Chapter 10 (Revised)

At this moment, Qiu Tu felt a mix of speechlessness and shock.

To help Qi Miao test her alchemy furnace, he had deliberately chosen to refine the Soul-Firming Pill last night.

The method for refining the Soul-Firming Pill was not difficult, but the furnace required high precision. The process involved controlling the fire twice with rapid temperature changes, making it very easy for the furnace to explode.

Qiu Tu had been refining all night.

The good news: no matter how the temperature fluctuated, Qi Miao’s furnace didn’t explode.

The bad news: he had burned the entire night for nothing.

The herbs inside the furnace remained unchanged, showing no sign of being refined.

This batch of herbs was still miles away from becoming a Soul-Firming Pill.

Qi Miao hurried to Qiu Tu’s dormitory.

Qiu Tu was already waiting in the courtyard, with Qi Miao’s alchemy furnace at his feet.

The two stood silently facing each other for a while.

Qi Miao raised her hand and greeted first, “Senior Brother Qiu, I’m here.”

Qiu Tu snapped his fingers, and the massive alchemy furnace flew to Qi Miao’s front. A faint, forced smile crossed his face. “Take your spirit tool and go. Don’t ever bring a fireproof furnace to me for alchemy again.”

Fireproof furnace...

Qi Miao was slightly taken aback. “Senior Brother Qiu, you can’t blame me entirely. I heard other medical cultivators complaining about exploding furnaces and asked you about the temperature you use for alchemy. You only said it was very high.”

To reduce the chance of the furnace exploding, she had applied insulating coatings inside and out.

Qiu Tu narrowed his eyes and gave a fake smile, “And then you created this furnace that no matter how I apply fire, the herbs inside won’t refine?”

He emphasized the words “alchemy furnace,” clearly still resentful about wasting a whole night.

“…”

Qi Miao hadn’t expected her furnace to behave this way.

Having been shocked many times since arriving in this world, she instinctively thought medical cultivators could break through insulating layers.

But now it seemed the insulating layer was even stronger, blocking all the fire from the medical cultivators outside the furnace.

Clearing her throat, Qi Miao asked boldly, “Senior Brother Qiu, I’ll go back and make a new alchemy furnace. Could you help me test it again?”

This time she would craft it properly.

Qiu Tu glanced at her. “You don’t have to stubbornly fight with the furnace. Calling it a fireproof furnace was both a curse and the truth. Although this furnace is useless to medical cultivators like me, it can block my fire seeds outside. Its fire resistance must be high. It might even be a great defensive spirit tool.”

“You might as well take it to the Court of Dao and test its fire resistance level.”

Though annoyed, Qiu Tu still had to give advice since Qi Miao was in his debt.

Qi Miao felt enlightened.

She had only intended to make a spirit tool in the first place. Whether it was an alchemy furnace or a fireproof furnace didn’t matter.

Her furnace was unsuitable for medical cultivators but could be useful elsewhere!

Thanking Qiu Tu, she packed up the furnace and left.

Qiu Tu watched her retreating figure and quietly exhaled in relief.

—

Judging from Qi Miao’s furnace, her path in spirit tool crafting was still long.

He couldn’t let Qi Miao keep pestering him alone.

He needed to drag others into this as well.

Unaware of Qiu Tu’s thoughts, Qi Miao was contacting acquaintances at the Court of Dao.

— She also had quite a few creditors there.

Flipping through her spirit ledger, she found a few law cultivator creditors and messaged them about the location of the Five Elements Dao Field.

The Five Elements Dao Field was a place left by the Court’s venerable masters when breaking through realms. Martial cultivators used it to temper their bodies with offensive methods, law cultivators practiced elemental counter spells, and spirit tool crafters could bring their tools there to test their durability.

The first creditor to reply was Liu Ruzhen. After sending the field’s location through the spirit ledger, she couldn’t help but ask what Qi Miao intended to do there.

Qi Miao adhered to honesty with her creditors and answered truthfully.

Upon learning that Qi Miao was there to test her first spirit tool, Liu Ruzhen took interest and offered to accompany her.

When Qi Miao arrived at the Court of Dao’s mountain gate, Liu Ruzhen was already waiting.

Tall and slender, with androgynous beauty, dressed in black and white robes, he looked like an immortal descended from the clouds.

Seeing Qi Miao, he raised his spirit ledger. “Let’s go.”

Liu Ruzhen disliked small talk and immediately took her to the Five Elements Dao Field. As they walked, his fox-like eyes twinkled as he said, “I heard Sister Qi’s talent in spirit tool crafting is amazing. I didn’t expect you to produce a defensive spirit tool in such a short time.”

