Chapter 2404: Starfire Furnace

The effeminate young man was killed, and even his body was swept away by Qin Sang.

The White Dragon King and his wife turned pale with rage. They had intended to use Qin Sang to uncover the secrets of this place, but they never expected him to kill the effeminate young man right in front of them.

The two demons were furious. Even though their escape techniques were inferior to Qin Sang's, they were unwilling to let him go just like that.

Qin Sang looked back and saw that the two demons were still pursuing him relentlessly.

In his hand, he held a demon corpse, which had now reverted to its original form. Its true body was surprisingly small, only slightly larger than a pheasant, but it had a long beak and its head hung low, its eyes completely devoid of life.

Temporarily putting away the demon corpse, Qin Sang no longer paid attention to the White Dragon King and his wife. The thunder escape technique he employed was no ordinary one; powered by the Azure Luan True Thunder, he had yet to encounter a cultivator of his level who could surpass him in escape arts.

With the effeminate young man eliminated, the White Dragon King and his wife were no longer a threat. Qin Sang could now confidently uncover the secrets hidden within this cloud of mist.

Qin Sang already had a plan. He flew directly to a certain spot in the sea of clouds, where a golden light coincidentally flared, revealing a luminous pagoda.

'Whoosh!'

The azure lightning stopped above the pagoda.

Qin Sang's gaze was profound. This pagoda, along with the surrounding pagodas, formed a star map and an astrological phenomenon in his mind. The most crucial position on this star map should have been occupied by a star, but it was currently empty.

This was the designated spot for a cultivator's life star!

Qin Sang seemed to forget about his pursuers. He entered a meditative state right there, using his full concentration to connect with the power of his life star, imagining a beam of starlight shining into the star map, forming an illusory star within it.

Although the White Dragon King and his wife were not proficient in escape techniques, their profound cultivation meant their speed was not slow, and they hadn't been shaken off too far by Qin Sang.

Witnessing this, both demons felt a premonition of ill fortune. Immediately, they saw the pagoda beneath Qin Sang suddenly illuminate, erupting with an extraordinarily dazzling golden light that stood out prominently among countless other pagodas.

Following this, other pagodas began to flicker and shine in succession. These pagodas pulsed intermittently, as if responding to the call of the first one.

Soon, all the pagodas underwent a transformation, emerging one by one from the sea of clouds.

At this moment, only the pagodas remained in the eyes of the White Dragon King and his wife, the sea of clouds fading from their perception. These pagodas shimmered brilliantly like stars in the night sky, connected by golden light to form an immensely vast and intricate star net.

They had a feeling that the golden light emanating from these pagodas was being drawn towards Qin Sang; he was the center of this star sea! They felt like two lost beings adrift in the boundless starlit expanse, and a sense of confusion and helplessness spontaneously arose within them.

Realizing something was wrong, the two demons quickly made their move, attempting to stop Qin Sang.

Qin Sang, however, ignored the attacks from behind him. His eyes fixed forward as golden light converged in the void, miraculously forming a new pagoda right before him.

Like the other pagodas, this one also had only three levels, but it was incredibly tall. Standing before it, Qin Sang appeared as tiny as an ant.

The pagoda's door was open, and Qin Sang stepped across the threshold.

'Boom!'

The luminous door slammed shut. The White Dragon King and his wife's attacks all landed on the door, merely causing slight ripples, firmly blocked from entering.

Then the golden light abruptly dimmed, and the golden pagoda vanished from before the two demons, disappearing to an unknown location. The surrounding golden pagodas also retracted their light, returning to normal. By the time the White Dragon King and his wife arrived at the spot where Qin Sang had disappeared, all the supernatural phenomena had ceased, and everything had returned to its previous state.

The two demons' faces were ashen.

Qin Sang had summoned the mysterious pagoda right before them, but their cultivation was not ancient demonic arts; they merely used stellar power for body tempering, not truly cultivating the Way of the Stars. Even after witnessing the entire process, they felt utterly at a loss.

The pagodas in the sea of clouds appeared and disappeared intermittently, indicating that this place was constantly changing. The mysterious pagoda might not reappear in the same location next time it opened. Without understanding its profound intricacies, merely imitating Qin Sang or following his actions blindly would only invite ridicule.

If the effeminate young man were still alive, inspired by Qin Sang, he might have been able to achieve it, but the effeminate young man was dead.

The two demons exchanged glances, both feeling a wave of powerlessness.

Upon entering the luminous door, the scene inside the pagoda was somewhat unexpected: Qin Sang saw an boundless night sky.

Above, below, and all around, there was only void.

Starlight flickered on the horizon, clearly not real stars. Qin Sang thought of the pagodas outside. Among the multitude of stars, one was particularly striking, shining even brighter than the moon in the night sky.

This was the most obvious sign. Qin Sang confirmed there was no danger around and flew directly towards that bright star.

As he drew closer, Qin Sang realized the bright star was actually a massive fireball. This flame had burned fiercely and solitarily in this void for unknown years, its tendrils dancing wildly.

