owlsbooks Chapter 289 Climbing Kunwuxu
Chapter 289 Climbing Kunwuxu
Chapter 289 Climbing Kunwuxu
Jiang Wen walked out of the rock cave with a very solemn expression. He came to sit beside Yuan Louzi, threw out an iron sword that was rotten to the point of being completely broken, and said lightly.
"I found it."
Yuan Louzi looked into the sky in a trance. Before he understood what Jiang Wen was saying, he responded subconsciously and then glanced at the iron sword at his feet.
"Well, this is the kind of sword they are looking for."
Jiang Wen put the rusty sword aside and answered absentmindedly.
"No, what I'm talking about has nothing to do with sword forging. I found the sword cave where all the swords perished."
Hearing this, Yuan Louzi, who was originally uninterested, jumped up as if his tail was stepped on, and was about to run into the cave. Before he had taken three steps, he heard Jiang Wen add softly behind him.
"Senior, just because Jiang can come out alive doesn't mean you can live to see it. Do I need to make this clear?"
Hearing this, Yuan Louzi froze in his tracks, sat back in his original position with an angry look on his face, and then yelled at Jiang Wen: "Then tell me everything you saw and heard without missing a word, and don't tease me here!"
Jiang Wen glanced at Yuan Louzi, and then continued to look blankly. He knew that the old man in front of him was not angry with him, but with himself.
He was now filled with regret and annoyance because he had insisted on looking for the legendary Ouye Sword Pond, but he ended up losing his apprentice's life in vain before finding anything.
The only thing keeping him going now is this unsolved mystery. If Jiang Wen told him that he could know the answer by fighting to the death, Yuan Louzi would probably go to die without a second thought, and then comfort his disciple in the underworld - but Jiang Wen told him now that it would be in vain if he died in there, and that was a reality that Yuan Louzi could not accept.
His disciple has already paid a terrible price. If he dies in the cave again without knowing why, he will become a complete joke. Even if he meets his disciple in the underworld after death, he will probably have to cover his face and run away.
"Actually..."
Jiang Wen thought for a long time, until Yuan Louzi was about to lose his temper, and then he spoke in an ambiguous tone, "In the cave, there are only the remains of a senior master, who has been dead for at least three or four hundred years."
"As expected... According to our sect's records, there was once a Zhanlu Villa in Songxi Mountain. In the pre-Song Dynasty, it housed countless famous swords..."
Yuan Louzi frowned and said, "Master Yiyun is a great swordsman. He once gave swords to heroes all over the world to help them fight against Yuan. Since then, the name of "Mingjian Villa" has become famous all over the world. Over time, the word "Zhanlu" has replaced the original name of this mountain, "Kunwu."
Jiang Wen picked up the rotten iron sword on the ground and carefully looked at the marks left on it, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not detect the sharpness that a famous sword from thousands of years ago should have.
"Well, I think this is the place. Unfortunately, the strongest things are easily broken. Hundreds of years later, the tall buildings here collapsed, the pavilions disappeared, and the dust of the past was all blown away by the rain and wind. If there wasn't a dead skeleton left guarding the cave, who would recognize this place?"
"It's a long story. Back then, Zhanlu Villa had already deeply offended the Mongols because of the gift of the sword."
Yuan Louzi, with white hair and beard, sighed and said, "My sect's predecessor also warned the owner of Yiyun Manor, telling him that the former Yuan State Master, King Shura, came with anger and wanted to burn the manor to the ground. The old manor owner was already over 70 years old at the time, so it was naturally difficult for him to support the manor alone. I didn't expect that he would die in the cave..."
Jiang Wen sighed deeply and did not respond. What came to his mind was an empty-nest elderly man with broken legs and bruises all over his body.
Swordsmen can make friends with their swords. Jiang Wen could naturally feel the unwillingness and regret contained in the old man's mummy. It was this strong spiritual will that made something of him before his death remain in the cave, and finally turned into a sharp sword energy, indiscriminately attacking everyone who entered the cave.
However, Jiang Wen could still feel that the dark eye sockets of the mummy were still waiting for someone to come until it died. It seemed that only when this person came, the things he had been insisting on inheriting would have a support, meaning, and a future.
This looks very much like an empty-nest elderly person who is desperately waiting for his children and is reluctant to die before he dies.
Jiang Wen gradually understood that King Shura had misunderstood the old manor owner Yi Yun. King Shura thought that Yi Yun was pursuing fame and fortune, and stayed in Zhanlu Villa in Songxi County just to fight for the family's face. But as a solitary monk, how could King Shura understand Yi Yun's idea and obsession for the sake of his descendants, even though he was old?
Jiang Wen might be the only living person who had entered the cave in hundreds of years. Therefore, under the influence of the remaining will of the mummy, he silently paid tribute to this martial arts predecessor.
