Chapter 0115 - Heavenly Fire Furnace

However, this required finding a way to remelt the bone material.

To refine it, a furnace was essential. Yi Tianxing had one—among the strange treasures he had previously obtained, there was indeed a furnace. Although just a treasure, this furnace was named the Heavenly Fire Furnace. Once it reached its peak potential, it could refine all kinds of materials under heaven and earth with heavenly fire, even the most supreme divine and immortal materials. Its capabilities were astonishing.

If it were to fully develop, this treasure would undoubtedly become immensely powerful.

At the very least, in terms of refining rare and precious materials, it stood among the most supreme of treasures.

The issue, however, was that the Heavenly Fire Furnace required flame—not ordinary flame, but spiritual or exotic fire—true fire born from the essence of heaven and earth. With such a flame, the furnace could operate autonomously, needing no cultivator's input. Exotic fire was inexhaustible and could continuously absorb the energy of heaven and earth to sustain itself indefinitely.

But the problem was, while Yi Tianxing had the furnace, he did not have the exotic fire.

The furnace only held illusory fire.

Illusory fire couldn't absorb energy from heaven and earth by itself to function. Refining materials with it required a cultivator to constantly infuse it with true energy. During this process, the cultivator couldn't step away—the illusory fire could only be sustained by continuously channeling one's own true energy. Moreover, the consumption of energy was massive. Without a profound reserve of true energy, one simply couldn't sustain it for long.

This created serious inconvenience.

"If I could acquire a type of exotic flame from heaven and earth, the entire Heavenly Fire Furnace would undergo a transformation. That would bring tremendous benefits to the development of Xuanhuang Village. But for now, I can only activate the illusory fire with my own energy. Refining bone material shouldn't take too much energy."

Yi Tianxing's eyes sparkled as he muttered to himself.

Without the Heavenly Fire Furnace, he wouldn't have had the confidence to craft the Celestial Record Cards. After all, this wasn't the modern world anymore, where machines could rapidly produce all kinds of electronic goods and synthesize materials. Without proper preparation, he wouldn't dare attempt to create something as futuristic as those cards.

"Let's return and give it a try. See if it's even possible."

He didn't hesitate. As soon as the idea took shape, he felt an impatient urge to test it.

Thinking about it wouldn't accomplish anything. Only hands-on testing could reveal the truth.

Back at the residence.

Inside, Cao Zhengchun had already summoned three eunuchs to help manage the estate.

"Master, you've returned," Cao Zhengchun greeted immediately.

"Go and collect a batch of ferocious beast bones, freshly stripped from the creatures," Yi Tianxing ordered.

"How much do you require, Master?" Cao Zhengchun asked respectfully, a gleam in his eye. This was the very first task his master had entrusted him with—he would see to it flawlessly.

"Not too much. I'll leave it to your judgment," Yi Tianxing replied calmly before turning and walking inside.

Cao Zhengchun paused briefly, then quickly departed with two of his men.

Yi Tianxing entered a specially prepared meditation chamber.

With a thought, he waved his hand, and a furnace appeared before him.

The furnace was peculiar—similar to a traditional cauldron, yet taller, and it radiated a bronze-red glow. Its surface was etched with ancient, shifting runes, interwoven with star patterns and archaic sigils, giving off a deeply primordial aura.

Most notably, the surface bore lifelike engravings of the Nine Sons of the Dragon: Qiuniu, Yazi, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Bixi, Bi'an, Fuxi, and Chiwen. All nine dragons faced outward, and their bodies appeared to be part of the furnace itself. Their mouths were shut but could be opened and closed at will.

These dragon heads were connected to the furnace's interior. Once the materials were refined, they could be expelled through these mouths.

Below each dragon head was a container that could change shape at will through mental control—sphere, rectangular brick, any mold desired. This made it remarkably convenient. The molds would rapidly solidify the refined material into a new form.

Inside the furnace, Yi Tianxing could see a wisp of illusory fire—not tangible, flickering like mist, as if it might vanish at any moment. Yet within the furnace, a profound world seemed to exist, inscribed with countless ancient and mysterious Dao patterns.

