Chapter 115: Re-entering the Way

"Haha, as long as Mr. Lin is pleased with it." Liang Qiuyang said with a smile.

"It's just that I, Liang, am not particularly talented. Although this Huntian Furnace is a magic artifact of exceptionally fine quality, I studied it for a long time yet never managed to grasp its mysteries—I don't even have the slightest clue how to activate it. I can only hope that Mr. Lin will be able to find a way." Liang Qiuyang said with a rather ashamed expression.

Although the Huntian Furnace was of extremely high quality, Liang Qiuyang had neither magic power nor the techniques to use it. To him, the furnace was practically a piece of junk. Were it not for that, he probably wouldn't have been willing to part with something so precious.

"I see..." Lin Le once again turned his gaze to the Huntian Furnace before him.

Lin Le took out the furnace, held it in the center of his palm, then focused his mind and extended his spiritual sense into the furnace.

The moment his spiritual sense entered it, the Huntian Furnace before his eyes transformed into an entirely different sight.

He could see that the entire surface of the furnace was wrapped in a layer of golden light—this was dharma radiance, the mark of the furnace's status as a magic artifact, indicating that magical power was imbued within it.

Furthermore, Lin Le could see that densely packed golden runes had been carved onto the body of the furnace with magical power. These were the formations that the furnace's maker had laid upon its surface—the very source of the entire Huntian Furnace's divine powers.

These formation runes differed from those on the Wudao Dharma Sword. They were not ancient script but archaic characters closer in form to modern writing. Thus, the Huntian Furnace was not something from an outer world, nor a relic of ancient times, but rather an artifact forged by cultivators during China's ancient dynasties.

This took Lin Le somewhat by surprise.

Because Lin Le had always believed that even those so-called inner sect Daoists hidden away from the world could only grasp extremely limited cultivation methods, and could never attain overly profound levels of cultivation—naturally, they wouldn't be able to forge magic artifacts of high quality either.

Yet unexpectedly, even in ancient China's past, which was not all that far removed from his own time, there had been cultivators capable of forging sixth-grade high-tier magic artifacts!

A magic artifact is forged through the infusion of the forger's magical power, and its high grade indicates that the forger's cultivation level was equally high.

The one who could forge a sixth-grade artifact was absolutely not to be underestimated—at the very least, their power far exceeded Lin Le's current level!

Lin Le suddenly felt that it might be necessary for him to begin stepping into domains connected to the inner sect Daoists.

Although he had received the great Dao heritage of the Lingxiao Emperor, if he continued only interacting with ordinary people and remained entirely ignorant of the inner sect Daoists, then before long, he would inevitably become a frog at the bottom of a well!

With this thought, Lin Le secretly resolved that once an opportunity to approach the inner sect Daoists presented itself, no matter what kind of opportunity it was, he would seize it immediately. Only then could he gain true access to the inner sect Daoists and broaden his horizons.

Having made this resolution, Lin Le set the matter aside for the moment and redirected his attention to the runic formations of the Huntian Furnace.

After carefully sensing the runic formations with his spiritual sense, Lin Le immediately understood the furnace's divine ability.

"That's it. I now know how to use the Huntian Furnace." Lin Le withdrew his spiritual sense and said calmly.

"Really?!" Liang Qiuyang was overjoyed. After all, he had held the Huntian Furnace in his hands for decades without ever uncovering its true essence, yet it had fallen into Lin Le's hands for mere moments before its mysteries were understood.

"Please, Mr. Lin, let me witness this with my own eyes!" Liang Qiuyang said excitedly.

"Certainly!" Lin Le answered without hesitation. "But we'll need to go outside."

With that, Lin Le held the Huntian Furnace in his hands and walked with Liang Qiuyang to the courtyard.

Lin Le silently recited the activation incantation in his mind, then shouted aloud: "Appear!"

No sooner had the word "Appear!" left his mouth than a thunderous boom resounded. The Huntian Furnace flew out of Lin Le's hand, and in an instant, the palm-sized furnace expanded severalfold, transforming into a massive cauldron three meters tall! Like a bronze giant, it suddenly stood towering before them!

