Chapter 361: Test Firing the Cannon
Qin Mu arrived at this blacksmith shop. Xu Shenghua wore an apron in front of him to prevent sparks from burning his clothes. His clothes, once pristine, had now become almost like a dishrag.
He was forging a hairpin, pressing and folding Mysterious Gold a thousand times. Each time, he rolled it into the thinnest gold foil, then folded it, and finally forged it into shape. The texture of a hairpin made this way was the most delicate, a favorite of noblewomen.
In fact, over the past month, Xu Shenghua had made quite a name for himself in the blacksmith circles of the capital. Quite a few Six Harmonies Realm cultivators had come to him to forge their spirit weapons, and many nobles had also sought him out to forge unique items like hairpins and bracelets.
Cultivators in the Six Harmonies Realm needed to find a master forger to create the spirit weapons born from their divine apertures; the skill of the forger was very important. Xu Shenghua was very clever, forging all kinds of spirit weapons with great skill. His techniques and divine abilities were ever-changing, and he could always forge spirit weapons that pleased the cultivators of the Six Harmonies Realm.
"Qin Renhuang, please sit in the inner room of the shop for a moment. I'll come once I finish this hairpin."
Seeing him arrive, Xu Shenghua called into the shop, "Yanzi, the Renhuang is here. Entertain him for me first!"
Qin Mu walked into the inner room of the shop, smiling, "Call me Cult Leader. Calling me Renhuang always reminds me that you and I are enemies."
Jing Yan came out wearing village girl clothes, a far cry from the gorgeous, elegant attire she wore when she first descended from the Celestial Realm. She held a pot of tea and sat down lightly beside Qin Mu.
The tea was coarse tea. When Xu Shenghua and Qin Mu first met, he had entertained Qin Mu with the best tea from the Celestial Realm, the best tea Qin Mu had ever drunk, called Azure Void Tea. But now, the tea being brewed was just ordinary tea leaves.
"No good tea left, Cult Leader Qin, please forgive me."
Jing Yan looked embarrassed as she poured tea for him, lowering her voice, "The Azure Void Tea ran out last month."
Qin Mu took a small sip, saying, "I can get used to coarse tea too. How did you acquire this shop?"
"Originally, the young master bought a house in the capital, sold it, and used the money to buy this shop."
Jing Yan said, "Sister Yuliu couldn't bear the hardship, found an excuse to leave, and went back to the Celestial Realm. Only I stayed here to accompany the young master."
Qin Mu invited her to sit down as well, smiling, "You are a good girl."
Xu Shenghua lifted the curtain and walked in, holding a towel in his hand. He had just washed his hands, hung the towel behind the curtain, came to the table, and sat down. He first poured himself a cup of tea, gulped it down, then poured another.
Jing Yan was about to stand up, but Xu Shenghua waved his hand, saying, "No need for so many formalities. You are the mistress of our blacksmith shop. Just sit down."
Jing Yan had no choice but to sit down.
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he smiled, "Brother Xu, how have you been these days?"
Xu Shenghua sighed, shook his head, and said, "Not great, but fulfilling. I never knew money was so hard to earn. In the Celestial Realm, I never thought about money. But now, I know how valuable a single Dafeng Coin is! Brother Qin, you paid one Dafeng Coin for just ten bowls of noodles—what a waste! That could buy a hundred bowls and more!"
Qin Mu looked blank, saying, "I'm not too clear on the exact value of a Dafeng Coin either. I rarely lack spending money, and when I eat out, I usually just pay with one Dafeng Coin."
"You've never lived a poor life."
Xu Shenghua took a few more gulps of tea, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and said, "The money I've saved these days isn't enough to pay you back. Give me some more time. Two years should be about right."
Qin Mu smiled, "It's just a small amount of money. I'm not in a hurry. Ling'er remembers the accounts better than I do. I came this time to invite you to the ceremony. The Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon has been completed."
Xu Shenghua was stunned for a moment, then sighed, "It took you just over two months to design and forge a giant divine cannon, while I can only forge spirit weapons for cultivators in this small blacksmith shop. Fifteen days ago, I sensed you opened the furnace twice more. That must have been for testing the cannon mount, right?"
"Correct."
Qin Mu drained the tea in his cup and said, "I used the full strength of the nation to forge the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon. Actually, I don't charge money; I don't lack it. If I did charge, even the Emperor couldn't afford it. Let's go take a look."
Xu Shenghua also stood up, took off his apron, and said to Jing Yan, "Come with me."
Jing Yan agreed, and the three of them walked out of the blacksmith shop, heading out of the city.
When they arrived outside the city, they saw a giant spirit weapon covering a thousand acres in size. The massive cannon platform, with an eyeball at its center that had also been forged, floated in the middle of the light-gathering forks. Hundreds of cultivators were constantly testing something on the cannon platform, very busy.
As the three of them approached, Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan were even more shocked. Looking up at this behemoth, it was hard to imagine that Qin Mu had forged such a terrifying spirit weapon in just over two months!
Of course, this was not Qin Mu's achievement alone, but the collective wisdom of almost all the mathematical experts and forging masters of the Yan Kang Kingdom. Among them, Qin Mu's contribution was the greatest.
Without Qin Mu's design and improvements to the forging process, the forging level of the Yan Kang Kingdom would never have been able to create such a heaven-defying treasure!
Qin Mu had advanced the forging technology of the Yan Kang Kingdom by about a hundred years!
The Emperor and all the civil and military officials had arrived, along with nobles and commoners from the capital, gathered to watch the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon's furnace ignition test. Even Village Chief, Qingyou Shanren, and others had come, waiting for the cannon to fire.