He knew that in the end, the old man still couldn't wait for the person he was waiting for, and finally he could only sit and die in the secret room with his meridians broken. As the sword energy that had accumulated in his body for decades dissipated into the cave, it turned this place into a terrifying and dangerous place that no living person was allowed to enter.
"…It is said that the old owner of Yiyun Manor once had a descendant who was extremely talented in swordsmanship, but for some unknown reason he was unable to inherit the family business, and he regretted it for the rest of his life."
The old Taoist priest kept muttering these trivial anecdotes, and his expression became more haggard. When people are in pain, they are often more likely to empathize. The topic that Jiang Wen deliberately did not mention was brought up by Yuan Louzi, who seemed to empathize with the old man sending off the young man.
Jiang Wen pretended to be puzzled and asked: "Junior doesn't understand, there is such a thing, I have discovered some new and interesting things."
Then he opened his clenched hands, revealing a piece of broken stone, and handed it to Yuan Louzi.
"……This is?"
Yuan Louzi moved closer to look at it carefully and found that the surface of the stone was crystal clear, as if covered with a layer of colorful glass. When they collided with each other, they shone with infinite brilliance. For a moment, the air was filled with precious aura and was so beautiful that it made people jaw-dropping.
Jiang Wen dispersed his internal force protection and touched the stone with his other finger. A cut was immediately made on the tip of his finger, and blood immediately spurted out. He then pulled up a wild grass leaf and brushed it lightly across the stone. The grass leaf instantly split into two parts. The cut was extremely smooth and neat, as if it had been cut by a sharp knife.
"What kind of stone is this?"
Jiang Wen did not answer. With a mysterious look on his face, he picked up the rusty iron sword and twisted it with great effort. It took almost all his strength to break the rotten sword that could fall apart at any time. Then he placed the two objects in front of Yuan Louzi and asked.
"Senior, have you figured it out?"
After they finished, Jiang Wen smiled without saying anything, and Yuan Louzi also went from being stunned to being suddenly enlightened. Then the two of them looked at each other and laughed, almost laughing to tears. The villagers nearby were so scared that they thought they were crazy. They hid aside and looked at them sideways, but did not dare to step forward to stop them.
The stones that Jiang Wen took out were the remains of stalactites that had just dripped water and injured people in the cave. The minerals covered in these stones were enough to separate gold from jade. If they were used to forge swords, they would naturally be able to cut through things instantly and kill people without leaving any trace. This was the Ouye magic ore that the criminals had been pursuing.
However, the rotten swords and knives remaining in the cave turned into some kind of stubborn, immortal, solid substance. The weapons used to make these weapons were unrivaled in hardness, but their sharpness was only mediocre and not outstanding.
These two substances are interdependent and should have been discovered at the same time, but the criminals were short-sighted and only dared to send the hostages to explore. In the end, they guarded the treasure mountain for dozens or even hundreds of years without discovering the secret. Isn't it laughable?
In Jiang Wen's eyes, this stone cave seemed to possess some kind of magical power that could cause specific substances to change in it.
Stalactites are calcium carbonate deposits in caves in carbonate rock areas. They should have the hardness of stone. Under the action of mysterious forces, they become needle-shaped calcium carbonate crystals, which interact with each other to become as thin as blades and extremely sharp.
The iron sword is essentially an iron-carbon alloy, which is easily oxidized, especially in a damp and dark environment like a cave. But under the influence of the mysterious power, as the surface of the iron sword was slowly corroded, it eventually became extremely tough, and even Jiang Wen could hardly break it.
The changes in these two substances were strange. Even with Jiang Wen's shallow knowledge of chemistry, he could vaguely find some common characteristics at this time - calcium carbonate became extremely sharp, and the iron-carbon alloy became strong and solid.
Calcium carbonate, iron-carbon alloy.
According to the substitution reaction, the two elements, calcium and iron, were infected by something and replaced by a substance that was extremely compatible with "carbon", which completely changed their original properties.
Jiang Wen now suspects that there must be a special kind of bacterial microorganism in the grottoes that can devour and transform specific substances. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a microscope at the moment, otherwise he would definitely observe the mystery carefully!
Yuan Louzi stopped laughing, stood up suddenly, pointed at the sharp gravel on the ground, and said to Jiang Wen with certainty.
"It is said that the 'Kunwu Knife' can cut jade as easily as cutting mud. I originally thought that this knife did not exist, but now it seems that I have found it by accident!"
Jiang Wen turned his head to see the old Taoist priest going crazy, while trying to recall what the "Kunwu Sword" he mentioned was.
According to Liezi Tangwen, when King Mu of Zhou was on a large expedition against the Western Rong, the Western Rong presented them with the Kunwu Knife and the Huohuan Cloth. The Kunwu Knife could cut jade like cutting mud, and the Huohuan Cloth could remove dirt by throwing into fire. They were extremely magical treasures.
