Chen Yang and his group traversed Yebolin via another route, discovering some wild fruits and vegetables along the way, and also made an unexpected discovery.
They discovered kaolin, also known as white clay due to its white color and fine texture. It's named after Gaoling Village in Jingdezhen, J Province. This is an excellent material for firing white porcelain; porcelain made from kaolin is of exceptional quality in both color and texture.
With kaolin clay and a little more effort, they can glaze porcelain and create exquisite pieces, thus elevating their standard of living.
Although both porcelain and pottery are made of clay and the firing process is essentially the same—both are products of the combination of earth, fire, and feng shui—the finished products are quite different due to the different materials used.
Pottery only needs to be heated to around 800 degrees Celsius, while porcelain requires 1200 degrees Celsius or even higher. Pottery can be made from ordinary clay, while porcelain has a wider range of materials to choose from, including kaolin, clay, talc, and feldspar. Porcelain is also harder than pottery. The glazes used for both are also different.
It's not that porcelain is necessarily better than pottery, but it's true that porcelain looks more refined than pottery. Although there are exquisite pottery pieces like Yixing teapots, their overall refinement is indeed inferior to that of porcelain.
Chen Yang told Guo Zifeng and Xing Tu about the discovery of kaolin, which made them very happy. They were eager to return as soon as their tea was cooked so that they could personally select some kaolin to make porcelain.
Xing Tu has experience in porcelain making. As a tea connoisseur, how could he not have studied porcelain? Porcelain is arguably the most important utensil in tea ceremony, and it is more widely used than pottery. Even some modern glassware cannot compete with porcelain for this top position.
In order to properly fire a batch of teaware, Xing Tu immediately went to Jingdezhen to improve his skills before starting to fire porcelain. Guo Zifeng heard about this and immediately followed him.
Guo Zifeng abandoned his demanding work to go back to the past for two reasons: first, to improve his porcelain-making skills, and second, to curry favor with Xing Tu. If Xing Tu could just say one good word about his tea to others, he could save himself at least half a year of hard work.
Even though Guo Zifeng and Xing Tu were so familiar with each other, Xing Tu still showed no mercy.
However, Guo Zifeng understood Xing Tu's personality. The more he got close to Xing Tu, the more he would connect with some high-quality tea farmers through Xing Tu, and the better he would understand the shortcomings of his own tea. This way, he could make improvements before the spring tea came to market.
They had previously looked for clay suitable for firing porcelain, but the results were not as good as porcelain made from kaolin. It was more practical to fire pottery directly.
Chen Yang and his group weren't particularly excited after discovering the kaolin, but Li Su'er kept saying that they could finally use porcelain to brew tea.
They continued north and soon arrived at the residence of Zen Master Chanshan, where they witnessed a very strange scene.
The Snow-capped Ape was actually meditating with Master Chanshan. The two sat on a wooden stump in front of the house, quietly facing the snow-covered ground in the posture of facing the ground with their five hearts facing each other.
Such a Buddhist scene would surely make Buddhists kneel down in worship if they saw it. Even Dong Yujue, a lay disciple, couldn't help but stop and watch from afar, not wanting to disturb the sacredness of the moment.
Chen Yang and the others stopped listening, but the ape quickly noticed them, opened its eyes and looked in Chen Yang's direction.
Then, it actually nodded to them and continued meditating with its eyes closed.
Everyone who witnessed this was stunned. Was this the reincarnation of Sun Wukong? Or a manifestation of the Victorious Fighting Buddha?
Next to both the ape and the Zen Master, there was a stick stuck in the ground. If the ape's fur were golden, it would look exactly like the legendary Monkey King.
Master Zenshan also noticed the unusual activity. He was the only resident who had maintained a long-term disconnect from the others, both in the real world and in the micro-world, and rarely used a mobile phone. He would only contact them when there was a real emergency.
Unlike Cangyuan, Master Chanshan did not continue meditating. Instead, he stood up and greeted the group.
"Master, are you trying to convert this demon monkey?" Zhang Jian asked, stepping forward in amazement.
“I often meditate, and this ape has followed suit, and it has learned to do so quite well. Even I think it has the potential for enlightenment,” Master Chanshan said with a smile.
"Why have you come?" Master Chanshan asked. He had not been in contact with the group for a long time, so he did not know they were coming.
"I'm going to the Arctic to complete a mission."
“I came to follow my master in cultivation, and so did Su’er.”
"I'm just here for tourism and sketching."
Everyone answered in unison.
Master Chanshan nodded, then pulled out his stick and gently tapped the ape on the head.
"Alright, get up."
The ape seemed somewhat reluctant, and slowly stood up, but after standing up, it happily pounced on Chen Yang.
Chen Yang had no qualms about being hurt by the ape and gave it a big bear hug.
"Meow!" Sanpang meowed.
Upon seeing Sanpang, Cangyuan quickly stepped forward, placed Sanpang on his head, and then continued meditating.
Chen Yang quickly took out his phone and snapped a picture of the scene.
He didn't bring a camera this time, but instead brought his cell phone and a solar charger that he had taken from their doomsday survival power supply.
The phone's battery life isn't as long as his camera's, but the photo quality is still excellent, making it worthwhile for him to use his special entry quota to bring the phone into the micro-world.
He preserved this precious photo. If one day, Xue Kui is discovered in the real world, or if Xue Kui in the micro-world can enter the real world, he can then release this photo to the public, which will surely astound everyone and, incidentally, provide free advertising for Buddhism.
After spending the night at the camp on the edge of the snowy region, Chen Yang set off with Cang Yuan. Only Cang Yuan could accompany him to climb the snow mountain. This snow mountain was not too difficult for Cang Yuan; Chen Yang just needed to find a way to get Cang Yuan across the ravine. And Chen Yang had already come up with a plan.
He is a completely different person now. Compared to the difficulties he faced when he reached the summit, he is now full of confidence and can even help the Azure Ape get through it.
He and Cangyuan bid farewell to everyone. Cangyuan carried the fruit and went out with Chen Yang. Master Chanshan made a carrying strap for Cangyuan. Cangyuan carried this stick to knock the fruit off the branches, as some thin branches could not support his weight.
As for staff techniques, the ape doesn't know them; it's not that smart, and the staff is mostly just for decoration.
The ape continued to practice Monkey Style Fist under the guidance of Master Chanshan, as it was more suited to it. Master Chanshan and his companions encountered a saber-toothed tiger at the border of the Cang'er Snowfield and the Nightfall Forest, and the ape used Monkey Style Fist to knock out one of the tiger's large teeth.
Since mammoths have been discovered, it's not surprising that saber-toothed tigers have been found as well. However, the saber-toothed tiger's teeth are still priceless. Li Su'er carefully kept them, freezing them in the snow, to bring back to Weng Ji for research later.
(End of this chapter)
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