The small purple bronze furnace stood no taller than three feet, yet it seemed able to swallow the entire East Sea. Two ancient characters meaning primordial origin were carved into its side. Fire veins coiled beneath it, thick as great wheels, layer upon layer of red light overlapping like a slumbering and restless crimson dragon that never ceased its breathing.
Red sat in the eastern corner. His breath had grown deep and steady. Within his core a rising sun seemed to awaken. The Golden Crow pill had transformed into fire that threaded through his meridians, ascended his governing channel, and at each acupoint a fire crow emerged. Each crow pecked apart old stagnation and burned away hidden wounds. Their cries echoed faintly as if reshaping his bones and blood.
Whenever the fire reached its peak, his skin split into thin cracks, only to heal again beneath the wrap of spiritual power. The new skin bore faint golden feather like markingsthe sign of a bloodline not yet fully awakened.
By the sixth year, the number of fire crows reached three thousand and six hundred. They were no longer illusions but bore physical form. When they dispersed they shone like countless sparks. When gathered they formed a curtain of flame.
One day a moment of insight struck him. With his finger as a pen he carved a scripture of the Golden Crow fire art across the stone floor. Each stroke was formed from pure fire intent. Once a character was completed it rose into the air and entered the tower he carried. The fourth level of the Burning Star Tower lit with a ring of red gold fire patterns. A low hum echoed from it, as if the tower acknowledged a new secret. From that moment the tower earned its new name.
In the western corner Snow curled within the glow of the moon. The chill of the Moon Toad pill was cold yet without any trace of malice. It felt like the touch of the first snow falling into a warm spring. As the power flowed through her meridians it left behind threads of frost that reordered every channel until they gleamed with clarity.
A silver moon gradually rose within her core. Upon it a rabbit shaped shadow moved. With each step the faint scent of laurel drifted forth. It was as though a power that had always belonged to her was waking at last.
By the third year she could form a moonlit laurel realm through will alone. Silver light covered the ground and laurel shadows formed a forest. Anyone who entered it seemed to sink into a cold pool. Their speed would drop by nearly a third.
By the seventh year the first frost shadow spirit rabbit appeared within the realm. Its body was pale silver and its soul was linked to hers. It could shield her from a life ending strike.
During the final month of the ninth year the furnace began to ring on its own. Fire surged wildly. Cold light streamed upward. Red and white energy met at the ceiling and began to rotate, forming a pattern like the ancient symbol of balance.
Within the red glow the Golden Crow spread its wings. Within the white glow the Moon Toad swallowed light. They circled each other nine times before plunging into the two of them.
A crisp sound echoed from deep within Red's core. Liquid spiritual energy condensed into a red gold pellet. Fire crows circled its surface, acting as guardians.
In Snow's inner sea a frost white pellet formed. It shone like a perfect moon. Nine frost shadow spirit rabbits ran around it as if patrolling through the night.
The lid of the furnace flew open and two newborn artifacts shot out.
The Burning Star Tower had gained a new level shaped like a ring of fire cloud. It had space for all three thousand fire crows. With a single thought they could spread their wings and triple their speed.
The other artifact was a snow white moon ring known as Frost Shadow. It was thin as a fingernail and invisible when held. When summoned it expanded into a laurel shadow spanning a hundred yards and could freeze the spirit of any enemy caught within it. It would be Snow's future life bound weapon.
Finally the stone door opened of its own accord. The tide wind that had not entered for nine years swept into the hall. Both of them felt as though reborn after a long silence.
They opened their eyes at the same moment. Deep within their pupils a golden core and a silver core rotated slowly. Sunlight and moonlight shimmered together, causing the water walls of Biyou Palace to ripple faintly.
Nine years had passed.Their cores had formed.Their fates had changed.The moment they stepped out of the stone door, they were no longer the two young cultivators they once were.