The pile of treasures shimmered, catching the eye with its brilliance.


    Han waited for the old man’s return, his ears picking up faint noises from outside. He listened closely.


    Apparently, someone else had come to offload their goods too.


    But since Han had arrived first, the folks at the Black-and-White Tower had stopped the newcomer in their tracks.


    This was shady business, after all—not the kind of deal where people could just waltz in and trade side by side like it was a farmer’s market.


    “According to Aunt Mo, the alchemists at the Waning Moon Pill Pavilion don’t usually take on jobs for just anyone. But with her clout, I should be able to convince one to help me out without much trouble,” Han mused silently while he waited.


    “But that’s not a long-term fix. Relying on Aunt Mo’s name too much could tarnish her reputation. If I could offer up some rare herbs as a bargaining chip, though, no alchemist worth their salt would turn me down.”


    “Seeds might pale in value compared to fully grown herbs, but with the Fortune Spirit Liquid, I’ve got plenty of room to maneuver.”


    “I could even sell off some of the pure, impurity-free pills I don’t need—though that’d draw too much attention. Better not.”


    “Oh, right—since I’m in Yunlong City anyway, I could ask the Dragon Lady if there’s an alchemist in the Yunjiang Dragon Palace.”


    Lost in thought, Han barely noticed the old man return. Just like last time, the elder handed him a jade tablet for browsing.


    The first thing that caught his eye was the pills.


    Each came with an illustration and a detailed rundown—effects, potential side effects, all laid out crystal clear.


    The Black-and-White Tower might operate in the gray, but their dealings were straight-up honest. Good stuff was good, bad stuff was bad—no smoke and mirrors here.


    In this game, reputation was everything.


    The top listings were all auxiliary cultivation pills for the Flesh Realm. Han skimmed them—nothing special, just run-of-the-mill stuff—so he skipped ahead to the Viscera Realm section.


    “The selection for Viscera Realm cultivation pills is kinda slim,” Han remarked.


    The jade tablet showed only five types of pills for that realm.


    Of course, that was just the variety—each type had more than one pill in stock.


    The old man explained, “Pills for that realm are in high demand. Lots of buyers, and they’re tricky to refine. What we’ve got here is already more variety than most places.”


    Han nodded, carefully reviewing the options.


    “True Wood Pill, Five Elements Pill, Eleven Heavenly God Pill…”


    The Eleven Heavenly God Pill sounded grandiose, but it was just a pill for tempering the five organs and six viscera.


    Of the five, some boosted true qi, others fortified the body, and a few directly enhanced the organs. But they all shared one trait: they only aided and sped up cultivation, not enough to push a martial artist straight through a breakthrough.


    Plus, you couldn’t pop them like candy. Two or three of any one type, and the effects would taper off to next to nothing.


    The True Wood Pill, for instance, strengthened the body. If you could keep chugging it with no diminishing returns, wouldn’t that mean you could casually stack your physique up to the Bone Forging level with pills alone?


    Yeah, right. That’d be too easy.


    Flipping further, Han spotted a Bone Forging Realm pill—only one kind.


    The Bone Forging Pill could assist a martial artist in tempering three bones, but you could only take one, max.


    To Han, it seemed pretty average.


    Back in Black Mountain, he’d snagged a rare treasure called the Mountain Dragon Branch. Once refined, it could perfectly temper ten bones for a Bone Forging martial artist—no assistance required.


    One was a direct upgrade, the other just a helping hand. And the numbers didn’t even compare.


    The Mountain Dragon Branch was leagues above this Bone Forging Pill in value.


    Herbs, seeds, crafting materials…


    Han took his time, and the old man didn’t rush him, standing by patiently.


    “No materials for crafting Manifestation-grade artifacts?” Han asked.


    “Those are too rare. The Yunlong City branch doesn’t carry them,” the elder replied.


    Han nodded and listed his requests.


    “Six True Wood Pills, Five Elements Pills…”


    “Golden Essence Fruit seeds…”


    He skipped the herbs entirely—buying seeds and growing them himself was way more cost-effective with his methods.


    “What about those Day Roaming-grade crafting materials? Can I take a look?” Han inquired.


    “Sure, give me a moment.”


    The old man stepped out again. Han didn’t bother asking if his loot was enough to cover the trade.


    His haul—sourced from Manifestation and Day Roaming cultivators, big sects, and noble families—was worth a fortune.


    A short while later, the elder returned with four materials.


    Han touched each one, and his heart skipped a beat.


    Unbelievable—his natal artifact reacted to all four. It wanted them all.


    But these four materials were clearly of different natures.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Two metal chunks, a vial of spirit water, and a withered branch—all viable additives for Day Roaming artifact crafting.


