The intensely scorching temperature instantly ignited the Violet-Flame Ore. The impurities and gravel clinging to the ore melted into magma, dripping away. In just about ten breaths' time, the Violet-Flame Ore contained within Lei Dong’s divine sense was reduced to mere scraps of crimson debris weighing only two or three jin.

After another ten-plus breaths, even those scraps of violet iron turned into molten crimson fluid, constantly churning within the embrace of Lei Dong's divine sense. Various stubborn impurities were ceaselessly scoured away under the refining power of such formidable flame. In the end, only a lump of finished Violet-Flame Iron, weighing perhaps a jin or so, remained.

When Lei Dong drew it back and solidified it into a piece the size of a fist, he specifically asked Wu Ji, who was quite familiar with Purgatory materials, to appraise it. After a careful inspection, Wu Ji let out an astonishing sigh: "This Six-Extremity Yang Fire is truly incredible. This piece of Violet-Flame Iron has extremely high purity—it can be called top-grade. If used to forge a Dharma treasure, its power will increase by two or three cheng compared to ordinary Violet-Flame Iron. And this whole process, it probably took less than a hundred breaths? I once heard from a friend skilled in artifact refining that using a Samadhi True Fire Furnace, refining a piece of Violet-Flame Iron of this size would take at least a day or two, and the quality would be far inferior to this."

Lei Dong understood this well; using ordinary True Yang Fire or True Yin Fire, it would take several days and might not even yield a successful refinement. The Six-Extremity Yang Fire truly lived up to its reputation as a fearsome flame. A common Nascent Soul cultivator, if scorched by this flame, would almost certainly face disaster. Even a Deity Transformation stage expert would regard this flame with great caution; if used properly, killing a Deity Transformation expert would not be impossible.

Nodding with some satisfaction, only a flame of this caliber was the treasure Lei Dong needed to refine the components for his Deity Transformation Puppet. He immediately turned to Wu Ji and said, "I need to refine some materials here, which will likely take quite some time. You mentioned there were several passages leading to the core of this Lava Lake. I will have Gui Ming and Ying Hu escort you away and see you safely to the surface. For now, let us part ways."

Ah? Wu Ji remained silent, but the Murong sisters gasped softly, covering their mouths. Although they knew they were not from the same world and parting was inevitable, they hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Just as they were about to say something, Wu Ji subtly stopped them, his expression turning quite solemn toward Lei Dong: "Senior Ding, we owe you our gratitude for all your care on this journey. We shall take our leave now. However, we will find a safe spot above and wait for Senior before returning to Scorching City together."

Lei Dong flatly shook his head, rejecting the suggestion: "After I conclude my business here, I will not be returning to Scorching City immediately, but will pass through to another location. You need not worry about it. If fate allows, we will meet again someday."

At this, the complexions of the Murong sisters turned somewhat pale, their eyes brimming with tears. Wu Ji knew this Senior was easier to talk to, so he gathered his courage once more: "Since Senior has important matters, we dare not hinder you. However, I wonder if I might be so fortunate as to learn Senior's true name, and which region or state you hail from? Please do not misunderstand, Senior. I merely wish that if I manage to cultivate successfully and break through to the Nascent Soul stage, I could personally visit and thank you. If it is inconvenient for Senior, we certainly won't press the matter." He was no fool; he knew Lei Dong had been using an alias. Furthermore, Lei Dong was surely not from Great Qian Continent, for with his power and terrifying might, he would already be renowned throughout that continent. Yet Wu Ji had never heard of such a powerful expert with such distinct characteristics within the Great Qian Continent. There was only one explanation: he came from elsewhere.

Lei Dong glanced at them, seeing Wu Ji's sincerity and the hopeful looks of the Murong sisters. He couldn't bear to deny them, so he spoke calmly: "Since fate has brought us together, it is not impossible to tell you. My surname is Lei, and my given name is Dong. I come from a small place, Kang Prefecture in the Great Barren Continent. As for the surname Ding, that was the surname of Lei's beloved wife. That is all there is to say. Let us part now." Having spoken, Lei Dong waved his sleeve, unconcerned with anyone's reaction.

A vast power enveloped them, sending them flying backward. Gui Ming and Ying Hu, following orders, kept close behind, escorting them back to the surface via a different route.

Having settled matters with his temporary companions, Lei Dong turned his gaze back to the location of the Six-Extremity Yang Fire. Refining the Deity Transformation Puppet was indeed the most pressing task. However, the materials required for the Deity Transformation Puppet parts were not like Violet-Flame Iron; they would not be completed in a short time. Establishing protection was naturally the priority.

Lei Dong was already researching formations, but setting up an exceptionally formidable one was temporarily beyond his capabilities. However, he had an alternative plan. Since he couldn't deploy a traditional formation, using Ghost Soldiers to set up a defensive array would also yield considerable effect.

