Only at the Mahayana Stage Does the Reversal System Appear - Chapter 534

Chapter 532: Exchange of Weapon Refining Techniques

By daytime, the small village was bustling with activity, and Jiang Li and the others saw more villagers.

Just as the old lady had mentioned the previous night, the villagers were discussing whether to establish contact with the outside world.

Compared to the outside world, this small village seemed quite backward. They were unaware that Jiuzhou had already connected several worlds, let alone that the price of entry-level talismans had been steadily decreasing.

Jiuzhou had experienced rapid development over the past decade, which had little impact on high-level cultivators but a significant impact on lower-level cultivators and mortals. If they didn’t leave the mountains for a few years, they would be left behind by the times.

Jiang Li also discovered that the villagers’ cultivation methods were flawed, differing slightly from orthodox immortal cultivation methods—a serious problem.

“It’s probably because they’ve been practicing on their own for so long that they’ve gradually strayed from their path.”

“And that mountain-moving thing the old lady mentioned yesterday…”

Moving a mountain would require at least a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator, but the small village clearly had nothing worthy of such a task.

Jiang Li pondered. Yu Yin had chosen this place for the third stage, surely because he knew the small village’s situation. Even so, Yu Yin had restricted the competition to the Foundation Establishment Stage. There must be a reason for this.

Jiang Li pondered this as he crossed the mountains and reached the outside of the mountain to observe the outside world.

Beyond the mountain lay a simple town, devoid of even Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“With a third-level Qi training physique, it takes over an hour to get from the small village to the outside of the mountain. This round trip would take nearly three hours. It’s too time-consuming.”

Jiang Li and the other two approached the village chief again.

“Village chief, I heard that you want to establish contact with the outside world?”

“We are considering it. A few days ago, I gathered the villagers together, and we were arguing with each other. There were all kinds of opinions. Some people were curious about the outside world and wanted to go out and take a look. Some people felt that they had lived here for generations and could be self-sufficient, so there was no need to move. The most outrageous thing was that they said they could use the spirit of Yugong moving mountains to move Emperor Jiang Ren, and let Emperor Jiang Renhuang use his great magical powers to move mountains. It’s nonsense.”

“Now some people in the village think that Emperor Jiang Renhuang can do everything, and when he sees their difficulties, he will definitely help.”

The village was helpless. Emperor Jiang Renhuang had been in power for more than 300 years. Even if the village was closed, there were still people who went out. After hearing the legend of Emperor Jiang Renhuang, coupled with the idea of getting something for nothing, some people began to fantasize about pie in the sky.

“So, what do you think, Village Chief?”

“I don’t know. To be honest, I went out into the world a few years ago and witnessed some weapon refining techniques that were completely different from what you demonstrated last night. The outside world has undergone tremendous changes, while we have remained stagnant. In a few decades, the village and the outside world will truly become two different worlds.”

“But the outside world is full of scams. I’m worried that if we go out there, our entire village might be tricked into working in the mines.”

“Could you tell me about the current situation outside?”

Jiang Li nodded: “Empress Yuyin is still in power. Ten years ago, she became a cultivator in the Tribulation Crossing Stage and completely controlled the court. After that, she tried to change the Tianyuan Dynasty.”

The village chief was a little skeptical: “Can the Tianyuan Dynasty change? The Tianyuan Dynasty uses national destiny as a chessboard. The more intense the struggle, the stronger the national destiny. This has led to what it is like today.”

Bai Hongtu said: “Yuyin said that the Tianyuan Dynasty used to fight openly and secretly. She now wants to reduce the frequency of secret fights and increase the number of open fights, changing from vicious competition to benign competition. In this way, the national destiny will not be damaged and the people will live better than before.”

“She didn’t do this before. First, she didn’t have complete control of the Tianyuan Dynasty. Second, she was worried that changing the national policy would damage the national destiny and drag her to death.”

