Foundry arts require water for cooling and quenching.
This ice-attribute magic spring should help the purple-skinned blacksmiths better utilize their foundry arts.
Having a steady supply of such a unique material was naturally a significant boon for Dalun Li.
It was quite a decent harvest.
If only it were a life-attribute magic spring...
Well, this was already good enough. He couldn't be too greedy; nothing in this world goes perfectly all the time.
Dalun Li locked onto another mana fluctuation.
This one was located much deeper underground, almost at the very bottom of the subordinate floor.
After transferring there, a metallic ore appeared before his eyes.
The ore stood three meters high and nearly two meters wide at its thickest point. It was primarily black, with exposed iron-colored veins running through it.
The base of the ore was fused with the surrounding rock.
The overall mana concentration within the ore wasn't high; it seemed to be just a large, solitary piece of mineral.
Dalun Li tried to cut off a piece, only to discover its unique nature.
“This hardness!”
Dalun Li increased his strength, yet the ore before him remained uncut.
“This hardness!!”
He repeated the same words.
The first time was surprise; the second was shock.
“How can it be this hard? This hardness already surpasses some specialized metal alloys!”
“And this isn't even an alloy; it's a raw, pure ore!”
Dalun Li drew his Wellmouth Greatsword, channeled his strength, and struck down heavily.
Amidst a spray of sparks, Dalun Li pulled the Wellmouth Greatsword away.
He saw that his blade, imbued with all his strength, had only left a shallow scratch.
He tried rubbing the scratch and realized he hadn't actually cut the ore.
Rather, he had simply polished away the layer of black impurities on the surface.
“Extraordinary hardness, unknown material?”
“What kind of special material is this?”
This world had no periodic table of elements, and many materials could not be easily named.
Dalun Li used his fire power, attempting to melt the ore.
His terrifyingly high temperature condensed into Sword Qi, acting like a high-heat torch as it began to cut into the ore.
However, even after half a day of burning with his scorching fire power, he failed to cause even a shred of damage to the ore.
It only made the surface glow a faint red.
Beyond just hardness, this ore possessed incredible elemental resistance.
Dalun Li switched his power, trying to use mana to corrode the ore.
This only confirmed that the ore's magic resistance was also exceptionally high.
He proceeded to experiment with acid, plant growth, and thermal shock.
Yet, he failed to inflict any damage whatsoever.
Instead, it was as if he were polishing it; the metallic ore grew brighter and brighter as the black outer layer was continuously worn away.
Feeling a bit discouraged, Dalun Li stopped his attacks, finally certain that this ore was virtually indestructible.
Despite its mana not being particularly strong, its physical durability was exaggerated to such a degree.
This somewhat contradicted Dalun Li's internal logic that stronger mana equated to stronger properties.
While its hardness and resistance were staggering, how could he use it if he couldn't even cut it?
Dalun Li resorted to his final method.
The Forbidden Fire.
He condensed a ball of Forbidden Fire, compressed it into a thin line, and began trying to cut the ore.
The usually unstoppable Forbidden Fire finally met its match.
The ore's ridiculous resistance held firm against the Forbidden Fire's burn, showing no signs of melting.
Dalun Li could only wait patiently, grinding away with the Forbidden Fire.
As time passed, the ore's color began to turn a slight red.
“It can be cut!”
Dalun Li immediately increased the intensity.
The ore grew redder and redder until it was glowing brilliantly. Dalun Li thought it was about to melt, but even at that state, it showed no sign of liquefying.
Instead, the heat began to spread outward from the glowing edges.
Dalun Li was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized the ore's property.
This ore didn't just have exaggerated hardness and resistance.
It was a single, unified whole.
When the damage it received reached a certain limit, the ore would distribute the damage evenly across its entire body.
The spot Dalun Li was burning with the Forbidden Fire was about to reach the melting point.
But then the temperature was dispersed throughout the entire block of ore.
Therefore, it was impossible to split this ore into pieces.
Dalun Li stopped the Forbidden Fire. The scorched spot cooled rapidly and soon returned to its original state.
Splitting this ore was essentially impossible.
The only ideal way to divide it was to melt it down.
By roasting it continuously with the Forbidden Fire until the entire ore reached the brink of melting.
Then, the ore should be able to be separated drop by drop as it melted.
Faced with such an absurd mineral, this was the only clumsy method available.
Dalun Li separated the entire ore from the rock and opened a small hidden floor on the fifteenth floor of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Within this hidden floor, Dalun Li created a lava lake and a miniature volcanic island at its center.
Then, utilizing the Collapsed Atmosphere to trigger spatial effects, he created spatial chains inside the volcano to bind and suspend the three-meter-high ore in the center of the volcano.
“Next is the Forbidden Fire.”
Dalun Li took out the Automated Forbidden Fire Merger.
“Since it's merging anyway, I might as well squeeze out some extra value.”
He transferred the formula copper plate along with the Forbidden Fire beneath the suspended ore, allowing the Forbidden Fire to continuously roast the mineral while it merged.
With this kind of persistence, no matter how hard the ore was, it would eventually melt away bit by bit.
Dalun Li thought for a moment, then took out a fist-sized dragon embryo stone, a pinky-sized dragon flame crystal, and a small piece of Earth Vein Essence.
Thanks to the persistent efforts of the adventurers, he had already achieved a surplus of small pieces of Earth Vein Essence.
Now, he could create lesser magic grade magic items at will.
The temperature of the Forbidden Fire was terrifying. The molten liquid dripping from the ore would be so hot that ordinary containers would be burned through instantly.
And even if it could be held, what if the dripping solution solidified?
Would he have to use the Forbidden Fire to melt it again bit by bit?
The dragon embryo stone had extreme fire resistance, while the dragon flame crystal possessed high temperature and fire power.
He would combine the two to create something.
Dalun Li manipulated the small piece of Earth Vein Essence to fuse the two materials, beginning the creation of a magic item.
By now, he was quite proficient at this process. When creating lesser magic grade magic items, he could already control the special effects to a certain extent based on the material properties.
This was a level of control that even top-tier alchemists found difficult to achieve.
There was no secret to it; it was simply a matter of practice.
Under the influence of the Earth Vein Essence, the two materials merged and took shape.
A black goblet appeared before him.
The goblet looked as if it were cast from black iron, with an orange-red gem embedded in its body.
It looked simple, yet possessed a rugged, ancient feel.
【Lava Cup】 Lesser magic grade. A goblet for holding lava. What kind of monster would drink lava as wine?
【Special Effects】 1. Lava Wine: Lava held within will not solidify.
2. Scorching Liquid: By drinking lava from the Lava Cup, you will obtain lava power, even if you are a corpse.
Rate on N.U.
