Lin Xiao had no intention of packing the new cookware away into spatial storage until they reached the surface. The sight of a freshly cooled, mirror-smooth wok resting over an open earth-heat source was a temptation no self-respecting cook could possibly resist.
“There’s no time like the present,” Lin Xiao said, rolling up his azure scholar sleeves. “A masterwork wok needs to be seasoned with real aromatics before the metal settles into its crystal-clear structure. If we season it over living earth-fire, the wok-hei will bond permanently with the star-gold matrix.”
Lin Xiao scouted the foundry floor until he found a natural earth-heat chimney pipe. An upright air-flow shaft lined with natural crimson fire-jade. There, a packed stream of white-hot magma vapor rose from the molten rivers below. The chimney pipe emitted a steady, dry heat of several hundred degrees, fully free of toxic smoke thanks to the ancient purification formations embedded in the stone stonework.
Setting two square granite blocks on either side of the chimney pipe to serve as a sturdy trivet, Lin Xiao settled the Nine-Flame Star-Gold Wok directly over the sky-slit.
The reaction was immediate. The earth-heat struck the star-gold base. Then, the violet-black metal absorbed the heat energy like a thirsty sponge. Instead of scorching at the bottom while leaving the edges cool, the wok channeled the heat in a seamless, circular vortex across its entire inner bowl. Within seconds, the inner curve radiated an invisible, shimmering aura of pure, uniform heat.
