Chapter 50: The Forge Takes Shape

The meaning behind Master Yanming’s words was clear: even if he couldn’t offer more Thunder Jade Marrow, he still intended to take away the remaining third of the Fire Jade Marrow. At this point, Jiang Min could not object. She had to establish a good rapport with this master.

She knew she had no other choice but to swallow her frustrations, adopting an expression of humble reverence, lowering her gaze and clasping her hands respectfully. “I obey your wishes, Master.”

Master Yanming raised his hand, and ten demon cores of various colors hovered in his palm, swirling with cloud patterns and emitting a dense demonic aura.

“These are ten tier-two demon cores. Their market value is equivalent to a third of a bottle of Fire Jade Marrow. You won’t be at a loss.”

With a wave of his hand, the demon cores flew toward Jiang Min. His attitude was unassailable.

Master Yanming was not wrong; the values were indeed similar, and he hadn’t treated Jiang Min unfairly. Yet Fire Jade Marrow was rare, and tier-two demon cores were easily obtained by killing a few tier-two demon beasts—he had plenty on him.

For an outer disciple, a casual handout was all it took. Whether she would ever succeed in building her foundation was uncertain.

But he did not know that, upon seeing the demon cores, Jiang Min felt a strange sensation.

Tier-two demon cores?

Tier-two demon beasts were equivalent to cultivators at the Foundation Establishment realm, their demonic powers fundamentally transformed. Jiang Min wasn’t sure if she could absorb tier-two cores yet, but demon cores had always been valuable to her.

Still, she wasn’t overjoyed. If she traded other treasures at the market, she could have gained tier-two demon cores as well. Yet, with her current strength in the Qi Refining stage, she dared not reveal treasures beyond her cultivation; trading for tier-two demon cores at the market was riskier than through the anonymous orders at the Hall of Chivalry. The market was crowded and prying eyes abounded; being targeted might mean being robbed and killed. Jiang Min did not believe the sect’s marketplace was particularly safe.

As for the Hall of Chivalry, even with anonymous commissions, Jiang Min dared not request too many demon cores. She was neither an alchemist nor an array master—what use would she have for so many high-level demon cores? It might arouse suspicion among the stewards.

Here, with Master Yanming, she could receive them openly, reducing many risks. After all, it wasn’t her choice to trade for demon cores—it was forced upon her.

No one would care what she intended to do with so many demon cores…

Jiang Min waved her hand, storing the demon cores in her spatial pouch.

“Thank you, Master.”

She bowed again, impeccably polite, leaving no room for fault. No matter what, the items Master Yanming deemed worthless were, in her eyes, the means for her cultivation to advance swiftly.

Of course, she kept a careful account of the master’s exploitation; though the gap between them was vast now, who could say what the future held?

Having received the Thunder Jade Marrow, Jiang Min hurried back to Peach Blossom Slope, activated the wards, and entered her meditation chamber.

“This bit of Thunder Jade Marrow may be limited, but it’s enough to fuel the Treasure Refinement Technique.”

Jiang Min held the small glass vial, half-filled with deep purple liquid, densely woven with golden arcs, sizzling quietly.

“Now, I can finally practice the Thunderfire Furnace Treasure Refinement Technique and begin refining the peach branch.”

A hint of a smile touched her lips.

At this moment, she had waited a long time.

Once she started the Treasure Refinement Technique in her dantian, turning the peach branch into a true artifact would soon be within reach!

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With a thought, Jiang Min brought out all the necessary spiritual herbs from her spatial pouch, preparing them as described in the Lightning Fire Sword Manual. In the end, she obtained a cauldron of strangely glowing violet medicinal liquid.

Once the potion was ready, Jiang Min opened the glass vial and dripped the Thunder Jade Marrow into it.

Sizzle!

The potion instantly boiled like a sea of lightning.

She then prepared a fire-attribute potion in the same manner, mixing the two and refining them for half a day, eventually yielding a cauldron of oddly colored purple-red liquid.

An indescribable, peculiar medicinal aroma wafted from the furnace.

When it cooled, she summoned a portion of the potion with her artifact technique and swallowed it.

The fire attribute’s demonic energy, Jiang Min was already immune to; but the dominant thunder attribute quickly surged through her body, making her tremble with electrified spasms.

Jiang Min immediately calmed her mind, following the mental method of the Treasure Refinement Technique, absorbing the medicinal energy. Threads of thunder and fire attribute energy, guided by her spiritual power, began to mellow and nourish her body.