Qi Miao hurried to clarify, “It’s not really a defensive spirit tool, just testing its fire resistance first.”

Liu Ruzhen didn’t comment but leisurely said, “A heads-up: the Five Elements Dao Field is strongest in water and fire energies. The fire formation reaches the ninth level of Inferno’s Flames. If your spirit tool is destroyed there, you’ll bear the loss yourself.”

Qi Miao nodded repeatedly.

She was well aware of this.

Liu Ruzhen led Qi Miao to the Dao Field but didn’t rush off and watched from the side.

His mindset was similar to Qiu Tu’s—he wanted to test Qi Miao’s potential and see if his losses might be compensated.

Qi Miao negotiated with the Dao Field’s steward. After stating her purpose, the steward asked which defensive spirit tool she wanted to test.

Qi Miao hesitated and glanced at Liu Ruzhen.

Seeing that he had no intention of avoiding this, she took a deep breath and mustered courage to take the alchemy furnace from her storage bag.

The moment she revealed it, the air paused for a second.

The steward hesitated, “Young spirit tool crafter, you want to test a defensive spirit tool’s fire resistance, but why bring out... um, an alchemy furnace?”

The steward’s tone was uncertain, and the three words were said softly and quickly.

Qi Miao blushed, sensing the burning stares behind her, and sheepishly said, “This is the defensive spirit tool I want to test. It just looks like an alchemy furnace.”

The steward’s gaze turned complicated, as if unable to understand this crafter’s aesthetic choices.

Qi Miao pretended not to notice and handed over the furnace.

The steward turned and sent the furnace into the Dao Field.

Liu Ruzhen’s eyes flickered strangely. He recalled Qi Miao’s denial at the gate—if it wasn’t a defensive spirit tool, why did it look exactly like an alchemy furnace?

—

At that moment, the fire formation in the Dao Field activated.

Layers of crimson flames spread and surged wildly, claws of fire devouring the alchemy furnace.

One layer after another intensified, and after fifteen minutes, the ninth level of fire formation paused.

Qi Miao widened her eyes, trying to spot her furnace through the thick black smoke.

The Dao Field steward stepped into the formation again and soon returned with the furnace.

The alchemy furnace was completely intact. Even after enduring the ninth level Inferno Flames, it showed no damage.

The steward’s gaze shifted again. “Your fireproof spirit tool’s fire resistance is extremely strong. It can easily withstand fire of a spirit quietness stage law cultivator.”

Qi Miao finally relaxed.

She had said it! Her furnace had its uses!

The steward returned the furnace and, seeing the young girl’s joy, couldn’t help but ask, “Young spirit tool crafter, producing such an excellent spirit tool at your level—could it be related to the tool’s form?”

Qi Miao: “…”

She replied dryly, “No, this spirit tool’s form is purely my personal preference.”

Liu Ruzhen observed quietly from the side without speaking.

Qi Miao, holding the test result, was already lost in thought.

Liu Ruzhen sensed this and took his leave. Qi Miao didn’t care about his intentions and hurried back to the spirit tool workshop.

Zhao Qiong would return in two days, and she planned to use the leftover materials to make a truly defensive spirit tool.

Qi Miao’s plan was good.

Unfortunately, she failed.

A proper defensive spirit tool needed many incantations, which Qi Miao had yet to learn. Her attempts were a mess, and even with insulating coatings, the effect was worse than the alchemy furnace.

While she stubbornly fought with orthodox defensive spirit tools, Zhao Qiong returned.

When Qi Miao arrived at the workshop, Zhao Qiong’s face still showed traces of weariness from travel.

Seeing Qi Miao enter, she composed herself.

Without inflection, she asked, “Where’s the spirit tool you made?”

Qi Miao slowly rummaged through her storage bag.

Seeing her stall, Zhao Qiong guessed the crafting had failed.

Just as she was preparing a reprimand, Qi Miao produced her creation.

Zhao Qiong paused, raising an eyebrow. “An alchemy furnace?”

Qi Miao shook her head slightly.

Zhao Qiong frowned and looked closely at the furnace in Qi Miao’s hands—it was definitely an alchemy furnace.

Qi Miao whispered under Zhao Qiong’s gaze, “It’s a defensive spirit tool, one with very high fire resistance.”

Zhao Qiong: “...Then why does it look like an alchemy furnace?”

Qi Miao blinked, “So it can fool others?”