Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 575 - 465_1

Chapter 575: Chapter 465_1

About two Shichen later, Xue Yunrou and Jiang Yunqi arrived back at Nankou Pass. Her expression looked extremely awful, showing signs of distraction.

Seeing her return safe, Li Xuan sighed with relief, but he soon noticed the large blood stain on Xue Yunrou’s shoulder. He couldn’t help but tighten his expression, "Yunrou, what happened to your wound?"

"I’m fine, just a little careless which led to being cut by that guy." Xue Yunrou shook her head, speaking with a nonchalant tone, "The injury is not severe, I’ve already recovered."

But in reality, things were not as simple as she made them sound. She was ambushed by a man in a black robe and black armor while she was in pursuit.

If it wasn’t for the timely support of Jiang Yunqi, she might have been killed by the two of them.

However, she did not want Li Xuan to worry, so she downplayed the incident. But in the end, Xue Yunrou clenched her fists silently, "That armored man, indeed, was Li Zhetian, I would recognize him no matter his disguise!"

"The person did indeed use the Void Blade." Li Xuan tipped his head slightly, "He has entered the fifth realm of the six realms of Martial Law, and is about to transform from pseudo to real.

However, I saw that he does not possess much intelligence, more resembling a beast than a human, and is clearly being manipulated by someone. It should be Zhang Guanlan who used some secret technique to resurrect him."

Xue Yunrou just snorted lightly, not caring about the circumstance.

Zhang Guanlan and Li Zhetian, they are both her mortal enemies that she must kill. Having moved past the shock of Li Zhetian’s resurrection, her mindset has become more relaxed.

It worked out anyway since Li Zhetian was resurrected, Xue Yunrou finally had the opportunity to avenge him personally.

The only drawback was her cultivation, which was inadequate. To have her revenge, she has to strive to improve.

At this moment, Shang Hong, the Left Shilang of the Ministry of War, and Wang Wen, Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, returned together.

They had gone to pursue the Mongolian Iron Cavalry, leading about 20,000 troops from Nankou Pass, chasing after the Mongols.

– This was actually very dangerous, the combat abilities of the Mongols were indeed formidable. If there was a powerful commander leading a counterattack, the improvised forces led by the two deputy ministers could easily collapse.

Juyong Pass is a risky pass city, whose array is ten times stronger than Nankou Pass. Only five or six thousand defenders are needed to leave the Jin Army helpless.

Luckily, the Mongols had no desire to fight, made a brief stop at Juyong Pass, and abandoned it once again, fleeing desperately towards the north.

Shang Hong and Wang Wen were content with the results and stopped pursuit after retaking Juyong Pass.

-- As long as this mighty pass was in their hands, the north gate of Beijing would be secure once more, and the situation in North Zhili could stabilize.

Upon their return, the first thing they did was head to the back mountain of Nankou Pass to admire Li Xuan’s ’Super Electromagnetic Cannon.’

"Is this the weapon that destroyed the five Yunzhong warships?"

Wang Wen gently stroked the barrel of the cannon, "The range is 350 Li, right? And even a heavenly level Wu cultivator wouldn’t be able to react in time? This is truly a weapon of the military! No, it’s a weapon that would solidify the country!"

He thought, with such an artifact, a mere 30 to 40 gates would allow Jin Dynasty to sweep all under heaven.

Shang Hong regretted that he wasn’t able to personally witness the mighty power of this so-called ’super electromagnetic cannon’, but that didn’t matter. He could just test the gun later.

The urgent task at hand was to get this weapon and its casting method into the hands of the court.

Without goings-on, he turned to ask, "Marquis of Jingan, how much did it cost to make this cannon? How many silver taels would the court need to purchase it?"

"Well..."

Li Xuan wanted to say 850,000 taels. Based on the material list and the price list given to him by Leng Yurou, it was 570,000 taels. Adding a fifty percent markup shouldn’t be unreasonable.

