"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Mr. Jia. But now that I have obtained this weapon, I would like to try to cultivate it to its peak."

"Good lad, you have ambition."

"Hehe, but speaking of which, Mr. Jia, I happen to need your help with something."

"Oh, tell me about it."

"I also need refined iron essence. I wonder how much stock Mr. Jia has left? I'll take it all."

"Hmph, kid, what do you mean? I've already told you, I can't sell the refined iron essence I have, so don't even think about it."

"Mr. Jia, don't misunderstand, I didn't mean to force you to buy. Mr. Jia, look what this is."

Seeing that Jia Bujia looked somewhat displeased, Wang Ming took out all five purple and five red steel crystals from his backpack.

"Huh, this is high-purity steel crystal essence?" Jia Bujia took the steel crystal essence and examined it carefully. "That's right, it is indeed high-purity steel crystal essence."

"Boy, did you actually manage to kill a high-level Steelback Beast by sheer luck?"

"But how is that possible? Bristlebacks, especially high-level ones, not only have high attack power but also thick hides that can reduce the damage they suffer. How could a newcomer who has just entered the Foundation Establishment stage possibly do that?"

"Unless you're a Bristleback that attracts a mob attack, yes, only then is it possible to kill it."

"Huh, lucky? A group fight? Is this Bristleback really that powerful?" Wang Ming was speechless. This Boss Jia was really underestimating him...

"Boss Jia, don't worry about how I killed the Bristleback and how I got these Iron Crystals. Just tell me how much Refined Iron Essence these Iron Crystals can be exchanged for."

"Hmph, these 5 purple steel crystals can be exchanged for 10 refined iron essences, and 5 red steel crystals can be exchanged for 30 refined iron essences."

"10, 30, that's 40 in total, not enough. I need 100. Looks like I'll have to kill some more Bristleback bosses."

"Okay, Mr. Jia, I'll change it."

"Hmph, kid, did I say I wanted to switch with you?"

"Huh? Mr. Jia, what's wrong with you..."

“I’ve already told you that I don’t have any extra refined iron essence on hand, so I can’t exchange it. However, I can use these materials to forge refined iron essence. You will need to wait for 12 hours, and you will also need to pay me 500 gold coins as my wages.”

"Okay, no problem. Here are 500 gold coins, I'll pay you first." Wang Ming breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could get the refined iron essence, 500 gold coins were nothing to him.

"Haha, kid, you're straightforward. Come find me again in 12 hours." After saying that, Boss Jia was about to leave.

"Mr. Jia, please wait."

"Boy, what else do you want?"

"Mr. Jia, it's like this, besides needing refined iron essence, I also need a certain material. I wonder if you have it here?"

"What materials? Tell me."

"obsidian."

"obsidian?"

"Yes, I don't know if you have it, Mr. Jia."

"I don't have any here. Not to mention here, there's no obsidian in the entire City of Daylight."

"What? There isn't any in the entire Daylight City?" Hearing Jia Bujia's words, Wang Ming frowned deeply. "If we can't get obsidian, then the Chaos Origin Gauntlets won't be able to be upgraded."

"Kid, judging from your expression, is this obsidian very important to you?"

"Yes, it's very important, and I'm willing to pay any price."

"Boy, let me ask you this: do you want this refined iron essence and obsidian to upgrade the Origin Treasure in your possession?"

"That's true, Mr. Jia."

"So that's how it is. But even so, I don't recommend that you go looking for obsidian."

"Hmm, Mr. Jia, you mean you know where to find obsidian?"

"You're quite clever, kid."

"Please inform me, Mr. Jia, that I am willing to offer 500 gold coins as a reward."

"Hmph, I'll waive the reward. If you still choose to go after I tell you, don't blame me after you die."

"Don't worry, Mr. Jia, I'm very tough."

"Hehe, since that's the case, then I'll tell you."

"After leaving the west gate of Daylight City, head west for about 300 kilometers. There is a hidden mine where you can find the obsidian you are looking for."

300 kilometers west of the city, Wang Ming opened a world map and began to search for the approximate location.

"Um, Mr. Jia, are you sure it's 300 kilometers away in the west of the city?"

"Hehe, yes."

"But, 300 kilometers away already belongs to Night City."

"That's right, it belongs to Night City."

“This obsidian mine not only belongs to Night City, but is also controlled by the Night City Lord’s Mansion. A hundred-man squad guards the mine. However, Day City and Night City are enemies. If you go there, you will be attacked by the hundred-man squad from Night City.”

"This hundred-man squad is the personal guard of the city lord's mansion. Each of them is very strong. The weakest among them is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and there are dozens of Golden Core cultivators. After I say this, are you still willing to go?"

"Golden Core cultivators, that's at least level 40 NPCs. Dozens of level 40 NPCs plus a group of level 30+ NPCs, that's quite a powerful lineup."

"Thank you, Mr. Jia, for telling me the location of the obsidian. Although these people are very powerful, I still want to give it a try."

“Oh, commendable courage. If you can obtain the obsidian ore and leave there alive, I am willing to refine the obsidian ore into obsidian for you.”

"Alright, then I'll definitely have to trouble Mr. Jia a lot then."

"Hehe, you're quite confident. Well then, I wish you success." After saying that, Jia Bujia went into the blacksmith shop.

“Level 40 NPCs are indeed very powerful, but my strength is not bad either. However, just to be on the safe side, I need to make some preparations before going there.”

Wang Ming unlocked his secondary profession and found the recipe for the Advanced Blood Coagulation Pill.

"This advanced blood-clotting pill requires a level 4 alchemist to refine. My alchemist level is not high enough, so I need to upgrade it first." Wang Ming then opened the auction house, bought a bunch of earth ginseng grass, and then sat on the ground to start refining a basic life-restoring potion.

An hour later, Wang Ming's alchemy level finally reached level 4.

Then Wang Ming began refining high-grade blood coagulation pills.

Half an hour later, Wang Ming had used up all the hundreds of Angelica dahurica plants in his backpack. "202 bottles of high-grade blood clotting pills, that's enough."

"I still need 60 more Refined Iron Essence. Before heading to the Obsidian Mine, I need to kill a few Bristleback bosses. But it's already past 4 a.m., so I'll log off and rest for a bit. There's no rush."

Wang Ming checked the time and then left the game.