In the secret room built on the underground fire lake, Shen Lian was refining ore fragments with hot steam gushing out of his body.

The spiritual power drawn from the underground fire spirit veins is gathered into the ore slag during the refining process.

The inheritance left by Gong Zhongze is simply... simply... forget it... uneducated... just two words to describe it.

The restrictions throughout the valley and the formations that restrained the aura made Shen Lian feel more at ease during the smelting process.

The only bad thing is that this is a fire spirit vein. When smelting ores with attributes such as gold, fire, and earth, you can directly use the fire spiritual power in the spirit vein, but ores with water and wood attributes still require the use of spirit stones.

Coincidentally, Shen Lian is not short of spirit stones now.

Including his own reserves, he now owns more than three million spirit stones, so he will not be short of spirit stones in the short term.

After Dahei played with Chimei'er, offspring with the dual bloodlines of black-horned ants and red crystal fire ants were born in the ant nest of the red crystal fire ants.

Of course, Dahei was just having fun, and it was mainly a combination of his tribesmen and the red crystal fire ants.

The bloodline of the newly born red crystal black horn ants is not stable yet, and it will take some time to transform from generation to generation.

As time went by, some cultivators came to the market to settle down, and Shen Lian received them under the identity of Gong Zhongze.

With his powerful spiritual power and understanding of Gong Zhongze's behavior, he did not arouse suspicion from others.

After a long time, Shen Lian directly announced to the public that Master Huo Qian was in seclusion refining weapons, and all matters were managed by the steward Gong Zhongze.

If you have any problem, find the manager.

The steward...may be out sometimes.

After the foundation-building cultivator who was guarding the gate of the market town died, Shen Lian recruited two new foundation-building cultivators, both of whom were at the first level of foundation-building.

These two people are responsible for telling the monks who come that the market is currently closed.

Fortunately, in the past, the Huogu Market was a small circle, and there were not many monks coming and going.

As for those who cannot enter and want to secretly spy on the market, it is obvious that they are not familiar with the Fire Valley Market. Fellow Taoists who are familiar with this place know that there are restrictions inside and outside the Fire Valley.

After taking over the market town, Shen Lian also arranged multiple restricted points within a two hundred li area, and black horn ant colonies were stationed there to guard them.

In short, as long as the same aura lingers nearby multiple times, it will definitely be detected.

After taking security measures, Shen Lian officially began his term as Director Gu.

In addition to smelting ore, he was also busy with a big job.

In the secret room, Master Huo Qian, who had been twisted into the shape of a shrimp, has now stood up, and his hunched body has straightened up again.

There were more than ten kinds of spiritual objects floating around, including spider silk, animal skins, smelted magical gold iron wire, iron sheets and so on.

In the past, the quality of the puppets he refined was too low, and he was too lazy to strengthen and improve them, but True Man Huo Qian was a fake Dan, so Shen Lian specially upgraded the quality of his puppets to the upper second grade.

He planned to refine it carefully so that even after leaving Huogu Market, Master Huo Qian would still be able to use it for a period of time.

Spider silk and gold thread are used to enhance the stability and coordination of the limbs, while animal skins and iron sheets are used to enhance defense.

“Buzz!”

After the foreign object was slammed into the body of Master Huo Qian, Shen Lian summoned his own Tianyan fire spiritual power and sank it into Master Huo Qian's body.

This step is to further integrate external objects and the physical body.

“Tsk…”

While controlling the flames to refine the Fire Dry Body, Shen Lian showed a thoughtful look.

According to the memory of Master Huo Qian, his best magic weapon was the rare pearl named Tianling Scattering Flowers Pearl.

The so-called exotic treasures are mostly magical instruments used by Jiadan Zhenren. Their quality is between magical instruments and magic treasures, and their power depends on the specific situation.

Some of the rare treasures of the fake Jindan Zhenren are more powerful than the magic weapons of the real Jindan Zhenren.

