At the same time, he began visualizing the shape of the coin he wanted to forge in his mind.
Moreover, he could clearly sense that, as long as he willed it, the golden light within the golden toad's mouth would instantly condense into whatever form he desired—even a gold ingot, if he so chose. It was merely a matter of thought.
Of course, forging gold ingots had never even crossed Yi Tianxing's mind.
In his conception, the coin to be minted would remain about the same size as a traditional gold coin. However, he didn't intend for it to be a solid, uniform disk like ordinary coins. Instead, he opted for the oldest coin design from ancient Huaxia: round on the outside, square in the center.
In Huaxia tradition, it was believed that heaven was round and earth was square—a notion passed down for millennia, a crystallization of Huaxia's philosophical wisdom. This simple geometry concealed profound Dao and logic.
Cultivators often drew upon such symbols to grasp the deeper truths of the world.
Across various schools of thought, traces of this concept could be found.
Indeed, the idea of "heaven is round and earth is square" is a unique imprint of Huaxia civilization.
No matter how much things changed, it could never alter the fact that Yi Tianxing came from a Huaxia background, with the blood of the descendants of Yan and Huang running through his veins. Though this world was different from the one he had known, he still wished to preserve and inherit fragments of his ancestral civilization.
Furthermore, the circle symbolizes equality, inclusiveness, and harmony; the square symbolizes hierarchy, balance, and boundaries. Human beings live between heaven and earth—thus, all their behavior and thinking should adhere to the principles of heaven and earth.
"Without rules, there is no square and no circle."
A circle, having no corners, is easy to carry. Don't underestimate this "convenience." Confucius once said: "To ease others is to ease oneself." A simple truth, yet it spans society and threads through five thousand years of Chinese civilization. "Helping others helps oneself" is a moral principle admired in any harmonious society.
It's safe to say that this design contains infinite meaning.
Thus, for this minting session, Yi Tianxing selected the ancient Huaxia style of coin—round outside, square inside.
Once the design was visualized, a translucent coin instantly appeared in the golden toad's mouth.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The coin-forging furnace began operating. The piece of Blackiron Crystal fed into it was rapidly melted down, mysterious patterns merging into the liquid metal.
The golden toad opened its mouth and naturally began spitting out coins—each one round with a square center.
There weren't many—fewer than ten.
These coins were black, yet shimmered with a crystal-like sheen.
Held in his hand, each coin had substantial weight. Intricate patterns of dragons and phoenixes were etched onto their surfaces, along with two ancient characters in seal script: Eternal (永恒).
On the reverse side, a panorama of rivers and mountains, people and customs was depicted. It resembled the famous Along the River During the Qingming Festival—showing officials, servants, farmers, doctors… all carved with minute precision, yet full of lifelike detail. It was a scene that had emerged from his mind after visualizing the diagram from the Observing People Sutra, now engraved onto the coin's surface.
The minting furnace was indeed miraculous—its craftsmanship exquisite beyond compare.
On the reverse side were two more ancient characters: Xuan Huang (玄黄).
The size of the coin was roughly that of a modern one-yuan coin from his previous life, and about the same thickness—except with a square hole in the center. Rather than being a flaw, this gave the coin a mystical aura, as if the hole were a gate capable of swallowing everything.
"What a refined and exquisite coin," Yi Tianxing murmured. "This minting furnace is truly magical. It can instantly refine a crystal and condense it into a coin through a unique process. As clear as crystal, weighty, finely crafted—like a natural work of art. Even more amazing is the pure elemental energy I can feel inside. Let's see what happens when I absorb it."
He took a deep breath.
What he wanted was a form of currency that wouldn't be destroyed upon absorption and that would hold true value—something cultivators would accept. Ideally, it would also assist them in their cultivation.
With a thought, he held one of the coins.
Circulating his cultivation method, a suction force naturally emitted from his hand, quickly drawing out the pure energy within the coin.
The energy was incredibly pure—no refining necessary, instantly absorbable.
Moreover, refining this coin's internal energy was much faster than drawing energy from the outside world. After all, this coin was a crystallized form of elemental energy, not the formless kind found in nature—like having pure energy directly poured into one's body.
