Bamboo Mound

As soon as you enter, you feel a wave of heat hitting you. Looking closely, you see dozens of huge furnaces lined up neatly, with boiling lava beneath them and blazing spiritual fire burning inside. The furnaces are also filled with intense spiritual fire, but it is even more explosive than the fire beneath them, almost turning the entire space red!

Several pipes extend from the furnace, drawing the flames to numerous nodes. In front of each flame node, there is almost always a disciple who is burning and forging, intently manipulating the tools in their hands to forge pieces of spiritual material into various wondrous shapes.

Upon closer inspection, it appears that the intensity of the flames in each of the hot furnaces is not entirely the same, showing differences.

"This is the main forging area. All weapons and armor produced by the weapon-refining workshops that circulate outside are forged here. Whether it's spirit fusion or fetal heart strength, they can all be forged here."

"If you need to, you will need to go back to the front and leave your requirements and materials with the receptionist there."

Zhao Gang said without turning his head, and continued walking forward along the road without stopping.

As Ning Chang approached the furnace, he felt unbearably hot and had to release his spiritual power to form a protective shield to insulate himself from the heat.

However, he soon discovered that the surging heat from the outside was still impacting his spiritual energy shield, making a hissing sound!

"Don't you feel hot in this environment all the time...?"

"It's alright, you'll get used to it after a while. It's only hot in this area, and we'll also order a lot of cooling pills from your Medicine King Valley to distribute to these disciples."

"Oh, oh." Since he had already activated his spiritual energy shield, Ning Chang was too embarrassed to ask Zhao Gang for a cooling pill.

Zhao Gang clearly noticed Ning Chang's predicament and did not linger in the sweltering furnace area. Instead, he quickened his pace and led Ning Chang out of the furnace area.

As they ventured deeper, the heat intensified, and the hissing sound from his spiritual energy shield grew louder and more frequent. Fortunately, the heat gradually decreased after they passed the furnaces, and it wasn't until half an incense stick later that the two finally left the area of ​​the furnaces.

However, during this time, he also saw many rudimentary artifacts that were already shimmering with light and emitting considerable intensity fluctuations.

Seeing that he was far away from the furnace, Ning Changcai breathed a sigh of relief, dispelled his spiritual energy shield, and felt much more relaxed.

He didn't realize until he saw it that the protective shield he had built along the way had already depleted nearly 30% of his spiritual energy reserves!

As for how they knew they had left the furnace area, it was because the weapon-refining workshop had drawn a white dividing line there, which stood out conspicuously in the entire red-toned area.

Moreover, they clearly used spatial techniques inside the volcano; the area of ​​the furnace they just passed through was far larger than the area visible from the ground!

After walking for a while, Zhao Gang led Ning Chang to a counter and pointed to the space behind it, saying, "You can explore this area on your own now. If you get too close to places you can't enter, a disciple will give you a hint. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

After saying that, he vanished in a flash.

"Sigh, I already said that if there's anything, I can just drag any disciple along, but it seems that's really all I can do."

Ning Chang looked up and saw a structure that was somewhat similar to the main square of Medicine King Valley, except that it was all in a golden-iron color, which must be due to the difference in materials.

As he was looking, the disciple behind the counter stood up, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Elder, are you looking to purchase equipment or have it custom-made?"

Ning Chang retracted his attention and moved to the counter. Not seeing any forms, he asked, "What are the prices for custom-made armor at different levels?"

The disciple receiving the gift smiled professionally and said, "The price depends not only on the quality of the armor, but also on your requirements and the materials you provide. Furthermore, there are two different price ranges depending on whether you pay with spirit stones or merit points."

"Let me explain in detail first, I'll use merit points."

"If we use merit points, the most basic fee is the processing fee. Depending on the required level, it costs two thousand merit points for the first level of the Spirit Platform and four thousand merit points for the ninth level."

"Secondly, there is the cost of replenishing materials. If the necessary auxiliary materials required for the supplied and requested materials are not provided, the Refining Workshop will purchase them on your behalf. The cost of these auxiliary materials is included in the final cost, but this part will not be charged extra. Whether you exchange them yourself or we exchange them on your behalf, the price is the same."

"Therefore, Elder, you may choose not to provide the materials. In this case, all the materials required to meet the armor requirements will be priced together, but more merit points will be consumed."

"Looking at it this way, a custom-made Spirit Platform Ninth Rank weapon costs four thousand, which seems reasonable. But if I'm going to order one, I should order a higher rank one, as I need it when I'm at the peak of the Transformation Realm and undergoing tribulation."

"I'm at the Transformation Realm, but I probably don't have enough merit points right now, and I don't have the necessary materials..." Ning Chang pondered for a few breaths, then suddenly remembered a statement he had once read.

"Is there anything... that can improve one's cultivation level along with the cultivator...?"

"Elder, you're talking about growth-type armor, right? Yes, we do, but the processing fee is a flat 20,000 merit points." The disciple understood Ning Chang's meaning before he could finish speaking and answered first.

"However, in terms of materials, relatively strong materials are required, or materials that are special enough will also be acceptable."

"Such a special method?" He's not considering using high-quality materials right now; he can't find them, he can't afford to exchange them, and they might not even be suitable.

"It's roughly about materials that can absorb similar or related materials, or materials that can store a lot of spiritual power or energy. Regardless of the strength of these materials, they can be used as the main material to forge growing artifacts."

"However, the weapon-refining workshop cannot provide this material; the elders will need to find it themselves."

"I see..." Ning Chang nodded. The only materials he had at hand were the shell of the Xuan Shui Turtle and the stem of the Qing Ling Bamboo. As for the Qing Ling Bamboo leaves...

"That's right! I also have bamboo leaves."

In his view, he had a huge quantity of Green Spirit Bamboo leaves, as many as he wanted, and they were also very strong. Moreover, as the Green Spirit Bamboo advanced, its strength would increase, and he could harvest them again.

"See if this one will work." He held out a green bamboo leaf and pushed it in front of the disciple, but the disciple refused.

"Elder, I'm just a recorder. The appraisal materials need someone from the appraisal department to come. Please wait a moment while I call them."

"If that's the case, wouldn't we have to call out the same thing every time someone comes to order something?"

The disciple didn't even use a communication talisman; he simply opened his mouth and shook his head to answer Ning Chang's question: "No, the appraisal department also has someone on duty every day. It's just that the disciple had something urgent to attend to today and left half an hour ago. He's on his way now."