**: The Myriad Medicine Sect**

Xiao Zheng Peak.

Inside Cave Abode No. 281.

Ning Zhuo raised a small hammer, striking the White-Faced Adamantine Steel repeatedly.

This metal was extremely hard, its surface appearing pure white under the light.

As he hammered, Ning Zhuo employed artifact refining techniques, his magical power continuously seeping into the metal, causing the White-Faced Adamantine Steel to soften slightly, making it easier to hammer and shape.

After the hammering was complete, Ning Zhuo used his spiritual sense to control three to five mechanical floating hands. They extended their palms, aiming them at the White-Faced Adamantine Steel.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Five jets of flame sprayed onto the White-Faced Adamantine Steel, causing it to glow red-hot and soften rapidly.

Tiny runes, as small as fingertips, flickered with a silvery-gray light, faintly visible within the metal.

Ning Zhuo channeled his magic power, imprinting a scripture onto the White-Faced Adamantine Steel, successfully transforming it into a restriction.

He then activated the Floating Ice Jade Hand.

The jade mechanical hand slowly flew above the White-Faced Adamantine Steel, while the other five mechanical floating hands stopped spewing flames and retreated to the sides simultaneously.

The slender fingers of the Floating Ice Jade Hand formed seals, releasing waves of frosty mist.

The mist was exceptionally fine, allowing the White-Faced Adamantine Steel to cool down gradually.

If conventional rapid cooling methods were used, plunging the White-Faced Adamantine Steel into cold water would cause its surface to crack instantly, forming countless fissures. If that happened, it would have to be melted down and reforged.

Once the White-Faced Adamantine Steel had completely cooled, it floated in mid-air, taking the form of a long, flat, rectangular strip.

Ning Zhuo took out some Tea Bronze.

Three mechanical floating hands flew over, emitting an invisible lifting force that held the Tea Bronze suspended in the air.

Then, flames burst forth again from the palms of the mechanical floating hands, scorching the Tea Bronze.

The Tea Bronze slowly melted into a pool of molten copper.

Ning Zhuo used his refining art to remove impurities from the molten copper, purifying it.

After completing this step, he used his spiritual will to directly shape the molten copper.

He gradually formed the molten Tea Copper into a straight line.

Before the Tea Copper completely cooled, Ning Zhuo immediately brought over the previously prepared White-Faced Adamantine Steel and wrapped the Tea Copper around it, forming a connected band encircling the steel.

Finally, he continued to cast spells, overlaying restrictions onto the Tea Copper.

"Another Adamantine Mirror." After inspecting it, Ning Zhuo nodded in satisfaction and stored it in his storage belt.

The refining method for the Adamantine Mirror came from the Law Transmission Bell, specifically the Mirror Platform Spirit Awakening Technique from the Foundation Establishment stage of the Three Sects Elder.

Cultivating the Mirror Platform Spirit Awakening Technique required external aids. The specific content included methods for crafting eight types of mirror magical tools. The Adamantine Mirror was one of them.

Back in Misty Hidden Mountain, Ning Zhuo had competed with Sun Lingtong in a spiritual sense contest and lost.

The gap between them was still quite large.

Ning Zhuo had also told Sun Lingtong the truth—he needed the assistance of mechanical constructs to fully unleash the power of the Mirror Platform Spirit Awakening Technique and significantly expand his spiritual sense range.

During his time at Misty Hidden Mountain, besides running around, Ning Zhuo had been pondering the methods for refining these magical mirrors.

After careful consideration, he found that the refining technique for the Adamantine Mirror was relatively simple, with straightforward steps, and the required materials were the easiest to obtain.

Therefore, after arriving at Xiao Zheng Peak and having some time, he began refining Adamantine Mirrors.

This was already the third Adamantine Mirror he had refined.

"The Adamantine Mirror is manageable; it doesn't have strict requirements for the refining environment. But for the subsequent mirrors, relying solely on manual refining won't be sufficient."

Ning Zhuo needed a refining furnace.

The refining chamber within the Ten-Thousand Li Roaming Dragon could be used, but its consumption was too high; it was complete overkill.

Ning Zhuo also didn't want to rent external refining chambers.

He wasn't very comfortable in unfamiliar places.

Don't think that just because the Myriad Medicine Sect is a large sect with a decent reputation, it's entirely safe. It's still made up of people.

And where there are people, human nature applies.

