《Aoyang: Alchemist's Rebirth [Xianxia]》


 0001: Aoyang

    The black ocean faded away. A swirl of hundreds of chaotic colours bombarded his vision.


    Only after several hours did they part, revealing the sight of a plain wooden ceiling. He was in a small room that stank of old lumber.


    The deafening scream of an infant filled his ears. Before him, an old woman was frantically waving a rattle.


    No. That cry was from him.


    A dry pain wracked his tender throat. Only now did he realise how hoarse his throat had become.


    How long had he been screaming?


    He reached his hand to touch his throat. At that moment, he saw his tiny grubby hand.


    This...


    This was not his body! It was frail and mortal, without the slightest hint of condensed qi. Yet, he could still feel his soul sealed within it.


    Inconceivable. It was as if an elephant had been stuffed into a small paper bag. If his soul made the slightest movement, the entirety of his body would be shredded so finely, there wouldn''t even be blood mist left to spray!


    How was that possible?


    The situation thrust upon Aoyang left him with too many questions.


    A strong nausea shook him and he retched. But there was nothing in his stomach to spew out. A splitting headache struck his very being. His body was rejecting his soul!


    He clutched his head, his entire body trembling.


    His vision grew blurry as a tremendous fatigue fell upon his very soul. His weary eyes began to close. For a moment he fought to keep his eyelids open, but the realm of sleep took him moments later.


    "Hah..." the old lady heaved a sigh of relief.


    She picked up the sleeping infant and left the small room, heading down a hall. With the gentle creak of an old wooden door, she entered a large room with over a hundred small beds, countless infants sleeping on them. She placed him onto one of the empty beds.


    The infant child had been screaming at the top of his lungs as soon as he was born, giving the mother quite the fright.


    Newborns would cry... but the screams of this one were especially haunting, like that of a pig being slaughtered.


    She had no choice but to isolate him in a room briefly, not wanting the other infants to be frightened.


    The old woman left the room with a sigh, patting her aching back.


    Days passed uneventfully.


    The cloudless night skies were crystal clear, dotted with the brilliant light of countless stars and constellations.


    But he could not recognise a single one. Galloping Qilin, Celestial Tiger, Heaven''s Hand... of those he had learnt in his past life, none were present.


    It was clear he was an unimaginable distance away from his original world.


    He stared at the faint moonlight from outside listlessly. It had taken a while, several days filled with unending nightmares before his memories settled.


    The second heavenly law came to mind. In death, to reincarnate anew. Having experienced the law first-hand, he had gained a certain instinctual understanding. When he detached his soul from his ruined body, the heavens declared him dead and dragged him into the cycle of reincarnation.


    But an uneasy feeling weighed on him. He had a strong feeling he was not supposed to retain his memories, nor the cultivation of his soul.


    It had been so long since he had been unconscious. He had not slept in over a thousand years.


    On his clothes, a piece of cloth was carelessly stitched, "Baiyun" scrawled on it. It was his name in this life.


    Aoyang, no, Baiyun raised his hand into the air, gazing at it. So small and frail.


    White Cloud. Perhaps his parents wished he could be as free as the clouds in the skies, soaring wherever he pleased.


    An ironic name.


    This body was that of a servant, one of the most unfortunate and cursed existences in the universe. They were unnatural, pitiful people brought into life against their will.


    Across the vast cosmos, there was not a single sect that did not need labour.


    Mortals were cheap. They did not need cultivational resources; even the most ordinary of food and water would keep them alive. Even paying them was optional, for they could not lift a finger against the might of an immortal.


    Be it a subtle mercy from the heavens or a cosmic coincidence, mortals were unsuited for sect labour. When a mortal was exposed to impure qi, their bodies could not expel it. Slowly, they would fall ill as impurities accumulated, dying a slow painful death.


    The solution was simple, to hire cultivators as labourers at a higher price.


    But human greed was insatiable.


    Paying such a cost was unacceptable. Even if they enslaved cultivators, the mere act of them breathing stole precious qi from their sects!


    Across the universe, demonic cultivators settled on the same solution.


    Meridians. They were the culprit. If mortals did not have them, they would not be contaminated.


    Qi was the essence of life. All life had meridians, be it flora or fauna.


    To be born without them was akin to being born without lungs. A cursed existence, unable to take in the breath of the cosmos.


    But the demonic cultivators did not care.


    Countless mortals screamed as they were kidnapped and tossed into death chambers. Inside were dense seas of impure qi, a miasma of decay.


    Thuds echoed as bodies collapsed to the floor. Only the most resilient of mortals survived, spared from the grasp of death by healing arts. But they were no less miserable. The survivors were treated like livestock, forced to produce the next generation.


    The process repeated. Little results were seen in the first centuries.


    But immortals were patient. They had all the time in the world.


    No one knew when the first true servant was born. But as aeons passed, servant races devoid of meridians began to appear all over the cosmos, like weeds overtaking a barren field. Even sects that criticised the demonic sects for this heinous crime eventually took in servants of their own, unable to resist the allure of profits.


    What a cruel joke for him to be born as one.


    Baiyun felt panic brushing its withered fingers against his heart. But he took a deep breath and calmed down.


    He suddenly remembered the hollow eyes of his disciple, as dark as the void sea. The moments before his death were the most distorted memories he had. He could not even remember why they had fought.


    He had to return to the sect and find out what happened!


    Baiyun raised a hand and clenched it into a fist.


    He would still find a way to cultivate.


    He would still find a way to return.


    Immortals were patient. Even if it took him a thousand years to return, he trusted the people he knew would remain.


    But it truly was a shame. He could not witness the sight of his disciples growing up. Perhaps they would already have forgotten about him by the time he returned.


    He sat there in silence for a moment, feeling a deep sadness for a moment at that thought.


    But there was no time to waste. Baiyun put his worries aside and got to work.


    Days passed in the blink of an eye.


    The caretakers would feed him from a rubber gourd occasionally. Inside was a strange mixture consisting of water, milk and a trace of spirit herbs.


    As the essence of life, qi was essential even to mortals. Servants did not have the meridians to absorb qi from the air, so if sects did not provide it through food, they would die as infants.


    Baiyun hardly noticed the caretakers tending to his infant self. It was as if his body acted on instinct, covering for him, while his mind worked round the clock.


    A transcendent soul did not need rest.


    Even as his body slept, his soul continued to think.


    Baiyun sensed the qi from the herb milk circulating within his body. It was a paltry sum, but it showed all hope was not lost.


    The streams of qi were weak, like the almost imperceivable ripples in a still glass of water, disturbed by a slow breeze. But his soul watched with almost bloodshot eyes for hundreds of hours, bordering on obsession.


    In his current state, he could not take notes. But the memory of his soul was sufficient.


    With the meals he was given each passing day, the streams of qi grew slightly denser, strengthening his physique.


    The body of a servant was like a prison without doors or windows. Any qi, good or bad, would remain trapped within, often meaning short lives for servants despite their qi-strengthened physiques.


    But this helped greatly in his research.


    It was as if he was watching the growth of a small village into a bustling town. As the population grew, the people began to build new amenities and workplaces. New paths formed in the barren dirt as more and more people travelled, finding more and more shortcuts.


    A town elder lived in a grand hall, the dantian. Each day, the citizens would gather and pay respects to him.


    The barren landscape changed. Grass and trees grew, buildings fell and were rebuilt.


    Baiyun was the mapmaker of his body.


    Outside the window, the cycle of day and night became an indistinguishable blur of black and white. His comprehension of his body grew by the day.


    When he snapped out of his trace, his body was much larger, capable of walking. Before he knew it, he had become 3 years old.


    The cultivation technique was complete.


    If his body was a bustling country, Baiyun had learnt every facet of each and every inhabitant. His new body no longer felt strange and alien.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He raised a hand, opening and closing it before his eyes. It felt so natural now. When he first came to this world, it felt as if he had been stuffed into a skin suit against his will.


    For the first time, body and soul truly accepted each other.


    Adapting to a new body after living in his old one for thousands of years was not easy.


    While every person''s qi pathways were different in their own unique way, as humans, they remained largely similar. But servants had been so "deformed" by eugenics that their qi pathways barely resembled that of a regular human.


    Some researchers even argued servants could no longer be classified as true humans, instead putting them in the category of variant humans.


    Baiyun laughed bitterly to himself.


    If only he had studied the constitution of servants more in his previous life. But just as quickly, he brushed the thought away.


    No.


    He had already sworn against human experimentation. It was a mistake he made in his careless youth when all he knew was his father''s teachings.


    Humans, even servants, were not to be treated as pill beasts. He first declared that when he was 337 years old, much to his father''s fury. It was one of the many things his father called him immature for, for daring to put value into the meaningless lives of mortals.


    Baiyun gathered up the qi within his body, following the technique he had carefully devised. Slowly, so as not to harm the frail toddler body, the qi entered his dantian in a slow trickle, like water from melting snow.


    Mist from a cloud, gathering to form a single droplet of rain. A small wisp of qi formed within. It flickered and blurred as if it could fizzle out of existence at any moment.


    Baiyun exhaled.


    Success.


    It was a tiny step, not even a hundredth of the way to the first stage of qi gathering. But a deep relief washed over him, and he laughed in joy. The biggest hurdle had been resolved! He had adapted the cultivation technique from his past life to this strange body.


    Now, all he needed was to gather enough qi.


    Time continued to flow.


    At the age of 4, the sect began to educate him with his many fellow servants. Literacy. Housekeeping. Cooking. Spirit gardening.


    At the age of 6, they were deemed ready for work and sent into the fields.


    With how servants trapped qi that would refine their bodies, even at the age of 6, they were as strong as a 10-year-old. The sect was taking full advantage of the greater strength servants had compared to normal mortals.


    Baiyun soon learnt how the sect rewarded their servants.


    Each day, spirits would observe the servants and assign contribution points based on their performance. The servants who did well were treated to lavish meals, but those who did poorly would only be given kitchen scraps for dinner.


    Meals did not cost any contribution points, to ensure servants would not deprive themselves of good food merely to save for a large reward.


    That motivation really showed during the day, where servants would go about their jobs with gusto. It was incomparable to his previous sect, where lifeless servants went about their tasks like puppets. Whoever managed the servants here was quite skilled. Such enthusiasm for the mere price of proper food was more than worth it.


    Baiyun could see the manipulation, but he was helpless.


    If it came down to this, he was going to make the most out of his past experience. He tended to the fields as fast as an adult servant, sowing the seeds perfectly. When he harvested, he was even faster and would never damage the crops! Even the herbs he planted were the largest and most vibrant.


    Meanwhile, the rest of the child servants struggled, their hands shaking as older servants chided them.


    The caretakers were impressed. Normally, there were too many servants for them to notice a specific one, but Baiyun was like a crane brazenly standing in a flock of chickens.


    One day, he overhead two of them as he worked the fields.


    "That servant. Do you think he has some rare constitution?" one of them, a gruff old man spoke.


    "Hahaha! Perhaps, perhaps. In the future, he could be a seed for future servant generations." the other laughed.


    Baiyun''s face darkened. Filth that treated humans like livestock! If he had his past might, he would behead them immediately. But he snuffed his rage out in an instant. There was no point in being angry if there was nothing he could do. Right now.


    The skies soon turned golden. It was sunset.


    One by one, the servants carried baskets of herbs to the collection point, a large stone warehouse where yet more servants would categorise and store the harvest. Baiyun''s basket was 10 times larger than the other servants'', yet, it was still brimming with herbs. The other children stared at him in envy. But they did not dare to even think of stealing. If they were caught, they would be sentenced to a month of kitchen scraps!


    But Baiyun was still a small child and could only push the basket across the ground awkwardly.


    After all the servants placed down their baskets, wiping off their sweat, a bright white light showed itself in the skies. It was a light spirit, in charge of managing the servants of this division.


    "You are all dismissed!" the spirit said enthusiastically. "Head over to the kitchen for your meals, and rest well for tomorrow!"


    Some servants let out a cheer, rushing into the distance. Others merely sighed and trudged off.


    Baiyun followed the trail of servants, heading to a large and extravagant dining hall. It was unlike the simple brick housing the servants were used to, built of white marble and even engraved with formations that kept it impeccably clean.


    For the servants, only dinner was catered, something to look forward to after a day of hard work. For their other meals, servants had to subsist on grain balls the sect issued.


    As he entered the hall, he heard the loud indistinguishable mumble of many servants chatting, laughing and crying. Thousands of servants were feasting away, many of them ill-mannered, without the slightest table manners.


    Yet, despite their brutishness, little food was spilt.


    From the corner of his eye, he saw a servant cry out in alarm as his bowl of noodles fell to the ground. The servant bent down to the ground, stuffing the noodles into his mouth voraciously, before slurping up the soup from the floor directly and licking it clean.


    The servants around him roared in laughter, some even cheering him on.


    Baiyun shook his head before making his way towards one of the many chefs, reaching out his hand. Each servant had an invisible seal engraved into one of their hands, recording their contribution points.


    The chef touched it and nodded, before heading back into the kitchen.


    In a few minutes, he came out, holding a large tray. On it was a piping hot plate of food; low-grade spirit rice, ginseng leaves, sliced roots fried with flour and wilted beans. Beside it was a small bamboo box full of delicacies, for Baiyun to take home and savour later.


    This was why he had to show his worth.


    While the food did not seem like anything special, because of his contributions, all the dishes were made with various offcuts from spirit plants. Domesticated spirit herbs had most of their qi and medicinal properties concentrated in their most prized section. For example, a spirit ginseng would have 99% of its qi concentrated in its root, much like how a cultivator had most of their qi condensed in their dantian.


    But even that scant amount remaining was invaluable for him right now. They were needed for him to reach the 1st stage of qi gathering!


    Baiyun did not want to spend decades gathering qi from ordinary food.


    He slowly savoured the food, chewing with a content look. How could herb discards be that delicious? Was it because he hadn''t eaten food in thousands of years in his past life? It was no wonder the servants here were so motivated. Spoiled by such luxurious food, how could they stand to eat kitchen scraps for a single day?


    After polishing the last grain of rice off his plate, he wiped his mouth and headed home with the bamboo box in hand.


    It was a quaint little brick cottage. Inside were two simple beds, a table, two chairs, a closet and a door to a storeroom stuffed with various supplies. Not a single speck of dust could be spotted. Baiyun took it upon himself to keep the room in perfect condition. Even if he had to do the cleaning himself, he thought it would be undignified for an "elder" to live in an unkempt room.


    Most servants lived in cramped quarters with dozens of others, but with his contribution points, he had purchased the privilege of having an abode to himself, where he lived with his brother.


    Baiyun cleaned himself with a wet cloth before switching to a new set of servant robes. On its back, "WanLing Sect Servant" was shoddily embroidered.


    He sat on his bed, meditating as he condensed the qi from his meal into his dantian.


    Now to expel the impure qi. He swallowed several mouthfuls of air, before gathering unwanted qi into it. He patted his stomach, before burping it out.


    It was awkward but necessary. The mouth of a servant was the only place qi could enter or leave. He could not even expel it through his rear end.


    Baiyun did not want to talk about his newfound mortal bodily functions. In his past life where he was born a cultivator, he had not even defecated even once. This accursed body! It was humiliating for him to sit on a toilet, expelling unspeakable things. He had to reach qi gathering as soon as possible.


    At that moment, a ball of light flew through the walls, entering his room.


    He looked up. It was the light spirit.


    "Haa... You''re copying the immortals again? I told you so many times, you won''t get anything out of it!" it sighed. "It''s not about how you sit. Cultivators can only cultivate because they absorb qi from their pores and lungs!"


    Baiyun made an annoyed face, relaxing and letting his body fall flat on the bed.


    "Yeah yeah. You don''t have to nag me again!"


    "Urgh. You never listen." the spirit grumbled, but suddenly lit up. "Oh! But I came here because I had big news!"


    "Really? What is it?" Baiyun got up from bed, practically jumping with excitement.


    He had learnt to act in a slightly childish manner, what he thought befitting of his body''s age.


    "Hmhm!"


    The light spirit materialised a small storage bag, dropping it into Baiyun''s hands. The cloth was old and slightly tattered. A simple depiction of a pavilion was painted on with black ink, but it had begun to fade and leak.


    "Tada! Your very own spatial bag. Now you can hold all the stuff you want! Well, to a certain extent."


    "Yay!"


    Baiyun grabbed the bag and ran around the room in glee. Perhaps it was an act, but his joy was genuine.


    Having experienced the luxury of storage artefacts for the entirety of his past life, not having one was one of many things that made him feel incredibly stifled. It was as if he had regrown an arm he had lost for years.


    "Those stingy old men made such a big fuss because of your age! I had to pester them for months before they approved."


    Baiyun tilted his head.


    "Ah, you''re probably not interested in hearing about the higher-ups and their dumb management. Okay okay... What about this, about 20 years ago, there was the Golden Flood incident!"


    The light spirit began to ramble to Baiyun about various old stories, while he nodded every now and then.


    When he had first reincarnated, he had been quite alarmed by the spirits. Spirits were strange lifeforms born without bodies. As unfettered souls, their spiritual senses were unparalleled. If he used qi sense or divine sense, they would probably notice immediately and alert the elders.


    Naturally, this would force him to restrict the use of all spiritual senses within the sect. Not that he could use any currently.


    But for whatever reason, the light spirit got quite attached to him. Baiyun did not think much of the caretakers here, but he did not mind the spirit''s company.


    The two of them talked for a good long hour. Finally, the spirit left, not wanting to disturb his sleep schedule.


    Baiyun looked around in the empty room. It seemed his brother was sleeping elsewhere today. If servants performed especially poorly, they would sometimes be forced to work late into the night and sleep in the fields.


    He headed to the storeroom, the storage bag in hand.


    With a creak, the door opened. Baiyun waited a few minutes for the stale air to clear before heading in.


    Grain balls, farm equipment, rags, a stool, ropes, a random giant bowl...


    He walked around the room with a grin, stuffing all sorts of items into his storage bag without much thought.


    While these bags were given to outstanding servants so they could store herbs with ease, they were allowed to put in personal belongings as well. After all, it was not only a tool that let servants carry more. It was also a reward, meant to motivate servants to continue working hard.


    This was quite surprising to Baiyun. Spatial bags were quite an expensive commodity even in his old world; he found it hard to believe a sect would be willing to give them to mere servants. Did the people of this world have advancements that made them easier to produce? He was quite intrigued by the possibility.


    In any case, he had learnt an important lesson from his past life.


    Even if he wasn''t sure what he''d do with the item, he should stash it into his bag anyway! The future was uncertain, even the silliest of items could come in handy one day. The last thing he wanted was to regret not grabbing an item in advance.


    The bag was relatively small, only able to contain a small room of goods. If not for that, Baiyun would probably have emptied the storeroom in his frenzy.


    He walked out of the cottage, stopping at a tiny shed stocked with firewood. He stuffed several bundles into his bag before stopping.


    Baiyun sighed. It hadn''t even been an hour, but his bag was already half full! It was such a shame that the remaining space had to be reserved for harvested herbs.


    While storage bags often damaged the essences of herbs, servants were in charge of growing low-quality spirit herbs. Ironically, such shoddy essences were hardier and could be transported in spatial environments safely.


    He stared at the bag with slight sadness.


    A "proper" storage bag would be able to contain several mountains at minimum! He used to own dozens of Mountain Swallowing bags. When they got full, he would stuff them into various drawers, each labelled neatly.


    He stared at his bag reluctantly before returning to his bed and let his body rest.


    Once more, he immersed himself in the flow of time. Months passed in an instant.


    With the storage bag and the help of his growing physique, he was able to gain far more contribution points than ever, now no longer hindered by weight.


    Each night, the chefs prepared food of even higher quality for him. Occasionally, there would even be shavings of actual spirit herbs mixed in.


    His cultivation began to advance faster and faster. His original estimation was 4 more years to reach qi gathering, but the bag had singlehandedly doubled his speed!


    On the exact day of his 8th birthday, late at night, Baiyun was meditating on his bed as usual.


    Inside his dantian, hundreds of small wisps of qi had accumulated.


    "Huuuu..." he took a deep breath.


    Another wisp of qi was extracted from his stomach, joining the lake of qi.


    It was time.


    For months, he had already been able to make a breakthrough, but Baiyun decided to accumulate a little longer, to be safe. He decided his 8th birthday would be an auspicious date for such a huge matter.


    The lake of qi began to stir. The wisps floated out, gathering around a single point. They began to layer themselves until the lake ran dry, forming a sphere of qi brimming with light.


    A tremor shook the dantian without warning. A soul hand had materialised, wrapping itself around the qi sphere.


    Baiyun trembled as an immense pain shook his entire body, countless small wounds forming internally. Even after his soul had synergised with his body, such a small action could cause such damage.


    Compress!


    The soul hand crushed the sphere of qi, a blinding flash of light erupting.


    Hong!


    Baiyun dissolved the hand before it could cause further harm. A blinding flash rushed through his body, but he quickly suppressed the glow with his soul.


    Within his body, his dantian was bruised purple. The sphere of qi was no more, now replaced with a single strand of qi. It was a thick strand of white energy, now clear and defined.


    The first stage of qi gathering!


    He stood up and laughed heartily.


    The tension that had coiled around his heart dissipated. For the first time in years, he felt free once more. His body felt as light as a feather.


    In the past 8 years, he had tried his best not to think about the possibility of failure. If the path of cultivation was truly cut off from him... he did not even want to imagine the despair it would bring.


    A boundless joy filled every corner of his soul, and his smile lit up like the sun.


    It was a feeling he hadn''t felt in thousands of years.


    Good, good.


    Baiyun looked at the superior qi within his dantian and nodded with satisfaction.


    Now, he could carry out the next stage of his plan. Aoyang would never be content dying in old age as Baiyun the servant.

 0002: Dark Caverns

    The servant''s library.


    No, to call it a library might be an exaggeration. It was a simple brick shack rarely visited by anyone, one of the few recreational facilities of the servant sector. Inside, dozens of old shelves were lined neatly, dust and cobwebs lining their tops.


    Half the books here were related to servant activities, including books on efficient harvesting and crop formations. But the rest were books discarded by disciples of the sect, collected by none other than the resident light spirit.


    Baiyun sat on one of few available seats in the meagre library with a lantern on the table close by, holding a book in hand.


    Close by, the spirit in question floated above him, looking through the pages as well. For whatever reason, it had taken interest in him in the past years and would visit him whenever it felt like it.


    "The great immortal reincarnates as a dragon."


    That was the title of the book in his hands. It was a shallow read, but it was an opportunity to ask a question he wanted to ask for years.


    "Hey hey, miss spirit! Do you think it''s possible to reincarnate like this book says?" Baiyun asked innocently.


    "Reincarnation? Hmm... I think I''ve heard the elder spirits talk about it in the past." the spirit mused. "Something about a new heavenly law about reincarnation being passed down? But I''m not sure."


    "It''s real?" Baiyun looked up with eyes of child-like excitement. "Then, in my next life, can I be reincarnated as a cultivator?"


    "Huh? O-oh, maybe?" the spirit stumbled over her words in a fluster. "But as far as I know, people reincarnate without their memories. You probably won''t remember this life."


    "Aww..." Baiyun pouted.


    But he recovered quickly. With excited waves of his arms, he spouted question after question endlessly. The light spirit seemed troubled by the naive questions of the child.


    Baiyun was equally pained by how he had to put on the facade of a clueless child; it was both embarrassing and tiring. If anyone from his past life saw him like this, he felt like he would bury himself in a hole for a hundred years. But tonight was a rare night the spirit had time to spend with him, he wouldn''t let her go without asking his fill of questions so easily!


    The questions continued for a good few minutes, before he could finally ask the question he wanted. After all, a young child wouldn''t know what a heavenly law was.


    "-and boom! A brillant flash of light!" the spirit said.


    "Ohhh! So it shines with a golden light when they announce a new law! That''s so cool! How does it happen? I want to see it!" Baiyun was practically jumping in excitement.


    "The heavens don''t just pass down laws so casually. Those laws were passed in the 27,980th year, and this year is the 28,088th so that''s um..."


    "A hundred and eight years later! That''s so long!" Baiyun exclaimed.


    "Yeah... haha."


    The light spirit dimmed, seemingly ashamed of itself.


    Baiyun sweated a little. He answered that reflexively! Even if he was posing as a bright child, perhaps it was a little too much for him to be faster at arithmetics than a spirit of unknown age.


    108 years, huh? He felt a deep melancholy.


    His soul had been in suspension for that long? Baiyun thought he had been reincarnated instantly, but it made sense it took time for his soul to be transported this absurd distance.


    As he had suspected, reincarnating with intact memories was not normal. Not everyone would think to keep it hidden, and there would be a lot of chaos if many children were born with knowledge of their past lifes. Would his memories be erased if the heavens found out about this error? Baiyun could not help but worry.


    If he continued to cultivate, the chance the heavens would find out would grow. But the thought of spending the entirety of this life as a servant was worse. Even if his life was put on the line, he knew he couldn''t give up.


    Baiyun shut the book in his hands, a faint puff of dust floating into the air.


    "Miss spirit!" he said suddenly. "I''m bored, so tomorrow I want to go to the mushroom chamber!"


    "What?!" The light spirit practically jumped. "Why would you want to go there?"


    "When you took us there last time, I thought the glowing mushrooms were cool!" Baiyun put on the look of a smug child. "I have a lot of contribution points anyway, so what''s wrong with taking a break for a day?"


    If a servant did well, they could spend their contribution points to get a request of theirs fulfilled.


    The two of them bickered for a few minutes before the spirit finally relented, letting out a sigh.


    "Fine... I know I can''t change your mind when you''re like this. But be careful! I''m not allowed to go down with you. And the earth spirit supervising the chambers isn''t as caring!"


    The spirit spent the 10 minutes nagging and drilling him with safety protocols. Baiyun could only sweat.


    "I''ll sleep early since tomorrow is big!" he said, desperate to flee.


    He practically rushed out of the library with a book under his arm, hurrying home. He ran down a stone road and made a few quick turns, before arriving at a small brick house.


    Baiyun quickly pulled the door open only for his eyes to twitch at the sight before him. His brother was hunched over the bamboo box full of delicacies the chefs had given him, eating a bowl of shaved iced leisurely by the spoonful.


    "Ah! You thieving rat!" Baiyun yelled.


    "Hah! You thought I wouldn''t find it if it was under your bed? Blehh!" the kid stuck out his tongue.


    Baiyun flung the book in his hands, smacking him right in the head. He would have kept the bamboo box in the storage bag the sect had given him, but it was of low quality and items inside had a tendency to tumble around and flip over.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Ow!"


    Well, not that he really was angry, he told himself. He was just acting as a child, after all. He fought his brother off and ate the rest of the delicacies before heading off to bed, hugging the book to sleep.


    "The Fundamentals of Earth".


    It was a cultivation related book, not one a child could be expected to understand. Baiyun didn''t want to explain to the spirit why he was flipping through such books, so years ago, he figured out an convenient excuse.


    "If I sleep with the books, maybe I''ll absorb their knowledge!"


