The old Taoist's eyes lacked spirit, and his strength was entirely driven by Luo Yu.
Luo Yu's body kept being damaged by the surging power, bleeding profusely, but the purple Qi and Pure Qi were helping him recover from his injuries.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, glaring fiercely around him.
"Didn't want to go this far."
"Come on."
"Start!"
He reached out a finger toward the front, and an Alchemy Furnace materialized out of thin air, its formless flames burning fiercely within.
"Furnace open!"
"Whoosh."
The lid of the Dan Furnace flew off, and the temperature around it soared rapidly.
"Samadhi True Fire."
"Refine for me!"
"Boom!"
A white, transparent flame burst forth from the furnace, clinging to the surrounding copper mirrors, burning mightily and lighting up the surroundings with flames that reached for the sky.
Bai Xiao'e and the other girl shivered, their delicate bodies trembling uncontrollably, legs tightly clamped together.
It wasn't that they were scared of Luo Yu, but rather from an instinctive fear of the surrounding flames, as if touching even a whisper of it would burn them to ash, annihilating both body and Divine Spirit.
Luo Yu sneered.
He didn't believe that, despite summoning the Samadhi True Fire, the copper mirrors would remain intact.
It was well known that this Samadhi True Fire could not only refine the highest quality Elixirs but also supreme treasures.
Legend has it that the Vajra Cutter that once broke the indestructible body of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was forged by this Samadhi True Fire.
"You think you're so tough, let's see if you can withstand my Samadhi True Fire that burns through everything."
"Whir, whir!"
The Samadhi True Fire continued to burn fiercely, consuming a great deal of Luo Yu's strength, but he did not stop.
The copper mirror walls began to change.
Previously unscathed under the blows of the Slay-Immortal Sword, they were now red hot, with the surrounding temperature rising endlessly.
But since the fire was released by Luo Yu, why would he be harmed by the high temperature?
He split the flames into three, enough to protect himself and the two others from the domineering heat.
"Stop burning!"
"Stop burning!!!"
Suddenly, a child-like, frantic voice echoed in the empty space, startling Luo Yu and the others.
Luo Yu's mouth curved in a smile, confirming his suspicion—there was indeed something ghostly afoot!
He didn't stop.
Instead, he began to chant the Fire Control Mantra, increasing the intensity of the Samadhi True Fire's blaze.
"Whoosh!!"
"Great one, spare me, great one, spare me," the child's voice became extremely urgent.
Luo Yu shouted coldly:
"What sort of apparition are you, come out at once!"
"Swoosh!"
The copper mirror began to move as if it had flesh, and a yellow-bronze-colored child's apparition emerged, its body glowing red, flickering on and off.
"Great one, stop burning, it's hot, too hot to bear!!!"
The child apparition floated in the air, kowtowing to Luo Yu repeatedly, begging for mercy.
Luo Yu looked on with amazement, witnessing such a peculiar sight for the first time. What was this child?
A ghost?
Bai Xiao'e was shocked; she hadn't expected something to truly emerge from the fire Luo Yu had set.
"Brother Luo is so powerful."
What remained in her heart was intense admiration, and Beautiful Eyes sparkled with a special adoration.
Miss Zhen said in surprise:
"Artifact Spirit?"
"Are you the Artifact Spirit of a Magical Treasure?"
"Yes, I am an Artifact Spirit, spare me, oh great one, stop burning," the child cried loudly as Luo Yu showed no signs of stopping.
"Won't shed tears until seeing the coffin, do you find it amusing to play tricks on us?"
Luo Yu regarded the Artifact Spirit who was naked yet had no gender characteristics, its body like it was cast from yellow-bronze but now unnaturally red from the burning.
"I didn't do it on purpose, I was just fulfilling my master's task," the child explained repeatedly while kowtowing.
"Hmm? Master, where is your master?"
On hearing this, Luo Yu's expression was cold, but his heart was shocked.
If this thing could only be harmed by summoning the Samadhi True Fire, how powerful must its master have been?
"My master has been dead for a thousand, two thousand... Eh, many thousands of years," the child became increasingly anxious, its voice growing weaker.
"Great one, please stop, or Tong Tong will be burned away."
Luo Yu showed no mercy, burning it a bit longer until the child's voice lost its strength, and then he stopped.
For those things that pretended to play God and tried to mess with his mind, Luo Yu was not one to hold back, and not frightening them into submission was clearly not an option for him.
"Recall!"
He formed the fire gesture, and the Samadhi True Fire simultaneously retreated back into the alchemy furnace in the void, hiding but not extinguished.
