Lo and behold, within the vast hall stretching dozens of zhangs wide, waves of crimson mist rose continuously. Dozens of fiery pillars stood upright around the hall, each adorned with lifelike statues of red dragon serpents coiled upon them, their heads exhaling streams of red霞. This great cauldron stood six or seven zhang high, its form ancient and sturdy—by far a colossal presence compared to the cauldrons and furnaces韩立 had seen before. What struck韩立 as particularly astonishing, however, was that the cauldron had been fully scorched and transformed into a deep, uniform red hue by the crimson mist, losing all trace of its original color. The intense heat radiating from its surface was so powerful that even at a distance of twenty or thirty zhang, it gave him the sensation of being deep within a volcano. As he entered the hall, his mouth and throat grew parched, and his skin immediately felt a sharp, pricking heat, as though it were being scalded. If it weren't for his protective spiritual light automatically forming a faintly green, hazy shield, he would have doubted he could have weathered the first moment of entry without sustaining a significant injury. Yet, instead At this moment, the great cauldron remained motionless at the center of the hall, yet resonant thunderous sounds emanated from within. With Han Li's extensive experience in crafting artifacts, he knew such a phenomenon must indicate that something inside had been continuously being refined over time. He was finally not going to leave empty-handed! With this thought in mind, Han Li exhaled, dodging the cascading waves of crimson light, and with a graceful series of movements, advanced steadily toward the massive cauldron. When he reached a distance of six or seven zhang from the cauldron, he slowed his pace, simultaneously sensing the extraordinary fire spirit energy radiating from its surface, and began to circle it slowly. Regardless of whatever lay within, after such countless thousands of years of refinement, it was certain that some unknown transformation had already taken place. Even with his growing curiosity, he would not simply open it haphazardly. After completing several circles, Han Li halted, pondering, and began to scan the rest of the hall. Over the years, these fire pillars and the great cauldron have continued to exert their influence—there must surely be a long-standing magical array operating in the vicinity, constantly activated. What he needed to do was locate and destroy the control node of the spell array, thereby temporarily halting the surrounding fire pillars so that the treasure could be retrieved. Since this spell array was purely a controlling restriction and had made no concealment or concealment at all, only moments later, his eyes flashed a blue glow, and he suddenly fixed his gaze on an unobtrusive corner of the hall, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips. He paid no further attention to the great cauldron. With a single hand motion, a beam of golden light, stretching a zhang in length, surged directly from his palm and struck the ground at that corner. A tremendous roar echoed as the corner exploded into a brilliant golden aura, and at the same moment, the red glow emitted by the dragon's head abruptly ceased. After the golden light faded, a depression measuring a zhang in diameter appeared there. Scattered around the crater were fragments of broken array discs, and a small golden sword, only a few inches in size, floated gracefully above the crater. The sword's strike had completely obliterated an array disc buried in that very spot. The medium-level spell array spread throughout the underground of the hall, naturally ceased its operation at once. After a slight smile, Han Li raised a hand toward the distance. His flying sword roared and shot back, then spiraled into his sleeve, vanishing without a trace. Without the added fire pillars, the crimson glow on the great cauldron gradually faded. Yet Han Li did not immediately turn his attention to the cauldron; instead, he lowered his gaze to the ground, his blue light flickering in his eyes, revealing a look of surprise. Without the spell array concealing it, he now realized that the entire underground, stretching dozens of zhang deep, was a uniform deep red—indicating that the entire hall had been built upon a premium fire pool. That explained why the surrounding fire pillars could continuously provide a steady, enduring glow. Han Li's mind suddenly cleared. He drew his gaze back, then gently used his spiritual sight to examine the cauldron, intending to first peer inside and determine what exactly was being refined within. Yet, upon doing so, he was taken aback once again. What met his eyes was a shimmering, crimson glow, even more vivid than the earlier earth-fire pool. Before he could fully make out what was happening, the cauldron seemed to come alive, emitting a resonant hum. Then, with a soft "pffft," a layer of deep crimson flame surged forth, once again enveloping the cauldron. Han Li's mouth hung slightly open, his face filled with astonishment. Yet within a blink, after a brief thought, a look of delight spread across his features. Back in the past, some immortal cultivation sects once attempted to produce high-tier treasures using a similar method, but soon abandoned these efforts. The process was not only extremely time-consuming—often requiring thousands of years and the collective efforts of several generations of cultivators—but also had a very low success rate. Even when success was achieved, the enhancement in the treasure's power was only modest, making it fundamentally unprofitable when compared to the time and resources invested. As for the current furnace and vessel, it is highly unlikely that the ancient cultivators intended to use this method to upgrade the vessel's rank. Rather, it is most probable that the cultivator in charge of the Hall of Spirit Transformation had to halt the refining process at a critical stage due to unforeseen circumstances that compelled their departure from the mountain. In that situation, they were