At his fingertips, faint ripples arose, as though a gust of gray wind blew in from nowhere, colliding with his fingertips and lingering there before spinning in circles, forming into a tiny mist, gradually accelerating in its rotation.

He then infused it with a fire attribute skill, creating a dynamic of heat and cold. Soon, faint threads of electricity began flickering incessantly within the spinning mist, resembling a miniature thundercloud.

To outsiders, his fingertip appeared as if adorned with a delicate, radiant flower.

Of course, the monks present were not blind—they clearly saw his palm crafting the cosmos and fingertips guiding electricity, revealing that the "Flower Picking Finger" was, in fact, picking the flower of lightning.

What was he doing? His master, Qu Wuming, was dumbfounded.

The disciples of the Yanbao Sect were equally stunned.

Guang Haoyou and those who had once entered the Divine Fire Domain with Li Hongjiu were naturally not unfamiliar with this scene—it wasn't the first time they had seen it.

They were both excited and nervous.

Excited because their uncle might once again display his divine prowess.

Nervous because this was not the proper place for a fight. If he truly acted here, it would undoubtedly escalate into something big.

Those who had been to the Divine Fire Domain believed they understood—that their uncle might intend to summon heavenly thunder to eliminate all the opponents present; with no rivals left, victory would naturally be his.

This notion sounded utterly implausible—one couldn't act so brazenly under the watchful eyes of everyone. But the issue was that this uncle was known for his lack of regard for conventions and was quite capable of such audacious acts.

Guang Haoyou felt that remaining silent at this moment would be irresponsible toward both his sect and his uncle. Bracing himself, he squeezed forward, weaving through the front rows, before quickly approaching the Sect Master, nervously bowing in salute, "Sect Master, I have urgent news to report."

Qu Wuming and the high-ranking members were momentarily stunned. Reporting news in the midst of such a critical phase of your uncle's competition—what kind of disruptive behavior was this?

However, knowing that this disciple was a steady and composed individual—otherwise, he wouldn't have been entrusted to lead their mission into the Divine Fire Domain—they hesitated but allowed him to proceed.

Qu Wuming responded with a grunt, "Keep it brief."

Guang Haoyou glanced around, hesitating to speak openly, and instead stepped slightly closer.

Everyone noticed he wished to speak in whispers; the high-ranking members unconsciously leaned forward in cooperation.

Guang Haoyou whispered softly, "Uncle Hongjiu might attempt to wield thunder. In the Divine Fire Domain, he shattered various sects' magical treasures using lightning. The current situation feels similar."

He said no more, letting his words hang as he observed the reactions of the senior sect members.

Qu Wuming and the others were momentarily stunned before their expressions collectively shifted into shocked disbelief. They swiftly interpreted Guang Haoyou's meaning: there were no magical treasures for Li Hongjiu to strike here—only competitors.

The problem was, unlike hiding in the shadows, openly summoning heavenly thunder here would leave no doubt that the culprit was Li Hongjiu. And though the Yanbao Sect was strong, it was not strong enough to oppose the entire Artifact Refining World.

Such a foolish act—the senior sect members truly believed Li Hongjiu was capable of it.

Qu Wuming immediately gestured for Guang Haoyou to retreat, then swiftly invoked his techniques to transmit a message to his troublesome disciple, "You reckless fool, what are you trying to do?"

On the other side, Shi Chun slightly opened his mouth, equally startled. He had witnessed Li Hongjiu's tactics before—what was this guy up to now? Was he planning to eliminate his competitors with underhanded tricks?

No, this wasn't stealthy at all—it was outright public. Was the Yanbao Sect truly running unchecked?

All eyes in the venue gradually shifted toward Li Hongjiu.

Someone asked, "What is he doing?"

The group from the Daming Pavilion grew highly tense, fearing Li Hongjiu might act against Luo Shengsheng.

Even external audiences monitoring the mirrored images zeroed in on the crystalline lightning flower forming between Li Hongjiu's fingertips—it stood out conspicuously amidst the contest arena.

Li Hongjiu, seemingly entering some kind of state, appeared oblivious to his master's rebuke. His focus expanded across the boundless unknown.

Between heaven and earth, forms coexist—visible and invisible.

Suddenly, he flipped his fingers and snapped, and the dazzling lightning flower at his fingertips dissolved into sparkling dust, akin to countless fireflies dispersing into the night, possessing an ethereal charm as it vanished into the void. In an instant, it connected to the invisible forces concealed within the formless void.

As he extinguished the lightning, Qu Wuming breathed a sigh of relief, believing his warning had been effective—this troublesome disciple still feared him, after all.

Then, moments later, Li Hongjiu, like an elegant maiden embroidering, deftly flicked his fingers in a dizzying flurry, abruptly pausing as if becoming still water. He then extended one index finger, settling it near his core, while his other hand continued to support the glowing, red-hot artifact material.

The extended finger seemed to summon something from the void. The competitors sensed it first, each experiencing a faint jolt from a fleeting, immaterial force.

They began to discern its direction—whether it was Luo Shengsheng or Tong Mingshan—they all turned to Li Hongjiu, who was forming the finger seal.

As the area of influence widened, everyone present felt a vague sense of extraction from the void.

Young Master Nan on the mountainside began to concentrate.

Mulan Jin, standing atop the mountain pavilion, tilted her head, gazing into the void, her expression slightly perplexed, murmuring as though in a dream, "He peers into the Dao's essence..."

What was it? Shi Chun sensed something amiss and noticed unseen forces at play. Quickly, he activated his superpower-enhanced right eye.

