Qian Duoduo immediately looked dumbfounded. "I didn't bring one."
He slapped himself on the head. "How could I be so stupid? Coming out to learn about and search for Ore, and I didn't even bring a cauldron?"
"How much of this Ore can you take back?" Liu Boli asked again.
Qian Duoduo blinked, looking even more foolish.
"That's right, the Golden Toad only has a space the size of a house, and the two Storage Pouches have even less space. It'll take three trips to transport the Ming Iron Ore from these three rooms."
In this wilderness, not to mention whether it would be easy to transport, the Ming Iron Ore was also easy to lose.
"Then I'll bury them again." Qian Duoduo said with a bitter face, picking up a piece of Ming Iron Ore, preparing to throw it back into the hole. Buried underground, it would be safer.
"Alright." Liu Boli stopped him. "You load up the Ore first, then we'll go up the mountain to take a look."
"Eh, Master has a way to refine the Ore now."
"Having an elder at home is like having a treasure." Qian Duoduo racked his brain, finding the most flattering phrase to praise Liu Bo.
After filling the Golden Toad—of course, without pressing on Jin Buhuan inside—Qian Duoduo instructed Golden Tiger, "Brother Tiger, watch over this. If even one piece of Ore is missing, you'll have to compensate ten."
Brother Tiger turned his head and kicked the Ore with his tiger paw, his reluctant expression saying, "What kind of junk is this? Who would bother stealing it?"
Upon ascending Phoenix Feather Mountain, Qian Duoduo felt the soles of his feet burning, as if he had stepped into a furnace. This environment was a paradise for Fire Spirit Crows and a Hell for other spirit creatures.
He examined the black, leafless trees and discovered that they were actually spiritual plants that had transformed into spiritual coal Ore. If there hadn't been no space left in the Golden Toad, he would have loved to chop down a few trees and take them back to sell for money.
Although Phoenix Feather Mountain was not tall, it was quite large. After walking for more than fifteen minutes, they still hadn't reached the summit. A few small groups of Fire Spirit Crows saw them, cawing strangely before flying out of sight.
"Liu Bo, how much further?" Sweat was pouring off Qian Duoduo like a river. If he kept walking, he wouldn't need to refine Ore; he'd be refined into ash himself.
Liu Boli waved his hand. "Almost there."
As he waved, his Spiritual Qi formed a protective shield around Qian Duoduo. Qian Duoduo felt the heat being separated from him. With less heat on his body, his Spiritual Awareness returned a bit, and he noticed that there were actually living creatures on Phoenix Feather Mountain. For example, in the rock crevices, there were colorful-armed golden beetles crawling. Under the spiritual coal trees, there were even black fire ants…
After walking another two or three hundred feet, "It's right here—" Liu Boli stopped.
On the ground in front of him, there was a vibrant blue small plant, its branches and leaves swaying in the wind.
No, that was a wisp of flame!
Why need a cauldron when fire itself could refine Ore? Qian Duoduo understood Liu Boli's plan; Phoenix Feather Mountain was so hot, there might be a ready-made fire source. And they had indeed found one.
"You try it and see if the temperature of this fire is suitable."
Before Qian Duoduo could be happy for a moment, Liu Boli withdrew his Spiritual Qi protection, and the high temperature instantly evaporated the moisture in Qian Duoduo's throat. He couldn't utter a single word, began coughing violently, and waved his hands vigorously, signaling Liu Boli to quickly restore the protection.
With the Spiritual Qi shield back in place, Qian Duoduo plopped down onto the ground and said with a hoarse voice, "Master, if you don't like me, just stab me in the throat with a sword. I don't have much meat on me; dry roasting won't taste good."
"How can you not endure such a low temperature? As an Artifact Refiner, the fire temperature you control in the future will be far higher than this." Liu Boli's face was still dark. Qian Duoduo seriously suspected that his face was dark because his Master had roasted him with fire.
"Let's talk about the future in the future. I'm not even an Artifact Apprentice yet—take it easy."
"Hmm. I wouldn't dare underestimate you. You are now the esteemed Third-Rank Refiner of Wanjin Pavilion, a prominent figure whose stomp makes Mengyuan Mountain tremble."
Liu Boli's words were like another ball of black fire thrown into Qian Duoduo's throat, causing him another fit of violent coughing.
