Worthy of Our Forebears, Worthy of Our Descendants

Red Copper Mountain Range.

Earth Fire Chamber.

Chen Xianhe stared at the colossal object before him, several zhang tall and a zhang in diameter, and could not help but freeze.

Even more astonishingly, judging from the faint spiritual light it emitted, this thing was actually a Magic Artifact.

Seeing this, Chen Xianhe turned to Chen Daoxuan beside him and could not help asking, "You just said this thing called the Spirit-Melding Furnace can help you refine Spirit Mines?"

"Yes!"

Chen Daoxuan nodded firmly. "More precisely, the Spirit-Melding Furnace can not only help Artifact Forgers refine Spirit Mines, but it also does not require a cultivator to operate it. Just a few mortals are enough to control it!"

Hearing this, Chen Xianhe could no longer remain calm.

Being able to help Artifact Forgers refine Spirit Mines was already inconceivable enough. Yet this thing did not even require a cultivator to operate it. This was no longer merely inconceivable—it was earth-shattering.

If it was truly as Chen Daoxuan claimed, then the significance of this Magic Artifact was simply too great.

Although Chen Xianhe had failed to become an Artifact Forger, he had studied the family Artifact Forging inheritance in his early years and still understood some of the basic principles of Artifact Refining.

He knew that when forging certain low-grade Magic Artifacts, refining the materials was often the most time-consuming and laborious step.

If a few mortals and a single furnace could solve the problem of refining Spirit Mines, then the speed at which Artifact Forgers refined artifacts would undoubtedly increase greatly.

As the Clan Leader of the Chen Family of Twin Lakes Island, he naturally saw such a simple truth at a glance.

Seeing the suspicion written all over Thirteenth Uncle's face, Chen Daoxuan wasted no words and immediately demonstrated it before him.

Four hours later.

"Because of the Spirit-Melding Furnace's sealed nature, it smelts Spirit Mine ore faster than an Artifact Forger directly using a Heat-Gathering Formation. Red Copper Mine that would normally take three days to refine can now be completed in just four hours."

As Chen Daoxuan spoke, he operated the second Control Lever and removed the crimson liquid mass from the Spirit-Melding Furnace.

Though Chen Xianhe was not an Artifact Forger, he could still sense the dense Spiritual Aura radiating from the crimson liquid mass before him.

He immediately drew the crimson liquid mass before him. Blinking, he looked from the scarlet mass to the Spirit-Melding Furnace, and then back again. His aged face grew redder and redder as he held himself in, until he finally could not help bursting into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha!!"

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Only after the time it took to drink half a cup of tea did Chen Xianhe's laughter finally subside.

Perhaps realizing that he had lost his composure before his nephew, Chen Xianhe's old face reddened slightly. But he quickly cast that bit of embarrassment aside.

"Daoxuan, how much does it cost to forge this Spirit-Melding Furnace?"

Seeing the solemn expression on Chen Xianhe's face, Chen Daoxuan also became serious. "Reporting to the Clan Leader, forging the Spirit-Melding Furnace requires two materials: Iron Ore and Silver Moon Stone. Iron Ore is not worth much; the main expense is Silver Moon Stone."

He paused. "This furnace before us consumed a total of thirty-nine jin of Silver Moon Stone. Converted into Spirit Stones, that comes to approximately 195 Spirit Stones."

Although Silver Moon Stone and Red Copper Mine were both first-grade Spirit Mines, Silver Moon Stone cost considerably more than Red Copper Mine, reaching five Spirit Stones per jin. The main reason was that Silver Moon Stone had relatively low reserves in the Myriad Star Sea.

Of course, as the Qianyuan Sword Sect had continuously waged war against Cloud Country in recent years and plundered vast quantities of Cloud Country's resources, the price of Silver Moon Stone had also been steadily falling.

Truth be told, the most widespread and cheapest Spirit Mine ore in the Myriad Star Sea was neither Silver Moon Stone nor Red Copper Mine, but a first-grade Spirit Mine called Dark Iron.

Not only were its reserves abundant in the Myriad Star Sea, it was even more plentiful than weeds in the cultivation world of Xianyun Continent.

As a result, many low-level cultivators who understood neither Artifact Refining nor could afford Magic Artifacts would often crudely refine Dark Iron and use it directly as a "Magic Artifact," making themselves a laughingstock.

"195 Spirit Stones. That is cheap indeed, not expensive."

Chen Xianhe stroked his goatee and chuckled.

He understood clearly that compared to the help it offered Artifact Forgers, a mere 195 Spirit Stones were hardly worth mentioning.

