"Thank you for your hard work."
Lu Qingfeng grabbed the Alchemy Furnace, ready to head back and test its effectiveness.
In these past eight years, all his achievements in Artifact Refining were embodied in this Alchemy Furnace. Now that the furnace was complete, it was time to check the results.
He moved toward the exit of the Artifact Refining Room.
Along the way, Lu Qingfeng couldn't help but stop.
The rhythmic beating sounds were melodious to his ears.
He looked intently and saw in one of the Artifact Refining Rooms, a towering Forging Platform in the center. A bare-chested man was lifting a hundred-pound hammer, striking continuously.
Appearances were deceiving; each strike was precise, like Zhang Fei doing delicate embroidery!
The hammer swung in his hand as dexterously as an embroidery needle.
Lu Qingfeng found himself engrossed in this unusual rhythm.
An outsider might not notice, but he could barely make out that with each hammer blow of the big man, the equipment on the Forging Platform changed significantly.
Big hammer switched with a small hammer, and a small hammer switched back to a big hammer!
Alternating between them, continuously cooled by the chilly Cold Spring water, they managed to carve out the patterns and designs on the equipment with just a few hammers.
Lu Qingfeng was spellbound.
It wasn't until the large man stopped and submerged the fully-forged sword into the Cold Spring that Lu Qingfeng snapped back at the hissing sound.
He saw that the big man had already noticed him and was walking toward him.
"Old Lu, are you here to refine another Alchemy Furnace?" Zhang Zong approached Lu Qingfeng, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and casually asked.
"Yes, it's already finished." Lu Qingfeng replied, lifting the Alchemy Furnace in his hand.
The man before him was the owner of the Seven Mysterious Refining Room, one of the two vice-presidents of the Yuan Yi Guild, Zhang Zong.
As Lu Qingfeng was studying Artifact Refining, practical exercises were essential, therefore the only Artifact Refining Room in the Yuan Yi Guild—the Seven Mysterious Refining Room—became a place he frequented over the years.
Over time, Lu Qingfeng became as familiar with Zhang Zong as he was with top-level Alchemy Apprentices Wang Tao and Yue Ran!
A trace of amazement flashed in Zhang Zong's eyes as he took the Alchemy Furnace from Lu Qingfeng's hands. In no time, the size of the furnace changed as he wished, spiritual energy surged, and flames flickered.
This was Zhang Zong testing it.
A moment later, an even stronger look of astonishment appeared in Zhang Zong's eyes, "I didn't expect that, Old Lu, aside from your exceptional talent in Alchemy, you also have such flair in Artifact Refining!"
"Brother Zhang is too kind."
"The set of Refining Technique I just saw Brother Zhang use was truly amazing!"
Lu Qingfeng modestly replied, then praised.
"That's the 'Wind and Thunder Hammer' technique. I studied it for decades before I barely got a grasp of it," Zhang Zong responded casually, his mind still on the Alchemy Furnace Lu Qingfeng had refined, "Old Lu, how did you think of changing the sequence of those talismans groups? This kind of change—it's brilliant! It was like adding finishing touches that instantly elevated an ordinary Alchemy Furnace by at least a level!"
In the field of Artifact Refining, Zhang Zong considered himself the foremost expert in the Yuan Yi Guild.
However, Lu Qingfeng's work had taken his breath away today.
"It was just a moment of inspiration; I originally thought it might fail, but the final effect turned out pretty good," Lu Qingfeng said with a smile.
Of course, he wouldn't outright mention that this was the result of investing Experience Value to enhance it!
"A moment of inspiration—"
Zhang Zong couldn't help but nod.
Artifact refining often indeed requires inspiration, and sometimes when the inspiration strikes and the mood is right, one can perform far beyond ordinary standards!
"It seems you truly have a talent for artifact refining. If Boss Mu knew, he probably wouldn't bother me anymore in the future," Zhang Zong said to Lu Qingfeng with a smile.
