"I should have thought of it long ago."
"The secret discovered in the mine can make people murderous, and even make them take desperate measures, not hesitating to plot the murder of three stationed guards. It must have an extremely astonishing value."
Mi Wenjie's expression was inexplicable as he looked at the distant horizon, leisurely explaining.
"I like to read miscellaneous books, and I have some knowledge of various subjects, whether it's cuisine, architecture, medicinal herbs, minerals, and so on."
"I once read in an ancient book that many mineral veins will have associated minerals, and among the several common associated minerals in the red iron ore veins, there is one called Fire Cloud Iron Mother."
"Saying it's common is not because it's abundant, but because Fire Cloud Iron Mother is extremely rare, and in the records of books, about half of its appearances are associated with red iron ore veins."
"Fire Cloud Iron Mother can be called a rare treasure. Just a piece the size of a palm can weigh hundreds of catties and be worth ten thousand taels of gold, a million taels of silver!"
Mi Wenjie spoke with an impassioned tone.
In this world, the main circulating currencies are gold and silver.
And in cultivation, what you cultivate is resources, what you cultivate is money.
A million taels of silver is an extremely astonishing wealth for any martial artist in the True Qi Realm.
Jiang Heng was equally shocked in his heart.
He habitually compared and converted it into the currency of his previous life. A million taels of silver was equivalent to the purchasing power of ten billion in his previous life.
Don't be fooled by the two hundred million rewards he received when he won the Outer Sect Grand Competition before.
That was the reward for the top-tier geniuses among the nearly ten thousand Outer Sect disciples, and it was increased tenfold by the Sect Master to reach such an exaggerated amount.
Ordinary Outer Sect disciples, even if they frequently carried out missions, could only save a few hundred taels of silver after deducting cultivation expenses.
Although Jiang Heng had never had contact with Inner Sect disciples, he believed it couldn't be much different.
"Just a piece of metal the size of a palm? Is it really that expensive?"
He asked in amazement unconsciously.
Mi Wenjie shouted excitedly:
"Of course! Fire Cloud Iron Mother is the primary material for forging spiritual weapons!"
"Spiritual weapons, those are powerful weapons that only martial artists in the fourth realm of martial arts, the Spirit Sea Realm and above, are qualified to use!"
"Elders fly on swords, relying on what? It's the spiritual weapons with spirituality!"
"The Spirit Sea Realm possesses absolute strength that surpasses the Innate Realm, and is even capable of sweeping countless Innate Realm like cutting vegetables. Among them, spiritual weapons are definitely a very important reason."
"Once spiritual weapons are unleashed, no one can stop them!"
"Ordinary tools, precious tools, in front of it, they are all trash!"
"Do you think Fire Cloud Iron Mother is expensive?"
Jiang Heng's expression had returned to calm, and he looked at the excited Mi Wenjie with a slight frown.
"Did you deduce this based on the miners' physical symptoms?"
When it came to business, Mi Wenjie also began to slowly regain his composure.
"Yes, Fire Cloud Iron Mother is a spiritual material, containing extremely terrifying fiery energy. Direct contact with it would burn the physical realm martial artists, and it would invade the bodies of mortals, causing various physical injuries."
"Skin burns, boiling blood, and even the massive evaporation of blood inside the body, all these signs are very similar to what is recorded in books, plus it was found in the red iron mine."
"If it is Fire Cloud Iron Mother, then all the speculations we made earlier make sense."
"Five miners accidentally discovered Fire Cloud Iron Mother in the mine. After reporting it, it immediately attracted the attention of Gu Chengping."
"Gu Chengping secretly detained the five informants, planning to keep Fire Cloud Iron Mother for himself."
Mi Wenjie pondered for a moment, continuing to imagine the subsequent events in his mind, and then said:
"It should be that someone among the stationed guards knew about it and was planning to share the loot with Gu Chengping. Gu Chengping agreed on the surface but actually wanted to keep it for himself, which led to the robbery and murder incident."
At this moment, Jiang Heng suddenly said:
"Overall, it makes sense, but there's something that doesn't add up."
"Gu Chengping's strength is obviously not enough to kill the stationed guards, so he must have had an accomplice."
"Since he had an accomplice and they were going to share the loot, they would both have to share the benefits. There was no need for him to take such a big risk by killing the guards."
"Unless the guards themselves wanted to keep it all for themselves or only offer a small share to Gu Chengping, which made Gu Chengping dissatisfied and triggered the murderous intent."
"All of this is because the stationed guards were too greedy, am I right, Gu Chengping?"
Both of them simultaneously focused their gaze on Gu Chengping, who was below the courtyard wall.
"Yes..."
Gu Chengping slowly sat up from the ground, lowered his head, and spoke in a low voice.
"It's all because that guy, Zhang Lei, was too greedy!"
"A Fire Cloud Iron Mother worth a fortune, and he only offered me a thousand taels of silver! Just one-thousandth for me!"
"Why? I discovered it! It's mine! He just happened to find out and wanted to keep it all to himself!"
"You martial disciples, you do whatever you want, acting domineering, not putting anyone in your eyes."
Gu Chengping raised his head, shouting angrily at Jiang Heng and the others.
His actions were exposed, and he knew he had no way out, so he no longer cared about the sect disciples and vented loudly.
Jiang Heng gave a wry smile.
"You need to understand, the mining site belongs to the Dalu Sect."
"And, did you really discover it? It was clearly those five miners who found it, right?"
"I didn't see you giving them a few taels of silver. Instead, you killed them all. Compared to that, Zhang Lei offering you a thousand taels of silver was quite generous."
"A thousand taels of silver, and you're not satisfied? In your current situation, who can you blame?"
"Both you and Zhang Lei are equally guilty."
Gu Chengping froze for a moment and fell silent.
"Who is your accomplice? Where is the Fire Cloud Iron Mother?"
Jiang Heng continued to inquire.
Gu Chengping remained indifferent, seemingly resigned to his fate and uncooperative.
Jiang Heng sighed.
"I originally planned to leave it to the sect to handle and let you depart peacefully. It seems like you want to taste a bit of bitterness on your own."
Jiang Heng took step by step closer, and the rhythmic sound of his footsteps echoed in Gu Chengping's ears, adding psychological pressure.
He walked up to Gu Chengping, looking down at him from a higher vantage point.
"I'll ask you one more time, who is your accomplice, and where is the Fire Cloud Iron Mother?"
Jiang Heng's cold and stern voice, like a bone-chilling cold wind, reverberated in Gu Chengping's heart.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, Jiang Heng kicked Gu Chengping's chin, sending his body flying several meters into the air.
Viscous saliva and mixed blood flew out of his mouth unconsciously, creating a rhythmic arc in mid-air before splattering in all directions.
After transmigrating to this world, Jiang Heng's behavior style had already diverged greatly from his previous life. Whether it was his previous act of forcibly beating Gu Chengping without evidence or his current use of violence to extract information, these actions, if judged by his past self, were clearly too violent and ruthless.
However, in this world, which prioritized martial arts and strength, the strong were revered. Jiang Heng's bottom line was to avoid wanton killing and bullying the weak. For individuals like Gu Chengping, who murdered others for personal gain, he saw no need for moral restraint.
In short, if you don't submit, I'll beat you until you do.