    That was what he declared to her years ago, much to her speechlessness. In the end, the spirit still catered to his childish demands and handed him a few old cultivation books she found lying around.


    Hugging a book to sleep an easy way for him to read books with soulsense while his body rested. They were far from as refined as the techniques his old sect had, but Aoyang did not like spending the night idling til his body woke. Even if they weren''t particularly refined theories, he still enjoyed pondering them from time to time.


    Hours, followed by the night passed as the soul read and contemplated each and every page. Baiyun opened his eyes to the light of dawn and put the book aside. He did not wake his brother today and simply left. It wasn''t his problem if that kid overslept.


    The light spirit flew over, holding a giant bag.


    "Here, wear this!"


    Baiyun squirmed as she tied a helmet to his head and stuffed him into a thick coat. At the helmet''s front, a small qi stone was embedded, shining with a faint light.


    "You don''t need to go that far..." Baiyun sweated. "I''ll be fine."


    He wasn''t sure how he felt about the spirit acting like an overprotective mother. When had she gotten that attached to him? But it was precisely that very care that made it difficult for him. Too much attention only made it more difficult for him to act discretely.


    "Repeat the safety protocols from yesterday!" the spirit said sternly.


    "Okay, okay!"


    Only after confirming he remembered the protocols did she nod and let him off. Baiyun took off his helmet briefly to adjust his hair, staring at the qi stone wistfully. How easy would it be if he could just eat it to advance his cultivation?


    For a moment, he was tempted to gobble it up on the spot and pretend it was just the impulse of a weird child, but he held back.


    "Bye miss spirit!"


    Baiyun waved goodbye to her before heading off.


    He followed long winding paths and made his way to the nearby mountains, where caves reached far down. Other servants were on their way as well, but they did not look as prepared. They did not have coats and merely put on a few layers of clothing. They did not have the luxury of a miner''s helmet, instead holding large oil lanterns.


    Most of them were adults, so quite a lot of them were staring at the child joining them in puzzlement. But they minded their own business and did not ask.


    Before long, the gaping maw of a cave in the midst of the mountain revealed itself. Baiyun followed the servants as they descended the dark caves, entering the bowels of the earth.


    The slow trek downwards began. The servants did not seem in the mood for talk, tho they let out slow laboured breaths as the air grew colder. Baiyun felt a little bad and offered the leasted dressed servant a large rag as a makeshift cold, and she nodded in thanks.


    An hour of walking passed before they entered the mushroom plantation. The servant handed the rags back to Baiyun, and he finally nodded back in response.


    The other servants did not pay the slightest heed to him, dispersing in every direction. They pulled out pickaxes with an axe head with one end, getting to work immediately.


    Baiyun looked around and took in the sight.


    Even deep underground, the caverns were far from lifeless. Massive roots from a strange woody plant dug into the stone walls, countless mushrooms infesting them. Save for the light of lanterns and some luminous mushrooms, the caverns were darker than night.


    The faint sounds of grinding and clacking could be heard as servants slowly dug into the stone walls, tendering to the roots and harvesting the ripe mushrooms.


    Baiyun did not lie to the light spirit about finding the mushroom caverns "cool". He thought there was a certain beauty to the atmosphere here.


    He recalled something from a few years back.


    Back when he was 6, the light spirit rounded up the young servants and brought them here to visit. To them, it was dark, freezing cold and the still air felt suffocating. Who would enjoy digging into stone walls in such conditions for hours? They were told if they did poorly at their jobs, they would be sent here to work for the rest of their lives.


    The scare proved effective and the very next day, the young servants worked with tenfold effort.


    But Baiyun did not come here to get any work done.


    He walked past the many servants hard at work, as well as those merely idling around listlessly, their eyes dulled by boredom. Baiyun shook his head; it was as the light spirit said.


    The earth spirit supervising them simply did not care. It would merely note down the contribution of the servants and kept the caves sturdy with new reinforced pillars. If any underground beasts appeared, it would slaughter them. The servants who chose not to work were only making it worse for themselves; it meant they would have to put up with the suffocating cavern for yet more hours.


    Baiyun touched the walls silently and mused to himself. They were not artificial caves, but part of a large underground network of natural caverns. The earth spirit had a radius it marked as the "safe zone". If any servant ventured beyond that point, they would no longer be under its protection.


    He walked deeper and deeper into the caverns. The servants around him grew fewer and fewer, until it was only him alone.


    The edge of the safe zone was now in sight, marked by a faint yellow light. He hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, he walked past the light.


    Free of surveillance, at last! Baiyun laughed in silence, then focused for a moment and opened his mouth.


    A thin thread of qi sense entwined with soulsense shot out. Soulsense was to draw upon the senses of one''s soul. Qi sense was to use external qi to sense the surroundings. To combine them both was the art of divine sense.


    With how he lacked external meridians, he had to use qi directly from his stomach.


    Now that he was in the 1st stage of Qi Gathering, he could now extend a tiny fragment of his soul safely. It wasn''t a lot, but it was enough for him to sense danger 3 metres around him. Along with that, his lack of external meridians would help him stay hidden from spirit beasts. There was no qi wafting off his body to give him away, nor would his body take in the surrounding qi.


    He put his helmet back into his bag wordlessly. The last of the helmet''s light peered out of the bag, before being engulfed, plunging the surroundings into pitch darkness. Baiyun had no choice. Light was far too dangerous.


    With soundless footsteps, he ventured.


    The silence was suffocating. All he could hear was faint winds whispering through the caves. Every now and then, he could hear distant creatures scuttling about. But just as abruptly, the deafening silence would return.


    Inside the caves, he was not the only one trying to hide.


    This was nothing. He had gone through far worse in his training against inner demons; such a small thing could not frighten him.


    But Baiyun clutched his chest, alarmed by the sensation within him. Why was his heart pounding so fast? Why was his breath shaky? He did not realise, or perhaps chose not to realise, but being reborn in this young body had changed him.


    He took deep breaths and steadied himself before continuing onwards.


    Minute by minute, step by step, an hour passed. How far away was he from the safe zone now?


    On his way here, he felt the qi sense of spirit beasts sweeping their territory many times. Each time, he could only leave quickly, changing the route he took in the darkness. His divine thread might have a small effective range, but it was far quicker than qi sense, darting out before they could sense him in return.


    Though, if he tried to use divine thread under the surveillance of the sect spirits, he was certain they would out in an instant. They were not simple beasts after all.


    Baiyun''s thoughts paused as his divine thread chanced upon a faint qi in the darkness. His breath quickened as he walked towards it slowly.


    A large grey fleshy lump coated in foul black ooze stuck out of the cavern walls. It was a spirit fungus of sorts. Baiyun reached to it with divine sense and analysed it, reaching the unsurprising conclusion that it was a very poisonous mushroom.


    That was only natural. If it was a free treasure for the taking, a spirit beast would have eaten it long ago.


    Baiyun took a hand scythe from his bag and spent the next minute sawing it off, a fork in his other hand. As the fugus began to shake, a sliver from being cut off from the wall, he stabbed the fork into it and plucked it off. If he let it fall to the ground, the sound might attract unwanted attention.


    How ironic, to hold what was inedible on a rock. Baiyun wasn''t in the mood to appreciate that little thought. He rolled the fungus in a pile of rock dust to stop the dripping of the ooze, then began his journey back to the safe zone. It was far too dangerous to process the mushroom here.


    The memory of a Transcendent expert''s soul was not to be sneezed at. Even if it was a week later, he would still be confident in finding his way back.


    He continued in the darkness for half an hour, but suddenly halted.


    Something¡¯s qi sense was blocking the path back.

 0003: Pitch Black

    Baiyun told himself it was fine.


    In fact, it was something he had half expected to happen from the start. Spirit beasts weren''t motionless statues, after all.


    If the path he took was blocked, all he needed to do was to route around it and hope no walls of rock blocked the way. And if that was truly the only way back, he could wait until the spirit beast moved out of the way.


    His hands grew clammy, so he tightened his grip on the fungus fork and scythe he held in each hand. After noting the poisonous goop clinging to the farming implement, he figured it might be an effective weapon.


    It was fine, he told himself again.


    But he suddenly froze as an indistinct sound entered his ears. If something was close by, he would remain motionless until it passed.


    The sound grew clearer and clearer until he realised it was a rustle from the ceiling. Baiyun''s eyes constricted. That was the closest anything had been to him! He frantically swung his divine thread upwards.


    Instantly, the thread sensed a beast falling from the ceiling towards him.


    Time seemed to slow.


    No, there wasn''t any time to dodge! How had it gotten this close to him?


    Baiyun strained himself to his limit, letting go of the fork and reaching out to shove the unknown beast away. With his other hand that held the poison-stained hand scythe, he tried to slash the beast, but was far too slow.


    It crashed onto him, sending pain coursing through his body. His hand pushed the creature''s head aside and he heard a long clack as its mandibles snapped shut beside his face. A chill went down his spine. If he had been a moment slower, his face would have been mangled!


    He finally realised it was a massive spider, one just as big as him.


    The spider seemed just as confused as him after missing its attack, so Baiyun hurriedly kicked the spider off him and rolled onto his feet in a hurry. He breathed heavily and clutched his painfully throbbing chest. He could sense a few cracks in his ribs, but thankfully the impact broke no bones.


    He cursed himself, thinking he should have known better. He thought his divine sense would keep him safe by being a step ahead of qi sense, but he forgot to fully account for the basic senses!


    Of course. Spirit beasts could rely on their hearing and touch as well to navigate the dark caverns. In his old world, the beasts he faced had ludicrous qi fields that could stretch for kilometres, so it was easy to forget that.


    To some extent, he did realise it from the beginning, from how he extinguished light and walked in silence. But he forgot hearing could be used for more than sensing distant threats; it could also be used to directly seek prey! He finally realised the mortal world worked by a different logic.


    The spider scuttered away at inhuman speeds, fleeing the range of his spirit sense in an instant. Baiyun cursed under his breath. Foul creature...


    Ambush predators were cautious creatures by nature, so it did not stay to fight. It was most likely only retreating for now, and would look for another opportunity to get the jump on him.


    But Baiyun sweated as he realised the bigger problem at hand.


    Since the spider was not using qi sense, it meant the field of qi sense blocking his way was from a different beast. And it had certainly heard the commotion.


    The field of qi suddenly expanded, its aura washing over him! The worst had come to fruition. Unable to tell what it was, Baiyun could only hold out his scythe in its direction.


    He could hear the creature glide across the ground in pitch darkness, roughly 6 metres away; too far for his divine thread to sense. It did not approach, but circled him cautiously. Baiyun continued to turn and face its direction, holding out his scythe towards it. Cold sweat dripped from his face.


    The desperation he worked so hard to be rid off now returned tenfold.


    Think! He had to figure out a way to survive before the creature attacked.


    A moment passed, and a risky thought came to mind.


    He closed his eyes. With a swift motion, he reached into his bag and pulled out the helmet. In the endless darkness, a faint light peeked out of the bag, revealing the endless ocean of rock around him! It was not a bright light, but in endless darkness, it was as radiant as the sun.


    "Ssssssss!"


    A loud hiss of pain echoed as the creature flinched. It revealed itself as a giant snake as long as several grown men lying flat.


    "!"


    With his eyes still shut, Baiyun placed the helmet upon his head and charged at the creature, leaping into the air! His divine thread finally entered its effective range and gave him "sight", so he slashed his scythe towards its eyes.


    The serpent swerved to the side, but the weapon still landed. With a clang, the scythe glanced off its tough scales, leaving a mere scratch and a small splotch of poison. It slithered away from him, baring its fangs threateningly and hissing.


    It was still too bright to open his eyes entirely, but Baiyun squinted with his left eye and managed to look around. No other spirit beasts were in sight, but the spider was now on the ceiling, having jumped up silently.


    The snake turned its back towards him, seemingly quite bothered by the light. It struck the ground with its tail and sent a small chunk of rock into the air, raising its head towards it. With a burst of qi, the earth softened and wrapped around its eyes.


    The serpent approached him, its head raised as if proud of itself.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. What a stupid animal, making a blindfold just because its eyes hadn''t adapted to the light yet!


    He walked backwards slowly. Seeing the fungus fork he dropped from the corner of his eye, he squatted down to pick it up with his other hand.


    At that moment, the snake lunged at him, shooting through the air with its mouth wide open! Baiyun threw the fork towards its mouth and ducked.


    "Kraaahhh!"


    The snake let out a guttural cry as it choked, followed by wretched gagging sounds. It began to puke piece after piece of the fungus up, along with a bloodied fork.


    Its heavy body crashed onto one of Baiyun''s legs, but he managed to squirm away and got onto his feet, running away as fast as he could!


    But a sudden chill struck him as a familiar rustle entered his ear; he quickly rolled to the side!


    At the very next moment, the spider launched itself from the ceiling and slammed onto the snake''s neck, biting viciously into it! With a horrific crackling sound, the tough scales were crushed instantly, and its fangs sunk into the snake''s flesh.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    "SSrragghhh!" the snake hissed in pain.


    Baiyun was stunned for a moment as he got up, patting the dust off his robes. Then he laughed to himself silently. To think the spider would be "on his side"!


    With a quick motion, the snake swung its head backwards and slammed the spider into the ground with all its might. A loud cracking sound rang out as the spider went motionless. The snake''s wound deepened and blood dripped to the ground, but it ignored its injury and pushed the stunned spider to the side.


    The serpent tilted its head and wound up its body into a coil. Then it unleashed the trapped force in a single go, sending its body into a violent whirl and smashing its tail directly onto the spider¡¯s head with the full might of its body weight!


    A loud crunch echoed through the caverns. The spider slumped to the ground, its legs spazzing out.


    Bleeding profusely from its neck and dribbling from its mouth, the snake turned to give Baiyun one last hateful look. Earth rose from the ground, seeping into its wounds and stopping its bleeding as it slithered away. Wild animals were rarely willing to fight to the death after all.


    As the threat slid into the darkness, Baiyun finally sighed in relief. He stashed all his clothing into his bag before running over to the spider. It was still twitching... was it still alive or an involuntary reflex? Baiyun didn''t care.


    Without mercy, he slashed his scythe towards its head. The blade glanced off the dented carapace, leaving only a shallow cut, but he continued to attack relentlessly. Again! Again! His hands hurt and began to blister, but he did not stop.


    It was only after minutes of violence when the spider finally stopped twitching, definitely dead. Baiyun breathed heavily as he fell backwards toward the ground. His body was covered in the blue blood of the spider.


    At last, it was over...


    What once was the head of a spider was now a mangled mess of blue blood, a faint orb glimmering in its midst. He reached for it and ripped it out.


    A beast core, covered in scratches.


    It was many times more useful than the poisoned fungus, but he did not feel any joy. This excursion had been far too risky. He had baseless confidence in his divine sense and forgot a mortal world worked differently from the divine worlds above. He barely escaped with his life!


    He laughed bitterly. In his past life, did he not die to impulse as well?


    He had not been a fighter in his past life. Safe within the protection of a sect, his days were peaceful and free of combat. If it had been Taikong, a combat elder from his past sect, he was sure the man would have won against the spider or the snake in a direct confrontation, even with a servant''s weak body. But an inexperienced alchemist like him? With a little less luck, the corpse on the ground would have been him.


    Baiyun resolved himself. He did not enjoy combat, but he would have to hone his skills in this life. There wasn''t an almighty sect that could keep him safe from harm in this life.


    The WanLing sect was unlikely to ever accept a servant as a disciple. If anything, he was more likely to become a subject of human experimentation if they realised he could cultivate.


    Baiyun took out a gourd of water from his bag and poured the liquid over his body, enduring the cold. The blue blood of the spider washed off him. It was hardly dignified, but he did not want to explain why his clothes were stained by the blood of a spirit beast. Baiyun thought to himself that he must have resembled a savage from the wilds, attacking in a frenzy while unclothed.


    After shaking off the water, he put his clothes back on and left, leaving the spider''s corpse behind. It was a shame, but if his bag was inspected for whatever reason, he had no way to explain the corpse.


    Step after step, he continued to retrace his way in the darkness. The journey was thankfully uneventful, free from beast attacks.


    Baiyun stopped about 50 metres away from the earth spirit''s safe zone, beside a large pit. While still outside the barrier, he was sure few spirit beasts would venture near a dangerous spirit''s "territory". He took out a pot and several pieces of firewood and attempted to light the wood with a flint.


    The sound of clacking could be heard as he struck the flint repeatedly, but not a spark was made. It seemed the air was too cold to start a proper fire.


    Baiyun clicked his tongue in annoyance. Shaking his head, he took out a knife and began to hack at the core instead, breaking off small fragments into the pot. He picked one of the chunks and swallowed. How undignified, he cursed.


    If he had eaten the core whole, his frail body would have been poisoned to death by qi overdose. It would have been easier to absorb the qi if the core had been boiled, but he had no choice in the matter. Baiyun missed his old alchemic tools.


    Hours passed as his soul carefully refined qi from the fragments. The will of the spider within the core fought back, but it was quickly subdued by his soul, entering a dormant state.


    Slowly, his cultivation level rose.


    The first breakthrough happened. 2nd level of qi gathering!


    Baiyun suppressed his emotions and continued to absorb the rest of the qi. Finally, with the last of the core fragments, he reached the 3rd level of qi gathering.


    At last...


    His face practically blue, he retched, vomiting out the remains of the core into the chasm beside him. Then he let out a ghastly burp of blackened qi.


    Urgh. He felt nauseous. He felt so queasy, he barely felt the joy of breaking through. The sheer amount of impure qi within rendered most of the core useless, and he had to focus his soul to prevent his stomach from absorbing it.


    Baiyun had a moment of doubt. Risking his life for just this, was the journey down here even worth it? Why did he get so far ahead of himself for just entering the 1st level of Qi Gathering?


    He cleaned up his tools with water before returning to the barrier.


    Suddenly, an external force suddenly peered into his bag. Baiyun sweated a little, but it seemed he was in the clear. Phew...


    He didn''t know what time it was, but he spent the rest of the day gathering mushrooms with the other servants as a cover.


    Only a few hours of work remained. Before long, he followed the servants as they returned to the surface.


    Ah. Baiyun stared towards the night sky in silence. Pitch black like the caverns beneath, yet infinitely more beautiful.


    "Baiyun!" the voice of the light spirit snapped him out of his trance.


    It seemed she had been waiting outside. Baiyun waved to her unenthusiastically.


    "Hah... you look so glum! Why did you decide to go there anyway if it was going to make you so miserable?" she patted him on the shoulder. "Come, some proper food should cheer you up!"


    Baiyun nodded, following her to the servants'' canteen.


    ...


    The sect spirits did not have names, but some had taken the liberty to name themselves. The earth spirit, who dubbed himself Earthquake, was one of the few.


    He took great amusement in naming the other spirits ridiculous names that contrasted his mighty name. Truly, the majesty of the name "Earthquake" was hard to rival! Though naturally, he did not tell anyone what he had named them in secret.


    Speaking of which, yesterday, a little spirit he dubbed "Shine" approached. Shine was annoyingly shiny as usual, rambling something about keeping a servant named "Bai Yu" or something safe. What a ridiculous request. Who would get attached to a short lived servant when they would die within a measly hundred years?


    Earthquake shooed off Shine with a few affirmations, not wanting to be bothered. He spent the rest of the night and day resting.


    Hm. It seemed it was time.


    Earthquake watched in boredom as the servants of the sect arrived. Immediately, he could tell who "Bai Yu" was. A young boy with a miner''s helmet and a coat, not luxuries most servants had. Even if he had fallen asleep, he would be able to figure out this was the human Shine favoured.


    The human, contrary to Shine''s bragging, did not get to work immediately.


    Instead, he walked aimlessly, further and further away from the work. Hah. Earthquake nodded. Running all the way down here to get a chance to fool around and rest! In the end, even a hard worker would get tired. Earthquake did not mind and was merely amused.


    Wait...


    That boy was walking further and further away!


    What in the world? Earthquake watched as "Bai Yu" left his barrier, now out of sight. The spirit shook his head.


    To think Shine had gotten attached to a suicidal servant of all things. It made sense now, why he wanted to come to this miserable cave.


    Earthquake hesitated for a moment but steeled himself, deciding not to interfere. Shine was far too naive and would need to learn nothing good would come from attachment to those with short lives. If "Bai Yu'''' had died decades later, how much more would it hurt for Shine?


    Hours passed.


    Something re-entered its barrier.


    It was "Bai Yu''''! Earthquake was stunned.


    The servant looked fatigued, but was otherwise unharmed. Most jarring however was how he left the barrier without the helmet, marching into pitch darkness; even upon his return, he did not put it back on! Did he lose it somehow?


    Earthquake took a quick peek into the boy''s bag, seeing the hat was still there. It was clear the servant deprived himself of sight intentionally.


    The spirit could not help but get increasingly curious.


    He waited impatiently until the servants finally left, their work done.


    Earthquake dispelled his barrier and flew into the darkness. He could see faint footsteps "Bai Yu" had left in the dust, leading somewhere. He thought the boy must have been lounging near the outside of the barrier to have returned safely, but this was clearly not the case.


    This boy¡­ he had ventured way further than he expected!


    Spirit beasts fled in terror as they felt the presence of the spirit. He came across the corpse of an Assassin Jumping Spider, its flesh nibbled away by cave rats. But Earthquake could tell its body was mangled not by beasts, but by repeated attacks from a curved blade.


    This servant ventured out in pitch darkness, survived an encounter with an Assassin Spider, killed it and returned unscathed?


    "Bai Yu".


    How interesting.


    Earthquake would remember this name.

 0004: Martial Temple

    Under the bright moonlight piercing through the cloudless skies, Baiyun walked along a stone path surrounded by fields of endless grass, the light spirit following him.


    It was not a silent walk; the words exchanged seemed to have aggravated the spirit.


    "Combat training?!" she said, her voice shaky.


    At the smug words Baiyun had just said, she was stunned.


    "What else?" Baiyun smiled.


    The light of the spirit flickered for a moment, before she shot around the air, letting out a cry of frustration!


    "Ahhhh! It must have been those violent novels you''ve been reading!"


    Baiyun was rendered speechless. Why was this spirit being so overprotective?


    "It''s good to learn self defence, isn''t it?" he put on his best pout. "What if a baddie decided to beat me up one day?"


    "You? Baiyun, you''re a servant, a mortal! If someone attacks you, what good will martial arts do? You''re only wasting your time!"


    The two stared at each other in silence for a second.


    "...sorry. That was a little harsh." the spirit lowered her voice. "But if anything comes up, I''ll still be here to protect you."


    Baiyun felt a strange feeling for a moment, one he couldn''t quite place his hands on.


    "Hmph. Maybe. But that kind of thinking is what Yang Lao would look down upon!" he said proudly.


    "Yang Lao? Who in the world is that?" the spirit paused its erratic movement. "Wait, you-"


    "Haha! He''s the protagonist of `Chronicles of the Phoenix Sect` indeed!" Baiyun laughed.


    But beneath his facade, he wanted to bury himself. Of all the things he had to act in this life, a delusional child enamoured by fiction was the most embarrassing! He had to hold back a frown with all his might, but somehow, he managed to remain smiling.


    The spirit let out a deep sigh, materialising hands to cover her non-existent face. Baiyun''s eyes twitched.


    "Baiyun... this is the real world." she said finally.


    "I-I know." Baiyun said, his eyebrows creasing involuntarily.


    He felt like he was about to lose it. Why didn''t he think of a better method of getting her to enroll him?


    "No matter how hard a servant trains, what could it amount to? And it won''t be easy to convince an Elder to accept you..."


    "Whatever!" Baiyun huffed as he ran off.


    This was deviating from his original script, but if this went on any longer, his facade would crumble to ashes. No amount of training against inner demons could have prepared him for this!


    "And even if you did have talent for combat, the sect would train you to be a Combat Servant, nothing but a disposable pawn!" the spirit cried out. "Baiyun! Isn''t life here as a farmer good? You get a safe comfortable home free from dangers, a good meal every day and even time to read and rest! It''s a life many mortals outside the sect would be envious of!"


    "If you won''t help me, I''ll ask the Martial Elder myself!" Baiyun shouted, continuing to run.


    "You can''t even talk to an Elder without a spirit''s recommendation! Stop being-"


    At that moment, a tremor shook the earth beneath his feet, stunning them both. Baiyun yelped and jumped aside as a pillar of stone burst out of the ground, sending earth flying in every direction.


    Atop the pillar was a crude throne, upon which an earth spirit rested upon proudly. Earthquake!


    "Hahahahaha!" he laughed heartily. "Quite the interesting conversation you''re having here!"


    "You?" the light spirit said in disbelief.


    "Bai Yu... no, Baiyun! That recommendation you need? I shall grant it to you!" he laughed once more.


    Baiyun and the light spirit stared at it in confusion.


    "How long have you been listening?" she said, anger in her voice.


    "Hah! For a child of light, you sure are unattentive! Aren''t shiny little bastards like you better at observation than us souls of earth?"


    Earthquake let out a loud cackle.


    Baiyun felt a chill down his spine. This... had the spirit witnessed his acts in the cave? No, he was certain he would have sensed it if qi sense or soulsense had been used on him.


    Unlike spirit beasts, most spirits were truly limited to just qi sense and soulsense, with some exceptions like light spirits, who truly had sight. So the earth spirit must have followed his footsteps afterwards!


    He cursed himself for being so careless. He really had to get his impulses under control.


    The light spirit cursed and scolded the earth spirit, but was ignored. Earthquake laughed as he summoned an earthen hand from the pillar, snatching Baiyun into the air before he could react.


    "In any case, I''ll be taking the human with me!"


    "You- What do you think you''re doing?" the light spirit screamed.


    But Baiyun was wrapped in earth and yanked away, Earthquake shooting off into the distance.


    Even surrounded by a protective shroud of soft mud, Baiyun could feel the sheer speed they moved from the violent trembling. He could only clench his fists. This feeling of helplessness... he despised it.


    ...


    Before he knew it, Earthquake came to an abrupt stop, the momentum flinging him face first into mud.


    "We are here!" Earthquake announced triumphantly.


    Baiyun was released from the earth shroud, heaving as he fell to the ground. He was glad he only had a light dinner today.


    Before him were the massive doors of a temple, merely an arm''s reach away from his face. Atop it were 10 sockets in a horizontal line, each adorned with a massive jewel. But under the shadow of the roof looming above, moonlight was unable to reach them, hiding the lustre of the gemstones.


    "Your name. Was it Bai Yu?" Earthquake asked.


    "It''s Baiyun."


    Baiyun stared at the earth spirit with a blank face.Stolen novel; please report.


    "Right! How do I keep forgetting?" Earthquake laughed. "Baiyun. You''re pretty gutsy aren''t you? I half expected you to scream and cry, perhaps even soil yourself, hahaha!"


    A vein bulged on Baiyun''s head.


    "It''s not like I can do anything about it. What will being afraid accomplish?" he grumbled.


    Unbeknownst to himself, now that he was away from the light spirit, his childish facade weakened slightly.