This piece of Heavenly Spirit Scattering Flower Bead was sacrificed and refined by Huo Qian according to Gong Zhongze's requirements. Its main function is to store the power of spiritual fire, so that it can be instantly released over a large area when fighting against the enemy.

In addition, this treasure has two other spells, fire from heaven and burning the sea and boiling the mountain.

The names sound mighty and domineering, but the actual power is quite weak. The so-called fire from heaven is just a fireball falling to the ground.

It is easy to kill a foundation-building cultivator, but if you want to fight against someone of the same level, he will seem a little weak.

After Shen Lian checked Huo Qian's body, he felt that it could be improved. He added a large amount of third-level ore gold to it and made it into a true third-level golden elixir fighter.

It's just a skeleton anyway, and the meridians and dantian have lost their vitality, so there's no need to worry about problems if I force it in.

In this way, even if he encountered a Jindan cultivator and was about to give him a heavy blow, he could throw Zhenren Huo Qian out to block it.

“Crack.”

Half a month later, a sound came from the body of Master Huo Qian, who was being refined by fire. The area on his back first bulged, then suddenly cracked, revealing a dazzling red light.

Shen Lian's expression did not change. These were all minor problems. He took out a piece of animal skin and pasted it on the small crack.

The collapse of the flesh also meant that Huo Qian Zhenren's skeleton had reached its load-bearing limit. Due to the addition of second- and third-level ores, the weight of Huo Qian Puppet had at least skyrocketed seven or eight times.

After completing the work of making the rough draft, Shen Lian surrounded it, his ten fingers flicked out repeatedly, and one spiritual ban after another was immersed in it, and he began the last step.

…

Two months later.

"Huh...hahaha, I'm a little fat, but it's not a big problem."

Looking at Master Huo Qian, who was half a head taller than him, Shen Lian nodded with satisfaction.

At this moment, the Huo Qian puppet was wearing a loose black robe. Inside the black robe, jade talismans were embedded in its flesh, absorbing the death energy from the bones.

From a distance, his aura seems not much different from that of the original Master Huo Qian.

Overall, the fake elixir puppet created this time has been upgraded.

In terms of defense, it is definitely comparable to the early stage of True Golden Elixir.

From now on, you just need to show up in the market occasionally.

For Shen Lian, having Master Huo Qian is the icing on the cake. If not, he can also play two roles at the same time.

As the divine consciousness penetrated into the Huo Qian puppet, the Huo Qian puppet began to move, leaping up and down, offering up the Heavenly Spirit Scattering Flower Beads, simply casting a few fire spells, and performing complex movements.

Unlike the puppets built before, there is an energy restriction in the dantian position inside the Huoqian puppet, which needs to be embedded with a spirit stone as the energy source for the puppet to use its strange treasures.

"Although I don't have puppet crystals, my spirit puppets are not bad either."

A spiritual light flashed on Shen Lian's body, and the Fire Spirit Puppet sank into it. In addition to the puppet's divine consciousness, there was also a spiritual object known as the puppeteer's sacred object, which was the puppet crystal.

Puppet crystal is something similar to a spirit stone that can temporarily hold divine thoughts. If it is embedded in a puppet, it can help control the puppet.

After all, for a puppeteer, it is okay to control one puppet, but if he controls too many puppets, it will put a lot of pressure on his own spiritual power. However, it is different with puppet crystals.

In addition to puppet crystals, some puppeteers also use high-level spider silk, silk and other things to control puppets.

However, these external objects have too many limitations. Firstly, they cannot be used at a very long distance. Secondly, once someone notices them and cuts the spider silk, the puppet will be at risk of being intercepted.

If the other party's spiritual power is strong, it is possible to turn the tables.

With an additional third-level meat shield, Shen Lian was still in a good mood.

