The heat was kept outside.
Yang Wanqing caught her breath and peered into the furnace through the transparent barrier of spiritual power. Three-colored flames churned inside.
Red-orange light seeped through the trigram patterns on its eight sides. The entire Bagua Furnace had come alive.
"All right." Chen Hao withdrew his hand and turned toward the exit. "The furnace is lit. The Samadhi True Fire won't go out on its own. Take your time."
"Thank you, Master!" Yang Wanqing called after him.
Chen Hao waved without looking back and walked out of the Pill Chamber. He found a stone table and stool beneath the corridor outside, took a teapot and cups from his Qiankun Bag, and sat down.
He brewed some tea.
He couldn't have been more relaxed.
The live comments read: "High God Chen Hao's daily routine: tea, wherever he goes." "His life is basically that of a tour guide. Sit down for tea at the sights and wait for the group to finish exploring." "Ha, that's spot-on."
Inside the Pill Chamber.
Yang Wanqing had already rubbed her hands together and taken her place in front of the Bagua Furnace. The barrier shielded her from the direct radiant heat, but the temperature near the furnace opening was still absurdly high.
She rolled her sleeves above her elbows. A thin sheen of sweat had already formed on her forehead.
"Right. Let's get to work."
She picked up the dark-red metal ingot and hefted it. Heavy.
It was heavier than any material she had used in Penglai. The instant her energy probed inside, the internal grain of the ingot quivered slightly, then went still again.
"Quite a temper you've got," Yang Wanqing muttered, placing the ingot in the feed chute at the furnace opening.
The ingot slid down the chute into the