Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 290 Making a Furnace

"To extract the rocks from that raging lava, we can't just grab them with our bare hands; we have to find another way!"

As Tieqiao spoke, he suddenly leaped up, easily crossing a distance of five or six zhang (approximately 10-13 meters), and landed steadily on a rock that stood abruptly in the lava.

The rock was only about three feet wide, shaped like an upright twisted rope, standing alone in the scalding lava. The part protruding above the lava surface was about four or five feet high.

Due to the extreme heat, above the churning magma, incredibly hot air currents surged up and down, forming powerful gusts of wind that howled past in all directions.

Despite the harsh environment, Tieqiao stood firmly atop the rock, completely unaffected by the strong winds and intense heat. A faint red glow emanated from his body, acting as an invisible barrier that kept the scorching winds and heat at bay.

Immediately afterward, Tieqiao calmly pulled a thin rope from his person. Upon closer inspection, the rope was no thicker than a little finger, and its entire surface was a dark black color; it was unclear what special material it was made of. However, the fact that Tieqiao could retrieve and use it in such a scorching hot cave with churning lava suggested that this rope was certainly no ordinary object.

Tieqiao wrapped one end of the rope around the stone, tied it tightly, and tossed the other end toward Mo Yuming, saying:

"Then, when I yell 'pull,' pull upwards with all your might!"

After saying that, he stretched out his palms and patted around the stone a few times. It seemed like he wasn't using much force, but Mo Yuming could feel the stone vibrating slightly through the rope in his hand.

"Pull!" Tieqiao shouted to Mo Yuming as he leaped off the rocks. Mo Yuming, hearing this, immediately pulled hard on the rope.

With a crisp "crack," the rock was pulled from the lava like a bamboo shoot and slammed against the rock face by Mo Yuming like a fish on a hook. A half-red rock, about six feet long and three feet wide, landed beside Mo Yuming, while Tie Qiao had already leaped and landed on top of another rock.

Working together, the two fished out more than a dozen rocks of varying sizes after an hour. They weighed several thousand kilograms.

"Let's finish processing these rocks first!"

Tieqiao took two rocks and gave the rest to Mo Yuming. He knew that Mo Yuming had many storage bags and that storing these rocks would not be a problem.

"What should we do with these rocks?" The two left the Fire Cloud Cave and arrived at the Red Spring.

"The stone crystals in the rock have a similar color and hardness to ordinary rocks. Even if you break the rock, you won't be able to find them. You have to use a peeling method to separate the rock from the stone crystals. Let's find a flat place, and I'll set up a magic circle before I teach you how to separate the stone crystals."

Tieqiao found a relatively flat piece of land next to the Red Spring, took out several black iron tokens from his pocket. The black iron tokens were engraved with complex runes. Tieqiao inserted the iron tokens into the soil in several positions, and then used his spiritual power to draw runes on the ground between the black iron tokens.

"This is an earth-elemental spirit-gathering array, an essential array for breaking down rocks. Since most weapon refiners are fire-elemental cultivators and lack earth-elemental spiritual power, they need this array to refine these non-metal-elemental special ores. However, your earth-elemental cultivation is quite good, so you won't need this array to break down rocks in the future. Although this spirit-gathering array is a single earth-elemental array, its effectiveness is considerable, no less than those advanced spirit-gathering arrays. Therefore, it would be a good auxiliary artifact for you to refine one of these array plates to cultivate earth-elemental techniques in the future."

After Tieqiao finished drawing the runes of the magic array, he inserted the last black iron token into the center of the array. Instantly, several golden lines appeared between the tokens, and after a moment, the tokens began to glow, becoming gleaming golden. Then, a large sphere of light formed in the area enclosed by the tokens, and dense earth-elemental spiritual energy gathered from all directions, causing the earth-elemental spiritual energy in the center of the magic array to almost liquefy.

At this moment, Tieqiao threw a rock into the magic circle, and then manipulated the rock in the circle to rotate rapidly, while continuously hitting it from a distance.

"The rocks are easily broken down under the control of earth-elemental spiritual power. Due to the characteristics of the stone crystal, it is more resistant to erosion than ordinary rocks. So after the ordinary rocks are broken down, what is left is the stone crystal."

