Chapter 54: The Ritual of Refinement

Thunderclap carefully put away the Beauty Spirit Smoke Vase, then reached into his storage pouch, drawing forth a pair of wings three yards long that hovered in midair. These were the wings of the monstrous bird he had slain while dismantling the Precious Time Array.

With a sweep of his right hand, a flicker of darkness passed, and three refining furnaces appeared before him. Thunderclap pointed to the largest furnace on the left; with a thunderous roar, the furnace ignited spontaneously. He then activated the Mysterious Heaven Fire Array beneath the furnace, causing blue flames to leap three yards high and lick at the furnace's base. With a beckon, the monstrous bird's wings flew into the furnace, and as the Mysterious Heaven Fire surged, a wisp of blue smoke drifted from the furnace’s mouth.

Seeing this, Thunderclap did not hesitate; he jabbed forward with his finger, and a thread of azure base-fire shot out from his fingertip, striking the furnace. Instantly, its temperature soared above eight hundred degrees, shrouding the whole furnace in a thick mist.

A month passed. Thunderclap remained seated cross-legged on the ground, before him a refining furnace the size of a fist. The Mysterious Heaven Fire had burned for a month, the monstrous bird's wings had long vanished, and behind the refining furnace, a pair of transparent phantom wings could just barely be seen—a faint, elusive shadow, invisible unless examined closely.

Thunderclap pointed with both hands, sending two streams of azure base-fire into the refining process. The phantom wings gradually enlarged, their span reaching over three yards. Suddenly, he frowned, withdrawing his hands. With a soft pop, the phantom wings shattered, and the Mysterious Heaven Fire beneath the furnace receded.

The refinement had failed.

Yet Thunderclap showed no sign of disappointment. He remained calm, continuing his meditation. After a month of effort, most of his spiritual energy was depleted and needed swift recovery. He took the opportunity to reflect on the cause of his failure: both the furnace and initial refinement had succeeded—why had everything unraveled at the crucial refining stage?

The answer was in the timing and the heat.

Thunderclap mentally rehearsed the entire refining process, analyzing the gains and losses, and drawing lessons. By the time his spiritual energy had recovered to nearly full strength, he was ready for the true sacrificial refinement.

He beckoned, and a pair of ten-yard-long multicolored wings appeared—the wings of that clumsy Pig-Chicken. He summoned a massive bronze furnace, which shuddered slightly as green light swept forth, drawing the colorful wings inside. The Mysterious Heaven Fire beneath the furnace fluctuated, pale blue flames quickly engulfing the bronze vessel, while Thunderclap added his azure base-fire to the mix.

Having learned from his prior failure, Thunderclap now had a firm grasp of timing and heat. He controlled the bronze and initial refining furnaces perfectly; the multicolored wings were thoroughly refined, leaving only a viscous mass of liquid within.

This multicolored liquid was then transferred into the refining furnace. Thunderclap recited an incantation, causing the fist-sized furnace to spin rapidly and slowly expand. When it reached the size of a house, it ceased spinning and began the final stage of refinement.

Three months passed. The furnace had shrunk back to the size of a fist. The multicolored liquid was gone, leaving only two pieces of five-colored refined crystal.

Thunderclap nodded in satisfaction. With a tap of his storage pouch, a cloud of gray light emerged, presenting a pair of dull gray boots hovering in the air. Next, he summoned the Celestial Comb, its apricot-yellow halo flickering between the teeth, soon combing two grooves into the soles of the boots.

He then used the Chrysanthemum Needle to drill holes at the ends of the grooves, right at the heels. With a gesture, the two refined crystals flew from the furnace and embedded seamlessly into the small holes at the soles.

Grinning with his small tiger teeth, Thunderclap knew that the refined crystals formed from the Pig-Chicken’s wings were ready for the final fusion. Once fused, his wind spiritual power would more than triple.

