Chapter 244: Chapter 244: Refining a Clone
"Hah."
Song Wanning was tired of listening. Wasn’t the Xirang tired of talking?
’How ridiculous.’
She stared calmly at the Xirang in the bottle. "I’ve already made up my mind, and I’ve already told you, haven’t I?"
With that, she took the bottle and walked over to the furnace.
Seeing that she was serious, the Xirang finally believed it. This woman was really going to refine it!
"Y-You—what are you doing? Let me go, now!"
"I can form a contract with you! Don’t refine me!"
"Really! You don’t even have to beg me anymore. I’ll form a contract with you!"
"Did you hear me? I really agree! Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t go back on my word. Can you please let me go first?"
"There’s no use in refining me, but if you keep me, I can cultivate Spiritual Medicine. You saw that medicinal field, right? As long as you keep me, you can have a field just like that!"
"Aren’t you an Alchemist? I’m really useful!"
"Let me go, now!"
The Xirang was so scared it became incoherent, babbling every sweet word it could think of.
It was kicking itself. It never should have fallen for these humans’ tricks. If it had just stayed put obediently, none of this would have happened!
But now, it was about to lose its life.
"Hey, did you hear me? I can really help you, believe me!"
"I was just kidding before! I’m willing to form a contract with you!"
Whether human, demon beast, or Spiritual Object, all living things fear death.
As long as one was alive, there was still hope. But death meant the end of everything.
The Xirang’s pleading did not soften Song Wanning’s heart in the slightest.
She listened with a placid expression from beginning to end, her hands never ceasing their work.
To prevent the Xirang from escaping, she had deliberately made a hole in the furnace lid just large enough for the mouth of the bottle to fit through.
She then tipped the mouth of the bottle downward through the hole, positioning it directly over the furnace’s interior.
As soon as the Xirang was released, it would be sealed inside with no chance of escape.
"AH—"
The bottle was instantly inverted, and the Xirang let out a desperate cry.
The next moment, it was poured out and trapped inside the furnace.
There was a restrictive seal inside the furnace as well; no matter how frantically it dashed left and right, it was useless.
Its only way out was the bottle.
Feeling the searing heat around it, the Xirang couldn’t care about anything else and desperately tried to scramble back into the bottle.
But Song Wanning pulled the bottle free and, before the Xirang’s despairing eyes, sealed the hole in the lid with a talisman.
With that, the Xirang had no way out, completely trapped inside the furnace.
"NO—"
The Xirang zipped about frantically like a headless fly, its eyes filled with terror.
The heat of the flames was agonizing, and the solution below eyed it like a predator.
"Let me out! I’ll form a contract with you right now, just let me out!"
"I mean it! Please, believe me!"
Its cries echoed through the air, but Song Wanning ignored them. She began to intensify the Dan Fire, focusing all her attention on the fusion of the materials.
’The Xirang is an Innate Spiritual Object; refining it won’t be simple. It will take at least half a month...’
She frowned, took out a Spirit Supplement Pill, and swallowed it. The Spiritual Power she had just consumed was quickly replenished.
The Dan Fire grew even more intense.
The Xirang leaped and bounced around the furnace in a complete breakdown, finally beginning to lower its once-proud head.
"I was wrong! I’m begging you, please? Let me go!"
"I’m willing to cultivate anything for you, and those medicinal ingredients will be no problem at all! I’m begging you, please don’t refine me, okay?"
As it spoke, the Xirang was overcome with grief and began to cry like a child.
It had never imagined that a human would choose to refine it rather than want it.
’I’m clearly worth more alive!’
’How can such a person exist?’
Now that it was finally willing to lower its arrogant head, it fantasized that the woman might spare it.
But no matter how much it pleaded, Song Wanning remained unmoved, her focus solely on the Artifact Refining Furnace before her.
As another bottle of Spiritual Liquid was poured in, the liquid in the furnace began to churn, looking like boiling water as it constantly spattered and bubbled.
"POP—"
A bubble burst.
And the Xirang’s defenses shattered.
The rising temperature became unbearable, and it leaped about inside the furnace, begging all the while.
Gradually, the liquid began to expand, slowly encroaching on its space from below.
Soon, the space it had to evade the liquid grew narrower and narrower, until finally, it could only press itself against the furnace lid.
"Save me, save me!"
"I promise I’ll be obedient! I’ll be good! Please let me go, okay?"
"I’ll never curse at you again, really! I was wrong, I’m begging you!"
"..."
The Xirang pleaded ceaselessly, trying to break through the furnace lid and escape.
But the Array on the lid blocked it completely; no matter how much it thrashed, it was useless.
The Spiritual Liquid surged upward, and the Xirang watched in despair as its body was slowly submerged.
"NO—LET ME OUT—"
"I WAS REALLY WRONG—"
The sounds of impacts and cries came incessantly from under the lid. The entire lid vibrated with a loud RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE that made one’s ears ring.
Song Wanning’s eyes darkened. She increased the power again, pressing down on the furnace lid for good measure.
"AHH—"
The Xirang let out one last, terrified, despairing shriek before it was completely submerged.
The Spiritual Liquid rapidly enveloped and coiled around it.
The Xirang struggled madly within the liquid, only to be met with even more intense flames.
Finally, under the constant swirling of the Dan Fire, the Xirang gradually fell silent, until at last, it stopped moving completely and slowly merged into the liquid, its form disappearing forever.
Its consciousness, however, had been refined away long before.
With the silence finally restored, the grim hostility in Song Wanning’s expression also dissipated.
She proceeded step-by-step according to the method for refining an avatar, becoming ever more vigilant and cautious.
’The most critical moment is only just beginning. I can’t afford for it to be ruined.’
...
In a corner of the Feng Family’s domain within the Secluded Land, the Feng Family Patriarch, Feng Jinchuan, stood behind an Array Master, his expression stern.
Some time ago, these Array Masters had reported that the restrictive seal was loosening, so he had devoted all his attention to this important matter.
Once the seal was broken, the Feng Family would be able to move out of this place. This clan land could then be used as a training ground in the future. Everyone would be able to enjoy its abundant resources while also having a chance at ascension—it was a plan that killed two birds with one stone.
As for what would happen after they got out, he was completely confident.
With the Feng Family’s power, they could do whatever they pleased in the outside world. The other factions all had their own agendas, and he had already bribed many of them. There was no way they would unite to oppose the Feng Family.
Everything was ready. The only thing missing was the "east wind"—the breaking of the seal.
As he was lost in thought, the Array Master in front of him suddenly sighed. "Sigh... The seal clearly seemed to be loosening a few days ago. Why has it gone quiet again?"
