Chapter 163: Purple Qi Refines the Cauldron
On the sixth layer of the Fire Domain, purple mist drifted hazily, appearing nobly beyond compare. This color was usually an auspicious omen, but within the Fire Domain, it represented terror.
How intensely hot the fire energy was could not be estimated at all. It had burned even some major figures to ashes, making it extremely dangerous. Even holding the Bodhi Seed, Ye Fan dared not take it lightly.
After searching around, Ye Fan finally stopped in a stone forest. This place was relatively quiet, with thin purple mist, making it suitable for a temporary stay. Around him, scattered rocks lay about—some like sleeping oxen, others like bamboo shoots, all oddly shaped.
"How exactly should I use the purple fire to refine the cauldron?" He frowned. Was he supposed to draw the purple fire into his Wheel Sea? Doing so would be absolutely perilous.
If his physical body couldn't withstand it, who knew what terrible things might happen if he introduced it inside? But if he didn't draw the fire into his body, how could he temper the cauldron? A "weapon" must be forged within the body to merge seamlessly with the user. There was no other way; only thus could its strongest power be unleashed.
"I'll try drawing just a thread," he said. Sitting with the Bodhi Seed, he created a pure land within a three-meter radius, free of any purple fire.
Ye Fan placed the seed on the ground, then moved to the edge. Carefully and cautiously, he drew the purple fire, not daring to take much. With his divine power, he stripped away only a single thread.
"Hiss, hiss..." At that moment, the thread of purple qi began to jump, igniting the divine power and quickly dissolving a small clump.
Ye Fan was greatly startled. This purple qi was so fierce that it could even extinguish divine power. No wonder it threatened major figures—it was indeed extremely dangerous.
When he confined that thread of purple qi near the Bodhi Seed, it stopped jumping and no longer harmed the divine power, becoming completely calm.
"What kind of fire is this? A mere thread of purple qi is this formidable. It can definitely tear apart spiritual treasures and pierce through the human body. Truly astonishing," Ye Fan muttered to himself. He carefully controlled it, letting it slowly approach his skin and touch a wisp of Mother Qi of All Things that had seeped out.
Slight ripples spread. That wisp of Mysterious Yellow suddenly became more active, flowing slowly across his skin. At the same time, the purple mist thread, as if attracted, moved in sync with it, flowing above.
"It really works!" Ye Fan showed a delighted expression.
At present, everything was preparation for refining the cauldron. Only by truly understanding the purple qi could he draw it into his body. Holding the Bodhi Seed, he focused all his mind, letting the purple fire and Mother Qi of All Things merge.
Like a gentle breeze brushing across a lake, ripples appeared. That wisp of Mother Qi of All Things emitted a strange fluctuation, absorbing the purple mist thread.
Ye Fan immediately felt a warmth, not a burning sensation, like warm water flowing over his skin, giving a very comfortable feeling.
With initial success, a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He activated the mystic method recorded in the *Dao Scripture*, letting that wisp of Mother Qi of All Things flow across his skin—from his fingers to his arms, then to his neck, chest, abdomen, and thighs.
He observed carefully. After the purple mist thread merged into the Mother Qi of All Things, it was very calm, without struggling or showing any signs of rampaging.
Then, he channeled divine power into the Mother Qi of All Things, letting them blend. Still, it remained calm, without any abnormality.
This wisp of Mother Qi flowed across his skin like a warm spring breeze, gently massaging him, making him feel extremely comfortable. Everything seemed normal so far, with no danger.
After half an hour, Ye Fan guided this wisp of Mysterious Yellow essence into his body. Of course, everything proceeded methodically. First, he let it enter the flesh of his arm, so that if an accident occurred, he could quickly block it.
He had to be this cautious. After all, this purple fire threatened even major figures. If he directly introduced it into his Wheel Sea and something went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Traveling through his flesh, it felt like essence energy moving, warm with a hint of fluctuation. Still, there was no accident. The purple qi entering his body did not erupt.
