Wang Chen.
On the surface, this small mine mainly produces black iron stone, and a small amount of associated black iron.
After the two kinds of ore are smelted, they are sent to the workshop in Wanling City to make daily necessities, weapons, armor, etc.
Due to the mediocre quality of the ore, the Xu family has no heritage in forging weapons, so the profits are quite meager.
As far as this mine is concerned, it is difficult for others to covet it.
But except for a few people, no one knew that such an inconspicuous mine actually contained the essence of the Five Elements!
Uncle Zhong also told the stewards and supervisors about Wang Chen's identity.
After receiving a wave of frightened respect, Wang Chen and Uncle Zhong left the mine.
However, the two of them did not go far at all. They flew dozens of miles and then turned back.
This time Uncle Zhong landed in a deserted mountain forest, then walked for more than ten miles in the mountains, and finally sneaked into a secret cave and reached deep underground.
After walking through the long secret passage for half a stick of incense, the front suddenly opened up.
An underground cave suddenly appeared in front of the two of them.
The moment he stepped into the cave, Wang Chen felt the five elements essence filling the surrounding space!
To him, this place was no less than a cave dedicated to the cultivation of Zifu monks.
A huge stalactite pillar hangs from the ceiling of the cave. The tip of the pillar is only three feet above the ground. Below it is a round basin carved from jade.
There is a thin layer of liquid accumulated in the jade basin.
Wang Chen could tell at a glance that this layer of liquid was the essence of the Five Elements!
"I come to collect it once a month."
Uncle Zhong sighed and said: "It's just like being a thief, sneaking around and not daring to see anyone."
The discovery of this underground cave was purely accidental. At that time, a monster sneaked into the mine and injured the miners. The mine supervisors and managers were unable to solve the problem, so they called the Xu family for help.
After Uncle Zhong arrived, he went deep into the mine to kill the monsters. As a result, the mine tunnel collapsed during the fierce battle, thus exposing the cave.
He found the essence of the Five Elements inside.
Uncle Zhong knew the value of the Five Elements Essence. After he escaped from the trap, he announced that the monsters had been eliminated, and then had the mine completely sealed.
He quietly dug out a secret passage leading directly to the cave.
This cave can produce at least one kilogram of the essence of the Five Elements every month. Although the grade is not high, the value is also amazing.
After discussing it with Xu Xinlan, he spent about three taels to recruit Zifu monks to protect the Xu family.
Save everything else and don't dare to reveal any information.
As for the origin of the Five Elements Essence, we can only say that it was purchased from foreign lands.
Such a cover-up is done with great fear!
Wang Chen understood: "It is a crime for an ordinary man to carry a jade without any guilt."
Uncle Zhong looked at Wang Chen with complicated eyes: "Master, from now on I will leave this place to you."
The relationship between Xu Xinlan and Wang Chen could be hidden from others, but not from him, the old housekeeper of the Xu family.
As Xu Xinlan said, Uncle Zhong always regarded her as his daughter.
Now that he is following Wang Chen without any name or distinction, and even attaching treasures to him, how can he not have any thoughts in his heart?
But Uncle Zhong also knew very well that this was Xu Xinlan's best choice.
His end is coming soon, and he can no longer protect Xu Xinlan for a few more years.
"I just hope that the Master can treat the young lady kindly."
Uncle Zhong said these two sentences very humbly, because he did not have any confidence that could make Wang Chen afraid.
"Do not worry."
Wang Chen nodded and said, "I will take responsibility."
"Thank you, Master."
Uncle Zhong took a step back and bowed respectfully to Wang Chen.
Wang Chen looked at the loyal old housekeeper and suddenly asked: "Uncle Zhong, how many times have you failed to break the orifice?"
Zhongbo was stunned for a moment and replied subconsciously: "Once."
Wang Chen thought thoughtfully: "Then there is another chance."
It is normal for monks who have perfected their Qi practice to break through their orifices and open their bodies. Ninety-nine percent of people fail to succeed.
After some monks fail to break through the orifice, they will continue to work hard and try to break through again.
Under normal circumstances, the difficulty of breaking through an orifice for the second time is higher than that for the first time, and even fewer people can succeed.
And unless you are gifted with extraordinary talent, or you use a magical elixir, after two failures, there is basically no chance of a third time.
Most monks will try again if they fail once, as long as their original essence is intact.
It took two unsuccessful attempts before giving up completely.
Uncle Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "My first failure hurt my origin. When I make up for it, I will be old."
The older the monk is, the lower the probability of success in opening the orifice.
The more dangerous it is!
Wang Chen's eyes flashed and he asked, "If I give you a high-quality orifice-breaking pill, would you be willing to try it again?"
"ah?"
Uncle Zhong was stunned, his head was buzzing.
He gave up the idea of opening his body a long time ago, thinking that it would be great if he could spend the rest of his life in peace.
As I get older, I have no more ideas.
But now that Wang Chen said this, Uncle Zhong suddenly discovered that deep down in his heart, there was still a hidden desire.
Once the orifice is successfully opened, the life span will be doubled immediately.
Who would be willing to wait for death if he could avoid death?
He opened his mouth, but found that he could not speak at all.
Wang Chen smiled and said: "Uncle Zhong, you don't need to tell me the answer now. Think about it carefully when you go back. As long as you are willing, I will give you a top-grade orifice-breaking pill!"
Top-grade orifice-breaking pills can be redeemed with merit points.
Wang Chen happens to have this merit point!
But the premise is that Uncle Zhong has the courage and fighting spirit to risk his life and face death.