Chapter 117: In Search of Materials

At this moment, Wei Hua was stunned; he never expected the outcome to be like this. Hastily, he began to sift through the memories of Immortal Emperor Xuan Yi. From those memories, Wei Hua learned that whether in the cultivation world or the immortal realm, materials for forging magical instruments were always sourced from nature, with virtually no artificially synthesized materials. The best material for crafting spatial rings in the cultivation world was the Nine Heavens Meteoric Iron, prized for its hardness and ability to withstand a tremendous infusion of spiritual energy. The more spiritual energy infused, the larger the spatial capacity unlocked. In the immortal realm, the top material for forging spatial rings was Celestial Tempered Gold. However, even if Wei Hua were given a piece of Celestial Tempered Gold, he could only look at it helplessly, for his True Fire was merely the basic Three-Flavored True Fire, incapable of melting such a rare metal.

Scientifically speaking, Nine Heavens Meteoric Iron corresponds to meteorites with a high iron content from outer space. When meteorites enter Earth’s atmosphere, friction causes intense combustion; the high temperatures vaporize impurities, leaving behind a natural alloy with a relatively high melting point. This alloy, known as meteoric iron, is typically very hard. Wei Hua had tried many times and experimented with various hard alloys, but all attempts ended in failure. He was forced to follow Immortal Emperor Xuan Yi’s memories and seek naturally formed materials, though such materials were exceedingly rare.

Through the Changbai Science Laboratory, Wei Hua publicly called for the search for hard materials like meteoric iron. However, the results were disappointing. Meteorites were seldom found, and most were held by scientific research institutions for various technological studies, which were unwilling to part with them. Those in private collections were even scarcer, and news of someone searching for meteorites was rare—unlike the connected world of the 21st century, this world remained largely isolated. For more than ten days, Wei Hua could not find suitable materials, and his expression naturally grew grim.

One day, as Wei Hua was immersed in Xuan Yi’s memories, the butler David Scorsese knocked and entered the study. “Sir, an American has come looking for you. He says he knows where to find the meteoric iron you seek.”

“Bring him in quickly!” Wei Hua replied.

Soon, David led in an American man in his forties. The man addressed Wei Hua, “Mr. Wei, my name is Indiana Jones. I’m an explorer. Ten years ago, I discovered a meteorite—not very large but extremely heavy. At the time, I couldn’t carry it, and since my expedition’s goal wasn’t meteorites, I left it where it was. I heard you’re looking for meteorites. I can tell you where this one is. If you want me to guide you there, I’ll charge an additional fee.”

Indiana Jones? Wasn’t that the protagonist of Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” trilogy? How could there be a real person with that name? Spielberg’s first “Indiana Jones” film was released in 1981. Could this man have taken the name after the movie? Americans did have such habits, Wei Hua mused silently.

“Mr. Jones, please tell me where the meteorite is first. Then we’ll decide if we need your guidance. If we do, we’ll hire you, and rest assured, the payment will be satisfactory,” Wei Hua said.

“The meteorite is in a hidden spot within the Amazon rainforest,” Jones replied.

“Then I suppose we’ll need you to guide us. The Amazon isn’t a place for amusement. How much will you charge for leading us there?”

“Twenty thousand. But you’ll have to provide all the equipment and supplies for the expedition,” Jones said.

“No problem. Give me two days to make arrangements, and we’ll set off!” Wei Hua responded.

Wei Hua immediately called Jesse, informing her of his journey to the Amazon and that contact might be lost for a while, urging her not to worry and assuring her he would be careful. Then he entered the black hole space to find Sophia and explained his plan, emphasizing that he would be unable to absorb electricity for a long time and that Sophia should cease repairs on the planetary fortress.

After hearing Wei Hua’s explanation, Sophia said, “Actually, you don’t have to go through such trouble to find meteoric iron. I can help! We can use detectors to locate it. The detectors have intelligent assistants that can analyze whether the metal detected is meteoric iron. It should be quite easy to find. I can give you a handheld detector—it has a large detection range, capable of scanning an area with a radius of ten thousand meters. Also, you don’t have to go all the way to that Amazon rainforest. I believe there are meteorites in nearby oceans. Given your current condition, diving to depths of one or two thousand meters is no problem; you can retrieve meteorites from the seabed. Don’t forget, I have Immortal Emperor Xuan Yi’s memories too. You should now be able to breathe internally, so diving will be easy!”

Hearing this, Wei Hua suddenly understood. He’d still been thinking of himself as an ordinary person, not realizing that many things impossible for ordinary people were actually easy for him.

“Enough talk! Give me that detector first; it’ll come in handy. It’s not just for metal detection, right? Can it detect sunken ships? As for the Amazon, I’ll still go once—I’ve already made an appointment, and breaking a promise isn’t a good habit. Besides, I’ve heard the Amazon rainforest is quite interesting; it’ll be a good chance to see it for myself,” Wei Hua said.