"Ah!" Liang Qiuyang had never witnessed such divine power and let out a startled cry.

"Divine power! This is true divine power!" Liang Qiuyang exclaimed.

Something the size of a palm transforming into a colossal object three meters tall with a single thought—in the eyes of ordinary people, that would be utterly impossible, completely beyond all reason. Even Einstein would likely be spinning in his grave.

But as cultivators, both Lin Le and Liang Qiuyang understood that this was the divine power of mystical arts, something that physical science could never explain.

"There's more." Lin Le continued.

Then, Lin Le abruptly shouted: "Fire!"

The moment the word "Fire!" was uttered, a roaring whoosh filled the air as blazing flames instantly erupted within the Huntian Furnace. Even standing two or three meters away, Lin Le and Liang Qiuyang could feel the searing heat of the fire!

This was no ordinary flame—it was a fire ignited through formations constructed by magical power, and only such flames were capable of refining true elixirs.

"Have you seen enough, Master Liang?" After a long while, Lin Le asked.

"Enough, more than enough." Liang Qiuyang's face was filled with delight.

"Good. Retract!" Lin Le gave a light shout, and with a whoosh, the three-meter-tall colossus instantly shrank, becoming even smaller than it had been in his palm before—no larger than a walnut—as it fell back into Lin Le's hand.

These were the Huntian Furnace's maximum and minimum states.

Even after the furnace had returned to Lin Le's hand, Liang Qiuyang's face still radiated excitement.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin. Today, I have truly witnessed something extraordinary!" Liang Qiuyang said emotionally.

Although Liang Qiuyang was a cultivator and had once received guidance from his master, he had never truly witnessed the divine powers of inner sect Daoist arts. In truth, aside from the arts of Five Elements and geomancy, he was essentially no different from an ordinary person.

But the divine power Lin Le had just demonstrated by manipulating the Huntian Furnace with magical force was what truly allowed Liang Qiuyang to witness the might and allure of genuine inner sect Daoist arts!

It was practically an entirely different world!

"Master Liang, you didn't come here today just to give me this Huntian Furnace, did you? You must have other matters as well." Lin Le was not naive—bringing gifts to ask for favors was a perfectly normal practice, and he knew it well.

"Well... Mr. Lin is correct. Today I presented this furnace to you not only to celebrate your breakthrough in cultivation, but also because I have some selfish motives..." Liang Qiuyang seemed a bit reluctant to continue.

"Does Master Liang have something that requires Lin Le's assistance? Since you have so generously parted with such a precious treasure as the Huntian Furnace, I naturally won't treat you poorly. Please, speak freely. Anything within my power, I will not refuse." Lin Le said with an open and easy demeanor.

"The truth is... I hope Mr. Lin can help me re-enter the path of cultivation!" Liang Qiuyang finally revealed the true purpose of his visit.

For a long time before this, Liang Qiuyang had nearly given up on the path of cultivation entirely. But ever since he witnessed Lin Le's divine abilities and methods, a flame of hope had been rekindled in his heart.

The cultivation path that had ended before it even truly began—Liang Qiuyang wanted to start over.

"I see." Lin Le understood what Liang Qiuyang meant.

"I can help you!" Lin Le said directly, without much hesitation.

"Really?!" Liang Qiuyang was immediately overwhelmed with joy.

"Of course! I can teach you the method of entering the Dao right away. You have a foundation in Dao practice from before, so cultivating won't be too difficult for you."

"Furthermore, the Huntian Furnace is a high-grade artifact capable of refining elixirs. The elixirs produced from it possess effects dozens of times more potent than those refined with ordinary furnace flames. As it happens, I've been planning to refine some elixirs recently. Once I gather the materials and refine some Foundation Establishment pills, I'll give a portion to you, Master Liang. Given your foundation, I'm confident that before long, your Dao cultivation will break through to minor Foundation Establishment!" Lin Le said with great confidence.

As it happened, the timing was remarkably fortuitous.

Lin Le had just been worrying about how he would refine the medicinal herbs he planned to collect in the capital when Liang Qiuyang delivered the Huntian Furnace right into his hands—it was absolutely perfect. How could Lin Le not thank him properly!