Chapter 107
Translator: T_Fan
Lee Hyun suddenly eyed Zhu Xingshan with suspicion.
Zhu Xingshan continued as though nothing were amiss.
“Don’t worry. Do you really think I’d dare steal from a Tier 4 great demon? I know full well that great demons like you, who can assume a perfectly human form, have exceptional bloodlines and are immensely powerful.”
“Hmm….”
“I’m serious. If I get driven out of here too, where else would I live?”
‘Hmm….’
He felt rather uneasy now, but Zhu Xingshan had a point. Lee Hyun knew better than most how difficult it was to find a good spirit vein and a safe place to live.
Even so, he couldn’t simply take the word of someone with a history of stealing materials entrusted to him.
“Once the work is finished, we will check what remains against the materials I entrusted to you.”
“Of course. Didn’t I give you a written record earlier?”
“Yes. I will also check the materials periodically while they are being processed.”
“Do as you please. But if I’m interrupted during refining, I can’t guarantee the quality of the magic treasures.”
The old man took no offense. If anything, his expression suggested he would have been surprised if Lee Hyun hadn’t checked at least that much.
After Zhu Xingshan left, Lee Hyun sat down at the table and opened the record again.
The quantities of materials, the scope of the commission, and the processing fees had all been recorded in full.
‘I’ll keep an eye on him for now.’
A Tier 4 artifact refiner was exceedingly hard to come by.
It would be a shame to cancel the commission merely because Zhu Xingshan was wanted by the Nanming Twelve-Sect Alliance. By watching him work and checking the materials in person, Lee Hyun should be able to spot any signs of trouble.
…
The next morning, Zhu Xingshan took Lee Hyun to the refining chamber beneath the crater.
The stone chamber was far larger than the workshop he had seen the day before.
Deep grooves branched across the floor, each carved with formation inscriptions. They all converged on the circular opening of a fire cavern at the center.
Zhu Xingshan adjusted the formation plate.
Rumble.
As the metal plate covering the fire cavern slid partly open, a jet of crimson flame shot up into the center of the chamber.
“This is Tier 4 Earth-Lung Fire.”
“Is there a reason you use earth fire from a fire vein like this rather than producing your own Tier 4 flames, fellow Daoist?”
“I could certainly craft with my own fire. But during a long refining process, my qi would seep into the materials, leaving the client with the trouble of removing it afterward. That’s why flames drawn from heaven and earth are better for commissioned work. They also conserve magical power, which makes the work easier.”
Zhu Xingshan levitated a small piece of bone material.
It was a broken fragment from the Ink-Scaled Venomous Python’s bones.
As the crimson flames enveloped it, its hard surface heated up, revealing black lines hidden within.
‘Oh…’
After a while, Zhu Xingshan drew the bone material out of the flames and looked at Lee Hyun.
“Try applying your own flame. I’ve already loosened the material with Earth-Lung Fire, so it shouldn’t be difficult to work with. Keep the heat low.”
After a moment’s thought, Lee Hyun accepted the bone material and held it aloft. Clear Yang Purifying Fire blossomed at his fingertips.
The pale golden fire divided into dozens of strands. Fine as threads, they slipped into the gaps the Earth-Lung Fire had opened.
Hissss.
Wisps of black qi slowly rose from the material.
Lee Hyun used careful fire control to vary the heat at each point of contact, withdrawing the flames as soon as the toxic qi escaped from that spot. Apart from lowering the flames’ intensity, he made no effort to disguise his strength.
Even so, Zhu Xingshan never doubted that Lee Hyun was a Tier 4 great demon. The demonic qi he exuded was immensely powerful, and his delicate control over the divided flames scarcely seemed within the capabilities of a Golden Core cultivator.
After some time, Lee Hyun withdrew the fire.
“This is as far as I can go. I’m not confident about working any deeper.”
Zhu Xingshan lifted the bone material and examined it at length.
“Such delicate control! Not bad at all.”
This time, the old man brought over a fragment of scale.
“Try processing this too. I’ll open up some gaps with Earth-Lung Fire first, just as before.”
Lee Hyun nodded.
…
From that day on, Lee Hyun began helping Zhu Xingshan with small portions of the work.
Since the magic treasures were intended for his own use, he also needed to see how magical power permeated the materials.
Zhu Xingshan occasionally answered his questions, keeping within the bounds of what he could reveal.
“Don’t strip away any more here. If you burn away the material’s inherent properties as well, there will have been no point in bringing such fine materials in the first place.”
Zhu Xingshan heated the scale with Earth-Lung Fire.
Its interior began to glow faintly, revealing the grain within.
