Artifact Refining Hall

Less than half an hour later, the two arrived before a stone gate. Qin Fengming calculated silently that they were now nearly twenty miles from the cave entrance. The sheer depth of the place weighed heavily on his heart.

Looking at the stone gate before him, Qin Fengming saw a faint, shifting rainbow glow upon it, as though some restriction had been laid there. The young man sent out a sound-transmission talisman, and before long, the stone gate slowly opened.

As the stone gate opened, Qin Fengming immediately felt a wave of scorching heat rush toward him, nearly beyond what he could bear. Only by rapidly circulating the spiritual power within his body did he dispel the discomfort.

Fixing his gaze inside the cave, he saw a tall, spacious hall. Around the hall stood more than a dozen stone chambers, each entrance sealed by a heavy stone door, all seemingly protected by restrictions.

There was already a gray-robed young man in the hall. Using the Spirit Eye Technique to examine him, Qin Fengming saw that the man had already reached Qi Gathering Stage Five.

When he saw Qin Fengming and the other enter, he merely rose to his feet and gave them a slight nod before continuing to sort through a pile of artifact-refining materials at one side of the hall.

Senior Brother Liu murmured for Qin Fengming to wait here, then went over to the pile of materials himself and began searching through it carefully.

After about the time it took to eat a meal, the stone door of the largest chamber suddenly opened. Martial Uncle Fei, whom Qin Fengming had met before, flashed into view at the entrance.

"Martial Nephew Qin, whether or not you enjoy artifact refining, since you have come here, you must settle down and study the Dao of artifact refining. For the first ten days, I will find some materials and teach you the art of refining them. If, after one month, you cannot meet my requirements, then you cannot remain in the Artifact Refining Hall to help."

"If you meet my requirements, I will assign you some material-refining tasks every month. As long as you complete them, you may cultivate on your own. You will receive ten low-grade spirit stones each month. For this first month, I can give you twenty spirit stones in advance for practicing refinement."

Martial Uncle Fei looked at Qin Fengming and said nothing else, getting straight to the point. As he spoke, he handed twenty spirit stones to Qin Fengming.

"This disciple will certainly study with all his heart and will not disappoint Martial Uncle Fei," Qin Fengming said respectfully as he accepted the spirit stones.

"Good. Come with me." With that, he walked toward a stone chamber nearby. With a wave of his hand, the stone door opened soundlessly.

After the two entered, Martial Uncle Fei waved his hand again, and the stone door silently closed. At the same time, a flash of light passed over it, and a layer of spiritual power fluctuations appeared on the door.

The temperature in this cave was noticeably higher than in the main hall. Fortunately, Qin Fengming was still able to endure it by forcefully resisting the heat.

This cave was four or five zhang long and wide, and roughly five or six zhang high. Six crouching toads were scattered across the stone floor. Each stood more than three chi tall, their mouths open and their heads raised, lifelike in posture as wisps of white vapor streamed from their mouths.

Martial Uncle Fei walked up to one of the toads, took out three low-grade spirit stones, and placed them into three grooves on its body. Then he formed a hand seal. With a bang, the toad suddenly spewed a blaze of searing fire from its mouth.

"The Earthfire here is no weaker than the pill fire of a Core Formation stage senior. Our founding patriarch used great supernatural powers to draw the Heart of the Earth Fire here and set dozens of Fire-Inducing Beasts above it. As long as spirit stones are used to activate the formation, the Fire-Inducing Beasts can spew flames from their mouths. Qi Gathering stage and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators can use this to refine pills and artifacts. It is evenly matched with the Earthfire in Junior Brother Lu's Alchemy Hall."

As he spoke, he instructed Qin Fengming on how to control and use the Earthfire.

"Martial Nephew Qin, watch carefully and pay close attention. In the future, if you follow my methods, you will be able to discard the dross and preserve the essence of all kinds of materials."

After Martial Uncle Fei finished speaking, he wasted no time. With a turn of his hand, a small furnace appeared in his palm. With a flick, he set it atop the Fire-Inducing Beast.

Immediately afterward, he placed a piece of artifact-refining material into the furnace. He then skillfully controlled the intensity of the flames. After the time it took to eat a meal, the material melted into liquid. Next, Martial Uncle Fei formed another hand seal, and the flame turned white.

A layer of grayish-white matter slowly surfaced on the liquid material. After it continued for the time it took to eat a meal, Martial Uncle Fei used a long, tong-like tool to remove that grayish-white layer. He collected the remaining material in a vessel. Then he formed another hand seal toward the Fire-Inducing Beast, and its flames abruptly vanished.

Qin Fengming watched Martial Uncle Fei's refinement intently. Though it appeared effortless, Qin Fengming knew that such ease had only come from who knew how many years of Martial Uncle Fei's accumulated experience.

After Martial Uncle Fei finished demonstrating, he passed all the various flame-control hand seals to Qin Fengming. Before Qin Fengming could ask any further questions, Martial Uncle Fei threw down a pile of artifact-refining materials, turned, and left the chamber.

Qin Fengming sat on the stone floor, carefully reliving Martial Uncle Fei's movements and pondering the several flame-control hand seals. For the full time it took to eat a meal, he did not move in the slightest.

Only after a long while did Qin Fengming suddenly begin to act. He first formed a hand seal toward the Fire-Inducing Beast. With a whoosh, the Fire-Inducing Beast immediately spewed flames. Qin Fengming was delighted at the sight and quickly formed another hand seal. The flames gradually began to change, though far more slowly than they had under Martial Uncle Fei's control.

Facing the changing flames, Qin Fengming knew that his spiritual power was not as deep and abundant as Martial Uncle Fei's. This skill of changing flame properties was something he would have to slowly comprehend for himself.

He placed the artifact-refining furnace atop the Fire-Inducing Beast, put in a piece of artifact-refining material as Martial Uncle Fei had done, and began tempering and purifying it according to Martial Uncle Fei's process.

To Qin Fengming's disappointment, when the material was finally refined, it became a blackened lump of useless junk. It was ruined.

For the next month, aside from eating and sleeping, Qin Fengming entered the refining chamber every day and repeated this same unchanging process.

During the first ten days, Martial Uncle Fei came each day to offer some guidance. Once those ten days had passed, Qin Fengming never saw Martial Uncle Fei again.

Every four or five days, Qin Fengming replaced the spirit stones. Only then did he understand why Martial Uncle Fei had given him twenty spirit stones. Such rapid consumption of spirit stones was truly not something an ordinary disciple could afford.

During the first half of the month, nine out of ten of his material-purification attempts failed. But after twenty days, the failure rate dropped to five or six out of ten. By the time nearly a month had passed, his success rate had unexpectedly reached seven or eight out of ten. Even so, he remained deeply uneasy, not knowing whether he could pass Martial Uncle Fei's inspection.

What Qin Fengming did not know was that his current purification success rate would already have made him stand head and shoulders above the crowd in the entire Artifact Refining world.

When Martial Uncle Fei came to inspect Qin Fengming's month of practice one month later, he was greatly astonished by Qin Fengming's refining techniques and success rate.

According to his expectations, a success rate of twenty or thirty percent would already have been quite good for Qin Fengming. What artifact refiner had not needed several years or even decades before becoming flawless in their craft? Yet Qin Fengming had used only a single short month to master material refinement to such a degree. How could Martial Uncle Fei not be overjoyed?