The mouth of the dark well was chillingly cold. Li Xiaofei stood at the edge of the well and hesitated for a moment. After some thought, he deployed a micro-drone into the darkness.
It was a purely electronic device. Since it carried no natural energy, it typically wouldn't trigger any formations or restrictions. Soon, based on the information transmitted by the micro-drone, it was determined that there were no formations or traps inside the well.
Li Xiaofei leaped down with the mute girl and the Black Emperor. Chu Xiang and Hua Dongcheng, understanding the situation, sensibly chose not to follow. However, they didn’t dare stray far. They remained close to the well’s mouth, ready to jump in at the first sign of danger.
The space below turned out to be unexpectedly vast. It was a classic gourd-shaped deep well. It was narrow at the top, but widened as it descended. At its deepest point, it stretched nearly a kilometer below the surface, with a diameter of nearly a hundred meters.
The upper section of the well walls was constructed from green bricks, but around two hundred meters down, the structure transitioned into natural rock layers. Perhaps there had once been water within the well, but it was completely dry now. The floor of the well was uneven and rough.
At its center was a fist-sized hole, leading deep into the earth. A faint trace of moisture lingered in the air, it was likely the former spring that had fed the well.
“Woof! Woof!” The Black Emperor had discovered something and began barking at a spot nearby.
Li Xiaofei approached with the mute girl in tow. They saw that a section of the well wall had crumbled, revealing a narrow opening less than a meter in diameter. It was well concealed, tucked behind the broken bricks.
The Black Emperor squeezed through the hole without hesitation and barked again from within. Li Xiaofei listened, then crouched and followed him inside.
The small tunnel extended five to six meters into a tiny chamber, roughly twenty square meters in area. It had a shattered alchemy furnace. Beneath it rested the skeletal remains of a child, leaning against the furnace, long dead.
The child wore a red robe embroidered with black patterns. Though it bore the marks of savage claws, the fabric was remarkably well preserved. It showed no signs of decay, and the gold and silver embroidery still shimmered faintly, indicating its extraordinary origin.
Li Xiaofei remained extremely cautious. Only after confirming there was no immediate danger did he carefully approach the child’s skeleton. Judging by the size of the bones, the child had likely been around ten years old. He gently pushed aside the robe, revealing claw marks right over the left side of the chest. The shattered bones formed the rough imprint of a claw. That was the fatal wound.
There were thread-like black patterns around the fractured area, resembling ink stains seeping into the bone. These were traces left by some kind of highly toxic foreign substance.
Li Xiaofei's pupils contracted slightly. To his surprise, the black threads began to emit faint wisps of energy. It seemed his proximity had triggered them, and the tendrils shot wildly toward his face.
“Back!” Li Xiaofei shouted sharply. A burst of force surged outward, pushing both the Black Emperor and the mute girl backward.
At the same time, he raised his hand and struck out with a palm of pure force. He had intended to blow the black mist away, but it had no effect. The strange, threadlike vapor seemed almost incorporeal. It passed through the force of his strike and clung directly to the skin of his palm.
In the blink of an eye, he felt a sharp, burning pain. Li Xiaofei’s heart jumped in alarm. Even a simple brick in Heaven could possess deadly power. This black substance clearly surpassed his understanding.
He hurriedly activated his cultivation technique, channeling his energy to expel the foreign force from his palm. At the same time, he formed a blade with his left hand, ready to sever his own hand if necessary. But a moment later, the black substance abruptly fled from his palm on its own.
For a fleeting moment, Li Xiaofei had the strange sensation that the black vapor was sentient. It was as if it had a will of its own, fleeing in a frenzied panic. Yet the moment it drifted away, it spontaneously ignited and vanished completely.
Li Xiaofei lowered his gaze to examine his palm. There was no scar. He carefully checked his physical condition, and after confirming that there were no signs of lingering damage or abnormalities, he finally let out a breath of relief.
He was even more cautious as he turned his attention back to the child’s skeleton. Thankfully, nothing further occurred.
This person must have been a young Daoist attendant in life. Li Xiaofei came to this conclusion after a moment of examination.
His gaze then shifted to the shattered alchemy furnace in front of him. The furnace stood about one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, was black-red in color, and was shaped like a gourd. It had two handles, three legs, and a damaged lower half. The belly of the gourd was riddled with web-like cracks, and parts of it were missing entirely.
The main cause of the furnace’s destruction was also a claw mark. A six-toed claw print was embedded on the upper section of the lower half. Fractures had spread outward from that central point.
As Li Xiaofei examined it more closely, a look of astonishment gradually appeared on his face. There was something familiar about this furnace. He circled it several times, inspecting every angle. Suddenly, a bold speculation emerged in his mind.
"Go and retrieve that piece of metal from Chu Xiang," Li Xiaofei said.
The Black Emperor immediately darted off. Moments later, it returned with the powerful metal shard gripped in its mouth. Li Xiaofei took the shard and carefully aligned it against one of the broken sections of the furnace.
A soft chime rang out. It fit perfectly.
"As expected, this fragment was originally a part of the furnace," Li Xiaofei said.
The patterns etched into the shard aligned seamlessly with those on the furnace, confirming his theory without a doubt. However, the piece in Chu Xiang’s possession was just one of nine missing fragments from the furnace.
Eight more gaps remained. But still... If a single fragment held such devastating power, then the furnace in its entirety must have been unimaginably powerful.
Li Xiaofei slowly reached out and placed his hand on the furnace. He felt a wave of warmth beneath his palm.
“Hm?” Li Xiaofei’s brow lifted slightly in surprise. This update ıs available on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩
Could there still be pill fire lingering inside the furnace?
He leaned closer and peered through one of the cracks. But all he saw was a hazy mist that was completely obscuring the interior. He extended his divine sense, attempting to probe through the gap, but found it blocked.
He lightly leaped atop the furnace. The lid was missing. When he peered through the opening, he found only more mist. He fetched a long rod and slowly lowered it into the furnace. The pole sank down sixteen meters, and still didn’t touch the bottom. It was as if the furnace contained a bottomless pit. The furnace appeared no more than two meters tall, yet its interior extended sixteen meters.
Li Xiaofei was now completely certain that this alchemy furnace contained a spatial pocket. A small internal world. But he didn’t dare attempt to enter himself.
What if he couldn’t make it back out? Every object within the domain of Heaven held immense power. Even Li Xiaofei, with all his caution, faced the risk of instant death if he misstepped.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Xiaofei decided to attempt lifting the furnace.
He couldn’t budge it in the slightest. It was unexpected, yet also within reason. Li Xiaofei’s strength was, without question, at the peak of his realm. He could lift an entire planet if he truly wished to. But this was Heaven. Nothing here could be measured by ordinary standards.
So, Li Xiaofei tried channeling his true qi into the alchemy furnace. Instantly, he felt the furnace react like a kun fish. It unleashed an overwhelming suction force, as if it intended to drain him dry in an instant.
“Holy—!” Li Xiaofei cursed reflexively, quickly withdrawing his hand.
Yet it seemed that the brief moment of qi infusion had formed a faint connection between him and the furnace. Li Xiaofei tried lifting it again. This time, he succeeded. He balanced it on one palm with ease, the weight was just right.
“If I swing this at someone, I could probably crush a whole crowd,” he muttered. “Too bad it’s so big. If only it could be a bit smaller...”
As the words left his lips, an unexpected change occurred.