"As expected… this coin is essentially solidified elemental energy. One coin is equivalent to a whole day of intensive cultivation for me. For ordinary people, it might match ten days to half a month's worth of training. Using crystal stones for cultivation really speeds things up."
"But…" he muttered, staring at the coin that had turned to dust in his hand, "if it's made solely from crystal stones, the coin can't retain its form after the energy is used up."
It was a failure.
"Typical coin alloys include other materials besides copper. Pure crystal stones won't do. I'll try adding something else—like refined essence from beast bones."
The nature of the coin depended entirely on what materials were provided. That was the miracle of the coin-forging furnace—it could perfectly fuse whatever ingredients were offered. The key was choosing the right materials.
After the failed first attempt, he immediately began a second.
This time, he placed one crystal stone and one bone crystal, refined from beast bone essence, into the furnace.
Just as he was about to resume the process, he noticed a Willpower Pearl stored in his spiritual bead space. His eyes lit up, and a new idea flashed through his mind.
"What if I add the Willpower Pearl too? Would that change the outcome?"
"The value of money lies in its circulation. During that process, it accumulates fortune, human will, and wealth energy. Some cultivators have forged money into flying swords—'money swords'—imbued with the flourishing fate of dynasties and the will of countless people. All of this… it's essentially willpower."
"Money, by enabling transactions and purchases, becomes a vessel of hope, desire, and collective will. If coins could directly gather willpower from the masses, wouldn't they become vessels of divine power—tools that could collect and channel wish-energy?"
Yi Tianxing was struck by inspiration—a spark that ignited endless imagination.
People often said money was filthy. But no one could live without it. If coins could carry willpower, it wouldn't be surprising. The real question was: how to make coins that naturally gathered massive amounts of wish-energy?
After a brief moment of thought, he placed a Willpower Pearl into the coin-forging furnace.
The process began again.
The crystal stone and bone crystal melted quickly, and so did the Willpower Pearl. Under the furnace's mysterious power, all three fused into a single, crystal-clear liquid. Lines of treasure seals continually merged into the glowing mass.
Once the willpower was added, the entire process seemed to spiral beyond Yi Tianxing's control.
He saw a ball of golden light pulsing intensely.
Within, he could hear countless voices—prayers, wishes, street vendors hawking their goods…
Ding! Ding! Ding!
This time, the forging took far longer than before—ten times longer.
Eventually, the golden toad spat out a fresh batch of coins.
They were completely different from before.
Golden in color, like glazed glass, yet retaining the same shape—front with Eternal, back with Xuan Huang. The front depicted sun, moon, and stars; dragons and phoenixes. The back showed human culture and the splendor of the land.
"They're golden… and heavier too. Their bodies are like glazed jade. The elemental energy inside is even purer. And now, willpower is etched onto the surface… so strange, so unique."
"Wait… why is one of them purple-gold?"
Among the newly minted batch, one coin stood out—a coin of purple-gold hue, glowing brilliantly.
It radiated a hint of spiritual awareness, and when Yi Tianxing held it, he could clearly sense the connection it had with all the other coins—as if it were the source, capable of governing them.
Each coin's essence was somehow tethered to this one.
"Could this be… a Mother Coin?"
Yi Tianxing's heart trembled. Holding it, he could feel its pull over all other coins—as though it were their origin. He even sensed that this single coin had a mysterious controlling influence over them.
"This… this Mother Coin feels like a magical treasure."
Indeed, the purple-gold coin contained unique restrictions and seals—things ordinary coins could not possess.
To confirm his suspicion, Yi Tianxing dropped a drop of blood onto the coin.
The blood was instantly absorbed.
Swish!The coin turned into a beam of purple-gold light and shot into his body, settling in his divine sea, where it began to be refined by the true dragon energy.
"It really is a Mother Coin—and an actual Yellow-grade magical artifact! Who would've thought… by combining crystal stones, bone crystal, and a Willpower Pearl, I'd accidentally forge a Mother Coin treasure!"
Yi Tianxing's jaw dropped. His eyes sparkled in stunned amazement.