https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-83-I-Like-Your-Wild-and-Untamed-Look/12543795/
Chapter 84: A Good Hard Pinch
Chapter 84: A Good Hard Pinch
The slender young man used a sturdy small wooden barrel to retrieve four Iron Crab babies from the pool, then sealed the barrel shut, leaving only a few small holes for ventilation.
Lu Chen handed over eighty spirit stones, took the barrel, and began his walk home.
Along the way, the barrel occasionally emitted clanging sounds as the Iron Crabs inside struggled vigorously.
Half a moment later, they arrived home, and Cloud-Stepping Lynx leaped gracefully from Lu Chen's shoulder into the spirit fields.
Lu Chen carried the barrel to the edge of the Spirit Spring Pool and opened the sealed wooden board. The most arrogant of the crabs, brandishing a pair of large cleaver-like pincers, jumped out and swaggered before Lu Chen, seemingly protesting its confinement in the sealed barrel.
The other three followed suit, forming a row, each with an air of arrogance.
On the inside of the barrel were marks of varying depths, testaments to the sharpness of this first-grade Iron Crab's pincers.
"They're your responsibility now. First, tame them well and teach them the rules of the Lu residence." Lu Chen instructed the Cloud-Stepping Lynx beside him.
The Cloud-Stepping Lynx, with slow and elegant strides, approached the four Iron Crabs.
Unafraid, the Iron Crabs raised their huge black-green pincers, which were longer than their bodies, and lunged at the lynx's snowy paws, pinching hard.
With a gentle pat of its paw, the Cloud-Stepping Lynx knocked down the most arrogant Iron Crab baby, while the other three Iron Crabs surrounded it, pinching at its paws and short tail.
The lynx lightly leaped, easily evading the four crabs' attack, and then it began to pat their shells with its paws, swiftly subduing them one by one.
The four Iron Crab babies finally realized their situation and lay obediently on the ground, their spinning eyeballs the only indication of their mischievous nature.
Lu Chen picked up the motionless Iron Crab babies and threw them into the Spirit Spring Pool.
Instantly revitalized by the pure spirit spring, the crabs became lively, scurrying aimlessly within the pool.
Lu Chen focused his mental energy on them, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Iron Crab, a first-grade yao beast, with strong offensive capabilities. Its pincers are hard and sharp, and its shell can be refined into defensive artifacts when grown.
An omnivorous yao beast, it can be fed with yao beast meat paste, spirit rice, aquatic plants, and more.
Tyrant of the waters, it pinches everything!
Information about the Iron Crabs flooded Lu Chen's mind.
"It pinches everything? If you dare to pinch my Pure Snow Lotus, I'll kill you." Lu Chen coldly hummed, then performed the Earth-Drawing Technique, manipulating the soil at the bottom of the Spirit Spring Pool to surround and protect the Pure Snow Lotus.
After familiarizing itself with the Spirit Spring Pool, the most active Iron Crab baby became restless again, using its pincers to climb slowly up the stone wall of the pool.
"If it's not obedient, it will eventually escape." Lu Chen called out to the Grass Puppet.
"From now on, when patrolling the spirit fields, come by the Spirit Spring Pool often. If you see any Iron Crabs crawling out, throw them back into the pool."
The Grass Puppet, now with its head restored, nodded its massive gray grass head to indicate it understood.
As night fell, at the edge of the Spirit Spring Pool, an Iron Crab baby was struggling to climb up the stone wall, finally crossing over the edge and reaching the shore.
Its protruding eyeballs spun as it surveyed its surroundings under the dim night's cover.
Nothing unusual happened, and the beast that had tormented it during the day was nowhere to be seen.
Realizing the situation was in its favor, the Iron Crab baby's eyes spun faster, clearly excited.
It scurried rapidly across the ground, searching for an exit.
The gray-black grass rope, though slow, remained ever present behind the young crab, occasionally coiling around its legs.
Before long, the Iron Crab youngster found itself securely bound by the rope.
The Grass Puppet, with its massive head, slowly retracted the rope, drawing close to the captive beast.
The grass rope left just a short length, perfect for holding in its hand.
It lumbered to the edge of the Spirit Spring Pool, its arm extending. The gray-black grass rope continued to extend, reaching the center of the pool before suddenly releasing the bound Iron Crab youngster.
Plop! The little crab fell into the pool, sending droplets of water onto the pure white lotus surrounded by the earthen wall, and then rolling off the leaves.
The next morning, Lu Chen rose early, beginning his daily routine as a spiritual herbologist.
First, he inspected the spirit fields, using spells like the Spirit Rain Technique and the Wood Birth Technique, depending on the growth of the spiritual plants.
After tending to the fields, he went inside and grabbed a handful of spirit rice, scattering it into the Spirit Spring Pool.
The spirit rice sank to the bottom, attracting the attention of the four Iron Crab youngsters. Having wreaked havoc all night, they now skillfully lifted their pincers, nimbly plucking the plump grains of spirit rice and popping them into their mouths.
"If you're that good at pinching, I'll give you something more to do."
After the Iron Crab youngsters had their fill, Lu Chen eyed their sturdy pincers, an idea forming in his mind.
He plucked the most arrogant-looking crab from the pool and retrieved a fist-sized piece of pure iron ore from his storage bag, placing it beneath the crab's pincers.
Spotting the ore, the Iron Crab immediately snapped its pincers shut, clamping down on the ore with all its might, causing the hard mineral to split in two.
"Continue."
Lu Chen picked up one of the pieces and placed it back under the crab's pincers.
Once again, the Iron Crab clamped down hard, severing the ore.
"Again."
Lu Chen provided another piece.
This process repeated, with the fist-sized piece of pure iron ore soon reduced to hundreds of fragments. The edges of the crab's pincers had begun to turn white from the constant exertion.
But each time Lu Chen presented a piece of ore, the crab couldn't resist the urge to snap it in two.
"Haha, again!"
Lu Chen laughed heartily, his spiritual energy stirring as a small pile of pure iron ore appeared before the young crab, stacked high.
The Iron Crab's pincers trembled.
Lu Chen retrieved the other three crabs from the pool, setting them to work as well.
"The issue of providing enough crushed copper and iron ore for the Copper Bone Bamboo has finally been solved. With these Iron Crab youngsters, I hardly need to lift a finger myself."
Lu Chen's mood brightened as he thought about the Copper Bone Bamboo's rapid growth requiring copper and iron ore. The smaller the ore fragments, the easier it was for the bamboo to absorb them. Previously, he had to laboriously cut the ore himself using the Silver Cleaver and Red Line Needle, a tedious and time-consuming task.
Now, things were much easier.
He watched the Iron Crab youngsters persistently cracking the ore and couldn't help but feel pleased.
"Don't slack off. Keep pinching—a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times! Only then can you break through your limits and fully train your pincers. When you become stronger, you can wave those pincers at me in attack!"
Whenever one of the crabs slowed down, Lu Chen would encourage it from the sidelines.
The sound of pincers snapping through pure iron ore rang out, a delightful melody.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