However, before he could speak, Leng Yurou interrupted, "The production cost is nine million taels, and we at the Shenqi League can sell it to the court for nine million two hundred thousand taels!"

She was calm and composed, not seeming like she was asking for an outrageous price at all.

Li Xuan was incredibly taken aback and looked at Leng Yurou in disbelief.

Leng Yurou met Li Xuan’s gaze with a puzzled look, "Second Prince, why are you staring at me like that?"

"Please wait a moment, you two! I’m going to have a chat with League Master Leng." Li Xuan smiled awkwardly at Shang Hong and Wang Wen, then hurriedly walked away with Leng Yurou.

Watching the two of them leave, Shang Hong frowned slightly, "Wang Tianguan, I noticed a sense of guilt and dissatisfaction in the Marquis of Jingan just now."

At Wang Wen’s words, he laughed, "It seems he wanted to ask for an exorbitant price, but was exposed by the leader of the Shenqi Union. Even saints cannot ignore greed."

He then said with a frown, "Such a country-solidifying divine artifact, which is worth as much as an immortal treasure, 9.2 million taels is not expensive. But currently, the treasury of our Jin Dynasty is empty, and the Emperor’s private treasury has been exhausted as well. We can’t afford this sum."

Shang Hong was worried about this too, but he assuredly said, "The money cannot be spared. With one of these cannons, it is equivalent to a hundred thousand strong soldiers. If the nation were to reduce its army by one hundred thousand, each year it could save enough to have one massive cannon."

What the two did not know was that, ten Li away, Li Xuan was asking Leng Yurou incredulously, "Yurou, didn’t you say earlier that the cost was only fifty-seven thousand taels? Why ask for such a heavy price?"

Standing in his shoes, although he also hoped to earn a little more money, selling something that cost 570,000 taels for sixteen times the price seemed too much.

"That was before." Leng Yurou shook her head, "The cannon you proposed, young master, necessitates the use of ’Five-Color Magnetic Steel’ for its barrel construction. However, the total amount of Five-Color Magnetic Steel in the world is currently only enough to forge the barrels of four such super electromagnetic cannons."

Li Xuan was stunned, "Only four can be made? Seriously?"

"There’s only that much available. Five-Color Magnetic Steel is the main component of the Great Five Elements Yin-Yang Magnet Miejue Needle. Hence, only the Shenqi Union and the Mohist School know how to refine and synthesize it."

The Mohist School doesn’t rely on the Peacock Secret Method for sustenance and lacks complete transmission of the method. Therefore, currently, only the Shenqi Union has stockpiled a substantial amount of ’Five-Color Magnetic Steel’. However, even the inventory built up by the Shenqi Union over several centuries is only sufficient to construct four of such statues."

Leng Yurou crossed her arms, with an air of confidence, "As the saying goes, rarity leads to value. Previously, even the Fourth Tier Great Five Elements Yin-Yang Magnet Miejue Needle needed only twenty pounds of ’Five-Color Magnetic Steel’, but now, the construction of the cannon barrel for such a weapon proposed by the second young master requires at least three thousand five hundred pounds of ’Five-Color Magnetic Steel’."

"Even if the craftsmen of the Shenqi Union were to devote themselves entirely to refining this material, their annual production capacity would not exceed four hundred pounds, which means that it would take ten years to forge just one. Therefore, I am proposing a price of 920,000. What do you think, Second Young Master?"

"I see." Li Xuan was convinced. He thought to himself that indeed, if a weapon that could only be produced four times with all the resources in the world was to be sold, it would certainly command a high price.

In fact, Li Xuan was somewhat relieved. While this thing that Leng Yurou produced could indeed be used to manage border troubles and even suppress national fortune,

Li Xuan also worried that if the corrupt court of the Jin Dynasty obtained such a powerful weapon, it might not bode well for the people of the world.

Maybe someday in the future, nobles will still be overindulged in wine and meat, while the common people won’t have enough to eat.