Luo Yu asked coldly, "Your name is Tong Tong?"
The child looked at Luo Yu with lingering fear, "Great one, why do you have Samadhi True Fire? It's too terrifying."
Luo Yu's mind stirred. This kid knew about Samadhi True Fire?
"I'm asking you a question."
The child shivered, then honestly replied, "My name is Tong Tong. I am the Artifact Spirit of this Bagua Mirror. My master ordered me to guard this place, not allowing anyone to enter."
"Bagua Mirror?" Luo Yu raised an eyebrow.
The Artifact Spirit was clearly frightened by the fire, recognized Luo Yu as a predator, and immediately restored the surroundings to their original state; the copper mirrors vanished.
After a gentle shock of yellow light, Luo Yu and the two women were once again standing in the dark passage with a Bagua Mirror in front of them, carved with the Qian and Kun trigrams, and the Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, with a strange design and many damages along the edges; there were also several cracks on its surface.
But obviously, these were not caused by Luo Yu's burning but had existed for a long time.
"This..."
All three were surprised; they hadn't expected to be so thoroughly fooled by such an unremarkable, damaged Bagua Mirror.
A miniature version of the Artifact Spirit's phantom appeared on the mirror.
"Great one, this is my true form."
Luo Yu was full of questions, but he did not appear desperate or eager, maintaining a serious demeanor as he patiently said, "I ask, and you answer. Who is your master?"
The Artifact Spirit shook its head.
"Why are you guarding this place?"
The Artifact Spirit shook its head again.
"What are you, exactly?"
The Artifact Spirit shook its head for the third time, and Luo Yu finally lost his patience.
"Are you looking for death!!!"
The Artifact Spirit trembled in fear, curling up on the floating surface of the mirror.
"Great one, spare my life, spare my life. Tong Tong is severely damaged; I've lost many of my past memories and dare not lie."
Luo Yu's eyes went peculiar; why did these words sound so familiar?
He glanced at Zhen Fu'er.
Well done, you all really do come from the same tomb, all cut from the same cloth.
Luo Yu pointed at Zhen Fu'er and asked the Artifact Spirit, "Do you recognize this woman?"
The Artifact Spirit looked utterly confused and shook its head repeatedly.
"Miss Zhen, do you recognize this thing?" Luo Yu inquired.
Zhen Fu'er shook her head, "Qi Refiners of the Qin and Han Dynasties were the best at using Magical Treasures, but I've never seen such an odd Bagua Bronze Mirror."
Luo Yu clenched his teeth; since this thing did not recognize Zhen Fu'er, it probably didn't know what else was hidden in the other tombs either.
He pressed the Artifact Spirit again,
"Who built this tomb?"
The Artifact Spirit shook its head continuously.
"I don't know."
Luo Yu's face twisted with anger, "If you know nothing, what use are you to me!"
"Today, I'll refine you."
The Artifact Spirit shuddered with terror in an instant.
"Great one, spare my life!"
"Tong Tong really doesn't remember anything."
"I only know to guard this place."
Luo Yu's face darkened, "You claim to know nothing, yet how do you know about our lives, the three of us."
"Knowing nothing, how could you, trapped in this ancient tomb, know what year it is in the outside world?"
Luo Yu was asking the question that both Bai Xiao'e and Zhen Fu'er wanted to know most, staring intently at this special Artifact Spirit.
"That's easy."
"With just a calculation, Tong Tong knew," declared the Artifact Spirit matter-of-factly, giving the trio the most unexpectedly dumbfounding answer.
"You can calculate?" Luo Yu's eyes widened in disbelief, gritting his teeth fiercely, "Are you bullshitting me?"
"If you don't tell the truth now, I'll refine you right away."
Bai Xiao'e and the other woman also wore faces of disbelief.
The Artifact Spirit became anxious, as if it would burst into tears if it could, possibly even sobbing uncontrollably.
"Great one, Tong Tong dares not lie!"
"My skills are in divination and formation setting."
Luo Yu looked at the damaged, ancient Bagua Mirror, listening to the Artifact Spirit's explanation, a thought struck him.
"How did you deduce our names, and just how much information did you deduce about us?"
The Artifact Spirit hurriedly explained, frightened that if it were too slow, Luo Yu would refine it.
"As long as someone enters my formation, I can deduce their information. It's just that without the power infused by my master to activate me, the information I deduce on my own is very limited."
"Aside from the great one's name and birth details, the current year and month, there is nothing else."