"It will take about half a day for your spiritual energy to recover. Refine it after that," Feng Qingping instructed.
Jiang Yifan took a Spirit Gathering Array and a spirit-returning pill, then closed his eyes to regulate his breath.
Li Nanzhu and Feng Qingping went to check the defenses at the entrance of the tunnel. Although those tentacles were blocked outside by the star-patterned iron, they were still constantly testing the barrier, and more cracks were appearing on the rock walls.
"It can hold for two days at most," Feng Qingping said worriedly. "We must hurry."
Li Nanzhu nodded and took out the star-patterned iron powder she had collected, carefully filling the cracks. Suisui also helped by carrying small chunks of star-patterned iron ore, its soul fire flickering intermittently.
Half a day later, Jiang Yifan finally recovered most of his spiritual energy.
The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was take out his refining furnace and toss the star-patterned iron ore into it.
"I'm going to refine four sets of heart-protecting mirrors and bracers," he explained while controlling the furnace fire. "We'll prioritize protecting vital areas."
Li Nanzhu wanted to lean in for a closer look but was pulled back by Feng Weilan. "Careful, Fourth Senior Brother has a bad temper when he's refining."
Just as he spoke, Jiang Yifan roared irritably, "Everyone, get back! Don't block my fire!"
The three humans and one bone spirit immediately retreated to a safe distance, watching as Jiang Yifan focused all his attention on controlling the furnace fire.
Li Nanzhu noticed that Jiang Yifan's refining method seemed different from ordinary refinery masters—he didn't use hammers or chisels, instead relying entirely on spiritual energy to shape the materials.
The star-patterned iron melted into a silver-gray liquid in the furnace. Following the dance of his fingertips, it gradually condensed into the shape of a heart-protecting mirror.
"This is Fourth Senior Brother's Spirit-Shaping Method..." Feng Qingping explained softly. "It's a unique refining technique of the Five Elements Dao Sect, though it's a bit... taxing on the temper."
Li Nanzhu replied, "...I can see that."
After another two hours, Li Nanzhu watched as Fourth Senior Brother constantly added various materials, making her head spin with the complexity.
When the first heart-protecting mirror took shape, the entire tunnel brightened.
The mirror was silver-gray, its surface flowing with a strange light from the naturally formed star-shaped patterns.
"Try it." Jiang Yifan tossed the heart-protecting mirror to Li Nanzhu, his tone still irritable. "If you break it, I'll beat you!"
Li Nanzhu quickly caught the heart-protecting mirror and immediately felt a cool power flow into her body. The slight agitation of her internal spiritual energy, caused by the turbid environment, slowly calmed down.
"This is amazing!"
Jiang Yifan snorted and turned back to continue refining, but the corners of his mouth clearly quirked upward.
Over the following time, Jiang Yifan concentrated fully on refining the protective gear.
Bracers, knee pads, neck guards... silver-gray equipment was born one after another from his hands. Li Nanzhu noticed that as the refining progressed, Jiang Yifan's temper grew worse, but his face became increasingly pale.
"Fourth Senior Brother, take a break," she said cautiously.
"Shut up!" Jiang Yifan roared without looking up. "There are still three heart-protecting mirrors to finish!"
Feng Qingping sighed and took a small jade bottle from her storage bag. "Give him some of this."
Li Nanzhu took the jade bottle and was immediately brought to tears by the sour, stinking smell wafting from it. "This... is this another pill refined by Third Senior Brother?"
"It's a special qi-replenishing pill made by Third Senior Brother," Feng Weilan explained while pinching his nose. "It's specifically for over-exhaustion during refining."
Li Nanzhu steeled herself and handed the pill to Jiang Yifan.
Jiang Yifan swallowed it without even looking, and his entire face immediately contorted into a ball. "Pei Jianchuan, I'll kill you—!!"
Despite the cursing, his spiritual energy indeed recovered significantly, and his refining speed visibly accelerated.
Feng Qingping and Feng Weilan were also busy.
Feng Qingping condensed spiritual energy at her fingertips, dipping into star-patterned iron powder to trace array patterns on the surface of the gear. Her movements were smooth as flowing water, each line landing precisely on a key node. As the final stroke was completed, the array patterns glowed faintly and slowly seeped into the gear's interior.
