Chapter 80: What Exactly Is Cheng Xi

Jiang Miao took Cheng Xi to the small courtyard she had been assigned; it was truly small.

Cheng Xi looked at the hole dug into the mountainside and fell silent once more. "Your Xuanyin Peak is indeed unique."

Students lived in caves.

Jiang Miao pushed open the door and invited Cheng Xi inside, saying as they walked: "To make it convenient to channel Earth Fire, it is not just Xuanyin Peak; Danding Peak also lives in cave dwellings."

Cheng Xi followed Jiang Miao inside. Upon entering, there was a main hall, which was kept reasonably clean. A small room had been dug out from the side, which was her bedroom, and opposite that was the artifact room.

The artifact room was the largest of the three rooms. In the middle of the room was a trench; this was the channel for introducing Earth Fire. Placed above the trench was an instrument furnace made of bronze, simple in style, with two handles and a lid.

This type of instrument furnace was the lowest grade of furnace; it was heat-resistant, suitable for beginners, and applicable for low-grade Dharma Artifacts.

However, it was not suitable for Cheng Xi, because the Storage Bag she was refining clearly did not belong to the category of low-grade Dharma treasures.

She hesitated for a moment, looked at Jiang Miao, and asked: "Is this the only instrument furnace?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "I am only an Outer Sect Student; the furnace the academy assigned is just this one. Can you not use it?"

Cheng Xi's brows furrowed slightly. She looked at Jiang Miao and asked again, "Can it be modified slightly? Rest assured, the quality will only go up, not down. If it breaks, I will pay for it."

Jiang Miao suddenly remembered that Thunder Tribulation at the Tongtian Division...

"Go ahead and modify it!" she said very magnanimously. "If it breaks, you don't even need to pay for it!"

If it didn't break, she would be making a steady profit.

Who is this person?

This is the woman who could summon a Thunder Tribulation!

Cheng Xi expressed her thanks. "I will go prepare the materials first and come back tomorrow."

"Fine."

Cheng Xi bid farewell to Jiang Miao and went straight to the market.

To save money, she walked there again, sighing once more that she needed to earn money as soon as possible; she must buy a means of transport or a mount.

Heavenly Silkworm Silk was relatively easy to buy, and the price was not expensive, but Void Nether Stone was not easy to buy. Cheng Xi visited several markets before she finally bought some, and the quality was only average.

Early the next morning, she went to Jiang Miao's place. Jiang Miao had left her a note saying she had gone to attend a lecture.

Classes for Outer Sect Students were taught by Inner Sect Students, and occasionally a teacher would come to lecture. Every mountain peak had a very large open space, which was where the lectures were held.

When Cheng Xi arrived, she heard the bell for class from far away.

However, that had nothing to do with her; they at Qingtian Peak did not need to attend classes!

She went straight into Jiang Miao's cave dwelling and entered the artifact room. She casually set a restriction at the entrance, carefully observed the bronze furnace, and then picked up a brush to start Talisman Drawing on the furnace.

Because she was limited by the material, she could only attach a simple Spirit Gathering Talisman to the bronze furnace. This way, it could gather more Spirit Essence and increase the success rate.

Moreover, the refined Dharma Artifact would also have a higher grade due to the more balanced and dense Spirit Essence.

Cheng Xi sat cross-legged in the artifact refining room, with a cluster of crystal-clear Heavenly Silkworm Silk and a piece of Void Nether Stone the size of a fist placed in front of her. Her fingertips condensed a wisp of Spirit Essence, carefully removing the impurities from the Heavenly Silkworm Silk.

The Spirit Essence turned into fine threads, peeling away the impurities in the Heavenly Silkworm Silk bit by bit. Fine beads of sweat seeped from Cheng Xi's forehead; this task required extremely precise control, and the slightest carelessness would damage the origin of the Heavenly Silkworm Silk. Her fingers trembled slightly, yet she always maintained a steady rhythm.

Under her manipulation, the Heavenly Silkworm Silk gradually became crystal clear, as if condensed from moonlight. Next was the processing of the Void Nether Stone. Cheng Xi took out a specially made Jade Knife; a faint green light flowed over the blade, and the Jade Knife gently sliced across the surface of the Void Nether Stone.

