Leaving the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Craft Pavilion, the five of them continued deeper along the jade stone corridor.

The ruins of the Tiangong Sect were vast, far exceeding just a single library.

Before long, faint scorching heat and the echo of clashing metal came from ahead.

Turning a corner, a more magnificent hall, cast entirely from dark red metal, appeared before their eyes.

Above the hall doors, the three large characters "Artifact Refining Hall" were written with bold, iron-like strokes, exuding a sense of intense heat and weight.

Unlike the serene and profound nature of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Craft Pavilion, the Artifact Refining Hall radiated a surging energy fluctuation and a murderous aura.

The hall doors were tightly shut, covered in complex flame Formation patterns that vaguely formed the shape of a spread-winged fire Phoenix, emitting a heart-palpitating high temperature.

"Such a strong fire-type Restriction!" Chen Feng’s expression was grave.

"This Formation feels even more violent than the one at the Tiangong Pavilion!"

Liang Ling nodded: "This is a key area for Artifact Refining, so the defenses must be strict. This Formation draws upon the power of earth fire; its power is likely comparable to a strike from a Nascent Soul Cultivator."

Lin Wan and Liu Yiyi also felt the pressure, their expressions tense.

Fang Hao activated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to observe carefully.

This "Fire Phoenix Heaven-Burning Formation" was indeed overbearing, using earth fire as its source. It was both offensive and defensive; forcing a break would surely invite a backlash from the earth fire, which would likely be unbearable for anyone below the Nascent Soul Level.

Moreover, the structure of the Formation was rigorous, leaving almost no room for shortcuts.

"This Formation... requires skillful guidance, not brute force to break," Fang Hao mused.

He recalled the records he had seen in the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Craft Pavilion regarding energy guidance in Formations, and he formed a plan.

He asked the others to step back while he moved forward.

He did not attempt to attack the Formation eye, but instead formed hand seals and activated the Chaos Evolution Dao Art, separating a wisp of extremely pure Chaos Qi and carefully probing toward the edge of the Formation.

Chaos Qi encompasses all things.

Fang Hao attempted to use this wisp of energy to simulate a fluctuation that was the same source as the earth fire but much gentler, like injecting a hint of coolness to guide the violent flames.

This process was extremely dangerous, like dancing on a volcano.

If he were the slightest bit careless with the Chaos Qi, it could enrage the earth fire and trigger a violent counterattack from the Formation.

Fang Hao was fully focused, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, carefully adjusting the frequency and intensity of the fluctuations.

Time passed bit by bit.

The fire Phoenix pattern on the light barrier of the Formation seemed to sway slightly, and the scorching aura showed a faint, imperceptible disorder.

"It’s working!" Fang Hao felt a surge of joy.

He increased the output of the Chaos Qi while secretly activating the Ethereal Art, using the power of space to slightly distort the flow of energy at the edge of the Formation, creating a tiny, unstable node.

"Now!" Fang Hao shouted in a low voice, and the Star Shattering Finger suddenly pointed at that node!

The force of the finger was not a hard strike, but a gentle "flick," like a key!

Hum—!

The Fire Phoenix Formation emitted a low rumble, and the light flickered violently a few times.

The Formation patterns on the hall doors receded like the tide, and the scorching heat suddenly vanished.

The heavy metal hall doors made a "creaking" sound and slowly opened a crack inward!

"Success!" Lin Wan cheered.

Liang Ling also let out a sigh of relief, her gaze towards Fang Hao filled with admiration.

This method of breaking the Formation required extremely refined control of energy and the courage to be both bold and meticulous.

As the hall doors opened, a more scorching breath, mixed with the smell of metal and Ore, rushed towards them.

The five of them stepped into the hall while remaining on guard.

The interior space of the Artifact Refining Hall was enormous.

In the center was a huge magma pool, inside of which dark red magma roiled, the heat pressing down on them.

Around the pool were dozens of Artifact Refining tables of varying sizes, on which various odd-shaped hammers, pliers, molds, and other tools were placed.

Although they were covered in dust, one could still tell they were extraordinary.

Various Ore Materials were hung on the surrounding walls and piled on the ground, a dazzling array.

However, the most eye-catching thing was a behemoth standing in the center of the hall, near the magma pool!

That was a humanoid Puppet three zhang tall!

Its entire body was cast from some kind of dark gold metal, with smooth lines and a sense of power.

The Puppet’s eyes were tightly closed, and it held a huge forging hammer in its hands.

It stood there quietly, yet it exuded a suffocating pressure—Nascent Soul Level!

"A nascent soul puppet!" Chen Feng gasped.

"And a guardian type at that!"

Before he could finish speaking, the Puppet seemed to be awakened by the intruders.

Its tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, shooting out two beams of crimson light!

A majestic Nascent Soul pressure erupted, enveloping the entire hall!

"Intruders... eliminate!" A cold, mechanical voice came from the Puppet’s mouth.

It swung the huge forging hammer, bringing with it a whistling sound that tore through the air, and smashed it fiercely towards Fang Hao, who was in the front!

The speed was so fast, and the power so fierce, that it far exceeded the imagination of any Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

"Careful!" Liang Ling exclaimed.

She activated the Ice Heart Art to its fullest, and an ice wall instantly condensed in front of Fang Hao!

Boom!

The ice wall shattered upon impact!

Liang Ling groaned and took several steps back.

A strike from the Nascent Soul Level was truly terrifying!

Fang Hao used the Divine Spirit Steps to the limit, narrowly dodging the hammer blow.

A deep pit was smashed into the ground, and stone debris splattered everywhere!

