Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"The Hot-Clear Pot, what a nice-sounding name ah, 'Envious of the mandarin ducks but not the immortals,' Master is truly a master of picking up girls, even naming a pot sounds so pleasant,"

Upon hearing Jiang Liu's words, Zhu Bajie thought to himself.

No wonder Master seems to do nothing, yet simply by announcing his name and standing there, beautiful female demons flock to him. Could it be that, usually, Master has infused the art of attracting girls into his very bones?

With a thought, Zhu Bajie secretly turned his back on Jiang Liu and the others, took out a small notebook from his sleeve, and also produced a tiny writing brush, beginning to jot down notes in the booklet.

It seems that the sweet nothings Master taught him, although useful, still need to be complemented by other aspects.

On this journey, he must stay alert, observe more, take note, and learn... Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Setting aside what sort of schemes Zhu Bajie had in mind, the young servant of Refined Iron Shop was momentarily stupefied by Jiang Liu's words, his expression blank: "Hot-Clear Pot? What kind of pot is that!?"

"Let your manager speak," Jiang Liu said, seeing that the servant didn't understand and not intending to explain too much.

As the structure of the Hot-Clear Pot must be explained to the person who would make it, there was no need for further explanation.

"This young Monk, do you have any specific requirements?" Following Jiang Liu's remarks, a manager from the Refined Iron Shop quickly came over, curiously asking Jiang Liu.

"The thing is, I want to forge a cooking pot, a special one for cooking meals, but this pot needs to be separated in the middle, dividing it into two sides!"

Jiang Liu began to describe the structure of the Hot-Clear Pot to the manager from Refined Iron Shop.

"Rest assured, with Refined Iron Shop's craftsmanship, forging such a pot is not difficult. As you said, just by adding a partition inside the pot to divide it into two halves, right? We guarantee that nothing on either side of the pot will mix," the manager nodded in understanding, affirming that it wasn't a difficult task, as Jiang Liu had clearly described.

"Right, in addition, I need to forge a more complex pot. Around the pot is meant for boiling food, but in the middle, it should have a volcanic shape, hollow inside, where charcoal can be placed!" Since he had come to forge pots, he naturally wanted to get all the cookware he needed made, so Jiang Liu went on to describe the structure of the Charcoal Copper Pot.

"Hmm, this idea for the Charcoal Copper Pot is quite novel; it certainly demands some skill!" The manager said, after hearing Jiang Liu's description.

And to forge a large pot out of pure bronze, one with intricate design and requiring high craftsmanship?

This seemed not so simple. Most importantly, the blacksmiths had never made one before and had no experience to speak of.

"Although the material costs for the two pots are not much, the technical requirements are indeed quite high. Perhaps in the whole Treasure Elephant Country, only your establishment can forge them. So, please," Jiang Liu said graciously with a bow after hearing the manager's words.

"Hahaha, very well, young Monk, you have good discernment. In the entire Treasure Elephant Country, the highest craftsmanship belongs to our Refined Iron Shop indeed!" As expected, everyone liked a compliment, and a well-targeted one had an even better effect. The manager nodded happily upon hearing the praise.

"Let's do this: although the materials aren't costly, your skills are valuable. How about I give you two taels of silver?" After complimenting the manager, Jiang Liu paused to think and then made his offer.

Two taels of silver was definitely a high price. After all, Brother Xuanwu of Jinshan Temple didn't earn two taels of silver even after conducting a major Buddhist ceremony.

This was also because they indeed had not made a Charcoal Copper Pot before, and it would likely take several attempts. Jiang Liu hoped they would create practical and aesthetically pleasing cookware, hence the price he offered.

After all, considering the high price, the Refined Iron Shop should strive for excellence, right?

If the goods weren't worth the price, wouldn't it tarnish their own reputation?

Besides, two taels of silver wasn't a high price for Jiang Liu, but a good pot was very important for his future needs.

"Two taels of silver!? Young Monk, five coins would suffice, there's no need for so much!" the manager exclaimed in surprise after hearing Jiang Liu's offer, speaking in a hurry.

"Wait a moment, two taels isn't much!" However, before Jiang Liu could reply, suddenly, a loud voice rang out from the side, interrupting the conversation between him and the manager.

There lay a middle-aged Han man, bare-chested in the corner with several wine bottles at his feet, looking intoxicated. He seemed out of place amidst the bustling and lively atmosphere of the Refined Iron Shop, with his disheveled and dirty appearance; uninformed, one might think he was a member of the Begger Gang.

"Boss, it's just crafting two pieces of cookware, this..." the manager turned back to look at the drunken middle-aged man sitting in the corner, his expression somewhat troubled.