In addition, the work on Dahei's side was also progressing very well. A steady stream of black-horned ants were scattered in the mountains and forests, and red-crystal fire ants would bring back ore debris every now and then, so he didn't even have to go out to collect them himself.

This also made Shen Lian realize that the Red Crystal Fire Ants might be exempt from inspection in the Red Crystal Mining City.

Otherwise, the ordinary demonized red crystal ants, which can collect mineral debris, would have been dug up by the cultivators long ago.

Now, getting caught occasionally is not a big problem at all.

In the secret room.

Shen Lian took out the black phoenix egg. He had nurtured this egg for more than ten years. At this moment, the aura inside was extremely hot, and it moved from time to time.

The vitality is dozens of times stronger than when it was first bought, and there are slight cracks on the surface of the eggshell.

Shen Lian called Dahei and Sanqian over.

"Master, I'm hot."

As soon as Sanqian came out, he spit out a wave of water to himself. However, the fire spiritual power in the secret room was surging, and a lot of it evaporated into water vapor. He could only spit out continuously.

"Twenty thousand is the younger brother or the younger sister?"

“Crack.”

A quarter of an hour later, a red-gold light appeared on the black phoenix egg, and faint runes appeared, and a winding crack ran through the eggshell.

Then, a pointed mouth poked out first.

"Owner……"

"Big Black Brother."

"Sister Sanqian."

As its pointed beak pecked at the eggshell, it made a clear bird song sound.

It was not surprising that the baby could speak as soon as it hatched.

Shen Lian’s service as a wet nurse over the past decade was not in vain. With the nourishment of the Tianyan Fire Domain, Ershiwan’s bloodline should have begun to surpass that of his parents’ generation.

Not only can it speak as soon as it breaks out of its shell, but its aura has also reached the ninth level of Qi training.

It can be said that while in the eggshell, it had already begun to develop spiritual awareness and was able to sense the existence of Sanqian and Dahei.

"Oh, you're so ugly."

When most of the eggshell was eaten, a small red bird about one foot in size appeared from the remaining half of the eggshell. It was covered with red fur, had a fleshy crest on its head, and had a sharp beak and claws.

It flapped its wings and ate the eggshell clean. A red glow appeared on Liangwan's body, and a circle of yellow fluff grew on the fleshy crown on its head.

"It's a little ugly, but it's okay." Dahei shook the pliers and nodded in a serious manner.

Shen Lian waved his hand and 20,000 flew in front of him.

"What bloodline magical power did you inherit?"

Er Wan rubbed Shen Lian affectionately and tilted his head to think about it.

"I can breathe fire. Really big fire."

According to legend, the Golden Crow clan has the magical power to spit fire into the sun, which can burn the sky and boil the earth. The Fire Phoenix clan's heavenly fire can also destroy the world.

Our Erwan is still young and his brain is not very good yet. It’s okay for him to just spit fire. That’s understandable.

Dahei is the earth element, Sanqian is the water element, Erwan is the fire element, and if you get two monsters of the wood and metal elements, you will have enough five elements.

Shen Lian did have a second-level golden sword ancient caterpillar in his reserves, which he got from the disciple of the Black Cliff Demon. Unfortunately, its aura was weak when he got it.

More than 20 years have passed, and he had long forgotten about it after running away. The last time I checked, I found that he had returned to Insect Star.

…

Time passed quickly, and one day outside the Huogu Market, a cry was heard in the void.

Then, a scarlet crane flew out from the valley, and on the crane stood a young woman wearing a red dress, bare feet, and a small bell tied to her feet.

Behind the spiritual crane, there is a flying boat.

There were two figures on the flying boat, one old and one young.

"Grandpa, is that it?"

The girl pointed to the Fire Valley Market embedded in the mountains.

"Yes, that's where Daoist Fellow Huo Qian lives."

The old man on the spirit boat stroked his beard and said, "Don't be rude when you meet someone later."

"Got it. I promise not to talk."

The girl in the red dress nodded.

