Chapter 33 Human Furnace
Su Yang's obsession with Xuan Chengzhou can be seen everywhere. Luo Xuanyi doesn't think that he will become dependent on Zang Yaozong at all. If he has the chance, he will definitely escape, but this is actually the same for her.
She had no consideration for damaging the interests of Zang Yaozong. The only thing she needed to pay attention to was that Taoist Hua Shen would strengthen his supervision of her after Su Yang escaped, so she needed to keep track of Su Yang's whereabouts.
Deciding to play dumb about Su Yang's actions, Luo Xuanyi let out a sigh of relief and walked into her room in Zhaojian Palace for the first time. The wooden structure, with the same style inside and out, was simple and elegant. Inside, besides some basic clothing, books, paper, and pens, there was only a three-legged bronze alchemy furnace placed in the center.
This alchemy furnace was roughly twice the height of Luo Xuanyi. Below it was a short, wide-bellied fire container and a pill opening, used to process and extract the essence from medicinal materials. Above, a cylindrical pill-condensing furnace sat. It was completely unadorned, yet it held an inexplicably eerie aura.
The surface of the alchemy furnace was very rough. As soon as she placed her hand on it, she felt a sharp pain in her fingertips, triggering a restriction. In that instant, all the unclear lines on the surface suddenly lit up, then dimmed again in the blink of an eye. Luo Xuanyi endured the pain and repeated it several times before finally seeing all the lines clearly.
This is a man lying on his back in a robe.
His eyes were closed, as if he were asleep. His jade crown was tied askew, and his cascading hair was like a spider web wrapped around the entire bronze censer. His simple, wide robe was pressed down beneath him, and a white crane carrying a green mountain could be vaguely seen sewn on his sleeve.
Human furnace. The word flashed through Luo Xuanyi's mind, and she felt like she'd been struck by lightning, trembling with excitement. Yes, isn't the technology behind the human furnace the ability to immobilize souls within an artifact? Souls can be immobilized! She excitedly tried to communicate with the soul within the furnace, but no matter how she touched the furnace's surface, she couldn't awaken it. Suddenly, a sudden inspiration struck her, and she used her spiritual power to ignite the alchemy fire that had long been placed within.
Deep crimson flames burned through the entire bronze alchemy furnace, sparks dancing around it. The crimson light illuminated every pattern of the furnace, rising from the hem of the man's clothes to the top of his head. As if awakened from a nap, his eyelids fluttered slightly, opening his simple eyes. He sat up and reached out, making a grabbing motion, but stopped mid-air because Luo Xuanyi hadn't yet placed the herbs in the pot.
Luo Xuanyi carefully observed his reaction. His expression, previously expressionless, suddenly raised a brow. Then, somewhat anxiously, he "walked" to the cauldron's opening and lowered his head to inspect it. Of course, there was nothing inside. He simply sat cross-legged beside the cauldron's opening, waiting for the herbs to be placed in.
Luo Xuanyi tried to get his attention again, but soon discovered that the soul in the furnace seemed unable to react to the outside world. He was unable to perceive the world outside the furnace; he was trapped in the furnace.
But it wasn't completely useless. Puppetry, used to free the body from the constraints of lifespan, and certain techniques that could trap the soul—as long as the principles were understood and experimented with, even without a ready-made method, there was at least a glimmer of hope! Realizing that finding an insider within the Guile Pavilion was more important, Luo Xuanyi calmed her mind and slowly considered the feasibility.
It's certain that both puppetry and soul-locking techniques originated from the Weird Weapon Pavilion. Furthermore, True Lord Beilian is attempting to develop a new type of puppetry technique, which is likely only accessible to novice disciples. Soul-locking techniques, on the other hand, are less secretive. The brushes used everywhere from the alchemy furnace to the Zhaojian Palace are crafted using soul-locking techniques, and can likely be exchanged for from the Weird Weapon Pavilion's collection.
In that case, let's consider Shen Ranming and Ren Xiaqi. Shen Ranming doesn't have the resources, and there won't be any to invest in him now. This is a good opportunity. Even better, he doesn't understand anything right now. Even if I ask him to do something, he won't immediately understand the meaning behind it. But we still need to add some insurance. The contract can't be tampered with, but the elixir can.
Then there was Ren Xiaqi. They didn't interact much, but he couldn't just wait for Shen Ranming to come. It would be better to start by showing goodwill, then slowly work his way up and test Ren Xiaqi.
In conclusion, she needed to learn alchemy as quickly as possible. Even if she couldn't master all the recipes, at least she had a basic understanding. She selected two elixirs: the Star-Swallowing Pill for Shen Ranming, and the Dust-Clearing Pill to detoxify. Following the recipe, she wrote down the required medicinal ingredients, each in the quantities sufficient for ten furnaces, on a piece of paper and placed them in the study in the front hall, which served as a communication room. Within an incense stick of time, a large amount of medicinal ingredients had been precisely transported to her room, precisely as she had requested.
Luo Xuanyi took a few deep breaths. Finally, she was about to start learning alchemy.
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