    This artifact of mine’s got one hell of an appetite—meat, veggies, it doesn’t care. It’ll eat anything.


    That wasn’t normal for a natal artifact.


    After a moment’s thought, Han waved a hand. “I’ll take them all!”


    Stepping out of the Black-and-White Tower, Han spotted Bai Ruoyue in a quiet corner.


    No drama this time—just a smooth, uneventful trip.


    “Senior Sister, we don’t come here often. Doesn’t it feel like a waste to just leave now?” he ventured.


    “What’re you getting at?”


    “How about we drop by and say hi to the Dragon Lady?”


    Bai Ruoyue fixed him with a stare and huffed. “That’s not what you told me on the way here.”


    “It’d be rude not to pay a visit when we’re already in her territory, right?”


    “We’re here anyway.”


    To Han’s surprise, though, when he tried calling the Dragon Lady through the conch, there was no response—just silence.


    With no other choice, he flashed her token and tracked down the Yunjiang Aquatic Clan for answers.


    After some back-and-forth, a Day Roaming-level aquatic creature approached him with an explanation.


    “Her Highness isn’t at the Dragon Palace right now—she’s in Qingzhou.”


    “Do you have urgent business with her?”


    “Qingzhou… No, nothing urgent. I just happened to be in Yunlong City and thought I’d stop by.”


    “When Her Highness returns, I’ll let her know you came.”


    “Thanks for that.”


    As the aquatic creature left, Bai Ruoyue nudged Han. “Tough luck—she’s not here.”


    “Disappointed?”


    Senior Sister, quit testing me.


    “Qingzhou, huh.”


    Han shook his head. No surprise there—she ruled a vast water domain spanning the realm. Off to another province on a whim? That was her style.


    He’d gotten so used to seeing her often that he’d overlooked how big her operation really was.


    The magic conch must’ve gone quiet because the distance was too great.


    With the Dragon Lady absent, asking about alchemists in the Dragon Palace was off the table.


    Then Bai Ruoyue, brimming with enthusiasm, dragged him off to explore Yunlong City.


    By the time they strolled back into Black Cloud Town, it was afternoon.


    At the dojo, Han got straight to work refining the four materials he’d picked up, plus purifying some pills.


    “Young Master, I’ve sorted out all the pill recipes from the legacy that work for the Viscera, Bone Forging, and Day Roaming Realms,” An Lang announced, drifting in as he labored.


    “Some of the materials for these recipes match the seeds Master left behind, but there’s still a chunk we don’t have.”


    Han wasn’t shocked.


    Even when the Three Yin Mountain God was alive, self-sufficiency in every alchemy ingredient wasn’t realistic. He’d have grown the rare main herbs himself and sourced the rest elsewhere.


    Now, all they had were some of his leftover seeds—of course there’d be gaps.


    “Did you figure out what’s missing?” Han asked.


    “Yeah, they’re mostly common stuff. Should be easy to grab in the county capital.”


    Han nodded. A trip to the county capital was looking inevitable.


    His plan was to ripen all those seeds into mature herbs ASAP, then refine them into pills to max out the Fortune Gourd’s potential.


    That meant a busy few days at the start of the month—after that, he could kick back and cultivate with pills daily.


    Refining Day Roaming materials was a breeze compared to herbs. By nightfall, all four were processed and fed straight to his natal artifact.


    The artifact absorbed every drop of essence and started glowing again.


    Full belly.


    “To the county capital?” Han asked.


    Across from him, Lu Qingmo nodded. “Sure, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”


    Her Ghost God Division duties mostly involved holding down the fort. Cases requiring her personal touch were rare.


    “Let’s hold off a few days—not tomorrow,” Han said.


    The seeds weren’t ripened yet—heading to the capital now would be pointless.


    “Aunt Mo, what’s the usual cost to hire an alchemist?”


    “You bring your own materials. For obscure pills, you toss in the recipe too—that’s the bare minimum,” Lu Qingmo explained. “Then there’s the fee. No fixed rate—it depends on the pill’s difficulty and the alchemist’s demands.”


    She paused, then asked, “You seem pretty into alchemy lately?”


    “After digging into the Three Yin Mountain God’s legacy, yeah, it’s piqued my interest. That’s part of why I want to hit the county capital.”


    “Then head to the Waning Moon Pill Pavilion. The pavilion master there’s one of the top alchemists across the nearby counties—and a Manifestation Realm powerhouse to boot.”


    That was exactly Han’s plan.


    Under the moonlight, Han’s soul shimmered with a silver sheen, drawing in lunar essence and soaking up yin energy.


    His hands moved slowly, forming strange seals.


    At one point, the surroundings dimmed. All light vanished—swallowed up, even the moonlight gone.