    "Hahaha! I like that attitude!" Earthquake laughed, summoning a hand to slap his back. "Now, go! Knock on the elder''s door!"


    Baiyun stared at the door in apprehension for a moment before taking a step forward. He gave it a few hard knocks.


    ...


    Not a sound could be heard. The only thing he felt was a slight numbing pain from his knuckles.


    "Go on. Kick it if you must!" Earthquake encouraged.


    Baiyun wasn''t sure if he liked that tone. If the spirit had a face, he was certain it would be grinning or perhaps even sneering at him.


    "I already know it won''t make a sound. My hands hurt..."


    "Tsk. You''re no fun. Just kick it!"


    Baiyun sighed and gave the door a useless kick. Unsurprisingly, there was not a sound this time either. Seeing the boy staring at the door silently, Earthquake laughed.


    "It seems like you have a long way to go, huh? Martial Elder Guan Qiang says if anyone wants to knock on his door, they would first need to be qualified!"


    Earthquake floated high into the air, letting its amber light illuminate the gemstones atop the door.


    "See these jewels? They light up based on the strength of your attack, the more of them light up, the louder the sound! You can''t cheat with spells either, since there''s a magic dissipation formation! Not that you have to worry about that, haha!"


    Baiyun rubbed his chin with a frown. It seemed he was faced with the eccentric nonsense of a bored elder, something he was more than used to in his past life. He wondered if it was actually an effective way to encourage disciples. This project couldn''t have been cheap.


    "Then what would a kick from me do? It''s not like I''m a cultivator, so it''s useless even if I kick it a million times!"


    "Hmph." Earthquake let out a displeased grunt. "I''m trying to get you to kick it, precisely to show you the difficulty of the test! At least show a little appreciation. A boy your age should be excited to see something like this!"


    Baiyun: ...


    "Anyway, I''ll train you until you can light up the first gem!"


    Baiyun nodded, but he had his doubts. Somehow, he didn''t get the impression the spirit would be a capable teacher.


    Earthquake hummed something to himself, blissfully unaware of the boy''s disrespectful thoughts. He summoned a figure of earth from the ground, a golem about Baiyun''s size.


    "First, I''ll teach you the Whirlwind Kick, so follow its movements closely!"


    The figure spaced its feet apart and lowered its arms, pausing as it entered a stance. Then with a swift motion, it spun its body and kicked the air forcefully, sending out a blast of air!


    Baiyun''s frown deepened with every move he watched. That was not a Martial Art for a mortal like him; it would only be possible with body cultivation. As he had thought, this earth spirit was an incompetent teacher!


    But even as he complained to himself, he paid close attention and memorised those moves. Earthquake might not be a good teacher, but those moves might prove useful in the future.


    At the same time, he moved his body and imitated the punches and kicks as the spirit instructed.


    "You call that a punch? There is no spirit in your movement!¡±


    Baiyun could only endure the useless remarks of Earthquake as the hours passed, more and more sweat soaking his robes.


    But a loud grinding sound interrupted them as the temple doors swung open, the very floor trembling slightly.


    Five jewels atop the door lit up as a burly man marched out, a scowl etched onto his face. He was 2 metres tall and wore a black robe far too tight for him; they conformed to his muscles tightly, seemingly on the verge of bursting.


    His tiger-like eyes stared at the two of them with disdain.


    "What are you two clowns doing outside my door all night?" he boomed.


    "Master, that servant wishes to enroll in your combat training! I am giving him my recommendation."


    Earthquake''s voice was suddenly polite and respectful, and it lowered itself in imitation of a kowtow.


    "A servant?"


    The elder put a hand to his chin and mused to himself, seemingly intrigued. Baiyun was suddenly conscious of the fact he did the same earlier.


    "You, the servant. Stand outside while we discuss." the elder said as he turned away.


    Baiyun nodded and distanced himself from the door. He was slightly miffed, but it made sense an elder would have little interest in the words of a servant. In his past life, he would not have paid heed either.


    The elder and spirit entered the temple. Behind them, the door slammed shut with a bang that echoed far into the distance, gusts of wind swaying Baiyun''s hair.


    He stared at it in silence. Peace and quiet.


    Baiyun stared at the moon above for a moment. Then he steadied himself, punching the air. It was past midnight, but it wasn''t as if he could sleep here of all places. The elder might even kill him for such a disrespectful act.


    There was nothing to do but practice. He recalled the movements of the Whirlwind Martial Arts, performing the punching and kicking routines. Perhaps the two in the temple were even watching him in secret with sight formations.


    But after a few minutes, he changed his movements. No longer were they the fanciful moves Earthquake had taught earlier, merely simple punches and kicks a hoodlum might use.


    Baiyun knew almost nothing about Martial Arts, but if there was one thing he knew, in any field, one had to start with the basics.


    While he was shown the Whirlwind Arts previously, Baiyun had noticed a certain pattern. The poses it demanded he made, how it imbued the weight of his body into his attacks. That was what he was focused on. It was unrefined, but he felt like practising what little basics he had glimpsed would be a better use of his time.


    The night was quiet, save for the sound of flowing wind and the slight whoosh of punches and kicks.


    Half an hour had passed. Baiyun wiped the sweat off his face as he heaved slightly, massaging his sore arms and legs. His body might have been sturdy from daily work, but he was still young.


    At that moment, the door swung open once more, 3 jewels lighting above it. The Martial Elder walked out, an unsettling grin on his face.


    "You. Baiyun, is it?" he said.


    "Yes-"


    "You pass." the elder interrupted him. "Tomorrow, come to the training grounds at 6 in the morning."


    Just like that?


    Baiyun nodded in a hurry as the elder shooed him away. That grin... exactly what did Earthquake tell him? He wasn''t sure if he should be relieved he made it into a martial program or worried.


    "Oh, I almost forgot. Take this before you go." the elder said.


    Baiyun turned around and saw a vial flying towards him. He widened his eyes and spun around with bent knees, barely catching it before it struck the ground.


    He had done it entirely out of reflex, before he could think it through. Baiyun felt a little unsettled. Perhaps his soul hadn¡¯t fully assimilated with his body yet.


    "Good reflexes."


    And with those scant words, the elder shut the doors with a loud slam.


    Baiyun stared at the vial in his hands and infused a small amount of divine sense into it. This application was known as "Divine Touch". With it, not even spirits could sense his meddling, but it required direct contact.


    The structure of the elixir immediately entered his mind. This was a body strengthening elixir, but not one he had seen before. It was full of impurities, likely a failed elixir worth next to nothing; but it was good enough for a servant.


    But thinking back about the spider core full of poisonous impurities he forced himself to eat, this was nothing. Even if he was forced to absorb them, there was nothing life threatening about the filth within, unlike the core.


    "You!" Earthquake suddenly phased through the temple door with a shout. "The training grounds are over there!"


    It summoned an earth figure to point somewhere in the distance.


    "And remember to come early tomorrow!"


    With those words, Earthquake left, rushing away just as quickly as he had brought Baiyun here.


    That spirit called the Martial Elder "Master", didn''t it? Baiyun shook his head, thinking to himself that both master and subordinate were equally irresponsible.


    He put the elixir away into his bag. Right now, he had no plans to use it. He would save it for later, when he reached the Foundational stage. He had a certain art he planned to use when the time came.


    But for now, the elixir would serve as a convenient alibi for his strength, letting him use some of the might the 3rd stage of Qi Gathering granted him.


    That said, it wasn''t as if he could hide the vial at his accommodations nor leave it in his bag brazenly. Baiyun decided he would ask the light spirit to hold onto it for him later, since they were on good terms.


    Since Earthquake carelessly forgot to bring him home, Baiyun decided he would simply find a spot to sleep nearby. If he was willing to waste hours on a trip back and forth, he wouldn''t even have the time to sleep a wink.


    He looked around and managed to spot a random wooden chair. It was old and creaky, weathered by the elements outside and covered in a little mold. Well, how convenient. It seemed he wouldn''t need to sleep on the floor tonight.


    He picked it up and took it a good distance from the temple, before plopping his body down and allowing it to enter the realms of slumber.


    Morning soon came.


    Baiyun heard the soft footsteps of someone running over and opened his eyes. His soul did not need sleep and was always attentive.


    It was a young boy around his age with a haughty look on his face, dressed neatly in training attire.


    "Hey! You stupid servant! What are you doing sleeping on the great martial elder''s chair!" he yelled.


    Martial elder''s chair? Baiyun turned over to look at it in disbelief. But it was an ordinary chair, not even made of spirit wood!


    "I''m telling the master! You are going to be punished!"


    Baiyun frowned.


    The kid stared intently at him, the two facing each other in awkward silence for a moment.


    "You''re not scared?" the other boy asked.


    Ridiculous.


    If the Martial Elder cared that much about this ordinary chair, would he leave it lying around here? He could have tucked it away in his storage artefact easily. Children really came up with the most ridiculous nonsense.


    Baiyun got off the chair and began to walk away.


    "If you don''t want me to tell the elder, you need to beat me in a fight!"


    "Feel free to tell him then." Baiyun scoffed.


    Children were so annoying sometimes...

 0005: Wolven Trials

    "Teacher!"


    Baiyun watched as the kid ran off towards the temple doors, his little footsteps pattering. He followed speechlessly, placing the chair back into its original spot.


    Now at the door, the kid closed his eyes and took a deep breath, gathering his qi. Then with a swift motion, he kicked the door with all his might! A loud bang echoed and the wind whistled. Above the door, two jewels lit up.


    Baiyun shook his head. Challenging a mortal to a fight when he was that strong? Was the kid trying to kill him? In his past life, he certainly had seen his share of young masters who would not hesitate to tear servants from limb to limb, if not for the luxurious carpets beneath their feet.


    A minute passed.


    The martial elder shoved the door open, squatting down to the young boy with a grin. With his hand, he tousled the hair of the young boy who squirmed.


    "What''s wrong?"


    The kid, whose eyes were red with hints of tears, seemed to grow more upset at those words.


    "That servant over here, he was sleeping on your chair! When I challenged him to a fight to defend your honour, he refused!" he pointed to Baiyun.


    The giant of an elder turned to look. Baiyun felt uneasy for a moment, but the man merely laughed.


    "Hahaha! Then how should we punish him, Mo?"


    But his voice was playful. Baiyun was relieved that the elder wasn''t taking offence, but he felt annoyed right after. Why did he have to get caught up in this farce?


    Mo thought for a good few moments but nothing came out of it.


    "...hnn! I don''t know! And stop calling me that, my name is Mohei!"


    "You''re giving up so easily?"


    The elder flicked the boy in the forehead as he spoke.


    "Gahhhh! Why''d you do that?" Mohei yelled.


    But suddenly, his eyes lit up.


    "Oh, I thought of something! That servant should make a new chair for you, one as good as yours!"


    The elder flicked Mohei''s forehead again.


    "Ah! Stop doing that!"


    Mohei rubbed the red spot on his forehead and glared at the elder with wronged eyes, but the Elder had already turned away.


    "Baiyun!" the elder called to him.


    "Yes, elder!" Baiyun said, as respectfully as he could.


    Elder Guan Qiang beckoned for Baiyun to approach, then handed him a book.


    "Take this and do the exercises here. I expect you to arrive an hour early each morning and practice until the rest of the disciples arrive!"


    "Yes, elder!" Baiyun nodded.


    The elder reached into his bag again and passed him a set of training attire.


    "And wear these! You can change behind that corner."


    Baiyun nodded yet again. He glanced at where the elder pointed and frowned slightly. Such a huge temple, and he couldn''t be bothered to build a changing room for the disciples?


    He reluctantly listened, walking over and hastily putting on the garments. In the background, he heard the slam of a door, likely Guan Qiang re-entering the temple.


    They were form fitting plain grey robes, with long baggy pants beneath. Mohei glared at him as he walked out from the corner in his new attire, but Baiyun ignored him.


    He stared at the book in hand, a worn out stack of paper bound by brown string titled "Basic Martial Training". He flipped through the pages and found many diagrams of basic punching and kicking routines with simple text descriptions.


    Behind him, Mohei approached.


    "You''re a disciple here?"


    Baiyun didn''t answer. He followed the stretches shown on the first page. But he still remained vigilant, ready to dodge at any time, in case Mohei lost his temper and attacked.


    "Why''d Master accept a servant like you anyway?"


    Mohei walked a few circles around Baiyun and waved at him, then finally realised he was being ignored. He stomped his feet angrily.


    Then, he stood brazenly in front of Baiyun and stuck out his tongue, copying the exercises but doing them 10 times faster. Baiyun was rendered speechless by the pettiness. At the very least, Mohei seemed to be a normal enough kid.


    An hour passed shortly. One by one, disciples arrived, chattering to each other as they sat on the training grounds.


    Mohei and Baiyun stared at each other, one indifferent and one frustrated, before the two of them joined the rest of the group.


    Guan Qiang swung the temple doors open, and the disciples all stood up in unison.


    "Good! Everyone is on time."


    He nodded as he scanned each and every disciple. A few of the disciples nervously straightened up or tightened their untidy attire as his gaze landed on them.


    "Today is a special day. We''ll be doing actual combat training!"


    Mumbles of dismay echoed through the crowd. Baiyun frowned. What exactly was that reaction? But noticing the elder''s stare turning to him, he awkwardly put on a smile.


    "But Elder!" a young girl suddenly called out. "We''ve only been training for a month. Shouldn''t that be after 2 months of training?"


    Baiyun was surprised. Were all the disciples here really that new? Then, what was with the strength Mohei showed?


    "Oh? I thought you lot were ready, but it seems some of you aren''t that confident. Very well, I won''t force you. If you think you''re behind the others, you can choose to sit aside." Guan Qiang laughed.


    "Grr..."


    The young girl grumbled but went silent. Baiyun shook his head internally.


    Guan Qiang clapped once loudly, the force stirring up the fallen leaves scattered around.


    "Wolves! Out!" he yelled.


    Behind the temple doors, loud muffled howls could be heard. The doors swung open with 4 lights, two massive wolves revealing themselves.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    They were almost as tall as the Martial Elder, and the length of two grown men lying down. Around their necks were loose collars with jades hanging from them.


    But behind them, a pack of small wolf pups rushed past them. They were fully covered in leather armour and furs, with mask-like white helmets that lacked eyeholes. Even their ears were covered, appearing as two horn-like cones. Latches in the helmet allowed their mouths to open, revealing their tongue and sharp teeth as they panted.


    Baiyun was stunned. The elder was pitting children against spirit beasts? And those helmets... did they suppress the sight and hearing of the wolves, forcing them to hone their qi sense instead? It seemed this was training for the wolves as well.


    At the very least, the young beasts were no larger than the disciples.


    "Ahh! Wolves!"


    Some of the children began to shout and cry as the wolves rushed over, the giant ones following right behind. The young beasts then ran back to the elder''s feet and sat, wagging their tails respectfully.


    "Stop crying!"


    The disciples quickly stifled their tears as Guan Qiang stared sternly at them.


    "Each of you will face a wolf in combat shortly. The wolves are well armoured and can resist even the attacks of Foundational cultivators, so go all out!"


    As the elder spoke, he pulled out neck guards from his bag, tossing them towards each of the disciples accurately. The children scrambled to catch theirs, but most weren''t as quick as Baiyun with the elixir, so many neck guards tumbled to the ground.


    Baiyun put his around his neck. How ironic for the elder''s pets to be better armoured than his disciples.


    "Baiyun!" Guang Qiang interrupted his thoughts. "You are new here, but I won''t permit you to skip this practice."


    The disciples stared at him in surprise.


    Baiyun felt uneasy, but nodded as he held back a frown. Did Guan Qiang "throw the kids to the wolves" early merely as an excuse to test the claims Earthquake told him? Most likely, the spirit had found the corpse of the spider he dispatched.


    It was certain the elder thought he had some rare constitution or talent for combat. He took a deep breath. Truthfully, he would have preferred not to draw attention. Drawing the attention of elders would only make it harder for him to do anything secretively. But if it came down to it, playing the role of a talented combat servant could also lead to certain opportunities.


    "Yes, elder!"


    Guan Qiang nodded.


    "Do your warm ups! Combat training begins immediately after!"


    "Yes, master!" the disciples echoed.


    Baiyun had already done his warm ups, but he followed anyway. He watched the other disciples carefully, noting down the small mistakes he had made and correcting his movements.


    From the corner of his eye, he saw the little wolves doing warm ups of their own as well, supervised by the giant wolves. Baiyun''s eyes twitched.


    Meanwhile, Guan Qiang checked on each of the disciples, ensuring they had worn their neck guards properly. He chided a few of them, straightening and tightening the collars despite their protests.


    "You think it''s hard to breathe? It''d be harder to breathe with your throat torn out!"


    The disciples were frightened and quickly tightened their neck guards.


    Soon, the warm ups were complete. Both the wolf pups and the disciples paced about. But the wolves paced out of impatience and excitement, and the disciples out of anxiety.


    The elder nodded and crossed his arms.


    "Warm ups are complete. Who will volunteer to go first?"


    The disciples stared at each other uncertainly.


    But Mohei looked up with a smug grin on his face.


    "I will go first!" he announced.


    Baiyun noticed Mohei was sneaking glances at him, but he ignored them.


    "Very well!"


    Guan Qiang walked over to Mohei and ruffled his hair, ignoring the boy''s squirms.


    "Baiyun, you''re up first!" the elder yelled.


    What? Baiyun was stunned.


    "Huh?!" Mohei yelled. "Master, that''s unfair!"


    "Be quiet." the elder shooed the boy away as he stomped indignantly.


    Baiyun sweated a little. He was now certain the elder only pushed the lessons ahead to test him! What an irresponsible man... Truthfully, he would have preferred to watch another disciple face the wolves first, then gleam what he could from that.


    Guang Qiang was likely overestimating him, not realising another beast had done most of the damage to the spider.


    As Baiyun stepped forward, one of the small wolves leapt over to face him. He could not see its eyes, but even with the mask between them, he could sense its cautious gaze.


    Behind him, he heard a loud thud followed by clattering metal. He turned around and saw a weapon rack tipping back and forth, rattling noisily. Guan Qiang pulled it out from his bag moments ago and tossed it onto the ground carelessly.


    "Take your weapon of choice or go unarmed!" the elder boomed.


    It would be suicidal to go unarmed. Baiyun looked through the arsenal of weapons and had a moment of indecision.


    In the thousands of years he had lived, he always scoffed those pursuing the mastery of combat. An old memory of something he said in his younger years came to mind.


    "Combat techniques? They are merely a waste of time. In the time they spend honing their techniques, I''ll cultivate beyond their reach and crush them with sheer might!"


    Baiyun sighed to himself on the inside.


    Those arrogant words would still hold true if he was an elite of a powerful sect, with boundless talent and plentiful resources. But he was now a pitiful servant, unable to even cultivate normally.


    Wanting to overwhelm his opponents with superior cultivation was just a distant dream now.


    On the rack before him, there was not a single weapon he was proficient in. He did know some combat arts, but they were mostly spells, something he could not use now.


    The closest thing to a weapon he had used was a smithing hammer, along with farming implements. Back in his younger years in his past life, he originally aspired to be a blacksmith. But after facing a major setback, he gave up, switching to alchemy instead.


    ...


    "Indecision?" the martial elder asked.


    Only a few seconds had passed, but he sensed the boy''s hesitation.


    Baiyun shook his head and grabbed a small mace. Now was not the time to reminisce. Against leather armour supposed to resist even the attacks of a Foundational cultivator, sharp weapons would be useless. Blunt weapons were far more likely to be painful.


    Or at least, that was how he assumed it worked.


    Mixed in the crowd, Mohei suddenly tiptoed, cupping his hands to shout.


    "Hah! What a tiny weapon! Perfect for a weakling like you!"


    Baiyun ignored him. He scanned the rack one last time and grabbed a wooden shield as well, then nodded to the elder.


    "I''m ready."


    "Good. Anything goes in this fight." Guan Qiang said. "Whoever gives up or is incapacitated loses. After I count to 5, the fight starts!¡±


    The elder took several steps back, and the disciples quietened. He began to count down.


    "Five!"


    ...


    "Four!"


    ...


    "Three!"


    Baiyun got into a defensive stance, holding up his shield towards his opponent. The small wolf turned to one of the larger wolves briefly as if to look for affirmation, then back toward Baiyun. Then it snarled at Baiyun, baring its teeth.


    "Two!"


    Baiyun took a step forward as the wolf arched its back.


    "One!" Guang Qiang yelled. "Begin!"


    The wolf took off with a growl, disappearing into a blur as it lunged at Baiyun. There was no time to dodge or react. He felt a powerful force slam into his shield, sending him airborne! Baiyun grunted as he hit the ground with a painful thud, his shield spinning away out of the reach.


    He groaned at the pain that shot through his body, but the wolf did not wait. It shot forward towards the fallen boy with its teeth bared once more.


    A strange air suddenly surrounded Baiyun, time seemingly slowing.


    He swung his mace towards its head with all his might. But as it slammed into the pup''s mask, its teeth had already sunken into his leg. The wolf was disorientated by the blow and jumped aside, but the damage was already done.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± the children screamed.


    Baiyun winced as white hot pain shot through his leg, crimson blood dyeing his robes. Some of the children even began to cry. At the corner of his eye, he saw Mohei covering his mouth, but he had no time to pay heed to that.


    The wolf narrowed its eyes beneath the mask.


    Prey.


    With its fastest lunge yet, it disappeared into a blur of grey.


    But it was not the delight of ripping flesh that greeted its mouth.


    Baiyun reacted with inhuman speed, raising the mace towards it before it had even lunged. By its own momentum, the wolf forced the weapon down its throat!


    "Hrkkk!"


    The wolf toppled onto the ground and clawed at the weapon in panic. But Baiyun''s eyes were cold. He ignored his wounded leg and got up. He pressed the beast down with a foot and grasped the mace tightly, holding it in place.


    It did not show him mercy when he was down, so neither would he.


    "Stop! Baiyun wins!" Guan Qiang declared.


    Baiyun finally let go of the wolf and it spat out the mace with a choked whimper.


    Mohei and the disciples stared at him in shock as his leg continued to bleed profusely.


    He breathed heavily, his heart thumping like a drum. He was just as shocked as them by his own victory; that decisive move of his was mostly by impulse.


    One of the giant wolves stared at Baiyun with killing intent as the little one ran to it pitifully. But just as quickly as he sensed it, it faded away.

 0006: Third Place

    Baiyun sat in silence as the elder bandaged his leg. He let his eyes water slightly, but he did not cry. Even if he was playing the role of a strong-willed child, being completely unfazed by such a huge wound might seem odd.


    Medicinal substances from the bandages bound tightly to his leg seeped in. It stung, but his wounds stopped bleeding and began to heal.


    A slight distance away, the little wolf whimpered as one of the large wolves levitated a bottle in the air, feeding it a red elixir of sorts.


    Bayun looked at Guan Qiang''s slightly frowning face. He could not tell what the man was thinking, but he tried his best to guess.


    Was the elder disappointed? He had not won through strength nor combat talent, but a lucky sneak attack at the last second. What he showed was far from enough to defeat the spider. Wild beasts weren''t suicidal; if they grew injured, they would flee like the serpent did.


    If the elder thought he killed that spider alone, this meagre level of strength must have been disappointing.


    Guan Qiang wrapped the last of the bandages around Baiyun''s leg. His expression suddenly turned into a smile.


    "Good work. It seems Earthy took interest in you for good reason, huh?" he said.


    Baiyun was baffled but he nodded. Was that just a front?


    Guan Qiang walked off after those words.


    "Mohei, you are up next!"


    "Y-yes!" Mohei shouted.


    He no longer seemed as confident, hesitating slightly. Mohei glanced at Baiyun as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. He grabbed a spear just as tall as he was from the weapon rack, then marched onto the square and faced another wolf.


    "I''m ready!" he shouted.


    Guan Qiang nodded, counting down from five quickly.


    "Fight!"


    Mohei brandished the spear and pointed it towards the wolf. But it was not as eager as the previous, circling the boy cautiously instead of pouncing. Perhaps it feared suffering the same fate as its sibling.


    "Hmph. Coward!" Mohei harrumphed as he swung his spear in an arc.


    He rushed forward and thrust his spear! But the wolf was just as quick as the previous; it tilted its head and dodged easily. At that moment, Mohei''s eyes grew focused.


    He took a quick step forward and winded his arm, punching the wolf to the side of its head. A huge burst of flames erupted from his hand with a loud bang, blasting the wolf away from the sheer force! The winds roared as smoke and dust swirled around the arena.


    The wolf was sent flying and slammed into the ground with a tumble, bouncing several times if it were a stone being skipped. A few of its fellow wolves stepped to the side to dodge its disgraceful tumble.


    "Whoaaaaa!" the children cheered.


    Baiyun wasn''t surprised by their reaction. Mohei''s attack was a spectacle to behold in comparison to his dull moves.


    Mohei finally relaxed, turning to smile at his fellow disciples.


    "Hehe! These wolves are no match for me!" he said happily, swinging his spear in the air.


    But the silhouette of the wolf stood back up amidst the dust. Flashes of light shone through the cloud, the sound of crackling lightning echoing as it approached. Two white eyes of qi materialised on its eyeless helmet, shining through the smoke.


    "Awoooooooo!" the wolf howled indignantly.


    "What?" Mohei took a step back in dismay.


    Baiyun wondered if he forgot Guan Qiang''s words; the armour of the wolves could guard against even Foundational attacks.


    The wolf emerged from the cloud with arcs of lightning rushing through its armour. Every step it took charred the ground slightly, burnt black pawprints dotting the path it walked.


    Guan Qiang laughed.


    "I''m here to teach martial arts. But if you choose to use magic, my wolves are happy to indulge you!"


    "That''s not fair!" Mohei cried. "You didn''t warn me!"


    The wolf did not give him time to breathe, lunging at him while he was distracted talking to the elder. Mohei Baiyun watched in silence as the two fought and shook his head.


    Mohei was beginning to toss out spell after spell and hardly relying on martial arts now. There was nothing to glean from his amateurish magic. Baiyun wasn''t a dedicated spellcaster, but Alchemy was a field that required a decent mastery of spells and qi control.


    He turned away and tended to his leg instead, no longer interested in the prolonged fight. His hands carefully massaged his leg to get more of the medicinal paste to soak in. At the same time, he controlled his qi and circulated it from his dantian through his blood vessels. His leg no longer hurt. It seemed a numbing herb was part of the bandage''s ingredients.


    Fire and lightning flashed in the background, nothing but annoying distractions.


    Baiyun reached strands of soulsense into the bandages and examined the composition of the bandages slowly. The ingredients of the medicinal paste were all herbs of this world, unfamiliar to him.


    But he could recognise the essences within. Essences were part of the universe''s building blocks. From the most mundane mud to the grandest trees, every material had essence in them. Even if the herbs were alien to him, essences would never lie.


    Numbing wood, Mending Wood, Earthsoul essence. Within this bandage were quite a few interesting essences, perfect for certain pills...


    Baiyun quickly shook off that thought. To even contemplate using bloodstained bandages as a pill ingredient; where did his pride as an alchemist go? He sighed.