However, Qin Sang felt no scorching heat; the flame was cool like starlight, emitting no high temperature. Curiously, when Qin Sang tried to approach the flame, he felt a sensation of being burned by it.

Qin Sang concentrated his perception. The fireball was filled with a familiar power—a flame formed from stellar energy, which he tentatively named "starfire."

After observing for a while, Qin Sang left the starfire and explored the surroundings, discovering a few more things.

'Whoosh!'

Qin Sang's figure flickered, landing on a floating stone platform.

Three sides of the stone platform were flat, while one side had clear jagged edges. Runes were etched upon it, showing obvious traces of a restriction that had lost its power. Qin Sang then found several other fragments elsewhere, but despite multiple attempts, he couldn't restore them.

It was conceivable that when the Black Tortoise Seven Mansions were destroyed, this place did not escape unharmed and was impacted.

After searching around, only the cluster of starfire seemed extraordinary.

Qin Sang returned to the vicinity of the starfire, gazing at it in deep thought.

"What are these starfires for?" Qin Sang pondered this question, arranging the unidentified fragments before him and glancing over each one. He then looked up, surveying the star sea, and suddenly his expression shifted slightly.

"Could it be..."

Eight characters appeared in Qin Sang's mind.

Heaven and Earth as the furnace, stars gathered as fire!

Was this perhaps where ancient demons refined artifacts?

As a grandmaster of artifact refining, Qin Sang possessed profound expertise in the art. Even though this was a refining method he had never encountered before, the Great Dao was interconnected.

He gazed at the starfire once more, verifying it with his understanding of artifact refining, and indeed began to discern some profound principles.

Although he didn't know how this starfire was generated, it was certain that this fire possessed unique divine efficacy for artifact refining, especially when crafting treasures related to the Way of the Stars, where it could achieve twice the result with half the effort!

So that was it; this was actually a refining furnace!

However, before the Black Tortoise Seven Mansions were damaged, the starfire in the furnace must have been much more intense than it was now. When those fragments were intact, they should also have been treasures assisting in artifact refining.

The reason the starfire had not extinguished and persisted to this day was that the furnace was still present, and those pagodas, indeed the entire Black Tortoise Seven Mansions, formed the foundation of the starfire.

Because of this, Qin Sang tried several times and found that he couldn't take the starfire away; once it left this place, it would extinguish.

Unable to take it with him and only able to use it here, Qin Sang's first thought was the Gray Oriole Sword.

With the Cloud Roaming Sword unmanifested, the Gray Oriole Sword was his most important companion sword. Qin Sang had always wanted to fuse the Gray Oriole Sword with the fragments of the Grand Yin Divine Sword, but he was always lacking something. Firstly, too many distractions had slowed his progress in comprehending sword formations, and secondly, the Grand Yin Divine Sword's material was so mysterious that Qin Sang dared not act rashly.

For cultivators refining artifacts, while a refiner's skill is certainly crucial, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. Here, there was top-grade spiritual fire and a superb refining furnace, which could compensate for deficiencies in other areas.

If he were to refine the Gray Oriole Sword with the aid of the starfire, even if it ultimately couldn't be fused with the Grand Yin Divine Sword, its power would certainly be greatly enhanced!

Unfortunately, the Gray Oriole Sword had been taken by his dharma body.

He wondered if he could sense his dharma body here. This was a refining furnace, which could also be viewed as a powerful spiritual array, capable of severing the connection between the main body and the dharma body.

Thinking this, Qin Sang sat down cross-legged and focused his mind to try. Under his full perception, he faintly sensed his dharma body. It seemed the grand array had been damaged, creating a "crack" in the refining furnace.

Outside Dou Su.

After Yuanluo and the other demons entered Dou Su, this place became quiet.

The dharma body had been patiently waiting here. At this moment, it vaguely sensed a call from its main body. The sensation was very faint, and it was unclear what had happened to the main body, but since the main body was not urgent, it was probably not a bad thing.

There was no movement from within Dou Su at the moment, nor had there been any progress from Mo Yan's side.

Without hesitation, the dharma body turned and flew towards Xu Su.

Upon entering Xu Su, the connection between the dharma body and the main body became significantly clearer. The deeper it went, the clearer the sensation became, guiding the dharma body towards the source of light.

More than ten days later, the dharma body arrived before the archway.

During this time, Qin Sang had been comprehending the starfire and the refining furnace, deducing methods for their use, and had gained some confidence. Sensing the dharma body's arrival, he rose to meet it.

The next moment, golden light shimmered above the sea of clouds, revealing a luminous pagoda. Qin Sang, with the immortal mountain in his palm, stepped out of the star pagoda, ready to act at any moment. However, he had not feared the White Dragon King and his wife before, and now with his dharma body present, he was even less afraid. If the two demons were to overestimate themselves, it was not impossible for him to leave one behind.

"Huh?"

Unexpectedly, the White Dragon King and his wife were nowhere to be seen.

Had they already retreated, knowing the difficulty?

