Chapter 85 Refinement

The wind rippled through the jade forest, flowing upstream, and gradually vanished into the distance.

The next morning, he returned to the cold pool, unwilling to give up, searching every corner of the surrounding dense woods. After struggling for a full day and night, at last, he left reluctantly, glancing back every few steps, disappointed.

Feng Ke’er breathed a sigh of relief. Having advanced two levels, she still hadn’t fully mastered her new skills. Moreover, the Celestial Master had instructed her to attempt refining the Dragon Eyes, so she decided to enter seclusion.

Things were different now. The second layer of the Clear Mind Incantation functioned as a substitute for food, so she needed no preparations—she could enter seclusion immediately.

She set a schedule for her retreat: first, three sessions of the second layer of the Clear Mind Incantation every day—morning, noon, and night, without fail; second, skill simulation practice in the morning; third, refining the Dragon Eyes in the afternoon; and finally, ten hours of rest at night. A balance of work and leisure, she thought.

The first two tasks posed no problem, but the third—the refining of the Dragon Eyes—proved challenging. The Celestial Master had only instructed her to refine them, but hadn’t explained how.

She searched all her available materials, but found nothing mentioning “refining.” It was hardly surprising: first, refining was a high-level technique, and how could an outer sect’s small library contain such advanced information? Second, the great Pangu himself had never followed conventional methods—pills, tools, talismans, none of those had been invented yet by the Elder. So, even the cultivation diaries held no clues.

Hands clasped behind her back, Feng Ke’er circled the six pieces of Dragon Eye fossil countless times. Finally, she pulled out her cooking pot from her storage pouch, tossed the smallest fossil inside, added an ice sphere, and began to cook—what else could she do? With not a single helpful hint, she was unwilling to waste more brainpower, so she decided to simply “melt” it. After all, the word “melt” was part of “refine.”

The smallest fossil just filled half the pot’s capacity. With the extra-large ice sphere, the total volume was less than two-thirds—just right, Feng Ke’er thought with satisfaction.

She had a ready source of fire: the fire pouch of a giant fire ant. She usually used it for cooking and was quite adept with it.

Yet this time, things went awry. For the first time, the fire pouch sputtered out.

Was the water attribute in the Dragon Eyes overwhelming, suppressing the fire pouch? Feng Ke’er blinked, tossed the extinguished pouch back into her storage, and switched to another—an extra-large fire pouch from a third-tier demon beast, the giant fire ant.

This was a treasure: its fire was powerful and stable, equivalent to ten ordinary fire ant pouches. Usually, Feng Ke’er reserved it for alchemy.

But unexpectedly, this time the pouch only belched black smoke, not even a spark.

Ah, the Dragon Eyes were truly formidable!

Helpless, Feng Ke’er put the fire pouch away and took out her last fire-making treasure—a strip of golden carp meat.

Because it produced cold fire, she hadn’t considered it before. But after the two failures, she changed her approach: both the meat and the Dragon Eyes belonged to the water attribute. Perhaps they wouldn’t counteract each other?

But a new problem arose. The meat was fuel, not a source of ignition. With the Dragon Eye fossil nearby, she couldn’t light it no matter what she tried.

So, she put all six Dragon Eye fossils back into her storage pouch, then used the fire pouch to ignite the meat.

Finally, the meat caught fire, and a bright blue flame shot up over two feet high.

Promising! Feng Ke’er rejoiced, took out the smallest Dragon Eye fossil, and tossed it into the pot.

But as soon as the fossil entered, the previously lively flame wilted! Like a dying man, it flickered weakly and went out with a puff.

These were her only three fire-making treasures, and none worked. Feng Ke’er was at her wits’ end.

She circled the pot again, pondering: What to do? What to do...

Suddenly, Feng Ke’er recalled another fire she hadn’t tried—hadn’t she just acquired two new fire-type skills?

Now, she could breathe fire herself! Self-reliance—no need for anyone else!

Suppressing her excitement, she seated herself cross-legged on the chaise, focused her energy and calmed her mind, and began her spell.

Should she use Meteor Shower or Wall of Flames?

After brief consideration, Feng Ke’er decided to try Meteor Shower first. But she controlled her spiritual power, producing only a single fire arrow instead of a barrage.

The fire arrow’s flames were different from both the red fire of the pouches and the blue fire of the meat. They had three layers: the innermost heart was crimson, the middle was white, and the outermost, the longest, was a seductive purple-red. The whole arrow shone with a vibrant magenta hue.

As for its power, she hadn’t tested it in combat, but her simulated practice in her black dantian indicated that a fist-sized arrow equaled a fire pouch in strength.

Having witnessed the Dragon Eye fossil’s potency, she adjusted the fire arrow’s size to that of a basketball.

