Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Fire-Forging Furnace Art

Zhao Chun already had Swift-Stride Sword Method as the foundation of her sword path, with Single-Line Flying Knife as support. She lacked neither movement arts nor strength-boosting methods.

In her recent fights, metal and fire spiritual qi had proved invaluable—but her reserves were limited, and she could not sustain those advantages for long. She wanted an art that would address that weakness.

One manual caught her eye: Great Channel-Expansion Art, a rare technique meant to broaden the meridians and store more qi, strengthening the cultivator from within.

Zhao Chun hesitated as she skimmed it. Her spiritual qi ran violent and sharp. If she widened the channels and let even more flood in, it might not help at all—worse, it might damage her.

If she could obtain another Body Tempering Stage method—one that refined flesh from without, the way Meng Han did—then perhaps Great Channel-Expansion Art would become viable.

More than anything, Zhao Chun wanted a method that matched her own attributes. Unfortunately, in Myriad Vault Pavilion, techniques that enhanced spiritual qi tended to favor wood and earth.

She walked deeper in—and abruptly stopped.

A manual lay there with the title Fire-Forging Furnace Art. Zhao Chun read the portion available for disciples to browse, and her expression tightened.

This technique was strange.

It truly was a Body Tempering Stage formula. It forged flesh like iron and hammered the meridians and dantian from within—a superb method.

Yet four words were written in red across the opening page: “Fire attribute—cultivate with caution.”

Zhao Chun drew a slow breath and kept reading.

Fire-Forging Furnace Art was named for its training method. One had to find a massive cauldron, forge it into a furnace, then place one’s own body inside and refine it with fire like an artifact.

Despite the name, it was a metal-attribute path—orthodox and pure—perfectly suited to Zhao Chun’s metal spiritual root.

The warning for fire-attribute cultivators came from the nature of the flames required. Whether forging artifacts or refining pills, ordinary fire would not do. This method relied on earthfire drawn from beneath the ground, far more violent than common flame.

Earthfire strong enough to serve for pill and artifact work always carried a trace of spiritual qi. It was lively by nature. If a fire-root cultivator drew upon it, it would swell and grow fiercer. One misstep, and the flames could lash back, devouring the cultivator from within.

Even alchemists and artifact smiths had to handle fire with extreme care. For ordinary disciples—people who had never once drawn earthfire—the danger only multiplied.

Zhao Chun was not without misgivings. But the method suited her too well to abandon. If she succeeded, she would not only temper her body—she would also gain an art for controlling fire.

She often warned herself against greed. Yet when the choice sat in her hands, she understood the temptation all too well.

The path of cultivation was steep and perilous. If she never dared to try, she might as well stop walking it. Assessments and grand exams were dangerous, and yet Lian Jing had once lamented that she could not participate.

Now, with such a powerful method laid before her, Zhao Chun had no reason to turn away.

She copied the manual and returned to her quarters. The next step was finding an earthfire furnace to train in.

The sect’s earthfire furnaces were limited. Alchemists and artifact smiths could borrow them for free with proper credentials, but disciples like Zhao Chun—who did not cultivate those paths—had to pay Cui stones for access.

Still, if there was a way in, the rest was not difficult.

Zhao Chun had enough money to afford the cost.

Body tempering did not only mean bones and muscle; it refined skin, flesh, and meridians, increasing toughness and resilience across the board. Once she mastered it, she could accumulate metal and fire spiritual qi without needing to switch on the fly in battle.

With a method that strengthened both offense and defense, paired with her sword techniques—and later, the Green Jade Twin-Fish Arm Rings—Zhao Chun felt confident that among cultivators of the same realm, few would be able to match her.

Still, Fire-Forging Furnace Art demanded fine control and deep reserves. Zhao Chun decided she would wait until her cultivation advanced further before attempting the entry stage.

Not long after, word came from Xu Feng. He sent a message saying that after leaving the Small World, he intended to travel elsewhere to temper himself and would not return to the sect anytime soon. Zhao Chun told Hu Wan Zhi to stay without worry, then shut her doors and devoted herself to cultivation.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Two years after Zhao Chun arrived in the world of Heng Yun, she crossed the threshold of the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage and began pushing toward the sixth.

The result did not surprise her. This seclusion had been meant for accumulation, and the mid-Qi Refining Stage was all about piling qi higher and higher. There were few true bottlenecks. Only when one broke from the sixth layer to the seventh did a shackle appear, the kind that could stall a cultivator for years.

When Zhao Chun emerged this time, she had not yet stepped into the sixth layer—but she had reached the peak of the fifth. She needed only to link her upper and lower dantians to advance. The goal was close.

Then urgent matters forced her to set cultivation aside.

The wandering Xu Feng had finally returned to the sect three days ago.

The worry had sat in Zhao Chun’s chest for too long. Restless, she took Hu Wan Zhi with her and went first to the Outer Sect’s Spirit Plant Garden, summoning the person Xu Kuang Rui had bribed before.

Then, together, they headed for Xu Feng’s residence at Lookout’s End Cliff.