Chapter 464: A Moment of Falling into Demonic Thoughts

What is Tong Mingshan doing?

Grand Master Yan of the Hundred Refinements Sect seemed to be asking no one in particular.

Even a fool could see that Tong Mingshan was currently re-melting the nine divided pieces of refining material back into one. His actions were utterly incomprehensible to Grand Master Yan.

Dividing it into nine was for refining the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart, which was perfectly understandable.

Abandoning eight to focus on one was for refining a true Exquisite Heart with a single orifice, which was also understandable.

But what was the point of picking up those nine partially refined materials and re-melting them into a single piece?

Only a quarter of the competition time remained. To try a different approach now was even more outlandish than Li Hongjiu’s antics.

It wasn't just Grand Master Yan; the murmurs rising from the audience were filled with confusion. Many even reached a remarkably accurate conclusion: Tong Mingshan might have encountered a problem during the refining process, perhaps spoiling the material, and had to start over.

Aside from this conclusion, no one could think of any other reason.

The Hundred Refinements Sect remained silent, a clear sign of their agreement.

Thus, Shi Chun's group found their own assumptions confirmed by the sect's silence. They couldn't help but sigh inwardly, resigned to the fact that their sect master's foundation was too weak. It wasn't hard to understand why he might appear somewhat inferior in such a competition.

The taunts and ridicule interspersed among the various sects didn't cause much of a stir. After all, Tong Mingshan had still qualified to compete and had even acquired four divine flames. How many of the sects present could surpass Tong Mingshan? Few had the right to mock him, and incessant mockery would only reflect poorly on themselves.

Furthermore, Tong Mingshan wasn't the main focus of attention at this moment. The real draw was the prospect of someone refining a true Exquisite Heart. Tong Mingshan was like an opened book page — even if there was content, it wasn't particularly interesting, so people simply turned past it.

However, Situ Gu’s attention, which occasionally drifted back to Tong Mingshan, was eventually captivated. He felt that Tong Mingshan’s two divine flames were melting and fusing the materials unusually quickly, faster than two normal divine flames should. Could he have remembered incorrectly?

By the time he realized it, the nine pieces of material had already melted into one.

Immediately after, the glowing red material rapidly cooled and solidified, taking on the outline of a heart.

Tong Mingshan, holding the material in a single palm, remained motionless with his eyes closed. Black and white flames intertwined and pulsed in his hand. The slowly descending material seemed to suppress the flames, pushing them down until almost no light was visible.

If it weren't for a layer of flickering light still visible in the gap between the material's base and his palm, one might easily mistake Tong Mingshan for having stopped refining.

This unusual refining method once again drew Situ Gu's intense focus.

“Senior Brother Zuo!”

A small cheer had already erupted from the disciples of the Heaven Refining Sect.

Zuo Zisheng had completed his refining. Holding his cooled and shaped finished product, he walked towards the judging area in the center of the arena.

After joint verification by representatives from the Ten Great Sects, Zuo Zisheng's Eight-Orifice Exquisite Heart was successfully validated.

However, just as Zuo Zisheng, with a heavy heart, was exiting and walking towards his sect's area, another wave of astonished shouts arose.

“It’s really a true Exquisite Heart!”

“Has he already refined one orifice?”

Zuo Zisheng stopped and looked back. He saw the material Luo Shengsheng was refining, shimmering with a faint, beautiful glow.

Crucially, Luo Shengsheng was withdrawing the refining flames. He glanced at the time remaining in the incense burner, then at Li Hongjiu, before immediately redirecting his fire and beginning to refine another piece of material.

As those who knew Luo Shengsheng observed, many from Dameng Pavilion had noticed a change in his complexion when the flames shifted, something that had been hard to discern earlier due to the fire's glow.

The Pavilion Master of Dameng Pavilion and his high-ranking aides exchanged glances, their expressions solemn. They all saw that Luo Shengsheng had expended considerable energy refining the true Exquisite Heart. Now, continuing to refine a second orifice, they wondered if he could withstand the strain.

“He’s already completed one orifice, and now he’s refining a second?”