“I’ll shape the sword using a process similar to forging, taking this grain into account, then adjust its balance.”
“I see.”
Lee Hyun turned the scale over as he examined it. He sorted the processed materials according to the record, then took out the pieces they would use next.
Zhu Xingshan continued operating the formation plate.
***
Lee Hyun had been staying at the workshop for about ten days.
Zhu Xingshan was coming down to the refining chamber when he stopped at the entrance.
Two kinds of flame were circling above Lee Hyun’s palm.
Pale golden fire burrowed inward as a pallid flame wrapped around it. Soon, the two began to shift positions.
Zhu Xingshan approached with a serious expression.
When Lee Hyun looked up, the old man waved a hand.
“Keep going!”
Lee Hyun turned his attention back to the flames.
The two streams of fire shrank to the size of a fingernail. A small, bright ember formed at their center.
Zhu Xingshan’s eyes widened.
As Lee Hyun fed in a little more magical power, the ember brightened. But the outer flames wavered, and the old man spoke at once.
“This time, slow the flow you’re holding on the left just a little.”
Lee Hyun moved his fingertips.
The ember tilted.
Just as he was about to compensate from the other side, Zhu Xingshan spoke again.
“Leave it as it is.”
Crackle!
The ember at the center came apart. The two flames spread as though repelling each other, then scattered above Lee Hyun’s palm.
Lee Hyun gathered the remaining sparks.
“It always ends like this.”
Zhu Xingshan was silent for a moment.
“But how did you create these flames in the first place? Producing yang fire and yin fire at the same time, then holding them together… Just what sort of inheritance do you possess?”
“I merely copied techniques used by members of the human race I met in various places. I thought these flames might be useful together, so I experimented.”
“How long have you been studying them?”
“About five hundred years.”
“Hah… To devote five hundred years to mere flame practice! You pour time away like water. You must have inherited an exceptionally pure bloodline from a mighty ancient true spirit!”
“You flatter me.”
Watching Lee Hyun scratch his head, Zhu Xingshan grumbled inwardly.
‘These bastards of the demon race and their pride in their lifespans… How could even a Tier 4 great demon spend five hundred years practicing with flames and have so little to show for it? Does he take me for a fool? But this combination of flames….’
The old man pointed to the spot where the ember had just been.
“Could you show me that again?”
Lee Hyun summoned the two flames.
This time, he demonstrated the process slowly from the beginning, including how he divided the flames into fine strands. Whenever Zhu Xingshan asked a question, he answered while keeping the flames at a steady intensity.
He showed what happened when Clear Yang Purifying Fire took hold first, when White Bone Yin Fire seeped in first, and when he varied the proportions of the two.
“Can you maintain that central ember while doing anything else?”
“Simple tasks, yes. But it soon comes apart if I try to examine the inside of a piece of demon-beast material or adjust the heat separately.”
“As I thought….”
Zhu Xingshan took a small copper-red gourd from his sleeve.
When he removed the stopper, a tiny red point floated out.
It was a small ember.
The point stood out sharply even amid the workshop’s red glow. Its rounded surface contracted, then slowly expanded again.
Zhu Xingshan sent a slender strand of qi toward one side of the ember.
The ember bent slightly out of shape, then quickly returned to normal. It did the same when he prodded it from the other side.
Lee Hyun leaned forward slightly.
Zhu Xingshan made a small opening in the ember. Two sparks broke off and drifted to one side.
After a moment, the sparks slowly changed direction, returned to the original ember, and rejoined it.
‘This is….’
Zhu Xingshan’s hand remained motionless around the gourd.
Watching the ember, Lee Hyun recalled a scene from long ago.
The Azure Void Glass Flame had risen in a blue blaze from Tan Yunsheng’s small gourd. Each time the firebird, transparent as glass, spread its wings, it drew in the qi of the heavens, and the enormous Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon’s scales melted and fell away.
“Could it be… that this flame possesses spiritual nature?”
Zhu Xingshan nodded.
“It seems you’ve seen one before.”
“I once saw a cultivator of the human race use one. It felt different from the flames I produce.”
“Naturally. Cultivators use spirit fire as a loose term for any flame created with spiritual power, but true spirit fire refers to flames imbued with spiritual nature, like this one.”
Lee Hyun couldn’t take his eyes off the red ember.
Zhu Xingshan fed a little magical power into it, and the flame brightened.
When he reduced the supply, it shrank again, but the ember’s internal flow remained unchanged.
“The slightest imbalance causes your two flames to separate, so you have to keep holding them together. But this one can preserve its own nature. A little interference from me isn’t enough to disrupt it.”
Lee Hyun nodded.