Speaking of Mu Yuanyi, Lu Qingfeng also couldn't help but smile.
Over the past few years, his attention on artifact refining had led to a lack of focus on crafting low-level elixirs. This significantly impacted Mu Yuanyi's plan to make 'Yuan Yi·Qingfeng' brand intermediate and low-level elixirs a mainstay in the elixir market.
Mu Yuanyi had more than once talked to Lu Qingfeng, persuading him to devote all his energy to alchemy. However, Lu Qingfeng let it in one ear and out the other, agreeing verbally but nevertheless unfailingly returning to the Seven Mysterious Refining Room the next day.
Zhang Zong was similarly pestered to no end by Mu Yuanyi.
After chatting with Zhang Zong about the insights of artifact refining, Lu Qingfeng then returned to the 'Black Sand Alchemy Room'.
Eight years have passed, and now the Black Sand Alchemy Room is home to six low-level alchemy apprentices, forty-two alchemy apprentices, and the only high-level alchemy apprentice, which is Lu Qingfeng himself.
Upon entering the Alchemy Room, the apprentices all greeted Lu Qingfeng with respectful salutations.
Lu Qingfeng nodded slightly and went straight to his own Fourth-rank Alchemy Room.
The room was simply furnished, with a Fourth-rank talisman level Alchemy Furnace in the center and some bottles and jars as well as processed herbs scattered around. There was also a meditation cushion on one side for Lu Qingfeng to restore his Inner Breath or cultivate after refining.
"First, let's take a look at this 'Red Flame Pill Furnace'!"
Lu Qingfeng placed the Alchemy Furnace he was carrying, the 'Red Flame Pill Furnace,' onto the ground. He pressed his hands on top of it, and his Inner Breath surged out.
The Red Flame Pill Furnace shone with spirit light, suddenly enlarging until it stopped at the height of an average person.
"The size-changing talisman array is stable!"
Lu Qingfeng slapped the wall of the Red Flame Pill Furnace and sent another stream of Inner Breath into it.
Centering around the Red Flame Pill Furnace, nature's spiritual energy began faintly to converge. Lu Qingfeng, who had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Energy Introduction Stage, could only sense it vaguely.
A tuft of flame ignited between the three legs of the Pill Furnace. The flame was a reddish color, indicating no low temperature.
"The spiritual energy gathering talisman array is stable!"
"The talisman array that stimulates the red flames is stable!"
Lu Qingfeng withdrew his hands, and the red flames continued to burn beneath the Pill Furnace. Although flickering, they never vanished.
"Mission accomplished!"
Lu Qingfeng's eyes widened in a jubilant smile, overjoyed.
This 'Red Flame Pill Furnace' was originally a First Rank talisman level Alchemy Furnace comprised of nine talismans. Lu Qingfeng spent hundreds of Experience Value to enhance its Refining Technique five times.
What were originally disordered and erratic nine talismans were instantly optimized into three groups of three talisman arrays.
While stability was greatly increased, the effects of spirit gathering and the flames were likewise greatly enhanced.
Although it was merely a First Rank talisman containing nine talismans, in reality, it was far superior to many Second Rank Talisman that contained over thirty talismans.
That was the reason for Zhang Zong's astonishment.
"Because of material limits, there is an extreme to the number of talismans that a talisman can contain. If it exceeds that, the material will not be able to bear the load and will collapse, resulting in failure. The higher the quality of the material, the more talismans it can contain, and naturally the power and quality of the Magic Artifact will also be higher."
"A good Artifact Refiner, a superb Refining Technique, can use ordinary materials to arrange talismans properly so that within the limits of what the material can hold, the maximum effectiveness of these talismans is displayed."
"The Derivation Technique that strengthened the refining method of 'Red Flame Pill Furnace' is based on this principle."
Lu Qingfeng caressed the Red Flame Pill Furnace.