He Chongxu’s pity for the item was for the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam!
The Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam was historically famous and long lost.
Anyone who obtained it, even if it was just a remnant, would absolutely not burn it like firewood!
It was only when facing Ying Chen that He Chongxu tactfully uttered "a waste of heavenly resources." For anyone else, He Chongxu might have slapped them away directly.
And even a slap wouldn’t suffice, he’d have to kick them a couple of times more.
Who could do such a wasteful thing?
Burning a top-tier magic artifact like firewood!
If this got out, it would surely shock countless people and make countless others laugh their teeth out!
Yet, faced with He Chongxu’s doubt, Ying Chen calmly replied, "Suitable materials should be used in suitable places. Just because money is precious, does that mean you shouldn't buy food and starve to death?"
"..." He Chongxu was instantly defeated by Ying Chen’s reasoning and fell silent.
However, He Chongxu was clearly still somewhat unconvinced. He stared intently at the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam in the void. He wanted to see just what suitable place Ying Chen would use such a top-tier magic artifact in!
It was one thing for Ying Chen to treat the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam as firewood before, as the entire artifact was already broken.
But after defeating the Azure Dragon, the conditions were met to repair the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam.
Ying Chen still stubbornly insisted on his ways, a waste of heavenly resources, which He Chongxu couldn't comprehend!
Ying Chen clearly had no intention of explaining much to He Chongxu, merely controlling the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam to fly into the swirling flames.
The dragon and tiger phantom within the flames, which had already consumed a lot of materials, let out an excited roar upon seeing another material fly in.
The next second, the dragon and tiger simultaneously lunged towards the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam.
But there was only one Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam, and two, a dragon and a tiger.
One dragon and one tiger immediately began to fight over the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam.
The dragon's and tiger's forms instantly filled more than half the sky.
The dragon's roar and the tiger's growl echoed throughout Datiancuo.
Anyone not in the know would think some supernatural event was occurring.
It took a good while before the struggle between the dragon and tiger concluded.
Looking at the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam, it had been broken into two pieces by the flames generated from the dragon and tiger's conflict!
One piece was entwined by the dragon, the other was held in the tiger’s mouth.
The dragon and tiger together moved towards the center of the alchemy furnace.
A massive flame shot up into the sky, forming the shape of a lotus, and then countless strands of fire rain descended.
All of it was poured onto the two pieces of the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam.
The Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam, which could still maintain some of its original basic shape, now completely melted into two globs of molten iron!
Seeing this, He Chongxu couldn't help but stomp his feet repeatedly.
Such a top-tier magic artifact was completely ruined?
Even if he wanted to restore it, it was now impossible!
But He Chongxu dared not say anything, and could only watch with immense unwillingness as Ying Chen continued his scheme.
"Go!"
Just as He Chongxu wondered what Ying Chen was going to forge the Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam into, he heard Ying Chen suddenly give a soft shout.
Immediately, a radiant light flew out from Ying Chen's sleeve.
This beam of light was as fast as lightning, instantly reaching the center of the alchemy furnace.
The dragon and tiger forms, which had just finished their struggle, let out fierce roars upon seeing this beam of light and lunged towards it!
As if they both wanted to snatch the light!
But what the dragon and tiger didn't expect was that the beam of light seemed to possess immense attraction.
They couldn't snatch the light, but were instead drawn together by it.
Like two insects stuck in a spider's web, they couldn't break free no matter how hard they tried.
The Sea-Bridging Crimson Gold Beam held in the dragon and tiger's mouths were also drawn towards the light.
The two globs of molten iron, red and golden, fused with the beam of light with a sizzling sound.
And the dragon and tiger forms, unable to break free from the light's attraction,
With a mournful cry, they were all sucked into the beam of light!
At this moment, even the flames in the alchemy furnace were outshone by the beam of light.
The radiant light completely obscured everything, as if it was the only thing left in the entire world!
And the light continued to change and writhe.
It was as if the beam of light had gained vitality, a consciousness of its own.
Seeing this, He Chongxu was dumbfounded.
"Could it be... could it be... Master Ying, have you refined a spirit of the artifact?"
"But how is that possible!"
"Artifact spirits have always existed only in legends. Even in the texts of Xuanmen, there are almost no records. This shows that even the ancient cultivators with profound Dao arts could not reach this level."
"Master Ying, if you truly forge an artifact spirit, you will be truly unprecedented!"
Faced with He Chongxu's amazement and flattery, Ying Chen sneered, "Not unprecedented, as far as I know, there have indeed been people who forged artifact spirits in history."
"Ah? Who?" He Chongxu was stunned and subconsciously asked.
Ying Chen did not answer.
Whether anyone had forged an artifact spirit before the Qin Dynasty, Ying Chen didn't know, and it wasn't reliable to rely solely on textual records.
But after the Qin Dynasty, Ying Chen's good master had truly forged an artifact spirit!
And had even integrated it into his life-bound artifact!
Of course, even if an artifact spirit was forged, it wasn't as exaggerated as one might imagine, capable of destroying worlds and overturning seas.
In reality, it simply meant greater control over the artifact and a smoother, more responsive performance.
It was like the difference between a CNC machine and a regular lathe. The CNC machine had built-in programming, making it far more efficient and precise than a regular lathe.
Only if the operator of the regular lathe was a master craftsman could they achieve comparable precision.
But how many such master craftsmen were there?
Barely a handful!
Recalling his scattered thoughts, Ying Chen said indifferently, "Actually, my artifact hasn't forged a spirit either, it's just that compared to ordinary artifacts, it appears more agile."
"You'll know soon enough."
He Chongxu blinked, somewhat bewildered.
Since Ying Chen had said so, he couldn't ask further and could only patiently continue to watch the sky.
At this moment, the sky began to change again.
The radiant light, which had previously plunged the entire world into darkness, now began to slowly recede and dim!
It was like a light bulb dimming due to insufficient power, gradually reducing its brightness until it completely went out!
Seeing this, He Chongxu was greatly alarmed, "Could it be that the refinement failed?"
As soon as He Chongxu finished speaking, his words proved to be a prophecy.
The radiant light completely lost its glow!
And the alchemy furnace fire in mid-air leaped back to life!
Reclaiming everyone's attention!
As for the beam of light, having lost its radiance, it was completely covered by the furnace fire and could no longer be found.
It seemed to have turned into steam under the fierce burning of the furnace fire and vanished without a trace!
"This... this... this..."
He Chongxu uttered "this" three times, his face filled with regret and remorse.
If only he hadn't spoken so much!
Now, his ill-omened words had cursed Master Ying's artifact!