But perhaps he was overthinking. There are many heroes in the world with formidable martial prowess, and one who reached the heavenly level could disregard guns and cannons.

Once the court loses the faith of the people, it won’t be able to suppress the world with a few dozen cannons.

Therefore, after Li Xuan returned with Leng Yurou, he bravely stated, "The price for one of my super electromagnetic cannons is ten million, the regular shells cost fifty thousand taels each, while the ’Thousand-Child Bullets’ are priced at three hundred thousand taels each, and ’Shell Bombs’ are two hundred thousand taels each. No bargain."

—He included his own design fee.

Li Xuan did consider the court, but he’s been really broke recently. To upgrade the ’Fumo Vajra’, he had racked up a ton of debt.

Even the money to buy gifts for his girls needed to be subsidized by them. He felt like he was not living up to his responsibilities as a husband.

Therefore, Li Xuan decided to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve his own financial freedom.

Shang Hong and Wang Wen looked at each other, both understanding that he had indeed been prepared to ask for a high price.

Shang Hong stroked his beard, calmly saying, "I merely asked for a quotation. I can’t make the decision. I will report Lord Jingan’s quote to the Emperor and the cabinet."

He thought that the procurement of this ’super electromagnetic cannon’ would have to be negotiated by Shangshu Yu Jie and the cabinet.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan felt a headache coming on. He predicted that he wouldn’t be able to receive this payment smoothly from the court. This matter was bound to drag on.

However, he did gain quite a bit from the several battles he fought after heading north.

After defeating the Karmapa, Luosang Zundanba, he got the ’Multi-Arms Maitreya’, a Buddhist Dharma Implement. The Pure Land Lotus Sect craved this item and was willing to offer something of equal value in exchange for it.

Even the worth in patterned silver of both the divine artifact and the immortal treasure should be more than eight million taels.

—In fact, silver is inadequate to measure their value. Once an item is beyond high-end magical implements, you can no longer purchase it with silver coins.

Although Li Xuan was poor, he was more inclined to barter and exchange for things that they needed.

Additionally, Li Xuan had also obtained three supreme magical implements from Ashitiemuer.

One "Shenying Knife", one shield named "Grey Wolf", and a suit of chain armor named "Black Tiger Holy Spirit".

The weapons of the Mongolians usually integrate the spirit of a powerful monster species. These three objects are no exception.

Especially the ’Black Tiger Holy Spirit’, which integrated the spirit of a heavenly-level beast, thus making it extremely strong.

–The defensive abilities of Ashitiemuer are indeed evident. If it wasn’t for the ambush by the Jade Qilin and the heavy losses suffered by the Mongwu’s army leading to the destruction of the seven arrow towers, which prevented Ashitiemuer from consolidating the heavenly-level ’force of ten thousand armies’, it would have been almost impossible for Li Xuan to kill him.

Li Xuan also got a small Qiankun bag from Ashitiemuer.

Unfortunately, this man was in the same position as him. Although his body possessed dazzling powerful magical weapons, his pockets were completely empty. The total value of all the goods in it was only fifty thousand taels.

Apart from that, there were three Giant Spirit Statues, but they cannot be entirely considered as Li Xuan’s spoils of war.

Sun Chuyun, Qilin, and Xue Yunrou all made significant contributions, and Li Xuan intended to distribute one to each.

–Qilin didn’t have human rights; therefore, the Giant Spirit Statue belonged to him.

This thing relies completely on divine power for support, which is just what Li Xuan needed. The only downside is its large size, which limits its use outside of the battlefield.

However, Lv Qiluo spoke up at this time, "This object can be enlarged or reduced, and at its smallest it is about thirty feet. Also about the Multi-Arms Maitreya–"

She hesitated slightly, "I recommend that you not seek out the Pure Land Lotus Sect. Instead, look for Lord Huang. This item was made with the ’Divine Heart of the Phoenix Tree’, which she could use."