This piece of meteoric Black Iron stood as tall as a man. The Chu clan had gifted it to the Truth-Seeking Abbey when the abbey rose to the rank of a great sect, and it was a superior-grade Mystic-tier spiritual material.
Earthfire blazed, its searing heat melting the dark iron. Once the iron had become molten and flowed into a cloudlike mass, Xuanming took eight spiritual materials from his Wish-Fulfilling Pouch in succession: cloud-pattern stone, earth pearls, thunder liquid, clearwind leaves, snow ganoderma flowers, and other Mystic-tier spiritual substances.
These corresponded to Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui, reflecting the positions of the Eight Trigrams. His hand seals changed eight times, the earthfire changed eight times, and its temperature changed eight times. Only when all eight spiritual substances had melted into eight pools of liquid did Xuanming make his next move.
Guided by his spiritual perception, he infused magic power and combined the molten Black Iron with the eight spiritual liquids, then shaped the mixture into an Eight Trigrams Furnace. His fingers flew through seals: Qian, three unbroken lines; Kun, six broken segments; Zhen, an upturned basin; Gen, an overturned bowl; Li, Void in the middle; Kan, solid in the middle; Dui, broken at the top; Xun, broken at the bottom. The Eight Trigrams symbolized Heaven amid the transformations of Heaven and Earth.
Startling winds swept the bright sun onward; light and time raced westward.
After eight days and eight nights, the Eight Trigrams Furnace had taken its initial shape. Xuanming took the Moonstone and Yang Stone from his Wish-Fulfilling Pouch, cut a small piece from each, and summoned earthfire to melt them. These, too, were incorporated into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and a Yin and Yang pattern of the Two Principles appeared around its mouth.
Time