In the backyard.
After hearing Deacon Li's words, Huo Yuhao understood at once.
The kind of research and development center he had just mentioned probably already existed in the Temple Alliance; his position simply had not given him access to that knowledge.
But what did that matter? Even the Sun Moon Empire of his previous life had more than one research and development center besides the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
The center he wanted to establish would be different from the others. With his full support, its future potential was easy to imagine.
After the two reached an agreement, Deacon Li did not linger. He left Haoyue City at once and returned to the Magic Temple headquarters at Jialing Pass to report.
Only after Deacon Li had left did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm speak up in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness:
"Yuhao, what you said just now didn't sound like something you came up with on the spur of the moment."
Huo Yuhao smiled knowingly.
"Brother Sky Dream, what was I best at in my previous life? Now that I've come to the Holy Demon Continent, if we want to defeat the Demon Clan, powerful equipment will surely let us achieve twice the result with half the effort.
"It just takes time to make equipment. Although I can combine Level 6 and Level 7 Soul Tools with magic equipment, that takes far too long. Having other alchemists help will save a lot of time.
"If we prepare at full speed, perhaps it won't be long before we humans can counterattack the Demon Clan."
"Yuhao, you really have thought this through," the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said with emotion.
Afterward, Huo Yuhao was just about to enter the equipment workshop when he heard another knock at the door.
He swept the area with his divine sense and discovered that it was Lin Jialu, which surprised him a little.
Didn't Lin Jialu leave? Why has she come back?
Although puzzled, Huo Yuhao still opened the backyard gate himself.
As soon as Lin Jialu saw Huo Yuhao, she bowed repeatedly and apologized.
"Yuhao, I'm truly sorry. I invited a senior from the Magic Temple over on my own without telling you beforehand."
Seeing Lin Jialu make this move, Huo Yuhao hurriedly stepped aside and began reassuring her.
"Miss Lin, you don't need to blame yourself. I've actually wanted to cooperate with the Magic Temple for a long time. I should thank you for giving me this opportunity today."
Although he did not like what Lin Jialu had done either, it had not actually caused him any loss, and there was no point in blaming her. He could simply have less contact with her in the future.
"Really? Yuhao, you're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?" Lin Jialu looked unconvinced.
Huo Yuhao gave a wry smile and continued reassuring her.
"I really do have to thank you, Miss Lin. It's just that I'll be developing something new afterward, and it will take a great deal of time. I'm afraid production of the Spiritual Energy lamps and Spiritual Power Vehicles will have to stop for a while."
Lin Jialu froze at those words.
She had not expected that because of her, production of the Spiritual Energy lamps and Spiritual Power Vehicles would have to stop.
But her Lin Family had already taken quite a few advance orders. What was she supposed to do?
Ask Huo Yuhao to produce the Spiritual Energy lamps and Spiritual Power Vehicles first? She certainly did not have the nerve.
She had originally thought that recommending Huo Yuhao to the Magic Temple headquarters could earn her some rewards from the Magic Temple, as well as a chance to become a distributor of Spiritual Power Vehicles and Spiritual Energy lamps in the future.
After all, if the Magic Temple produced those two things, output would surely rise sharply.
But now, she had picked up a rock only to drop it on her own foot. Not only would the Lin Family have to pay compensation, but its reputation would likely suffer as well.
Seeing Lin Jialu's reaction, Huo Yuhao inferred some of the circumstances.
He was pleased inwardly, but he did not show it.
Since Lin Jialu had brought this trouble on herself, she did not stay with Huo Yuhao long. She hurried home and reported what he had said to her father, Lin Yinjia.
As for Huo Yuhao, once Lin Jialu had left, he began considering how to combine the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon with magic equipment.
The Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon he had developed himself had been a Level 4 Soul Tool in his previous life, but its power was comparable to that of a Level 6 Soul Tool.
Since Huo Yuhao wanted to reproduce the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon on the Holy Demon Continent, choosing the materials was of the utmost importance. The materials for the Core Arrays were especially crucial.
As for assembly and construction, those were easy for Huo Yuhao and presented no difficulty.
Even so, two months was far too little time. He had to make a prototype first so that he could fulfill the agreement before the Magic Temple's higher-ups arrived.
Only by fulfilling the agreement first would he have more opportunities to upgrade and adjust it afterward.
Thus, over the next two months, Huo Yuhao threw himself into developing the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon.
Setting down the designs and selecting the materials alone took Huo Yuhao seven or eight days.
Next came the actual construction, starting with the base of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon.
To save time, Huo Yuhao simply cast it from a copper-iron alloy, which was somewhat more efficient.
The next steps were the turret and the barrel.
The entire turret was quite large. Inside it were not only Core Arrays for energy storage and transmission, among other functions, but also some control equipment. The turret alone took Huo Yuhao nearly a month.
For the barrel, Huo Yuhao chose a sturdy, durable material.
Not only that, he also inscribed quite a few arrays from the Holy Demon Continent inside it, such as acceleration and cooling arrays. They could effectively propel the shells and keep the barrel from bursting.
As for the shells, Huo Yuhao also wanted to save time, so he did not make the corresponding Stationary Soul Cannons, using ordinary iron shells instead.
Even so, a direct hit would basically blast a second- or third-tier member of the Demon Clan into mincemeat.
If the shells were replaced with special magic shells, their killing power against the Demon Clan would increase greatly.
But this was his first time making a Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon, and there was still much room for improvement. Its range, for example, was relatively short, only about a hundred paces.
However, since every human pass was over a hundred meters high, the distance was still considerable with such a height difference, even if its firing range was short. Not to mention that it could be improved in the future.
Huo Yuhao thought of three ways to power this Godly Zhuge Crossbow Cannon, though strictly speaking, there were only two.
The first was to power it solely with the operator's Spiritual Energy. But activating a piece of magic equipment comparable to a Level 5 Soul Tool required at least three or four professionals of the same tier. That conflicted with his earlier agreement with Deacon Li and made it something of a chicken rib.
The second method was to rely on a Milk Bottle. This could save a great deal of preparation time and achieve the effect he and Deacon Li had agreed upon.
The final method was to rely on magic crystals of various levels.
Compared with a sealed Milk Bottle, the only difference was that a magic crystal could only be used once, while a Milk Bottle could be reused indefinitely. The implications were self-evident.
After several experiments, Huo Yuhao was fairly satisfied with its initial power. Although there were still some things that needed changing, he could only make adjustments after the Magic Temple's higher-ups had inspected and approved it.