"I'll use this as a visualization." I explained, drawing a line starting from the single fire symbol, that ended at double fire symbol, of course it went through all of the other single symbols as well. "This line is how Ma Fan had been putting in the elements. He went in the open heaven order. So naturally we can draw a few conclusions." I began.
"Hmm, if this is true, then what would happen if we changed it to be a different element to start with? Would the results be the same?" The Elder from Gold Antelope posed, thinking about what I had just shown.
"I'm more curious about what happens if we make adjustments to the order of elements going into the furnace. Like what if we went in the reverse order, or if there was no order at all, what happens then?" The elder from Yin-Yang mentioned, a bit more curious now.
Hearing their ideas spoken out, it became abundantly clear why they didn't seem to get along all that well. They both had vastly different views on the world.
"I'm not sure, I think that testing what we suppose with the other elements is a good idea. But I do see the merit in understanding what happens when the order itself changes as opposed to the element. However, this is up to the Young Master to decide." Ma Fan said, his eyes wide as he began understanding the visual I created for them. "Young Master, please decide on what comes next?" He urged, anxious to discover more.
"You seem a bit anxious Elder Ma, could it be that there is something regarding this artifact that you had neglected to say prior?" I asked.
"Well, I do remember there being something about the one who created it was the only one who understood the inner workings. Other's tried but couldn't make any sense of it. Trying so many materials only to go broke." Ma Fan explained.
"Let me guess, it wasn't the legendary Duan who made up the rules about how this thing works, was it?" I suggested, with a sigh.
"Young Master is right, it was those who came after who came up with these limitations. When I was a younger man, the previous caretaker of this artifact… May he rest easy… He was the one who explained it like this." Ma Fan nodded, choking up when he recalled the past.
I nodded once. "I see, then my other assumption might very well be correct. This artifact was damaged. And I believe it was done during that time." I explained, as I started to walk around the furnace, an empathetic look in my eyes as I watched the contents bubble out of sync. "This was an artifact created to be the most reliable method of producing high rank resources. Seeing it in this state, with so many hungry mouths to feed yet it's basically broken… It truly is a shame. I think I can fix it… Maybe… But I won't know for sure until more tests are done." I continued speaking. "If my theory is correct, the Ink Clan truly is vicious. Committing an act of such a degree shows purpose. Making them far more dangerous…" I sighed.
"Wait! What does Young Master mean by that?" The two Elders all but yelled out their question in a rare moment of likened thought.
"Simple, Great Evolution possessed the single largest threat to the Ink Clan at the time. That's just how powerful this artifact truly is." I explained. "If I had been in their shoes, I would have sacrificed no amount of effort or means in order to bring about their destruction. All in the hopes of destroying this artifact. To some extent this thing may still prove to be even more dangerous to the Ink Clan than even myself. And that's saying something." I added.
"Then… We should consider ourselves lucky the artifact survived, is what you're saying?" Ma Fan asked, all but shaking.
"I'm saying that the last master who guarded it, understood that the future would need this treasure. It likely boiled down to a moment's sacrifice for future glory. It may not be easy to hear… But, that late master had done a service for everyone. And now, it's high time it gets restored. Let us continue, first we shall verify if the order is what matters. Then we will continue with the different structuring, reverse order and no order at all." I said, refusing to give any step into that comment. "If I am to restore the inner mechanism of this furnace, we should get to work verifying its true rule set. Fortunately for us, I'm quite wealthy. And also not stupid enough to use high end resources without first understanding the gamble." I added, struggling to hold in my exasperation.
"Master… Sect Master… Vengeance is not long off." Ma Fan accidentally muttered aloud.
"Hey, Ma Fan, let's get started again. You can avenge them when the time comes. And it won't just be you. There are many who had friends there. This isn't a fight you have to lead on your own." I consoled, hoping we could continue.
"Right! My apologies, Young Master Yang. I'll start sending the resource in on your signal." Ma Fan said, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his arm.
"Begin!" I ordered.
Once again the tests began. After ten attempts for each element, given 8 successful results and 2 duds… It became practically clear that the result was determined by the first absorbed element. At least this was the case when the elements were arranged in the sequential order of the open heaven method.
We began to perform the experiments using the reverse order. This resulted in the element still being determined by the first one absorbed, however, it wasn't as stable and thus only seven out of ten attempts were successful. Similar results were found with each element performed in this manner.
The final experiment was to have no sort of order to the way elements were absorbed. This one… took a while. And as a result of the numerous different possible chaotic orders that needed to be researched… And at least ten times for each one, this test alone nearly drained half of the contents within my rings. But the end result was the element was random and only had a roughly 70% chance of success.
The end result, I had a far better understanding of the internal chaos that was generating the resources.