“Could I give my flames that kind of spiritual nature as well?”
“It’s possible. But simply possessing spiritual nature won’t make opposing flames merge on their own. A mistake could destroy an ember you’ve painstakingly nurtured. Still, you’ve already established a flow that allows your two fires to coexist, haven’t you? The only problem is that maintaining it demands all your concentration.”
“That’s right.”
“You might be able to make that flow part of the ember’s own nature. Your skill at harmonizing the two flames is extraordinary, which makes me think spiritual nature could bind them into one.”
Lee Hyun’s eyes lit up.
“Would you please offer me some guidance?”
Zhu Xingshan stroked his beard.
“There are several ways to obtain flames with spiritual nature. You may not know this, but the human race has a very long history of cultivation, and countless inheritances exist throughout the world. Some methods involve collecting an ember and nurturing it separately over a long period. Others involve refining natural flames that possess spiritual nature and incorporating them into one’s own fire. In the Qianyuan Empire, a mighty Tier 5 cultivation nation of the human race, there would surely be countless methods of that sort.”
A quiet pride in the human race colored the old man’s voice.
Lee Hyun nodded agreeably.
“The human race truly is impressive.”
“Indeed. But my own knowledge only extends to nurturing this flame. I can’t claim to know how to merge your two fires.”
“Even that is an enormous help.”
Looking rather pleased, Zhu Xingshan fed magical power into the ember.
Whoosh.
The red flame stretched into a long tongue. The old man picked up a stone fragment from a corner of the refining chamber and held it against the tip.
The edge of the stone heated up and quickly softened.
When Zhu Xingshan drew his hand back, the long flame died down. Once again, only the original little ember remained suspended in the air.
Lee Hyun spoke up.
“There’s something I’m curious about. That spirit fire is precious. Doesn’t using it this way deplete the ember’s spiritual nature?”
“The flames are fueled by my magical power, so that’s mainly what they consume. As long as I don’t damage the core ember or burn it up, using the flames won’t wear away the spiritual nature I’ve worked so hard to nurture.”
‘Oh…! So that’s how it works.’
Lee Hyun regarded the red point with growing appreciation.
He had more than enough magical power to fuel the flames. He was also confident he could nurture something over a long period. All he needed was a seed of spiritual nature, and he could produce spirit fire in abundance!
Zhu Xingshan tilted the copper gourd, and the ember slipped back inside.
“As it happens, there may be an opportunity to refine a natural flame right here in this volcanic range.”
“…! Really?”
…
They stood in the narrow corridor outside the refining chamber.
Zhu Xingshan pointed toward the enormous crater below their feet.
An ash-gray crust formed over the dark red lava, then split open again. Whenever red flames rose through the cracks, the formation inscriptions on the crater’s inner walls briefly lit up.
“Farther down, there’s a place where several fire veins converge. The Fire Crow clans call that inner region the Inner Fire Cavern.”
Lee Hyun peered into the depths.
“In some places, fire gathers and lingers, leaving embers that don’t easily go out. Some possess a faint spiritual nature that allows them to retain their own properties. Embers of that kind, ones worth collecting and nurturing, are generally called fire seeds.”
Zhu Xingshan pointed to a small vent below the corridor.
Orange flames briefly spouted from it before quickly subsiding.
“The study of fire seeds is so vast and complex that it could be considered a discipline in its own right. Even I know only a little. For instance, powerful Earth-Lung Fire doesn’t necessarily produce powerful fire seeds. Their spiritual nature also varies. Some embers have little burning power but a strong spiritual nature, while others burn fiercely but have a weak spiritual nature. Many members of the Fire Crow clans at Tier 3 and above refine fire seeds for their own use as well.”
Lee Hyun looked at the crater again.
‘So there were things like this underground all along.’
Until then, he had thought of earth fire as nothing more than a source of flame to draw on when conserving spiritual power or magical power.
“Would I be able to acquire a fire seed?”
“You’ll have to discuss that with the Fire Crow clans. The fire veins belong to them. Sometimes they accept spirit stones, and sometimes they ask for materials or equipment they need.”
“I would be willing to pay with spirit stones or valuable spirit plants. I would appreciate a recommendation from you, fellow Daoist Zhu.”
“I’ll put in a word. Since you’re of the demon race, the Fire Crow clans are unlikely to object. You really are fortunate, fellow Daoist Li. Cultivators of the human race have a hard time obtaining fire seeds, yet you came to commission magic treasures and now have a chance to acquire one… I envy the demon race. Such long lifespans, too….”
“Haha… Whenever you need my help, fellow Daoist Zhu, please say the word. I will do whatever I can.”