Qin Sang slowly flew towards the entrance, opened the door, and welcomed his dharma body inside, confirming that the White Dragon King and his wife had indeed left.

In fact, after Qin Sang entered the pagoda, the White Dragon King and his wife had tried several times but, finding no clues, gave up. After all, among the six other Mansions outside Dou Su, there was more than one extraordinary place. Continuing to guard it would be meaningless unless they invited more experts to help, otherwise they simply couldn't stop Qin Sang.

This allowed Qin Sang to avoid a conflict. With his dharma body returned, Qin Sang took the Gray Oriole Sword back to the starfire.

From his journey south from the Arctic Ice Plains to his time in the Great Lotus Crossing Swamp, Qin Sang had been continuously collecting various spiritual materials in preparation for refining the Gray Oriole Sword.

One by one, spiritual materials, including Dragon Gallstone Gold, were laid out before him, each emitting different precious lights, a truly magnificent sight!

Qin Sang had gained a certain understanding of the starfire's properties. He first drew out a piece of withered wood, threw it into the flames, intending to start with the spiritual material of least value.

The starfire was indeed remarkable. Once the withered wood entered the flames, Qin Sang only needed to guide it slightly for the refining to be complete. The large piece of withered wood was reduced to a fist-sized ball of azure netherlight. Qin Sang reached out to retrieve it, and surprisingly, discovered that this ball of spiritual light contained an additional power.

Qin Sang was slightly surprised. Upon careful examination, he realized it had been imbued with a form of stellar power. This stellar power was highly peculiar; it did not conflict with the material's inherent properties. It was conceivable that when the final treasure was forged, it would not damage the treasure's inherent power but would merely add luster to it.

"As expected, this is a place for refining treasures of the Way of the Stars," Qin Sang mused.

Imbuing the Gray Oriole Sword with this characteristic should not be a bad thing. His primary sword technique was the Four Symbols Sword Array, which might eventually be called the Four Symbols Nine Luminaries Sword Array. Since the sword array originated from the circumpolar stars, this enhancement would complement it perfectly, perhaps even yielding unexpected results!

With this thought, Qin Sang continuously made his moves, refining spiritual materials one after another in the starfire. After a period of busy work, all the spiritual materials were refined, their impurities removed, leaving behind only their pure essence.

Qin Sang silently invoked a sword incantation. The Gray Oriole Sword let out a cry, transforming into a streak of sword light that plunged into the flames. Instantly, the flames danced wildly. Qin Sang exerted all his effort to stabilize and guide the starfire to transform into streams of fire that wrapped around the sword body. Soon, the sword's silhouette could no longer be seen within the starfire. A look of solemnity appeared on his face as he continuously struck various hand seals towards the starfire.

'Whoosh!'

Before long, the first cluster of spiritual material essence flew out.

Cluster after cluster of spiritual material essence was thrown into the starfire by Qin Sang. His movements were rhythmic and unhurried, possessing a peculiar cadence.

During this process, the Gray Oriole Sword was reshaped. Since it began following Qin Sang, the Gray Oriole Sword had been re-refined countless times.

Qin Sang focused on artifact refining, losing track of time.

After an unknown period, with only a few spiritual material essences remaining before him, he suddenly stopped. As if something occurred to him, he temporarily halted the refining process. His Qianjun Ring flashed, releasing several streaks of light, and Qin Sang took out the Star Spirits he had captured from the Moon Pagoda, dropping one of them into the starfire.

The Star Spirit, being restrained and utterly powerless, melted at a visible rate within the starfire.

Qin Sang's eyes flashed as he merged the two forces within the starfire, intently staring at the sword embryo in the flames, then was overcome with joy.

"Indeed!"

By devouring this Star Spirit, the Gray Oriole Sword's sentience was actually growing stronger!

For spirit treasures, sentience is paramount and the most challenging aspect to enhance. Even with numerous rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it might not necessarily strengthen a spirit treasure's sentience. Most cultivators can only rely on prolonged periods of constant nurturing.

Yet, sentience is the most crucial condition for a spirit treasure's advancement. Insufficient sentience means an artifact spirit cannot be born, nor can it be refined into a true treasure!

Qin Sang had originally intended to use the Star Spirits for his cultivation, but he never expected the Gray Oriole Sword to contend with him for them. He hadn't discovered this use for Star Spirits before because it required the aid of both the starfire and the refining furnace.

After a moment's consideration, Qin Sang decided to let the Gray Oriole Sword consume all the Star Spirits.

As long as Mo Yan succeeded, there would be even more Star Spirits waiting for him to collect.

But he couldn't wait here. There were so many subordinates of the Demon Saints outside, and it was uncertain which one might be able to open the refining furnace. Fortunately, their attention was currently drawn to Yuanluo and Dou Su. Taking advantage of the lack of disturbance, Qin Sang intended to use this time to complete the sword refining as quickly as possible.

The Star Spirit's power was gradually absorbed by the Gray Oriole Sword until nothing remained. Qin Sang immediately threw in the second Star Spirit without delay.

During this process, the Gray Oriole Sword's sentience slowly increased.