Chapter 417 - The Origin of the Core Seed
When he arrived at the main hall, Gongjia Heng peered around cautiously. He did not see Shao Xuan. After studying everything carefully, he realised that everything was just as before. The eighteen bronze statues were all standing perfectly still. Everything looked the same and the hidden traps and mechanisms were not triggered.
Shao Xuan did not step inside at all. Gongjia Heng heaved a sigh of relief though his emotions were in turmoil.
If it was another person with suspicious intentions, Gongjia Heng would definitely do his best to kill him, relying on the powers within the mountain. However, while Shao Xuan was curious about the Xia arts, he was not greedy. Other people might attempt to force themselves inside while Gongjia Heng was not present. Perhaps even threaten him so he would hand over the treasures. Shao Xuan did not do such a thing. Plus, Shao Xuan had been of great help. Without Shao Xuan, he knew he might not find this place in another twenty years.
Gongjia Heng would remember this favour.
However, Shao Xuan was just a peculiar dude.
Gongjia Heng touched the dense stubble on his cheeks. What happened when Shao Xuan stepped in was still fresh in his mind. That was… terrifying.
However, as long as Shao Xuan did not force himself inside, Gongjia Heng was still very willing to make friends with him.
Shao Xuan learned a lot from the discussion. IN addition to the current skillsets he had, he was confident that he could forge his own bronze wares with ore. He wasn’t sure about the quality though.
“Where did the core seeds come from?” asked Shao Xuan.
Gongjia Heng didn’t know before this either. However, he read about it in the ancestral records yesterday. Since it was not a secret, he replied, “The core seed comes from beyond the heavens.”
“Beyond the heavens?!” Shao Xuan exclaimed.
“Yeah. More than two thousand years ago, the core seeds arrived and were separated in different parts of the world. In the beginning, many people worshipped them as magical objects. However, after that, more and more people from the tribes that owned a core seed died. So everyone then treated the core seeds as evil objects, symbols of death. They tossed the core seeds far, far away but…”
When he spoke, there was pride in his eyes. “There was a core seed near our Xia village too. However, we were different from other tribes. We discovered the secret of the core seed. It was not an evil object, it was a priceless treasure that could change the world!”
The rise of the Xia tribe came from the core seed. They were the first to discover its uses and started to forge bronze wares. Other tribes started to trade with them. At the same time, the Great Six also started to collect core seeds and also mastered the core seeds. Since then, wars started and spread across the mainland. In the Xia ancestral records, it was named ‘The War of the Core Seed”.
In the history of the mainland, there were two significant events– the first one involved the fire seed. After that, the tribe’s fire pit no longer had the fire seed. The second event involved the core seed. After that, the Great Six became powerful and controlled most of the core seeds. Other smaller tribes could only make do with what little they had.
After that, the Ji tribe conquered the other five tribes and called themselves ‘Hong’, The cities were slowly built. They had many slaves working under them so they were also called slave masters. The chief of the Ji tribe was now lord of a city.
However, to the Xia people, this was not relevant to them. They had immersed themselves into the art of casting and forging. The Great Six did not come looking for trouble, instead heavily rewarding the Xia people for helping them make gold wares.
Under the temptation of rewards, many Xia people left. After that, due to the change in terrain and the core seed, the Xia river dried up and became the Xia valley. Over time, under the influence of the core seed, it became a dead valley and a maze.
The Xia ancestors had to leave this place for the survival of their tribe. Before they left, they created Gongjia Mountain and drew all the cloud patterns that hid the secrets of their people so their descendants would not forget about this place. Generations upon generations, every Xia person who arrived here would offer their proudest product here. It was a sacred place for them.
Slowly, this place accumulated a wealth of treasures. That was because all the Xia people put all their most unique and best work inside.
The first Xia people who created bronze wares did not belong to the Great Six. The Xia tribe was also a distance away from the cities. They became more and more dispersed so bringing the people together became more and more difficult.
Shao Xuan privately sighed. This was the difference between a tribe that emphasised on politics and a tribe that focused on mastering a craft.
When Heng finished, he felt ashamed that he had no personal secret technique or craft that he could offer to this place. All he could do was leave an offering in the form of some bronzeware here after he learned the skills.
“That is why I have to stay a little longer. Shao Xuan, what are your plans?”
“I’ll probably leave in a few days.”
Heng nodded. “Once I master the skills, I’ll visit you at Flaming Horn. Also, what happened to the crater there?”
“I took a step and it happened.”
Gongjia Heng was speechless. You’d better leave, or you’d destroy this place sooner or later!
A while after Gongjia Heng entered the mountain, Shao Xuan walked to a spot in the valley. He wasn’t lying when he said he dreamt of the Xia ancestors.