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Chapter 95: Soaring
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 04:04:38 +0000 UTCThe last time they built a mountain residence in the valley, they bought an entire house from Hanshan City and moved it over. The process was naturally incredibly fast. This time, however, they were building a new residence from scratch based on the blueprints drawn by Chen Xiao. Though it started from nothing, it didn’t take much longer than moving an entire house.
Han Yuanchun had prepared ahead of time. As soon as he knew they were going to build, he began making arrangements. The power of the city lord's manor was terrifying. When Chen Xiao gave the go-ahead, they immediately brought all the materials processed into building components to the site. All that was left was the assembly.
Chen Xiao chose the time for laying the foundation, and at his request, everyone involved as the host and the homeowner had to be present, even to personally dig the first shovelful of earth. Since Chen Xiao had been chosen to perform the Feng Shui, everything had to be done according to his plan. Han Yuanchun and his wife, Han Yuanzhi, came together to Changjia Village. Although Chen Xiao had worked hard to ease the tension between their families, their first meeting was still awkward. Han Yuanchun’s group didn’t head into the village, and the village chief didn’t make a special effort to greet the most powerful leader of the minor Celestial Realm.
Chen Xiao looked up solemnly at the sun, waiting for the appointed time. When it arrived, he handed the shovel to Han Yuanchun.
Du Rong had come along with the construction crew. When he saw Chen Xiao, he felt a bit embarrassed. Recently, he had been engrossed in his cultivation and had made great progress, but he had neglected his duty of protecting Chen Xiao. They hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and only now did Du Rong realize his lapse in responsibility. He rushed over to fulfill his duty, and Chen Xiao was happy to have him along. Though Xi Yunqing’s cultivation was higher, and his background stronger, there were things Chen Xiao simply couldn’t ask Xi Yunqing to handle with the same ease as Du Rong.
At this moment, with just a look from Chen Xiao, Du Rong stepped forward and effortlessly moved the massive stone blocking the hole. Since it had been discussed beforehand, Han Yuanchun and the others knew that there was a mineral core essence beneath the hole. As soon as the stone was moved, they used their true energy to shield themselves from the dirt that surged outward.
The sight of this magical event gave them more confidence in using Feng Shui for children. Ordinary people would never casually dig and find such a precious mineral core essence. These treasures were usually deeply buried at the center of mineral veins.
Once the stone was moved, the blocked hole immediately spewed a shower of soil, resembling falling rain. But the downpour didn’t last long, gradually decreasing in force before coming to a halt. Chen Xiao waited until the movement of the hole had settled down before inviting Han Yuanchun to dig it open.
In reality, it wasn’t necessary for the host to personally open the hole, anyone could do it. Once the hole was marked, it no longer had any rebound force, and even an ordinary person could handle it. Chen Xiao insisted on this because he wanted to show respect to the host and increase their sense of involvement. The ritual-like nature of the task also made Feng Shui feel more mysterious.
Han Yuanchun dug the first shovelful, followed by Han Yuanzhi and his wife. They only symbolically dug a bit, and the three powerful cultivators had soon created a small pit. In the pit, the mineral core essence could clearly be seen. Chen Xiao had said that while there were treasures in the Earth’s veins, they might be small, so they shouldn’t get their hopes up too high. The next steps were to be handled by the construction crew. After the hole was opened, the area of the mineral core essence was finally determined. As Chen Xiao had said, the essence was not as large as everyone had expected, only about a foot or so in size, nearly square.
The construction team, also from the Han family, showed disappointed expressions upon seeing this. Han Yuanchun said, “This is still quite a bit. The essence from the center of a medium-sized mineral vein is usually only this much.” As the leader of the minor Celestial Realm’s strongest power, Han Yuanchun remained the calmest among everyone. He turned to Chen Xiao, saying, “Master Chen, how should we handle this essence?”
Without hesitation, Chen Xiao replied, “The people of Changjia Village have given this piece of land to the city lord, so it should naturally be up to the city lord to decide.”
Han Yuanchun didn’t even raise an eyebrow, replying, “Since it was dug up from this land, we should return it to its original owner. Someone, gather up this soil and send it to the people of Changjia.” He wasn’t happy about the source, and no matter how precious the items were, he wouldn’t keep them for himself.
The construction team murmured at these words, but Han Yuanchun suppressed them with a stern look. He then turned to Chen Xiao, saying, “I’ll trouble Master Chen to handle it. After all, my Han family’s disciples aren’t able to enter the village.”
Chen Xiao naturally agreed without refusal. After the foundation was dug, Han Yuanchun and his wife left Changjia Village.
Chen Xiao, Xi Yunqing, and Du Rong then took the mineral essence back to the village. After some calculation, Chen Xiao realized that the amount of mineral essence collected weighed around eight or nine jin. To be able to so casually give up such a valuable material, Han Yuanchun was truly impressive.
