The faint red glow was unmoved even by the ruckus he caused. Huo Jin stepped forward, each foot landed very softly without making a sound. Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. However, in a survival situation, knowing and understanding any possible threat was crucial.
Huo Jin decided to peek over to see what was inside the rectangular shaped heart. It was a fire, no smaller than a candle's flame.
Huo Jin dropped to his knees, panting heavily after the initial suspicion was proven wrong. "It's just a little flame."
When the realization registered in his mind, he was so gobsmacked upon recognizing the hearth's shape amidst the dim light.
"Hold on, this is a man-made forge. And it looked well-maintained, no less. This is impossible. According to the elders from the Teaching Hall, the Flame Valley was supposed to be a desolated place where neither humans nor demons could live due to the chaotic Fire Qi. Am I still inside the Flame Valley even?"
As the confusion made his thoughts spin around, the hellish pain on his left ankle spread upward. His thigh's muscle twitched uncontrollably as the venom reached his veins.
He quickly pressed the acupuncture points to stop the venom from spreading further into his body but it didn't work.
"Shit! I need to cut off my leg at this point!" Huo Jin thought inwardly.
When he tried to regain his footing, he stumbled down into the quenching pool just beside the hearth. His fire attribute wounds immediately reacted with the quenching water, activating the immediate impurity cleansing attribute and forcing his body to heal.
"Uaaarrghhh!"
Huo Jin roared to the top of his lungs as his injuries and Fire Qi was dispelled from his body. The sudden temperature change almost knocked him yet his mental fortitude and automated pain tolerance forced him to stay awake.
After a while, the pain gradually lessened. Just a little bit sore due the initial shock. He felt so refreshed and energized once he got out of the pool.
"Weird. My body's healing rate is abnormally fast. Does this have something to do with the water?" Huo Jin frowned. "If only I could sense Qi, I could solve these mind-bending puzzles much easier."
Curious, he sniffed and took a sip of the water but he immediately spat it out.
"Puih! So bitter! What the hell is this water?"
But alas, he couldn't fight the survival instinct. He drank the quenching water scoop after scoop, notwithstanding the bitterness. His body eventually gave up, drowsiness began to capitalize him.
Hours had passed when he sat in a lotus position, he began to feel the significant change in his body. Both of his vitality and strength were restored and increased by ten times.
"This water is truly miraculous!"
He recalled every lesson that he had at the Teaching Hall, searching for any record regarding this mysterious forge.
"Hmm, there's no record ever mentioned a forge inside the Flame Valley. If any, it must have been guarded safely in the Mountain Peak Hall."
By the time his gaze became accustomed to the dark, Huo Jin studied the furnace, every pattern was unique and carved meticulously onto the metal. He began to suspect that those carvings were not decoration but to channels qi during the forging.
Huo Jin looked around in every direction, the surroundings were much brighter in his sight right now. He began to explore a little bit to locate everything. The quenching oil pool was next to the water. Torches were placed in sconces on the pillars. He couldn't see them clearly but the smell of oil was hard to miss.
When he arrived at the corner, he found a huge door which was slightly ajar, just wide enough to let his body squeeze through.
"Too dark."
Huo Jin took off his shirt and used it as a rope belt to climb the pillars. Once he got the torch, he hastily climbed down, lighting it up with the small flame inside the forge very carefully.
At this moment, the torchlight pushed back the darkness in uneven waves.
Shadows leapt across the walls as the flame steadied, revealing more of the forge's interior. The floor was scorched black in wide arcs, layered with burn marks that did not belong to a single era.
"Woah…" His breathing slowed as he looked above.
Huo Jin saved his astonishment for later, focused on entering the chamber. By the time he stepped into the room, a bunch of rats as big as adult cats scurried out as the flame illuminated them. He jumped out immediately, holding onto the door's carving, watching them running below him.
"Good thing they're afraid of fire." Huo Jin mused.
He re-entered cautiously this time, peeking around before committing. He panned the torch to left and right just by the entrance. Assured there's no threat inside, he proceeded slowly.
The chamber was larger than he expected. Scrap metals, forging tools, iron ingots and gems were scattered on the floor. Huo Jin studied them briefly, everything was still in a good condition despite ages of neglect.
"Each of these tools and materials could be considered a treasure in the Baitian Kingdom, yet the place was completely trashed. Was this place raided by Rongyan's disciples and other elders? No. It's very unlikely."
As he continued further inward, he stumbled on a skeleton with a sword stuck in its skull. His heart almost sank when a centipede suddenly jumped out of its eye, launching itself toward him.
He calmly swatted the insect, and stomped it.
His gaze went downward and locked onto the forging hammer with dragon engraving clenched tightly in its grip.
"A hammer? Was he the blacksmith of this place?"
He pulled out the hammer, weighed it on his hand. It had a good balance and size. A versatile hammer for different tasks. Afterward, his eyes landed on the wooden box behind the skeleton.
Intrigued, Huo Jin grabbed the box, pushing the simple latch. His eyes sparked brightly, dozens of Low-grade Spirit Stones were nestled neatly atop the velveteen fabric.
However, instead of being excited, he became more curious about what actually happened to the poor skeleton.
The place was quite convenient for his goal to make the flintlock pistol. However, he had to figure out how to get in and out first. Moreover, he still needs to worry about his food, self-hygiene and whatnot to function unlike immortal cultivators who could process and burn body's impurities at will.
"Nevermind, baseless assumptions would only lead to uncertainty. This place must be dangerous. Better hurry up and search for a way out."
Huo Jin paid his respect to the skeleton before taking the treasures and tools. He wrapped everything with his clothes.
By the time he got out with a torch in his hand, the big rats scurried away once again. But they wouldn't go near the forge for some reason. He checked the forge for one last time.
Unexpectedly, the small flame in the forge reacted. It grew bigger spontaneously, targeting the wooden box. The Spirit Stones scattered on the floor but then levitated in the air as if being held by invisible hands.
The stones trembled once, then cracked.
A faint, brittle sound rang out one after another like stone splitting under heat. Fine dust peeled off their surfaces and was pulled into the flame in thin, glowing threads.
After a while the once small flame transformed into a fairy-like wisp, glowing brightly despite its cute size.
"It's been a while, master!" The flame spoke in a high pitched female voice.
"What the—" Huo Jin was utterly bewildered.