Furnace Fire

After the refining furnace cooled down, Master Chen instructed his disciples to dismantle it.

Mo Hua continued to complete the unfinished arrays, including a First Grade Melting Fire Array, a standard Cold Qi Array, and a Gold and Stone Array.

The Gold and Stone Array reinforced the furnace's interior walls, making the refining furnace more durable.

The Cold Qi Array was designed to cool down the furnace.

Once Mo Hua completed the arrays, Master Chen had his disciples reassemble the refining furnace.

Now, all the cores and formations of the First Grade Melting Fire Control Array were fully drawn.

Mo Hua let out a long sigh of relief.

This array was much more complex than he had anticipated, and during the actual drawing process, many unforeseen minor issues had arisen.

But now, it was finally completed.

This array included two First Grade arrays.

Mo Hua felt a sense of accomplishment and then had Master Chen reassemble the refining furnace. He activated the Spiritual Gathering Array through the core and the spiritual power flowed within the furnace, causing the fire to blaze again.

Master Chen walked around the refining furnace and frowned, "The fire doesn't seem to have gotten larger. It seems a bit smaller than before."

Previously, even from a distance, he could feel the intense heat of the furnace fire, but now, standing near the refining furnace, he didn't feel the heat.

Mo Hua also noticed that even though the furnace fire was activated, the surrounding temperature wasn't rising much.

"Could something be wrong with the array?" Mo Hua pondered, stroking his chin.

At that moment, Master Chen scrutinized the furnace fire again, and suddenly, he froze.

His finger trembled as he pointed at the fire, "This fire... it's bright red."

Mo Hua turned to look and indeed noticed that the flame was different from before. It appeared purer and brighter red, almost like it had condensed.

"A bright red furnace fire..." Master Chen muttered, looking incredulous.

"Is this good or bad?" Mo Hua asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Good!" Master Chen exclaimed.

He wanted to explain what was good about it, but he was too excited to articulate it clearly at the moment.

Elder Yu, calming his surprise, said to Mo Hua, "The purer the color of the furnace fire, the fewer impurities it contains, and the stronger the spiritual power it contains. This bright red and pure furnace fire is already beyond the realm of ordinary Qi refining stage spiritual power; it even seems to be slightly condensed."

"Condensed?"

"Pure spiritual power, when accumulated to a certain degree, will condense. The spiritual power of the Qi Refining stage is gaseous, while that of the Foundation Building stage condenses like liquid. This is what people mean by 'spiritual power like mercury, breaking through to Foundation Building.'"

Elder Yu explained, then flipped his hand, and a faint golden spiritual power condensed in his palm, truly resembling liquid mercury, exceptionally pure.

"So this is the spiritual power of the Foundation Building stage..."

Mo Hua was shocked, then asked, "So, is this furnace fire considered Foundation Building stage fire?"

"It's not that simple," Elder Yu shook his head, looking at the furnace fire, "This shows only slight signs of condensation, far from the intensity of Foundation Building stage spiritual power. But compared to ordinary Qi Refining stage spiritual power, it's much stronger."

Mo Hua nodded, feeling quite satisfied.

This was indeed the genuine First Grade Melting Fire Compound Array, and its effect was truly extraordinary!

It wasn't in vain that he had spent so much time, effort, and spiritual ink practicing it over and over again.

From the results, everything was worthwhile.

Mo Hua couldn't help but nod approvingly.

Elder Yu remained composed, but he couldn't hide his inner astonishment.

Although he knew Mo Hua's array this time was extraordinary, he hadn't expected it to be this exceptional.

Pure and bright red furnace fire, almost like it had condensed.

Could this be an array that only a First Grade Array Master could draw?

Elder Yu glanced at the refining furnace again, feeling something amiss, and furrowed his brow, "According to reason, this furnace fire should be stronger, and the temperature should be higher. Why do I not feel the heat even though I'm so close?"

"Yeah," Mo Hua remembered suddenly.

He walked around the refining furnace, pondering the arrays in the complex formation, and then he realized.

"It's the Cold Qi Array."

"The Cold Qi Array?" Mo Hua nodded, explaining, "There's a Cold Qi Array within the complex formation, drawn on the furnace walls. It isolates the overflowing heat, so the craftsman won't feel overheated during refining..."

Mo Hua hadn't thought about this when drawing the arrays; he simply followed the diagram. Now he understood that including a Cold Qi Array in this complex formation was quite thoughtful.

With this array, craftsmen could avoid being constantly roasted by the furnace fire, making their work less strenuous.

The previous array masters who designed this formation had indeed considered everything thoroughly.

Elder Yu also sighed, "This array... is really thoughtful..."

Meanwhile, Master Chen stood dumbfounded in front of the furnace fire, gazing at the vividly red fire that seemed almost 'extravagant,' his whole body boiling with excitement, unable to calm down for a long time.

He had never dared to dream of such a pure furnace fire...

With the array completed on the refining furnace, the process of crafting could begin.

Preparation of crafting materials, placement of the refining furnace, arrangement of craftsmen, types of refining, and procedures—all these were discussed and arranged by Elder Yu and Master Chen.

Elder Yu, who had long overseen demon hunters, and Master Chen, with his rich experience in refining, covered every aspect meticulously. The operation of the crafting workshop was well organized.

Mo Hua wasn't familiar with these specific tasks, so he didn't inquire much about them.

But he was still a bit concerned and asked Elder Yu, "Elder, how many First Grade refining furnaces does the Qian family have?"

"It seems they have three or four," Elder Yu thought for a moment.

"Will one refining furnace be enough for us then?"

Elder Yu pondered for a moment before replying, "Probably not enough, but the cost of one refining furnace is quite high. Buying more would be a waste of spiritual stones."

"Can we craft our own?" Mo Hua asked.

Elder Yu looked somewhat helpless, "I asked Master Chen about this. Crafting our own is difficult, mainly because we don't have the refining furnace's crafting manual. Without knowing the method of refining, we can't start."

"Are these refining manuals rare?" Mo Hua inquired.

"The refining manuals for First Grade refining furnaces are quite rare. Very few people can craft them, so they're considered quite rare," Elder Yu explained, then frowned and thought, "I'll think of a solution. Having only one refining furnace may indeed be a bit inadequate."

A few days later, Elder Yu managed to obtain a refining manual through an acquaintance from years past, spending some spiritual stones in exchange.

The refining manual was somewhat worn-out, with yellowed pages, and while the handwriting was still legible, it was somewhat blurry. Fortunately, the method of crafting the refining furnace was recorded clearly enough.

Elder Yu explained that this refining manual had been passed down from his acquaintance's ancestors.

His acquaintance's ancestors had started with refining, even achieving some fame. However, due to the laziness of their descendants, who preferred other occupations, their skills in refining had gradually faded away.

With no one left to practice the craft, their family soon fell into decline.

By the time it reached Elder Yu's acquaintance, not a single disciple in their family knew the refining method, and they made a living through other means.

This refining manual became a family heirloom, more of a memento than something of practical use.

They couldn't sell it because anyone capable of crafting a First Grade refining furnace either already possessed the method or, if they were other cultivators, lacked the ability to craft it even if they bought it.

Now, this refining manual had fallen into Elder Yu's hands.

(End of the Chapter)