On Green Spirit Island, Lin He was breathing out a stream of core fire to refine pieces of material from level seven demon beasts. The materials were exceptionally tough; even melting them down took him a considerable amount of time.
Nangong Wan stood beside him, offering timely reminders. Whenever Lin He consumed too much spiritual power, she took over, while he hurriedly swallowed medicinal pills and regulated his breathing to recover his strength.
Three months later, all the materials had melted into a small pool of golden liquid. Lin He carefully divided it among sixty-four small boxes.
Only then did Lin He breathe a sigh of relief. But he did not stop; instead, he took out the hard-won starstone and began refining it.
He had decided on two hundred and fifty-six golden needles, to be refined in four batches of sixty-four.
Another month passed, and a quarter of the starstone had melted into a small pool of liquid shimmering with starlight.
Using his spiritual sense to control the liquid, Lin He carefully divided it into sixty-four portions, each of which fell into one of the sixty-four portions of golden liquid prepared earlier.
Next came the most crucial step: shaping them with his spiritual sense. Lin He breathed out core fire to heat the golden liquid while using his spiritual sense to mold it. Only after a long stretch of painstaking work did the portions take the shape of golden needles.
Even then, the refinement was not finished. Lin He spat out a mouthful of essence blood over the golden liquid, and time slipped by amid the monotonous work.
"Phew... This really puts a heavy burden on my spiritual sense. If mine weren't strong enough to rival a late Core Formation cultivator's, and Wan'er weren't here to take turns with me,