Tang Yuding walked toward him and stopped at his side, observing the cracks in the bronze.
"The earthly fire of Clear Wind Peak burns with its own turbulence, while the Qi of your meridians obeys quieter rules," the young woman said in a low voice, offering him unexpected advice. "Let the fire rotate around the vessel clockwise, like the water of a whirlpool, and guide the heat toward the center through patience. Allow the flower to float in the vapor before touching the base."
Shen Tian raised his gaze and met Yuding’s eyes. In the girl’s eyes shone the curiosity of someone who recognized the patience of a true professional.
"Understood. Thank you, Senior Sister Yuding," Shen Tian responded.
In his mental space, Xue Huang added her touch:
"Listen to the girl, but add a touch of dry rotation with your tenth meridian on the outer wall. That will stabilize the temperature of the bronze."
Shen Tian used the tenth meridian with extreme caution, channeling the Qi through the outer wall of the cauldron while holding his energy signature completely sealed. Tang Yuding, absorbed in her mortar, stayed focused on her own work.
For the fourth attempt, Shen Tian closed his eyes and synchronized his breathing.
He channeled the Mud Lotus Breathing Art. A thread of dense, crystalline Qi flowed from his fingers toward the control knobs of the earthly fire. The flame of the subterranean vein changed from a violent red to a soft, pale blue.
Before throwing in the flower, Shen Tian mentally consulted the herb identification manual he had purchased from the System Shop. The Three-Form Fire Lotus Herb was distinguished by its crimson petals and ash-colored stem, while any other plant with those characteristics carried poison. Confirmed. The harvest was clean.
He threw in one of the Fire Lotus flowers.
This time, the plant floated on the thermal vapor current, shedding its petals one by one until it dissolved into a drop of perfectly pure crimson nectar. Immediately after, Shen Tian added the Serpent Bile, using the clockwise rotation Yuding had suggested.
The two opposing energies—the scorching fire of the plant and the cold venom of the beast—clashed inside the cauldron.
Shen Tian clenched his teeth, maintaining the compression of his Qi at the limit for forty uninterrupted minutes.
DING!
A sound clear as the strike of a silver bell resonated inside the iron chamber. The cauldron lid rose slowly, releasing a dense column of medicinal vapor with the aroma of lotus and pine.
At the bottom of the furnace rested a polished sphere of brilliant crimson color, crossed by five golden veins of runic alignment.
A Blood Purification Pill — Grade 5 (Foundation Establishment Stage).
[!Success in refining high-grade spiritual medicine!]
[You have completed Master Tang Songyang’s Mission.]
With a smooth gesture, while Tang Songyang and his daughter approached the cauldron, Shen Tian grazed the pill with the tip of his finger and internally invoked the System function:
"Pill Purification — Cost: 50 Suppression Points."
The System could purify pills up to Grade 5, eliminating impurities and elevating their quality. An invisible flash ran across the surface of the medicine. The small imperfections and toxins of the subterranean sulfur vanished instantly under the System’s touch, transforming the pill into an Absolute Grade Pill.
Tang Songyang leaned over the cauldron, took the pill with his trembling fingers, and brought it to his nose. The old alchemist’s pupils dilated to the limit.
"Five runic veins... pristine, its surface untouched by carbon slag..." the master babbled, looking at Shen Tian as if a hidden treasure had just surfaced beneath his roof. "This... this is a quality that only the Great Alchemists of the Main Hall can achieve after ten years of practice. How the hell did a Level 2 servant achieve this refinement?"
Tang Yuding looked at Shen Tian with an expression where astonishment mixed with a nascent deep respect.
"Pure skill," Yuding said, stepping forward. "He adjusted the fire frequency at the last second. He has a natural talent for thermal perception."
The System screen glowed with intensity in Shen Tian’s vision:
=====================================================
[EMERGENT MISSION COMPLETED: Infiltration of the Alchemy Pavilion]
Objective: Gain access to Master Tang’s resources.
Performance evaluation: Exceptional (Absolute Quality).
Reward granted: +500 Suppression Points.
Current balance: 1,630 Suppression Points.
=====================================================
Tang Songyang stored the pill in a jade flask and coughed forcefully to recover his severe posture, though his eyes shone with contained avarice at having such talent under his command.
"Fine... I suppose you carry some value after all," the master said in a harsh tone. "From today you are formally assigned as my second personal assistant. You will have access to the secondary herb storage room and a double ration of low-grade spirit stones. Yuding will teach you the pavilion’s catalog."
Tang Yuding smiled at him with a bow of her head.
"Welcome to the Alchemy Pavilion, Shen Tian. It seems we will be coworkers from today on."
Shen Tian returned the bow with measured respect. In the girl he saw discipline and focus, traits that set her apart from the aggressors of the past and from Lin Yu’s submission; he saw a possible ally on this path.
Night fell over the summits of the Jinyun Sect.
After finishing his labors in the alchemy laboratory, Shen Tian returned to the servant zone to collect his belongings before his definitive transfer to the pavilion’s rooms.
As he walked along the dark path behind the abandoned forge, he stopped at the agreed stone wall. He shifted the third loose floorboard and drew out a small bamboo tube sealed with black wax.
The first letter from Zhao Ming, his spy within the Zhao Family in Dust Border City.
Zhao Ming’s duties kept him bound to Dust Border City, but he had a cousin who worked as a cart driver on the supply routes. The cousin left the reports in an agreed hiding place near the forge, and Shen Tian collected them. The system was crude, yet it worked.
Shen Tian had sent a dose of "antidote"—in reality, water with a bitter tint—through the same cart driver who brought the reports. Zhao Ming believed himself safe for one more month. The lie held, for now.
Shen Tian broke the wax seal and unfolded the piece of fine paper under the moonlight.
Zhao Ming’s calligraphy was trembling but legible:
"Sir: I comply with reporting. After the loss of the Bloody Heart Jade Fragment, the Zhao Family has entered a panic. They have secretly allied with the envoys of the Lin Clan of Clear River City. Young Master Lin Xiao will send his personal escort to Dust Border City next week to supervise a secret auction in the Black Market of Shadow Street. They say the main object is an incomplete map that leads to the secret cave of the ancient Sword Elder... Awaiting your monthly antidote."
Shen Tian held the letter between his fingers. A gust of cold mountain air made the sleeves of his gray tunic flutter.
Lin Xiao.
The same name that had resonated in his memory for a century; the young master of the Lin Clan who in his past life had ordered the beating that crippled his left meridian, the "genius" who had ascended to the summits stealing ancient legacies.
Shen Tian channeled a thread of Qi into the tips of his fingers. A small spark of grayish energy—the residue of the earthly fire he had absorbed during his work at the cauldron—consumed the letter paper until it became a fine black powder that the night wind carried toward the mountain abyss.
His gray eyes, cold and unfathomable as the ice of an ancient well, looked toward the horizon where Mu Shu Country stretched in the shadows.
"Lin Xiao..." Shen Tian whispered with a thin smile, cold as the edge of a knife. "This is indeed interesting."