Absolute Death Game

"Young man, I didn't lend you my workshop for you to ruin it like this," the voice of Old Jade Toad echoed from outside the door, seemingly having seen the black smoke inside the workshop.

Xiao Buli hurriedly suppressed the coughing sounds and shouted out to the door, "Don't worry, I won't blow up the workshop, that's for sure."

But Xiao Buli was very puzzled about his recent failure. He quickly began to inspect various Spirit Stones. There was definitely no problem with the Fire Element Spirit Stones he used just now; the issue must have been with the Water Element Spirit Stones in his hands. He spread the Spirit Stones out for a closer look and suddenly discovered some foreign substances inside a few ice-blue Spirit Stones. Upon careful inspection, he found that these ice-blue Ice Essences actually contained some small living creatures. Although they were not very large and didn't seem to affect the quality of the Spirit Stones, they had a significant impact during the Refining of a Magical Treasure that required specific elements. Xiao Buli quickly singled out those Ice Essences and, still not reassured, inspected the other piles of Spirit Stones one by one. Fortunately, the other Spirit Stones had no issues.

Seeing that he had only about twenty pieces of Obsidian left and there were also only a few Fire Element Spirit Stones remaining due to the recent consumption, Xiao Buli began to feel nervous. He hadn't expected the Obsidian Crystal Coffin to be so material-intensive. The upcoming sixth-level Magical Treasure, the Mixed Yuan Condensing Light Shield, would also require some Obsidian, which added to his unease.

Nevertheless, he had to continue, even if he felt hesitant. Currently, he had just one set of fifth-level Magical Treasure Blueprint, and the process of Refining Treasure did not allow skipping any level to refine the next tier directly. Xiao Buli decided that if he did not succeed this time, he would use the blueprint of the Mixed Yuan Condensing Light Shield to trade for another set of fifth-level Treasure Refining blueprints, otherwise, it seemed that all his materials would be lost within the Crystal Coffin.

After checking the materials, Xiao Buli once again hosted the Elf Eye into the Melting Furnace. After a while, the color of the smoke turned to greyish black. When he introduced the Obsidian, it emitted a red glow, and with the Fire Element Spirit Stones, thanks to his previous experience, Xiao Buli felt more stable. The smoke quickly turned purple, signaling him to start introducing the Water Element Spirit Stones. To avoid repeating his earlier mistake, and though he had already selected them once, Xiao Buli still scrutinized each Spirit Stone carefully before putting it in. Fortunately, when he added the eighteenth Water Element Spirit Stone, the Melting Furnace's speed increased again. It appeared that the Fire and Water Element Spirit Stones neutralized each other, reducing the volume inside the furnace. Once the furnace's speed increased, Xiao Buli introduced the Wood System Spirit Stones. It was uncertain if it was due to the inferior quality of the Wood System Spirit Stones, but even after twenty-odd pieces had been added, there was no reaction. Xiao Buli's heart raced with anxiety, but thankfully, on the thirtieth piece, the furnace once again emitted a yellow halo, indicating it was time to put in the Earth Element Spirit Stones. Roughly fifteen or sixteen Earth Element Spirit Stones were added before the furnace started rotating with a ringing metallic sound. A wave of excitement swept over Xiao Buli, knowing he was only one step away from the successful Refinement of the Magical Treasure. He hurriedly began adding the Metal Spirit Stones.

After a certain amount of Metal Spirit Stones was added, the speed of the Melting Furnace slowed down again. Xiao Buli followed the blueprint's instructions, covered the furnace lid, and then pulled the bellows forcefully. Accompanied by the whooshing sound of the wind, the true flames beneath the Melting Furnace blazed fiercely, accelerating the rotation of the furnace faster and faster.

Approximately seven or eight minutes later, a crisp ringing sound came from the furnace, and then, like a washing machine that had lost power, it suddenly lost its rotational force and slowly spun another two revolutions due to inertia before coming to a stop.

With the experience from his previous attempt, Xiao Buli knew that his Obsidian Crystal Coffin was successfully forged. He hurried forward and opened the lid of the Melting Furnace. A palm-sized coffin, shimmering with a metallic black luster, slowly rose from within the furnace.

