Arc 3: Part 36
This scene of ecstatic madness is continuously happening in both the Alchemy Tower and the Artifact Forge. The main reason is that a natural Li Huo is extremely rare. Having this treasure, even if it's casually used in refining, the quality of pills and artifacts won't be low.
Moreover, as Elder Xuan saw it, those pills have been out of the furnace for several months — due to the massive queue of those waiting for appraisal. Without paid fast tracking, it would take a few months for one's turn — but on top of those pills, the fierce fire energy has yet to dissipate.
There's hardly any loss at all!
The retention of fire energy directly represents the quality of the fire used for refining. Pills refined using Earth's fire would lose their energy within moments; the average strange fire is better, retaining energy for several days or even a month; highest quality strange fires can maintain their energy for a few years.
What are average Li Huo? Qing Ling fire, Zi Ming fire, Chi Gold fire... These are fires named after colors and lack any legendary origins. High-quality strange fires like Magma fire, Thunderbolt fire, Earth's Core fire all have some stories of origin.
And what is the pinnacle of Li Huo?
There are fires like Extraterrestrial Demon Heart fire, Hell Lotus Karma fire, and Fallen Deity Soul fire. And of course, the fire from the legendary three-legged Golden Crow, the sun deity, which was said to have been shot down by the great sorcerer Hou Yi with nine arrows.
Elder Xuan questioned if he had lost his senses — how else could he suspect that the residual fire energy on the pills came from the Golden Crow flame? It’s an element so rare that even in the realm of the immortals it might not exist; how could it possibly be found in Zhongzhou?
Yet, he was forced to admit that the lingering fire energy on the pills indeed faintly bore the patterns of the three-legged firebird. Besides the Golden Crow, which had transformed into the sun, what else could exude such fierce and intense fiery energy?
Regardless, Elder Xuan was determined to recruit this individual to his sect. He believed he had the prowess to do so. However…
He immediately instructed his subordinates to send a message at once, inviting the person to his cave abode in the Alchemy Tower for a meeting.
Everyone assumed that the person, upon learning of Elder Xuan's approval, would rush over excitedly at the first opportunity, eager to beg him for apprenticeship. Even Elder Xuan himself thought so and went to great lengths to prepare. He bathed, burnt incense, changed into new clothes, dyed his hair black with medicinal herbs, and combed it meticulously. He had his servants clean his cave repeatedly until the floors shone, reflecting people’s figures.
The information left behind for appraisal suggested the individual was a young female cultivator. Xuan Yan even went as far as to purchase jewelry, pastries, and snacks, displaying them openly on the table as a generous and upright gesture.
He even utilized public funds to have his most handsome disciple spruce up himself and reinforce his reputation as the Alchemy Tower leader. All these efforts were just to trick that female cultivator into staying!
He was even willing to offer her his prized disciple!
Indeed, the disciple was desperate in his heart — praying silently countless times that the female cultivator had a Dao companion, or at least a close friend who was soon to become one. Of course, if she had a senior brother in her sect, it would be even better!
Isn't it common in the cultivation world for female cultivators to be claimed early on by their senior brothers so that "none of the water, once raised, is allowed to flow onto someone else's field"? Thereby, observing this trend, naive junior sisters who just entered the sect would often receive earnest advice from their world-weary senior sisters: "Protect yourself from fire, theft, and senior brothers!"
In any case, it remains uncertain whether the prayer of the senior disciple had any effect. But Elder Xuan ended up in tears.
He waited and waited, but the mechanical paper crane message system failed to send a message out – the person in question was in closed-door cultivation and it was uncertain when she would come out to receive the message.
Begrudgingly eating all the snacks, Elder Xuan spent his day immersed in his pill refining room, using work to alleviate his heartache.
For this, the senior disciple was profoundly grateful.
After all, he really just wanted to focus on his cultivation and remain single; he had no desire to find a partner!
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