After repeated attempts, Ye Fan guided this wisp of Mother Qi of All Things back to his Wheel Sea, merging it with the source of Mother Qi. The Mother Qi near the purple mist thread became more active, but since there was only a single thread of purple qi, it didn't truly change anything.
In the initial stage, everything went smoothly, with no danger. Ye Fan decided to start absorbing more purple fire. After all, a single thread was far too little to refine the cauldron.
In this Fire Domain of "Purple Qi from the East," the Mother Qi of All Things was active and easier to control. The second time, Ye Fan directly drew three threads, absorbed the purple qi, and returned it to his Wheel Sea.
After repeated attempts, Ye Fan felt that danger did exist, but it could be controlled. He should be able to use the purple fire to refine the cauldron.
Half a month later, he sat quietly in meditation, using divine power to continuously draw purple qi into this pure land, then absorbing it with the Mother Qi of All Things.
By now, he gradually let loose, simultaneously absorbing dozens of mist threads, letting them flow back to his Wheel Sea with the Mysterious Yellow, accumulating bit by bit.
Two days later, in Ye Fan's Sea of Suffering, the Mother Qi of All Things had turned slightly purple, warm all over. However, this was far from enough. To refine the cauldron, the fire needed to be vigorous and blazing.
On the third day, Ye Fan increased the intensity of drawing fire. Sitting quietly on a green stone, his body like a statue, wisps of purple mist coiled around him, making his surface hazy.
On the fourth day, a clump of flames the size of a chicken egg danced in his Wheel Sea. The purple mist continuously gathered, finally becoming a flame. Its temperature was scorching hot. Even though it was enveloped by Mysterious Yellow, he could still feel waves of heat.
By now, Ye Fan dared not draw any more purple qi. The fire energy contained in that clump of flames exceeded his expectations, like a purple sun burning.
"Now is the time!" He began refining the cauldron.
Holding the Bodhi Seed, he sat cross-legged on the green stone, his mind serene. In his sea of consciousness, a small cauldron appeared—three legs, two ears, simple and natural.
This was the cauldron in his heart. Everything would be forged according to this image until it took shape, without a single flaw or imperfection.
The Mother Qi of All Things surged, surrounding the purple fire. He tempered it with his heart, forged it with his spirit, his concentration as taut as a drawn bow. The purple fire burned, the Mother Qi of All Things hazy, enveloping the flame, continuously deforming toward the shape of a cauldron.
One day. Two days. Seven days later, a clanging sound rang out, as if real blacksmithing were happening, traveling far.
In the past, forging the cauldron wasn't difficult. It could take shape in half a month to a month, but as soon as it left the Green Copper Block, it would immediately disintegrate, unable to hold.
Now, tempered with terrifying fire energy, it was hard to shape. It was like polishing the hardest sacred iron in the world. A hundred refinements only turned it into a clump.
Ye Fan wasn't worried. This was as it should be. What he did before wasn't truly refining the cauldron; it was just gathering Mother Qi. That kind of shaping was like building a tall tower on a sandy beach—destined to collapse. Now, forging with top-grade fire source was real weapon refinement. Once shaped, it would be indestructible!
On the ninth day, the purple fire gradually weakened, then flickered and went out, completely extinguished. The Mother Qi of All Things had been forged into an irregular shape, far from taking form.
"As expected of Mother Qi of All Things. Even such fire energy burns out without shaping it..." He knew purple fire could kill major figures, yet using it to refine the cauldron only caused it to barely take shape, far from meeting the requirements.
Ye Fan stood up, stretched his muscles, then ate some food and drank water, muttering to himself, "I wonder how things are outside. Is anyone guarding the edge of the Fire Domain?" He didn't immediately continue refining the cauldron but held the Bodhi Seed and walked outward, wanting to leave.
Passing through several layers of the Fire Domain, he finally reached the red fire area. Through the flames, he saw cultivators wandering in the distance. Ye Fan concealed himself, using his powerful divine sense to explore outward. Everything nearby was clearly captured in his mind. After waiting a long time, he heard someone speak.
"So many days have passed. Can we withdraw? Staying here is incredibly boring."
