"Hm."
Mu Jinyu turned her head and glanced at Jian Ruyan, responding softly.
She had experienced his disdainful looks many times over the past half month and had grown accustomed to it.
He had nothing to be embarrassed about; after all, what did it matter to her if he cultivated with his wife?
"Uh..."
Mu Jinyu got up, lazily stretched his back, and then slowly walked toward the Shennong Cauldron placed by the side of the lake.
After circling the Shennong Cauldron a few times, Mu Jinyu casually placed his hand on it and poured both his True Yuan and Divine Sense into it, beginning the refining process.
"Dang dang! Clang clang!!"
Soon enough, the Shennong Cauldron began to emit a series of faint vibrating sounds.
Although the sound was soft, with the current strength of Gu Xiyan and the others, they could still hear it.
However, with Great Magical Power, Mu Jinyu sealed off the surroundings; the sound couldn't get out, so it wouldn't disturb their peaceful sleep.
Jian Ruyan was holding her sword scabbard, her arms crossed over her chest, watching Mu Jinyu refine the cauldron with an indifferent expression, feeling inexplicably nervous inside.
'One day's time, it's impossible for him to master alchemy!' Jian Ruyan grumbled internally.
"Clang!"
Just then, the Shennong Cauldron suddenly emitted a sharp noise like a sword unsheathing, causing the surrounding bamboo leaves to rustle and fall.
Mu Jinyu withdrew his hand.
After that, the initially huge Shennong Cauldron quickly shrank, turning into the size of an incense burner.
"This..."
Jian Ruyan watched the changes of the Shennong Cauldron, her pupils contracting slightly, exclaimed in surprise, "This alchemy furnace is... a magical treasure?!"
Holding the exquisitely delicate Shennong Cauldron, Mu Jinyu also had a look of surprise on his face as he said, "Yeah, I didn't expect it to be a magic treasure either. I only spent twenty-two Third-level Spirit Medicines to acquire it, such a great deal."
The flying swords, alchemy furnaces, and other magical instruments used by cultivators all have levels. The lowliest level is that of a mere instrument. Slightly more advanced are those which harbor a hint of spiritual nature, which can be called treasures, or magic treasures.
The Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument that Mu Jinyu had previously refined was just a standard Protective talisman. He had only engraved some formations on it—Spirit Gathering Array, Defensive Formation, Evil-warding Formation, etc.—which could keep a person safe, but were virtually useless against powerful cultivators.
Magic treasures, on the other hand, could be engraved with even more formations, come with inherent magical techniques, grow large or shrink, fly through the sky or burrow underground, command the wind and summon the rain, turn rivers upside down—truly magical items with Great Magical Power!
Mu Jinyu had originally thought the Shennong Cauldron was just a more ordinary magical instrument, but to his surprise, it wasn't just an alchemy furnace—it was also a magic treasure with inherent magical techniques!
If he had known yesterday that the Shennong Cauldron was a magical treasure, he definitely wouldn't have let the auction house arrange for its transportation back to Yinlong Mountain—that was too risky. Instead, he would have shrunk it immediately and carried it home in his pocket.
Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and nobody attempted to kill anyone for the treasure halfway through.
Otherwise, if Mu Jinyu had not completed the refinement of the Shennong Cauldron and hadn't attached his Divine Sense to it, it would have been a huge hassle to get it back if someone had stolen it on the way.
"Shi shi!!"
Following Mu Jinyu's relief, he pinched a spell and began to familiarize himself with the power of the Shennong Cauldron!
Instantly, accompanied by a series of sharp whooshing noises, the Shennong Cauldron that Mu Jinyu held in the palm of his hand swelled again, becoming as big as a rice cooker, and then started spinning in the air.
Then a series of formidable Wind Blades burst out from the Shennong Cauldron, shooting towards the dense bamboo forest ahead!
"Crack crack crack!"
