PFC Chapter 30 Immortal Stone Compendium
Chapter 30 Immortal Stone Compendium
Chapter 30: Immortal Stone Compendium
The Great Tang Dynasty, Chang'an City, Taiji Palace.
Just as Li Shimin was worried about the uneven quality of mineral exploration in various places, the sky curtain slowly unfolded again above Taiji Palace Square.
This time, it's neither a grand "Farmer's Handbook" nor a vague "divine decree," but rather a series of exquisitely crafted...
The book features vividly colored illustrations, "The Immortal's Blessing: A Guide to Mineral Exploration, Volume Two: Illustrated Guide to Immortal Stones and the True Secrets of Mineral Identification," and a clear and concise "List of Immortal Desires."
Above the illustrations are tungsten concentrate, molybdenum concentrate, vanadium concentrate, nickel concentrate, and cobalt concentrate —
Each rare mineral is depicted with remarkable realism, capturing its shape, color, texture, and even the details of its common associated minerals in nature.
Beside it is a concise "magic formula": "Tungsten concentrate is heavy and tough, often found in high mountains and secluded valleys; molybdenum concentrate is silvery-white and bluish-gray, often found in volcanic craters—" It further details the "secret formulas" for distinguishing genuine from fake ores, even including the magnetic properties of some ores...
Characteristics such as ignition point were described in a way that people in the Tang Dynasty could understand.
All the officials, including Li Shimin, were awestruck by this miraculous "divine magic".
"Tungsten concentrate, dark gray-black, very heavy, warm to the touch—" Li Shimin murmured to himself as he gazed at the sky.
He recalled the piece of "strange iron" that Cui had presented, whose description bore a striking resemblance to the nickel concentrate in the illustrated guide!
"Immediately summon the Ministers of Revenue, Works, and War, as well as the Circuit Inspectors, to the Palace!" Li Shimin's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Order all prefectures and counties to make copies of 'The Mineral Exploration Handbook, Volume Two,' and distribute them widely throughout the land! Compare them with the illustrations to verify the rare minerals presented by various regions. We must be truthful and accurate, without the slightest falsification!"
This time, his tone carried an undeniable, thunderous authority.
The imperial decree spread throughout the Tang Dynasty like a swift wind.
Hedong Road, a remote iron mine.
Old Wang, an old miner, has spent over fifty years working with ores and has seen countless stones.
His hands trembled as he held the newly published "Illustrated Compendium of Immortal Stones." When he saw the image of "Tungsten Essence," his cloudy old eyes instantly lit up with a sharp light!
"This—this isn't the stubborn rock we dug out of Heilonggou years ago, the one that felt incredibly heavy but couldn't be smelted?!" He pointed at the illustration, tears streaming down his face. Those "stubborn rocks" considered useless waste stones, piled up in the corner of the mine, were actually the "tungsten essence" sought by the "immortals"!
Immediately, the news was reported, and local officials, following the map and identification, indeed discovered a batch of high-quality tungsten ore.
The same scene played out repeatedly in various places. Minerals that were originally mistaken for waste rocks or ordinary stones were instantly transformed into rare treasures "blessed by the immortals" in the eyes of the people of the Tang Dynasty.
Suddenly, the quantity of ore reported from various places decreased sharply, but the quality increased dramatically!
The Cui family mansion in Boling, Cui Renshi's study.
Cui Renshi held a rubbing of "Illustrated Compendium of Immortal Stones" tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.
His retainer, Cui Zhongda, knelt before him, his face pale.
"My lord, I—the celestial ore that I and that minor official from the Ministry of Works presented has been, has been exposed—" Cui Zhongda's voice trembled with fear. "The celestial stone compendium clearly distinguishes all kinds of ores. The ordinary iron I chose is exactly the same as the ordinary iron in the compendium—and the truly rare ore has a corresponding image in the compendium!"
Cui Renshi closed his eyes and felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
His supposed scheme of "passing off inferior goods as superior ones" turned out to be utterly laughable in the face of the all-knowing encyclopedia of the "Immortal"!
How could this be some vague "immortal technique"?
It was clearly a miracle of perfect insight!
"Immortal—are you truly omniscient?" Cui Renshi's voice carried a hint of despair.
This means that all the secrets and hidden agendas of the aristocratic families will be exposed.
The complete suppression of aristocratic families by imperial power seems to be a foregone conclusion! He felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness; his years of management and political maneuvering seemed pale and naive at this moment.
Emperor Taizong of Tang was overjoyed to receive reports of high-quality mineral resources from various regions.
He knew this was not just about minerals, but also yet another endorsement of his rule by the "immortals." He began to devise how to use these "immortal mines" to build a more powerful army and forge more sophisticated tools, so that the Tang Dynasty could truly become a wealthy and powerful nation, and a force to be reckoned with throughout the world!
Jiang He exited the VR simulation system with a faint smile on his face.
"The feedback from the Tang Dynasty is more efficient than expected, and the second volume of the illustrated guide has played a crucial role." He said to Professor Bai and Sun Li beside him, "Now, a large portion of the minerals discovered in various places are rare minerals on the list."
The screen displays real-time data on minerals discovered around the world in the Tang Dynasty, with a noticeable increase in the number of red markers for rare minerals.
Professor Bai nodded with satisfaction: "Mr. Jiang's ability to transform materials far exceeds our expectations. Once these newly discovered mineral samples arrive, we will be able to conduct more in-depth analysis and utilization."
Currently, our most urgent need is to figure out how to refine and process these rare minerals. Datang's existing metallurgical technology is insufficient to handle them.
Sun Li then gestured for him to look at another report: "Mr. Jiang, this is a request for a magical technique from the National Academy of Sciences, based on their preliminary analysis of these rare minerals."
They hoped that the middleman could impart to the Tang Dynasty a more advanced set of magical techniques, capable of transforming ordinary iron into refined steel and crude ore into pure crystal. This "magical technique" could be simply described as a multi-stage temperature-controlled smelting method.
He knew that this was the beginning of the nation-level guidance for the "industrialization" of the Tang Dynasty.
Jiang He took the report and glanced at the keywords: high temperature, temperature control, impurity removal, alloy.
He understood that this was to impart the core principles of modern metallurgy to the Tang Dynasty in the form of "immortal techniques".
"Multi-stage temperature-controlled smelting method—" Jiang He's lips curled into a confident smile. "This is a complex subject. However, since it's a blessing from a 'celestial being,' it will naturally proceed step by step."
He already had a preliminary idea in mind.
He intends to gradually break down the principles of modern steelmaking blast furnaces, air-blast technology, and some basic alloy proportions, and impart them to the Tang Dynasty in the form of "immortal techniques" and "immortal artifact diagrams." This will be a massive undertaking, but if successful, it will completely transform the industrial base of the Tang Dynasty.
"Prepare a set of basic data on blast furnace steelmaking and simplified alloys, presenting it in the most intuitive way. I need to transform it into immortal techniques," Jiang He said to Professor Bai, his eyes filled with eager excitement.
He knew that this would be the most challenging and meaningful "divine decree" he had ever received as an "immortal"!
He will also receive a huge reward of energy points during this mission, and may even unlock more advanced functions of the system.