He immediately ceased wasting time, summoning the Netherflame Ghost Banner and deploying the Ghost Soldiers—including Blade Shield Ghost Soldiers, Suicide Ghost Soldiers, and the Big-Belly Cannon Ghosts—a large contingent of them. As for how to arrange the defenses, he entrusted the task to Ghost Stab, confident that with Ghost Stab's increasingly mature intellect, completing this would not be too difficult.

After the arrangements were made, Lei Dong finally began the formal tempering of the Deity Transformation Puppet. He first retrieved a Soul Sealing Orb from his storage ring and shattered it. Instantly, a plume of white mist poured out from the broken orb. The mist then swelled rapidly, twisting and condensing into the shape of a scarred, burly man over ten feet tall—sturdy and robust, possessing a naive appearance overlaid with a powerful, fierce aura.

This appearance was clearly the humanoid form of Dana, the Ancient War Giant Lei Dong had encountered in the Hall of the Underworld King. However, at that time, it was his true body, while now, it was merely a white, slightly transparent primordial spirit.

This was the fundamental difference between a Primordial Spirit and a Nascent Soul. No matter how strong a Nascent Soul grew, it generally retained the appearance of a chubby infant. A Primordial Spirit, however, looked essentially identical to the person himself, representing a mature state. Of course, throughout the entire Deity Transformation stage, the Primordial Spirit would continuously change, becoming denser and more substantial. It was rumored that upon reaching the peak of Deity Transformation, the Primordial Spirit would condense into substance, appearing almost indistinguishable from the physical body to the naked eye.

This Primordial Spirit of the Ancient Giant Dana was only in the early Deity Transformation stage, hence it appeared adult-like but was white and not entirely solidified. Naturally, this Primordial Spirit no longer belonged to Dana; it now belonged to the Spirit of the Arena artifact.

Seeing him, Lei Dong’s expression softened slightly, and he smiled: "Senior Artifact Spirit, how has the integration of this Primordial Spirit been? Are you accustomed to it?"

"The situation is excellent. I have completely merged with this Primordial Spirit and absorbed a great deal of his combat experience and cultivation techniques. The only slight regret is that Dana’s main body seemed to have taken a precaution; when I tried to extract his memories, his conscious entity proactively dissipated," the Artifact Spirit sighed with considerable regret. But then, he turned solemn: "I am no longer an Artifact Spirit. Do not call me Senior Artifact Spirit again. Call me by my name, Mo Yi."

"Mo Yi?" Lei Dong was slightly surprised, unsure what significance the Artifact Spirit placed on this name. However, he didn't press the matter, merely cupped his hands: "Since that is the case, then this junior shall address Senior as Senior Mo Yi."

Mo Yi nodded in great satisfaction, especially pleased with this Primordial Spirit. This was understandable; although it wasn't Dana's true Primordial Spirit, it was the essence left by a pure-blooded War Giant clone, excellent in quality, and contained a wealth of formidable combat experience. He couldn't be more satisfied: "From this day forward, I am Mo Yi. I shall make my name known to the world through the body of a puppet."

"Senior Mo Yi, let us speak plainly first. As we previously agreed, until my cultivation reaches the middle stage of Deity Transformation, Senior must submit to my Blood Sacrifice technique," Lei Dong stated with utmost seriousness.

"Yes, we had an agreement on this matter long ago. Besides, you have surplus Myriad Year Nether Milk, so if necessary, we can simply erase the Blood Sacrifice mark then," Mo Yi showed no opposition. He had spent considerable time with Lei Dong and naturally understood his cautious nature and his principles in handling matters. He wasn't afraid that Lei Dong would renege on his promise once he reached the middle stage of Deity Transformation.

The last stone settled in Lei Dong's heart. Of course, the Blood Sacrifice could not be performed here, as being weakened for a month would be extremely dangerous for Lei Dong. However, Lei Dong could certainly tamper with the puppet's body for now. Should Mo Yi dare to break his promise, Lei Dong was fully capable of triggering an explosion within this Deity Transformation Puppet, causing both his spirit and form to perish. After all, Lei Dong's actions of fishing, robbing, and scavenging at auction houses in the Great Qian Continent had amassed him many precious items, especially powerful explosives like the Yang Fiend Heavenly Thunder.

Since there were no more issues, Lei Dong took out the tens-of-feet-tall puppet from his storage ring. With a sweep of his divine sense, he first took out a non-essential component and placed it into the Six-Extremity Yang Fire. Lei Dong had spent several years designing and planning the repair of this puppet; the entire process had been simulated countless times, and it was etched into his mind.

Some components were outwardly flawless, but their internal drive formations were actually damaged. The most crucial task was repairing these drive formations. The drive formations were imprinted within the components using divine sense power during the initial molding process. If they couldn't be melted down, they naturally couldn't be repaired.

But this was the first time he was attempting it, so Lei Dong was exceptionally meticulous. He started with the unimportant component, which had backups; even if he ruined the operation, it wouldn't matter. Otherwise, if he had started by repairing the complex, irreplaceable parts, ruining even one would leave Lei Dong truly regretful to the point of tears...RQ