The group landed outside the Huogu Market. The two Foundation Establishment Monks guarding the gate sensed the old man's aura and stepped forward to bow.

"Senior, my master is in seclusion and will not see any visitors."

"What the hell is Huo Qian doing?"

There was a hint of surprise in the old man's eyes, "Where's Xiao Gong?"

"Manager Gong, he didn't..."

"Okay, back off."

In the market town, Shen Lian, who looked like Manager Gong, flew out.

He was busy smelting ore, but unexpectedly an old man with fake Dan came to the market.

After checking my memory, I found out that this old man's name was Huoyu Zhenren, and he was also a fake Dan.

In the Tianzhu Mountain mining area, there is not much else, but the number of fake elixir monks is more than outside.

Of course, it’s just a little more. After all, the Demon King also needs time to practice.

True Man Huoyu is the elder of Chiyang Sect, and True Man Hongyun, who is stationed in Chijing Mining City, is the chief cultivator of Chiyang Sect.

Different from other sects where the leader is the most respected, the Chiyang Sect's leader is the Supreme Elder Hong Yun Zhenren, and members are arranged according to their strength and realm within the sect.

“I’ve seen the real person.”

Seeing Gong Zhongze coming out, Huoyu Zhenren did not speak, as if letting Shen Lian speak first.

"Please don't blame me, Master. My Master has been in seclusion for a long time and is refining a magic weapon, so he has blocked the market."

"Fellow Daoist Huo Qian is refining a magical weapon?"

Huo Yu's eyes lit up, "Are you refining the embryo of a magic weapon?"

"yes."

Shen Lian nodded. He sensed the aura of Master Huoyu, which was slightly weaker than Master Huoqian's, but it was not a big problem.

"It seems like I came at the right time."

Huoyu stroked his beard with a smile, and glanced at the girl on the spiritual crane next to him.

But the girl was also very well behaved. She lowered her head and tiptoed, and she didn't speak unless she was told not to.

"How long will it take for Brother Huo Qian to come out of seclusion?"

Shen Lian shook his head, looking like he didn't know either.

"Forget it. I won't go in then. When Daoist Fellow Huo Qian comes out of retreat, tell him that I have been here and ask him when he will leave for the main mining city of Yunshang."

"Please don't blame me, Master. My Master said during his retreat that he will not attend the auction in the Yunshang Main Mining City this time. He is at a critical stage in refining and cannot be distracted."

"What is Huo Qian doing?" Huo Yu frowned slightly. He had discussed with Huo Qian before and they were going to go to the Yunshang main mining city together.

Shen Lian also recalled this matter. The main reason he went to the main mining city was for the third-level Tianji Spirit Gathering Array. Since he didn't need it, there was naturally no need to go again.

"How long has Brother Huo Qian been in seclusion?"

"For more than a year, the underground furnace has been burning and I can't get close to it."

"This time the refining took quite a long time."

Huo Yu narrowed his eyes. Based on his understanding of Huo Qian, it was obvious that his weapon-refining skills had improved.

The reason he came this time was to ask Huo Qian to help him refine a bell-like rare treasure and give it to his precious granddaughter.

But if Huo Qian's skills improve and he can refine the embryo of a magic weapon, then refining rare treasures will not be cost-effective. He can just refine a magic weapon embryo.

Shen Lian lowered his head and said nothing, sensing his surroundings with his spiritual sense.

If it was the previous Huo Qian, he would definitely not be able to refine the embryo of a magic weapon. He spoke up at the previous exchange meeting just to deceive people.

But for him, it’s not a big problem and he can still practice his skills.

This weapon-refining master had never refined a magical weapon before.

"Brother Huoyu, I can't get away right now. I have something to ask of you... If you want to refine a weapon, just leave the materials behind."

In the market town, the sound of Huo Qian was heard, accompanied by the sound of dancing flames.

(End of this chapter)