    He heard a thud as Guan Qiang suddenly sat next to him, stirring up the dust slightly.


    "What''s wrong? Feeling demotivated?"


    The Martial Elder''s massive hand suddenly patted Baiyun on the back.


    "Do not avert your eyes. Grit your teeth and show your spirit!" Guan Qiang said. "He is your competitor, so watch closely as he fights."


    Baiyun nodded speechlessly. It seemed the elder had mistaken his sigh for something else.


    With the elder beside him, he looked up once more and saw Mohei facing the wolf. He was covered in scratches and breathing heavily, battered down by the fight.


    The wolf was uninjured due to its armour, continuing to rush at Mohei and swiping its lightning-imbued claws. Perhaps fearing what happened to the previous pup, it did not open its mouth even once.


    "Fire explosion!" Mohei roared.


    His eyes began to glow bright red and his pupils vanished. Mohei tossed his spear ahead and raised his arms into the air, summoning a massive ball of flames as tall as he was! But the wolf merely stood there haughtily.


    "Hah!"


    Mohei shouted as he tossed the huge fireball onto the wolf. The spell exploded with a loud boom, distorting the air and melting the earth, sending smoke and red embers in every direction. A few of the spectating disciples yelled and ducked, but a faint barrier materialised around the combatants, keeping the spectators safe.


    Guan Qiang chuckled.


    "A spectacle, isn''t it? Do you envy his ability to use magic?"


    Baiyun was slightly miffed, but after a moment of thinking, he decided to nod.


    The elder snapped his finger and dispelled the barrier as the last of the embers died down. With a wave of his hands, the smoke and debris were blown away instantly, revealing the two fighters.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Mohei heaved, his footsteps unsteady. His robes were soaked with sweat, sparks of lightning lingering and arching around his skin. Finally, he toppled backwards onto the ground with his eyes rolled into whites. The boy was unconscious.


    The wolf turned around and ran back to the big wolves. It looked up at them proudly and wagged its tail.


    "Look at his unsightly state. Magic might be powerful, but there are limits to it. What will you do once your qi is exhausted?" the elder said. "The beauty of magic sways many, but only your body will be ever reliable!"


    Ridiculous! Baiyun nodded, but held back a frown.


    He had no plans to become purely a body cultivator. Even if he didn''t have meridians, he was certain there were still ways to use spells somehow. It made no sense to abandon one of his past life''s expertises.


    This fight was unfair to begin with, since all attacks from the disciples would be shrugged off by the armour. Mohei throwing his strongest spells was useless, since he was ultimately still just a Qi Gathering cultivator.


    If Mohei was smarter, he would fend off the wolves attack with physical strength until it exhausted itself. Since the wolf wasn''t willing to reveal its weak spot by opening its mouth, all he achieved was exhausting himself by using flashy attacks that did no damage.


    Wait. Baiyun had a realisation. Was that the intentional way to win this trial, the armour there solely to discourage the disciples from using magic? He turned to look at the elder.


    "Work hard and show them even a servant without magic can succeed. Those kids could use a little humbling." Guan Qiang said. "Even if you can''t cultivate qi, the path of Body Cultivation is still open to you."


    He took out another vial of body strengthening elixir and passed it to Baiyun.


    "Thank you, elder!"


    Baiyun put on a smile and accepted the elixir with a grateful nod. Even if it was a misunderstanding, he was still going to shamelessly take it.


    Meanwhile, a few disciples laughed as they grabbed Mohei''s unconscious body by the feet, dragging him away.


    "Ah." Guan Qiang suddenly realised he had been distracted. "The wolf wins!"


    Baiyun shook his head as he watched the elder chase off the mischievous disciples, tending to Mohei''s injuries.


    Soon, the rest of the fights began. Most of the disciples had little skill with martial arts and some still insisted on using magic, so there was little to learn from them. But Baiyun watched anyway, not wanting another talk from the elder.


    But he was suddenly caught off guard by one of the matches.


    A muscular young boy walked up onto the field. If not for his height, his face would make him mistakable for a grown man.


    He grabbed a random sword and used metal qi to mould it into a ball, then tossed it aside. The wolf now had permission to use its lightning. But the boy rushed towards the wolf, punching and kicking at the wolf relentlessly!


    The wolf howled and tried to fight back, but the boy did not give up despite the lightning burns and bruises covering him. For the next few minutes, the disciples watched in horror as he pummeled the wolf endlessly, until the wolf was knocked unconscious by the repeated impacts shaking the armour.


    "Ying Shi wins!" Guan Qiang announced.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. The disciples here had only enrolled for a month, but this kid had definitely been training long before then! Mohei likely had prior training as well, but it was not that exaggerated.


    A few uninteresting fights passed. Tearful disciples began to litter the training grounds, covered in bandages like Baiyun. Some laid on the ground listlessly.


    The young girl from before, who complained they hadn''t been training enough, walked up with a grin. In her hands she held an absurdly long meteor hammer, two mace heads tied together with a 3-metre long metal rope.


    "I''m Fei An! I''ll show you all how it''s done!"


    She rushed towards her wolf with a maniacal grin, shrouded by a cloud of wind. The wolf howled and imbued its body with lightning, but she was too fast for the wolf to claw or bite, dodging its every attack. She was the first disciple actually faster than the wolves!


    Fei An grinned as she tossed the meteor heads into the air and tugged on the metal rope. They spun through the air violently, turning into a silver blur that stirred up the very wind! The disciples backed away, frightened by the sheer momentum of her weapon.


    The wolf growled cautiously, but it was caught off by a strike to its underside that sent it flying into the air. Fei An struck the wolf repeatedly with precise hits, not letting it even touch the ground. It was as if she was juggling a toy! The wolf could only howl pitifully and whine as it tumbled in the air helplessly.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" she laughed.


    Finally, it let out a strange high pitched howl. One of the giant wolves leapt into the air and snatched the little wolf away. It had surrendered!


    "The wolf resigns. Fei An wins!"


    Baiyun nodded. It seemed there were a few incredibly talented disciples in this group! For children in qi gathering, those two were quite the talents. It made him almost interested in seeing more fights.


    Unfortunately, there were no other skilled disciples. But there was one more amusing fight.


    A kid imbued his body with lightning, then rushed over to the wolf and grabbed it by the head! The wolf activated its lightning as well, but neither of them hurt each other with their lightning.


    "Hnnnn!"


    The kid grabbed the wolf by the mouth of its helmet, pulling with all his might until his face turned red! The wolf let out muffled grunts of anger, not wanting to let the kid open its mouth either! It tried to claw at him, but its legs were far too stubby. It tried to distance itself, but the kid was grabbing its face too firmly!


    For nearly 10 minutes, they remained locked in a stalemate, both grunting in exertion until Sanguang finally managed to pry its mouth open, shoving a shield into its mouth! He was much more merciful with his choice of weapon than Baiyun.


    "Awoooo!"


    Guan Qiang watched speechlessly.


    "The wolf resigns... Sanguang wins!"


    ...


    The rest of the fights ended uneventfully.


    Guan Qiang gathered Baiyun, Fei An and Ying Shi in front of the other disciples.


    "Well done to the top 3! The rest of you, train harder and try again next time!" he shouted.


    Sanguang grumbled to the side, glaring at Baiyun resentfully.


    "Fei An, 1st place! Your reward is a Wind-Striped Pear."


    "Yay!"


    She snatched it from his hand and scarfed it down immediately, like a starving wild animal. Guan Qiang didn''t even have time to announce the next winner.


    "Ying Shi, 2nd place! Your reward is a Purpleheart Ore."


    "Many thanks, elder." Ying Shi bowed as he received the ore.


    "And lastly, Baiyun! Your reward is a Rock Ginseng Pill."


    "Thank you, elder!"


    Baiyun nodded as he received the pill. His divine touch scanned it, and he was delighted. This was actually quite useful! He noted he was the only one who received a complete product, rather than a rare ingredient.


    Perhaps it was because the other two were disciples of prestigious families, who could refine the ingredients into better things... at least if Fei An didn''t immediately devour the "treat". Eating such a precious ingredient without processing it into a pill or elixir was such a waste. Baiyun''s heart ached slightly.


    "Combat practice is over! Return to regular training, we will have a spar with the wolves again next week."


    The disciples let out dismayed groans.


    "But teacher, we are all injured..."


    "I want to go home!" another kid cried.


    But Guan Qiang''s stern eyes immediately shut them up, and the disciples reluctantly resumed training. Baiyun looked at his wounded leg and realised it had mostly healed by now. So he stood and trained with the disciples as well.


    Regular training was not as exciting as the spar against the wolves. The disciples merely performed various routines from the book, punching and kicking the air endlessly. Baiyun wondered if training would be more effective with a straw dummy as an actual target.


    Guan Qiang would correct some of the inaccurate movements from a few disciples occasionally, but for the most part, he sat on the dingy wooden chair and read a manual silently. It seemed the elder really used that chair... Baiyun was speechless, not understanding why the elder didn''t buy a better one.


    Hours passed as the disciples trained gruellingly and the sun soon set.


    "Disciples, you are dismissed!" Guan Qiang said.


    He returned to the temple immediately after, leaving only his chair behind.


    But Baiyun was not done training yet. With the heightened senses of his soul, he could sense the state of his body to its most minute detail. Physical training was to let muscles wear and tear, then rebuilding themselves to be stronger than before. His arms and legs were numb, but he could tell some of his other muscles had yet to be pushed to their limit.


    Some of the disciples stayed, watching what Baiyun was up to, but most left. But none of them talked to him. He supposed the children saw him as strange. Even Mohei remained silent, though he did approach with a conflicted expression, before running off.


    Soon, he was the only one remaining.


    It was night by the time he stopped, the skies above now pitch black. Baiyun panted and wiped off his sweat. At this point, all that kept his arms moving was the qi coursing within his blood vessels. It was as if he was a limp body, puppeted around by strings of qi from within.


    Baiyun reached into his bag and pulled out the Rock Ginseng Pill, popping it into his mouth. Unlike the body elixirs, he didn''t feel the need to save it for the future. He chewed the pill into a paste, before pulling out a water gourd and spitting the destroyed pill into it.


    It was undignified and unsanitary, but it was needed to extract the full potential of the pill. Unlike the body of a cultivator, his mortal body would struggle to absorb the pill directly. Baiyun gave the gourd a good shake and left it to sit for 30 minutes, before drinking several mouthfuls.


    He sat down and crossed his legs into the lotus position, closing his eyes and focusing.


    The WanLing servants had earth constitutions, not uncommon amidst the servants of most sects. Earth bodies were physically strong and resistant to impurities, ideal for servants.


    Baiyun slowly refined the pill water within his stomach, pushing the impurities further down his digestive system to be passed out later. It would be better if he spat out the impurities, but he didn''t want to risk it under the watchful eyes of the sect''s spirits. He carefully aligned and smoothed his muscle fibres with his soul, channelling the essence of the pill into them.


    As the last of the pill essence in his stomach was absorbed, Baiyun repeated the process and drank more mouthfuls from his "makeshift elixir".


    Finally, an hour later, the gourd bottomed out. Baiyun poured a little water from a different gourd in and gave it a quick shake to rinse it, before drinking it. The pill was now fully consumed.


    It was late at night and he was still far from home.


    Baiyun looked at the ground, then at Guan Qiang''s creaky chair wordlessly. After contemplating for a minute, he decided it was still better to sleep on the chair than the dirty ground. He reluctantly sat on it and leaned his head back.


    "Ah! Baiyun! Don''t sleep yet!" the light spirit''s voice called out.


    Baiyun opened his eyes and turned over in surprise.


    "I was looking for you all night!" the spirit cried. "But I saw you were taking an elixir, so I waited for a moment."


    "Ah."


    Hopefully him consuming the pill in such an optimal way was not suspicious. Baiyun suddenly remembered something and reached into his bag, pulling out the two body elixirs and handing them to the spirit.


    "Can you help me hold onto these? I think I want to train more before I drink them." he said.


    "Eh?"


    The light spirit took them, but she was confused for a moment.


    "We haven''t met in a day, and you immediately tell me to hold onto something for you?" she said in disbelief.


    "Hehe." Baiyun smiled innocently.


    "Fine, I''ll safeguard them for you." she said. "Now, let''s go home! Don''t just sleep on a chair here! Have you even eaten yet today?"


    Baiyun nodded helplessly as the spirit lectured him. He really had forgotten to eat anything today! A mortal''s body truly was troublesome.


    She picked him up and flew to the canteen, ushering him in. After a quick meal there and a few grain balls as a snack, he was sent home.


    He removed the bandages around his leg and stashed them into his bag, before lying on bed and letting his body sleep. It was quite comfortable after a day of hard work.

 0007: Mountain Gathering

    It was nearly five in the morning when Baiyun got up.


    Basked in the warm light from the dawn sun peering through the window, he stood up and did a few quick stretches before heading out. A disgruntled grumble came from his sleeping brother as he shut the door.


    Baiyun''s body was no longer sore like the previous night, now welling with what felt like endless energy. He didn''t think a day would come where he''d be excited to train in brutish martial arts, but he felt a strange enthusiasm today.


    With a grain ball in hand, he munched absentmindedly as he strolled. This time, he actually remembered to eat.


    Right now, he was supposed to head to the Martial Temple. But with how fast the spirits had been dragging him back and forth, it was quite difficult for him to keep his bearings.


    "Light spirit!" he called out. "I''m a bit lost, can you point me to the direction of the temple?"


    He stood there for a few minutes, finishing the rest of his meagre breakfast.


    But she didn''t respond. Baiyun frowned. He could still sense her field of spirit sense, so it seemed she was just ignoring him for whatever reason.


    Wait. Was it because she was still unhappy about him enrolling in the Martial Temple? Baiyun shook his head in frustration.


    At the very least, he knew the general direction of the temple. That would have to do for now.


    Baiyun did a few stretches in preparation for a long run. He only had about an hour to get to his destination, so there was no time to dawdle.


    He lowered himself slightly and bent his knees, then took off with a sprint! Around him, the grass and trees turned into blurs of green as he cut directly through, ignoring any paths. He had no choice as he didn''t know which road would take him there. Grass sap stained his shoes from the speed he ran.


    The pleasant breeze rushed over him. With his soul bringing out the full potential of the Rock Ginseng Pill, he felt stronger than ever!


    In the past, were he to run at such speeds, he would be out of breath in just a few minutes. The pill had only strengthened his muscles moderately, but its true purpose was to increase his stamina.


    Baiyun ran and ran, finally coming to a stop 30 minutes later. He took a few deep breaths, reaching into his bag for a water gourd, drinking in satisfaction. This was the might of pills and elixirs! In his eyes, they were the very pillars the cultivation world rested on.


    But just as quickly as he thought that, he let out a sigh. When would the day come when he could get his hands on a pill furnace once more? Perhaps this was what lovesick couples felt after being separated for years, wishing for nothing more than to be reunited once more.


    He continued his run uneventfully, until a forested mountain came into view. Baiyun paused his steps and did a double take. Had he gone in the wrong direction?


    Luckily, he had learnt a simple trick to verify that. He closed his eyes and focused on the field of spirit sense around him. The WanLing sect left no corner unsupervised, countless spirits standing guard everywhere. The same spirits were usually assigned to the exact same posts each day, so Baiyun could tell them apart with their spirit sense fields.


    So all he needed to do was confirm the same spirits were nearby! He wondered if the spirits would be insulted if they knew he was using them as bootleg compasses.


    Baiyun sensed the large field of a wood spirit and immediately knew he was in the right place. It had not shown itself to him, but he recognised it as the one keeping watch of the temple. He continued his run towards the landmass.


    As he got closer, it became clear why he didn''t realise the temple had been on a mountain. It was missing its tip, its upper third sliced off to create a large flat ground for the temple to stand on. With such a huge cross section and a dense forest engulfing its entirety, it was no wonder he didn''t realise he was so far above ground level.


    Baiyun looked to the skies and tried to make some vague time estimates. It was a bit hard to glean with the clouds in the way, but it seemed he had about 20 minutes left if he wanted to arrive an hour early.


    Unacceptable. He needed to hurry! He ran for the nearest path up the mountain.


    But a peculiar scent entered his nose. Baiyun''s eyes widened slightly; he squatted down suddenly and skidded to a stop before a tree. On its bark was a brown bracket fungus covered in little white spots.


    He grabbed it and used Divine Touch, immediately sensing its contents. It was a herb rich in Earthsoul essence! It was also full of poisonous essences, but it was nothing he couldn''t deal with. He hurriedly pulled out an axe and harvested it, tossing it into his bag.


    Baiyun scooted around the tree and to a pile of crumbly soil. Tall sprigs of delicate purple grass sprouted, as if peeking shyly above the shoulders of its robust green cousins that surrounded it. Baiyun''s eyes lit up as he harvested them all.


    Golden fern shoots! Purple bamboo shoots! Some kind of fragrant mugwort! Small blue flowers! Black walnuts! Even a cabbage of sorts. What was a domesticated plant doing here?


    None of these were spirit plants, but Baiyun ran around the mountain harvesting ingredient after ingredient, giddy with joy. This mountain was a treasure trove!


    But he suddenly froze. What was he doing? He was here to train!


    To think someone his age had gotten so carried away... Baiyun coughed to himself, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Luckily, no one was watching. He put the last of his spoils into his bag and hurried up the remainder of the path, grateful that his search had taken him closer to the peak.


    Soon, the mountain''s bisected peak came back into view. He had no time to take the nearby stairs, so he grabbed the edge of the mountain¡¯s flat peak and climbed on. There was still a bit of forest left to go, so Baiyun cut through it with an awkward zigzagged run between the trees, finally arriving at the temple.


    He wiped the sweat off his face and panted as he glanced at the skies. Just in time!


    Mohei stood alone at the training grounds, swinging a spear that glinted under the morning sun. He turned to Baiyun and tossed a mace over, the weapon clattering to the ground beside his target''s feet.


    "Baiyun! Let''s spar!" Mohei said as he swung his spear through the air.


    Baiyun stared at the boy''s earnest eyes speechlessly. He really wasn''t in the mood for this.


    "That''s your speciality weapon, isn''t it?" Mohei asked.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "No. I only picked it because the wolf was armoured." Baiyun said.


    "Then do you want me to give you another weapon?"


    "No need."


    Baiyun tossed the mace back to Mohei. Then he began to do quick stretches and punching routines, the temple''s warm up exercises.


    "I see... You need to prepare first, to avoid injury." Mohei said thoughtfully.


    Baiyun nodded silently. Seeing that, Mohei decided to follow suit, doing the exercises as well. The two of them performed punches and kicks, this time Mohei''s at a normal speed.


    The clouds above drifted far away as they trained. 30 minutes had passed; Mohei began to grow impatient.


    "Baiyun... this is taking a while. When can we start fighting?" he grumbled.


    "Just a few more minutes." Baiyun shrugged.


    ¡°Fine!"


    The two resumed training. The gentle wind swayed the trees and yellow leaves fell, sliding across the flat training grounds. Soon, another 30 minutes had passed.


    Baiyun took a quick peek at Mohei and realised the boy had gotten fully immersed in the training routine. He held back a laugh. This kid was too gullible! Once the other kids arrived, he''d weasel out of the spar. But he frowned a moment later.


    Weren''t the disciples supposed to arrive already? They were still the only two here. He wondered if he had miscalculated the time somehow.


    "Mohei. Where are the rest of the disciples?" Baiyun asked finally.


    "Eh?" Mohei snapped out of his trance.


    Then a smug look overtook him.


    "Hah! There''s no training today, stupid!" he laughed. "But I came here anyway because I knew you didn''t know!"


    "Oh."


    Baiyun stood there blankly.


    "So, let''s spar-" Mohei said. "Wait, where are you going?"


    He yelled as Baiyun suddenly took off running.


    "Later!"


    Echoes of Mohei''s angry shouts came from the distance.


    Baiyun laughed as he rushed back down the mountain. Now that he knew today was a day off, how could he miss out on the treasures of the mountain?


    He had already collected 13 types of essences. With a little more luck, he''d find all the ingredients for Aoyang''s Qi Recharge pellet!


    It was a pill he invented in his past life, during his younger years. Back then, he was so proud of it that he even named it after himself. Most pills and elixirs would only contain the qi of whatever ingredients were used. But Aoyang had a certain idea. What if cheap mortal ingredients were used, but with a composition that absorbed qi?


    A pill made solely of mortal ingredients, but capable of absorbing qi to become a qi pill! But it was ultimately fated to be a novelty; mortal ingredients couldn''t hold much qi after all.


    Worse, he later found out there was already a similar invention: Spirit Pills. They were pills made with actual spirit herbs, placed into specialised miniature formations that would form an artificial spirit within, one that could cultivate the pill.


    Baiyun suddenly remembered his time with his disciples in his past life. Of the many life stories he''d tell them of til they grew bored, this was one of them. He missed how easily they could be coerced into listening to his past accomplishments.


    A slight sadness entered his heart, but he shook it off. That was enough reminiscing. Either way, while the pill might have been useless to his past self, it might prove useful to him this life.


    Only two more essences were needed for the pellet, one of water and one of fire. But the third and last ingredient he needed would be the most annoying. He needed a reagent suited to holding qi, often a property found only in qi absorbent ores deep underground. And it also needed to be safe for consumption, narrowing the list further.


    Baiyun sighed. In his previous life, any ingredient he lacked could just be casually bought from alchemy workshops at his convenience.


    He paused.


    Or was that still an option? Baiyun stroked his chin as an idea suddenly came into mind. While servants didn''t usually have access to the sect''s currency, what if he asked Guan Qiang to reward with it for winning the combat trial with the wolves next week?


    It might be possible for him to head to the main district of the WanLing sect, to buy the herbs he needed directly! Baiyun nodded to himself, pleased by the idea.


    There was also the option of heading back down the underground caverns to search for spirit herbs and the ores he needed. Even that poisonous fungus was far more valuable than what he had gathered here, though sadly, it had been destroyed in the fight with the serpent.


    But Baiyun had no desire to reenter the underground caverns now that he was wise to its dangers. He had only resorted to that previously out of desperation, not knowing how else he would cultivate. It wasn''t as if he could wait several more years for his next breakthrough from just herb discards from the servant canteen.


    If he did return, it would only be after he had gotten far stronger, perhaps after breaking through into Elixir Condensation!


    In the Classic path of cultivation, Foundational Establishment came after Qi Gathering. But Baiyun planned to follow the same cultivation path he followed in his past life: Elixir Stream. It had notable flaws when compared to the Classic path, but it was far more suited for an alchemist.


    Baiyun resumed his search, wandering around aimlessly and poking at random plants. Not being able to use divine sense without alerting the spirits was quite annoying. But the sound of distant flowing water made him pause. Good, he would be able to find herbs with water essences there!


    He followed his ears and weaved between the trees, soon entering a clearing.


    A massive lake parted the endless forest, a thin stream flowing through it. Its waters were greenish, its depths cloaked by the sea of lily pads and duckweed that covered every inch of its surface. Several deer and rabbits drank from the water happily, a pile of discarded duckweeds at their side.


    Baiyun felt their qi sense in the air; to think there would be spirit animals here! He hesitated for a moment but approached the lake, seeing that they seemed fairly docile.


    One of the rabbits raised its ears and turned over to stare at him. It was much larger than the rest and surprisingly muscular, perhaps the leader of the group. The rest of the rabbits seemed uninterested, some even dipping their paws into the water to wash them. As for the deer, they did not spare him a single glance.


    Baiyun wasn''t surprised by their lack of reaction. The servant body was a prison of qi, so he appeared to be just a harmless mortal. Not that they''d have worried about a 3rd level Qi Gatherer either.


    He pulled out a pitchfork from his bag and marched over to the lake. The spirit beasts all turned to look, their attention drawn to the weapon. But he only stabbed it towards the lake, digging out various aquatic plants and tossing them to the side.


    Baiyun poked at his soggy "harvest" with a finger and frowned. All of these were useless! Within the water, there was little he could do to discern essence from smell alone, nor could he easily touch plants to identify them.


    The clump of lily pads further into the lake had flower buds that looked promising. But to retrieve them, he would need to swim into the lake waters, which seemed surprisingly deep.


    But Baiyun did not want to be mauled by crocodiles, alligators, large predatory fishes or whatever potentially lurked beneath. Did they even dwell in waters like this? If Guang Qiang was responsible, he''d have removed any threats for the safety of his disciples; they had to climb the mountain to reach his temple after all.


    Still, it wasn''t a risk he was willing to take. He needed to confirm if anything was hiding beneath.


    Baiyun stood around and thought for a moment. After glancing at the rabbits, a ridiculous thought suddenly entered his mind, almost enough to make him laugh.


    He walked towards the rabbits and pulled out a few strands of purple grass from before, waving it at them.


    The muscular rabbit hopped over, a few of its underlings in tow. A rabbit suddenly leapt towards the grass in Baiyun''s hand, but he managed to pull it back in time.


    "There!"


    Baiyun suddenly tossed the grass into the water. The rabbits stared at him in confusion.


    For a moment, they all stared at each other in awkward silence.


    ...well, he wasn''t sure why he thought they would jump into the water merely for some grass. It really was quite the silly idea.


    Baiyun reached for the water and prepared to take the grass back. But a few small bubbles suddenly appeared beneath its surface as something beneath tugged at the sprigs.


    A few small fishes showed themselves, nibbling on the grass. Even under the slightly murky waters, their scales glimmered a familiar vibrant blue. He immediately recognised it; that glimmer was caused by water essence! If only he had a net.


    Baiyun knew he needed to be a little more creative. He pulled out a bottle gourd and drank the last of its water, then snatched the purple grass from fishes and stuffed it into the gourd.


    With his "trap" now prepared, he forced it underwater and wedged it into place with a rock, watching as bubbles rushed out, a sign of the lake water filling the gourd.


    Baiyun backed away slowly, not wanting to scare the fish away. But he did not have to wait long.


    A few moments later, the first little fish swam in. He laughed as he stood to the side with the rabbits, watching as more of the tiny fishes flooded in. His idea worked this time!


    Baiyun snatched the gourd out of the water and stuffed the cork back on. He quickly probed the gourd with divine touch and confirmed the fish indeed had the essences he needed.


    Too easy. He walked off in triumph, but turned around as he heard the rustle of grass behind him.


    The rabbits hopped after him; one of them even began to tug at his pants with its teeth. Baiyun''s eyes twitched. What exactly were they thinking?


    He took off running with one rabbit hanging to his leg. Behind him, the swarm of rabbits gave chase!

 0008: Veiled Garden

    What was with these crazy animals?


    Baiyun continued to run, shaking the rabbit off his leg. But the others were simply too fast! A few of them overtook him and slowed their hops, until they ran alongside him.


    Finally, he gave up and slowed to a jog. It didn''t seem like the rabbits were hostile, but he could guess what they wanted.


    It was because he offered them food earlier! Now, they would endlessly hound until he gave what they wanted. Baiyun decided to ignore them for now, hoping they''d grow bored eventually. It wasn''t as if he could shake them off.