The Puppet missed its first strike and turned to attack the others.

The giant hammer danced, unstoppable!

Chen Feng, Lin Wan, and Liu Yiyi dodged one after another, in a sorry state.

Their attacks landed on the Puppet but could only leave shallow white marks; they couldn’t break its defense at all!

"We can’t fight it head-on! Find its core hub!" Fang Hao shouted.

While dodging, he activated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes, rapidly scanning the Puppet’s entire body to find the location of the control core.

The Puppet’s structure was extremely complex, and the core hub was hidden very deep, protected by a Formation.

Under the fierce assault of the Nascent Soul Level, Fang Hao found it difficult to focus on searching.

"Help me hold it off!" Fang Hao shouted to Liang Ling.

Liang Ling understood.

She exerted her full strength to use ice-type Spells, cold air permeating the area, attempting to slow down the Puppet.

Chen Feng, Lin Wan, and Liu Yiyi also tried their best to harass it from the side, creating an opportunity for Fang Hao.

Seizing this opportunity, Fang Hao fully extended his Divine Sense to search carefully.

Suddenly, he discovered that at a position slightly below the Puppet’s chest, there was an unusually concentrated energy fluctuation, protected by layers of Formations!

"There!" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up.

But how to break through the Formation’s protection and reach the core was a difficult problem.

The Puppet seemed to sense Fang Hao’s intention.

Its attacks became even more violent, focusing on Fang Hao and making it difficult for him to get close.

In the critical moment, Fang Hao had a flash of inspiration.

He remembered a niche technique recorded in the "Myriad Manifestations Array Interpretation"—"Divine Thought Frequency Resonance."

By using his own Divine Thought frequency to simulate the target Formation’s frequency, he could achieve a temporary "integration," thereby bypassing the defense!

This required extremely refined control of Divine Thought and precise grasp of the Formation’s frequency.

The risk was immense; the slightest carelessness would result in his Divine Thought being backlashed and damaged!

But at this moment, there was no other way!

Fang Hao gritted his teeth and fully activated the Chaos Evolution Dao Art to protect his Divine Sense, while simultaneously separating a wisp of the purest Divine Thought to carefully perceive the energy fluctuation frequency of the Formation on the Puppet’s chest.

Once, twice... His Divine Thought was like silk, carefully touching and simulating...

Finally, at one moment, the frequencies matched!

"Now!" Fang Hao’s wisp of Divine Thought merged into the sea like a drop of water, silently penetrating the layers of Formation protection and reaching the core hub—a dark gold crystal the size of a fist, covered in mysterious patterns!

The moment his Divine Thought invaded the crystal, a massive amount of information flooded into Fang Hao’s mind: the Puppet’s structure diagram, control techniques, energy circuits...

At the same time, a powerful repulsive force surged from the crystal, attempting to expel his Divine Thought!

This was the original owner’s mental imprint resisting!

Fang Hao held his heart and mind firmly.

With the inclusive nature of the Chaos Evolution Dao Art and his own firm will, he forcibly scoured and covered the remaining imprint!

This was a battle of will!

Fang Hao only felt a sharp pain in his head, as if it were about to explode, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, imprinting his own Divine Soul mark onto the core crystal bit by bit!

Outside, the Puppet’s movements suddenly became sluggish and chaotic, and the giant hammer swung without any pattern.

Seeing this, Liang Ling and the others knew that Fang Hao had reached the critical moment.

They risked their lives to block the Puppet, buying time for Fang Hao.

It was unknown how much time had passed; it felt like an instant, yet also like ten thousand years.

Fang Hao was soaked in sweat, his face pale, but a stunning brilliance erupted in his eyes!

Success!

Hum—!

The dark gold Puppet shuddered, the crimson light in its eyes extinguished, and then a soft, pale gold light lit up.

It slowly put away the giant hammer, faced Fang Hao, knelt on one knee, and made a low and respectful sound:

"Master."

The powerful Nascent Soul pressure receded, becoming docile.

The hall was silent.

Liang Ling, Chen Feng, Lin Wan, and Liu Yiyi were all staring at this scene in a daze, unable to believe it.

Fang Hao... had actually subdued a nascent soul puppet?!

Fang Hao let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a huge joy welled up in his heart.

He walked to the front of the Puppet.

According to the information transmitted from the core, he knew that this Puppet was called "golden puppet," with battle power comparable to the Early Nascent Soul Stage.

It was a treasure used by the Tiangong Sect to guard the Artifact Refining Hall and assist in refining.

Because of the long passage of time, its energy had been depleted, but it was still a powerful asset!

"Get up." Fang Hao moved his mind.

The golden puppet stood up and stood to the side, silent as a mountain.

"Junior Brother Ning... you... how did you do it?" Lin Wan asked stammeringly, her eyes wide open.

Chen Feng and Liu Yiyi were also full of shock and curiosity.

Liang Ling looked at Fang Hao, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and said softly, "You can always create miracles."

Fang Hao smiled and briefly explained the process.

The others listened with trepidation, yet they were also full of admiration.

This method was simply unheard of!

With the golden puppet as a powerful guard, the five of them explored the Artifact Refining Hall with much more ease.

They harvested a large amount of rare Artifact Refining Materials, some intact Artifact Refining tools, and several Jade Slips containing unique Artifact Refining techniques of the Tiangong Sect.

The harvest was far greater than before.

In addition, Fang Hao also gained a Tiangong Artifact Refining Furnace.

When leaving the Artifact Refining Hall, Fang Hao put the golden puppet into his Storage Ring.

This unexpected gain caused his foundation and strength to skyrocket instantly.