The figure in the darkness slowly raised a hand and spread its fingers. A black gleam shot from its sleeve, swelled in the wind, and transformed in an instant into an enormous alchemy furnace that crashed down in the center of the hall!
The furnace was pitch-black and three zhang tall. Dense ancient Runes covered its body, each one glowing faintly as though alive. Flames of every color rose from its mouth—crimson, dark blue, emerald, purple-gold, silver-white... They twisted together like brightly colored flood dragons circling the opening, radiating heat and pressure that made the heart tremble.
A single glance left the mind reeling, as if the flames might suck in the soul. Countless reliefs swept across the furnace walls with the vigor of dragons in flight and phoenixes in dance: a true dragon soaring through the nine heavens, a Phoenix spreading its wings and crying out, a Qilin walking on clouds, a Black Tortoise standing beneath the weight of a mountain... Phantoms of rare and wondrous beasts flickered across the furnace, so lifelike they seemed ready to break free of its walls and pounce on anyone watching.
At the sight of the furnace, the eight Old Ancestors retreated several steps, their faces filled with awe and wonder. The Scorpion Race's Old Ancestor could not help exclaiming, "To see Your Excellency's Heaven-Refining Furnace again... Every time I look at it, I feel a dread that reaches into my soul. Such a divine artifact is truly beyond our understanding."
The Bull Demon Old Ancestor nodded, his eyes brimming with envy. "Indeed. The aura of this furnace alone is enough to make even Eighth Realm cultivators like us quake. If it were used to refine pills, who knows what heaven-defying Divine Pills it could produce..."
The figure in the darkness ignored their