    Suddenly, a gentle breeze rustled the grass. In the distance, the tip of a crimson herb revealed itself. Baiyun''s eyes widened as he ran towards it. It was a herb with fire essence!


    But the rabbits rushed past him with a red glint in their eyes, snatching the herb away before his very eyes.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched as the muscular rabbit hopped up to him, chewing the herb brazenly. It was taunting him!


    Tsk.


    He walked faster and faster down the mountain but the rabbits were relentless. Anything he took interest in would be devoured, even nuts and fungi. He suspected if he tried to grab a squirrel or a bird instead, even they wouldn''t be spared.


    Baiyun tried to see if he could fool them by grabbing ordinary grass or twigs, but the rabbits stared at him as if he were an idiot. A vein bulged on his forehead.


    He decided it was time to leave. There was little point to staying any longer if the rabbits would snatch everything of value.


    Herb after herb around him was consumed, but Baiyun closed his twitching eyes. This was nothing to the "invincible" dao heart of an elder.


    But just as he thought that, a peculiar scent made him freeze.


    A large mushroom the size of a fist grew from the roots of a tree, a squirrel sitting atop it. The little animal pulled off a small piece of fungus and nibbled on it, a strange white shimmer diffusing into the air.


    Goldlight essence.


    That mushroom was an actual spirit fungus! Baiyun''s eyes hardened as he pulled a pitchfork out of his bag. No more would he show mercy, he needed to grab it at all cost. It was time to show the rabbits the consequence of their actions.


    The rabbits grew serious as well, straightening their ears. They stared at each other silently, sparks almost flying between their eyes. The squirrel wisely decided to flee.


    "Stop! That''s enough."


    A voice boomed through the forest. Were it a second slower, a fight would have already broken out.


    Guan Qiang leapt high in the air and landed before them with his arms crossed. Baiyun put away his pitchfork and the rabbits bowed respectfully.


    It seemed the elder had been following them in secret, likely tipped off by the wood spirit. First the earth spirit and now him... Baiyun thought to himself that it truly was hard to do anything in secret within the WanLing sect.


    "Baiyun! You have a lot of audacity to comb my mountain for treasures!"


    The man waved at the rabbits, shooing them away.


    "Sorry, elder!" Baiyun bowed.


    He was a little uneasy, but the elder didn''t sound all that angry despite his words.


    "Pass me your bag."


    Baiyun handed his bag over meekly and let Guan Qiang look through it. Finally, the burly man tossed it back, laughing.


    "If you have the time to pick useless weeds, then use that time to train!" he slapped Baiyun''s shoulders. "As a servant, you need to train harder than anyone to catch up. What do you think you¡¯re doing playing around?"


    Baiyun held back a frown. If it wasn¡¯t for his status in this life, he would be lecturing the musclehead about how spirit herbs weren¡¯t the only useful ones.


    Even if mortal herbs had mild effects, their property of being practically free was no small merit. The mass production of cheap pills was built on the back of such herbs!


    Guan Qiang walked over to the mushroom and squatted down to pick it up.


    "Out of all the garbage you found, this is the only one with spirit," he said. "Baiyun, if you want to find and gather valuable herbs, you need qi sense. Do you understand what I''m saying?"


    "Yes! I should go back to training instead of wasting my time!" Baiyun saluted.


    The elder laughed.


    "Hah, what''s with that gesture?" he said. "Anyway, be more careful next time. I might not mind you looking through my land, but other elders might not take to it as kindly."


    "Yes, elder!"


    Baiyun nodded. So the martial elder was fine with him picking herbs here to some extent... he noted that down.


    "Here, take this."


    Guan Qiang suddenly tossed 5 square coins into the air. This time, Baiyun was prepared, unlike with the body elixir. He arched his hands through the air and followed the path of the coins, snatching them out of the air without a single one falling to the ground.


    The elder smiled.


    "Thank you, elder!" Baiyun said in excitement.


    "Haha, think of it as a fee for finding the mushroom before that pesky squirrel devoured it! Now, I have something I must attend to."


    Guan Qiang waved and headed back up the mountain.


    In Baiyun''s hands, the tokens suddenly snapped into a neat stack in his hands. He realised their rounded edges were lined with a blackish magnetic metal, an odd gimmick for a coin.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    He looked at them closer. Each of them had "Copper" (Í­) engraved on one face. On their backs, a simple depiction of a pavilion was carved, a logo that represented the WanLing sect.


    For the first time in this life, he had gotten his hands on currency! He had no idea how much they were worth, but considering it was Copper, it implied the existence of more valuable coins.


    Baiyun paused and thought for a moment.


    To think he''d obtain currency so soon! It was unlikely 5 copper tokens were worth much, but he felt like his plans had been moved forward by a week.


    He looked around for a good vantage spot and ran to a nearby cliff. Baiyun put a hand over his forehead and squinted into the distance, trying to gauge where the main district of WanLing was.


    It didn''t take long before he spotted it, with the vantage point the mountain offered, coupled with the tall buildings of the district.


    He had visited it before to deliver herb crates, but he had never seen what was behind the city gates. While not explicitly forbidden, it would probably attract a lot of attention if a servant brazenly waltzed into the main district. But he now had Guan Qiang''s training attire, he would blend in much better.


    Hm. Now that he thought of it, were his servant duties of farming now null due to his apprenticeship? After all, the light spirit didn''t deduct his contribution points even after he spent yesterday and today training at the temple instead of tending to herbs.


    Baiyun supposed that was something for him to worry about later. Since today was an off-day from training, it was a good opportunity to see the district for himself and see what prices were like.


    The WanLing sect''s territory was mostly grassland and forest, with only about 10% of the land actually developed. That didn''t mean they were struggling; if anything, they owned so much territory, that small percentage was more than enough for their entire population of millions!


    An example of that was Baiyun''s run from the servant district to Guan Qiang''s mountain. In that 40 mins of running, for the most part, the only scenery was endless grassland with the occasional stone paths cutting through.


    Most of the sect''s developed land was clustered right in the middle of their massive territory, hundreds of thousands of buildings clustered there. This was where most cultivators of the sect lived, and where one would find most of the shops and amenities.


    The less developed servant districts were further out into the grasslands, in carefully chosen spots where more qi seeped from the earth. After all, they were in charge of growing spirit herbs.


    Baiyun found it amusing that the sect Elders also often lived in outskirts far from the main district. This was because they were wealthy enough to purchase land, so they preferred to build their abodes and clan quarters away from the hustle and bustle. They would also have the freedom of setting up protective formations in such areas, unlike the city where regulations were heavy.


    His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his eyes wandered to a purple fruit in the distance, something the rabbits snatched from him before. This vantage point was also good for herb gathering, it seemed.


    Tempting. But perhaps it was best he didn''t test Guan Qiang''s patience any further.


    Baiyun rushed down the mountain and towards the direction of the main district; the grasslands faded into a blur once more.


    An hour passed by the time Baiyun arrived, heaving as he stopped close to the main district.


    The city was an imposing sight, huge walls surrounding it, with massive open gates that even a giant could walk through. If one were to look closely, the walls were actually solely composed of large cubes of concrete-like material. Whenever the city needed to expand, earth cultivators would simply push them further out and fill the spaces in-between with earth.


    Spires and other tall buildings could be seen behind them, some imposing enough to even piece the clouds.


    He walked to the closest gate where a guard sat meditating. Sensing a presence, the guard opened his eyes briefly to take a glance, then shut them once more.


    Baiyun gave him a quick nod before walking right through the open gate. The guards were mostly there to keep an eye from potential beast attacks, not to ask for identification. It was a little complacent but he wasn''t about to complain.


    For the first time, he had entered the city.


    Before Baiyun could appreciate the sight, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of clanging as a ladle smashed against a pot loudly. A roadside vendor pushed a cart of street food, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout.


    "Hot skewers on sale! Only 1 token each!"


    In the opposite direction, an old man yelled even louder as he juggled fruits outside of his fruit store, drowning out the other man.


    "Spirit fruits on discount! Ripe as they come, get them while they''re fresh!"


    Baiyun felt an unspeakable feeling as he trudged between the sea of various street carts, weaving between the many disciples milling around. This wasn''t what he had imagined the main district would be like.


    He quickened his footsteps and headed further into the, eager to the bustle behind him.


    If he had to bet on where alchemy workshops would be, he would put his money on the heart of the city. Property like that was much more accessible to the residents here and would be more expensive. And if there was one thing he was certain of, it was the alchemists who had the loaded pockets.


    There were other lucrative professions as well, but that was beside the point.


    Soon, the annoying street cart vendors were left behind. Baiyun enjoyed the peace and quiet, glad they only congregated at the outer layer of the city. Residential housing was more common now, but he still enjoyed taking quick peeks at the few shops he came across now and then.


    Another hour passed as he walked through the quiet streets.


    Until at last, he found what he was looking for.


    Veiled Garden Alchemy Workshop.


    From a set of two-storey black roofed buildings built in the shape of a square, a pleasant herbal scent wafted out. A huge gate was open, showing a garden in the roofless open space behind it.


    Baiyun walked in through the doorway to take a closer look. A formation surrounded the garden, conjuring a small transparent dome to protect the herbs within. Only at this distance was it actually visible.


    He nodded his head in admiration.


    In a city where cultivators lived, the air would be polluted by all sorts of impurities from all sorts of different elements. This was one of the worst possible environments to grow spirit herbs, which were often very delicate. Growers had to be very cautious, sometimes even wearing suits to prevent incompatible qi from their body affecting the plants.


    Naturally, not all spirit plants were that sensitive. But it was still no easy task for a herb garden to flourish in a place where thousands of cultivators would pass by daily.


    So why go through such trouble for a few meagre herbs?


    That was because it was more than a showpiece. It was a message from the workshop to experienced alchemists, to show just how capable they were of handling spirit herbs. It was a masterwork!


    Baiyun took another moment to examine the healthy plants, before heading into a door that led into the actual shop. Veiled Garden. He would remember that name.


    As he walked in, refreshing cold air washed over him. It was likely just as much for the preservation of medicines as it was for the comfort of the customers. Columns of pills and elixirs were displayed in glass cases and on shelves, but he walked past them and around a corner.


    The next turn led to a room full of herbs, stored in similar cases.


    Four people dressed in drab green alchemist robes milled around, pondering as they studied the herbs. Baiyun did not take much heed of them, but a young man in his 20s stared at him as he walked to one of the cases. He decided to pretend not to notice.


    "Firesoul Fruit, 500 tokens".


    Baiyun took a deep breath at the price. It was pretty clear he would have to return at another time, once he had more than pocket change. Still, he wanted to see what the shop had to offer.


    A long description explaining the origin of the fruit and its properties was written on the label as well, but he ignored it and pressed his hands into the case, activating divine touch.


    His senses travelled through the glass carefully and slightly into the fruit. Despite being fire attributed, it was dominated by soul essences and not very useful to him. Unfortunate.


    Baiyun began walking around and examined each of the fire herbs, trying to find a suitable one.


    "Hey."


    The staring man approached, now a glaring man. Baiyun looked over and his heart sank. This kid was clearly about to pick a fight.


    "You foul servant. What are you doing in this dignified place?" the man practically spat under his breath.


    Baiyun held back a sigh. He thought the training attire would stop him from drawing attention, but he underestimated the pettiness of people.


    "A servant? I''m a disciple of Martial Elder Guan Qiang!" he said. "You call this a refined establishment, so why disgrace it by picking a fight here?"


    "A fight? All I''m doing is chasing vermin out." the man scoffed. "You think you can just steal some attire and waltz right in, claiming you''re the disciple of an elder? What do you think you''re doing, smearing your grimy fingers all over the display cases?"


    To the side, the other alchemists turned to watch the commotion.


    Baiyun wasn''t sure how to deal with the situation so he decided to just walk further into the shop and hoped the man wouldn''t follow.

 0009: Imprisoned

    Finally, one of the other alchemists, an old man with a long beard spoke up.


    "Now, now. Calm yourself." he said. "As the two of you have agreed on, this is a refined establishment, so let''s not argue here."


    But the young man pulled out a red jade and activated it with a pulse of qi. It began to glow brightly and erratically.


    "Hmph," he harrumphed. "He claimed to be a disciple of an elder, but lacks any identification seals! And of course, what elder would accept a servant as a disciple?"


    "You actually called for sect enforcements..." the old man frowned. "There was no need to take it that far."


    "Impersonation is a huge matter. You expect me to let a criminal be?"


    Baiyun was stunned.


    What in the world was going on? Guan Qiang really had accepted him as a disciple! Did the elder not give him a "disciple seal" because he was a servant, or because he forgot? Either way, he was genuinely in trouble! He began to sweat slightly.


    "How are you so sure I don''t have a seal?" Baiyun asked finally. "Wait, I''ll search in my bag and show you!"


    He didn''t sense the young man reaching into his storage bag, so it was clearly a baseless accusation.


    Baiyun came up with a quick plan. He was going to rummage through his bag and "realise" he forgot to bring his seal with him. Then, he would panic and demand to be taken to the Martial Temple, to confirm he was Guan Qiang''s disciple.


    The young man sneered.


    "I''m not surprised a servant like you is so lacking in knowledge. Let me educate you," he said. "A disciple seal is not a physical object. It''s imprinted on your body, much like the servant seal you have on your left hand!"


    Baiyun''s heart sank. If a servant seal was so visible, then perhaps that was why Guan Qiang didn''t imprint the seal. It was possible the elder didn''t want a servant walking around with his disciple seal, fearing loss of face.


    He quickly tried to defend himself.


    "Wait. I''m still a very new disciple, so it''s possible Elder Guan Qiang didn''t have the time to-"


    "Hah. No time to imprint a seal? You don''t even realise how laughable your words are!" the young man spat. "You think every elder has the time to learn the art of formations merely to imprint a seal? Fool, disciple seals are imprinted with elixir formations! If you truly were a disciple of Guan Qiang, he would have given you a body refining elixir with his disciple seal in it!"


    Baiyun''s face went blank.


    Ah. So, this incident was self-inflicted...


    He suddenly felt indignant. How was he supposed to know? Guan Qiang never told him! He had zero knowledge about formations, so he merely mistook the elixir for a defective product choked with impurities!


    This was the flaw of divine touch... it was limited by what knowledge he had.


    And formations in elixirs? He had never heard of such a thing in his past life. If placing formations into elixirs was a common thing, he would have at least dabbled in the field a little. Some success was found engraving seals and formations into pills in his old world, but it was deemed largely impractical.


    Could it be that this mortal world had a unique alchemical path? It wasn''t common, but sometimes mortal worlds had creative inventions that even the upper worlds were ignorant to. For a moment, he grew excited by that possibility, until he realised this wasn''t the time for that.


    "What''s wrong? Where did all your attitude go?" the young man sneered. "Are you going to claim you lost the elixir?"


    The man began to laugh, unable to conceal the glee in his eyes.


    The old alchemist shook his head. The other alchemists didn''t seem to approve of the pest''s conduct either, but none of them intervened.


    Baiyun was furious.


    The other alchemists were all sane and reasonable people, so why did he have to be so unlucky, to have arrived on the same day as a deranged kid who only wanted to flaunt his superiority?


    But he managed to hide his anger, his face neutral as he walked off. He continued to browse the store, looking at the ingredients all around. Attention seekers hated being ignored more than anything. Even if his arrest was set in stone, he wasn''t going to let that bastard have the slightest speck of satisfaction!


    "Hey! Where do you think you''re going?" the young man shouted.


    Baiyun had only touched the displays of the fire herbs earlier, but he was now brazenly running his hands across every case possible, activating divine touch on each of them. It was as if he was sent here on a sole mission: to leave as many fingerprints on the glass cases as humanly possible!


    "Stop dirtying the glass!" the young man was furious.


    Baiyun suddenly spotted a case labelled "Moonlight Oysters", selling for 57000 tokens per kilo. His eyes twitched. It was the same type of mushroom as the one Guan Qiang had taken earlier!


    If it was that precious, shouldn''t he at least have received a little more than 5 tokens?


    "You think you can just walk away? Hah, even if you teleported to the outskirts at this very moment, they''d still catch you in no time!" the youth shouted.


    Baiyun continued to tour the shop, the pest as well as the old alchemist following. Perhaps the old alchemist was worried the youth would get violent.


    That possibility didn''t worry him too much. Alchemists weren''t often good melee combatants, and he doubted the kid would use spells in such a delicate area. Well... not that Baiyun was one to speak. Any combat ability he had right now solely relied on his heightened reflexes.


    But as he ran his hands absentmindedly across one of the cases, he suddenly paused.


    Primordial essence?! What was that doing here? Even in the realm he used to live in, where any ant could topple the mightiest of cultivators here, that was unbelievably rare!


    Within the glass case was a small white seed surrounded in a faint grey mist, black stains coating the glass from within.


    "Unidentified Seed weighing 2100.03 kg. 70,000,000 tokens."


    "Obtained from an odd meteor that fell on the 8705th year, on the island of Huiyao. Functionally indestructible, unharmed by heaven-grade weapons and techniques. Emits a toxic substance dangerous to even Nascent Soul cultivators."


    For once, it was something Baiyun could recognise.


    This was the seed of a Cosmic World Tree, a strange plant that could only be found hurtling through space. Cosmic Trees billions of years old were the size of planets, an endless sea of tree trunks woven and entangled amidst each other, covered in countless branches and leaves. Every ten thousand years, adult Cosmic Trees would spit a hail of seeds into the vast expanses of space like a meteor shower.


    The people of his old world had never found an actual Cosmic World Tree. They had only heard tales of them from ancient records, their existence proven solely by 5 documented Cosmic Seeds.


    One seed was refined into an incredible pill and eaten by the patriarch of the Undying Body sect. He was overwhelmed by the qi and unceremoniously exploded moments later. That day, thousands of his disciples broke through from the primordial qi that nourished the very land of their sect.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The second attempt to refine the seed resulted in largely the same story.


    At last, amidst uncertainty, the third seed was bought by the Lihai sect who refined it into the heart of their grand array. They bragged their sect was the first to subdue the seed, and for a hundred years, they held onto that claim. On the 101th year, the entirety of their sect detonated.


    His world finally learnt their lesson. Whatever you do with Cosmic seeds, always expect them to explode. If they did not explode, that only meant they had yet to explode! All future seeds were used as weaponry from then on, with a slight caveat that didn''t matter right now.


    Baiyun glanced warily at the seed. If it were to go off, it would wipe the WanLing sect off the face of the planet. No, with how frail mortal worlds were, he wouldn''t be surprised if it reduced the entire planet into smithereens!


    To think such a dreadful thing would be found in a random alchemy workshop... Well, at the very least, he had never heard of an untouched seed exploding. The cultivators that attempted to scratch the seed had no idea how lucky they were; it was a rare instance of weakness being a blessing.


    Baiyun knew this was something he would have to come back for in the future. It was simply too dangerous to leave unattended.


    "You''d been staring at the seed for quite a while, huh? Does it interest you?" someone said.


    It was not the pest who asked, but the 2nd alchemist who tagged along, an old man with a serene smile and a pair of silver glasses.


    "I''m just looking.¡± Baiyun said.


    He resumed running his hands across the cases, then paused once more.


    "Oh?" he mused.


    "Immortal Brimrose, 2000 tokens per kg."


    Within the case was a set of beautiful flowers arranged like a bouquet, their translucent petals resembling flames frozen in time. But what was even more beautiful to Baiyun was the intense Fire Spirit essence that radiated off it.


    "Finally found what you were looking for?" the bespeckled man asked.


    "Well, you could say that, but-"


    Before Baiyun could finish his words, the old man took off his glasses and turned around. A strange creaking sound could be heard as his body shuddered, his height lessening by half a head.


    Around and around his body twisted, twitching horrifyingly, until finally, he morphed into a middle-aged man with a moustache, now dressed in a uniform with "Veiled Garden" stitched onto its back.


    "I was a shop attendant in disguise!" he declared, adjusting his glasses.


    Baiyun and the pest stared at him blankly.


    "Cheh. It''s hard to impress anyone these days." he clicked his tongue. "Now, exactly how much did you want to buy?"


    Baiyun wasn''t really sure what to say. The man didn''t even let him finish his statement, that he was next to penniless!


    He thought hard for a moment, then pointed somewhere into the case. A stray piece of flower anther had fallen from one of the flowers, lying flat at the bottom of the case.


    "...what if I wanted to buy just that tiny piece?" Baiyun asked with twitching eyes.


    For some reason, he could not bring himself to say he had only entered the shop with 5 tokens. He didn''t really understand why, but he felt like it would hurt his pride.


    The attendant laughed loudly.


    "Haha! Very funny.How about 4 tokens?" he joked.


    "Attendant, you can''t possibly be humouring this servant?" the pest asked.


    The bespeckled man turned to the young man and wagged his finger in disapproval.


    "You really made a mess for me here! This servant here is probably an errand boy sent by a busy Elder to fetch a herb. Why else would a servant be in a place like this? Of course he wouldn''t have a disciple seal, because he isn''t a real disciple!"


    "Ah!" the youth gasped in realisation. "Tsk... this still doesn''t sit right with me."


    Baiyun stood there speechlessly. It seemed like a misunderstanding was turning out in his favour. He still had a way out!


    "Respected attendant, you are right!" he said with a smile, then turned to the pest. "You need to call off the Enforcers now, or Guan Qiang will be very displeased by you obstructing my duty!"


    "What! Who do you think you are, getting a big head just because you''re an errand boy?" the pest shouted angrily. "This alarm jade doesn''t work like that. It can''t be called off!"


    Baiyun''s eyes began to twitch again.


    Okay. It seemed like that didn''t work out. His mind raced for a solution, but for now, he decided to try to cover the holes in the attendant''s misunderstanding.


    "Attendant, the elder only asked me to check if Immortal Brimroses were in stock. But he did request for me to bring back a small piece, just to make sure I found the right herb." he said. "So... I really am buying just that..."


    The pest and the attendant stared at him in silence. Baiyun really hoped his stretch of a story would be bought.


    "The elder will come back on a later date." he continued his lie brazenly.


    "I-I see," the attendant said.


    Baiyun got the feeling the man was suppressing his annoyance. But he pulled out 4 tokens with an awkward smile.


    "So..."


    The attendant sighed deeply and tapped the glass case, disabling the seal on it. Then he lifted it up and tossed the small flower anther to Baiyun.


    "There, take it."


    "Thank you!"


    As Baiyun handed the 4 tokens to the attendant and stuffed his new purchase into his bag, suddenly, the loud sound of a door slamming against a wall echoed.


    "There''s the suspect!" a loud yell came.


    Two enforcers in grey robes charged into the room, their eyes fixed on Baiyun. One picked him up with both hands like a child would a doll, unleashing his qi sense.


    "Lack of apprenticeship seal confirmed. Apprehending the suspect!" the enforcer yelled.


    The attendant and pest watched as the enforcer in question tossed Baiyun over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before charging right out.


    Baiyun pointed a middle finger towards the pest at the last second, and a shout came from the workshop.


    The enforcers ran faster than galloping horses, racing across the streets. A few surprised pedestrians turned to look as they ran right past, stirring up quite the wind.


    Before long, they arrived at a fort of iron. On its gate, a plate read "WanLing Prison". The enforcers marched into the prison and past a counter, then down a flight of stone stairs.


    The first thing Baiyun noticed was the pitch darkness and lack of cold air. They had entered a long narrow underground corridor, both walls lined with prison cells with black bars. Hundreds of unwashed inmates were here, but thankfully, their status as cultivators spared the prison from overwhelming stench.


    The next thing he noticed... this place was free from the surveillance of spirits!


    An area full of criminals seemed exactly like the sort of place the sect would want to keep an eye on, but there was a simple reason for the lack of spirits. The walls of the underground prison were made of Unyielding Basalt, a spirit material with the property of absorbing qi. Any attempt to use spells or qi sense would be futile here, for the walls would disrupt and absorb it all.


    Baiyun could sense the armoured guards pulling him along were powerful body cultivators. The only sensible choice of guards, given the suppression.


    "Brat. This is your cell."


    The guard marched to a cell and opened it with a loud creak, before tossing him in. With the bang of the door shutting and the jangle of keys, Baiyun was locked away. It was incredibly dark, but he could make out the faint silhouette of the prisoner on the other side.


    All he had in the room was a simple prison bed, a thin mattress on metal legs, draped by a ragged blanket.


    Baiyun had the strangest mix of emotions at this moment.


    ...surely Guan Qiang would be informed of this and save him eventually? For now, he could only stay put and hope for the best.


    He was tempted to curse his misfortune for a brief moment, but shook it off. Agonising over such things wouldn''t accomplish anything.


    At the very least, he was freed from invasive spirit sense here and could operate in relative privacy.


    He had been slightly concerned where he''d concoct the Qi Recharge Pellet in secret, but in a place like this, he wouldn''t be questioned for attempting to make pills.


    With the anther of the Immortal Brimrose, he now had all the required essences. It was a shame he lacked the final ingredient, a reagent that could absorb qi, usually only a property of ores and minerals found deep underground.


    ...


    ...


    Baiyun looked around himself.


    Was that not what the very walls around him were made of? He could only laugh to himself at the sheer absurdity of the situation. What even was going on anymore?


    He listened as the guards walked further and further away. Then he slowly counted to himself for several hours, until he estimated night time had come. There were no windows here, so he could not be fully sure.


    But Baiyun knew it was his time to strike.


    He tore the blanket off the prison bed and tied it to the bars like a curtain. Then he flipped his bed onto its side as quietly as he could and leaned it against the bars of the prison, to hold down the blanket in case of sudden winds.


    The inside of his cell was now hidden from view. Baiyun nodded in satisfaction.


    He reached under his robes to pull out his bag. Another example of the sect''s negligence, not even bothering to search him. Was it because they didn''t feel the need to search a servant? Either way, he wasn''t complaining.


    Baiyun took a hoe out of his bag, the closest thing he had to a pickaxe. He walked to the walls and placed his hand on them, activating divine touch to search for weaknesses. Undying Basalt was tougher than steel, but in the end, it was brittle, lacking the flexibility of metals.


    His senses washed over the walls, until a small crack caught his attention. Perfect.


    Baiyun adjusted his stance, then slammed his hoe into it with all his might.


    Clang!


    It bounced off with a dull sound, a few sparks emitted. On the wall, the crack looked unharmed.


    Again!


    Baiyun swung at the wall relentlessly for the next few hours. Each time, he struck the same spot with great precision.


    "Hehahah. Sounds like someone''s attempting a prison break." an old raspy voice came from outside.


    "Tsk... can''t even get a good night''s rest here." a gruff voice grunted.


    Baiyun didn''t pay much heed to them, fully absorbed in attacking the walls. He was reminded of how he attacked the dying spider relentlessly in the dark, unwilling to give up.


    His hands began to blister and bleed, despite the improved physique granted by the Rock Ginseng Pill. His muscles ached and screamed, but he persisted.


    Hours passed.


    A faint crackle, a puff of dust. Baiyun''s weapon bounced off the wall for the umpteenth time. The ground was coated in a thin layer of stone dust.