Hearing this, Chen Daoxuan, who stood beside him, shook his head. "Ahem, Clan Leader, 195 Spirit Stones are only the cost of the furnace itself. You have not included the cost of building an Earth Fire Chamber."

Chen Xianhe was taken aback.

"Why build an Earth Fire Chamber? Does the family not already have this one?"

The moment he heard that Chen Daoxuan wanted to build an Earth Fire Chamber, Chen Xianhe could no longer remain calm.

No one knew better than Chen Xianhe how exorbitant the cost of constructing an Earth Fire Chamber was, because this very Earth Fire Chamber had been built under his direction.

Back then, it had cost more than two thousand Spirit Stones to complete.

Seeing Chen Xianhe looking like a miser guarding his pennies, Chen Daoxuan's thoughts stirred slightly. Judging from Thirteenth Uncle's expression, it seemed the family still had quite a bit in reserve!

With that thought, Chen Daoxuan said without changing expression, "Clan Leader, this Earth Fire Chamber is good, but it is too small.

Moreover, there were many unreasonable aspects to its original layout. For instance, the Heat-Gathering Formation here is of little use now that we have the Spirit-Melding Furnace. And this area here..."

Chen Daoxuan began listing the shortcomings of the Earth Fire Chamber before them one by one.

Only when Chen Xianhe's old face had turned ashen did Chen Daoxuan sheepishly stop.

"Hmph!"

Chen Xianhe snorted. "Is the Earth Fire Chamber I built really that unbearable?"

Seeing Thirteenth Uncle's displeased expression, Chen Daoxuan immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum. "That is not how it should be put. It is simply that with the Spirit-Melding Furnace, this Earth Fire Chamber is indeed somewhat impractical now.

"And Thirteenth Uncle, think about it carefully. To maximize the efficiency of an Artifact Forger forging Magic Artifacts, each Artifact Forger must at least be equipped with four or five Spirit-Melding Furnaces. For now, we can barely squeeze them into this Earth Fire Chamber, but what if the family produces more Artifact Forgers in the future? Will this little space still be enough?"

Hearing this, Chen Xianhe said irritably, "There are only two cultivators in the family altogether, and you are already thinking about producing a whole crowd of Artifact Forgers. Even the Zhou Family does not dare dream as boldly as you do!"

"Hehe!"

As Chen Daoxuan stood there grinning foolishly, Chen Xianhe fell into thought.

After a long while.

He looked solemnly at Chen Daoxuan and said, "Come with me."

Chen Xianhe and Chen Daoxuan flew one behind the other toward Chen Xianhe's Cave Mansion.

In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick.

The two landed before the Cave Mansion.

Chen Xianhe had not spoken a word along the way. Chen Daoxuan vaguely knew what he intended to do, and anticipation filled his heart.

They entered the Cave Mansion.

After winding through several turns, they stopped before a stone wall made of Dragon-Slaying Stone.

Chen Xianhe looked at the Dragon-Slaying Stone, its surface smooth as jade, and said thoughtfully, "Since our ancestor Chen Dengyuan established the Chen Family on Twin Lakes Island, 273 years have passed. Do you know what the Chen Family has relied upon to endure until today?"

Chen Xianhe turned and looked at Chen Daoxuan.

Chen Daoxuan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"For the Chen Family to stand firm for three hundred years, we have relied on the spirit of our forebears, who spared no effort and sacrifice for the sake of the family's descendants! We have relied on the descendants of the family inheriting the struggle and sacrifice of those who came before!"

Chen Xianhe raised his head slightly. "Ascend the immortal path, bestow blessings upon future generations. For these three hundred years, the Chen Family... has done it!"

At that moment, Chen Xianhe thought of his eldest brother, who had marched resolutely to his death on the battlefield; of his seventh brother, who had risked his life to shield him, the youngest of the clan brothers; of generation after generation of forebears who had sacrificed themselves and died in meditation for the family's sake!

Affected by Chen Xianhe's bleak emotions, Chen Daoxuan fell silent.

Though he knew the Chen Family had declined, Chen Xianhe had spent all these years doing everything in his power to shield him from wind and rain, until his body had bent and his temples turned white.

Such kindness was not something any human being could remain unmoved by.

"Thirteenth Uncle, in this life, Daoxuan will surely carry on our ancestors' will—worthy of our forebears, worthy of our descendants!"

Chen Daoxuan declared firmly.

Hearing this, Chen Xianhe stared at him with reddened eyes before finally nodding heavily. "For the Chen Family to have a descendant like you is our great fortune!"