Deep within the restricted grounds of Lingxiao Peak's Back Mountain.
An ancient, unadorned hall was embedded within the mountainside.
At the center of the hall, an enormous pill furnace blazed fiercely.
It was the treasure that safeguarded the Lingxiao Supreme Sect.
The Purple Heaven Refining Furnace!
The furnace stood more than five zhang tall, pale gold throughout. Its body was round and ancient, its surface stamped with countless intricate, mysterious patterns.
These patterns had not been carved afterward, but seemed naturally formed. As the flames within the furnace leaped, faint purple-gold radiance flowed through them.
Most astonishing of all were the flames burning within the furnace.
They were pure violet flames—not ordinary fire, nor transformed true essence. They surged up from the furnace's base, reaching three zhang high. At their core, the violet was nearly black, while their edges bore a faint golden rim.
As the flames roiled, they vaguely condensed into the forms of various exotic beasts.
Whenever the shape of the flames changed, the temperature within the hall surged another degree. The air warped and steamed, and even space itself seemed to ripple faintly beneath the heat.
At this moment, three people sat cross-legged in a triangular formation three zhang around the Purple Heaven Refining Furnace.
Seated in the middle, directly facing the furnace door, was Duanmu Hua, the current Sect Leader of the Lingxiao Supreme Sect.
Aura coiled around him, not in the usual radiance of true essence, but as a milky-white haze nearly tangible in substance.
The haze rose in wisps from the Baihui Acupoint atop his head, then slowly circulated three chi around his body before finally flowing into his breath, repeating in an endless cycle.
As the haze flowed, specks of purple starlight could vaguely be seen flickering within it.
To Duanmu Hua's left