Similar exclamations rose one after another.

Li Hongjiu merely opened his eyes for a quick look, then closed them again, showing no further reaction.

Tong Mingshan, hearing these commotions, remained even more unperturbed. His intent was in his mind, his thought in his palm; intent and thought were connected. Within that lump of iron, an ingeniously delicate structure was slowly blossoming, piece by piece.

His previous repeated refinement had not been in vain. His painstaking observation of the heart’s minute structures was now being replicated, bit by bit, into an identical structure within the iron lump.

Once he truly got started, he achieved an inverse synergy: the speed of observation could be adjusted according to the progress of the structure’s formation, meaning the structural progress could also dictate the observational speed. Neither needed to force the other; a smooth and natural coordination was optimal.

Thus, wherever his internal perception observed, the Two-Mysteries True Fire refined to that point.

With such a good start, a barely perceptible curve played on his lips, a natural sense of contentment.

He also felt an immense challenge.

Though the heart was small, before his eyes it now appeared like a towering mountain range, or a vast demonic abyss. The beating sound, the blood gushing from the orifices, vivid and grotesque, the bloody sight like a demon’s eye, seemed to exert intimidation. There was also the intertwining light of illusions from the other end, and he, holding divine weapons, commanded countless forces to charge forward.

Outwardly, it was merely a competition, but inwardly, it was a colossal undertaking.

And he, it seemed, was consumed by a single-minded obsession, stubborn and persistent.

Meanwhile, in the arena, after Zuo Zisheng, others also gradually stopped refining. These were individuals who knew they lacked the time to refine another orifice. They submitted their completed work to the judges and quietly exited after receiving positive verdicts.

Some time later, Xu Mang of Jingyang Palace, Huang Chunchu of Fuming Valley, Yuan Yao of Shudao Mountain, and others also successively finished refining their Seven-Orifice Exquisite Hearts, submitting them for judgment before leaving the stage.

Apart from their respective sects, other spectators paid little attention to these departures. Everyone's true focus remained on the few individuals who seemed to be engaged in a top-tier contest.

As competition time ticked by, the fellow disciples behind those top contenders also felt as if days were passing like years.

The Heaven Refining Sect, the foremost refining sect, observed with cool detachment. Luo Shengsheng had clearly completed one orifice of the true Exquisite Heart, crushing any lingering hopes they might have had.

When only a fifth of the competition time remained, another wave of astonished shouts erupted.

“The second orifice is done!”

“My heavens, is he going to refine a third orifice?”

“The second orifice seemed to take less time than the first.”

“Of course, with experience, it’s bound to be faster.”

The ethereal glow of the second orifice Luo Shengsheng had refined faded. Withdrawing his divine fire, he immediately refocused it to refine the third orifice.

“Look at Li Hongjiu!”

A startled cry made Luo Shengsheng, who was about to close his eyes, look towards Li Hongjiu opposite him. He saw faint, ethereal light also emerging from within the material in Li Hongjiu's hand.

Luo Shengsheng immediately felt a sense of unease. Yet, true to his reputation as an elite recognized by Dameng Pavilion, he quickly discarded distracting thoughts, closed his eyes, and focused his entire mental energy solely on refining his third orifice.

Over at the Treasure Refining Sect, Sect Master Qu Wuming had already clenched his fists, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide as he stared at the 'unworthy disciple' he so often reprimanded.

The result did not disappoint them. Within the seamless 'heart' in Li Hongjiu's hand, the shadow of an ethereal glow became increasingly clear—an irregular outline, as if a bold, rich stroke of ink had been drawn upon the refining material.

After the glow took shape, it gradually faded, and that area of the 'heart' visibly cooled rapidly and darkened as the high temperature was withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the molten iron in other parts still seemed to be slowly shifting.

Li Hongjiu's finger gestures, resembling a 'flower-plucking' hand seal, continued to draw in the air, making motions no one could comprehend.

The suppressed cries of astonishment from the Treasure Refining Sect had not yet fully erupted when, immediately after, in the shifting molten iron, another part of the 'heart' slowly began to radiate an ethereal glow, gradually forming another irregular outline.

