Chapter 23: Red Flame Iron Ore

As Liu Qingfeng left, Qu Yi immediately felt relieved.
The Golden Crown Heron descended from the sky, and Bai Man hurriedly asked, “Qu Yi, are you okay?”
Qu Yi smiled in response, punching his own chest a few times before saying, “Sister, do I look like I’m in trouble? Haha! That despicable Liu Qingfeng actually dared to come and kill me today. In a few days, I’ll go and finish him off.”
Bai Man’s expression finally relaxed. She reached out with her delicate hand, stroking Qu Yi’s handsome face, and said tenderly, “Qu Yi, you must not get hurt. You promised to protect me. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to survive either.”
Qu Yi was shocked by her words. How could he not understand such straightforward sincerity from her?
“Sister, don’t worry. As long as I, Qu Yi, am still alive, I’ll always protect you and ensure no one bullies you,” Qu Yi exclaimed excitedly. Overcome with emotion, he hugged Bai Man affectionately.
As they embraced, their bond grew stronger, filled with happiness. After a long while, they reluctantly parted.
“Qu Yi, what should we do now? Should we go find Senior Brother Kang Feng and tell him what just happened?” Bai Man asked anxiously, her face flushed.
“No need. Let’s pretend what just happened never happened. I believe Liu Qingfeng won’t reveal it either,” Qu Yi said calmly.
Liu Qingfeng was known as the best low-cost disciple in the Xianyun Sect. If he revealed what had happened in the battle, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the sect anymore. Besides, it was Liu Qingfeng and Mu Qiushui who had joined forces to kill Qu Yi—such fratricide was something Liu Qingfeng would never admit to.
Mu Qiushui’s death was like a gust of wind—already in the past.
Bai Man, too, had been worried, but upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, she realized the situation was under control and felt relieved.
“Alright, Sister. Our next step is to find Red Flame Iron Ore,” Qu Yi said, holding up the spirit item bag with a laugh.
Bai Man was startled for a moment before laughing too, “Great! I almost forgot about that. The Gold-Eating Rat should be awake by now. Let’s have it lead us to find Red Flame Iron Ore.”
Red Flame Iron Ore was a high-grade material used to craft precious weapons. What was even more promising was that there were also spirit stone veins near the ore deposits—this was what Qu Yi cared about the most.
Although the divine formula cards allowed for rapid absorption of spiritual energy, it still couldn’t compare to directly absorbing spirit stones, which was faster and more effective. Strength improvement was what Qu Yi valued most.

“Senior sister, we don’t need the help of the Gold-Eating Rat anymore. I already know where the deposits of Red-Flame Pure Iron are,” Qu Yi said proudly.
In his soul, the Artifact God inside the Dimensional Sphere had already searched the area and found that beneath this barren rocky region was nothing but Red-Flame Pure Iron—information that Qu Yi already knew.
“Really? Where?” Bai Man was overjoyed and asked immediately.
Qu Yi pointed downward, stamped his foot, and looked at Bai Man with joy.
Bai Man was momentarily stunned before exclaiming happily, “It’s underground! Haha, that makes sense. The Gold-Eating Rat was caught here, which means Red-Flame Pure Iron must also be here.”
Qu Yi was taken aback. Had Bai Man deduced this? Didn’t she know that the Gold-Eating Rat had a vast range of activity? Could there really be Red-Flame Pure Iron in every place it went? If not for the Artifact God’s perception, he wouldn’t have dared assume this was the deposit site.
Of course, Qu Yi didn’t dare contradict Bai Man. Instead, he kept giving her thumbs up, praising her intelligence.
…
After a while, Qu Yi finally found a hole where the Gold-Eating Rat had been active in the barren rocky area. He immediately took out the Green Python Sword, channeled his vital energy into it, and began digging a tunnel with the sword’s light.
An hour later, Qu Yi reached a depth of a hundred meters underground, arriving in a natural underground passage.
“Wow, it seems like the ground here is spewing fire!” Qu Yi exclaimed in amazement as he looked around.
The entire passage was ten meters high, and its walls were covered in a red glow. The walls were made of a special ore that seemed to emit flames. Yet, the temperature throughout the passage was quite comfortable, with no sense of heat at all.
“Idiot, this is the vein of Red-Flame Pure Iron ore!” the Artifact God’s voice shouted urgently.
Qu Yi let out an “Ah” and immediately understood—these flame-emitting ores were indeed the pure iron. If the entire passage was filled with such ore, just how vast must the deposits of Red-Flame Pure Iron be?
Realizing these ores were Red-Flame Pure Iron, Qu Yi was overjoyed. He immediately swung his sword, cutting into the cave walls several times. Large chunks of ore rolled down, glowing with red flames—a truly spectacular sight.
Qu Yi picked up a piece of Red-Flame Pure Iron. The entire ore was a fiery red, as if it were burning and spewing flames constantly. After examining it, he put it into his storage bag.
The Artifact God’s voice rang out again, “Idiot, how much Red-Flame Pure Iron can your storage bag hold?”

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi became displeased. The only thing he had to carry items with was his storage bag. What else could he use? Could he possibly carry them in his hands?

“Instrument God, tell me, how am I such an idiot? Without a storage bag, how can I use anything to carry all this Red Flame Ferrosteel?”