Yet he did not hurry to complete the fusion. Instead, he tossed out two pieces of jet-black supreme iron essence, recently acquired from the Ouyang brothers, perfect for enhancing the Windfire Boots' attributes.

Having mastered the third layer of Boundless Divine Sea, Thunderclap’s spiritual consciousness was powerful enough to control fifteen magical artifacts, rivaling late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Now, he separated and lifted his hands, tossing the two supreme iron essence pieces into the bronze furnace. Passing them through the initial refining and refining furnaces, he produced molten iron, which he poured into the steel mold. Thunderclap then took out the Thunder Hammer, pouring the iron onto the anvil, and began to strike with the hammer.

Who knew how many strikes he made? The jet-black iron billet had turned dark red. Thunderclap then activated the Thunder Hammer, suspending it high above. One after another, bolts of black lightning struck the billet.

He summoned the Eight Treasure Dragon Spear from his storage pouch, activating the lightning on its dragon horn, which also shot forth onto the iron billet. Instantly, crackling sounds erupted, and arcs of various colors danced across the surface.

When the heat was just right, Thunderclap’s eyes flashed blue, channeling spiritual energy to his right hand. Four fingers, sharp as blades, slashed down upon the iron billet.

Divine Thunder Slash!

A thick arc of lightning, many times larger than the previous ones, enveloped the billet, conducting the final purification.

When Thunderclap put away his artifacts, the iron billet was now only the size of a fist.

He clapped his hands together, then separated them with a flick, dividing the billet evenly into eight pieces. These he embedded in the grooves of the Windfire Boots, four in each boot. A series of jars and vials flew out, adding various materials. The eight pieces of supreme iron essence began to transform, finally settling into eight small iron wheels.

Half of each wheel was sunk into the boot, half exposed.

Finally, Thunderclap added more materials, releasing base-fire and Mysterious Heaven Fire to fuse and reinforce the refined crystals and iron wheels, filling the grooves and completing the sacrificial refinement.

Holding the two brand-new Windfire Boots in his hands, Thunderclap couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Over a year’s hard work had not been wasted. With the force of wind and thunder integrated, these boots left no trace as he sped across glacier or water, and on land he could run at speeds ten times that of a cheetah.

A speed rivaling late Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Had his cultivation been stronger, he could have added rare materials to generate fire spiritual power, enabling him to soar among the clouds and greatly reduce spiritual energy consumption.

Thinking of this, Thunderclap could barely contain his excitement. He lifted his foot, slipped on the newly refined Windfire Boots, and dashed out of his cave dwelling.

On the low mountain, under the sunlight,

Thunderclap looked at his brand-new battle boots, grinning with his tiger teeth—these were truly unique in the cultivation world. If their original owner, Chen Zhi, saw them, he would be utterly astonished.

The gray boots gleamed in the sunlight, red runes flickering atop them. Four jet-black wheels lined up beneath each boot. Thunderclap sent a magical incantation forth, and the Windfire Boots suddenly burst into red light, shooting out with a whoosh.

In just three breaths,

Within three breaths, he had circled the entire low mountain and returned to his starting point. What terrifying speed! If he encountered a formidable enemy, even if he could not win, he could certainly escape.

Thunderclap's eyes flashed blue as he activated the wind power of the boots. On either side of the battle boots, phantom wings with multicolored hues appeared. With a span of over ten yards, the wings beat, lifting Thunderclap smoothly into the sky.

After soaring for a while, Thunderclap dove downward with a thought. The Windfire Boots were indeed miraculous, but their spiritual energy consumption was astonishing. Just two tests consumed a third of his energy in less than half an hour.

Thunderclap entered his temporary cave dwelling, activated the external wards, and resumed his cultivation. According to his plan, he would break through the first layer of the Heaven-Shrouding Technique, then comprehend the fourth layer of the Divine Treasure Refinement, striving to reach the peak of early Foundation Establishment—only then would he have the strength to challenge the Blood Fiend Alliance.