"Furnace inspection normal! No cracks detected!" a Ministry of Works official shouted.
"Array pattern inspection normal! No breaks detected!"
"Rune inspection normal!"
"Cannon mount inspection normal!"
"Light-gathering fork inspection normal!"
"Divine Eye inspection normal!"
...
Voices rang out one after another. Shan Youxin looked at Qin Mu, who nodded. Shan Youxin shouted loudly, "Ignite Furnace Number One! Intensity test! Full power!"
After a moment, an alchemist beside the furnace shouted, "Furnace Number One at full power! Inspection normal!"
"Ignite Furnace Number Two for testing!"
"Furnace Number Two at full power! Inspection normal!"
...
Xu Shenghua watched this testing process, his heart shaken. He murmured, "Cult Leader Qin, when will I ever reach your level in the forging arts? My little blacksmith shop is truly too shabby..."
Qin Mu comforted him, "Don't worry, everyone takes it step by step like this. I've had my down-and-out days too."
"Really?" Xu Shenghua asked skeptically.
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Not long after I left the village, I was already famous throughout the world."
Xu Shenghua was silent for a moment, then said, "Cult Leader Qin, if you comfort others like this, you'll eventually get beaten up."
"But when I was in the village, I started swinging a hammer at the age of five, learning to draw from Grandpa Deaf."
Qin Mu's expression was calm. "You've only just picked up the hammer, but you don't know how much sweat I've put in over these ten years."
Xu Shenghua nodded. "Even the Dominator Body doesn't achieve success without effort. I've learned my lesson."
Finally, all fifty-six furnaces were at full power. Instantly, all the runes on the base of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon lit up, all the arrays activated, and the massive cannon platform slowly rose into the air. Waves of terrifying power radiated outward, causing space to tremble continuously.
The energy from the fifty-six furnaces surged madly toward the light-gathering forks. Passing through the two forks, it transformed into four thick beams of light that drilled into the giant Divine Eye at the center.
From within the Divine Eye came the sound of gears turning, the speed increasing rapidly. Suddenly, the sound vanished. The eighty-zhang Divine Eye seemed to become ethereal. All the array patterns and textures inside the eye activated, and the Mysterious Gold, Mysterious Iron, divine gold, and divine materials that made up the eye all disappeared, replaced by a Divine Eye bathed in purifying divine light.
A closed eye.
Gulu.
This giant eye rotated on the cannon platform, the wind it stirred up terrifying. The tremor emanating from the eye was even more frightening, causing even the Sect Leader-level experts present to feel a series of palpitations.
"Cult Leader Qin!"
Shan Youxin stood on the cannon platform, bowing to Qin Mu. "The Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon is ready!"
Qin Mu rose to his feet and said to Emperor Yanfeng, "Your Majesty, please!"
Emperor Yanfeng took a deep breath, led the civil and military officials, and flew up to the cannon platform. He said in a deep voice, "Chief Supervisor Qin, after more than two months of hard work, you should fire this shot!"
Qin Mu acknowledged. Shan Youxin presented a jade plate. Qin Mu activated his primal energy, and instantly the jade plate burst into dazzling light. The light reflected, forming a three-foot-square light screen that showed the surrounding scenery.
Qin Mu gently moved the light screen projected by the jade plate. The Divine Eye of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon also rotated slowly. Qin Mu adjusted the direction of the Divine Eye, pointing it toward the sky.
He tapped the jade plate. Suddenly, the eye snapped open. A pillar of light tore through the sky. The sky shook violently, then suddenly split. Everyone saw a black scar appear in the sky, directly cutting it open, while the pillar of light had already vanished!
After a moment, a thunderous roar came from beyond the heavens, like ten thousand thunderclaps, shaking heaven and earth!
A huge crack appeared in the sky, with nothing inside. After an unknown amount of time, the crack began to slowly heal.
Xu Shenghua's heart grew heavier and heavier. In the Celestial Realm, no one could withstand this shot. Not even his master, Jade Lord, or the other Three Lords, could withstand the cannon light of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon.
This weapon was no longer a weapon of the mortal world!
It was a weapon for slaying gods!
"My money was not wasted..."
Emperor Yanfeng looked up at the slowly healing sky, murmuring, "National Teacher, it's a pity you're not here to see this sight."
On the grasslands, the Yan Kang National Teacher was leading his army back to Yan Kang. He suddenly looked up and saw a crack in the sky. His heart shook violently. "Cult Leader Qin, you have finally forged the weapon to slay gods..."
On the cannon platform, Qin Mu dispersed his primal energy. The light screen projected by the jade plate disappeared. The furnaces began to extinguish one by one, the various arrays slowly stopped operating, and the giant Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon began to descend slowly from the air.
Qin Mu looked up at the sky, muttering to himself, "Since it's called the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, should I take a shot at the sun?"
Everyone around shivered several times. Emperor Yanfeng hurriedly snatched the jade plate back from his hands, shouting, "Chief Supervisor Qin! If you shoot out the sun with one shot, how will the common people live? Your idea is too dangerous! I'll have your head for this!"
A Qingliu official among the civil and military officials quickly said, "Your Majesty, a ruler's word is law!"
Emperor Yanfeng turned to look at him, waved his hand, and said, "I was just joking. Can't you see that? What use are you to me? Retire to your hometown. Minister Qin, how is this jade plate used?"
Two chapters will be updated together tonight!
Notice: I couldn't finish writing by noon today. Zhuzhu plans to put it in the evening and update two chapters together!