"The seventh spiritual solution purification experiment is about to begin!"
"All teams and personnel, take your positions!"
"Ten, nine, eight..."
Group 749's underground base.
As the countdown echoed over the broadcast,
a circular furnace, more than three meters tall, standing in the middle of the base, slowly lit up.
The furnace was surrounded by transparent special glass, through which its internal structure could be seen clearly.
A large amount of pale cyan liquid, glimmering with flecks of gold, filled the furnace.
It was Azure Gold Spirit Ore melted into liquid form.
It now served as a protective liquid for the spiritual power purification.
At the very center of the furnace, several compound robotic arms held a piece of Azure Gold Spirit Ore firmly in place.
They awaited the start of the experiment.
"Elder Wang, is there any hope this time?"
Li Yuanchao stood behind the glass in the main control room, looking down at the experimental base with a grave expression.
"Director Li, I..."
Wang Zhiwen's gray-haired figure trembled again and again, but he did not dare give a definite answer.
The countdown struck at everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
"Three, two, one!"
"Ignition!"
The moment the countdown over the broadcast reached zero,
all the professors and scholars of Group 749 watched the changes inside the furnace with tense expressions,
along with the readings on the various monitoring instruments.
"Hummm!"
As the ignition command was given, the multifunctional compound robotic arms inside the furnace clamped tightly onto the Azure Gold Spirit Ore.
A full seven times seven, forty-nine ultra-high-temperature nozzles extended from the robotic arms.
The pale blue flames formed by the plasma torches released heat of nearly 9,000 degrees Celsius in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, they melted the Azure Gold Spirit Ore into liquid.
"Temperature stable at 8,900 degrees!"
"The outer layer of the spirit ore has completely liquefied!"
"Internal spiritual power readings are rising: 5%, 8%, 12%..."
Wang Zhiwen stared fixedly at the data screen, his bloodshot eyes unblinking.
The entire control room was so quiet that only the hum of the instruments and the researchers' restrained breathing could be heard.
Suddenly!
A piercing alarm rang throughout the laboratory!
"Warning! Abnormal internal pressure!"
"Spiritual power readings are dropping sharply! 3%, 1%..."
Everyone's heart sank to rock bottom.
Li Yuanchao clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
Several young researchers closed their eyes in anguish. They had failed again.
Still no success?
Had they wasted Comrade Lu Li's painstaking work again?
At that moment, every member of Group 749 felt utterly dejected.
A profound sense of frustration left this group of top experts from all walks of life in Great Xia feeling like utter failures.
They felt ashamed to face Lu Li.
But at that moment of despair, a cyan light suddenly shone at the center of the furnace!
The surrounding protective liquid seemed to have taken effect.
The spiritual power released when the spirit ore's structure was destroyed scattered in all directions.
But it was firmly blocked by the liquid Azure Gold Spirit Ore and condensed into a mass of dense spiritual light.
"Wait! What's that?"
Wang Zhiwen nearly pressed his face against the observation window.
He watched the mass of crystal-clear cyan spiritual liquid slowly rise.
Bright spiritual light flowed slowly within it, giving off energy fluctuations that made the heart tremble.
The readings on the instruments jumped wildly...
"This... this... is..."
Wang Zhiwen seemed unable to believe his eyes.
He hurried over to the monitoring instrument and saw the bright red numbers on the gauge.
"Spiritual power purity: 80%!"
"We did it! We succeeded!"
Almost instantly, deafening cheers erupted in the control room.
Tears streamed down Wang Zhiwen's aged face. A month without sleep or rest, his day-and-night concern for Lu Li's safety-all of it turned to scalding tears at that moment.
"Quick!"
His voice was hoarse but full of strength.
"Analyze the spiritual liquid's composition immediately! Try holding it in a container cast from Azure Gold Spirit Ore powder!"
"We've finally, finally made a breakthrough!"
Immense joy filled everyone's hearts.
Li Yuanchao's sturdy figure swayed again and again.
The knuckles of the hand gripping the console turned white from the force.
He gazed at the flowing mass of cyan spiritual liquid, but the voice that echoed in his ears was Lu Li's resolute voice from their last communication.
That young man who had entrusted all his faith to the nation.
"Comrade Lu Li,"
he murmured soundlessly, his Adam's apple bobbing, "we finally didn't let you down."
The researchers immediately got to work and fetched a pale cyan container of novel design.
It was the result of an experiment they had conducted along the way.
They had ground Azure Gold Spirit Ore into an extremely fine powder, then sintered it into shape at high temperature.
It was intended specifically for storing spiritual power.
When the mass of cyan spiritual liquid was safely placed inside the container, everyone held their breath.
In the next second, the bottle gave off a faint cyan glow, its light reflecting off the spiritual liquid.
The surrounding monitoring instruments showed no fluctuations whatsoever.
Just as expected!
A container made from material of the same origin had perfectly prevented the spiritual power from escaping.
"Success!"
Wang Zhiwen's voice trembled with excitement. "Quick, take it to the command hall immediately!"
The researchers carried the faintly glowing container as though it were a rare treasure, walking briskly toward the command hall.
Every step was taken with exceptional care.
They were terrified of disturbing the flowing cyan radiance in the bottle.
In the command hall, the fish-shaped jade pendant on the metal table lay as silent as ever.
The jade pendant, which had not lit up, now looked like a cold stone.
Wang Zhiwen's hands were trembling. Li Yuanchao unconsciously stepped forward, his gaze fixed firmly on the pendant.
At that moment, everyone's heart was in their throat.
Lu Li had just sent back a note saying they could try an experiment to awaken the jade pendant, so they could verify whether it could be awakened from Blue Star.
That way, they could send him supplies directly without contacting him, storing them in the jade pendant's space.
Now, the time for the experiment had finally come.
A soldier in protective clothing had already opened the container.
He slowly let a drop of cyan spiritual liquid fall onto the surface of the jade pendant.
"Hummm!"
Spiritual light flickered, illuminating every tense face in the hall.
However...
The jade pendant remained silent, without the slightest reaction.
"How could this be?!"
Wang Zhiwen's voice trembled. "Could it be that the amount still isn't enough?"
Li Yuanchao took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Try again."
"Drip."
Another drop of spiritual liquid fell onto the jade pendant's surface with a crisp sound.
The spiritual liquid's own light flickered constantly.
One second, two seconds...
The jade pendant still lay there quietly, completely motionless.
"Why?"
a young researcher murmured to himself. "We clearly succeeded..."
"Didn't Comrade Lu Li also say he used spiritual power to activate the jade pendant?"
"Could it be..."
The young researcher suddenly seemed to think of something and cried out in alarm.
"Could it be that only Comrade Lu Li can use this jade pendant?!"