Raising his hand to stop the manager from speaking further, the disheveled Han man stood up and looked at Jiang Liu: "Little Monk, you're willing to pay two taels of silver to forge cookware, so you must want to create two perfect pieces, right?"

"Correct, as long as the quality is sufficient, I wouldn't mind paying twenty or even two hundred taels of silver," Jiang Liu nodded earnestly.

As the Imperial Brother of the Emperor of Tang, he had brought a substantial amount of silver coins on this trip, and with the ability to earn money through defeating demons, he could be considered affluent.

Is something expensive? That's not what Jiang Liu considered. What he cared about was just one thing:

Is it worth it!

Looking at the disheveled middle-aged man, Jiang Liu was inwardly curious—could such a person truly be the boss of the Refined Iron Shop? It seemed his craftsmanship must be splendid.

Moreover, according to the usual routines in dramas and even novels, doesn't the appearance of a uniquely skilled person tend to be quite special?

Character Panel!

With curiosity, Jiang Liu looked at the other party and silently chanted in his mind. Immediately, a semi-transparent character panel appeared in front of Jiang Liu.

ID: Li Tie (Golden).

Gender: Male.

Profession: Divine Craftsman.

Level: 18.

…

"Divine Craftsman!?" Seeing the profession title on the other person's character panel, Jiang Liu's heart stirred.

Not a blacksmith, but a Divine Craftsman? That seemed to have a high level of prestige. Clearly, this person had a unique talent.

"Very well, those who haggle over the creation of things are disrespecting both their tools and us who forge them. You, little monk, are willing to pay over the price, which clearly shows respect for our craftsmanship and the utensil you seek!" The man walked over, gazing at Jiang Liu as he spoke, admiring his attitude.

Indeed, whether it was five silver coins or two taels of silver, it wasn't important. What mattered were Jiang Liu's recent words: The material isn't worth much, but the craftsmanship is valuable.

This attitude was very pleasant to hear.

While speaking, Li Tie turned back to glance at the other blacksmiths in the Refined Iron Shop and said, "Today, I will show you what real craftsmanship is and let you see that what we blacksmiths seek is quality, not quantity. Without the heart of a craftsman like you all lack, your skills will never reach the peak!"

As his words ended, Li Tie went to the furnace. After weighing the hammer in his hand, in the blink of an eye, the hammer turned into a blur of shadows. Bang, bang, bang—it struck down like a raging storm, as if it had a vendetta against the iron block.

However, the other blacksmiths from the Refined Iron Shop stopped what they were doing and crowded around, eyes wide with curiosity, watching every move Li Tie made, without even daring to blink.

"Little Master, you're very lucky today. The boss is willing to forge an item for you personally. His skills are quite extraordinary, and it's rare for him to forge anything for anyone else, maybe just once every several years. You've struck it rich today!" The overseer, who was not a blacksmith and had no intention of learning the craft, said to Jiang Liu.

"I understand that!" Jiang Liu nodded, watching Li Tie's movements with anticipation.

Being only level 18 meant Li Tie's cultivation level had reached only the Body Tempering Realm, but the golden character panel demanded respect.

And a Divine Craftsman as a profession? It was quite intriguing to think what kind of unique pot he could create.

"Are the objects forged by Li Tie really full of wonders? Could they be kitchen utensils with some incredible abilities? The legendary kitchen utensils?"

While Jiang Liu expected eagerly, he also secretly wondered, thinking of an animation from his previous life called "Cooking Master Boy," which revolved around culinary arts.

The legendary culinary utensils featured within had many special functions, almost like something out of fantasy.

Regardless of Jiang Liu's musings, Li Tie, who seemed sloppy while lying around drinking, became meticulous and strived for perfection once he stood by the furnace and began to work.

Forging, quenching, cooling...

All the steps felt very natural in his hands.

The hammer struck down fiercely, like rolling thunder, seemingly eager to completely shatter the material.

When the hammer tapped lightly, it was akin to spring rain, silent and moist, covering the whole material...

Quickly, the most basic Hot-Clear Pot took shape under Li Tie's hands.

The round utensil had an "S" shaped partition in the middle, and the pot itself was even etched with meticulous patterns, appearing very profound and mysterious.

"Done, take a look. Are you satisfied with this Hot-Clear Pot?" After finishing, Li Tie brought the pot over to Jiang Liu to ask.

Taking it in both hands, Jiang Liu looked at the pot, its round shape, the "S" shaped partition in the middle, even the brim of the pot featured Bagua patterns.

It gave the impression of a Tai Chi Bagua design.

Naturally, as Jiang Liu's gaze fell upon it, the attribute information of the Hot-Clear Pot also surfaced before his eyes.