As he spoke with Lee Hyun, Zhu Xingshan sensed something was off, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
‘Dammit, why does it feel as though I’m talking to someone of the human race? To think a vicious Tier 4 great demon who could devour us at any moment could be this polite! Has he studied the human race’s etiquette? What a calculating fellow…’
The old man’s gaze briefly drifted toward the refining chamber.
He thought of the processed bone material. Several pieces were so enticing that he wanted to use them to reinforce his own life-bound magic treasure.
‘Mmm… Could I get away with one more heist?’
At first, he had only intended to have a look. But after handling the materials himself, he had changed his mind.
When would he ever have another chance to obtain this much intact material from a Tier 4 Ink-Scaled Venomous Python?
Early-stage Tier 4 members of the demon race were generally harder to kill than early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators of the human race.
‘It’s not as though he’ll need every last piece for the sword and armor. Plenty gets discarded during processing anyway…. He probably won’t notice if I pocket a little. He’s not an artifact refiner….’
He had no desire to abandon such a fine workshop and go on the run.
It was a concern that this fellow Li Dongwu checked the materials so carefully, but how could he possibly see through the expert methods of a Tier 4 artifact refiner like Zhu Xingshan?
‘I even pulled a fast one on those bastards, the monstrous sect masters of the Nanming Twelve-Sect Alliance. Hiding a few pieces of material entrusted to me by an early-stage Tier 4 member of the demon race should be nothing….’
To advance along the immortal path, Zhu Xingshan steeled his resolve.
A lie was best hidden among truths!
‘I’ve been dealing with him in good faith, haven’t I? All I need to do is make him genuine magic treasures.’
“Fellow Daoist Zhu?”
“Ah, right. Let’s head back inside. I need to close the fire cavern I opened earlier.”
…
After that, Lee Hyun continued coming and going from the refining chamber.
He processed demon-beast material, practiced controlling the two flames together, and asked Zhu Xingshan about nurturing embers whenever he had time.
Zhu Xingshan lent him a thin booklet explaining how to examine a fire seed’s properties and what precautions to take when gathering and storing one. He said it was a compilation of methods in general circulation and had nothing to do with his own secret teachings.
Lee Hyun’s opinion of Zhu Xingshan gradually improved. Whenever Zhu Xingshan noticed signs of this, he grew more excited at the prospect of getting away with his theft…
***
A month passed.
Zhu Xingshan came to Lee Hyun’s guest room.
“I’ve received permission. We’ll go together tomorrow morning. I’ll only accompany you as far as the entrance to the Inner Fire Cavern. The Tier 4 Elder of the Fire Crow clans who oversees the Inner Fire Cavern has agreed to guide you personally beyond that point.”
Lee Hyun closed his book.
“Will I be able to gather a fire seed straight away?”
“You’ll need to inspect them first. You can’t simply take every one that catches your eye. The Fire Crow clans are nurturing some for themselves.”
“How should I pay?”
“They said they’d decide after inspecting the goods. You should be able to pay with the spirit plants, spirit materials, or spirit stones you have.”
Lee Hyun nodded.
After Zhu Xingshan left, he checked the spirit stones and items he could trade in his storage pouch.
‘This should be enough…’
Lee Hyun summoned the two flames and kept trying to blend them in a swirling motion. His heart swelled with anticipation. After five hundred years of playing with fire, he finally had a clear direction!
…
The next morning.
Zhu Xingshan led Lee Hyun away from the northern crater where the workshop stood and toward the largest crater at the heart of the volcanic range.
The closer they came, the more forbidding the atmosphere became, a stark contrast to the outer workshop district. Enormous pillars of red iron had been driven into the crater’s rim, and dark red fire curtains hung between them, blocking outside eyes and divine sense.
Flying overhead seemed to be forbidden here, for even Zhu Xingshan dispelled the light carrying him and landed before a suspension bridge strung between the cliffs.
Before the stone gateway at the bridge’s entrance, warriors of the Fire Crow clans stood in ranks, clad in feathered armor and carrying long spears. From the tall watchtowers on either side, Tier 3 members of the Fire Crow clans kept a sharp watch on everyone entering or leaving.
“Please stop, Senior. Beyond this point lie the restricted grounds of the Inner Fire Cavern.”
Zhu Xingshan held out the crimson iron token he had obtained in advance to the guard blocking their way, a late-stage Tier 3 member of the Fire Crow clans. The guard channeled demon power into the iron token and only lowered the spear after verifying its mark.
“You may pass. However, if you stray from the designated path or use magical power without permission, the formation will activate immediately.”
