Chapter 60: Let's begin our foundation-establishing plan!

Inside the Medicine Valley, Chen Xun and the black ox stood together in a pit, their eyes fixed on the flickering flames.

One would think that there shouldn't be wind inside a cave. Yet, here, a small breeze was blowing.

"Old ox, you are an unrivaled genius! You are meant to be the Ox Emperor, for sure. The art of formations is as ancient as the night!" Chen Xun shook his head in amazement, looking at the formation stones in the three corners of the cave. "This formation is truly marvelous. It can utilize spiritual energy to create a resonance in the heavens and the earth to display many effects."

They had learnt to set up a miniature formation in just a year. Although the disciples that specialized in formations could probably master it in a few days, in Chen Xun's heart, the big black ox was the most outstanding. No matter how many geniuses there were, they couldn't compare to a hair on its body.

"Moo!" The big black ox's tail was almost spinning. With its eyes focused, it released mana from its mouth.

"Moo!"

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew inside the cave, sending bowls and pots flying around.

"Old ox, you rascal! Clean up this mess!" A fading, angry roar came from outside the cave, and Chen Xun was directly blown away, his voice getting farther and farther.

"Moo? Moo!" The big black ox's pupils constricted, and it quickly stopped casting the spell. It had forgotten that it was the only one immune to the formation's attacks.

Not long after, Chen Xun stood firmly on the ground, his neat hair disheveled by the wind. He raised his eyebrows, and with a loud cry, the big black ox was thrown into the pond.

"Moo!"

"Haha..." Seeing the sorry state the ox was in, Chen Xun relaxed.

"Moo!" The big black ox charged forward, spilling water all over Chen Xun.

"Go back and clean up. I'm going to start forging my mountain-opening axe." Chen Xun patted the dust off his body and smiled. "We can start our plan after that. Two years have passed, and no one pays attention to us anymore. We have been acting low-key, after all. We should be good to go."

The formation was truly marvelous, and Chen Xun praised it incessantly.

Even though this was just a small formation that only conjured a breeze of air in a closed environment—one where others would scoff at for being a waste of time—it had brought them a great deal of joy. But other people would never understand.

For those seeking longevity, the desire for profit may no longer be so important. They didn't want to attract attention in public. Being an invisible person in the Five Elements Sect was great. Nobody paid attention to them, and they didn't encounter any trouble or criticism.

In the Medicine Valley's cave, Chen Xun officially began his forging. The black ox scattered flower petals and mooed by his side.

"I'm starting to forge the axe today. Immortal deities, watch and see!" Chen Xun clapped his hands, and suddenly, a lump of silver iron spirit came out of his storage bag. It was uneven on the surface, shaped like an oval and was about the size of a fist.

"Go!" Chen Xun pinched a spell with both hands, and the forging cauldron issued a muffled noise as a blazing, alchemical flame rose up.

His resources were limited, so he had to make do.

Chen Xun's eyes became increasingly intense. He had already experimented. His alchemical fire could be amplified by his mana. The required firepower could definitely be achieved.

"Moo!" The big black ox watched nervously. It had tried this kind of work, but it really couldn't do it. It could only assist. It was Chen Xun who had to take the lead.

Chen Xun flicked his fingers, and the silver iron spirit instantly disappeared into the cauldron. Chen Xun closed his eyes slightly, and the alchemical fire, like a living creature, continued to dance within the cauldron.

An alchemical furnace and a forging cauldron were completely different. If there was no mana added, relying solely on alchemical fire might not be able to dissolve the materials.

The forging cauldron made a series of small explosive sounds. Chen Xun sent out another burst of mana and completely closed the cauldron. This was going to be a tough process.

Because of his Qi Refinement stage cultivation, he couldn't sense the subtle changes inside the forging cauldron and had to rely on his feelings.

"Old ox, add more fuel!"

"Moo!" With a thought, the big black ox also ignited its alchemical fire, and the forging cauldron turned bright red, with the explosions inside growing louder.

Chen Xun's face turned pale and he started gasping for breath. No one could have imagined that someone would spend two full years preparing to refine a piece of iron spirit. Who had such a long lifespan to afford to do such a thing...?

"Open the cauldron!" Chen Xun shouted loudly.

"Moo!"

The cauldron lid flew into the sky and landed on the ground with a loud thud. In the center of the cauldron, a silvery iron ball, like mercury, was being pulled by mana.

"Old ox, keep adding alchemical fire," Chen Xun quickly said before he continued chanting spells.

Shortly, the iron ball began to change shape.

Chen Xun's face went from pale to red. He was too nervous and excited. The fact that the iron ball retained its mercury-like state proved that they had successfully melted the materials.

An hour later, they succeeded!

"Old ox, the mountain-opening axe is born! Haha!"

Chen Xun was red in the face, holding a crooked silver mountain-opening axe. The entire axe blade was extremely sharp, made from pure iron spirit, and its intended use was to shatter stone.

"Moo, moo!" The big black ox cheered on the side, jumping up and down.

"Let's go, the secret base is open!" Chen Xun looked at the mountain-opening axe in his hand, and his eyes were filled with excitement. "This must at least count as a magical weapon."

The big black ox nudged Chen Xun and looked confident. '_It was undoubtedly a top-quality Heaven-Rank weapon_,' its eyes seemed to say. This sight made Chen Xun burst into laughter.

They flew on their swords and arrived at the center of the waterfall. With all his might, Chen Xun swung the axe down, "Open the mountain!"

_Boom!_

A deafening roar sounded as countless rocks flew and continuously impacted the mana barrier. The hard rock wall was split open by a large crack.

"Moo!" The big black ox shouted excitedly. It stood behind Chen Xun and was startled by the power of the mountain-opening axe. This was completely uncomparable to ordinary iron!

"Old ox, did you see that?" Chen Xun's veins bulged as he turned around and said with great excitement in his eyes. "Our secret base is definitely going to work!"

The big black ox opened its mouth, constantly patting Chen Xun, feeling excited as well. The future of the foundation-building plan laid within this base.

"Let's forge two more. We still have three more pieces of iron spirit."

"Moo."

They returned to their underground cave, restored their mana, and continued forging.

In the days that followed, Chen Xun dug a new cave in the center of the waterfall every day while the black ox took care of the spiritual herbs and practiced formations.

It also used the mountain-opening axe Chen Xun had given it to carve a giant stone. After opening the secret base, they would seal the entrance with a massive boulder.

A month later, the secret base was complete. Chen Xun and the big black ox sat in the dark cave, listening to the sound of the waterfall outside, their hearts filled with joy.

"Old ox, take them out." Chen Xun smiled. They could finally start cultivating the foundation-establishing elixirs.

"Moo." The big black ox exhaled heavily, directly spitting out a storage bag from its body, full of pill boxes.

Both of them couldn't help but feel their hearts race. They still had a hidden entrance in the cave, which they had filled with soil and was specially used for growing the seeds.

The green liquid condensed from the essence of all things allowed them to cultivate spiritual herbs regardless of the environment. Now, they could nurture one hundred-year-old spiritual herbs in just one month, which was quite terrifying.

Chen Xun took a deep breath and slowly said, "Old ox, let's begin our foundation-establishing plan!"