    Something told him it was now.


    He took a deep breath and took a few steps back.


    "Hah!"


    Baiyun shouted as he rushed at the wall, striking it with all his might, his strongest hit yet!


    CLANG!


    A loud strike, followed by a faint crumbling sound. A small chunk fell to the ground softly.


    Baiyun tossed his hoe to the side, the metal now deformed and crushed. His bruised and bleeding fingers shook as he picked up the fragment, a piece no larger than a pumpkin seed.


    He panted as he finally sat to rest, letting out a low laugh.


    At last, he had every ingredient for the Qi Recharge Pellet!

 0010: Dull Pebble

    Baiyun picked up the basalt fragment and stuffed it into his mouth.


    His eyes grew bloodshot as he forced the might of his soul into the stone, willing it to crumble! His entire body, even his vision felt like it was trembling violently. A loud rumbling sound that only he could hear shook his body.


    Baiyun''s eyes constricted as he collapsed onto the ground, spasming violently. His arms and legs struck the ground painfully as they thrashed, bruise after bruise dotting his skin. His mouth bled as his gums were shredded, but his lips clenched like a vice of iron as he swallowed his blood.


    Several painful minutes passed.


    Baiyun spat out a clump of black goop into a wooden bowl and coughed raspily, before taking deep breaths. What was meant to be a grey-ish white powder was now stained a striking crimson from his blood, though invisible in the darkness.


    With the last of his strength, he pulled out a gourd and filled the bowl with water, giving it a quick stir.


    He rolled over onto his back and laid on the ground, heaving painfully.


    This was the cost of using too much of his soul''s strength in a frail mortal body. He still had a long way to go before he could make use of his soul effectively.


    Baiyun let his body enter slumber for an unknown amount of hours. At this point, he had lost track of time. Down here, night was eternal.


    And tonight, day as it might be above, there were a lot of repairs to be done. His soul slowly patched his body up, ironically the very same culprit that sent his body into such a state.


    Roughly another day passed.


    Baiyun got up and stretched. His body was still sore, but it was functional once more. His mouth was still raw and painful, but his gums had been restored.


    He took out several grain balls and crushed them into his water gourd, waiting for the chunks to soften before drinking the unpleasant mix. If not for the light spirit''s reminder for him to eat previously, he might have entirely forgotten.


    It would be better if he had more time to recover, but Baiyun knew he needed to get back to work immediately. With every moment, unattended herbs would lose potency as they grew stale. Jade boxes could alleviate that to some degree, but it was a luxury he lacked.


    He picked up the bloodied bowl of water mixed with the Undying Basalt. By now, the rock powder was resting at the bottom, most of the blood mixed into the water.


    Baiyun poured most of the bloody liquid into the prison toilet. He swept up the rock dust that coated the floor and added it into the bowl.


    Refill the water and stir the mixture. Wait for it to settle at the bottom, then pour out the liquid. He repeated the process until most of the blood was washed out.


    He now had a bowl of clean Undying Basalt mixed with water.


    Clack. Clack clack.


    Baiyun stacked a pile of firewood onto the cold prison floors, then struck it with a flint repeatedly. He was worried it wouldn''t light, much like in the caverns, but thankfully, it lit properly this time.


    The flames started as embers, then kindled into a full flame. He placed an empty pot onto it and began to prepare the ingredients.


    Five elemental essences.


    Water, Wood and Mud spirit essences. A speck of Superior Fire essence, and Gold Ash essence.


    Next, to pair that which was pliable with the unyielding.


    Iron spirit and Gentle Green essence.


    And at last, a reagent to contain the qi.


    Undying Basalt.


    Baiyun got to work.


    He tossed the golden fern shoots into the dry pot, burning hot from the flames beneath. They began to smoke and pop unpleasantly, but he ignored it.


    Baiyun took out a knife, a chopping board and several bowls. With a steady hand, he chopped ingredient after ingredient almost as finely as paper, pushing them into a bowl with the palm of his hand.


    Chopped mountain cabbage and bracket fungus, topped with a sprig of Immortal Brimrose.


    He turned back to the ferns, watching as they scorched into charcoal. He pulled out a large metal ladle and beat the burnt plants into fine ashes, before scooping half of the ashes into another bowl.


    A little smoke had accumulated in the cell from the blanket trapping it, but he endured it.


    Baiyun grabbed the gourd of fishes and opened it to check on them. A faint movement came from within, surprising him. They were still alive? More importantly, the water was now filled with water essence, so he poured a swig of it into the pot.


    Spatial environments would kill most animals. But the fish surviving was an oddity for later. He crumbled a few grain balls into the gourd as fish feed and moved on.


    He tossed the cabbage fungus mix into the blazing pot, watching as steam billowed.


    "What''s that smell? Is someone cooking?" a gruff voice asked.


    "Hah. I can see the glow of fire beneath that blanket. Must be an awful cook for the smell of burning to be so strong, haha!"


    Baiyun sighed.


    A former great alchemist, now reduced to mere a home cook... but it was the best he could do with his current equipment.


    For the next hour, he tended to the fire, watching as the water slowly evaporated. The water had mostly dried off, leaving what looked like grey slag in the pot, smelling of burnt vegetation. Baiyun took out his ladle and beat it into dust as best as he could. It was finally time to add the basalt.


    He poured the watery clump in and began to forcefully mix it. A cloud of steam billowed out of the pot as a deafening sizzle echoed in his cell. With the basalt powder now in the mix, whatever that was in the pot now had structure, becoming a black doughy clump instead of loose powder and ashes.


    As the last of its water began to evaporate, it began to stick to the pot with a passion, forcing him to scrap the pot''s bottom constantly as he mixed.


    The smell was awful, but it was almost done. He took the pot off the flames.


    Baiyun dipped his ladle into the bowl with the remaining fern ashes, and dumped the rest into the pot. With the ashes there to prevent sticking, he did his best to shape the slag into a sphere with the ladle.


    He sat there and watched for an hour as it slowly cooled.


    It was done.


    Baiyun reached into the pot with a pair of chopsticks and pulled out the hot pill, taking a moment to gaze at it.


    The pill was grey and grungy, rough to the touch and smelled of burnt herbs. To grade it by impurities would be ridiculous. It was closer to a solidified ball of impurities that had happened to have the properties of a pill.


    A proper Qi Recharge Pellet would be a scentless orb smooth to the touch and beautiful as a pearl, a gleaming orb that shone in the colour of the mineral used.


    Whatever he held right now looked more like a dirty old pebble.


    Baiyun sighed. He already knew this was the best outcome. In its current state, it was very inconspicuous. Even if he tried to convince someone it was a pill, they probably would only laugh. This would easily pass a random bag inspection.


    Still, his heart hurt at the sigh of it.


    He cleaned up everything around the cell and stuffed his equipment into his bag, before moving the bed back into its old position. But as he untied the blanket from the cells, he heard a raspy old voice from the cell opposite his.


    "Hehahah. Very interesting... You have created a pill even without a furnace or use of qi."


    Baiyun was suddenly on full alert.


    Qi sense could not be used here, so how did the prisoner know? Even if shadows could be seen through the blanket, the bed flipped onto its side should have covered that!


    Then, realisation struck him. The scent of the essence in the air... the old man must be a capable alchemist who could tell merely from the smell!


    Was he a fool? That too was a trick he used back on Guan Qiang''s mountain!


    Baiyun cursed himself. This had always been an old flaw of his. Whenever he got excited, he would tunnel-vision onto his goal and lose sight of the full picture. It was less of a problem in his past life due to his status, but in this life... that was very dangerous.


    He needed to resolve that somehow. But how? Habits ingrained after thousands of years were hard to break. He called the WanLing sect complacent, but was he not complacent in his own way as well? Perhaps that was the hubris that came with age.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    But that was him to worry about later. For now, he decided to test the waters with the prisoner.


    "You jest. How could that be considered a pill?" he said.


    Baiyun was not lying. In his eyes, it would be an insult to alchemy to call it a pill.


    "Haha... quite modest." the old prisoner laughed. "I''m quite impressed by your talent. Without the qi suppression of this prison and a proper World Cauldron, I wonder what you could do."


    World Cauldron? Baiyun frowned at the unfamiliar term, but he noted it down.


    It seemed the old man had no idea he was a servant, thinking of him as a regular alchemist. Which made sense: in what world would anyone expect a servant alchemist? Spellcasting and qi control were practically intertwined into Alchemy, a strange yet powerful marriage.


    "Say." the old man continued. "Do me a favour and pass me and slide me a few grain balls and some firewood, will you? I haven''t had a bite of anything in over a year."


    Baiyun raised an eyebrow.


    "You have no need for that as a cultivator. Eating mortal food will only accumulate impurities."


    "Hah. Were you not snacking on them either? I heard that familiar crunch, you hypocrite. Hehaha..." the old man laughed. "Can''t you let the elderly have a few joys in life?"


    Baiyun shook his head in disapproval, but he reached a hand out from his cell and tossed a few grain balls over anyway. The opposite cell was 2 metres away, but they still rolled between the old prisoner''s prison bars accurately.


    Perhaps it was a gesture of sympathy for a fellow alchemist who too had fallen low.


    The old man clapped. He snatched them from the ground and took bite after bite, relishing them.


    "Delicious... delicious!¡±


    A few pieces of firewood landed outside his cell next, too bulky to fly through the bars. A gaunt elderly hand reached out of the cell and pulled the firewood into the dark depths of his cell.


    Chik chik chik.


    A strange rubbing sound echoed, until finally, a spark appeared, revealing the old man was rubbing two pieces of firewood together. With the sheer brute force of a cultivator''s strength, just that friction was enough to ignite a flame.


    Baiyun watched as the prisoner made a campfire of his own.


    The old man took out a black glass bottle filled with water. Then he crushed the remaining grain balls into a fine powder with his hands and poured it into the bottle, placing it above the flames. Before long, the grain mixture began to bubble and cook.


    Baiyun seemed to have almost forgotten about his "pebble" as he watched the old man.


    His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed another detail. Inside the old man''s cell, a small formation had been carved onto the wall! Another few black bottles were stuck to it, the insides of their walls misty with condensate. This man was also a Formation Master!


    It seemed like he was far from the only vandal in this prison... just how negligent were the guards?


    Soon, the old man took the bottle off the flames and let it cool. The flames died down as he waited, now merely hot coals. But the old man laughed and spat into the bottle.


    "Hahaha! It seems I''ll be getting my hands on alcohol soon again!" he said.


    Alcohol? Baiyun was confused for a moment.


    Then realisation struck and he nearly recoiled from disgust. This man was using the yeast from his mouth for fermentation?! To call it uncouth would be an understatement!


    He might be an alchemist who had lost his dignity, but even he wasn''t as far gone as that man.


    Baiyun returned to minding his own business.


    Days went by in the dark.


    For better or worse, the guards did not seem to care. Not once did they come down to check on the prisoners. They did not offer food nor hydration, for it was not something cultivators above Foundational needed.


    Was that why he was allowed to keep his storage bag? Perhaps it was a subtle mercy from the Enforcer, realising the child was mortal and could actually starve. The other prisoners did not seem to have their storage bags.


    Baiyun fiddled with the pebble he had made, smoothing it idly. It had gathered the slightest wisp of qi, but for it to reach its capacity in such a qi deprived prison would probably take centuries.


    He was beginning to grow worried. Perhaps the Enforcers had shown him a tiny bit of mercy, but his supply of food and water was finite. It would run out eventually.


    But the sudden sound of clacking armour caught his ear and he perked up. Had a guard arrived to give him a meal handout, as an exception?


    The guard approached with a torch in hand, a small boy following him. From the faint light, it was enough to see a surprising face.


    "Mohei?" Baiyun widened his eyes.


    What was that kid doing here?


    Mohei ran over to the cell door and shook it.


    "Let him out!" he shouted. "He really is a disciple of Master Guan Qiang! He''s innocent!"


    "Understood." the guard nodded.


    Baiyun was filled with a conflicting swirl of emotions. Wasn''t this kid at odds with him? But most of all, he felt relief.


    He listened as the guard pulled out a key, opening the cell door with a jangle and the click of a mechanism.


    "Hmph. What were you thinking, going into the main district to play? You sure are unlucky!" Mohei walked into the cell with a huff.


    Unlucky? Baiyun thought to himself for a moment.


    Even this prison stay turned out to be a fortuitous encounter of sorts. While it was a strange thought, perhaps it could be said he had been quite lucky lately.


    "Nothing..." Baiyun said eventually.


    "Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" Mohei frowned. "Anyway, it''s about time you get back to training! Teacher will be displeased. Hmph!"


    He huffed as he grabbed Baiyun''s hand, prepared to drag him out from the cell. But the raspy voice of the old prisoner suddenly echoed.


    "Take this before you go. Hehaha." the old man laughed.


    He flicked his finger, sending a green pill flying towards Baiyun!


    "Stop!" the guard yelled from several metres away.


    His silhouette blurred as he appeared before the pill in a flash, snatching it away in an instant! A strong gust of wind rushed through the prison and the violent bang of displaced air echoed, followed by the loud clatter of his armour. The might of an expert body cultivator was no joke.


    The guard crushed the pill between his fingers with cold eyes.


    "Prisoners are not permitted to hand items to visitors. Contraband will be confiscated." he said in a monotone voice.


    The old man laughed loudly, his crooked teeth shining in the torchlight.


    "Confiscating? I don''t think it''d be possible to return the item in that state."


    The guard did not grace him with an answer.


    Mohei stared at the old man, then turned to Baiyun with doubtful eyes.


    "You know that old man?" he asked.


    Baiyun shook his head.


    "Nah. I just talked to him a little while I was trapped here."


    Mohei nodded wisely.


    "Makes sense. Old people are lonely, so if you talk to them for a bit, they''ll give you free stuff!"


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched and he nearly spluttered. The audacity of this kid! When would the day come when youths respected elders?


    He coughed loudly, hurriedly changing the topic.


    "Did Guan Qiang send you here to fetch me?"


    "Hmph. It was my idea! He said you must have given up on training and run away." Mohei huffed. "I was mad since I thought you were running away from our duel, so I asked my butler to investigate! Who would have thought you''d be locked here of all places?"


    Baiyun was completely speechless.


    Really? That was the reason he was saved? There was something he found deeply frustrating about that.


    Did the Enforcers not inform Guan Qiang of the incident, or was he the type to ignore mail? Baiyun suddenly had a headache.


    "Hurry. I don''t have all day." the guard said.


    "Sorry!"


    Mohei and Baiyun followed him out of the prison.


    As Baiyun stepped out, he squinted his eyes, nearly blinded by the sunlight. But to breathe fresh air once more was beyond delightful, so he could not complain.


    Mohei dragged him across the city, into a bathhouse to wash up, then bought several steamed buns for him. Passersby watched as Baiyun was dragged out of the main district''s gates, still chewing on the buns slowly.


    "Thanks, Mohei."


    "Hmph. I just don''t want to bring you to the elder looking like a beggar. No need to thank me."


    Baiyun supposed disregard was better than ridicule. But he was still grateful.


    As he walked alongside Mohei on a stone path, presumably in the direction of the Martial Temple, he reached into his storage bag. But he suddenly paused.


    Beside several extra pieces of stolen Undying Basalt, a green pill was now there!


    His eyes widened. That crazy old man somehow snuck a second pill into his bag while the guard was distracted! He hadn''t noticed at all! How did that maniac do it, and who exactly was he?


    Baiyun reached out to touch the pill, sensing its contents briefly.


    It was some sort of recovery pill, clouded with a large amount of impurities. No, there was something familiar about it. The impurities were suspended in a certain manner, similar to how they were in Guan Qiang''s body elixir.


    Perhaps there was a seal in this pill as well. Was the old man trying to take him as a disciple for whatever reason? Baiyun wondered if he was overthinking it. He needed more knowledge in the field of Formations to be sure.


    "What are you looking for?" Mohei asked.


    Baiyun shrugged and pulled out his pebble. The smell of burning herbs had long since faded.


    "Nothing much,"


    The boy glanced at it briefly.


    "That''s an ugly pebble. You should find a nicer one."


    Baiyun let out a forced laugh.


    As they continued their walk, Baiyun focused on the pellet, sensing the wisps of qi that entered it.


    With how impure it was, he didn''t really have plans to eat it anymore. But he could still make use of it to sense the surrounding qi without having to expose his divine thread.


    <hr>


    Elsewhere.


    <hr>


    Within the Martial Temple, the light spirit confronted Guan Qiang, trembling with anger. He sat on a chair with his back turned to her, reading something on a desk.


    "I entrusted him to you and you let this happen? Why won''t you bail him out?" she shouted.


    The martial elder turned his chair, finally facing her.


    "Earth has informed you of Baiyun''s actions. Or are you still unaware?" he said. "He is simply too reckless. A little time down in a cell would do well to humble him.


    "What? There has to be a better way to go about it! How could you leave him to starve there?"


    "Starve?" Guan Qiang harrumphed. "I happened to have a look in his storage bag not too long ago. He has more than enough food to last a week."


    "No child should be left alone in the dark for a whole week!"


    "Enough! For a mere spirit, you are too insolent. Do not question the way I teach."


    Guan Qiang waved his hand and chased her out, slamming the door shut.


    The light spirit cursed to herself.


    It was just as she feared. Guan Qiang had taken interest in Baiyun''s potential and wanted to train him as a Combat Servant. He would be moulded merely into another tool of the sect.

 0011: Ying Shis Invitation

    The disciples had already gathered by the time Mohei returned with Baiyun in tow.


    All around, the children whispered to each other, something about how he had skipped classes for a week.


    Baiyun merely smiled and waved at them, much to their confusion.


    The two large wolves and the armoured pups were present as well. It seemed he had arrived right as combat training was about to begin.


    Guan Qiang turned to Baiyun with his arms crossed.


    "Baiyun! Where have you been all week?" he roared.


    The children and the wolves quietened.


    "Teacher-" Mohei started.


    But the elder hushed him with a finger.


    "Let him speak for himself."


    "O-okay!"


    Mohei backed off.


    Baiyun took a deep breath and readied himself.


    "I have no excuses, elder! I will work hard and never miss another lesson!" he shouted.


    Mohei stared at him in confusion. His eyes seemed to ask Baiyun why he didn''t tell the truth.


    But as a former sect elder, Baiyun understood authority well. Were he to speak of his arrest due to the lack of a disciple seal here, he would be indirectly blaming the elder. Such matters should be discussed in private, away from the prying eyes of other disciples.


    And truth be told, it was his fault for not taking the elixir.


    Baiyun suddenly had a thought and sweated. Was the real reason why he was given a second elixir because Guan Qiang noticed he still lacked a disciple seal? Only for him to still lack the disciple seal even now.


    If he were in Guan Qiang shoes, he''d probably assume he was a naughty disciple selling the elixir, forsaking power merely for a little pocket change. Perhaps that was why those 5 tokens had even been tossed to him. He began to sweat, hoping he wouldn''t be questioned.


    "Baiyun. I accept your apology for now." Guan Qiang spoke slowly. "But it is easier to make promises than to keep them. The next time you fool around again, you will face severe punishment!"


    "Understood!" Baiyun lowered his head.


    "You will not be allowed to participate in the spars today. Sit to the side and reflect."


    Baiyun was slightly dismayed but he nodded.


    Not being able to obtain a pill this week was definitely troubling. With every week, his disadvantage would grow as the other disciples received more resources from their families. But then again, he wasn''t sure how he would manage another win, now that the wolves were more wary of mouth attacks.


    Guan Qiang suddenly grabbed him by the scuff.


    Baiyun dangled motionlessly as the burly man plopped him on the ground a good distance away, where he could only spectate the fights. A small wolf began to growl, but one of the large wolves shushed it with a paw.


    The pup¡­ wasn''t it the one he fought previously? Seemed like the beast was holding a grudge. Baiyun paid it no heed.


    The matches soon began.


    With snarls and howls from the wolves and yells from the disciples, the younglings clashed. Baiyun watched disinterestedly, pondering his choices in the coming days.


    It ended uneventfully, bruised and crying disciples dotting the ground as Guan Qiang bandaged their wounds.


    There were only two winners today, Fei An, the young maiden of wind who swung meteor hammers like a maniac, along with Ying Shi, the muscular boy of the metal attribute who fought with raw strength and endurance.


    Sanguang, the lightning boy who had "won" in a ridiculous manner previously did not win this time, having faced a fiercer wolf.


    Guan Qiang handed the winners their prizes before raising his voice.


    "Training resumes!"


    Disgruntled groans echoed from the mass of disciples, but they did not complain this time.


    Baiyun walked to one of the weapon racks and took an iron spear. Last week, all he did was physical training, but it was about time he honed his skill with a weapon.


    A low swing, to sweep the legs of an enemy.


    An unexpected strike from the back of the spear, right to the chin.


    A quick parry, followed by a thrust right to the heart.


    Baiyun envisioned various situations, wielding his spear accordingly.


    Guan Qiang watched as he swung and thrust his weapon. It was hard to tell what the elder was thinking.


    Hours passed uninterrupted. Soon, training ended, the disciples dismissed.


    Baiyun was wiping the sweat off his face when he heard someone approach. It was the girl who had ranked 1st both times in the combat trials.


    "Hi. I''m Fei An!" she smiled and waved.


    Baiyun stared at her quizzically. What did this kid want?


    "I''m Baiyun, nice to meet you." he said tentatively.


    "Ahhh, Baiyun! Sorry, I tend to forget the names of strangers, hehe!" Fei An scratched her head. "But enough of that. I wanna know! Why did you drop out of training for a week? It doesn''t seem to me like you''re the type to skip out on training. Did something come up?"


    In less than 10 seconds, Fei An had rattled out that entire barrage of questions. Baiyun was a little speechless. She certainly spoke as quickly as the wind she harnessed.


    "It''s nothing important," he said.


    Baiyun waved and turned aside. He picked up his spear again, showing he wanted to continue his training without being disturbed.


    But Fei An circled around him in an instant and back in front of him.


    "Hm? Now I''m even more curious. Tell me! Tell me!"


    Tsk! Hyperactive kids were so hard to deal with!


    Baiyun tried to turn away again, but she was too fast to look away from, constantly running back into view as if she was anchored to the middle of his vision. He looked up and she flew into the air. He looked down and she squatted down, her head looking straight up.


    The remaining disciples laughed at the sight.


    Meanwhile, sturdy footsteps approached. Ying Shi, the muscular boy walked over, his face as unmoving as stone.


    The other top contestant as well? Baiyun''s eyes twitched. Was him disappearing for a week really enough to garner such attention?


    "Enough-"


    But before Baiyun could finish his words, he widened his eyes and jumped backwards. In the next moment, a blur shot past where his arm previously was.


    Ying Shi gazed at the arm he had swung, opening and closing his fingers in a grabbing motion.


    "Hm. You have gotten faster in that week." the muscular boy mused.


    Were it not for the boons of the Rock Ginseng Pill, Baiyun wouldn''t have been fast enough to dodge. Though, his improvements came to a halt after being tossed into the prison cell. After all, training without knowing if his food supply would run out was suicidal.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    But he noticed something. Ying Shi had been holding back against the wolves! If he showed such speed in his fights, he could have dodged many of the wolf attacks and punched much harder, possibly even getting 1st instead of Fei An.


    Baiyun stared at the boy, then at his own arm warily. With how frail his body was, it was possible his arm might have been torn off if he had been a little slower.


    "Oh, oh, oh! I know now!" Fei An suddenly chimed in, waving her hands. "You''ve been doing training in secret, haven''t you? Trying to hide your growth from the other students to shock them? That sounds fun! But you should follow the rules and attend your lessons, or Teacher will expel you! Hahaha!"


    "Thanks for the advice."


    With those words, Baiyun resumed his training. Fei An continued to bother him, but after getting ignored for several minutes, she eventually left, bored.


    But Ying Shi watched the entire time, his arms crossed.


    "What is it?" Baiyun asked.


    "Your eyes are sharp and your instincts good. But your body is far too slow to keep up." Ying Shi spoke. "Right now, what you lack most is not skill, but actual strength."


    This kid. Baiyun shook his head.


    "Easier said than done. A servant like me can''t get the resources needed for that on a whim."


    Ying Shi let out a low laugh.


    "The solution is simple. Join my hired guards as a servant of the Ying clan. I will provide you with what you need."


    Baiyun nearly dropped his spear. What in the world was the kid saying?


    Who invites someone to work for them after just a few moments of talk? And even if Ying Shi saw his potential, wouldn''t an invitation the previous week make more sense? Though, he had to admit the boy had an eye for talent.


    But it was far too sudden. Baiyun did not know him well enough and being contracted to a clan would almost certainly make him more restricted than he already was. That limitation was the last thing he needed right now.


    "I''m sorry, but I must refuse." he shook his head.


    "Hm. A shame, but I commend your approach. You want to rely on yourself alone."


    Ying Shi looked pleased, but Baiyun stared at him disdainfully.


    What the hell was this kid talking about? Weren''t they both relying on the martial elder to train?


    Baiyun stabbed his spear towards the air in annoyance. It pierced through a leaf floating in the air, adorning the shaft of the weapon.


    "Do not fret. I still have another opportunity for you. I will be hosting a hunting party with some of the disciples here tomorrow, and I offer you an invitation." Ying Shi reached out a hand.


    "You can keep the spoils or accept rewards based on your contribution. We will be heading out of sect territory into the Veiled Forest, but an elder will accompany us as a guardian."


    "The sect lets you leave freely just for hunting?" Baiyun asked.


    "Naturally. Why would it stop us?"


    Baiyun thought to himself for a moment.


    It seemed the WanLing sect was lenient, at least to those above servants. In his previous life, elders and disciples would only be permitted to exit the sect after signing troublesome permits that detailed the reason, location and duration of the trip.


    Baiyun hesitated briefly at the hand offered to him.


    His first instinct was that this sounded suspicious. He didn''t know Ying Shi''s motivations at all.


    But he looked at Ying Shi''s face to gauge him. The boy''s face was nearly emotionless, but his fire eyes had a certain earnesty to them.


    Having lived such a long previous life and having taught many young disciples at his sect''s request, he trusted his own judgement of people. Still, it was not perfect; an experienced liar could trip him up. And he didn''t exactly enjoy Ying Shi''s violent introduction earlier.


    So Baiyun decided to do one last test.


    He reached out and shook Ying Shi''s outstretched hand. Divine Touch activated and deactivated in a flash, lasting for a mere 0.01 seconds!


    Ying Shi suddenly frowned, seemingly slightly confused. A cultivator''s senses were sharp, so even just that was enough for him to feel something was off. But it was nothing more than a strange feeling.


    From such a brief activation of Divine Touch, Baiyun gleaned almost nothing about Ying Shi, unlike when he had used it on herbs.


    The only information he received: Ying Shi was sincere and without malice. This application of Divine Touch was dubbed "Intention Reading" by Baiyun. With his current strength, he could only use it on Qi Gathering cultivators without exposing himself.


    Baiyun smiled.


    "Alright. I''ll be troubling you then." he said.


