Afterward, the five villages indeed sent young and middle-aged adults to work. Some of them were women, and with their participation, the construction progress of Yu Village accelerated.
After some time, there was progress in the workshop. Xin Ya and the others crafted several sets of new clothes for Yu Su using finely woven hemp fabric. The styles were elegant and exquisite, making Yu Su look exceptionally good.
Touching the soft and delicate hemp fabric, everyone couldn't believe that it could be so soft.
For Yu Su, the current hemp fabric, no matter how soft and lightweight, was not as comfortable as cotton, silk, or the advanced fabrics of the future, let alone the powerful robes from the heyday of the Artificer Continent. Nevertheless, it was a significant improvement.
Xin Ya and the others used their skills to embroider wave patterns and leaf patterns, symbolizing water and wood, on the collars. In their eyes, Yu Su was the envoy of the Mountain God, so embroidering these two elements was always correct.
Yu Su didn't say anything; it looked pretty good.
The clothes for Lu Yan were also finished – neat and tidy attire. "Buddha relies on gold, and people rely on clothes," they said. When Lu Yan put it on, he looked handsome and dashing, causing several village girls to blush.
Yu Su circled around him, contemplating without speaking.
Lu Yan, a bit nervous, asked, "Not good-looking?"
In fact, he was more accustomed to not wearing clothes. He felt that just wrapping a piece of animal skin around his waist suited his wild and unrestrained personality better. However, Yu Su said that everyone would wear clothes in the future to appear civilized, so he had to wear them.
At this moment, he felt a sense of restraint, and it felt strange.
Especially when he saw Yu Su just staring at him without saying anything, he really wanted to take off the clothes.
"What are you doing?" Yu Su, who was enjoying the sight, saw Lu Yan trying to take off the clothes and quickly stopped him.
"Not good-looking, you don't like it."
"...Who said I don't like it? It looks handsome; I'm even a bit jealous."
This guy Lu Yan had such an excellent figure. He had muscles, height – the ideal physique that Yu Su couldn't achieve no matter how much he trained.
Lu Yan, seeing that he genuinely liked it, immediately felt relieved. Seeing him staring at his physique, he straightened his chest, hoping Yu Su would look at him a bit more.
No matter how good-looking, Yu Su couldn't stare at him forever.
After producing a large quantity of woven hemp fabric, the speed of the workshop in producing hemp clothes increased significantly.
For a small sum of money, anyone in the village could exchange it for a lightweight hemp garment. Since the salt field's profit-sharing, people in the village now had spare money.
Not long after, almost everyone in the village wore lightweight hemp clothes.
As the workshop's dyeing techniques became more proficient, clothes with colors started to appear.
Men preferred steadier colors like white, black, and blue. Women leaned toward brighter colors such as red, yellow, and purple.
Yu Su gave Xin Ya an entire sheepskin scroll containing various clothing styles for men, women, elderly, children, and even some intimate apparel styles. Everything was there for Xin Ya and the women in the workshop to unleash their creativity.
After some time, seeing that various village affairs had someone responsible for them and could run smoothly without his supervision, Yu Su informed the Deer God Mountain and Qing Ze that he and Lu Yan were preparing to go on a journey for experience.
"We're going to look for materials for refining and suitable Five Elements spiritual treasures to enhance my dantian. I've reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement. It won't be long before I face Foundation Building. I hope to find a Five Elements spiritual treasure before then. Bless me with good luck, Elder." Yu Su said.
Qing Ze lazily basked in the sun, stood up when he heard about searching for a Five Elements spiritual treasure, and lightly touched Yu Su with his antlers.
Yu Su felt Qing Ze's will conveying, "Wood...Southeast...Birthplace of the Life Tree."
Yu Su's eyes brightened, "Are you saying that in the southeast direction, we can find a Wood spiritual treasure where the Life Tree was born?"
Qing Ze nodded slightly, then tilted his head slightly, staring at him quietly, as if saying: "This is my gift, quickly express your gratitude, little two-legged creature."
Yu Su was genuinely delighted. He hugged Qing Ze tightly and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Lord Mountain God, you are the best Mountain God in the world!"
Qing Ze: "!!"
His deer eyes widened, looking at him with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
Too presumptuous, this little two-legged creature!"I'm sorry, sorry, I got too excited for a moment. Please don't be mad."
Yu Su laughed heartily, extremely happy, and his apology seemed insincere.
Qing Ze nudged him with its antlers.
Yu Su quickly pleaded, "I really won't dare again, please don't nudge me, I might fall off the stone. Rest assured, I'll think of you when I encounter good things during my journey and bring them back for you."
Only then did Qing Ze refrain from nudging him with its antlers.
Yu Su spent a day with Qing Ze, telling it stories.
The stories of the monk and his three disciples were already finished some time ago. Now, he was telling the story of the Investiture of the Gods. There were some similarities to the Savage Wilderness in the story, making it relatable. Qing Ze enjoyed listening to it, but sometimes it couldn't help but complain about the characters in the story.
