Chapter 54: Imitation of Heavenly Fire, Part 2

With all the principles and materials prepared, Li Xian couldn't wait another minute, and neither could the rest of the group. They immediately started working, and this frenzy of activity continued for more than ten days.

During this time, Xia Qingqing, Bei Chen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, and Ling Zhifeng finally understood the group’s insane plan—they were attempting to replicate the temperature and environment of Heavenly Fire! It was madness, yet thrilling! Even the usually composed Xia Qingqing couldn’t hide her intense curiosity.

They used magic to carve a three-meter-wide stone cave out of a mountain, then reinforced the cave’s surroundings with spells to ensure there were no cracks. Inside the cave, they laid down jade stones and copper wires, inscribing formations onto the jade. The Samadhi True Fire Array and Hou Tu Array were both completed over a few sleepless nights.

After all this work, the space in the center of the cave was reduced to less than a meter and a half.

Finally, they placed a one-meter iron sphere into the remaining space, filling it with about one-third water. Then, using magic and the jade and stones from the mountain, they sealed the cave entirely.

"When the water boils, it will evaporate and create steam, which will generate immense pressure within the space. Using the entire mountain as a seal should be enough to withstand that pressure!" This was Li Xian’s grand plan.

To be honest, Li Xian wasn't entirely sure if it would succeed. After all, if the pressure became too great, blowing up the entire mountain wouldn’t be out of the question.

Why are explosives so powerful? Because they release an enormous amount of pressure in an instant! And in this case, none of them had any real experience—everything was an attempt to push the limits: maximum temperature, maximum pressure, striving for the ultimate perfection. Naturally, safety was the biggest concern.

"Is everything ready?" Li Xian asked, feeling a surge of excitement. The moment to make history had finally come.

"All set!" Tang Rong replied, equally thrilled.

Li Xian turned to Xu Ren, “Mr. Xu, has everyone gathered?”

“There are still over thirty people checking the Spirit Gathering Array,” Xu Ren responded.

Li Xian was startled, “Thirty people? How many Spirit Gathering Arrays have we set up?”

Over the past few days, Li Xian had only known that Ling Zhifeng, the newly arrived formation master, had taken over the arrangement of the Spirit Gathering Array, even requesting two spirit stones for the array’s core. Li Xian, being generous, gave them without question. Of the ten spirit stones they had traded from the Sea Tribe, only one was left now.

Xu Ren shook his head, “I’m not sure either, but I heard Ling Zhifeng used over eighty kilometers of Sea Soul Silk in these few days.”

Then let's wait. Without completing the Spirit Gathering Array, nothing can be done. However, Li Xian took the opportunity to check everything multiple times, making sure there were no issues.

After waiting for two hours, Ling Zhifeng finally arrived with some people, all of whom looked exhausted. Ling Zhifeng wore a satisfied expression and said, "Young Master, all the people needed to set up the Spirit Gathering Array have arrived. In total, we set up 366 small Spirit Gathering Arrays, all of which converge into a large Spirit Gathering Array that covers an area of one acre.

This Spirit Gathering Array can gather the equivalent of about 100 standard spirit stones' worth of spiritual energy in a day. Although the spiritual energy is mixed and not as pure as that from spirit stones, the quantity is quite substantial. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but I never had the chance. Haha..."

Before Li Xian could speak, Xu Ren interjected, "Mr. Ling, isn't this a bit wasteful? You must know that both Sea Soul Silk and spirit stones are limited; once we use them, there will be fewer."

"No, no, this Spirit Gathering Array should be able to run for over ten days, which should be enough to meet the Young Master's research needs. Also, there's one thing everyone may have forgotten: Heavenly Fire is a divine ability that only immortals can control, and the cost of using it must be considerable. For now, only a large Spirit Gathering Array like this can meet the demand for spiritual energy."

Li Xian quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Mr. Ling has done a great job. Thank you, Mr. Ling."

But this time, Xu Ren did not back down. "Young Master, you must address this matter. Acting without your permission, or even failing to report to you, despite being well-intentioned, is a problem that cannot be ignored. Otherwise, the consequences could be severe."

After a moment of thought, Li Xian understood that Xu Ren's concerns were indeed valid.

With a heavy heart, he said, "Mr. Ling Zhifeng, you did a great job this time. But I cannot reward you. Consider this a warning, and don't let it happen again."

The last time, when Song Xing went to Wuyang City, he took the initiative to gather information on the Wang Family's Neon Lantern Trading Company. Li Xian gave him a generous reward because it was far away, and reporting was impossible, so flexibility was required.