"Ding—"

With a crisp ringing sound, a fine crack appeared on the surface of the Void Nether Stone. Cheng Xi's pupils constricted; this was the most critical step. She had to cut the Void Nether Stone into a perfect octahedron to be able to bear the Space Array.

The Jade Knife turned into a stream of light in her hand, and every stroke was incredibly precise. Shards of the Void Nether Stone scattered, refracting seven-colored light under the sunlight. Gradually, a perfect octahedron appeared before her.

Cheng Xi placed the Heavenly Silkworm Silk and the Void Nether Stone into the furnace, then added Flame Stone. She pinched seals with both hands, and one after another, Dharma seals were struck into the furnace; the furnace fire instantly turned a blue-white color.

The furnace fire rose, and the Heavenly Silkworm Silk began to melt slowly, producing a wondrous resonance with the Void Nether Stone. Cheng Xi's eyes were fixed on the changes inside the furnace, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.

However, at this very moment, a sudden change occurred!

The space inside the furnace suddenly twisted, and a wave of violent energy surged out. Cheng Xi's expression changed slightly; this was a sign that the Space Array was about to collapse!

"Not good!"

Her hands moved rapidly, pinching seals, and one after another, Dharma seals were struck into the furnace like raindrops. However, that energy fluctuation grew stronger and stronger, and the entire artifact refining room began to shake.

Cheng Xi's brows furrowed tightly. How could this be?

Just then, a sentence her Master once said flashed through her mind: "The Dao of space lies in balance. Too much is as bad as too little; stop when it is enough..."

Cheng Xi suddenly realized. She immediately released the Phoenix Fire from her dantian. The power of the Phoenix Fire was far higher than that of the Earth Fire and could suppress the energy of the Fire Flame Stone. Under the flames of the Phoenix Fire, the violent energy gradually calmed down, and the space inside the furnace returned to stability.

When the final Dharma seal was struck in, a brilliant light erupted from the instrument furnace. Cheng Xi's eyes lit up, and she carefully opened the furnace lid. A palm-sized Storage Bag lay quietly inside.

It was a success!

Cheng Xi took out the Storage Bag. Ten cubic meters—not big, but not small either. For now, it was enough for Phoenix Fire to use.

She threw the Storage Bag directly to Phoenix Fire. Phoenix Fire said in surprise: "The first one is mine? You really are a person who keeps their word!"

Cheng Xi began to refine the second batch. For the one used by Baohua, there was no need to add Flame Stone. This time, it was faster and steadier than before. Without the violent energy of the Fire Flame Stone breaking the balance, although this Storage Bag did not have fire attributes, the space was twice as large as the one for Phoenix Fire.

Cheng Xi looked at the remaining materials, picked and chose, and refined two more small ones. They were not big, only about five square meters. One was a thank-you gift for Jiang Miao, and one was for her own use, so it would be convenient for her to carry things.

Sure enough, one still had to be in a place with abundant Spirit Essence like the academy. If she were in Jindu, she feared that refining even one would be very strenuous.

She left the Storage Bag for Jiang Miao on the table and had Phoenix Fire clean up the artifact room before she left.

Not long after she left, Jiang Miao returned. She had thought she was rushing back while Cheng Xi was still there, but she didn't expect that upon returning, the person was nowhere to be seen.

On the table sat a dusty little bag, and on a piece of paper next to it was written "Thank-you gift," and next to the thank-you gift were a few small characters: "Storage Bag."

Jiang Miao was stunned. What?

A Storage Bag!

Cheng Xi used her instrument furnace to refine a Storage Bag?

She had just come back from class and only then learned that refining a Storage Bag was a technique she would only be able to learn after entering the Inner Court.

What exactly is Cheng Xi's background? She can even do this?

"Jiang Miao, may I come in?"

Jiang Miao was in a daze. Hearing Ji Tang's voice, she said subconsciously: "Come in."

As soon as the voice fell, Ji Tang walked in, eyes shifting, then suddenly fixed, landing on the Storage Bag in Jiang Miao's hand!