"Still a yellow-grade treasure. But treasures born from heaven and earth carry immense potential for evolution. As long as the conditions are met, it can transform and ascend. For the Heavenly Fire Furnace, the requirement must be exotic fire—vast quantities of it. This illusory fire can be converted into any merged exotic flame."

Yi Tianxing was highly satisfied with the furnace. It was definitely a rare treasure of great value. For refining materials, it had near-miraculous capabilities. A blacksmith could use it to melt down even heavenly materials that would otherwise be impossible to process.

It allowed one to exceed their own abilities.

"Master, we've returned with the beast bones you requested," Cao Zhengchun's voice came from outside.

"Come in!"

Yi Tianxing nodded in response.

Cao Zhengchun entered with his men, and the two others quickly set down two large cloth bags, each filled with beast bones. Ferocious beast skeletons weren't light—each bag easily weighed over a hundred jin—but the men lifted them effortlessly, their strength far beyond mortal standards.

"Zhengchun, find a craftsman from the Heavenly Work Pavilion. Have them make a calligraphy brush using the golden-furred Mouse King's hair. Then, cut beast hide into uniform talisman-paper shapes. Also bring fresh beast blood—hot—and deliver everything together," Yi Tianxing instructed.

He glanced at the bones and nodded in approval.

Since no suitable talisman paper had been created yet, beast hides could serve as a substitute. The blood of ferocious beasts, rich in spiritual energy, could replace cinnabar ink, perhaps even surpassing it in effect.

To walk the path of a talisman master, one couldn't avoid practice. Failure was a natural part of learning.

Without practice, failure was guaranteed.

"As you command, Master," Cao Zhengchun answered, a flash of joy in his eyes, then bowed and left, naturally closing the door behind him.

"Let's test the Heavenly Fire Furnace's abilities."

Yi Tianxing picked up one of the bags and poured the beast bones around the furnace.

The furnace had no visible openings—even the cauldron lid was seamlessly fused.

Once the bones were laid out, he placed a hand on the furnace, and his True Dragon Qi surged into it.

Hualala—!

As the Qi poured in, the furnace glowed with red-golden light. The Nine Sons of the Dragon simultaneously opened their mouths and inhaled. The bones were instantly sucked in at an incredible speed, shrinking as they disappeared into the dragon maws—as if pulled into a bottomless abyss.

Yi Tianxing could sense that all the bones had been drawn inside.

These dragon mouths were the only entrances. Once closed, the furnace was completely sealed.

"Refine the beast bones!"

His expression grew serious. Without hesitation, he continued infusing True Dragon Qi into the furnace.

Whoosh—!

Instantly, the illusory fire inside reacted like a spark igniting gasoline, bursting into roaring flames. It quickly engulfed the entire furnace in a sea of fire.

Since it was powered by True Dragon Qi, one of the most domineering types of true energy, the flames now carried that same intensity.

The beast bones within began to melt at astonishing speed. All impurities were incinerated, leaving not even a trace. The flame's power was overwhelming.

Each bone yielded less than a tenth of its mass in purified essence. The rest—the impurities—were completely vaporized.

What remained was a clear, jade-like liquid—though not exactly like jade marrow or essence.

Bone after bone melted, their liquified essence merging into a single pool.

The Heavenly Fire Furnace had no trouble with this task. Before long, a large pool of glimmering liquid was ready.

"Come out!"

With a thought, the dragon child Qiuniu opened its mouth, and the molten essence began to drip out like dragon saliva into the container below.

Yi Tianxing had shaped the container like a honeycomb mold, with small hexagonal compartments.

The liquid filled the mold, quickly occupying each slot.

The container had rapid solidification properties. As the molten material entered, it began to harden immediately.

"The Heavenly Fire Furnace really does consume a tremendous amount of true energy. Just this brief operation already cost me a noticeable portion. Even with my cultivation, I couldn't sustain this for long. Still, using True Dragon Qi makes the illusory fire far more fierce than ordinary true energy."

He removed his hand from the furnace and murmured thoughtfully.