Once the medicinal energies were refined, she continued to ingest the remaining potion…

This process lasted six whole days.

Inside the meditation chamber.

After six days, Jiang Min’s body had fully adapted to the thunder attribute’s medicinal energy. Under the continuous influence of thunder and fire, her body was saturated with immense power, spreading through every limb.

“It’s time to form the Thunderfire Furnace.”

Jiang Min composed herself, her face serious. She raised her hands, intertwining her fingers to form the thunderfire seal.

Instantly, the vast thunderfire energy within her body, as if summoned, surged from every corner, converging madly toward her dantian.

Rushing like rivers to the sea, the thunderfire torrents quickly gathered into a sea of thunderfire within her dantian.

Yet this medicinal force was only a catalyst.

She needed to use it to induce her spiritual power in the dantian, giving rise to thunderfire energy. This process was somewhat similar to condensing Meteor Fire Rain and Five Thunder Techniques, so Jiang Min was not unfamiliar with it.

She steadied her mind.

Silently reciting the mantra of the Thunderfire Furnace Treasure Refinement Technique.

“First cycle: Five Thunders take shape.”

In her dantian, earth spiritual power surged, splitting into five elements. The elements collided, and with the thunder potion as guide, lightning spiritual power was generated.

“Second cycle: Yin and Yang forge true fire.”

As the five elements ascended and descended, the fire potion guided the transformation into yin-yang fire spiritual power.

“Third cycle: Thunder and fire are assimilated.”

Thunder and fire spiritual energies interwove, forming a slowly rotating vortex.

“Fourth cycle: Gather yang, condense yin…”

As the mantra continued, the thunderfire energies in her dantian spun faster and fused, gradually forming a colossal vortex above her peach branch, drawing more medicinal energy to strengthen it. A scorching heat began to rise within the vortex.

All Jiang Min’s focus was on the thunderfire vortex above her dantian.

For soon, the most critical step would arrive.

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Condense thunder and fire, transform into the furnace, refine the peach branch.

“Ninth cycle: The furnace forms, encompassing heaven and earth!”

Jiang Min silently recited, and as the mantra circulated, the thunderfire vortex contracted and condensed, faintly taking the shape of a furnace.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.

At the center of the vortex, the peach branch—though devoid of spiritual awareness—seemed to intensely reject the thunderfire energy. It began to tremble instinctively, erupting with a terrifying surge of demonic energy, struggling to break free from the thunderfire vortex.

“Damn!” Jiang Min’s expression shifted, but it was too late to intervene.

Boom!

A surge of overwhelming demonic power exploded, instantly shattering the thunderfire vortex she had painstakingly gathered, dispersing it into scattered thunderfire energy and medicinal power.

Jiang Min suffered a backlash. Her vital energy roiled violently, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Scarlet droplets stained the mat before her, and blood continued to trickle from the corner of her lips.

“Heh, well… so you know how to resist.”

Jiang Min managed a cold smile, swallowing the metallic taste in her throat, slowly wiping away the blood, anger rising within her.

She had spent years preparing to refine the peach branch, expending tremendous effort. Now that everything was ready, she would not allow anything in her body to escape her control, threatening her life. Anything residing in her dantian must obey her will.

She immediately took a high-grade healing pill to restore her vitality, then recited the artifact binding spell to suppress the peach branch’s aura.

Within her dantian, thunderfire energy regrouped according to the nine cycles.

The peach branch continued to tremble violently, fiercely resisting the refinement, its bark sprouting blood-red peach blossoms, growing anew.

Seeing this, Jiang Min instantly mobilized her spiritual sense, exerting all her strength, enveloping the peach branch with her consciousness and suppressing it through the artifact binding technique. Meanwhile, the thunderfire vortex spun faster and faster, surging thunderfire power wrapping around the peach branch.

“Ninth cycle…”

“The furnace forms, encompassing heaven and earth!”

Whoosh!

Thunderfire energy spun rapidly, centered on the peach branch, once more forming the embryonic shape of the furnace. Thunderfire raged, scorching the entire branch, which resisted ever more fiercely, trembling madly, striving to expel the furnace’s power.

“If you live in my dantian, you must obey my command!”

“Condense!”

Jiang Min shouted sternly.

A piercing hum erupted.

At last, a thunderfire furnace, suspended above her dantian, was fully formed.