The Quest for Immortality

The matters of the Qian family were managed by Elder Yu, and the affairs of the Artifact Crafting Shop were handled by Master Chen. Mo Hua only needed to focus on drawing array diagrams.

The construction of the Alchemy Hall progressed quickly, and Mo Hua’s array drawings were swift as well.

Since it was the same architectural array diagram, Mo Hua only needed to draw it once more.

After spending over half a month, Mo Hua completed the array diagrams for the Alchemy Hall.

Master Ban was overjoyed, humming an off-key tune while leading his craftsmen and artisans to finish the work.

Mo Hua also planned to invite Mr. Feng to take a look.

After all, Mr. Feng would be in charge of the Alchemy Hall later on.

When Mo Hua went to find Mr. Feng, he was still at Xinglin Medical Hall, treating patients, prescribing medicine, and occasionally refining pills.

Mr. Feng spent most of his time at Xinglin Medical Hall, unless he went out for consultations.

Mo Hua explained the situation of the Alchemy Hall to Mr. Feng.

”So soon?”

Mr. Feng was a bit surprised. He originally thought that such a large project would take three to four months to take shape, and it would take at least half a year to complete.

Moreover, the Alchemy Hall was the second phase, following the completion of the Artifact Crafting Shop.

But on second thought, the sooner the better; he was also eager to see what the Alchemy Hall would look like.

”Wait for me a moment.”

Mr. Feng said to Mo Hua, finishing up with a few patients and instructing a few disciples to look after the hall before he packed up briefly and followed Mo Hua to the Alchemy Hall.

Upon seeing the Artifact Crafting Shop, Mr. Feng’s gaze sharpened as he surveyed it inside and out, exclaiming in surprise, ”Did you draw this array?”

Mo Hua nodded, ”Yes!”

”You drew it alone?”

”Yes, I drew it alone!” Mo Hua replied.

Mr. Feng chuckled, ”No wonder everyone calls you ’Little Array Master’.”

Mo Hua was a bit embarrassed and chuckled shyly.

The layout of the Alchemy Hall was similar to that of the Artifact Crafting Shop—large in scale and well-organized.

Mr. Feng was very satisfied.

With such a large Alchemy Hall, a lot of pills could be refined.

By then, all the wandering cultivators would have pills to use, whether for injuries or illnesses; pills could solve urgent problems.

With cheaper pills, many wandering cultivators could keep some on hand for emergencies.

This was indeed a good deed for the wandering cultivators of Tongxian City.

Mr. Feng stroked his long white beard, nodding in satisfaction.

Before leaving, Mr. Feng went to look at the refining furnace.

Upon seeing it, he was stunned.

He walked around the large refining furnace, examining it closely, and then looked at Mo Hua with disbelief, ”A First Grade Composite Array?”

”Grandpa Feng, you have a keen eye, recognizing it at a glance!” Mo Hua exclaimed in surprise.

Ordinary cultivators couldn’t even recognize a First Grade array.

Mr. Feng had identified it as a First Grade Composite Array just by looking at it from outside the furnace, a testament to his sharp eye.

After all, Mr. Feng was not an Array Master.

”Did you draw this as well?” Mr. Feng hesitated before asking again.

Mo Hua nodded, ”Yes!”

Mr. Feng was speechless.

He never underestimated Mo Hua’s skill in array drawing and always valued his talent, but this was beyond his expectations.

A First Grade Composite Array...

He had rarely seen First Grade Array Masters capable of drawing a First Grade Composite Array.

Mr. Feng was momentarily stunned, then noticed the pure flame within the furnace.

Bright red, glowing vividly, it captivated Mr. Feng’s heart instantly.

His heart couldn’t help but tremble.

”This flame...”

”Elder Yu said it’s even stronger than the fire used by Qi Refining stage cultivators,” Mo Hua said.

How could Mr. Feng not know this? He stood there for a long time, staring at the flame.

Besides his dedication to pill refining and healing, Mr. Feng had always been without desires. But now, he couldn’t help but ask, pointing at the furnace, ”Can you make one for me too?”

Mo Hua also wanted to make a large First Grade Pill Furnace for Mr. Feng.

But this Pill Furnace was not easy to make.

An ordinary First Grade refining furnace couldn’t serve as the array medium for a First Grade Molten Fire Composite Array. Similarly, an ordinary First Grade Pill Furnace couldn’t support the long-term operation of a First Grade Molten Fire Composite Array.

Moreover, the array used on a Pill Furnace was more complex than that on a refining furnace.

A refining furnace only needed to provide fire; other array functions were auxiliary. But a Pill Furnace needed to balance the wood nature of herbs and the harmony of spiritual energy besides providing fire.

Thus, the composite array used in a Pill Furnace was more difficult.

This also meant that the quality of the Pill Furnace, the crafting technique, and the specifications had to be higher.

Mo Hua asked Elder Yu if there was a suitable Pill Furnace.

Elder Yu was troubled. The large refining furnace was already a lucky find.

But a large First Grade Pill Furnace was even harder to find.

Mo Hua had to explain the situation to Mr. Feng honestly.

He could solve the array issue, but he couldn’t handle the Pill Furnace.

Mr. Feng pondered for a moment and asked, ”Can you make it yourself?”

”It’s possible, but do you have the crafting manual?”

Mr. Feng thought for a moment and said, ”Yes!”

”Really?” Mo Hua was surprised.

Mr. Feng went inside, opened a storage box in the corner, and took out a piece of yellowed parchment from the bottom. It described the crafting method for a large Pill Furnace.

Mo Hua glanced at the blueprint and exclaimed, ”Grandpa Feng, where did you get this?”

The blueprint was very standardized and compatible with complex arrays, clearly not an ordinary heritage.

Mr. Feng sighed, ”It was passed down from my sect. Before my master passed away, he gave all this to me. I had no use for it, so it stayed at the bottom of the box for seventy or eighty years. If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have forgotten, and it might have stayed there forever.”

”Can you use it?” Mr. Feng asked.

Mo Hua examined it carefully and said, ”The array part is fine, but I don’t understand crafting. I’ll have to ask Master Chen and the others.”

Mr. Feng nodded, ”Then take it and ask them.”

Mo Hua took the blueprint to Master Chen.

Master Chen glanced at it, and his eyes lit up, ”Good diagram, good diagram!”

”Can you craft it?” Mo Hua asked.

Master Chen tugged at his beard and said slowly, ”It’s difficult but not impossible. I’ll have to discuss it with the other masters.”

”And with Elder Yu as well,” Master Chen added, ”We’ll need a lot of refined iron and some special minerals like Molten Fire Stone and Gold Vein Ore. We’ll need Elder Yu’s help to prepare them.”

Elder Yu readily agreed. Once everything was prepared, Master Chen and the other masters studied the blueprint for several days before starting the crafting process.

This Pill Furnace was the most challenging spiritual tool they had ever crafted.

Mo Hua didn’t watch the entire crafting process but knew they failed several times.

In the end, although there were some flaws, they still crafted the Pill Furnace.