These two treasures were originally regarded as legends. It was not until the asbestos fiber textile technology matured in modern times that people realized that the so-called "fire-resistant cloth" should be the predecessor of asbestos cloth.
However, there has been no definitive conclusion as to whether the "Kunwu Sword" existed or not. For example, Cao Pi, the Emperor Wen of Wei and a sword enthusiast, stated in his "Lun Dian" that such a sword did not exist at all.
In modern times, some people speculate that the "Kunwu Knife" is a potter's wheel mixed with sharp jade-cutting sand particles, which is used to cut solid jade by grinding it with jade-cutting sand that is harder than jade. It is also associated with the mysterious "jade carving" technique.
However, this speculation is still questionable, because traces of ancient grinding and jade sand are not uncommon on ancient jade artifacts. The ancients would not be so surprised by such rare things. It is even more difficult to explain the hair-like carvings that existed from Liangzhu jade artifacts to the Warring States and Han dynasties.
For example, the mysterious incised lines on Liangzhu jade artifacts, the most dense of which are carved with 1-4 incised lines within a hair; the hair carvings from the Warring States and Han dynasties are also astonishingly dense, as dense as a hair. No matter how many times the macro is magnified, only the trajectory of the "sharp tool" can be found, and it is difficult to distinguish the sand marks. It is impossible to use a tool to carve with the technology of jade sand. Instead, it is more like it was carved with a mysterious "sharp tool", and the hardness must be much greater than that of jade.
This makes people even more suspicious of the existence of the "Kunwu Knife" that can cut jade like mud.
For example, the Classic of Mountains and Seas says that "there is a lot of red copper on the Kunwu Mountain." There are many examples of ancient copper alloy swords that were unearthed more than 2,000 years ago and were still extremely sharp, so it is entirely possible to use such copper alloys to make jade-carving Kunwu knives.
Some people raised doubts at this time, saying that the ancients should have used a mixture of water chestnuts, alum, toad venom and toads to steam and directly reduce the hardness of the jade by one to two degrees. At this time, carving with a carving knife would be as natural as cutting mud.
But the problem is that this method changes the internal structure of jade due to the drugs. The jade carved using the "soft jade method" has a limited shelf life and may deteriorate after hundreds of years, which does not achieve the purpose of passing down ancient jade...
"Well, using this to cut jade is indeed as easy as pie..."
Thinking of this, Jiang Wen understood. Yuan Louzi probably saw the stalactite that could cut gold and jade, and naturally thought of this unsolved case, and immediately started dancing with joy.
Jiang Wen also said with a hint of enlightenment: "Senior, do you think that the "Kunwu" in Qieyu has any connection with the "Kunwu Country" you mentioned earlier?"
Yuan Louzi was stunned when he heard this, as if his soul had fallen to the ground. Then his eyes moved vaguely, as if some mysterious light was shining in his pupils, and he spoke in a whisper.
"You mean... here..."
Jiang Wen nodded and slowly moved towards the blind spot of the old Taoist's vision.
"Well, perhaps the word "Kunwu" actually refers to the same thing as Ou Yezi's sword forging."
"Lu Zhong, the great-grandson of Zhuanxu, was the fire master during the time of Emperor Ku, so he naturally knew how to use fire to forge things. Later, Lu Zhong had six sons. The eldest was Kunwu, the second was Canhu, the third was Pengzu, the fourth was Huiren, the fifth was Yan'an, and the sixth was Jilian."
"The eldest son Kunwu was the potter, and the casting technique was also passed down from the eldest son to the eldest son. The Kunwu clan was the founder of the Qi clan during the Xia Dynasty, and it was at its peak. Until the end of the Xia Dynasty, they helped the evil king to do evil, and were exterminated by Shang Tang. The remaining clan members must have fled south and joined the descendants of Kunwu's younger brother Ji Lian - the Chu people with the surname Mi, and that's how they came to the southern Chu land!"
Yuan Louzi was struck by a burst of ecstasy, and as he looked at Jiang Wen speaking excitedly, two lines of tears flowed down involuntarily, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.
"I understand now! These Kunwu people who headed south were scattered, and one of them mastered the Kunwu tribe's forging technique, and eventually became the sword-forging master Ou Yezi in the late Spring and Autumn Period!"
"I understand! 'Ouye' is 'Kunwu'! 'Kunwu' is 'Ouye'!"
"I'm not wrong! I saw the ancient seal script of the word "Kunwu" in the old prison of Fengcheng and have been puzzled until now. Now I finally know the meaning of "Kunwu"..."
Yuan Louzi was in a trance, talking nonsense in a grotesque manner. It seemed that under the intense stimulation, his mental world was on the verge of collapse once again.
However, at this moment, a gust of wind suddenly came towards him, and there was a bang. The old Taoist priest felt dizzy and his vision became more and more blurred and dark. Only a sound was heard half a beat late.
"Collapsed——"
"Hehe, it seems that the spell was recited correctly this time..."
(End of this chapter)