Security was just as tight along the path leading down into the crater beyond the checkpoint. Patrols were stationed along the sheer cliffs, and a web of formations extended deep into the bedrock beneath their feet.
Lee Hyun quietly gauged the surrounding qi and found the defenses so formidable that even his Earth Escape Art or Metal Escape Art would have trouble getting him inside unnoticed.
‘So this is what an important clan facility is like? Things seem much better organized when an entire clan holds a territory, unlike a lone mountain lord like me, who claimed a Tier 4 spirit vein through personal strength alone.’
When they reached a broad stone platform below the crater, a member of the Fire Crow clans was waiting for them.
His head and torso were humanlike, though black feathers remained on both arms. His eyes were rimmed in red, and iron rods of varying lengths hung from his waist.
This was a Tier 4 member of the demon race who had undergone human-form transformation.
Zhu Xingshan approached first and offered a fist-and-palm salute.
“Elder He Yan, you’re here early. This is fellow Daoist Li Dongwu, whom I told you about.”
The Elder of the Fire Crow clans, He Yan, gave Lee Hyun a slight nod.
“Greetings, fellow Daoist Li Dongwu. I am He Yan, in charge of the Inner Fire Cavern. I will guide you today.”
“Thank you for taking the trouble, fellow Daoist He Yan.”
“Not at all. Master Zhu told me about you. I hear you’re very interested in the embers from our fire veins.”
Once the two had exchanged greetings, Zhu Xingshan discreetly stepped back.
“My permission only extends this far, so you two go on. I’ll return to the refining chamber.”
After Zhu Xingshan left, He Yan turned and walked to the edge of the stone platform.
He Yan was startled to see Lee Hyun preparing to leap into the lava below.
“Fellow Daoist! Not that way!”
“Oh? This isn’t the way?”
He Yan gave a bemused cough, then took a narrow path along the cliff instead of jumping into the crater.
At the end of the path stood a massive stone door engraved with several layers of restrictions.
He Yan took a short iron rod from his waist, inserted it into a hole beside the door, and channeled demon power through it.
Clack.
The stone door opened, and hot air rushed out.
He Yan did not enter at once, but crouched at the threshold instead. Holding a hand over a narrow crack in the floor, he studied the glow gathering at the tips of his feathers for a while.
“Let’s take the western path down today. The fire qi is relatively calm there.”
…
The stone steps continued for a long way along the crater’s inner wall.
The farther they descended, the stronger the metallic smell became. Red streaks branched like veins across the rock walls, and the black stones embedded between them each bore a different marking.
Suddenly, a torrent of pure white flame burst from the passage to their right with a deafening roar.
Whoooosh―
The passage, empty only moments before, filled with fire in an instant. The flames struck the opposite rock wall and split apart, then streamed downward along the deep grooves in the floor.
He Yan walked on ahead, apparently accustomed to it.
At the bottom of the stairs, the view suddenly opened up.
“Here we are.”
An enormous cavern lay before them.
Flames streamed down from points all over the ceiling and walls. Below, lava spilled over rocky ledges of varying heights and plunged into a deep pit.
Orange flames wreathed the rocks, while blue light rose from narrow cracks beside them. Nearby, something resembling red smoke hung in unnaturally dense clumps.
Lee Hyun extended his divine sense with meticulous care.
“Are all of those fire seeds?”
“No. Most of that is ordinary earth fire flowing out of the fire veins.”
He Yan drew a long iron rod from his waist and pointed its tip at a nearby rocky ledge.
A small hole lay beneath the fierce orange flames. When He Yan cleared away the stone in front of it with the rod’s tip, a dark red glow about the length of one finger segment appeared within.
Whoosh.
Flames washed over the ledge, swallowing the tiny glow.
But when the flames had passed, it was still in the same place.
He Yan brought the rod’s tip closer. The dark red glow stretched into a thin strand and crept a short way along the rod.
Lee Hyun leaned forward.
When He Yan raised the rod, the glow lifted free of the rock.
Then it happened.
The tip of the elongated glow suddenly snapped off. The ember clinging to the iron rod dropped, then moved against the rush of flames back to its original hole.
He Yan lowered the iron rod.
“As you saw, if you try to tear a fire seed with spiritual nature away by force, it will flee back to its nest, or the ember may shatter. I’ll show you the embers farther inside that can be gathered. For now, take your time and look around.”
Lee Hyun looked deeper into the cavern.
One by one, he made out crevices in the rocks that had been hidden behind the flames.
Small embers nestled inside.
The place was like an entire exhibition hall for fire seeds!
Lee Hyun eagerly began examining them one by one.
‘Which of these guys will work with my flames….’
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