Whoosh, as the arrow neared the pot, the magenta flames exploded upward, completely enveloping the pot.

Yet magic treasures strengthen when challenged. The pot suddenly expanded several times, returning to its original size.

Thus, the basketball-sized flame appeared very thin and weak.

Should she increase the flames further? It was possible—her current spiritual power allowed her to produce five fireballs, each a meter in diameter, at once. But refining and attacking were different; the former required endurance. To sustain such large flames, she couldn’t last more than five minutes.

Her gaze fell on the meat strip she hadn’t yet put away, and inspiration struck. She used the fire arrow to ignite the meat, then moved it beside the pot.

The meat sizzled, producing a foot-high vivid purple flame.

But the pot shook and shrank again, becoming the size of a four-liter electric pressure cooker.

It seemed the firepower had decreased.

Ah, shortcuts were indeed unreliable. Feng Ke’er waved her hand to extinguish the fire and tried Wall of Flames.

Her right hand formed a spell, and she drew a circle about one meter in diameter three meters in front of the sofa, then called out, “Wall of Flames!”

Whoosh, a half-meter-high purple-red blaze surged from the fire circle.

“Rise!” She lifted her left hand, and the pot floated steadily above the fire circle.

As soon as the pot’s bottom touched the outer flame, it expanded back to its original size.

“Fall!” Feng Ke’er lowered her left hand.

But as the pot descended, it shrank again to the pressure cooker size.

Was it necessary for the pot to remain suspended to maintain firepower?

Resigned, Feng Ke’er raised her left hand again: “Rise!”

The pot instantly enlarged.

Magenta flames danced like tongues of fire, happily licking the pot’s base, as the pot spun atop them.

The rotation worked well; soon, the entire pot was glowing red-hot.

Gurgle, gurgle—the giant ice sphere inside melted into water, which boiled. Two thumb-thick streams of white vapor spiraled upward.

It seemed to be working. Feng Ke’er’s spirits lifted; she raised her left hand before her chest, formed a spell with her right, and dared not move.

Wall of Flames was usually exhausting; her spiritual power allowed her to sustain it for only fifteen minutes at full size. But now, she used a minimal version, greatly reducing the drain. Plus, constantly supporting such a large pot with spiritual power, her black dantian’s simulation predicted she could last two hours.

For a first experiment, two hours were enough.

Feng Ke’er focused intently on the pot within the fire circle.

After half an hour, the water inside evaporated, the white steam vanished, and the Dragon Eye fossil was being dry-roasted. Fearing the pot might burn or explode, Feng Ke’er hesitated, considering whether to add another ice sphere. But then, a subtle change caught her attention—her spiritual sense detected the fossil’s small protrusions beginning to soften.

Could it be she had stumbled upon the secret of “refining” by accident?

Feng Ke’er felt a surge of pride and became even more cautious.

After another half hour, she finally heard a faint hiss from the pot—a protrusion had liquefied, transforming into a pale blue droplet that fell onto the glowing pot bottom and vaporized instantly.

A wisp of pale vapor drifted from the pot’s top, curled, and quickly dispersed.

“How fragrant!” Feng Ke’er caught a whiff of ethereal dragon musk, and her spirits soared.

It was refining—true refining! If she weren’t busy, she would have burst into song.

This was only the beginning. Soon, the hissing from the pot’s bottom grew more frequent, and pale blue mist rose from the pot, carrying a distinct dragon musk aroma.

Unable to resist, she inhaled deeply. It felt even more effective than swallowing a recovery pill or reciting the Clear Mind Incantation—she instantly sensed her spiritual energy returning.

What a delightful surprise! She hadn’t expected the mist to not only smell wonderful but also work wonders. Feng Ke’er refused to let a single wisp escape.

The mist’s restorative effect was remarkable; after about half an hour, the energy recovery ended. From then on, she remained at full energy. Refining became an enjoyable and effortless task.

Two hours passed quickly.

The Celestial Master had spoken true. After her energy recovered, Feng Ke’er clearly felt her spiritual power being further purified. Enthused by the benefits, she pressed on for another two hours, until a layer of pale yellow oily sweat secreted from her pores, signaling the end.

By then, the entire cave was permeated with the subtle scent of dragon musk.

What a waste, she thought. Originally intending to bathe in the cold pool, she changed her mind and sat down to absorb the fragrance.

After a quarter hour, the scent vanished from the cave.

During this process, the oily sweat on her body miraculously disappeared. She smelled fresh—just as if she had just bathed.

Water-attributed divine beasts were truly wondrous. Feng Ke’er clicked open the pot: the Long March had only begun; the Dragon Eye fossil inside had merely slimmed a bit.

(To be continued)