    The darkness lingered until a faint glow sparked to life, weak at first, then blooming brilliantly to banish the shadows.


    The sudden radiance was blinding, stealing all attention.


    On closer look, it came from a circular wheel.


    A glowing ring hung in the air, radiant and central to everything around it.


    Streams of light cascaded down, cloaking Han like some divine figure.


    The Yin God Technique, Ten Directions Heavenly Light—mastered!


    Lu Qingmo stood nearby, silent.


    In just two or three days, with only nighttime study sessions, he’d grasped a Yin God-level technique at the Day Roaming Realm…


    She didn’t even know what to say about that kind of talent.


    It wasn’t bad—it was too good.


    Even at the Xuandu Monastery, genius disciples didn’t pick up Yin God techniques that easily.


    It took time—plus guidance from masters and sometimes even treasures to help.


    But Han? He’d learned it right under her nose, brute-forcing it with sheer focus—and fast.


    Don’t you ever hit a wall or get stumped?


    Nope. Not really.


    So far, whenever Han got serious about mastering a technique or martial art, insights just poured in like clockwork. No barriers, no bottlenecks.


    It started after he got the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart.


    He could feel it kicking in whenever he studied techniques or martial skills—an uncanny edge.


    Even in its earliest stage, that heart was something special.


    Take the Yang Earth Fire Seal’s cultivation method—he’d cracked it ages ago. Now he was just patiently extracting pure fire essence from yin earth flames.


    That was slow, meticulous work. No rushing it, or he’d have forged the Yang Earth Fire already.


    Savoring the power within the Heavenly Light Wheel, Han nodded, pleased.


    Worthy of a Yin God technique—it packed a punch. Now he had more tricks up his sleeve for soul-based combat.


    As the wheel faded, he caught Lu Qingmo eyeing him oddly.


    Did I get more handsome again?


    “You picked up a Yin God technique that fast. I’m starting to wonder what could actually stump you,” she said.


    “Uh, was it that hard? Felt pretty straightforward to me.”


    “…”


    Alright then.


    “The Earth Fire Seal’s a higher grade than Ten Directions Heavenly Light, and I learned that quick too,” Han said, puzzled. “With that as a benchmark, why’s Aunt Mo surprised now?”


    “The Earth Fire Seal came with a True Intent inheritance. That’s a different beast from learning a technique like this,” Lu Qingmo clarified. “True Intent inheritances are prized because they let you master techniques fast and flawlessly.”


    Late that night, his natal artifact finished digesting the four Day Roaming materials. The purple twig had grown—now middle-finger length—and the mysterious power within it swelled.


    Most striking, though, was a tiny bump on the twig.


    “Is it… about to bloom or bear fruit?” Han muttered.


    This natal artifact was getting weirder by the day.


    A fruit-bearing artifact—what would it even produce?


    It was so bizarre he couldn’t even settle on a name for it.


    Over the next few days, aside from essential cultivation, Han focused on herb knowledge and ripening seeds.


    He stored the mature herbs carefully, though it bugged him that he couldn’t harvest new seeds from some of them.


    The Three Yin Mountain God had the skill to cycle-plant a single herb indefinitely—but Han wasn’t on that level.


    Their cultivation and alchemy chops were worlds apart.


    Five days of this cultivation-and-study routine flew by.


    On this day, Han, Lu Qingmo, and Bai Ruoyue slipped out of Black Cloud Town unnoticed.


    It was supposed to be a two-person trip for him and Lu Qingmo, but Bai Ruoyue insisted on tagging along—so they let her.


    She wouldn’t take no for an answer.


    Sitting beside Han, Bai Ruoyue took in the scenery and asked, “Little Junior Brother, you’re juggling martial arts, soul cultivation, and now alchemy. You got enough hours in the day for all that?”


    “Senior Sister, you might be underestimating my talent,” Han replied, brimming with confidence. “If I set my mind to it, alchemy’s a piece of cake—won’t take much time at all.”


    “But I’m just interested in hiring someone to refine pills, not learning it myself.”


    “I’m into crafting and forging too, but I’ll leave those skills to An Lang.”


    Bai Ruoyue nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense. That way it won’t cut into your cultivation time.”


    “Keeps An Lang busy too.”


    An Lang: Does no one speak up for me?


    At the county capital, Lu Qingmo personally led Han and Bai Ruoyue to the Waning Moon Pill Pavilion.


    The place oozed grandeur—outshining even the Thousand Soldiers Forge—and didn’t bother with greeters at the door.


    As the trio stepped inside, a white-haired old man descended the stairs, heading their way.


    Han’s senses sharpened.


    This guy…


    He’s a big shot!