But this time, Ling Zhifeng was different. He could have reported but chose not to, which was unacceptable.

Ling Zhifeng gave an embarrassed smile, knowing he had indeed gone too far this time. After all, he had pledged his loyalty to someone else and still needed to follow the code of conduct for a "scholar."

The style of the "scholars" is quite interesting. They want to enter the world, they want to get things done, using this to complete their cultivation—Li Xian believes there’s more to it, but he can’t quite figure it out. However, they don’t want to be entangled in cause and effect, don’t want to charge forward into the "dust and chaos of the world," yet they want to grow quickly. The best way to achieve this is to find a "lord" to rely on.

But once they choose to rely on someone, there are certain rules they must follow, such as basic professional ethics.

However, after so many years of development and change, some things have evolved as well. Nowadays, capable "scholars" are quite formidable. Even the emperor has to personally visit them, and they may still refuse to leave their seclusion.

But no matter how formidable, once they decide to "enter the world for cultivation," some basic rules and principles must still be observed.

This is why Xu Ren wanted Li Xian to set an example, at the very least issuing a warning to caution others—there can be no order without rules.

After this discussion, Li Xian finally began to focus on the "giant furnace" that had been prepared for over ten days: using an entire mountain as the furnace, powered by fifty small array generators, and gathering spiritual energy with a large Zhou Tian Spirit Gathering Array. This was the absolute limit of what Li Xian and the others could achieve at the moment.

Tang Rong, who was responsible for the entire project, flipped the switch. The Spirit Gathering Array’s circuits connected, and the generators began to power up one by one.

Gradually, a faint azure glow seemed to encircle the mountaintop, so subtle that it could almost be missed if not carefully observed.

Beichen Yuqing exclaimed in surprise, "A Zhou Tian Spirit Gathering Array! Such a powerful effect—it’s almost gathered all the spiritual energy within a ten-mile radius!"

"Haha, it's nothing, really. It’s all thanks to the two spirit stones provided by the Young Master and the large amount of Sea Soul Silk. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to set up this Zhou Tian Spirit Gathering Array, which is nearly lost to history."

Li Xian, being quick-witted, asked, "Now that cultivation techniques are spread everywhere, how could something like this be nearly lost?"

Ling Zhifeng sighed, "Isn’t it all due to resource scarcity? As spirit stones and spiritual materials gradually disappear, many arrays and cultivation methods that rely on them have started to lose their effectiveness, and naturally, they begin to be forgotten."

Li Xian’s eyes lit up, "Mr. Ling, I’m assigning you a task: collect all the arrays, cultivation methods, especially those on the verge of being lost, or already lost, or ones that others consider useless."

"I’ll temporarily allocate 1,000 taels of gold to you, sir. According to the rules of business here, you’ll receive a 5% profit.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic! I love traveling around. Give me a team, and I guarantee I’ll scour the entire Great Xia within a year and sweep through the surrounding countries within three years, making sure nothing is missed.”

While everyone was chatting, the generators began showing signs of trouble. Some of the generators were becoming unstable.

Li Xian looked at them and helplessly shook his head—minor issues due to the quality problems caused by manual work and the rush to complete the task. This change, however, made the group a bit worried. Would this project succeed?

The Spirit Gathering Array continued to gather an enormous amount of spiritual energy, but a few of the generators had already stopped functioning. The overall scene was still mostly quiet.

Time passed slowly...

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, there was a creaking sound from the rock face where the tunnel was being excavated. Before anyone could react, an explosion occurred. Golden lava and flames burst out violently, accompanied by a scorching and agitated aura. All the generators were instantly overloaded and then began shutting down one by one.

Tang Rong reacted quickly, immediately pulling the switch to shut off the Spirit Gathering Array. The massive amount of spiritual energy that had been frantically gathered suddenly dispersed, and the sky above displayed delicate, water-like, pale blue ripples.

But no one paid attention to the changes in the sky or the generators. Tang Rong immediately rushed toward the cave entrance, casting numerous spells to cover the golden lava. However, the temperature of the lava was so high that each spell seemed like a drop of water falling into a steel furnace, evaporating before even coming close.

Xu Ren, feeling the intense heat surging toward him, squinted his eyes as a glint of determination flashed in them: “Perhaps this really is the temperature of heavenly fire!”

Although the temperature of the golden lava was incredibly high, through everyone's efforts, it slowly began to cool down.

After observing for a while, Li Xian finally said, “Everyone, hold your positions. After two days, when the cave has completely cooled and we are sure there’s no danger, we’ll go in to investigate and see if anything special has appeared.”

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