Qian Duoduo had thought that by memorizing a few encyclopedias, he could become a good Artifact Refiner, which was clearly wrong. Being an Artifact Refiner was a job that required both brains and hands, and the skill of fire control alone was immense.
"Alright," Qian Duoduo finally caught his breath, "Liu Bo, please don't bully the young with your age. I was wrong, I know it's not easy to be an Artifact Refiner."
Liu Boli nodded slightly. "Of course, when an Artifact Refiner refines artifacts, the cauldron provides insulation, which will be a bit better than this, but when Spiritual Qi enters the furnace, it also has to endure a test. In a moment, I will condense a furnace with Spiritual Qi, and you will control the flame to refine the Ore."
Qian Duoduo sat down cross-legged and nodded solemnly.
Liu Boli formed a hand seal, and the blue flame leaped upwards, as if entering a semi-enclosed furnace.
Just as Qian Duoduo was about to place the Ming Iron Ore above the flame, he suddenly felt his back warm. He looked back and saw hundreds of Fire Spirit Crows densely perched on the black trees, their eyes fixed on them.
This blue flame might be their guarded treasure.
"Don't worry about them." Liu Boli said to Qian Duoduo. He turned his head and raised his voice towards the Fire Spirit Crows, "We're borrowing this fire; we won't take it away."
The Fire Spirit Crows on the trees seemed to understand, nodding one after another, but they did not leave.
"If the old fellows from Refining Spirit Sect knew about this, they would definitely be tempted to take this fire. I'm a lone person, and it's not very useful for me to have it." Liu Boli seemed to be talking to himself, and also explaining to the Fire Spirit Crows.
"Let's begin."
Seeing Liu Boli urging him, Qian Duoduo didn't bother thinking about the Fire Spirit Crows and quickly extended his Spiritual Qi into the cauldron condensed by Liu Boli to control the blue flame.
As the Spiritual Qi entered the furnace, it turned into a puff of smoke and dispersed the moment it touched the flame.
Fortunately, Spiritual Qi had no sensation; if it did, he would have fainted from the pain…
Qian Duoduo became stubborn and continuously increased his Spiritual Qi, pouring it into the cauldron.
However, the blue flame was like a slippery boulder, impossible to control.
If Brother Tiger were nearby, he would definitely be rolling on the ground laughing.
"I can only try with the Eternal Wealth and Nobility Cultivation Technique," Qian Duoduo thought to himself.
He circulated the Cultivation Technique, and his Spiritual Qi turned from white to snow-cyan. Qian Duoduo pointed his right hand at the cauldron, and a stream of Spiritual Qi, compressed several times, poured into it.
The blue flame was instantly roasted and scattered in part, but Qian Duoduo continuously poured in the cyan Spiritual Qi, and he had already gained control of the flame.
He moved his left hand, and a piece of Ming Iron Ore flew into the furnace. Qian Duoduo controlled the flame to envelop it, and in a short while, a drop of silver-white liquid flowed out, dripping onto the bottom of the cauldron.
"Haha, it's done!"
Drop after drop, piece after piece…
Qian Duoduo forgot the time, only haphazardly throwing a handful of Spirit Increasing Pills into his mouth when his Spiritual Qi couldn't keep up.
Slowly, the blue flame transformed from a proud Golden Tiger into an obedient kitten, and the speed at which it consumed the Ore also increased.
After refining the last piece of Ming Iron Ore and pouring the Ming Iron out of the cauldron, a circular disc the size of a table appeared before Qian Duoduo. After refining, the spiritual Ore had shrunk to about one-fifth of its original size into Ming Iron.
"Liu Bo, do you think it's alright?" Qian Duoduo suppressed the joy in his heart and asked softly.
Liu Boli said nothing, waving his hand to throw the disc back into the cauldron. When the Ming Iron came out of the furnace again, it was another circle smaller. "It's acceptable, but there's still room for improvement." He had purified the Ming Iron again. The higher the purity, the higher the price.
"Understood." Qian Duoduo tried to stand up but swayed, almost falling.
"Rest for a while, you've been refining for ten days." Liu Boli withdrew his hand seal, dissipating the Spiritual Qi cauldron.
Ten days! Qian Duoduo was stunned. Liu Boli was extremely satisfied with his first performance. Although he had suppressed him a bit by purifying it again later, to be able to achieve the level of a Second or Third-Rank Refiner in one purification and to continuously refine for ten days without feeling tired, this talent and perseverance could only be described as astonishing.