Chapter 4181 — The Decisive Moment
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
One could only say that the so-called perfect breakthrough—the so-called strongest Golden Core expert—was no empty boast. At this rate, the day Wei Zhao became truly invincible within the Golden Core stage might not be far off.
At last, amid this rather leisurely and uneventful waiting, Wei Zhao finally received word from Hong Zhong: the shengxiang mushroom was in hand!
Just as its name suggested, the shengxiang mushroom combined every known affinity, and each affinity had its own representative color. At first glance, therefore, the shengxiang mushroom was a riot of color.
More crucially, its colors were not fixed but shifted unpredictably at every moment, their patterns attuned to the surrounding environment, blending naturally into it—a most ingenious form of protective coloration.
Already exceedingly rare, and further concealed by this ever-shifting camouflage, it was nearly impossible to detect without an experienced forager. That the shengxiang mushroom was so seldom seen on the market was thus easy enough to understand.
Carrying the shengxiang mushroom, Wei Zhao headed straight for the Rag King's secret base. When he found the Rag King in the cave, the man was still diligently controlling the heat, his expression utterly focused, not daring to slacken in the slightest.
"Brother Wang, these past two months have been hard on you. Your merits and your hardships—Wei Zhao will remember them all," Wei Zhao said, visibly moved.
"Ha, what are you talking about, Brother Lin? A favor given is a favor owed—this is all just my duty. Besides, this was my own proposal. With an anomaly like this cropping up, if I hadn't kept a close eye on it, wouldn't I have let down all those top-grade materials you entrusted to me?" The Rag King was both surprised and delighted to see Wei Zhao, waving his hand again and again with a laugh.
Plain as those words were, Wei Zhao was still deeply moved. A simple "favor given"—and yet it had meant over two full months, with no certainty it would even work, standing guard here all the while without wavering. Most people would never have been so upright; chances were they would have slipped away the moment Wei Zhao left.
Even setting aside the forging altogether, the Rag King was a man who fully deserved the word "righteous." To have made such a friend—worth it!
"This is the shengxiang mushroom, along with the other materials you listed, Brother Wang. Have a look." Wei Zhao clapped him heavily on the shoulder and, saying no more, at once brought out all the repair materials.
"Excellent!" Overjoyed, the Rag King took them and examined each one carefully, and only after confirming every last item was of superior quality did he give a satisfied nod.
An accident had already happened once; this next attempt at remediation was critical. Should they fail again, it would truly be a total loss—so there was absolutely no room for error.
"Well? Can we start over?" Wei Zhao asked, full of anticipation.
"Mm. No time to lose. There haven't been any major changes these past two months, but some things can't be observed with the naked eye, and dragging it out won't do any good either. Let's begin." The Rag King drew a deep breath and at once increased the heat. The forging pool, which had seemed so placid, began to seethe once more.
Thereupon the Rag King blended the many materials Wei Zhao had brought, added them to the forging pool one after another, and channeled them onto the lump of iron in the very center.
Wei Zhao watched it all without blinking. Even with his composed temperament, he could not help feeling tense at this moment. This forging had consumed so many materials and so much effort—success or failure would be decided in this single attempt.