Xiao Buli extended his hand and lightly grasped the Crystal Coffin, feeling a chill upon touch. He brought it closer to examine it carefully. Although it appeared to be an opaque black color overall, the Crystal Coffin was actually transparent. Holding it in his palm, it looked inky black, yet he could still see the lines on his palm through it – no wonder it was called a Crystal Coffin, thought Xiao Buli to himself.

The system notification rang in his ear: "You have successfully crafted a Level 5 Magical Treasure, Quality: Superior. Your Magical Treasure crafting skill has advanced to LV6."

This time, the system notification included an additional description of Superior Quality. Xiao Buli guessed that this was probably related to the grade of the Spirit Stones he had used. Although they were all Spirit Stones of the Five Elements, the ones he had used were mined from the Immortal Realm, making their quality unquestionably superior. Hence, it was not surprising that a Magical Treasure refined from such Spirit Stones would turn out to be of Superior Quality.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xiao Buli quickly gathered up the crystal coffin and started preparing for the refinement of the Mixed Yuan Condensing Light Shield. Although it was a Level 6 Magical Treasure, the process of refining the Condensing Light Shield seemed much simpler compared to the crystal coffin. Xiao Buli prepared all the necessary materials, with almost only Elemental Spirit Stones left in his hand, the rest nearly depleted. The Condensed Light Shield not only required Obsidian and other materials from the Immortal Realm but also the inner core he had obtained when he defeated the mini-boss at Wangliang Mountain. However, this time, refining only required that he have all the ingredients ready and to put them together all at once, saving Xiao Buli a lot of trouble and greatly reducing the likelihood of a failed refinement.

The process went very smoothly, and after about fifteen minutes, Xiao Buli had taken the Condensed Light Shield out of the Melting Furnace. It was a fist-sized black crystal ball. It might look like an ordinary crystal, but unlike the crystal coffin, no matter from which angle, the true material of this crystal ball was inscrutable, as if there was a black core inside it. Xiao Buli stared at it for a while, feeling as though the crystal ball could absorb light. Not only did his eyes begin to experience a dazzling sensation after looking at it for a while, but also when he held it in his hand, it seemed as if the light in the room had dimmed.

"Disciple, where are you? Come and join your master immediately." Xuanxu Zi's voice suddenly echoed in Xiao Buli's ears, snapping him back to reality from the crystal ball. Unconsciously, it was already time to return.

"Master, I'm on my way, please wait for me for a moment," Xiao Buli quickly responded to Xuanxu Zi, putting the crystal ball into his bag and hurriedly packing up the remaining materials from Refining Treasures.

Looking back to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, he said a somewhat reluctant goodbye to the Melting Furnace in the workshop. Although his stay in the Immortal Realm was brief, just a single day, Xiao Buli felt it was profoundly meaningful. Because the day had been so rich and colorful, it felt as long as a month, and he found it hard to part with the Immortal Realm. However, he couldn't claim to be familiar with anyone there, be they immortals or mortals. The only exception was the Melting Furnace, which had not only assisted him in crafting three Magical Treasures but had also witnessed his growth and was the last thing he touched in the Immortal Realm. So, Xiao Buli became sentimentally attached and almost let tears fall. He left the workshop and called out to the Old Jade Toad from a distance: "Mr. Jade Toad, I'm done here. I have to return to the Human Realm now. We shall meet again." Without waiting for the Old Jade Toad's response, he turned and ran toward the entrance of the grand hall.

Since he had already visited the Golden Immortal Palace twice, he knew the way well. Xiao Buli ran without stopping and soon arrived near the city gate, where he found his master meditating on the Lotus Platform.

He bowed deeply and said, ""Master, I have returned. I apologize for the worry I've caused you." But in his heart, he added: 'Just you wait, old man, I'll have my revenge when we get back.'

Xuanxu Zi was oblivious to Xiao Buli's inner thoughts and was very pleased with his disciple's respectful demeanor. He looked around at his fellow immortals with a hint of pride. Having a disciple who understood and abided by proper etiquette was indeed something to be proud of. He slowly rose from the Lotus Platform and walked toward the Teleportation Portal the two had come through.