After the distribution, everyone seemed happy. I obtained two treasures that were beneficial to my cultivation; Sha Biao got the centipede's body, and Lao Wu obtained ten thousand yuan. It seemed like everyone got what they needed.
Only Zhang seemed a bit unhappy, not because he hadn't gained anything, but because he felt it was unfair for me. He thought that I could have taken everything without spending a penny, especially considering that in a way, I had saved everyone's lives.
To this, I just smiled and said it was just for peace of mind.
I did indeed act to find peace of mind. Regardless of it being the "Fengding Bead" or the "Fire-burning Stick," as long as I didn't mention it, no one would know they were treasures. But if I had taken them directly, I would have felt guilty. The Fengding Bead was fine, as it was my "hard-earned labor," but the fire-burning stick was Lao Wu's "personal property."
Moreover, Lao Wu's family was indeed going through difficult times and they had children to support. I could consider it as sponsoring his son's education.
Of course, the reason I dared to do this was that after I established my foundation, Lao Zhang temporarily suppressed the disaster in my body with a secret method. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to be so generous. Maybe I wouldn't have dared to help, considering my ill-starred fate. In the past, if Lao Wu had dared to accept ten thousand yuan from me, his house might have been washed away by a mudslide the next day...
Even though the centipede spirit was dead, Lao Wu still couldn't stay at home. So he, along with his wife, returned to the village with us. Fortunately, they had relatives in the village, so they had a place to stay.
On the way back to the village, I couldn't help but ask Lao Wu about the origin of the stick.
Lao Wu said that the stick was picked up in the mountains the year his son was born and had served as their firewood stick ever since. He hadn't noticed it before, but now, thinking back, the stick had a somewhat sinister nature. It had been burning for over ten years, yet it had not shortened at all, but instead had become heavier.
As soon as he started talking, Lao Wu enthusiastically began talking about his son, praising his intelligence and exceptional academic performance, how he had always been the first in his class from a young age...
I was puzzled as to why I hadn't seen his son that evening. Normally, he should have been on winter vacation by this time.
Later, I learned that his son's name was Wu Junxuan, just about to turn 12. He was currently studying in junior high school in Qianyang City, so he had been staying with relatives. In a few days, his parents planned to go to Qianyang to see him...
12 years old?
It turns out that they had a child after many years. No wonder he was such a special treasure! Given their current situation, being able to send their child to school was already quite remarkable, not to mention sending him to study in Qianyang City.
How could they afford such expenses? It was no wonder Lao Wu was so sensitive about money... the love of parents was indeed for the sake of their children.
Thinking about this, I made up my mind then and there. When I returned to Qianyang after the New Year, if I had the chance, I would definitely help take care of Wu Junxuan.
Lao Wu was almost fifty years old now. If he were to support his son until college, it was hard to imagine given their current circumstances.
When we returned to the village, we went our separate ways, tired after a long day. As soon as we got back to Zhang's house, everyone fell asleep, but I couldn't sleep no matter how much I tossed and turned. After much deliberation, I decided to get up and practice.
I must say, compared to Qianyang, this remote mountain was more conducive to practice! Just practicing until the middle of the night, I was able to completely recover the qi that had been almost exhausted during the day. In Qianyang, I would have had to practice until early morning to achieve this...
Fully recovered, I couldn't sit still, so I quickly picked up the "fire-burning stick" and carefully examined it.
Judging from its appearance alone, it was so unattractive that no one would bend down to pick it up if it were thrown on the ground.
However, when I activated the qi in my body and carefully sensed its interior, I finally discovered some clues!
It was the scent of thunder!
Suddenly, my heart leaped with joy. I finally understood the origin of this "fire-burning stick"!
It was a struck-by-lightning wood! This was what Lao Zhang often mentioned!
As the name suggests, it was the wood struck by lightning! Of course, this was not the whole story. It must be emphasized that after being struck by lightning, the tree did not die and was still alive! Then its tree core was taken, which was the true struck-by-lightning wood!
According to folklore, struck-by-lightning wood was split by heavenly thunder and frightening to evil spirits. It contained the information of gods and goddesses suppressing spiritual entities and was considered an effective evil-warding object. It was commonly worn by tying a piece around a child's wrist or hanging it around their neck to protect them from evil spirits and ensure their well-being.
In Taoist beliefs, struck-by-lightning wood contained some genuine thunder talismans due to the imprints left in the tree core, and thus had innate abilities to ward off evil. Therefore, it was often used to make magical instruments such as peach wood swords and jujube wood seals!
Based on the number of lightning strikes, it was classified as first, second, third... all the way up to ninth strike. Nine strikes were the highest, and anything beyond that was impossible.
The occurrence of struck-by-lightning wood was attributed to the belief that all things had spirits. Just as animals can cultivate into spirits, trees could also have awakened spirits. Any tree that was struck by lightning indicated that the tree had awakened, and thus, faced a tribulation!
Taoism emphasized that nine turns returned to one, so a lightning tribulation could have at most nine layers. Once a tree survived nine lightning strikes without dying, it was considered to have achieved enlightenment! Hence, the highest struck-by-lightning wood had nine turns.
Lao Zhang had mentioned that the peach wood sword I had unknowingly snapped was apparently made from first-turn struck-by-lightning wood. I wondered how many turns my "fire-burning stick" was made of? It was simply trash.
At this thought, I became even more excited and promptly found a small knife to carefully scrape off the charred surface, revealing the bright, blood-colored tree core!
Sure enough! From the color, I was certain that this was indeed struck-by-lightning wood! Furthermore, judging from the wood quality, it happened to be peach wood!
This was a big gain! Even if it was only a first-turn struck-by-lightning wood, this "fire-burning stick" could be crafted into quite a powerful peach wood sword!
"One, two, three..."
The further I scraped, the more excited I became, as, apart from the bright, blood-like color, every so often, there was a faint golden texture, and each strand of this golden texture represented a lightning strike!
"Seven!"
When we reached the seventh strand of golden texture, I felt my breathing becoming somewhat heavy.
"Eight!"
My heart suddenly skipped a beat, and I quickly scraped forward again. Finally, I saw another strand of faint golden texture. "Nine!!!"
The ninth strand! A full nine strands! My goodness, could this be the legendary Nine-Revolution Lightning Wood? Damn! This is not just a big win, it's like all the ancestors' graves are exuding smoke at the same time!
No! It's not just smoke, it's the rhythm of the ancestors' graves being on fire!
The Nine-Revolution Lightning Wood! What does that even mean?
This is definitely the alchemy treasure that all practitioners dream of! Even without adding any other materials or carving any symbols on it, it is already a powerful magic weapon! No wonder it could easily kill that centipede spirit!