With his Dharma Eye open, the source of the anomaly became clear—there appeared to be faint, dust-like fragments softly swirling, as though blown toward Li Hongjiu, encircling above his fingertips.

Not heavenly thunder—what on earth was this guy up to now? Shi Chun was utterly bewildered.

Guang Haoyou looked up at the sky, observing no brewing storm clouds, realizing there was no thunder involved. He sweated nervously, aware he might have spoken out of turn.

Buzzing—flames suddenly erupted in Li Hongjiu's palm, enveloping the artifact material in a fiery blaze.

Had he begun refining artifacts?

Yet those present were experts in artifact refining, and Li Hongjiu's unconventional process without using auxiliary tools left them baffled—how could this possibly result in an Exquisite Heart?

Even members of Li Hongjiu's sect appeared utterly perplexed.

But Qu Wuming's expression finally improved, recognizing Li Hongjiu genuinely intended to refine artifacts, rather than incapacitating his competitors.

He understood enough not to make reckless remarks—he could faintly sense that this troublesome disciple was about to take yet another unconventional route.

"Hah!"

As the timing seemed right, Li Hongjiu suddenly let out a soft shout. His raised index finger directed toward the flaming artifact material, while he entered a state of deep focus.

Others couldn't see the anomaly within the void, but Shi Chun's Dharma Eye clearly revealed it. The faint dust above the artifact material began spiraling, compressing into a peculiar shape resembling claws.

On closer inspection, they were not claws but increasingly dense, root-like structures of varying sizes.

Even Shi Chun's Dharma Eye struggled to interpret what it was.

Once the root-like structure had stabilized without further growth, Li Hongjiu abruptly opened his eyes. The flames in his palm soared upward, touching the root-like object suspended in the void. Instantly, fire spread over its multitude of spinning tendrils.

Now, Shi Chun finally realized the roots were not static—each tendril was rotating, even the minutest ones. The flames adhered along their surfaces, making this motion visible.

Soon, a glowing, tree-root-shaped structure of pure flame materialized, hovering before everyone's eyes.

Shi Chun, an outsider to artifact refining, couldn't comprehend what it was—but the experts in the field understood in a single glance.

Shi Chun was just about to ask when, with a faint nod toward him, the Hundred Refinement Sect's Sect Master Yan Qufeng gave the answer, "It's the internal structure of the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart!"

Shi Chun froze, turning to inquire about its purpose when Yan Qufeng suddenly gasped in shock. "Could it be… is he planning to…?"

Planning what? Shi Chun awaited clarification, but then realized the sentence was left unfinished—were they mocking his ignorance?

Attempting to read the expressions of the artifact refining experts, he saw only astonishment etched across their faces, growing increasingly eager to understand. He directly asked, "What does this mean?"

Yan Qufeng replied with a mix of suspicion and awe, "Perhaps… it looks as though… he might directly liquefy the materials into molten iron, insert his modeled structure into the liquid for shaping, and let it naturally form upon cooling, bypassing the typical step-by-step refining process."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun was utterly dumbfounded. In this way, wouldn't Tong Mingshan's twenty-six Divine Fires be rendered meaningless, and the grand reward forfeited?

He hastily pressed further, "Sect Master Yan, can materials directly accommodate modeled structures like this? Can one really refine this way? What kind of refining is this?"

Yan Qufeng responded gravely, "That's why contestants are subjected to thorough searches beforehand—no auxiliary tools or external aids are permitted. This comparison is focused purely on individual refining capabilities. If he can genuinely refine using this technique, it might signify exceptionally advanced refining skills."

Shi Chun nearly cursed aloud, his frustration boiling over. "Not following convention—how advanced can this possibly be?"

Elder Jie Lunguang interjected, "This method of creating form from void is no trivial feat. Look at those intricate tendrils—thousands of them, differing in size, length, and shape. To maintain such a large array in fixed positions capable of bearing refining power is extraordinarily complex. Unless you've practiced in this field, you wouldn't comprehend its challenges. Any slight mishandling, or even fluctuations, could destabilize the material's properties during cooling, leading to refined structural defects. One vanished fine channel would mean failure. As someone outside of this profession, you likely aren't aware of these subtleties."

Shi Chun dismissed this as nonsense, glaring toward the invisible anomaly—he understood Li Hongjiu wouldn't attempt such audacious acts without confidence. No wonder it was suggested earlier that Luo Shengsheng couldn't win if Li Hongjiu participated.

He didn't care about Luo Shengsheng's victory—but he did worry Li Hongjiu might inadvertently ruin his party's secret plans to seize advantage amidst the chaos.

Yan Qufeng noticed his discomfort and tentatively asked, "Brother Shi, is it that you don't wish to see Li Hongjiu win?"

Of course not—but as he opened his mouth to retort, Shi Chun realized something, forcing a grin and declaring, "Li Hongjiu and I are as close as brothers—naturally, I want him to win. I couldn't wish for anything more."

At this moment, the fiery tree-root-shaped construct hovering around Li Hongjiu began descending slowly. As it made contact with the red-hot artifact material below, molten iron immediately flowed upward along the thousands of spinning tendrils, fusing meticulously with the descending structure.

This scene left Luo Shengsheng dumbfounded, realizing this contest was far different from his expectations.

And it wasn't just him—all the competitors present, Tong Mingshan included, were equally stunned. Someone was using a method beyond their understanding to compete with them in refining skills.

Yanbao Sect Master Qu Wuming grinned crookedly, his expression bizarrely unconventional—a look that almost detracted from his sect's dignified reputation.

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