In the hotel room, in front of Huo Yuhao stood a nearly half-meter-tall cauldron. The cauldron was entirely fiery red, with patterns resembling volcanic eruptions adorning its curved walls, exuding a wild and violent aura at first glance.
Below the cauldron were three mighty dragon heads, their mouths wide open, forming three interconnected fire passages. These passages twisted and turned, decreasing in diameter the deeper they went, hinting at hidden mysteries within.
At the top of the cauldron, three dragon bodies coiled to form a dark red lid, with a special hole designated for adding medicinal ingredients. Scattered across the lid were some silvery, glittering holes that helped dissipate heat to prevent the cauldron from exploding due to high temperatures. The middle part of the cauldron housed a transparent mirror made of cold crystal, allowing a clear view of everything inside during the refining process.
Gazing at the imposing and luxurious cauldron, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. He gently touched the ancient black ring on his finger, and Yao Lao's figure instantly appeared in the room.
"Yes, a three-mouthed cauldron. With your current spiritual power, you can manage it," Yao Lao said indifferently, glancing at the three dragon heads on the fiery red cauldron.
The cauldrons used by alchemists are naturally graded, with the number of fire passages indicating the cauldron's level and rarity. These passages aren't just arbitrary holes; their intricacies are beyond the grasp of outsiders.
Fire passages are the essence of a cauldron, requiring precise craftsmanship. Any minor error during their creation would render the cauldron a failure, which is why it took a year to manufacture Huo Yuhao's cauldron.
The more fire passages a cauldron has, the more it aids in refining. Of course, controlling multiple passages requires immense spiritual power.
With Huo Yuhao's current spiritual power, augmented by his spiritual detection ability, controlling a three-mouthed cauldron is absolutely feasible.
"This cauldron cost me over a million gold soul coins, with alloys infused with a significant amount of Red Flame Magic Gold. The Red Flame Magic Gold fetched an astronomical price at the recent auction, so it seems the craftsmen from the Sun Moon Empire didn't cut corners," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.
Using the black market channels of the Treasure Pavilion, Huo Yuhao custom-ordered a cauldron from the Sun Moon Empire, a fact known to Shrek Academy.
However, since this world lacks alchemists, Shrek Academy had no idea why Huo Yuhao needed such a rare metal cauldron and didn't interfere or inquire further.
After collecting his reserved medicinal herbs and cauldron from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and settling the balance, Huo Yuhao's remaining gold soul coins were quite limited.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao took out the map of the forbidden area from his storage soul guide, which clearly marked the location of the Sunset Forest, a soul beast habitat, with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring highlighted in green, as if shrouded in mist.
"Located in the center of the Sunset Forest, adjacent to the Sunset Mountain Range. This is indeed a map of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring," Huo Yuhao nodded.
This map indicates that both the Jade Phosphor Serpent Clan and Shrek Academy are aware of this forbidden area and might have explored it.
However, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is enveloped in miasma and poison laid by Tang God King himself, making it inaccessible even to titled Douluo experts. Thus, this forbidden area map was auctioned as bait, luring Huo Yuhao in.
"Very well. When time allows, I can venture into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring to seek opportunities," Huo Yuhao smiled faintly.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well contains countless celestial herbs and numerous hundred-thousand-year-old plant soul beasts, top-tier resources. As an alchemist with Yao Lao by his side, Huo Yuhao would take the risk to explore the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring.
Moreover, Tang God King is unaware that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring harbors the remnants of two of the eighteen god kings of the Dragon God Realm: the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King!
The Dragon God bestowed various attributes upon the most outstanding dragon talents during the evolution of its bloodline, giving rise to the nine great dragon kings: water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, space, time, and stability.
The nine dragon kings revered the Dragon God as their father and master.
The nine dragon kings, as god king-level powerhouses of the Dragon God Realm, each guarded their own territories, their might shaking the universe, and were top-tier among god kings.
During the great upheaval in the God Realm, the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King fell in Douluo Continent, forming the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring. This part of the original story remained clear in Huo Yuhao's mind.
Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring are the remnants of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, potentially leaving behind their legacies.
With a god king-level inheritance, Huo Yuhao wouldn't need to inherit the god position of the God of Emotions and could compete with Tang God King on equal footing. This would significantly alter his fate compared to the original storyline.
Stowing away the forbidden area map, Huo Yuhao had Yaolao store the cauldron in the ancient black ring. Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao's storage soul guide ring had limited space and was nearing obsolescence.
Summoning the Black Magic Cauldron again, Yao Lao took the ingredients for refining the Soul Nourishment Elixir from Huo Yuhao's hands: three-leaf green ganoderma, soul fusion fruit, and Snow Condensing Flower from the Extreme North.
"The Black Magic Cauldron, such an imposing cauldron. Teacher, when can I use it?" Huo Yuhao asked, eyes glued to the formidable black cauldron, his tone full of longing.
Although his current cauldron's materials were precious and crafted with the Sun Moon Empire's artisans' efforts, it paled in comparison to the Black Magic Cauldron.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's eager gaze, Yao Lao chuckled and shook his head, "The cauldrons on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking possess spirits, and the Black Magic Cauldron bears my soul imprint. Only I can use it. Once I find a body to house my soul, I can remove the imprint, and then you can use it freely."
Huo Yuhao grinned and nodded.
"Alright, the refining process is about to begin. Yuhao, watch carefully, understand thoroughly, and learn meticulously. Don't get distracted," Yaolao said with a smile, his expression gradually becoming serious.
To summon his master-level refining skills and the Black Magic Cauldron for refining elixirs demonstrated the importance Yaolao placed on this endeavor.
His withered, claw-like phantom hand raised slightly, and a bone-white spirit flame appeared in Yao Lao's palm.
As soon as the bone spirit flame emerged, the surrounding temperature dropped significantly. On Huo Yuhao's shoulder, the Fire Spirit Xiao Han also appeared, sensing a similar fire power, letting out soft chirps.
With a wave of Yao Lao's hand, the bone-white flame surged into the Black Magic Cauldron. Simultaneously, bone-white flames roared to life within the cauldron.
The refining of the fifth-grade elixir, the Soul Nourishment Elixir, officially commenced at this moment!