Chapter 111: Improvements

When the sun was about to set, about ten huge clay jars were placed by the mud brick wall below the wooden hut that Yan Liqiang stayed in. The grayish-brown clay jars were arranged neatly into multiple rows and stored downstairs.

After Gu Zexuan and Yan Liqiang carried the final clay jar with its contents over and placed it down, Gu Zexuan wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead and finally exhaled. “We’re finally done with this goddamn thing…”

Yan Liqiang, who had been working the whole day, was also exhausted and sweating along with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng’s task for today was to remove the stalks of the corn they had harvested yesterday from the cornfield. After Gu Zexuan bought these huge clay jars, Yan Liqiang followed both of them to the field and started working.

Under Yan Liqiang’s instructions, the three of them first pulled the corn stalks out from the ground. Next, they crushed those freshly collected corn stalks with mortars and pestles to extract the sweet juice from those stalks. Then they poured about ten jin of juice which contained extremely high sugar levels into each of those huge clay jars before adding plain water into them. More corn stalks, carrot skins, and other things like rotten vegetables were chopped and then mixed into all the clay jars as they were left to sit in there with the liquid mixture. The clay jars were then finally covered with their lids and moved to a place in the courtyard where they could easily catch some sunlight. That was all there was to do.

Though it sounded easy, the process was quite difficult, especially squeezing the juice out of those corn stalks. It really tested one’s patience.

“Um… what is the end product called?” Zhao Huipeng asked Yan Liqiang.

Throughout the process, Yan Liqiang didn’t conceal anything from the both of them. He allowed them both to participate in it and it was precisely after participating in the activities that Zhao Huipeng found something strange. He realized that this thing Yan Liqiang was making didn’t seem like salted vegetables or vinegar. They didn’t know the name of it either.

“This thing is called earth vinegar!” Yan Liqiang explained with a serious tone. He contemplated in his mind and gave this thing a new name which would easily roll off the tongues of the people in this world. Yan Liqiang was an environmentalist in his previous life. Naturally, making this kind of thing was no challenge for him.

“Earth vinegar?” Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng looked at each other. Both of them had never heard of this name before.

“Yes, it’s called earth vinegar!” Yan Liqiang nodded seriously. “My grandfather named it. It’s something he discovered by chance when he was brewing decoctions. Earth vinegar can’t be consumed by humans, but it has exceptional effects when used for cleaning. Apart from dispeling odors, doing laundry and washing the dishes can result in better cleanliness if some is added during the process. They can also be added to plants by diluting water in it and then be administered to plants as fertilizer. The yielded effects are quite good! Originally, making this actually requires brown sugar, but since sugar is too expensive and those corn stalks contain very high amounts of sugar, they can be juiced as a substitute for the brown sugar…”

“Oh, I see. Brother Liqiang, your knowledge is impressive!” Gu Zexuan rubbed his palms in excitement. “If this thing is truly so multi-functional, then we have nothing much to worry about in selling these. We’ve probably found a way to earn money!”

“Well, even if this can really sell well, we won’t be earning much. But at least it will allow us to earn a small amount of money over a short period of time. As time passes, given the simplicity of making this, people will eventually learn how to make it. When everyone learns how to easily make these, the ones we make won’t be special anymore!”

“Let’s not worry about it. As long as the three of us keep this a secret and not expose the method of making this thing, we can buy as much time as possible…”

“Yes. The only thing we need to pay attention to is these clay jars that we need to uncover to allow some air into them. Also, don’t let this ring of water outside the lid dry up…”

“Can we talk about something else? We should eat first. I’m really starving…” Zhao Huipeng rubbed his stomach and complained miserably.

“Hahaha, let’s eat then!” Yan Liqiang and Gu Zexuan both laughed.

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The relationship of this trio who had just become acquainted with each other yesterday had grown significantly closer again after their cooperation today. The mutual trust and understanding between them had also increased.

Dinner was simple as usual— apart from the steamed buns, there were also corn and eggs. Even so, Yan Liqiang still relished his meal.

