The others were also slightly surprised when Jiang Yuan blurted out the name "earth core fire".

"Brother Jiang Yuan is no ordinary man, otherwise he could have entered my Rock Village unscathed!" Tie Niu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his companions' surprise. It would be beneath him to be shocked; everyone should be shocked together.

"This young man has such delicate skin and doesn't look like a blacksmith at all!"

A disheveled middle-aged man in the far corner said something dismissively, then continued to bury himself in hammering the vessel in his hands.

When Tie Niu saw the slovenly uncle approaching with a grin, he said with a fawning smile, "Brother Shi, aren't you supposed to be delivering a batch of goods to Nancheng this afternoon?"

"The goods aren't ready yet, don't rush me!" The slovenly uncle had a bad temper, as if every extra word Tie Niu uttered would be met with a blow from his hammer.

"I'm not rushing you! Actually, this brother is also going to the South City. Why don't you give him directions this afternoon?" Tie Niu pulled Jiang Yuan toward the innermost forging platform.

Jiang Yuan really wanted to say, "Just point me in the right direction, and even if I'm terrible with directions, I can fly and find my way. I don't need anyone to guide me at all." But now that he was here, he couldn't just let Tie Niu down.

"I can deliver the goods, but I won't interfere with the person! But if he wants to come along, that's his business!" The slovenly uncle hammered the embryo in his hand.

"Brother Shi, we're all brothers, what's wrong with you helping your brother this once!" Tie Niu muttered.

The scruffy old man's hammer froze in mid-air. His face contorted with rage, he yelled, "You little brat, don't bother me, or I'll smash you too!"

Jiang Yuan glanced at the unsavory-looking uncle's artifact blank in his hand the instant he raised the hammer. After several assessments with his Heavenly Eye, he said calmly, "Your blank is substandard!"