She even attempted to carve more complex arrays into the core of the heart-protecting mirrors, allowing the defense mechanism to activate automatically in an emergency.
Feng Weilan assisted her intently from the side, sometimes handing over prepared star-patterned iron solutions, other times adjusting the position of the gear for easier carving. His movements were clean and efficient, coordinating seamlessly with Feng Qingping.
Li Nanzhu wasn't idle either. She took out talisman paper and her Wanxiang Brush, condensing spiritual energy to begin drawing. After this period of experience, her talisman dao skills had clearly improved. Tier 2 talismans gradually took shape under her brush, the runes more solid and fluid than before. With every stroke, a faint spiritual light flowed across the paper.
A day and a half later, when the last piece of gear was finished, Jiang Yifan finally couldn't hold on anymore. He staggered back a few steps, leaning against the rock wall. His face was as white as paper, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but a satisfied light sparkled in his eyes as he looked at the three complete sets of gear.
"One set for each person," he said hoarsely. "Wear the heart-protecting mirror close to your body. Other parts will automatically activate protection when attacked."
Li Nanzhu took her set.
The heart-protecting mirror was cold to the touch, and the flowing star patterns on its surface reminded her of the Milky Way in the night sky. The other parts were as light as nothing, not affecting her movements at all.
"Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother," she said sincerely.
Jiang Yifan waved his hand and took out several silver-gray beads. "These are star-burst bombs. Throw them if you encounter danger; they can temporarily drive away those tentacles, but the duration is very short. Use them cautiously."
Feng Weilan picked up the gear and inspected it carefully, suddenly frowning. "Where is yours?"
Jiang Yifan smiled. "I'll make mine last."
Li Nanzhu immediately understood—Jiang Yifan had used his own share of materials on the gear for the three of them!
She was about to speak when Feng Qingping pressed her shoulder.
"Fourth Senior Brother." Feng Qingping's voice was exceptionally serious. "Give me the blueprints you used."
Jiang Yifan was stunned. "What?"
"The blueprints," Feng Qingping insisted. "I know you modified the design and used most of the star-patterned iron on our gear."
Seeing he couldn't hide it, Jiang Yifan had to confess. "I'm the one with the highest cultivation here. I can still protect myself..."
"Bullshit!" Feng Weilan suddenly cursed. "If it were really that simple, you wouldn't have been so heavily injured before!"
Li Nanzhu unhesitatingly unfastened her heart-protecting mirror and shoved it into Jiang Yifan's hand. "Fourth Senior Brother, use mine first."
Jiang Yifan froze in place, the silver-gray heart-protecting mirror shimmering in his palm. Before he could speak, Feng Weilan had unfastened his bracers, and Feng Qingping had removed her neck guard. Three pieces of gear made of star-patterned iron were held out before him simultaneously.
"You guys..." Jiang Yifan's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice sounding a bit thick. Three sets of equally stubborn eyes left him nowhere to run. Finally, he could only compromise. "...Fine. But Little Junior Sister's cultivation is still shallow; it's too dangerous without a heart-protecting mirror."
"Don't worry, Fourth Senior Brother." Li Nanzhu picked up Suisui at her feet, her fingertips lightly stroking its lustrous white bone body. "Suisui has eaten quite a bit of star-patterned iron, right?"
Suisui immediately straightened its spine, its jawbone clicking as its soul fire leaped joyfully, as if proving its reliability.
Furthermore, the last protection Xiao Yan had left her was still there. If truth be told, she was actually the safest one among the four.
Jiang Yifan eventually took Li Nanzhu's heart-protecting mirror and pulled out the last piece of star-patterned iron from his storage bag. "Actually... I kept a little bit back."
Feng Qingping didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. "You!"
Ultimately, Jiang Yifan still scraped together a set of armor for himself. Although the protective effect certainly wasn't as perfect as what he had made initially, it was better than nothing.
"Prepare to break out," Jiang Yifan said as he and Li Nanzhu's group finished putting on their gear. "I've observed that the mother nest has a brief dormant period every day at the hour of Zi. That will be our best chance!"
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