    The two of them finished their handshake. Baiyun quickly continued to think through the details of the invitation.


    Having an elder to follow them was quite reassuring. Though, if any incidents occurred, they would certainly protect the young masters of the sect as top priority. Even if he was the only one in danger, the elder might deem it too much trouble to save him and turn a blind eye.


    It was best to assume no one would save him from the dangers of the wilderness.


    But right now he was in desperate need of resources.


    He did tell himself to be less reckless... but surely, this was much safer than venturing into the caverns alone? Safety came in numbers, after all.


    "Excellent. Then, follow me to my residence after training." Ying Shi said.


    "So soon?" Baiyun was surprised.


    Wasn''t the hunting trip tomorrow?


    "I despise when people are late. The best solution is to gather them ahead of time."


    Baiyun nodded. It was a bit of a heavy-handed way to force punctuality, but he understood Ying Shi''s thoughts.


    "Alrigh-"


    "Wait! Why are you inviting him but not me?" Mohei''s shout came from a distance.


    The boy ran over, waving his arms in protest.


    "I''m at the 9th stage of Qi Gathering now! And he''s just a servant!" Mohei pointed at Baiyun. "I wanted to join in the past, but you never let me!"


    Baiyun was speechless.


    "Invite you? Have you not realised why you were rejected?" Ying Shi spoke with contempt in his eyes.


    Mohei was intimidated and took a step back, but he mustered up another shout.


    "How would I know if you don''t tell me?"


    "Then I¡¯ll be blunt. You might have decent cultivation, but what of it? You are childish, reckless and unskilled."


    "N-no! I''m not!"


    "If that was it, perhaps it would still be acceptable. Sometimes raw strength is enough." Ying Shi said. "But we are hunting. As a fire cultivator, do you plan to damage our spoils by burning them to a char?"


    "Ack! Um... I won''t use my fire then!"


    "A fire cultivator, unable to use his own flames? No one needs a phoenix plucked of its feathers. You''d be nothing more than a useless deadweight."


    "But... but..."


    Mohei began to babble but was unable to think of anything under the pressure. It didn''t help that nosy disciples were watching the show. Tears fell down his cheeks.


    "Y-you big bully!" the boy began to bawl uncontrollably.


    Ying Shi looked slightly taken aback for a moment, but his expression quickly hardened.


    "Hmph. Blame yourself for relying on fire too much."


    What else would a fire cultivator rely on? Baiyun shook his head internally.


    This Ying Shi kid was too obsessed with acting aloof. Such an act should be reserved for sect elders, rather than children who knew nothing of the world.


    Fine. He decided to speak up for Mohei. Some might have called him callous and cruel in his past life, but he was not an ingrate.


    "Ying Shi, Mohei, let''s discuss elsewhere." he said.


    "Fine by me. I don''t exactly enjoy nosy onlookers." Ying Shi said.


    Mohei looked at Baiyun with a confused look as he led them a slight distance into the forest, away from the temple.


    They were now in a serene clearing, surrounded by trees and faint birdsong.


    "So?" Ying Shi asked.


    Baiyun took a deep breath.


    He spent the next few minutes telling Ying Shi about how he ended up in the prison, locked away for nearly a week before Mohei saved him. Naturally, the inconvenient details were excluded.


    There was a moment of silence. Ying Shi stared at him speechlessly while Mohei fidgetted.


    "You''re much stupider than you look, huh?" Ying Shi said finally.


    A vein bulged on Baiyun''s head.


    "I won''t make excuses," he huffed.


    "Good. I wasn''t planning to listen to them anyway." Ying Shi said.


    He stared at Mohei, who looked away in a hurry. The tall boy shook his head and sighed.


    "I have no idea why you thought this would convince me to accept him. Do you take me as someone soft?"


    Could Ying Shi not read between the lines? Baiyun decided to just say it straight.


    "You''re trying to recruit me, right? Since Mohei saved me, I''d like you to make an exception and take him along too."


    He didn''t see why else Ying Shi would take him to the hunting trip of all people. Even if Mohei couldn''t use his flames, his brute strength was still far above a servant like him.


    Also, Mohei coming along would be extra insurance, just in case Intention Reading didn''t get the full picture. That would give him a convenient young master to hide behind.


    Ying Shi paused for a moment.


    "Fine, I''ll accept him. Perhaps his spirit of comradery would be of use."


    More pretentious words. Baiyun suppressed a smile.


    But Mohei was not as pleased, practically fuming as he jumped up and down.


    "What! I don''t need your pity! I''m not joining your stupid group!" he shouted.


    Ying Shi frowned and cracked his knuckles.


    "Don''t insult my party because of your useless pride. If I were less tolerant, I''d bash your skull in."


    "Eeek!"


    Mohei squeaked and hid behind Baiyun.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. Mohei had beaten him to the chase faster than he could ever imagine, turning him into the convenient shield instead.


    "You wanted to join, didn''t you?" he whispered to Mohei. "If he thinks you can''t do it, then prove him wrong! Don¡¯t just run away."


    "Well... "


    Mohei spent a good minute twiddling his thumbs.


    "When you put it that way. I guess I''ll join..."

 0012: Young Masters Mansion

    Beside a large lake with a massive bridge spanning its length, a lone mansion with a black roof stood, surrounded by countless fruit trees. Many metal poles were stuck into the grounds beside it, unlit paper lanterns hanging from them. A training ground was close by, a sandy clearing with racks of weapons lined up.


    Ying Shi and Mohei ran over from a distance as they followed a stone path, stopping before the mansion.


    "Whoaaa!" Mohei said, waving his hands around excitedly.


    Meanwhile, 10 metres behind. Baiyun heaved as he ran with all his might. He caught up with them shortly, hunching over with his hands on his knees and wheezing.


    His knees were shaky and completely numb, but he suppressed the feeling and channeled his soul to mend his muscles.


    "Hm. Not bad." Ying Shi said.


    "I did well?" Mohei perked up.


    "Not you."


    "Eh?"


    Baiyun cursed to himself. When Ying Shi and Mohei took off, he had to push himself to his absolute limit to keep up, running out of stamina in a mere 10 minutes.


    He puppetted his legs and followed them further into the mansion grounds, taking a better look at the surroundings.


    As he examined the metal poles with lanterns, the weapon racks and the fruit trees, he frowned. He hadn''t used Divine Touch on them, learning the hard way from before that perhaps attempting to touch everything was a faux pas. But all of these appeared to merely be ordinary mortal items, which puzzled him.


    Was it a sign Ying Shi wasn''t that valued by his clan, or was even this a massive expense here in the WanLing sect? Baiyun was used to mortal materials being practically worthless; he still didn''t have a clear grasp of the economic situation in this world.


    Meanwhile, Mohei was very excited.


    "Ying Shi, Ying Shi!" he said, pointing everywhere. "This whole mansion belongs to you? All of this?"


    "Naturally." Ying Shi said.


    "Aaaaaahh, that''s so awesome! I''m so jealous, I wish my clan gave me my own secret hideout too!"


    "Perhaps after you''ve proven your value to your clan, they might consider such a thing. Until then, dream on."


    "Meanie!" Mohei pouted angrily.


    "I speak only the truth."


    From Mohei''s reaction, It seemed even just this humble mansion was quite a prestige, at least to young masters of their age.


    Somehow, despite Ying Shi having had no interest in recruiting Mohei earlier, the two were now bantering away. Baiyun was slightly speechless by how he, the "recruited" had now ended up as the third wheel. He decided to leave the two of them to their conversation and wandered off slightly.


    As he approached the massive lake, he suddenly spotted something. Fei An was hanging upside down from the bridge, the ends of her long hair submerged in the water like a paintbrush. Her eyes were focused as her hands reached into the water.


    This annoying kid was invited to the hunt too? Baiyun supposed it made sense given her strength.


    Ying Shi glanced over in Baiyun''s direction, then widened his eyes as he spotted her.


    "Fei An, what do you think you''re doing?" he yelled.


    "Ah!"


    Fei An flipped back onto the bridge, flustered.


    "I have told you many times. This is a lake of ornamental fish, you are not permitted to fish here!"


    Ying Shi walked past Baiyun and onto the bridge, approaching the troublemaker.


    "I wasn''t planning to eat them! I was going to release them back afterwards!" she protested.


    "Fei An. I have made this clear many times. I don''t care what your intentions are: Do not harass my fish!"


    As the two began to argue, the door of the manor swung open, a young boy running out.


    "Fei An! Stop! You''re embarrassing me!" he yelled.


    "Ah! Jingfeng! I''m not going to listen to your nagging... so... bye!"


    With those words, Fei An leapt into the air and flew far into the distance, laughing all the while.


    "Come back!" Jingfeng yelled.


    But he could only look helplessly as the speck that was Fei An grew smaller and smaller.


    "Ying Shi! I''m really sorry about my big sister!" Jingfeng ran over to the two of them, bowing repeatedly in apology.


    Ying Shi shook his head and crossed his arms.


    "Raise your head," he said. "Why apologise when you''re not at fault? This is between me and her."


    "But I''m supposed to keep a close eye on her..." Jingfeng mumbled. "Our patriarch heard big sis was causing trouble, so he told me to supervise her..."


    "Enough of that." Ying Shi waved his hand, shooing him away. "I have no interest in hearing the ways you blame yourself. "Baiyun, Mohei, it''s about time I introduced you to the rest of the team."


    "Yay! We''re part of the team!" Mohei cheered.


    "For now."


    "Hmph!"


    Ying Shi marched to the mansion with them in tow and opened the door.


    "Sorry, Ying Shi!" Jingfeng said. "I need to chase my sister down, so I won''t be able to attend."


    "No worries." Ying Shi said.


    Jingfeng nodded in gratitude then took off. The remaining three entered the mansion.


    Inside was a huge room lit with warm orange lamps, various shelves and boxes of miscellaneous supplies lined against every wall possible. 13 youths were gathered, most of them standing around a round table covered in various wooden boards and game pieces, some of them holding bags of tokens. The rest sat to the side, tending to weapons or reading from manuals.


    Baiyun noted that 10 of them were dressed in a certain uniform, likely guards of Ying Shi''s clan. It seemed to be the guard team Ying Shi wanted to recruit him into. He stared at them doubtfully, noting none of them were older than the disciples they supposedly protected. At such young ages, were they an actual effective group or just a play group formed by a young master''s whims?


    The uniformed group stood up and bowed toward Ying Shi, who merely nodded.


    "You''ve been taking your sweet time to arrive, I see."


    A muscular woman in her twenties approached, crossing her arms. Despite her bulk, she carried herself with mannerisms befitting that of a noble. Amidst the children, she was like a giant that towered over the rest of the group.


    "I had matters to attend to, elder sister Yingtao." Ying Shi said. "These two will be joining us on this expedition, Baiyun and Mohei."


    Baiyun noted the lady''s face had a remarkable resemblance to Ying Shi''s. In this case, "elder sister" was quite literal. But her face was far from stoic unlike his; while she wasn''t wearing her heart on her sleeves, her face had a slightest inkling of amusement from seeing her little brother.


    Her aura was restrained so it was hard to guess her cultivation, but it was strong. He wondered if she was the elder who supervised them.


    "Oh?" the woman stared at them.


    But while Yingtao did not have much to say, a disciple stood up from the table. He was a young boy with lightning-shaped scars and a tinge of yellow in his black hair. His eyes were full of contempt as he stared at Baiyun and Mohei.


    Baiyun recognised him. It was Sanguang, the kid who "beat" a wolf after struggling to prey its mouth open for a whole 10 minutes.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "A reject and a useless servant." he scoffed. "What are you two doing here?"


    Ying Shi didn''t answer, but a short young girl who held a long staff looked rather annoyed.


    "Do you have to do this every time?" she said.


    "It''s none of your business, Qinghe!"


    Mohei clenched his fist angrily.


    "Hmph. You''re just jealous because Baiyun scored above you!" he shouted. "And you call me a reject? Fine, let''s have a duel then!"


    "Ridiculous! He''s a weakling who only won because of a fluke!" Sanguang harrumphed. "Since you want a beating, who am I to refuse? Come at me! And you too!"


    He made a "come at me" gesture at Baiyun, who sighed. Again with the pointless infighting and duel requests. To think Sanguang would still be holding a grudge over such a small thing. Kids were such a handful.


    Baiyun turned to Ying Shi to see his reaction.


    For a subordinate to openly question the new members was to question the leader''s ability to recruit. Sanguang might have spoken carelessly without thinking, but in Baiyun''s eyes, influenced by the strict laws of his old sect, this alone was enough to warrant his removal from the team.


    But Ying Shi looked the same as ever, perhaps with even the slightest hint of amusement from the edge of his mouth. Baiyun was baffled.


    Yingtao spoke up.


    "I suppose it''s a good time for each of you to show your capabilities to the team anyway." she said. "Come to the training grounds."


    The chaperone was encouraging the fight too? What exactly were those siblings thinking?


    Ying Shi led the disciples out, the guards marching behind them. She looked around briefly and confirmed no one was missing, then nodded.


    CLAP!


    Yingtao let out a dramatic clap and the ground began to rumble, dust billowing to knee level. Earth and soil crumbled, the tip of a massive boulder piercing through much like a bamboo shoot. It continued to rise, until it reached the height of a house.


    The boulder had a strong earth scent and was a patchwork of textures grey and brown.


    "Whoa!"


    Mohei ran up to it and gave it a few slaps, confirming the rock was in fact rock solid.


    One of the young guards clapped excitedly with a smile, but no one else was clapping so he awkwardly slowed his hands to a halt. But at the last moment, Mohei began to clap as well. The guard turned over in surprise, then quickened his claps once more.


    Yingtao gave them a baffled look briefly before resuming her speech.


    "We will demonstrate our strength here. Sanguang, Mohei, I have no interest in you injuring each other, so compete here instead."


    "Ehhh?" Sanguang cried out in dismay. "I''m a lightning cultivator, this is an unfair matchup! I want a proper duel, not this!"


    Mohei began to laugh.


    "What''s wrong? Are you scared you''d lose?" he jeered.


    "Shut up! Your fire attacks won''t do much either!"


    Yingtao flicked both of them on the forehead. Baiyun nodded. It seemed he had misunderstood her earlier.


    "Ack!"


    "I''m not letting you roast each other alive with fire and lightning. Just suck it up." she said.


    "Grrrr..."


    Neither of the two seemed happy, but Yingtao began to glare which quickly shut them up.


    Baiyun meanwhile frowned as he examined the boulder. With its irregular composition of whatever happened to be beneath the ground, he would certainly find many weak points with Divine Touch. But he wasn''t strong enough to do much even with that advantage.


    With his meagre strength, it took him thousands of attacks merely to chip a wall of Undying Basalt. Even if this boulder was nowhere as strong, he wouldn''t exactly look good if it took him 10-30 attacks to remove a few chunks from the wall.


    "Who will go first?" Yingtao asked.


    The clapping guard raised his hand almost too eagerly.


    "Master Yingtao, let me demonstrate!"


    Perhaps eager to wash off his embarrassment from earlier, he rushed to a weapon rack and grabbed a halberd. He spun it in his hands and stirred the winds slightly, blurring the weapon into a whirling white circle.


    "Hah!"


    He yelled as he leapt high into the air, slamming the halberd downwards! A loud bang echoed through the air as half the weapon sunk into the boulder. He winced as the impact shook his hands violently, the pole of the halberd visibly vibrating, but he barely held on before letting go.


    Baiyun looked serious as he stared at the spider-webbing cracks on the boulder. Even if the kid made use of gravity and momentum, not to mention an unrealistic attack that was easy to dodge in actual combat, this was quite the firepower for a Qi Gatherer.


    He hadn''t confirmed the guard''s cultivation stage, but somehow he got the feeling the guard was still far from the Foundational stage.


    "Not bad." Yingtao said.


    Not bad? Baiyun frowned. Were all the disciples here as monstrous?


    One by one, the guards demonstrated their skills, damaging the boulder to a similar extent. The tall boulder was covered in cracks, multiple weapons sticking out of it. By now, the entire boulder was covered in cracks, seemingly about to shatter at any moment.


    Baiyun took back his words. Despite their age, these were all fairly competent guards.


    Yingtao gestured to Ying Shi, and he nodded back.


    "The guards are done demonstrating. Baiyun, you''re up first!" Ying Shi said.


    First again? The guards had already softened the rocks, but Baiyun was still dismayed. He touched the boulder and activated Divine Touch.


    The cracks had spread through the boulder a lot. There was a huge fault that looked promising, but if he split the entire boulder in a single blow, it would cause an uproar! If they overestimated him, he would likely be placed on the front line of their formation, putting himself into needless danger.


    Baiyun was staring hard at the weapon rack when Jingfeng''s shout suddenly rang out.


    "Sorry! It took a while for me to find her!"


    High in the air, Jingfeng ran over with a lasso in hand, dragging Fei An along as she floated disgruntledly.


    "Ahaha! Fei An, he turned you into a kite!" Mohei laughed.


    Fei An suddenly rushed towards him, yanking Jingfeng forward until he fell forward.


    "Eek!" Mohei yelped.


    "Big sis!" Jingfeng yelled.


    "Yeah? I''ll turn you into a kite too!" Fei An grinned devilishly. "Take this- Ow!"


    Ying Shi suddenly flicked her on the forehead, interrupting the floating spell she was about to cast on Mohei.


    "Enough." Ying Shi said. "Demonstrations have begun."


    He pointed to the side, where the disciples and guards were waiting their turn.


    "Not fair." Fei An grumbled. "Only adults are supposed to be able to do the finger flick! You''re not any older than me! Not fair! Not fair! Cheater!"


    "I have never heard of such a rule." Ying Shi said.


    Fei An was about to argue, but Jingfeng got up from the ground and dragged her away, wiping the mud from his scowling face.


    Baiyun watched the farce speechlessly. Having dealt with troublesome young disciples in his past life, he could empathise with Jingfeng.


    At the same time, he had finally made his decision. He reached out and grabbed a bow and quiver.


    He didn''t have the physical strength of the disciples here, but even if his arrows couldn''t dig far into the hide of spirit beasts, it would at least serve as support.


    Baiyun imagined a quick scenario. As a spirit beast rushed towards a disciple carrying a mace, he released an arrow aimed at its eye. The beast panicked and dodged, leaving an opening for the disciple to bash its skull in!


    He nodded to himself. It wasn''t flashy, but the most realistic way he could make himself useful given his current strengths. And most importantly, firing arrows from the back was the safest bet.


    Alchemy was an art that required the most precise of hand movements, the balance of elements and the most delicate of qi control. Even the smallest of mistakes could lead to catastrophic failure, even cauldron explosions in the worst case.


    Compared to that, how difficult could using a simple bow be?


    He slotted an arrow into his bow confidently.


    "A bow? What''s that going to do against a boulder?" Sanguang laughed.


    But Baiyun didn''t answer. He was going to aim at the hilt of every weapon, striking all of them sequentially.


    He aimed the arrow and closed an eye; a strange air of focus came into the air. The other disciples grew silent, sensing his seriousness.


    Whoosh!


    The arrow shot through the air, piercing it in a perfectly straight line. There was no thud of stone being stuck, only the faint whisper of wind.


    Baiyun turned away.


    "What happened? Did he pierce the entire boulder somehow?" Mohei gasped.


    "No." Ying Shi said. "He missed."


    Yingtao, who had remained composed until now suddenly burst into laughter. Hearing her, the other disciples began to laugh as well.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. He thought he had aimed that perfectly, but the string bounced in an unexpected way, sending the arrow veering off course!


    "It''s the first time I''ve used a bow in my life." Baiyun coughed.


    Tsk... if only he had practiced with the bow before this...


    "Then why''d you use it?" Mohei asked.


    Baiyun was silent. It wasn''t as if he could say he was overconfident and assumed aiming a bow would be child''s play.


    Sanguang was laughing the hardest, jeering at Baiyun with childish taunts.


    "Baiyun, go beat him up! He only knows how to say stupid things!" Mohei yelled.


    But Baiyun had little interest in fighting a kid over petty squabbles. He turned to Ying Shi, who seemed indifferent. He still wasn''t going to do anything?


    Seeing Baiyun''s questioning look, Ying Shi finally turned over.


    "Do you expect me to resolve your conflicts? Resolve it yourself through battle." Ying Shi scoffed.


    His sister sighed and shook her head.


    Baiyun frowned. From how resigned Yingtao looked, it didn''t seem like she planned to stop him. Did this kid have a screw loose? What sane person would encourage their team to bicker and fight?


    "Ying Shi." he said. "Your sister told us not to duel, or we''d injure each other."


    "Don''t worry." Ying Shi said. "I''ll pay for the recovery elixirs."


    Baiyun was left speechless.


    "What''s wrong? Chickening out?" Sanguang said.


    Baiyun stared at him, then at his own bow. He thought to himself for a moment. If practice was what he needed...


    "Fine. You''re on."


    Baiyun picked up the bow again but picked a quiver full of padded arrows this time. His aim might not be there yet, but it seemed a practice target had offered itself to him.


    He didn''t feel any anger towards Sanguang, but something within seemed to compel him. Something he didn''t understand.

 0013: Talent

    "Didn''t you say you''ve never used a bow? Or are you just looking for an excuse for when you lose?" Sanguang jeered.


    Baiyun merely raised his bow.


    "Grr... you''re not even going to answer me? Fine, I''ll beat that attitude out of you!" Sanguang shouted as he grabbed a wooden spear. "Against something like you, I won''t even need to use my lightning!"


    The two of them eyed each other.


    "Enough chatter.!" Ying Shi declared. "Baiyun, Sanguang, your duel begins now!"


    There wasn''t a countdown?


    But Sanguang had already shotward spear-first, blurring as he rushed towards him! Baiyun was caught off guard; his pupils shrank to a pinpoint. For a moment, time seemed to slow.


    He channeled all his might into kicking upwards with his right leg, loosening the rest of his body to increase its range. Not enough... he puppetted his body with his soul at the same time as well!


    In the next second, Baiyun''s foot shot upwards with unbelievable speed, kicking the spear upwards! The onlookers watched in surprise as the weapon spun violently, shooting nearly 10 metres into the air.


    Baiyun''s face was covered in cold sweat. That was too close. Were he any weaker, he would not have made it before the weapon slammed into his ribs. Searing white pain screamed through the tendons of his right leg, stretched beyond their reasonable limit. He had avoided an attack, but he was now unable to run.


    Sanguang froze as he rushed past Baiyun, unable to process what happened. Baiyun saw an opportunity and took aim with his bow.


    But a shout echoed from behind.


    "Baiyun! Kick his ass!" Mohei shouted.


    "You wish!"


    Sanguang snapped back to his senses.


    Baiyun cursed at the sabotage, but decided it didn''t matter. Even without Mohei bringing Sanguang back to his senses unintentionally, he would have been frozen for another second or two at best.


    He unleashed the arrow. This time, it was far more accurate.


    It shot through the air towards the startled Sanguang, narrowly missing him and hitting a guard in the chest instead.


    "Hey!"


    Tsk. He was so much closer this time. If he had aimed a bow a little to the right and slightly lower...


    Baiyun narrowed his eyes as he slotted another arrow into his bow. Sanguang''s face was filled with anger as he reached out with glowing hands.


    "Lightning!"


    A thin lightning bolt shot through the air, striking Baiyun on his exposed arm!


    With a faint whirl, the spear had finally begun to fall. Sanguang grinned, reaching out a hand to snatch the falling weapon out of the air before brandishing it. A guard whistled at the smooth motion, and Sanguang began to feel rather smug.


    "Hehe. Do you see how outmatched you are now?" he laughed. "No one can dodge something the speed of light!"


    Baiyun frowned. What uneducated nonsense was that? Light was several thousand times faster than lightning! On his struck arm, arcs of lightning crackled across his skin and attempted to spread to the rest of his body like worms of light.


    "Do you feel it now? The paralysation?" Sanguang continued. "You''re finished!"


    With a yell, he lunged forward with his spear one more, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.


    But this time, Baiyun had anticipated it. He merely turned his body and raised his numbed leg. Sanguang''s spear shot past the target and he tripped on the foot, tumbling to the ground.


    "Gah!" Sanguang cried. "H-how?"


    Baiyun shook his head.


    While undodgeable lightning seemed powerful, most of its strength would be dissipated as it travelled through the air. Lightning cultivators were most dangerous when they managed to hit their target at point blank.


    Still, a normal qi gatherer would be hampered by that. But against a servant''s constitution, which lacked meridians and had a strong earth attribute? All he felt was an unpleasant tingle - there was little to no effect. In fact, he had done a better job disabling himself by overdoing his kick.


    Servants had many large detriments, but they still had a few traits that made a select few worth training. Such was why sects trained Combat Servants on occasion, though usually only those with a powerful secondary constitution.


    Baiyun pointed his bow at Sanguang''s forehead and let loose.


    "Ow!"


    This time, he hit something. Sanguang winced as the arrow bounced off his shoulder. Tsk. Baiyun clicked his tongue in frustration. His aim was off again. Next time, he would do it.


    He notched another arrow and fired, but Sanguang rolled away. Baiyun frowned. If not for that, he was certain he would have finally hit his target!


    "Stop rolling around!" he cursed, reaching for another arrow.


    "What? Why would I- eek!"


    Sanguang''s rebuttal was interrupted as Baiyun launched yet another arrow, forcing him to roll away yet again.


    Baiyun might not have perfected his aim against a moving target yet, but he was getting used to reloading, notching in every arrow faster and faster.


    Sanguang was reduced to dodging and rolling all over the ground as Baiyun let loose arrow after arrow like faulty artillery.


    The audience quickly split up as the arrows spewed everywhere, only 3 of the arrows actually hitting Sanguang, while 5 of them hit random disciples and guards instead! They booed at him, but were ignored.


    Baiyun''s aim was improving, but the faster he aimed the less accurate he got. And his target was no slouch at dodging either, rolling all over the ground like a cornered hedgehog.


    If Sanguang calmed down and allowed himself to be struck by a few arrows, he could ignore them and charge towards Baiyun with his weapon to regain his advantage. But he was inexperienced and panicked.


    Finally, he couldn''t take it anymore.


    "You... you are toying with me!" Sanguang huffed.


    His clothes were covered in dirt and his eyes were red, on the verge of crying. Baiyun began to feel awkward. Why did it feel like he was just bullying a child?


    "I''ll hit you this time," he promised.


    "What!?"


    Sanguang freaked out, but Baiyun closed his eyes for a second, the memory of every attempt rushing through his mind. Every missed shot and misstep, all the mental notes he had made on how he could do better.


    His eyes opened with a strange air of focus. He released an arrow once more.


    Thwack!


    Sanguang tried to roll away, but it stuck him on the back.


    "Ack!"


    "Your leg." Baiyun mumbled.


    Thwack.


    It struck Sanguang in the knee.


    "Your shoulder."


    Thwack.


    "Your stomach."


    Thwack.


    "Your arm."


    Thwack.


    "Stop. Stop!" Sanguang waved his hands in a fluster. "I give up!"The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    But Baiyun had a strange light in his eye and did not listen. He would utter a word, and the arrow would strike it. It was as if the bow had become an extension of his arms.


