At eleven-thirty that night, the central cavern of the Western Hills base hummed with power.
The thirty-yard circular basin of the Nine-Dragon Meridian-Regeneration Pool was completely assembled.
Nine colossal dragon heads carved from pure suet-white spirit jade arched over the pool perimeter, their open jaws breathing thick clouds of warm golden mist.
Deep below the floor, five million spirit stones dissolved within the quartz conduits, pumped directly through the heating arrays by Master Lu Jian’s spirit circulation engines.
Dr. Gu Qinghe, Master Sun Baicao, and Little Guo’er stood on the raised eastern platform.
Little Guo’er held her tiny palms out over the central intake valve.
The Nine-Colored Pure-Lotus Flame danced above her small fingers, radiating sweet, musical chimes. A thin, continuous stream of pure lotus fire flowed into the herb vats, liquefying the thousand-year Fire-Ginseng and Dragon-Blood Grass without a single particle of soot.
“Uncle Lin, the golden soup smells like honey!” Little Guo’er giggled, watching the amber nectar bubble happily beneath her hands. “It will make the soldier uncles very strong!”