When it complained, it either used a gaze full of royal disdain or nudged Yu Su with its deer hoof, urging him to turn the page quickly, indicating it didn't want to hear that part and asking to skip.
Yu Su, of course, dutifully skipped ahead. After all, when the big boss spoke, you followed suit.
Two days later, Yu Su and Lu Yan bid farewell to Jian Yunchuan, the village chief, and others, preparing to head southeast.
Jian Yunchuan now had cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, making him unmatched in this vast land. Yu Su didn't need to worry about his and Yu Zhou's safety.
Moreover, Yu Feng and Yu Meng both reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement. The village's strength was formidable, and there was no need to worry about anyone foolish enough to challenge them.
"Big brother, when will you be back?" Yu Zhou held him with a sad look, clearly reluctant to see Yu Su leave.
Yu Su: "I'll try to be back before winter sets in."
Yu Zhou had heard from the village chief that it was only one or two months away from winter. The discomfort in his heart eased a bit, but he still held onto Yu Su, unwilling to let go.
"Big brother, can't I go with you?" Last time, Yu Su took him to the Iron Smelting Village, and he began to yearn for the outside world.
Yu Su ruffled his hair, "This time, we're going far. When you grow up a bit more, big brother will take you along."
When tomorrow comes, Yu Zhou will be seven years old, and he can start practicing.
"Listen to Dad at home, and when big brother comes back, I'll bring you good things."
Yu Zhou nodded vigorously, "Okay, then when I grow up, you must take me."
"I know, I won't forget."
Yu Su looked at Jian Yunchuan, "Father, and the affairs of the family and the village are entrusted to you."
Jian Yunchuan lifted Yu Zhou, placed him on his shoulder, waved at Yu Su, and said, "Rest assured, with your dad here, there's nothing to worry about. Hurry up, it's getting dark, and you might not leave if you dawdle."
Yu Su: "..."
Alright, that's Jian Yunchuan for you.
Yu Su and Lu Yan waved to the crowd in the village and headed southeast.
For this journey, Xin Ya sewed a backpack-style leather bag for Yu Su and Lu Yan. It contained spare clothes, money shells, and dried food.
Apart from the backpack, there was also the fluffy little bundle on Yu Su's head.
The little dark bird knew that he was going out for training and insisted on following him. Yu Su didn't allow it, so it turned its fluffy butt toward Yu Su, throwing a tantrum and refusing to eat.
Helplessly, Yu Su had to bring it along.
The little guy jumped from Yu Su's head to his shoulder. Recently, Yu Su's hair had grown a bit longer, and it always tangled with its claws. Since it didn't like squatting on Yu Su's head, it chose to perch on his shoulder.
When it got tired of perching, it voluntarily nestled into Yu Su's leather bag, found a cozy spot inside, stretched out its paws, and fell asleep soundly.
Yu Su let Lu Yan take a look, and Lu Yan said, "It's asleep."
Yu Su smiled, "It seems quite comfortable."
*
Both of them walked quite fast, and after half a day, they arrived at the foot of the mountains to the east.
The closer to the east mountains, the more desolate the place became.
Because there were dangerous demonic beasts in the east mountains, even savage beasts were rare here.
Now, Yu Su and Lu Yan were about to cross this perilous mountain range to the other side.
"The spiritual energy here is more abundant than outside. No wonder there are demonic beasts." Yu Su stood at the foot of the mountain, feeling that the spiritual energy inside the mountain was much richer than outside.
Similarly, in such a place, the probability of finding treasures would also be higher.
Riches and dangers coexist. Anyway, he had decided to venture into this mountain.
He took out a knife from the spatial storage and handed it to Lu Yan. He himself wielded a sword.
Both of these items were crafted by Lu Yan after smelting red iron stones. Although the refining method was quite rudimentary, they could barely be considered magical tools and could play a greater role. If they encountered demonic beasts in the mountains, they would come in handy.
"Let's go, into the mountains."
Lu Yan nodded, looking at the towering mountain in front of him. When he came here last time, he could only lie on the back of the savage woolly mammoth to traverse the swampy area. Now, coming here again, he could walk in directly.
As they stepped into the mountain, the rich wood spiritual energy here began to circulate actively around Yu Su.
Yu Su took a deep breath, activating the all-encompassing spirit to scan. If there were any treasures, it would inform him immediately.
[Understood.]
The outer periphery of the mountain was relatively quiet. Occasionally, one or two small animals could be seen, and they stared curiously when they saw someone daring to enter.
[Master, go right about a hundred meters. There is a Returning Yuan Grass, suitable for refining low-grade Returning Yuan Pill, suitable for the Qi Refinement and Foundation Building early stages.]
Hearing the excited report from the all-encompassing spirit in his mind, Yu Su's eyes lit up, and he turned to the right to walk.
Lu Yan followed suit when he saw Yu Su's expression. After all this time with Yu Su, he knew that Yu Su had definitely found something.