The three of them carried the essence, packed into three large baskets, to the village chief’s courtyard. The villagers gathered in surprise and asked, “Master Chen, what is this?”
Carrying over two hundred jin of soil alone was quite a task for Chen Xiao, and he wiped the sweat from his brow before replying, “These are from the Earth’s veins, condensed into lightning attribute earth mineral essence.”
The village chief furrowed his brow and said, "Since that land was given to them, the resources in it naturally belong to them. Why move it here?"
Du Rong replied, "Lord Han said the land originally belonged to Changjia Village, so these precious resources should be returned to their rightful owner."
The village chief thought for a moment, and it seemed he vaguely understood Lord Han’s intentions. Shaking his head, he said, "Although these resources are considered precious, they’re of no use to me here, so I’ll let you have them." Just like Lord Han, the village chief felt the origin of these mining resources was somewhat awkward, and he didn’t want to accept them.
Chen Xiao, however, said to the village chief, "Don’t be too quick to refuse. Even though the village doesn’t need them now, that may not always be the case. Once everyone in the village has their official records and begins traveling, they’ll need spiritual coins, pearls, and flowers. These mining resources can either be sold for money or used in the future for crafting tools. They’ll be incredibly useful."
The village chief thought it over and hesitated before nodding. "What Master Chen says is true. However, these mining resources still need to be given to you as a token of gratitude. You've been working hard to help Changjia Village resolve the feud with the Han family, and I haven’t had the chance to thank you properly. If you don’t mind, let these resources be your reward." Upon hearing that they could be sold for money, the village chief immediately thought of this solution. They had been struggling to find something of value to offer as a proper reward.
The village chief divided the mining resources into three parts. One portion was given to Chen Xiao and his companions as thanks, another was to be sold and the proceeds shared among the villagers, and the final portion was kept for future generations.
Meanwhile, construction of the houses proceeded rapidly, and the city lord’s office sent an official to help the people of Changjia Village register their names. Not only did the villagers now have official records, but the village itself was also formally included in the map of Hanshan City. As soon as Changjia Village’s name appeared on the latest training map provided by Zhishi Hall, practitioners immediately recognized it as an excellent supply point.
Changjia Village was strategically located on the edge of the beastly territory, close to areas inhabited by dangerous beasts. If practitioners could stop here for supplies and rest, it would provide significant convenience and make their training more sustainable.
When the first group of practitioners arrived, the villagers initially thought they had, like Tong Nuonuo’s group before them, accidentally wandered into the village, so they warmly welcomed them as guests. But when the second and third groups of practitioners arrived one after another, the villagers realized these were people who viewed the village as a supply stop before heading deeper into the mountains. Though the village chief rarely interacted with outsiders, he quickly sensed that this was an excellent opportunity for Changjia Village’s development.
While the villagers scrambled to meet the various needs and requests of the practitioners, the village chief, holding the newly issued name records, led the strong men of the village on a trip to Hanshan City. At that moment, the village chief was deeply grateful for Chen Xiao’s foresight in turning the mining resources into money. Using the money as capital, the village chief bulk-purchased the items most in demand by the expedition teams, including pills, equipment, and weapons. Following Chen Xiao’s advice, the village chief also stocked up on a large amount of food.
The future influx of people in Changjia Village would consume a lot of food, and the village’s cultivated land alone couldn’t meet the demand.
The people of Changjia Village became busy. Everyone was like a spinning top, constantly on the move. As the village with a prime geographical location opened up, besides the steady stream of traveling practitioners, some lower-ranked practitioners saw business opportunities and decided to settle down. They opened various shops to cater to the needs of the practitioners.
The village seemed to soar high, like a bird with wings, rapidly rising. In the blink of an eye, the village’s population surpassed a thousand. The main road in the center of the village, though not very wide, was neatly paved, and the houses on both sides were renovated. Villagers gradually moved into newly built houses on the outskirts, while the center of the village transformed into a small street brimming with commerce.
With the influx of migrant workers, the villagers finally had some time to relax and step away from their busy lives. Some of them enjoyed business and continued to open shops, while others preferred farming and hunting, returning to their pastoral life. The most significant change was that the village finally established a school, allowing the children to receive more formal education. Now they could focus on learning, without the irregularity of spending half a day either playing or doing farm work.
Watching the dramatic changes in Changjia Village, Chen Xiao smiled. Before, the village had been stuck in a stagnant state, with talent born in abundance but living in poverty. But now that the dragon vein had been activated and was functioning properly, the flow of people had become a source of endless wealth. With favorable feng shui, this had truly become a livable and prosperous place. Soon, perhaps, this wouldn’t just be a village anymore, but a bustling town, Changjia Town.