“Now she is in the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and the full strength of the national destiny has only barely touched the edge of the Tribulation Crossing Stage. Even if the national destiny changes, it will not have much impact on her.”

At this point, Jiang Li had roughly understood what Yuyin meant.

“If someone is willing to help you move out of the mountains and build terraced fields for farming, how much can you offer?”

Once outside, they still need to find a job to sustain themselves.

The village chief was somewhat embarrassed: “Our village is very poor. Even with the rare animal hides and spiritual herbs we hunt in the mountains, we can only hire Foundation Establishment cultivators to help.”

“That’s enough.”

Yu Yin’s intention was to make the village self-reliant, rather than relying solely on others, which was largely consistent with Jiang Li’s usual stance.

“But there are still many villagers who are reluctant to move out. We’re afraid we won’t have enough time to persuade them one by one.”

Jiang Li approached the Lu Ban Sect’s leader, Tang Ben, and dozens of other weapon refiners.

Other weapon refiners also circulated around the village to help. In the process, they also realized that the key to the problem was moving the village out of the village.

Solve this problem, and other smaller issues would be easily resolved. After

Jiang Li spoke with them for a few words, they understood his intention and began to work separately to persuade the villagers.

During this time, everyone discussed how to refine simple spiritual treasures for moving and clearing land for farming.

Jiang Li watched their discussion with envy.

The top weapon refiners in all of Jiuzhou expressed their respective perspectives, each with its own merits, but none were convinced, and consensus remained elusive.

In the end, Tang Ben, recognized as the foremost weapon refiner, took the lead, integrating the opinions and crafting farming tools accessible to ordinary people.

“This kind of spiritual treasure can be widely adopted,” Tang Ben nodded. The farm tools were even more convenient and user-friendly than his own designs.

“I don’t have many weapon refiners around me. I’ve always studied on my own, never discussing with anyone. This kind of free-flowing discussion feels really good.”

“How about this? Let’s set a fixed time to discuss weapon refinement together. As for the location, we might as well choose the Lu Ban Sect,” suggested the only weapon refiner present who couldn’t refine a weapon.

“I think this approach is feasible,” the Lu Ban Sect leader was the first to agree.

“Good idea,” Bai Hongtu and Ji Zhi echoed.

Then came a flurry of agreement.

Three days later, the entire village relocated beyond the mountains and settled in a small town.

Jiang Li had already done his research and found that the area beyond the mountains was vast and sparsely populated, making it a perfect place for the village to settle.

Jiang Li, Bai Hongtu and Ji Zhi settled the village and communicated with the mayor. As the population of the town increased, the mayor naturally agreed.

The mayor initially attempted to extort money from the villagers, but Jiang Li hinted that the village was receiving attention from the Jade Queen and displayed a token bestowed by her.

The token was counterfeit, but the attention was genuine.

This deterred the mayor from any rash actions.

Jiang Li also urged the villagers to be cautious and think carefully before acting. If they were unsure, they could consult the village chief.

Meanwhile, the weapon refiners used their newly invented simple spiritual treasures to help the village reclaim land.

Everything came to a close exactly five days later.

The competition was over.

“I can’t believe you were so good at guessing what I meant,” Jade Queen appeared and spoke with Jiang Li and the other two.

While the move could be handled by a single Foundation Establishment-stage weapon refiner, that would take too long. Therefore, Jade Queen requested a five-day deadline for all the refiners to act together.

The upcoming weapon refiner exchange meeting, held at the Luban Sect, was a pleasant surprise for Jade Queen.

“But in this third round, you’re all solving the same problem together. Who should win?”

Jiang Li said with a smile. “After all, this competition is about refining weapons. Naturally, whoever has the highest level of refinement wins.”

Bai Hongtu and Ji Zhi also felt they had overdone it, and both said they couldn’t take first place.

“Then let Tang Ben take first place, based on his contributions.”

(End of Chapter)