The Tiny Realm Ball in his soul immediately flickered and left Qu Yi’s soul space for the first time, floating in the passage.

“Hehe, Qu Yi, you probably don’t know this, but this Tiny Realm Ball, besides allowing my soul to reside in it, is also a spatial treasure. Not to mention your Red Flame Ferrosteel ore—even the entire Green Wood Planet could fit inside it,” the Instrument God said with a sense of pride in his voice.

Qu Yi was shocked and stood there frozen. He was indeed terrified by what the Instrument God had said.

The entire Green Wood Planet could fit in? How vast must the space of this Tiny Realm Ball be?

But the Instrument God didn’t care if Qu Yi was scared to death. He controlled the Tiny Realm Ball and began flying along the passage. Wherever the Tiny Realm Ball passed, the Red Flame Ferrosteel on the cave walls fell apart, gathering around it before disappearing quickly, as if absorbed into its internal space.

The entire Red Flame Ferrosteel deposit was estimated to be hundreds of kilometers long, with extremely abundant reserves.

After collecting some Red Flame Ferrosteel, the Tiny Realm Ball began to selectively pick out the best pieces—those that shone brightly with red light, were large in size, and had high purity.

Qu Yi shook his head to regain his composure. Seeing that the Tiny Realm Ball was already busy, he immediately took off and followed it.

“Haha, Qu Yi, you’re really lucky. There’s even Red Flame Iron Essence here,” the Instrument God’s loud voice rang out as the Tiny Realm Ball floated.

In the core area of the Red Flame Ferrosteel deposit, some of the ferrosteel had been refined over time by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, resulting in Iron Essence. Since this iron had gained a degree of spirituality, it became a material suitable for crafting spiritual weapons, unlike ordinary Red Flame Ferrosteel, which could only be used to make precious weapons.

Qu Yi quickly looked around and saw that the piece of Red Flame Ferrosteel hovering where the Tiny Realm Ball was indeed different from ordinary ones. It was in the shape of a perfect sphere, constantly emitting red rays while also absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

“Instrument God, then why aren’t you collecting this Iron Essence?” Qu Yi called out urgently.

Suddenly, the Tiny Realm Ball sped up and hit Qu Yi’s forehead. Only then did the Instrument God’s voice sound again: “Idiot, if you collect that Iron Essence, this entire Red Flame Ferrosteel deposit will soon turn into ordinary iron ore. Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

Qu Yi touched his forehead in frustration and dared not speak rashly again. Who knew if this Artifact God would come up with another excuse to punish him?
“Hey, Qu Yi, why are you silent? Afraid I’ll hit you? Oh, such a coward. Give me the Golden-Eating Rat you caught, and I’ll provide you with Red Flame Iron Essence,” the Artifact God said triumphantly.
Qu Yi blinked, wondering if the Artifact God really wanted that Golden-Eating Rat. But he decided it was better not to ask and immediately took out his Spirit Item Bag and opened it.
As soon as the Golden-Eating Rat was free, it tried to escape immediately. But before it could take a step, it was covered by the green light emitted by the Dimension Ball. With a squeak, it disappeared, revealing the inside of the Dimension Ball.
“Qu Yi, this Golden-Eating Rat’s habit is to devour Red Flame Iron Essence. Do you know where its digestive products end up after consuming it? Haha, I won’t hit you anymore. You can’t guess it either, so let me tell you directly. After swallowing Red Flame Iron Essence, the rat slowly accumulates it in its body to form Red Flame Iron Essence. Moreover, the Golden-Eating Rat has a special ability—its own space where it can store Red Flame Iron Essence. I’ll scare it for you so it spits out all the essence,” the Artifact God said proudly.
Whenever it came to artifact refinement, this Artifact God’s enthusiasm was unstoppable.
After hearing this, Qu Yi was overjoyed. Not only did the Golden-Eating Rat have Red Flame Iron Essence in its body, but it could also keep consuming Red Flame Iron Essence inside the Dimension Ball, continuously producing more. While others had to travel far and wide to find materials for spiritual artifacts, he could obtain them anytime. Qu Yi felt incredibly lucky.
“Qu Yi, let me remind you. Near Red Flame Iron Essence deposits, there are usually Inspiration Veins as well. Go look for them. If you can find one, you’ll be wealthy. From then on, as long as your cultivation level is high enough, you can improve your skills at any time,” the Artifact God said seriously.
“That’s right, I almost forgot. Great, Artifact God, go ahead and exploit the Golden-Eating Rat. I’ll go look for Spirit Stone Veins,” Qu Yi replied immediately, then soared into the air to search throughout the Red Flame Iron Essence deposits.
In the central area of the deposits, Qu Yi suddenly sensed a surge of spiritual energy—much stronger than in other areas.
“Haha, I found the Spirit Stone Veins!” he exclaimed in joy.
Immediately, he grabbed the Green Python Sword and started slashing at the cave walls violently. Rocks tumbled down, revealing a huge, deep hole.

Soon, as Qu Yi swung his sword in the dug-out cave, a surge of spiritual energy rushed forth like a tide, knocking him to the ground. At the broken part of the cave, another large hole could be seen, emitting a greenish glow as bright as daylight.