Tieqiao explained the process to Mo Yuming as he operated the machine. A quarter of an hour later, a rock weighing several hundred kilograms was reduced to only forty or fifty kilograms of gray stone crystals. These crystals looked similar to ordinary rocks, only feeling slightly harder in the hand. They were practically useless for making other tools, but their unique characteristic was their exceptional heat resistance and excellent heat retention. Therefore, they could only be used in constructing the Yin-Yang Furnace.

After watching Tieqiao refine several rocks, Mo Yuming also tried to refine rocks using Tieqiao's method. Mo Yuming's earth-type profound skill was already at the peak of the earth-rank, and under Tieqiao's guidance, he quickly mastered the technique of separating rocks from stone crystals. Although he was not as fast as Tieqiao, he still successfully separated the stone crystals from the rocks.

“These crystals aren’t enough! We need to find more. Fortunately, there are many collection points in the lava caves of Fire Cloud Cave, so it just takes a little more time. Let’s stop here for today and continue tomorrow, and try to collect all the crystals we need in three days. It’s getting late, so let’s go to Yishi Village to rest for the night first.”

The large pavilion in the middle of the winding corridor was a favorite gathering place for everyone in the canyon. Night had fallen, but the fluorescent stones embedded in the wooden pillars illuminated the entire area brightly. Mo Yuming and Tieqiao sat in the pavilion playing with the Wu tribe children, while Pu Yazhu and several older boys prepared dinner. After several months of getting acquainted, the Wu tribe children had become familiar with life in the canyon. Although it lacked the hustle and bustle of the outside world, it was very peaceful. They no longer had to live in fear, so after a few months, all the Wu tribe children had gotten used to life here. Many smiles appeared on their faces. Their lost innocence slowly returned.

The happiest time for the children in the canyon is when outsiders come to visit. These people not only play with them, but also bring them many good things and teach them knowledge and skills.

"Young Master, I heard that you will be participating in the Dragon Chef Competition in six months, is that right?"

After the meal, while everyone was resting in the corridor, Park Ya-joo asked Mo Yu-ming...

"I heard the Dragon Chef Competition is very exciting, so I want to go and see it for myself."

"Can you take me with you?" Park Ah-joo asked after a moment's thought.

“Going there is no problem, but this Dragon Chef Competition is hosted by the Feather Emperor Palace, and given your identity…” Mo Yuming hesitated.

"I know it will be a great risk, but this is my only chance to enter the territory under the jurisdiction of the Feather Emperor Palace. I want to take this opportunity to retrieve the Heart-Questioning Stone from the Valley of Forgetfulness. As long as you bring me into Wuji City, I will handle the rest myself and will not be a burden to you!"

"What is the 'Heart-Questioning Stone'? Is it worth risking your life to retrieve?" Mo Yuming asked, puzzled. The Witch Clan was designated a sinner by the Feather Emperor Palace, and all members of the clan, regardless of age or gender, were to be killed without mercy, not even those connected to them. Wu Ji was one such example.

"The 'Inquiry Stone' is the stone of our Wu tribe's heritage, a sacred token in the hearts of our Wu people. As long as the 'Inquiry Stone' exists, our Wu tribe will not perish. Protecting the 'Inquiry Stone' is our Wu people's unwavering belief until death. I know this is somewhat unreasonable, but as a successor of the Wu tribe, I cannot stand idly by."

"What does the 'Heart-Questioning Stone' look like? What are its characteristics? Where is it located? We can retrieve it for you; it might be safer that way!"

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, young master. We all owe our lives to you, and if I could, I wouldn’t hide anything from you. It’s just that this ‘Heart-Questioning Stone’ is very special. Even though I’ve never seen it before, I don’t know where it is. My father told me before he died that the ‘Heart-Questioning Stone’ is in the Valley of Oblivion, but no one knows where it is. Only the inheritors of the Witch Clan can sense it. So unless I personally appear in the Valley of Oblivion, the ‘Heart-Questioning Stone’ will not appear.”

"Such a strange thing?"

"We, the younger generation of the Witch Clan, must undergo the baptism of the 'Heart-Questioning Stone' before our coming-of-age ceremony. During this baptism, we receive many of the Witch Clan's inheritances from the 'Heart-Questioning Stone.' If we are over eighteen years old and have not undergone this baptism, we will no longer receive the protection of our ancestors, and our Witch Clan's inherited techniques will no longer be able to advance. Among us children, besides myself, there are three others who are almost fourteen years old. If we cannot undergo the baptism of the 'Heart-Questioning Stone' as soon as possible, we will all lose our eligibility for inheritance. The Dragon Chef Competition is held every five years, and with my current strength, this is the only opportunity to enter the territory of the Feather Emperor Palace. This is our only chance; if we miss it, we will basically have no hope of obtaining our ancestors' inheritances! That is why I implore you, Young Master, to help me! Whether I live or die, Ya Zhu will never betray you, Young Master."