In just a few moments, hundreds of bamboos were chopped down, leaving the bamboo forest in complete disarray!
"Hoo hoo..."
"Pfft pfft pfft!!"
"Bang bang!"
"Boom!!"
Mu Jinyu subsequently activated other formations within the Shennong Cauldron, either summoning howling gales, spurting a sea of raging fire, or expanding to a size of ten feet and smashing down with the weight of a hundred tons...
In this last attempt, Mu Jinyu got somewhat carried away and didn't control his strength properly, creating a disturbance that was frighteningly loud, like a landslide or an earth cave-in, which startled Gu Xiyan and the others out of their wits.
"What's going on?"
"Was there an earthquake?"
"..."
Gu Xiyan and the others only had time to hurriedly throw on some clothes and rush out, their complexions deathly pale and eyes filled with panic as they looked toward Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu pinched out a spell with his hands, and the Shennong Cauldron, which had sunk into a deep pit, shrank to the size of an incense burner and flew back into his hand.
He turned to look at Gu Xiyan and the others, his face bearing an apologetic smile, and said, "Sorry, that was me testing out the pill furnace. Go back and get some rest..."
Upon hearing this, the ladies all sighed in relief and simultaneously gave Mu Jinyu a cold look.
They had all been woken up, so what sleep was there to go back to!
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu could only repeatedly apologize, yet he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart.
The Shennong Cauldron, after his testing, was at least a medium-grade magical treasure and a very good alchemy furnace indeed.
With it to help him, his success rate in alchemy would surely rise by several percent.
Gu Xiyan and the others went back inside to change clothes and freshen up quickly, then all crowded around again, eagerly watching Mu Jinyu, waiting for him to start the alchemy process.
"What level of magic treasure is this?"
Jian Ruyan pursed her lips, suppressing the complex feelings of frustration in her heart, and asked Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu replied, "It's probably a medium-grade magical treasure."
As he spoke, he looked up at Jian Ruyan and teased, "Little Yanzi, are you scared now? How about this, if you apologize now and say you shouldn't have doubted me yesterday, I'll only make you wash clothes for half a month if I win later..."
"In your dreams!" Jian Ruyan's pretty face tightened as she refused to concede her mistake.
She still held her ground. Even if Mu Jinyu used a magical treasure level alchemy furnace that could slightly increase the success rate of alchemy, it was still impossible for someone with no experience in alchemy to succeed in just one day!
"Fine, then prepare yourself to wash my clothes for a month," Mu Jinyu said with a smug expression, nodding lightly at Jian Ruyan.
He found Jian Ruyan quite tsundere; he had offered her a way out, and yet she was refusing to take it. So be it, even if she was Ah-Xiang's sister, she would still have to wash his foot water today!
Afterward, Mu Jinyu wasted no more time, enlarging the Shennong Cauldron to the normal size of a pill furnace. He went to the medicine field to gather the ingredients required to concoct the "Minor Nourishing Yuan Pill" and then came back, adding them one by one into the pill furnace!
"Boom!!"
Having closed the furnace lid, Mu Jinyu pressed his palms against the pill furnace, activating the alchemy manual. In an instant, fierce flames enveloped the Shennong Cauldron, then gradually penetrated inside the furnace!
Mu Jinyu closed his eyes, cast aside all distractions, and focused wholeheartedly on the alchemy process!
Alchemy was no simple matter. During the concoction of the elixir, one must pay constant attention to the changes inside, proceed with caution, and then lead it to condense into a pill. One careless step could lead to failure and result in the furnace exploding!
Watching Mu Jinyu focus so intently on alchemy, Gu Xiyan and the others all hoped he would succeed in his endeavor.
Jian Ruyan's thoughts were quite conflicted: she hoped Mu Jinyu would succeed and witness a miracle, yet at the same time, she hoped he would fail, or else she would be the one to suffer.
Indeed, she would have to wash a month's worth of Mu Jinyu's dirty clothes!