Black Flames

Refining a magic treasure for the first time, Qin Sang was cautious in the extreme. He brought out the jade slip Shopkeeper Wu had given him, reading through the artifact crafting insights again and again, carefully contemplating every detail. *Whoosh!* The Ten Directions Yanluo Banners expanded to about ten feet tall and planted themselves into the ground before Qin Sang in a triangular formation. The banner faces fluttered, and the Nine Nether Demonic Fire converged in their center into a ball of flame that appeared eerily calm. After a brief pause, Qin Sang swept his gaze over the various spiritual materials and selected the easiest one to refine—a material known as silver stone—drawing it into his palm. The silver stone was rough and pitted, looking like a rock embedded with countless silver beans. Qin Sang cast it into the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and poured in true essence. *Whoosh!* The Nine Nether Demonic Fire parted and closed, enveloping the silver stone within. The silver stone tumbled up and down in the flames. The might of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was far beyond that of ordinary earth fire, and signs of melting soon appeared on the silver stone's surface. However, because the refinement process placed high demands on the artificer, the pace remained very slow. Amid rising wisps of smoke, impurities were purged through the lengthy tempering, leaving behind only the purest essence. A large chunk of silver stone ultimately yielded a globule of molten silver no larger than a longan. Wiping the beads of sweat from his brow, Qin Sang hastily retrieved a jade bottle and collected the molten silver. Pinching the bottle's neck, he brought it before his eyes and gave it a gentle shake. The molten silver rippled only slightly on its surface; it was extremely viscous. Strangely, faint wisps of black threads drifted within this globule of molten silver, looking entirely out of place in the silvery-white liquid. A thoughtful look crossed Qin Sang's face. These black threads were residual power left after spiritual materials were tempered by the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. He had encountered them more than once when refining magic tools in the past. It was only because the molten silver was so pure in color that they appeared particularly distinct. Having discovered that this residual power had little negative impact on crafting magic tools and could even enhance their might, Qin Sang had never bothered to purge them, even welcoming the effect. However, a magic treasure was different from a magic tool. A magic treasure possessed greater might and imposed far higher requirements on the crafting process. There remained the possibility that, while the Nine Nether Demonic Fire caused no harm to magic tools, it might lead to failure when refining a magic treasure. Furthermore, when refining magic tools, Qin Sang only needed to temper one or two core spiritual materials with the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, while supplementary materials could be handled using earth fire, which was much easier. With a magic treasure, not a single spiritual material could be handled carelessly. Qin Sang had to temper every one of them individually, meaning the aura of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire within the finished magic treasure would be even stronger. Qin Sang weighed the pros and cons as he recovered his true essence. Based on his past artifact crafting experience, the power of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire had already merged into one with the spiritual materials during the tempering process, making a sudden eruption during the final forging unlikely. And if he succeeded, the magic treasure's power would be substantially enhanced. It was well worth the gamble. From then on, Qin Sang proceeded with the refinement step by step. Channeling the Nine Nether Demonic Fire drained his true essence too quickly to allow continuous refinement, so Qin Sang had no choice but to be patient and take his time. Only when the final item—the Ten Thousand Generations Camphor—was finished tempering did Qin Sang exhale a soft breath. He sat cross-legged on the ground and meditated in seclusion for a day and a night before washing away his exhaustion. Looking at the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the assortment of materials, Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly and beckoned with his hand. With a sharp whistle, the Yin Ring shot into the demonic fire. At the same time, Qin Sang flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending several kinds of spiritual materials flying in together. Though the Yin Ring was damaged, using it as a guide made forging the embryonic form of the Yang Ring much easier. As time passed, all the spiritual materials fused into one. Beside the Yin Ring, an embryonic Yang Ring of identical size was born. Qin Sang stuffed a handful of spirit pills into his mouth and directed several more spiritual materials inside. The outline of the Yang Ring grew increasingly distinct, while Qin Sang's true essence drained away at an alarming rate. Qin Sang could no longer tell what hour it was. He focused entirely on refining the magic treasure, while keeping a fraction of his attention on the changes in his true essence to avoid depleting it and ruining the effort at the final hurdle. Time ticked away. By now, Qin Sang had cast all the spiritual materials into the flames. In the center of the demonic fire, two bracelet-sized metal rings could be seen standing side by side. The Yang Ring, once a mere outline, had solidified. The Yin and Yang Rings resonated with each other and trembled slightly; though they did not touch, a crisp chiming vibration already rang out between them. Next came the crucial step! Qin Sang wore a grave expression, not daring to relax in the slightest. At this moment, he held nothing back, directly unsealing his corpse core and pouring all his true essence into the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners with all his might. The flames flared violently, and the chiming resonated through the cave dwelling like a demonic cadence. Deep within the demonic fire, the Primordial Concentric Rings vibrated to their absolute limit before instantly falling dead silent. The next instant, light erupted! *Whoosh! Whoosh!* A sharp sound of tearing air abruptly rang out as the Nine Nether Demonic Fire churned. Two ring-shaped silhouettes shot outward. Quick of eye and deft of hand, Qin Sang reached out and clenched his fist. His true essence manifested into a giant hand that firmly seized the Primordial Concentric Rings. The magic treasure's struggles grew weaker and weaker until it finally yielded, settling into Qin Sang's palm. Delight showed on Qin Sang's face as he looked down at the two rings. The Yin and Yang Rings shared the same shape—pure white throughout, round and flawless. The Yin Ring, which had been damaged, chipped, and dim, had now been completely restored. However, slightly different from before, wisps of faint black flames occasionally flickered across the surface of the white rings, most noticeable on the Yang Ring. Qin Sang knew in his heart that the black flames were the residual power of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Fortunately, they had not caused any adverse effects during the refinement. *What kind of influence will the black flames have on the Primordial Concentric Rings?* Qin Sang felt both curious and expectant. After inspecting the magic treasure and confirming nothing was amiss, he immediately mobilized his spiritual sense. The Primordial Concentric Rings were now equivalent to a brand-new magic treasure, devoid of anyone else's imprint, allowing him to bind them directly. After a moment, he drew the magic treasure into his sea of qi. Before long, he would make it entirely his own, commanding it as effortlessly as his own limbs. Ten-odd days later. Qin Sang, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes. He glanced down at his dantian, and with a slight stir of his mind, a streak of white light shot out from his dantian, transforming into a ring that he caught in his hand. This was the Yang Ring of the Primordial Concentric Rings. Once the binding succeeded, the Yin Ring would remain in the cultivator's dantian—first to serve as an early warning, and second to remotely control the Yang Ring—while the Yang Ring was used to subdue demon beasts. Qin Sang extended his spiritual sense into the Yang Ring, his eyes half-closed. After checking it thoroughly, he channeled true essence into the ring. A humming sound arose as the Yang Ring shone with brilliant white light, casting downward a succession of white ring silhouettes that widened as they descended, forming a pagoda-like structure. These silhouettes resembled a set of shackles, carrying an extraordinary binding force, though unfortunately there was no target before him. Moreover, faint black flames flickered on the surfaces of these silhouettes, keeping them from being purely white. Upon seeing this, a look of profound delight suddenly surfaced in Qin Sang's eyes. The Yang Ring's binding power was far greater than he had anticipated. Originally, the Primordial Concentric Rings could only restrain beasts at the early Demon Core stage. Now, they might even be able to subdue demon beasts at the mid Demon Core stage!