Those in positions of authority are actually most likely to bully outsider cultivators like Ning Zhuo.

This could be seen from the disciple responsible for assigning cave abodes. That disciple accepted bribes without any hesitation.

This in itself was a form of suppression from the local powers!

Using external refining chambers risked leaking the refining contents.

Although the Law Transmission Bell's chime had resonated throughout the Molten Immortal Palace, only Ning Zhuo had obtained the Three Sects Elder's Foundation Establishment-level methods.

Before Meng Kui deciphered the Law Transmission Bell, Ning Zhuo was the only one who possessed these techniques, so he had to keep them confidential as much as possible!

Ning Zhuo did not lose himself entirely in artifact refining.

After this round of refining concluded, he began his daily cultivation.

He cycled through the Buddhist, Daoist, and Demonic techniques of the Three Sects Elder's methods, allowing his cultivation to progress steadily.

Currently, Ning Zhuo's cultivation speed was still quite respectable.

On one hand, he had talent and good comprehension. On the other hand, he never stinted on resources for his own cultivation.

Even inside his cave abode, Ning Zhuo would add many extra spirit stones to maintain a high concentration of spiritual energy during his cultivation sessions.

Halfway through his cultivation, a mechanical bird suddenly began to chirp.

Knowing it was time, Ning Zhuo opened a gap in the cave abode's formation to let Sun Lingtong in.

In the days since entering the cave, Sun Lingtong had gone out daily, either using stealth and concealment or disguise and role-playing, constantly gathering intelligence from various sources.

Because this intelligence was collected personally, it was much more detailed and reliable than purchased information.

It was precisely this intelligence that allowed Sun and Ning to gain a deeper understanding of the Myriad Medicine Valley over the past few days.

The Myriad Medicine Valley was surrounded by mountains, with a valley in the center.

The four mountains were respectively: Medicine Field Mountain, Xiao Zheng Peak, Da Zheng Peak, and Yuan Lai Mountain.

Medicine Field Mountain was almost entirely terraced fields, each level planted with different medicinal herbs. One could say medicinal plants grew everywhere.

Xiao Zheng Peak housed a large number of outsider cultivators, each with their own reasons for being there.

Da Zheng Peak contained the Ten-Thousand Demon Cave. Many great battles had occurred here, staining the green mountains with blood. But now, it had been many years since any significant demonic troubles.

Finally, Yuan Lai Mountain was not originally part of the Myriad Medicine Valley. It had been moved from elsewhere when the Myriad Medicine Sect relocated.

The one who moved this mountain was the Mountain God of Yuan Lai Mountain, whose power was immense! Through heavenly methods, they achieved the feat of moving a mountain. However, due to overexertion, the Mountain God fell into a prolonged slumber after the move, rarely responding to the calls of devotees.

The reason the Myriad Medicine Sect went to such great expense to relocate their entire sect here was because the Myriad Medicine Valley was uniquely endowed with abundant spiritual energy.

Beneath it flowed a vast underground river.

This great subterranean river contained rich spiritual energy, belonging to a water-element spiritual vein.

The springs within the Myriad Medicine Valley were also spiritual springs. The reason the Myriad Medicine Sect produced such vast quantities of medicinal herbs was largely due to the ample irrigation from these spiritual springs.

Therefore, Yuan Lai Mountain served as the Myriad Medicine Sect's main gate, dotted with various palaces, pavilions, and other structures, and was the settlement area for the sect's disciples.

Its defenses were the most stringent.

Da Zheng Peak had the weakest defenses because it had witnessed too many wars; almost every inch of soil had been soaked with the blood of demonic and human cultivators. Thus, Da Zheng Peak was considered a place of acquired malevolence, its aura of slaughter too heavy, unsuitable for growing medicinal herbs.

Xiao Zheng Peak was specifically designated by the Myriad Medicine Sect to accommodate outsider cultivators. These cultivators were naturally a mixed bag, each with their own schemes.

The central valley surrounded by the four mountains was the Myriad Medicine Valley.

The valley terrain was flat, the soil fertile, with spiritual springs as numerous as stars, interconnected to form channels of spiritual water.

Here, the Six Harmonies Longevity Array was set up, cultivating the Myriad Medicine Sect's most valuable and rare medicinal herbs.

In comparison, the herbs on Medicine Field Mountain were mainly mass-produced for external sale, providing commercial goods.

(End of )