“小 friend, let me borrow your primordial spirit for a moment.” William Godwin shouted. Just as Henry Stone was about to ask what a “primordial spirit” was, William Godwin had already raised his head and spat out a jade-like condensation.

That creamy white condensation, like mutton-fat jade, passed through Henry Stone’s body, but Henry Stone didn’t feel any pain at all. On the contrary, he felt a comfort like soaking in a hot spring in the middle of winter.

Right behind Henry Stone, a beam of moonlight descended from the sky. Guided by that white jade condensation from William Godwin, it passed through Henry Stone’s body and projected onto William Godwin.

“Whew…”

William Godwin let out a long breath, exhaling a cloud of impurities like fireworks, and his whole body instantly felt lighter. The moonlight continued to merge into him through his seven orifices, and after a round of refinement, it settled within his body.

“Huh—” William Godwin exclaimed in surprise, looking at Henry Stone in astonishment. He saw golden divine light spots radiating from Henry Stone’s primordial spirit, fluttering outside his body like fireflies.

This is definitely not just a primordial spirit—William Godwin cried out in his heart. This must be… No wonder this little fellow was able to condense a primordial spirit without ever cultivating before.

But now was not the time to be distracted, so he suppressed his curiosity and focused on refining the moonlight.

That moonlight, under William Godwin’s guidance, passed through Henry Stone’s body. Henry Stone suddenly felt a deep peace in his heart, just like the moonlight itself. The gentle yet abundant power gradually washed over Henry Stone’s body, and the benefits were obvious.

However, Henry Stone’s greatest gain was not the refinement of his body, but that he seemed to sense that this moonlight was refining his body in a special way, rather than simply absorbing moonlight and letting it settle inside as he had done before.

The condensed moonlight was so pure that even with William Godwin’s abilities, he could only absorb nine streams. After nine, his primordial spirit was already full, and compared to Henry Stone’s state, it was in no way inferior. He looked completely like a living person, with no trace of that ethereal feeling.

William Godwin let out a long howl toward the sky, his voice like a wandering dragon, echoing through the heavens. On the ten surrounding mountain peaks, ten enormous light dragons suddenly emerged, each with a head as big as Henry Stone’s family’s house, coiling around the peaks, raising their heads to the sky and roaring in response to William Godwin.

Countless beams of light shot up into the sky, and heaven and earth changed. William Godwin stood tall, laughing heartily. The knot in his heart that had lasted three hundred years was finally untied in an instant, and the feeling of relief was truly beyond words.

He grabbed Henry Stone’s hand and said repeatedly, “Thank you, little friend, thank you! I never expected that not only have you already condensed your primordial spirit, but you even…” He suddenly glanced at Henry Stone, as if he had thought of something, and smiled slightly without saying more.

With a wave of his hand, a golden auspicious cloud lifted Henry Stone up and slowly carried him away. William Godwin waved goodbye: “Where you land, little friend, there is an iron ore vein. You may organize the nearby villagers to mine and smelt iron, and provide weapons and armor for the Great Xia army. In doing so, your entire village will be exempt from military service.”

Standing atop the auspicious cloud, Henry Stone remained calm. He knew that William Godwin was pointing out the location of the iron mine for him.

From afar, William Godwin respectfully clasped his hands and bowed: “If not for you, little friend, I might never have broken through to the primordial spirit realm in this life. I never expected that after three hundred years of entanglement, I would gain even more than I imagined. It’s all thanks to you. We’ll meet again in the Immortal Realm, hahahaha!”

Amid William Godwin’s hearty laughter, with a grand wave, the Azure Dragon Ten-Guard Formation flew out from the surrounding mountains and forests, turning into ten points of blue light that entered his robe sleeves. A breeze swept up his body, carrying him straight into the boundless void.

……

The golden auspicious cloud descended in a mountain valley. Henry Stone had often come to this valley, but he never expected there to be a precious iron ore vein here.

The laws of Great Xia indeed stipulated that donating ten ring-handled sabers, or a set of armor, or five spears, could exempt one from military service.

Although he now knew there was an iron ore vein in this valley, he was at a loss as to how to locate the exact spot, how to mine it, or how to forge weapons.

Just as he was worrying, he suddenly found that the golden auspicious cloud beneath his feet was slowly condensing into a palm-sized jade token. Though the token was small, all his questions were answered.

How could William Godwin not have thought of all these details? Everything had already been arranged for him. Henry Stone smiled, feeling a bit proud—he really hadn’t trusted the wrong person.

Chapter 5: Forging the Blade (Part 1)

At the sound of a rooster crowing, Henry Stone opened his eyes from sleep, and the first thing he saw was his father’s weathered, stubbly face. Henry Stone was startled: “Dad, what are you doing standing here?”

Henry Stone’s father had woken up in the second half of the night, unable to sleep from worry. At dawn, he stood by his son’s bed, waiting. He felt uneasy and wanted to ask his son if he had any ideas, but seeing his son sleeping so soundly, he couldn’t bear to wake him, so he just stood by the bed for over half an hour.

“Henry, do you have a solution or not?”

Henry Stone smiled: “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ve already got it all figured out.”

Only then did Henry Stone’s father breathe a sigh of relief and quickly say, “Go wash up, your mother made pancakes for you…”