"The sixth layer of the Fire Domain is where major figures refine weapons. If he goes in, he'll turn to ashes in no time. Why make us wait here? It's completely unnecessary."
Ye Fan silently retreated back into the depths of the Fire Domain, ignoring those people. Nothing was more important than forging the cauldron into shape.
Drawing purple fire into his body again, he was now adept. In just half a day, he gathered enough fire source. The purple flame blazed hot, enveloped by Mother Qi of All Things.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The blacksmith-like sounds rang out again. He concentrated his essence, energy, and spirit, tempering the Mother Qi, slowly shaping it. This time, in just three days, the purple fire went out.
"Mother Qi of All Things is truly unimaginable..."
Ye Fan felt he should draw more purple fire into his body. Otherwise, always stopping halfway, who knew when the cauldron would take shape?
In the end, he continuously drew fire, gathering a dazzling clump of light in his body, as big as a fist. The Mother Qi of All Things barely contained it; one more thread would spill over. The purple fire burned, flames leaped, and the clanging sound rang out again. Ye Fan tempered with his heart, forged with his spirit.
"Puff!"
Suddenly, an accident occurred. This time, he had gathered too much purple fire. During the cauldron forging process, it spilled out from the Mother Qi of All Things.
This wasn't a single thread or dozens of threads, but a small clump, the size of a dragon's eye, blazing like a sun, like a concentrated solar core!
Ye Fan's face instantly turned pale. He wasn't a Supreme Elder of the Ji Family, nor was he the Saint Lord of Yaoguang. He could refine weapons here only because he had the Bodhi Seed. Now that the purple fire had burst out, this would be a disaster.
Indeed, once the purple fire left the Mother Qi of All Things, it instantly became violent and rampaging, as if wanting to burn through nine heavens, reducing him to ashes.
"Boom!" Suddenly, the golden Sea of Suffering stirred up boundless waves, blocking the purple fire and enveloping it.
An astonishing thing happened. The purple flame was swept up by the golden seawater, instantly submerged, about to be extinguished.
"This..."
Ye Fan was greatly shocked. He hadn't expected his unique Sea of Suffering to have such power, suppressing the purple fire.
With a flash of purple light, the flame rushed back into the Mother Qi of All Things, barely avoiding extinction.
"Hahaha..." Ye Fan laughed heartily, standing up.
Using Mother Qi to contain the flame was a last resort. Ideally, the fire source should contain the Mother Qi. Originally, he had worried that refining the cauldron at this pace would be too slow. Now, he finally had a solution.
Ye Fan directly rose and went to the hottest part of the "Purple Qi from the East" Fire Domain. There, the mist was thick, like an unthinned liquid. On the ground were some human-shaped ashes, clearly where major figures had also favored this spot.
Sealing this area, he directly absorbed a sea of purple fire, continuously gathering it into his Wheel Sea. The Mother Qi of All Things was completely enveloped. He used his golden Sea of Suffering to suppress the purple fire, preventing it from leaking.
The purple flame burned fiercely in his Sea of Suffering, continuously tempering the Mysterious Yellow essence. The clanging sound was incessant.
One day. Two days...
Ye Fan didn't know how much fire energy he had absorbed. Every day felt like blacksmithing. The purple mist in this area had even thinned.
Until three months later, the clanging sound finally stopped. Ye Fan no longer drew purple flames.
At this moment, above his Sea of Suffering, a small cauldron took shape—simple and natural, two ears giving birth to yin and yang, three legs stabilizing heaven and earth, its round outline containing chaos.
It evolved "Dao" and "Principle," combining to form a physical body, containing all things, faintly giving a feeling of the beginning of heaven and earth, the Dao following nature. Refining the cauldron with purple qi had finally taken shape!
However, Ye Fan was not satisfied. He felt this was just a rough embryo. He wanted to temper it with an even stronger fire source.
He also had another idea: after refining the cauldron, he would evolve profound Dao patterns within it, making it the most powerful weapon.
"I haven't studied Dao patterns, but I have hundreds of ancient characters, each a priceless treasure..."