forced to activate the hall's internal array to continue the refinement independently. They likely still hoped that, at some point in the future, either themselves or their disciples could return to retrieve the finished vessel. However, such a scenario would only have occurred after the mountain had been sealed for countless tens of thousands of years. After all, even ancient cultivators wouldn't casually subject something to fire refinement for tens of thousands of years without any purpose. Otherwise, the cultivator responsible would have already passed away before the refinement was even completed. Han Li's eyes flickered slightly as he vaguely recalled the events of old, and his protective spiritual light surged automatically, now with nearly double the intense heat it had previously endured. After a moment of thoughtful contemplation, Han Li suddenly slapped his hand against his waist, then flipped it, and a stack of blue array flags appeared in his hands. He then swiftly moved his body around the hall, inserting one flag after another into various corners. A moment later, Han Li flashed back to the great cauldron, carefully examined the object before him several times, and then began reciting incantations. Instantly, a translucent blue shield materialized, fully enclosing both Han Li and the cauldron within the hall. The intense heat that had previously radiated out was noticeably subdued by this water-based protective barrier. Han Li did not cease his efforts. He casually raised a spiritual beast bag into the air, and from it, a series of snow-white centipede-like creatures, each about half a span long, shot forth, their wings fluttering. These were the six-winged frost centipedes that had evolved into full flight. After a series of agile spirals, they converged in unison above the massive cauldron, each one poised and ready, jaws agape, muscles taut. Only then did Han Li feel at ease. He rubbed his palms together, and suddenly a layer of purple flame appeared on the surface of his hands. Without ceremony, he reached out into the void, grasping the great cauldron before him. A large purple hand materialized above the cauldron and immediately reached for the lid. The cauldron trembled slightly, and the crimson flames on its surface surged dramatically, instantly coalescing into a crimson phoenix that opened its beak and breathed out a stream of fiery flames, facing the purple hand. As soon as the two made contact, a sharp, unusual resonance erupted. Amid the interweaving flashes of crimson flame and purple light, the phoenix momentarily held its ground against the purple hand, resisting its immediate pressure Han Li saw a flicker of unusual expression in his eyes, yet spoke without hesitation, emitting a low cry. Upon hearing this sound, the several six-winged frost serpents swirling above the great cauldron instantly opened their mouths wide, and a surge of pale, chilly mist poured down from the sky, instantly enveloping both the fiery bird and the cauldron beneath it. At the same time, Han Li raised his hand toward the great hand formed by the purple flame, pressing his finger with solemn intent. Under the impetus of the spell, this hand expanded dramatically, growing nearly twice its original size, and with the combined force of the frost serpents' cold mist, its power became truly formidable. With the strength of his five fingers, he finally snapped the crimson fire bird into fragments, then swiftly reached down to grasp the lid of the cauldron. A light clink resonated as the lid was lifted—though the cauldoon's inherent power had surely surpassed this, it was nonetheless an object that had grown sentient yet lacked a master to guide it, and thus was easily struck from its place, flying several meters away, leaving the interior glowing with a steady red light. Han Li-zheng intended to examine closely what was inside the tripod, but suddenly heard a harsh, unpleasant bird call—sharp and piercing. Immediately afterward, a streak of crimson light burst forth from the tripod, racing straight toward the ceiling of the hall at astonishing speed, and managed to pass right through the two snow-white centipedes, leaving them utterly unprepared. With a loud "thud," the crimson streak struck the blue light screen, where it halted momentarily, causing the screen to melt and disintegrate, as if about to rupture through. Though Han Li was startled, he could not allow this object to truly escape. Without hesitation, he flicked his ten fingers rapidly, launching a series of ten pale blue sword-energy waves that flashed and vanished instantly, each precisely striking the crimson light. After a series of sharp crackling impacts, although the crimson light was not blown away, it dimmed slightly with each strike. After being hit successively by the ten sword-energy waves, it grew increasingly unstable, trembling on the verge of collapse. The crimson flame seemed to sense the impending disaster as well, trembling slightly and preparing to shift direction and launch again. Yet suddenly, a flash of purple light erupted behind it, and a massive purple hand materialized out of nowhere, swiftly reaching down and snatching the flame into its grasp. Then, the hand surged forward, aimed directly at Han Li. At that moment, the great cauldron whose lid had just been opened also appeared to lose all strength—its internal thunderous rumble ceased, its surface flames vanished, and it was instantly frozen solid by the cold breath of the six-winged frost centipede above it, turning into a clear, translucent block of ice. Nevertheless, Han Li could not spare a glance for the cauldron at this moment; his entire attention was captured by the object now held firmly in his hands. "This is the Sun's essence fire!" Han Li murmured, eyes wide with astonishment. "Of course, this is not the Sun's essence fire—it is the Yin True Fire, renowned alongside the Sun's essence fire, one of the Three True Spiritual Fires of the human realm!" A voice, pleasant and familiar, which Han Li had not heard in a long time, drifted gently into his consciousness.