Everyone present had witnessed Li Hongjiu’s 'model' fusion technique before, so they immediately understood what was happening. Normal refining simply could not be this fast.

“Silence! No shouting!”

Elder Li Qianqiu quickly turned and warned the Treasure Refining Sect disciples, suppressing their impending cheers, fearful of distracting Li Hongjiu.

Not just Luo Shengsheng, but they too had noticed the unusual pallor on Li Hongjiu's face, instantly recognizing it as a result of immense mental exertion.

They were all experts in the field and knew perfectly well how colossal the effort was to replicate the intricate musculature of a heart in such a short time. It was too vast, too complex, and most dauntingly, had to be done within such a limited timeframe.

However, while they could silence the Treasure Refining Sect disciples, they couldn't control the mouths of other sects. Exclamations of “Second orifice!” continued unabated.

Although Luo Shengsheng had also refined a second orifice, it was entirely different from what was happening now. The interval between the appearance of Li Hongjiu's first and second orifices was simply too brief.

What shocked everyone even more was yet to come. Soon after the second orifice in Li Hongjiu’s hand dimmed and cooled, a third section of ethereal light began to emerge from another part of the 'heart' as it shifted.

“A third orifice!”

The audience erupted like a surging tide, their eyes wide open in shock and excitement at this unprecedented sight.

Situ Gu of the Heaven Refining Sect was also visibly moved.

Young Master Nan, situated halfway up the mountain, had already stood up, shaking his head in amazement. He sat behind a cluster of sects, and as everyone discussed, he, as an outsider, naturally understood. What he saw before him was astonishing, and it would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the entire refining world.

In the pavilion at the mountain peak, Mu Lanjin looked at the mirrored image focused on Li Hongjiu and murmured, “No wonder Qu Wuming loves him so deeply yet resents him so fiercely. He truly is a monstrously talented prodigy, but for the Treasure Refining Sect, I wonder if he’ll be a blessing or a curse.”

Luo Shengsheng was also shaken. He opened his eyes, watching the third orifice in Li Hongjiu’s hand slowly take shape, and he was genuinely astonished.

However, he glanced at the timer in the incense burner. His pride wouldn't allow him to give up easily. Ignoring Li Hongjiu’s subtle chin-lifted provocation, he closed his eyes again and refocused on his refining.

“Damn bald guy…” Li Hongjiu muttered, a slight grin on his face, though inwardly he was also complaining bitterly.

He had expended immense mental energy to outline three orifices at once, estimating that it would be enough. He had hoped Luo Shengsheng would know when to retreat, but who knew this bald guy’s refining speed wasn’t slow either? He had truly experienced the power of ten divine flames; it was indeed formidable. Moreover, this bald guy was stubbornly persistent, actually wanting to continue the fight. Was he sick? Couldn't he just concede earlier?

He really didn't want to endure this exhaustion anymore. It was incredibly mentally draining, as if his brain was about to be hollowed out. He truly feared that if he continued refining, he would collapse from exhaustion.

But there was no choice. Luo Shengsheng was still going to fight on, and his three orifices, sitting there, weren't a secure enough lead, forcing him to grit his teeth and continue refining.

He also glanced at the timer in the incense burner, estimating that if he outlined two more orifices, Luo Shengsheng’s refining speed wouldn’t be able to catch up. At that point, even if his opponent didn’t want to concede, he would still lose.

However, just thinking about the subsequent refining process made his scalp tingle. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his 'flower-plucking' finger once again drew intricate gestures in the air.

Annoyingly, someone suddenly let out a strange cry: “Look at Tong Mingshan!”

All eyes, which had been fixed on Li Hongjiu, now turned towards Tong Mingshan in the arena at the sound of the exclamation. The entire Instrument Cloud Valley suddenly fell so silent that a dropped pin could be heard.

What was going on? Li Hongjiu’s eyelids twitched. He could tolerate noise, but what was this sudden, eerie silence supposed to mean? It felt as if he had been abandoned by the entire world. Unable to get used to it, he slowly opened his eyes again.