Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

"Is it ready?" Liu Xingmo used pliers to pick up a bucket of molten steel and asked for a final confirmation.

"Pour it in!" Sumali looked down at the mold.

It was a patch of sand with a small hole on the surface. Soon, molten, red-hot steel flowed down through the hole.

"Glug glug..." The dull sound continued in the sweltering space until the molten iron overflowed and solidified into black iron blocks at the edges.

This molten steel is a special alloy, containing not only iron but also other metals. More importantly, it contains Philosopher's Stones refined from four kinds of yellow-grade spiritual herbs.

The firelight flickered in the dim light, and the heat from the blast furnace made their mouths dry, but neither of them had any appetite for water.

When the time was right, Sumali took the lead in digging through the sand and taking out her alchemy furnace blank from the mold.

It is bright red and translucent, like an iron ball. The bottom is round, the middle is as thick as a person can hug, and the top is open, revealing the hollow interior.

It is a witch's cauldron, Sumali's most frequently used prop.

"What do we do next?" Liu Xingmo carefully poked the scorching hot iron billet with fire tongs.

"Set it straight, and before it hardens completely, I'm going to embed the rune array!" Sumari took out the prepared metal wire.

The metal wire is a smooth, dark red color, and its main material is red copper, combined with the Philosopher's Stone refined from three kinds of Xuan-grade spiritual herbs.

Wearing fireproof clothing and thick gloves, Sumali carefully wound copper wire onto the iron ingot of the large pot using pliers and a hammer.

She had practiced this step many times and was certain she wouldn't make a mistake.

The scorching air baked the ends of her hair until they turned a dry, yellowish color, emitting a bitter, burnt smell. Her hands moved without stopping, weaving beautiful geometric patterns.

Liu Xingmo carefully adjusted the iron blank with pliers, revealing the inside and bottom of the large pot.

Sumari used all her strength to carve out the last groove, inserted the copper wire, and connected it to the first copper wire to form a complete loop.

Liu Xingmo knew that things were not over yet. Following the plan, he picked up the entire iron billet and threw it back into the furnace to heat it until it was red-hot.

Sumari took out the last material, a bundle of shimmering silver threads, with the seven-colored coral inside.

They took out the pot blank and inserted the final components, one by one, mysterious and incomprehensible runes.

The air he inhaled through his nose was hot, and his arms trembled uncontrollably. His dark eyes held nothing but the witch's cauldron.

Once everything was finished, Sumali sat down with a sigh of relief, stuck out her tongue, and licked her dry lips.

Liu Xingmo carefully placed the pot blank on the rack to dry, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He reached out to help his wife up, walked to the next room, took off his heavy fireproof suit, and scooped up a ladle of water with a peanut shell.

"Is it done?" Liu Xingmo fed Su Mali water.

Sumari sipped her water slowly, drinking faster and faster until she finished the whole ladle: "Ha! We did it!"

"Great!" Liu Xingmo took the peanut shells and started chugging water.

After resting for most of the day, the pot blank completely solidified.

Its rounded shape is based on black, with intricate red arrays painted on the surface and strange silver runes embellishing it.

Sumari reached out and stroked the pot, then closed her eyes.

In an instant, all the formations and runes came to life, shining with ever-changing light.

Once everything was finished, Liu Xingmo asked expectantly, "Mary, this is the first magical artifact we've made. What level is it?"

"According to the classification of the Central Plains region, it is of medium grade Xuan rank."

"Middle-grade Xuan? Is it classified the same way as spiritual herbs? There are four grades: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow, each further divided into upper, middle, and lower levels. Among them, Heaven grade corresponds to the fifth rank of strength, Earth grade to the fourth rank, Xuan grade to the third rank, and Yellow grade to the second rank. The first rank is not considered worthy of use. Right?"

That's it.

"Oh... what do you mean by 'refining'? Isn't this a first-tier alchemy furnace?"

"I can add one ability to my natal alchemy furnace with each level. This pot currently only has the ability to condense spiritual energy, but it has reached a very high level, equivalent to a mid-grade Xuan-level magic weapon."

"This is my natal magic weapon? It's amazing!"

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Give me your chains; it's time to activate them."

Liu Xingmo's eyes lit up, and he untied a chain from his waist and handed it to Su Mali.

This iron chain is the result of these past few days. We failed many times during the process, and over a dozen iron rings were ruined.

The finished product can improve blood circulation and slightly enhance performance. At this level, it cannot be considered a magical artifact; it can only be described as a highly skilled weapon.

Sumari first threw the iron chain into the furnace until it was red-hot, then took it out and put it into the witch's cauldron.

Then, she stretched out her fingers and touched different nodes of the array. Another blue flame ignited in the cauldron.

After a long time, Sumali used tongs to remove the iron chain and then put it into an oil drum to quench it.

A foul-smelling wisp of smoke accompanied by a fine hissing sound as an ordinary-looking chain was forged.

The silver steel ring, about the thickness of a little finger, is oval-shaped and has more than twenty sections, nearly a meter long.

Su Mali wiped the spine chain clean and handed it to Liu Xingmo: "I have awakened the essence of the mythical beast material, but its performance is probably not ideal. It is only the lowest level of yellow grade."

"That's enough! A practice toy made from cheap materials. Let me have some fun with it!"

Liu Xingmo gripped the chains and poured his own blood energy into them.

This time, the feeling was different from before. My blood and energy flowed freely from head to toe, permeating every iron ring.

He slammed the iron chain against the rock, sending sparks and shards flying, leaving a scratch a finger's width deep.

Liu Xingmo couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "Amazing! After living for so long, I've finally seen a decent weapon in this world!"

Sumali whispered a reminder: "Xingmo, swords and firearms are dangerous weapons, not to mention the claws and teeth of wild beasts..."

"I'm not talking about power. Ah! You don't understand, this is the unique sensibility of a storyteller." Liu Xingmo held the iron chain and drew figure eights in the air, the tip of which collided with the rocks quickly, sending up countless sparks.

Watching this scene, Sumali was both annoyed and amused: "Stop playing around. You can refine it and try more uses. However, retrieving the soul imprint will cause your strength to stagnate in the short term."

"I know! Ten days or so, it doesn't matter." Liu Xingmo immediately sat down, holding the iron chain in both hands, and calmed himself down.

To fully control a magical artifact, one needs to imprint it with one's divine consciousness; in other words, to brand it with one's soul.

Liu Xingmo has condensed a first-tier, sixth-level soul imprint these past few days, which he can use to control magical artifacts.

Following the familiar procedure, the soul imprint was forced out of the body, enveloped in a stream of blood energy, and transported into the iron chain.

Gradually, a sense of kinship arose in Liu Xingmo's heart.

With a thought, the spinal chain, like a silver snake, began to twist freely.

Liu Xingmo gripped the end of the iron chain, as if he had gained a completely new body.

Very interesting!