"No need to say that. I will never say no to anything I can do. It's just that we may have to resort to force. Other characteristics are easy to deceive, but once you use your witch clan soul power, it will be hard to hide! But if you don't use your soul power, with your cultivation level you'll be just like an ordinary civilian, and you won't be able to fight those martial artists at all. That's a very tricky thing."

"I may not have had a solution before, but now I have a way to try that can both keep Ya Zhu's identity from being exposed and give her some fighting skills!" Tie Qiao said as he walked over.

"What are some good methods?"

Mo Yuming and Pu Yazhu both looked at the iron bridge.

"The Witch Clan mainly cultivates soul power, so although their profound skills are not as good as ordinary martial artists, their perception is worse than ours, and their reaction speed is faster than that of ordinary people. Therefore, before their cultivation reaches a certain level, their best weapon is the bow and arrow. This way, they can kill enemies from a distance and effectively protect themselves. Moreover, because they keep a certain distance from the enemy, it is not easy for them to be detected when they use soul power."

The unique characteristic of meteorite iron spirit treasures is that they can establish a telepathic connection with their users even without a spirit. Witch warriors, on the other hand, possess exceptionally strong soul power, giving them a significant advantage over cultivators of profound arts in using meteorite iron spirit treasures, allowing for greater flexibility in their application. Using a meteorite iron spirit treasure bow and arrow allows for better concealment of the Witch race's soul power. Therefore, crafting a spirit treasure bow and arrow for Ya Zhu using meteorite iron is the best choice. With six months until the competition, the goal is to complete the bow and arrow within three months, followed by three months of practice, after which it will be usable to her.

"That's a good idea. Miss Yazhu can start practicing archery now. Grandma Qiushui is very skilled at archery. How about we ask her to come down and teach you tomorrow?"

"I'll do as you say, young master. Thank you, grandpa! Ya Zhu thanks everyone for their help!" Park Ya Zhu quickly thanked Tie Qiao.

"Alright, in that case, let's all get ready. Let's get some rest today so we can continue working tomorrow!"

……

"Grandpa Iron Bridge, these crystals should be almost ready, right?"

Looking at the large pile of crystals in front of him, Mo Yuming said that after three days of collecting, Mo Yuming and Tieqiao had collected enough crystals.

"That's about it. Now we can start the first step of building the furnace. The biggest feature of the Yin-Yang Furnace is that it can absorb and fuse the spiritual energy of the five elements in the surrounding environment to produce something similar to the innate five elements true fire, but it is not the real innate five elements true fire. The innate five elements true fire is directly transformed from the yin and yang energies of heaven and earth. Not to mention meteorite iron, it can even burn the formless and intangible divine soul consciousness. It can forge all things in the world and cannot be controlled by human power."

Although the Five Elements True Fire imitated by this Two Elements Furnace is not true true fire, the high temperature it generates is enough to melt meteorite iron, making it the only spiritual fire that humans can currently control.

The construction of the Two Elements Furnace begins with drawing ten rune arrays on the ground at the construction site. Then, mithril, infused with ethereal gold, is used to connect the array's nodes, forming a grand array that gathers the spiritual energy of the five elements. Besides its high flexibility, mithril also possesses exceptional conductivity, greatly enhancing the flow of spiritual power. The furnace body is then constructed using stone crystals within the grand array, and the outer walls are made of black iron and earth-fire gold. Protective and fire-gathering runes are inscribed on the outer walls.

This completes the initial construction of the furnace. When it's finally ready for use, simply embed energy crystals into the array's core. Fortunately, the abundant Yin-Yang dual water spiritual energy here will suffice, so the required number of energy crystals is minimal.

"Can this Yin-Yang Water Spiritual Power also aid fire?" Mo Yuming asked, puzzled.

"The Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth and the Five Elements are all transformed from the innate Yin and Yang energies. How can they be irreversibly transformed into fire spiritual power? If you can't even do this, can you still call it the Yin-Yang Furnace?" Tieqiao laughed.