#99 - Achun's Secret

Half an hour later.

The cook who had accompanied them outside the forest had already prepared lunch, and Wei Changtian and Liang Qin emerged from the forest one after the other.

Wei Changtian had taught Liang Qin the most basic sword practice methods of the Returning Dust Blade. After she practiced on her own for a few days, she could officially start learning the moves.

However, that was not the main point.

The main point was, why had Liang Qin's attitude towards him suddenly changed so much?

What did she mean by "At the very least, you still have me"?

How could this sentence not sound ambiguous?

Wei Changtian would never have guessed that this was actually the result of Liang Qin's own overthinking. He pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out, and finally became too lazy to think about it anymore.

Forget it.

At worst, there would just be another bed in the house, not a big deal.

......

After lunch, everyone rested in place for a while before preparing to continue their journey.

There were still two days' journey to Shu Prefecture City, but now that they had entered Shu Prefecture, Liang Zhen was unwilling to travel on and off like before, and hoped to return to his lair as soon as possible.

However, just as everyone was busy preparing for the departure, Wei Changtian sneaked up to the boundary stone again, holding the hilt of the Dragon's Roar Blade in his hand.

Tsk tsk, Immortal Locking Stone.

This is a good thing!

I don't know about other uses, but at least it would be effective for making armor!

Being able to shield the true energy of heaven and earth meant that all internal force attacks would be ineffective against it.

Isn't this a magic resistance effect!

He already had the inner armor he obtained from the Zhang Mansion. If he added another piece of armor like this... Good heavens, wouldn't he have both physical and magical resistance!

The more Wei Changtian thought about it, the happier he became. He repeatedly examined the large boundary stone, finally finding a good place to start cutting.

A small protrusion, quite thin. He should be able to cut it off with a few more strikes.

After making up his mind, he didn't hesitate. He glanced at the busy crowd not far away, then directly drew his sword and sheath, using all his strength to strike down at the protrusion.

"Crack!"

"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"

Without taking the time to examine how deep he had cut this time, Wei Changtian swung seven or eight more times in a row, each strike landing on the same crack.

"Thump!"

Finally, a stone about the size of a fist fell off the boundary stone, the cut surface reflecting a cyan light like metal.

Wei Changtian happily picked up the stone, estimating in his mind whether this size was enough to make a piece of inner armor.

If it was ground into powder and matched with some other materials, it should be enough.

It's just that the effect might be somewhat discounted... Wait a minute!

That's not right!

Wei Changtian looked at the stone in his hand and suddenly froze.

It was already difficult enough for him to cut this Immortal Locking Stone, so how could he possibly grind it into powder?!

Damn it! Wasn't this a waste of effort!

If it couldn't be ground into powder, it would be difficult to even make a heart-protecting mirror with just this little bit in his hand!

Unless... he cut off an even bigger piece.

But wouldn't that create too much commotion...

Wei Changtian frowned, feeling a little tangled. He didn't even notice Liang Zhen walking up behind him.

"Changtian... what are you doing?"

"!!!"

"Uncle Liang..."

Wei Changtian forced a smile, turned his head, and said awkwardly, "Cough, I originally wanted to try how deep I could cut, but I accidentally cut off a small piece of stone..."

"Hmm?"

Liang Zhen glanced at the stone in Wei Changtian's hand and said amusingly, "I'm afraid this wasn't accidental..."

"This..."

Seeing that he had been exposed, Wei Changtian simply stopped making excuses, gritted his teeth, and said directly, "Uncle Liang, I actually wanted to get a piece of stone to make some inner armor or something."

Liang Zhen was stunned: "Make armor? With this Immortal Locking Stone?"

"That's right!"

"Changtian, this piece of yours is too small!"

"Come! I'll help you!"

???

Wei Changtian stared blankly at Liang Zhen, who had already drawn his saber, and swallowed subconsciously.

"Changtian, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and help!"

"Coming, coming..."

......

"Da da da da..."

When the dense sound of horses' hooves rang out again, it was already dusk.

Facing the setting sun, more than a hundred riders and seven or eight heavy carriages quickly disappeared, leaving behind only a few piles of burnt-out bonfires and a boundary stone.

The boundary stone was ten feet tall, its surface uneven, with a single character "Shu" engraved on it.

Actually, if Wei Changtian and Liang Zhen hadn't been too tired at the end, this "Shu" character should have been gone too...

However, one shouldn't be too greedy. Taking away half was already enough.

"...This is the Immortal Locking Stone. Think about whether it has any other uses."

Inside the carriage, Wei Changtian casually threw a small piece of stone to Zhang San. Although he was exhausted, his face was filled with joy.

"Young Master."

Zhang San carefully examined the Immortal Locking Stone for a while, and then tested it with internal force. Only then did he say thoughtfully, "Besides being used for defensive gear, this stone can also be used as poison."

"Poison?"

Wei Changtian asked in confusion, "Is this thing poisonous?"

"I don't know if it's poisonous, but since it can block internal force..."

Zhang San narrowed his eyes slightly: "If it is ground into powder and given to cultivators, it may cause their energy to be disordered, or even their meridians to be blocked."

"That makes sense..."

Wei Changtian nodded slightly, praising, "Zhang San, I don't know if the Immortal Locking Stone can be used as poison, but you are indeed poisonous enough!"

"Thank you for your praise, Young Master."

Zhang San's expression remained unchanged, and he handed the Immortal Locking Stone to Yang Liushi.

Yang Liushi did not have such a sinister suggestion. She only felt that this thing could be used for storage, to shield the heaven and earth spiritual energy emitted by some treasures.

Well, this idea is also good. Sure enough, there is strength in numbers.

Wei Changtian nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to take back the Immortal Locking Stone, he suddenly noticed that A'Chun's face, who was sitting next to Yang Liushi, looked a little off.

It was the kind of pale caused by lack of oxygen.

What's going on? She was quite normal just now.

"A'Chun, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Wei Changtian asked immediately after taking the Immortal Locking Stone. At this time, A'Chun seemed to finally catch her breath, and quickly waved her small hand, saying, "Master, I'm fine. I just suddenly felt a little stuffy just now, but I'm fine now."

"Is that so..."

Wei Changtian exchanged glances with Yang Liushi, while Yuan'er had already poured A'Chun a cup of hot tea, and thoughtfully added a piece of sugar candy to it.

"Thank you, Sister Yuan'er..."

Perhaps feeling that she had caused trouble for everyone, A'Chun lowered her head shyly, and after a long while, she picked up the teacup and began to sip tea.

Watching the little girl's face gradually return to normal, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only Wei Changtian suddenly frowned, and slowly took out the Immortal Locking Stone again, placing it directly in front of A'Chun.

"Ugh..."

As if some strange chemical reaction had occurred, A'Chun's little face almost instantly began to turn white again.