Dual Cultivation God Returns - Chapter 902 - 902: The intricacies of craftsmanship
Old Yen was good at sensing where information could be found out, quick to get the lay of the land and navigating existing power structures, Kwon Qianhong’s finances, as well as bribing and negotiating skills allowed them more access, more choices and more freedom of movement, and Nie Guanting, well, he was good at getting information out of people who didn’t want to give it.
But even they could not really do much with just a day and night in a city they just arrived in, even if they did some prior investigations from the Emerald Falls City and on the way from there to the Soft Meadow Continent.
Thus Wu Long still had some free time, which he used to go out into the city streets with Gong Liwei and Nie Xiwang.
Gong Liwei, having now received the bond of the Dual Extremes Infinite Union Art, was able to massively boost her cultivation toward the 1st level of Essence Awakening Realm, having previously been stuck at the gate of the realm.
This, of course, shocked her, as she though that with her lacking talent she would need at least a few months of diligent cultivation to get to this point. But with Wu Long’s superior Yang Qi, this kind of leap in cultivation was completely normal.
The fact they were cultivating in a World rich with Wood Qi and Life Qi also allowed her to absorb a lot of it while she was refining his Yang Qi, which invigorated her Wood attribute and allowed her to make a massive step forward as a Wood attribute cultivator.
And she could now use the technique she previously tried to use, growing a small and feeble vine out of the ground in the courtyard they were staying in.
This caused her to jump into Wu Long’s embrace in joy, even if it was just a small step.
This was a combat technique, but to produce this result she had to stimulate the Life Qi of the plant through her Wood Qi in a controlled manner, which was the first step on the way to using Wood Qi as a healer.
Thus, Wu Long took the two beauties to the market district.
“Are these… pots?”, Gong Liwei looked at the goods displayed on both sides of the market alley they turned to.
“Mm, 1st and 2nd tier Profound Grade Treasure pots, a lifeline of Wood-attribute cultivators who have to have soil in order to use their abilities”, Wu Long nodded.
These pots, as almost any genuine 1st-tier Profound Grade treasure and upward, could fly independently around the cultivator, and thus gave Wood-attribute practitioners an even chance to fight someone in the air, or above sea, or anywhere where soil was not available.
“”Oh””, Gong Liwei and Nie Xiwang both made a sound of realization, the former continuing with, “I never thought of that… it is indeed not useful for me to keep soil in a Spatial Ring like for Earth Cultivators as it would just fall down as soon as I take it out…”
“Mm, though you don’t really need that much soil to be honest”, Wu Long nodded, “It only works as a catalyst for your powers, and the amount of plants you can grow does not have any relation to the amount of soil you have, which is why most Wood-attribute cultivators just have two-three of those large ones and a few smaller ones for non-combat use”
Wu Long pointed to large pots two adults could easily sit inside of, and then to the smaller pots the size of a small cabbage.
“Isn’t it easier for us to have the Infinite Tempers Hall make some?”, Nie Xiwang asked.
“These are made by artisans specialized in this type of treasure, and though it might seem like it’s just a pot there are nuances that make them go from just dirt-carrying flying dishes into true treasures for Wood-attribute cultivators”, Wu Long chuckled.
He then added, “Though I can’t say I would refuse to recruit one or two promising artisans, since those who make these pots are also typically experts at making various medicinal needles and other related tools”
Previously, when he showed Kai Huoshi the schematics for the needles he wanted, he was disappointed to know that among the artisans they got, there were none that could not produce such intricate work.
Of course, Kai Huoshi himself eagerly came forward, willing to learn.
But as soon as Wu Long witnessed the first attempts of the young Forging Dao Master, he knew that it was simply a matter of specialization.
After all, he knew who he was recruiting when he approached the Kai Family, who specialized in Forging Dao, and within that Weapons Forging and Armor Forging specifically, as that was explicitly who he needed most at the time, to produce adequate combat equipment for the Eternal Duality Valley.
He still had hope that he would find those with more general talent among them, but it became apparent that it was not meant to be.
“I see”, Nie Xiwang nodded as she looked at the pots more closely with her Truth-Seeking Eyes, seeing that they weren’t simply meant to carry soil, but had intricate Spiritual Qi circuits designed to amplify the effectiveness of Wood Qi and Wood-attribute techniques.
More expensive ones even had catalysts for Wood Qi enhancement embedded into them, and some had embedded Spatial Rings for exhaustible Wood Qi enhancing resources as well.
“Which reminds me…”, Nie Xiwang then noted, “Forging Dao is only one part of the Artifact Dao, right?”
“Yes”, Wu Long nodded, explaining as they walked through the market and looked at the pots of enormous numbers and variety, “Forging Dao, Carving Dao, Weaving Dao, Molding Dao, and many more are all part of the Artifact Dao. If I were to be greedy, I would probably make the Infinite Tempers Hall a part of a whole Palace one day”
“If you were?”, Nie Xiwang raised her eyebrow with a wry smile, as Gong Liwei raised her hand to cover her mouth, giggling.
Wu Long lightly laughed as well, acknowledging she got him, “Mm, it is part of the reason I made it a Hall instead of a Palace, though the naming rarely signifies the difference. In my case it did matter, since it was a subtle hint at my ambition”
As they were walking further through the market, Wu Long didn’t seem particularly impressed by any of the goods displayed.
However, he did stop in front of one of the largest shops on the street, with its own workshop taking custom orders.
They went into the shop, still covered by his Cloak of Perception, but as his mastery was not as good yet, and the staff were specifically minding the entrance, a servant of the shop noticed them, coming closer.
“Are you looking for anything specific? We have a wide array of…”
Wu Long allowed the servant to finish his long introduction, and then shook his head.
“Who made that pot?”, he then pointed toward a pot near the entrance to the inner workshop, laying amid a pile of others in a rather careless manner.
“Ah! My apologies for the unsightly look. Those were supposed to be cleaned up but it seems they forgot and it has been a busy day-… aah! e-esteemed customer… that’s!”, the servant became slightly flustered, walking along with Wu Long toward the pile, and becoming even more perplexed as Wu Long picked up the small pot he previously pointed to.
“These are failed products, ‘esteemed customer’. They’re gathered here throughout the night and usually picked up by smelters in the morning”, another man wearing the clothes of a lower-tier manager spoke up with a slightly more cold tone, and seemingly unable to contain himself as his gaze became that of disdain at the sight of the pot that Wu Long was holding, added, “And that one’s the worst of the bunch made by a failed wannabe artisan apprentice trash, he’s already been reprimanded. I am sorry if the poor quality offended you, this is absolutely not representative of our workshop’s work”
“Heh, is that so?”, Wu Long smiled, an interested look appearing in his eyes.
