Hearing the servant's report, Jiang Ci'an paused what he was doing. A glint flashed in his eyes.
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Jiang Ci'an called out to Xiao Xiao in the distance, then rose and followed the servant.
A short while later.
Guest reception room.
A middle-aged man in a blue robe sat with a cup of tea in hand, sipping it at an unhurried pace. When Jiang Ci'an entered, he quickly set down the cup and rose with a smile.
"Boss Jiang."
"Mr. Ning."
Jiang Ci'an smiled and cupped his hands, but his gaze had already drifted to the jade box beside the other man, bound with layer upon layer of seals.
Ning Zhicheng noticed Jiang Ci'an's eagerness and didn't keep him in suspense. He raised a hand and gently patted the jade box.
"Boss Jiang, this is what you wanted."
As he spoke, he circulated his Soul Power and carefully opened the many seals on the jade box.
The instant the lid lifted, a powerful, icy resentment surged from within, like a vicious beast long imprisoned, struggling to break free.
Fortunately, the jade box was covered in sealed Soul Guidance arrays, which kept the resentment firmly trapped inside.
Even so, the wisps that leaked out were enough to chill the air in the room.
Jiang Ci'an looked into the jade box at the carving knife, scarcely longer than his palm. It was ancient-looking and pitch-black, with an ominous, dark-red sheen and an inexplicable air of wickedness.
"The Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife."
Jiang Ci'an took a deep breath. Without hesitation, he retrieved a Soul Coin card he had prepared earlier from his Soul Tool and slid it across to Ning Zhicheng.
"Mr. Ning, please check it."
Ning Zhicheng took the card and sensed its contents. After confirming the amount was correct—and even a little more than required—he promptly resealed the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife and pushed the jade box over to Jiang Ci'an.
Ning Zhicheng paused, then couldn't help adding one more warning:
"I shouldn't meddle, but this thing is undeniably sinister. Be sure to handle it with care, Boss Jiang."
Jiang Ci'an took the jade box and nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Mr. Ning. I know what I'm doing."
The two chatted for a few more moments before Ning Zhicheng rose to take his leave.
After seeing his guest out, Jiang Ci'an hurried back to the rear courtyard. He ordered the servants to prepare a carriage, then spoke to Xiao Xiao, who was still practicing.
"Xiao Xiao, I have something important to take care of. I probably won't be back until tomorrow, so don't wait up for me at dinner."
Xiao Xiao stopped practicing, a puzzled look in her eyes. But seeing how serious Jiang Ci'an was, she didn't ask questions and simply nodded.
The carriage was soon ready.
Jiang Ci'an climbed aboard and left Shrek City, heading at full speed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
A little over an hour later, the carriage stopped beside a small lake.
The lake was modest in size, its clear waters reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.
Neat plots of medicinal herbs had been cultivated along the shore. Their leaves spread beneath the sunlight, and a faint herbal fragrance drifted through the air.
This was one of Jiang Ci'an's properties: a medicinal herb farm, one of the few businesses he hadn't sold off after his parents passed away.
Jiang Ci'an climbed down from the carriage and casually told the steward who came to meet him, "I'm just taking a look around." Then he headed alone toward the woods by the lake.
Once he was sure he was out of the steward's sight, Jiang Ci'an raised a hand and shrouded himself in "Indifference."
His figure remained, but his presence quietly vanished.
After making sure there was no chance of being noticed, Jiang Ci'an moved swiftly through the woods, his steps light and practiced. Before long, he reached an ordinary-looking tree.
Its trunk was thick and its crown dense, indistinguishable from the trees around it.
Jiang Ci'an crouched and pushed aside a clump of shrubs by the roots. He lifted the wooden board covering the entrance beneath them, then jumped straight down into the passageway.
The passage was narrow, just wide enough for one person. Several Level 1 Soul Tools embedded in the earthen walls gave off a faint, steady light.
Jiang Ci'an kept moving, and, carrying the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, soon reached a small secret chamber at the end of the passage.
Once inside, the space opened up.
Thick stone walls surrounded him, and a bright Soul Guidance Lamp hung overhead, lighting the chamber as brightly as day.
There was little inside, save for a massive iron-gray cylinder standing in the center and occupying most of the room.
It was a cylindrical furnace, about three meters high, made of alloy. Cooling fins covered its surface, along with countless intricate Soul Guidance engravings.
One side had a sealed cover that could be lifted, while several thick pipes connected to its flank and ran toward the energy core nearby.
Beside the furnace stood a control console.
Buttons, knobs, and gauges lined its surface, each marked with dense numbers and symbols. It looked exceedingly complex.
As Jiang Ci'an gazed at the enormous machine, the relevant information surfaced in his mind.
The Sun Furnace, a Level 8 Soul Tool.
It was said to have been developed with reference to the "Sun" Martial Soul, one of the Sun Moon Empire's hereditary royal Martial Souls. It could generate extremely high temperatures and had once served as a core piece of equipment for processing high-grade metals in the Sun Moon Empire.
Of course, that had been more than ten years ago.
The Sun Furnace had since been phased out by the Sun Moon Empire, but had made its way through various channels into the Douluo Three Kingdoms, where it had become highly sought after by the kingdoms' major forging workshops.
These days, most high-grade metal smelting in the Douluo Three Kingdoms was done with this model of equipment. Every unit was worth a fortune.
Jiang Ci'an gazed silently at the Sun Furnace, then lowered his eyes to the jade box sealing the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife in his hands. A glimmer of anticipation shone in his gaze.
Even before obtaining the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, he had already been considering whether there was a way to purify it without relying on Electrolux.
After thinking it over, he had come up with quite a few.
For example, Mu En was right nearby, beneath the freshman dormitory at Shrek Academy. As a Level 99 Bright Sacred Dragon, he would have little trouble purifying the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.
For a more distant option, Jiang Ci'an could go to the Sun Moon Empire and seek out Ye Guyi. Her Sacred Angel Martial Soul was especially effective against the resentment and curses on the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, and dealing with them wouldn't be difficult.
Finally, he had thought of the simplest method.
That was—
Melt the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife outright.
Extreme heat was undoubtedly a nemesis of both resentment and curses.
A blast of high heat would disperse the resentment and dissolve the curse. That would purify it.
Of course, purifying the knife with high heat would probably alter its shape. Afterward, it likely wouldn't be usable as a carving knife.
But he didn't care.
He had no plans to learn how to make Soul Tools for now, so the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife's functions meant nothing to him.
What mattered to him was the Gold of Life.
As for whether high-heat purification could damage the Gold of Life...
The Gold of Life was exceptionally high-quality to begin with, so high heat probably wouldn't affect it much.
Even if it did sustain damage, Jiang Ci'an was sure the resentment and curse would be destroyed first.
As long as he controlled how long the heat was applied and didn't overdo it, the plan was highly feasible.
And that was only one option.
He had another plan as well.
Namely, to draw Electrolux in.
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