After being scorched by earthfire, the talismans on the flag surface became even more distinct, almost as if they were about to leap off the fabric. The formation patterns on the flagpole also emerged from its dark material. Seeing that the time had come, Zhang Xiaohua's expression grew more solemn. He took a deep breath, and true qi surged through his body. Following the hand seals from "Artifact Refining Under Heaven," his fingers flicked repeatedly, striking the seals he had just formed into the two separated formation artifacts.
Drawn by the hand seals, the little flag and its pole gradually moved closer. Yet as the distance between them narrowed, an enormous repulsive force seemed to arise between them, faintly pushing them apart. Zhang Xiaohua frowned tightly. "Artifact Refining Under Heaven" had never described such a situation; it was something that could only be encountered through actual practice. Still, Zhang Xiaohua did not panic. He continued methodically sending in different hand seals and, based on his meager experience, struck certain seals in two extra times. Under his efforts, the two items drew closer and closer. Just as they were about to meet, beads of sweat appeared on Zhang Xiaohua's forehead.
Zhang Xiaohua could not help groaning inwardly. When he had previously refined the protective jade pendant using artifact-refining methods, it had seemed quite easy, and so he had begun to look down on artifact refinement somewhat. During this period, he had only used earthfire and the pill furnace to refine pills, dealing with fire every day. He had felt that the way of pill refinement was much the same as the way of artifact refinement. Thus, today he had not thought things through carefully before directly using artifact-refining methods to repair the little flag. But at the final moment, when the