Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei planted the formation flags in all directions, setting up a small formation. Then, he took out the artifact refining furnace.

Unlike a pill furnace, the artifact refining furnace only required the infusion of True Qi to continuously increase its temperature. As long as the temperature was high enough, even the toughest materials could be melted.

With a thought, Xu Hei sent the ancient pill furnace into the refining furnace and began infusing it with True Qi.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the interior of the refining furnace turned red, and the temperature soared rapidly, resembling the core of the earth. However, the surface of the furnace remained icy cold.

This furnace had cost Xu Hei eighteen thousand Spirit Stones, the highest quality refining furnace he could afford, capable of melting third-tier Spiritual Treasures.

Time slowly passed.

With the continuous infusion of True Qi, the temperature inside the furnace reached an extremely terrifying level, glowing red like a small sun.

"Strange, why hasn't this pill furnace melted yet?" Xu Hei's face showed doubt.

The ancient pill furnace remained intact inside the refining furnace, without any reaction, not even a change in color.

At such a temperature, an ordinary third-tier Spiritual Treasure would have long melted.

"I don't believe this, let's increase the temperature further!"

Xu Hei swallowed a pill and continued to infuse True Qi.

Three hours passed.

Xu Hei had infused most of his True Qi, consuming five Rejuvenation Pills in the process.

Inside the refining furnace, the heat waves were overwhelming, as if he were inside the sun, distorting the space around it.

Even the previously cold surface began to heat up.

Such a temperature could only be achieved by Xu Hei's True Qi; no other Foundation Establishment cultivator could manage such an exaggeration.

Yet, despite this, the pill furnace remained unmoved!

Wisps of white steam began to rise from the surface of the refining furnace, accompanied by faint cracking sounds.

Xu Hei's expression changed; the refining furnace was reaching its limit, yet the pill furnace still hadn't melted!

"I refuse to believe this!"

Xu Hei gritted his teeth, swallowing a handful of Rejuvenation Pills and forcefully infusing a large amount of True Qi.

The temperature inside the refining furnace rose another notch.

Xu Hei was certain that at this temperature, even the Moon-supporting Pagoda would melt into liquid, and even higher-grade Magical Treasures would show some reaction.

But to his dismay, the ancient pill furnace remained unresponsive.

The refining furnace began to shake slightly, with more white steam rising and cracking sounds becoming more pronounced, faint cracks appearing.

Even the stable formation flags started to shake violently.

"Not good!"

Xu Hei's face changed dramatically, and he quickly withdrew his hand and retreated.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening explosion echoed through the cave, the refining furnace unable to withstand the heat and exploding completely, the force terrifying.

The explosion caused a nearby mountain peak to collapse.

Within a hundred meters, the rocks melted into liquid under the intense heat, turning into magma.

Xu Hei was blasted away, crashing deep into the ground, covered in soot and charred all over.

Fortunately, he had dragon scales protecting him, so he wasn't seriously harmed, just severely shaken.

Xu Hei lay underground for a long time before recovering.

"I actually... failed..."

Xu Hei muttered to himself.

This was his first attempt at artifact refining, and he had been full of confidence, yet he couldn't even complete the first step of melting the materials.

Xu Hei crawled back, diving into the cooling magma to retrieve the intact ancient pill furnace and stored it in his Void Stone.

Not wanting to waste anything, he also collected the fragments of the refining furnace, storing them carefully.

"What material is this ancient pill furnace made of, to be so sturdy? What a pity."

Xu Hei shook his head and sighed.

He wasn't discouraged; the steps he had taken were correct, it was just that the material of the pill furnace was beyond his capabilities.

It was a pity that the refining furnace he had bought for eighteen thousand Spirit Stones couldn't even refine a single Magical Artifact and was now useless.

He could only buy a better refining furnace or find a natural treasure land to try again.

Xu Hei adjusted his breathing and rested for a while before starting to craft Talismans.

Compared to artifact refining, Talisman crafting required more skill.

Among puppets, there was a branch called Talisman Puppets, and the two were closely related. Xu Hei had previously made some low-level Talismans.

Now, he took out the Talisman crafting materials and began to carefully carve.

Xu Hei meticulously drew on a piece of Talisman paper, sometimes applying materials. After a whole day, he took out a small Void Stone and imprinted it.

Moments later, the Talisman flashed with a black light, becoming semi-transparent and emitting faint spatial fluctuations, forming complex patterns.

The Void Stone had shrunk by about one-tenth.

"Success!" Xu Hei was delighted.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a Small Teleportation Talisman, though the color was slightly different, covered in black patterns.

"Never mind, it's good enough."

Xu Hei didn't stop and continued crafting; the more life-saving items, the better.

The first Talisman took him a day to make.

The second one took only three hours.

The more he made, the more skilled Xu Hei became, and the time required shortened.

By the time he used up this small piece of Void Stone, Xu Hei had crafted eight Small Teleportation Talismans, enough for him to use freely.

He still had two larger pieces left, which he could use to make more in the future.

"Why not test one out?"

The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed.

These things were precious; he couldn't afford to waste them.

Suddenly, Xu Hei sensed something.

He took out the communication jade slip he had found in Li Yang's Storage Bag.

The surface of the jade slip gradually gathered Divine Sense, and moments later, a phantom figure appeared, its features blurred, emitting strong Divine Sense fluctuations.

"Tomorrow night, at the third watch, Mountain Movers Sect."

The figure spoke.

Xu Hei stared at the figure, surprised.

What a peculiar way of transmitting messages; Xu Hei had never seen anything like it!

The person behind this message clearly had a high cultivation level.

Just then, the figure suddenly said, "Why is there no response?"

Xu Hei was startled, alive?

He reacted quickly, spitting a mouthful of fire at the figure.

"Stop! Who are you?"

The figure roared, but Xu Hei didn't hesitate, summoning the Soul-absorbing Flag and sucking the figure in.

The voice stopped abruptly, and the jade slip was burned to ashes by Xu Hei.

Staring at the remnants, Xu Hei fell silent.

It seemed he had stirred up trouble; there was a powerful figure behind Li Yang.

Could he still keep this puppet?

Xu Hei had thought it was just an ordinary communication jade slip, but it turned out to contain something akin to a clone.

Though it wasn't exactly a clone, as it had no combat power, only capable of speaking and issuing commands.

Xu Hei's mind raced as he took out the treasures from Li Yang's Storage Bag again, checking each jade slip one by one for anything similar.

He even released the Jiao Python spirit to swallow and spit out each one, ensuring nothing was missed before putting them away again.

"Mountain Movers Sect is not far from here, just on my way. Should I avoid it?" Xu Hei pondered.

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