After dinner, Yan Liqiang chatted for a while longer with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. They and took a few minutes to walk together to digest their food. Yan Liqiang was back in his bedroom before the sun had even set and started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After two rounds, he immediately hit the sack.

…

The next day, Yan Liqiang woke up around three o’clock in the morning as usual. When he was about to get up from bed to wash up, he suddenly recalled something.

When he carried the water yesterday, some sections along the mountain path were dark. Since his eyes couldn’t even clearly see the path, it was easy to stumble and trip over the steps or other things along the way. This caused a considerable amount of water in the buckets to spill out. At the end of that Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual in his mind, there was a section labeled ‘Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Subsidiary External Cultivation Collection’. This collection section included external techniques like the mind, body, head, face, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, teeth, hands, feet, shoulders, back, waist, stomach, kidneys, heart, spleen, liver, and lungs. It covered nearly all the methods of training every external and internal organ…

Yan Liqiang had never bothered with the external cultivation collection in the past. He was originally planning to only give those a try when he was almost done with Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. But a thought suddenly emerged in his mind— should he give the eye external cultivation technique a try and see if it could improve his vision after practicing it?!

With that thought, Yan Liqiang laid on the bed and cultivated according to the instructions of the eye technique. He tightly shut his eyes and started the warm-up for the eye technique by rubbing his eyes with his thumbs fourteen times…

After warming up, the eye technique included various eyeball movements and coordination with the eyes and various acupoints on the head for a massage before finally ending it with the ‘Tiger Vision’ technique. The entire process only took a few minutes to complete.

After Yan Liqiang was done practicing the eye technique, there weren’t really any obvious effects for now. He quickly got up, washed up, tidied up, and ascended Tianqiao Peak to start working.

When Yan Liqiang went up there yesterday, he was intercepted along the way and he was questioned by a Senior Martial Brother who was a sentinel of the Divine Sword Sect. When he went up today, the sentinel hiding in the dark along the pathway didn’t jump out to stop Yan Liqiang.

Everything was the same as yesterday. Yan Liqiang ran down the mountain to fetch water and he carried the water back up to the mountain with his arms straight. When he was running, he also trained his stamina, body technique, and footwork. After he fetched enough water, he started to meticulously and earnestly clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak with his utmost effort.

He worked until the sky brightened and then descended the mountain. As usual, his entire body was almost drenched in sweat after he reached the foot of the mountain. He then took a bath, changed into fresh clothes, washed his clothes, and ate some food…

However, the difference between today and yesterday was that Yan Liqiang had a lot more time this morning. He was able to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Starting from the second day, Yan Liqiang’s daily schedule in the Divine Sword Sect was set with a regular pattern. After meticulously cleaning the toilets every day, he’d spend his remaining time training at the mountain basin. Sometimes, he would also help Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng with their farm work…

Apart from the few disciples who lived in the small mountain basin, almost no one else in the Divine Sword Sect noticed there was another youth by the name of Yan Liqiang living in this mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. He trained diligently every day and he always maintained his highest standards even with a dirty and exhausting job like cleaning toilets.

As this dull yet rich life passed by, Yan Liqiang gradually felt the changes in his body too…

The first thing he noticed was that his arms had gained more strength. Initially, after filling the two buckets of water on Tianqiao Peak to their brims with his arms straightened, he still felt the strain in his arms. He felt pain and was sore every day; it was as if his arms were going to break off. However, after only half a month, things started to gradually become easier even if he filled the two tanks of water to their brims with his arms straight. Those full water buckets felt lighter in his hands and he was able to run faster along the mountain path. The time needed to fetch water also became shorter and shorter. Along his way, the amount of water he spilled also became lesser and lesser…

What made Yan Liqiang even more pleasantly surprised was the fact that after he had trained the eye technique in the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual for more than a month, he realized that he could gradually see the outlines of the steps along the mountain path which had initially been pitch-black in his eyes. The outlines grew clearer with every passing day…