    "Enough." a stern voice rang out.


    Ying Shi''s sister snatched the bow out of his hands.


    "He forfeited. Do not dishonour your opponent any further." she frowned. "Or did you not toy with him enough?"


    "Uaaaah! Yingtao! He pretended to be bad with the bow just to bully me!" Sanguang grabbed her leg and began to cry.


    "Ah..." Baiyun raised his hands.


    His eyes now clear, he was slightly alarmed, realising he had overdone it. How had he gotten so carried away?


    "Sanguang. You mock your opponent, but cling to another when mocked in return?" Ying Shi said. "Do not degrade your dignity any further."


    "Hmph!"


    Sanguang wiped off his tears and ran off behind the boulder, peeking out to glare at Baiyun occasionally. Moheit was about to jeer, but a quick glare from Ying Shi shut him up.


    Ying Shi turned to Baiyun.


    "Baiyun. Since you are new to the world of cultivators, allow me to demonstrate something." he said, his muscles bulging.


    "Elder sister. Might I request a new boulder?" he clasped his hands together politely.


    "Hah. As you wish."


    Yingtao raised her hand and the old boulder rose into the air along with it. With a swipe to the left, the cracked stone was flung to the side with a loud thud that shook the very ground. She raised her other hand, and another boulder rose from the ground.


    "Many thanks, elder sister."


    Ying Shi marched to the new boulder, winding up his left arm.


    BANG!


    Like a spring released from its constraints, his fist shot forward and slammed into the boulder, smashing a crater the size of a head into it!


    Ying Shi punched again and again, each punch just as devastating and quick. With each punch, a crackle could be heard from the boulder, growing louder and louder.


    29 punches had been thrown, the boulder now covered in craters much like a moon. Ying Shi took a deep breath, before striking it with his strongest punch yet.


    "HAH!"


    As his fist struck it one last time, the boulder rumbled for a moment before violently exploding, shattering into countless fragments! Rock dust filled the air, and the disciples waved it away, coughing.


    Baiyun would have widened his eyes if not for the bad air conditions. The guards being so powerful despite being at Qi Gathering was still believable. But Ying Shi''s attacks were beyond reason.


    To have done this with his bare hands, this was on par with a low Foundational cultivator''s might!


    The simplest guess was that Ying Shi had honed his body cultivation far beyond his qi cultivation. But Baiyun felt like that didn''t add up either.


    Ying Shi''s attacks were still in-line with attacks on the 9th level of Qi Gathering. But somehow, it was as if a hidden force was behind his blows, amplifying his attacks by more than 10 times!


    "Whoaa!"


    The disciples cheered and clapped at the spectacle, despite already having seen it many times prior.


    Ying Shi looked pleased by the shock on Baiyun''s face.


    "Since you lack meridians as a servant, you need two things. Are you aware of them?" he asked.


    This again...


    "Body cultivation and techniques?" Baiyun asked with a frown.


    "Indeed. But I would only consider techniques partially correct." Ying Shi crossed his arms. "Learning techniques should only come after you have achieved enough Martial Expertise."


    Martial Expertise?


    For the next few minutes, Ying Shi explained how Martial Artists were ranked.


    Novice, Practitioner, Advanced, Master, Perfected.


    A Novice and Practitioner''s attacks would have "martial force" behind them, allowing them to attack with strength beyond their cultivation.


    An Advanced Artist would be able to penetrate defences with their attacks, damaging the opponent internally.


    A Master could imbue even a flick of the finger with the force of their entire body.


    As for the Perfected stage? Only legendary figures and powerful sect masters had attained such a grand thing.


    Baiyun''s frown deepened.


    At first, he thought it was merely a standard for skill. In his previous world, martial artists would simply train in their school of techniques and arts. There was no universal standard for "Martial Expertise".


    But after hearing about the effects, he grew baffled. Those phenomena did not sound like the result of expertise.


    "When you achieve a certain stage, those effects are imbued into every action of yours? Even when just picking up chopsticks to eat?" Baiyun asked.


    "Precisely." Ying Shi.


    "That sounds inconvenient," Mohei said in the background, but was ignored.


    "It''s not just a technique of sorts but activated unconsciously?" Baiyun said.


    "Somewhat, but I wouldn''t describe it so." Yingshi seemed deep in thought. "Martial Expertise becomes part of you, much like we move our limbs without further thought."


    Strange.


    Only Daos comprehended at the Dao Seeking stage should have universal effects. But the sparse qi of this world made reaching that stage impossible. Baiyun''s curiosity began to burn. Did the people of this world discover something truly revolutionary?


    Ying Shi watched as Baiyun contemplated.


    "It will be quite the arduous task to learn Martial Arts without a backer. It''s not too late to take upon my offer."


    Baiyun shook his head. This unique path seemed interesting to him, but he could learn it elsewhere instead. He had no intention of being shackled to the Ying Clan.


    "Then so be it." Ying Shi said.


    "No clan in the sect rivals the Arts of our clan," Yingtao said. "Don''t regret your decision."


    "Elder sister, don''t pester him."


    But a small hand suddenly tapped Ying Shi on the shoulder.


    Fei An stared at him with a grin. Ying Shi sighed and tossed a pear over his shoulder. She lunged at it like a feral beast and instantly devoured it.


    Baiyun decided it was not his place to question that.


    "You babbled on and on and on about Martial Mastery or whatever!" she mumbled, her mouth still full of pear. "But magic is still stronger! Yingtao, summon another boulder so I can demonstrate!"


    The older woman sighed but summoned another boulder.


    "Just watch me, I''m going to destroy it in one hit this time!" Fei An laughed.


    With a dramatic jump, she flew high into the air, disappearing into a speck in the sky. It was a tremendous distance away, but her voice boomed loudly. She was using a wind spell to amplify her voice!


    "This is what I call a real meteor hammer!"


    Beside the tiny speck, a massive sphere suddenly appeared. It whirled in the air once as it grew bigger and bigger.


    A few seconds later, the team finally figured out what was going on. That maniac had swung an obscenely huge meteor hammer out of her bag!


    "What the hell?"


    "Run!"


    With haste, everyone ran for their lives, except Yingtao and Ying Shi. This wasn''t just an annoying nuisance like Baiyun''s wooden arrows. If she missed, there could be actual casualties!


    Moments later, a deafening boom swept the air. Countless pieces of rock shrapnel exploded outwards, but Yingtao raised a hand, stopping the dangerous fragments midair.


    Nothing was left of the towering boulder. There was only a red-hot ball of spiked metal in a crater, heated from the sheer force of the impact.


    "Ahahaha! I win!" Fei An laughed as she descended.


    "You were too reckless with your attack. Consider your surroundings first." Yingtao said.


    "Big sis! What the hell are you doing?" Jingfeng yelled.


    "Cheater!" Mohei complained. "That''s not magic, all the damage was done by you dropping a big ball! And you can''t do it without your bag!"


    "Stupid. Flying is magic and storage artefacts are magic too!"


    "Gah! That''s not what I meant!"


    Baiyun wondered how long he had to watch children bicker with their ridiculous arguments. He hobbled away on his numbed leg, conveniently ignoring the childish actions he "indulged" himself every so often as of late.


    The demonstrations ended soon. It was uneventful compared to the chaos Fei An caused; neither Sanguang, Qinghe the staffed girl, Jingfeng nor Mohei were able to damage the boulder much.


    Most of the disciples had returned to the mansion, and Ying Shi and Baiyun were no exception.


    The two of them were now alone in a large pantry, surrounded by shelves of miscellaneous dried foods and jars.


    "Take whatever food supplies you need. Everything here is expendable." Ying Shi said.


    But despite being spoiled for choice, Baiyun only grabbed grain balls. There were many luxurious items, but they would either spoil faster or require preparation to be edible. A large variety of carefully selected grains to provide every nutrient a mortal body could need, albeit with excessive amounts of carbohydrates, these were essentially the equivalent of all-in-one livestock feed but for humans.


    Baiyun didn''t particularly care; once he broke through into Elixir Condensation, there would no longer be a need for mortal food. He did enjoy the food in the servant canteen more than he expected, but he had no interest in letting mortal needs take up too much of his time.


    "Suit yourself." Ying Shi said.


    For a moment, there was only the sound of the two rummaging for supplies.


    "Say. Do you know why I refused to intervene?" Ying Shi suddenly spoke.


    "Intervene? As in when that boy I fought earlier picked a fight?" Baiyun asked.


    "Yes. Sanguang."


    Ah. Baiyun didn''t bother to remember his name.


    "Previously, when members of my team argued, I stopped them. But while they would behave before me, they would constantly fight behind my back."


    Ying Shi said.


    "So when conflict came between the two of you, I thought the best way would be for him to acknowledge you in combat and reconcile. But after what you did, I don''t think that will happen."


    Baiyun tensed.


    "Perhaps it looked like you were mocking him. And perhaps you were." Ying Shi continued. "But Baiyun. That truly was your first time using a bow, wasn''t it?"


    "Huh?"


    Baiyun was taken aback.


    "I remember when you first joined the Martial Temple. It was strange how you joined so late, I took notice." Ying Shi looked into the air. "I watched as you fumbled with every weapon like a buffoon at first. But before my very eyes, you would improve at a tremendous speed."


    Ying Shi paused, staring at him.


    "Baiyun. You have a talent for weapons."


    Baiyun could only laugh dryly.


    A talent for weapons? He had no such thing. All he did was rely on memorisation and brute force. He still had a long way to go.

 0014: Night Before The Hunt

    It was now night.


    Within the mansion, Ying Shi had gathered the party around the round table, the guards included. Baiyun noticed Mohei fidgeting nervously, so he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.


    "We have gathered here today to detail our plans for the upcoming hunt." Ying Shi said.


    The disciples straightened up, a few nodding.


    Ying Shi reached into his bag and pulled out an enormous map taller than he was. He plopped it onto the table and rolled it flat, draping the entirety of the table as if it were a tablecloth. It was a truly expansive map, showing the local region in great detail. Even the massive WanLing main district was merely the size of a dinner plate on it, centred right in the midst of the map.


    Baiyun narrowed his eyes. This was a rare opportunity!


    He began to look intently at every detail, his eyes flicking back and forth as he attempted to memorise every minute detail of it. His hands clutched the table as if he wanted to crush it, his eyes practically blazing. Mohei gave Baiyun a weirded out look.


    Meanwhile, Ying Shi took out a small figure with a rounded base, depicting a faceless emperor of sorts. He placed it on a section of odd-looking forest on the map.


    "It is that time of the year again, so I''m sure most of us know where we''ll be hunting. But for the sake of our newcomers. I shall explain regardless." he said.


    Ying Shi took out a piece of paper depicting a sketch of sorts.


    It was a sketch of a dense forest of woody tree plants, with many trunks that reached high above. Each trunk was perfectly smooth, their tips ending with crooked branches arched like bird claws. Every claw grasped a cluster of greenery, a cocoon of dense leaves that bore a strange resemblance to cabbages.


    Further down, the roots of the forest were depicted as well. They were garbled and strange, full of openings that blossomed into narrow underground chambers, stuffed full of tiny centipedes and egg chambers.


    A human figure was drawn beside the forest for comparison, but it was hardly bigger than the centipedes.


    Mohei stood up and slammed his hands on the table, dismay etched onto his face.


    "Ehhh? We are hunting giant centipedes?"


    Ying Shi harrumphed and pointed towards the door.


    "You are free to leave if it bothers you," he said coldly.


    "What?" Mohei sounded offended. "I-I''m not scared of some dumb bugs! I''ll fight them!"


    "Then don''t waste our time."


    Ying Shi moved on and explained to them the specifics of the expedition in excruciating detail.


    The Thousand Veils Twisted Forest was a strange plant that lived in symbiosis with Horned Centipedes. It would create huge stretches of nesting chambers with its roots, as well as provide them with a certain amount of precious Lifesap. In exchange, the centipedes would protect the tree with their lives.


    There were a few types of centipedes present in the nest worth noting.


    Worker centipedes were the most numerous and were typically at low level Qi Gathering (2).


    Gatekeeper centipedes, extra large insects which served to block off the entrance of the nest, each at low Foundational (3).


    Warrior centipedes were in charge of defending the nest and could cultivate. In this nest, most of them were at low Core Shaping (4). There was also a group of about 10-20 Elite Warriors, each at the peak of Core Shaping.


    And finally, the queen centipede herself, a mighty spirit beast at the Nascent Soul (5) level.


    Baiyun nearly choked. This party of mostly Qi Gathering children was raiding a place that dangerous? He had been expecting a dying spirit forest filled with mostly Qi Gathering beasts, perhaps a few Foundational beasts at worst!


    Ying Shi continued to elaborate.


    Every year when autumn approached, the strange cabbagey leaf cocoons of the Twisted Forest would blossom. Dandelion-like seeds would burst out with centipede queen larvae clinging to them, flying into the distance in search of new territory.


    But before this grand annual event, the queen centipede would be forced into overdrive to produce royal eggs.


    The queen was incredibly powerful. But she would be defenceless during this period, forced to recall almost all the centipede warriors of the nest into her brooding chambers to protect her.


    "This is the best time to strike." Ying Shi said. "We will attack and lure the workers out. Then once the coast is clear, we rush into the nest and pillage the Lifesap for ourselves."


    So the queen and the warriors would be largely out of the equation. That explained why they dared to raid such a dangerous area, but Baiyun was still troubled. This was still the den of a Nascent Soul beast after all.


    Mohei seemed uneasy as well.


    "Ying Shi!" he stammered. "Are you sure this is safe?"


    "I understand your concerns." Ying Shi said. "But we''ve successfully raided this nest 3 times without issue. We also have a Nascent Soul Elder accompanying us for safety. That said, not once has he found the need to take action personally. Elder sister Yingtao will accompany us as well, and she is a Peak Core Shaper."


    "But..." Mohei said.


    "You can choose to leave if you please." Ying Shi crossed his arms.


    Sanguang sneered from opposite the table and Mohei slammed his hands onto the table angrily.


    "I''m not leaving!"


    Goaded into that so easily...


    "And you, Baiyun. What will be your decision?" Ying Shi asked.


    Baiyun frowned as he thought hard about it. It seemed their confidence came from their past successful expeditions, but he worried they had grown complacent, even if a Nascent Soul elder was guarding them.


    Still... this was an excuse for him to get out of the sect. He would no longer be constrained by the surveillance of the spirits and could freely use Divine Sense outside! Many more options would open for him.


    If it came down to it, perhaps he could find an opportunity to flee and live outside as a rogue cultivator. Heh. That was quite the interesting thought. But for a brief moment, he remembered the light spirit. How would she react if he suddenly disappeared?


    ...


    Baiyun didn''t know how he felt about that. He decided he would figure that out another time, when he wasn''t being surrounded by disciples waiting for his answer.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "I''ll join," he said, holding back a sigh.


    Ying Shi nodded, satisfied. He continued the meeting for several more minutes before concluding it, saying he disliked dragging meetings on needlessly. In that time, he detailed his plan and assigned each disciple their role.


    It was late, so the disciples headed off to the guest rooms to sleep, preparing for the long day ahead.


    Baiyun was about to leave as well when he saw Mohei slumped on the table listlessly. He walked over and slapped him on the back.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Mohei looked at him with watery eyes.


    "Ying Shi gave everyone a role, even you... But I''m the only one he didn''t tell to do anything..." he said. "He''s only bringing me along because of you, isn''t he?"


    "Ah."


    Baiyun sweated a little. Was it a mistake for him to ask Ying Shi to take Mohei in? He thought for a good moment to himself, before grabbing Mohei''s hand.


    "Come. I''ll show you something!"


    "Eh? Where are you taking me?" Mohei said in alarm.


    Baiyun rushed to the front door with him in tow and left, the door shutting behind him. The only one left in the main room was Qinghe, who watched as Baiyun dragged Mohei out.


    The night air was calm, countless stars dotting the cloudless skies.


    On the many metal poles, the paper lanterns were now lit, fireflies and moths swarming around their gentle light. Crickets chirped from the grass around them and moonlight shone upon the massive lake, reflecting the surrounding trees like a giant mirror.


    At the training grounds, Mohei looked around curiously.


    "What did you take me here for?"


    "Mohei. Since Ying Shi doesn''t think much of your fire skills, let''s think of some ways they can be useful in the hunt!" Baiyun said.


    "Eh? It won''t be that easy, right? Since we can''t damage prey, and we don''t want to set the big centipede tree on fire..."


    "Maybe. But all you need is to be a little more creative."


    As they discussed, Mohei''s eyes lit up. Half an hour had passed before they knew it.


    "Baiyun, you have such amazing ideas! I''m going to shock everyone tomorrow, hehe!"


    Baiyun laughed silently to himself as the boy ran off excitedly, ready to practise his moves. If not for his identity, he would have given Mohei proper coaching to improve his fire control, but for now, a few novel ideas would do.


    As for he himself... he still needed more practice.


    Baiyun took a bow from the weapon racks and filled a quiver with steel-tipped arrows. He notched an arrow into his bow and pulled the string taut.


    Twack!


    Arrow after arrow struck the very same tree. He might have missed plenty of shots today, but tomorrow, he had no intention of missing another shot.


    Many hours passed, the periodic sound of wood being struck echoing.


    The morning sun slowly rose, the light of dawn reflecting off the droplets of sweat on Baiyun''s face.


    He reached for another arrow, but paused, hearing the faint sound of sturdy footsteps from behind.


    "Baiyun. Did you not rest last night?" Ying Shi asked. "Your room was untouched."


    He gazed at the tree used as a target. A small section was riddled with holes and practically smashed into a crater, but the rest of its wood remained pristine. Ying Shi ripped an arrow out from the tree, before touching the crevice thoughtfully.


    "I was practising all night." Baiyun said.


    "It''s good to be diligent. But do not sacrifice your performance on the hunt itself. I want you to be at your best later."


    Baiyun nodded but did not take his words to heart. It would be a joke if someone with an old monster''s soul succumbed to mental fatigue.


    It was then that he realised someone had come along with Ying Shi. Fei An''s brother Jingfeng approached as well, running up to the tree.


    "Incredible. This tree is already on the verge of breaking! Exactly how many arrows did you shoot last night?" he exclaimed. "But like master Ying Shi said, you need to learn to rest well!"


    Baiyun sighed. Having to pretend he needed sleep was far more exhausting.


    "I don''t usually push myself to this extent," he said. "It''s an exception this time."


    "Ah... I can''t blame you after yesterday." Jingfeng gave him a sympathetic look. "Sanguang thought you were bullying him, but I could tell what was really going on. The truth is, you were nervous because so many people were watching you, weren''t you? I get it! The pressure of expectation is crushing!"


    Oh? The explanation was off, but it made perfect sense.


    "Yeah, haha..."


    Baiyun decided to take Jingfeng''s assumption as his cover story.


    Jingfeng seemed excited for whatever reason.


    "If you''d like, I can coach you with the bow! I might not look like it, but I have had several years of practice with the bow! Though I admit as of late, I have been training with the sword more." Jingfeng said, thumping a hand to his own chest.


    "Thanks. I''ll be imposing on you then." Baiyun smiled awkwardly.


    "No need to be so formal! Come, I will show you better form." he took the bow from Baiyun. "Your shots might be accurate, but..."


    Jingfeng took the bow and an arrow from Baiyun. He entered a strange stance as he drew the bow, before releasing. The arrow shot out with a swirl of wind, piercing into the tree with a long bang!


    Slowly, a faint crackle grew louder and louder. Until finally, the tree collapsed, sending a cloud of leaves fluttering into the air.


    "Your shots have no power behind them!" Jingfeng said. "Come, I''ll show you how to properly hold a bow!"


    Ying Shi shook his head. Why was everyone destroying the trees in his property without permission? But it was a problem he was already used to, so he decided there were bigger concerns.


    "Jingfeng. Did you not agree he needed rest?" Ying Shi asked.


    "Ah! It slipped my mind somehow! Sorry!"


    "Baiyun, I''ll show you to the carriage shortly. You can sleep there till we arrive at our destination." Ying Shi said. "Also, take this."


    Ying Shi reached into his storage ring and pulled out a glimmering bow of dark cyan metal, passing it to Baiyun. It was strangely light despite its metallic composition.


    "I''ll lend you this artefact bow. You should be able to pull your weight with this.


    Baiyun stared at it in a daze. He was handed it so casually?


    The spending power of a large clan certainly was quite something. With the ability to hand out artefacts like candy, it was no wonder they had no worries raiding such a dangerous nest.


    "Thank you. I''ll use it well!" Baiyun nodded in thanks.


    "Ah. Before I escort you to the carriage, give me one final demonstration. Shoot down this shield after I toss it into the air."


    Ying Shi took a shield out from his bag but Baiyun coughed.


    "Ahem! Let me practise a shot or two first!" he said.


    It would be a disaster if he missed because he wasn''t used to the bow yet. He had no intention of repeating that embarrassing scene from before. Ying Shi nodded. Baiyun wasn''t sure if he imagined it, but the slightest bit of a bemused smirk raised the edge of the boy''s mouth, fading just as quickly.


    The metal of the bow was cold to the touch, harsh and lifeless unlike the wooden bow he had used all night. As he slotted a wooden arrow in and drew the string, he couldn''t help but notice how effortless it was. The tendon-like string had the shine of metal and resembled steel; yet when he pulled, it was as if he was pulling a strand of silk.


    Baiyun could sense countless formations engraved on the hollow insides of the bow with Divine Touch. It was an intricate piece of art, but unfortunately, not one he could appreciate the complexity of. After all, he knew next to nothing about formations.


    He notched an arrow and aimed the bow at a tree. A tremendous power entered the arrow as he released it, its strength no less than a cannon!


    BANG!


    Baiyun stumbled from the recoil, nearly falling over from the sheer force. His arms trembled painfully, having taken the brunt of the impact.


    Several holes had been blasted into the tree, each large enough to fit a head through. It was as if it had been under assault from a barrage of cannon balls.


    "Incredible..." Jingfeng gasped. "It can duplicate arrows?"


    Ying Shi shook his head.


    "That is not the case. Baiyun, describe what happened." he said.


    Looking at his emotionless yet expectant eyes, Baiyun sighed.


    "The arrow was unable to handle the power of the bow and shattered the moment it left the bow. But each splitter was still strong enough to tear through the tree."


    "Excellent. It seemed I was right to entrust it to you." Ying Shi looked satisfied.


    He handed over three quivers of arrows to Baiyun. Two of them were filled with ordinary arrows, but the last quiver had 10 silver arrows and 5 black arrows in it.


    "The silver and black arrows can handle the strength of the bow, but they are precious. Save them for crucial moments." Ying Shi said.


    Baiyun began to feel uneasy. They were mostly up against Qi Gathering centipedes, right? Was there a need for such firepower?

 0015: The Hunt Begins

    In the midst of a dense forest brimming with wildlife, the animals and insects were uncharacteristically mute. But it was by no means silent.


    A deafening sound shook the very forest as a massive bull with sabre-like horns cut through it, dragging a large carriage behind it with reins of metal rope.


    No heed was paid to greenery. The bull would simply ram headfirst into any trees and plants in its path, crushing them into paste and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. A makeshift path formed behind it, one of dirt, crushed grass, trampled vegetation and craters left from the sheer might of its hooves.


    Countless flocks of birds took off from the trees and into the skies, followed by a few opportunistic hawks that brandished their sharp talons.


    Behind the bull, the carriage rattled around and bounced on its wheels, slamming into the ground every so often.


    A scene of carnage caused by human disregard, yet-


    Inside the carriage, Baiyun laid face-first on a soft red cushion and "slept" soundly. Beside him was the shield Ying Shi had thrown, pristine save for the hole that smashed through its centre.


    While the animals outside fled, little of the chaos could be felt within. Only if one listened closely would they hear the occasional thumps of the wheels slamming into the ground, or the crackle of trees being reduced into sappy splinters.


    A dampening formation had been placed. If not for the windows, it would be difficult to tell they were travelling at such breakneck speeds.


    Were a trained doctor to examine Baiyun''s pulse, he would have been deemed to be truly asleep. But his soul was still wide awake, listening as the disciples discussed.


    Sanguang was staring outside one of the windows, cheering gleefully at the sight of such destruction. Mohei huddled beside a window with drawn curtains and desperately stared at the carriage floor, looking as if he were about to puke.


    The rest of the disciples, mostly guards, chattering to themselves excitedly.


    But those details were unimportant. What Baiyun paid attention to was the drivers'' seats at the front of the carriage, where Yingtao and Ying Shi''s whispered to each other.


    "The elder has yet to arrive?" Ying Shi said in a low voice.


    "It seems he had urgent business. He left a transmission and told us to go on ahead." Yingtao sighed.


    Ying Shi paused for a moment.


    "No matter. We will still proceed." he said. "Yingtao, you should be able to handle an elite on your own, I believe?"


    "The warriors... one or two shouldn''t be an issue. Most of them should be huddled near the queen, and we do have a Qi Compass to detect their presence from a distance. We shouldn''t encounter any large crowds."


    Yingtao seemed uncertain for a moment, but her voice firmed as she spoke.


    Baiyun''s face furrowed slightly. The elder was missing? That was not good.


    Hearing of the Qi Compass did make him relax a little, however. It was an artefact that read the subtle flow of qi in the air, allowing experienced users to detect threats far further than their qi sense would allow. Even in a mortal world, qi compasses should be able to detect threats from at least a kilometre away.


    Baiyun''s "pebble" could also technically be considered a primitive Qi Compass were one to squint hard enough.


    Still, not having a Nascent Soul elder present made this trip a lot more worrying. Had Ying Shi passed the guards and young masters powerful artefacts as a contingency, or was it just generosity?


    ...


    The carriage continued onwards.


    An hour had passed and Yingtao was now half asleep, slumped on the seat. But she suddenly sat upright, her eyes shooting open as she pressed her face to the glass window at the front of the carriage.


    "Halt!"


    Immediately, the bull stopped its charge, the carriage slamming into its rear with a loud metallic bang. From the sheer momentum, it continued to slide forward with the carriage, leaving upturned mud and a line of skid marks behind it.


    "Baiyun. We have arrived." Ying Shi called from his seat.


    Baiyun opened his eyes and got up to his feet without so much a yawn.


    "Heh. Quick to rouse, I see," Yingtao laughed silently.


    The bull looked around and glanced at the grass beneath its feet briefly, looking tempted for a moment. But its nostrils flared and it turned its head with a scoff.


    Ying Shi opened the doors of the carriage and one by one, the disciples streamed out, chattering excitedly.


    Baiyun stopped to take in the sight before him.


    A towering expanse of strange trees tipped with claw-like branches stretched as far as his eyes could see. There was little spacing between each of the trunks, wide enough for people to walk through, but narrow enough to be claustrophobic.


    From the sheer density of the trees, even the meagre greenery atop each tree was enough to create a dense canopy that draped the land beneath it in shadows. Standing outside the twisted forest, the bright light of the sun was almost glaring, reflecting brightly off the carriage''s windows.


    Yet, in the almost unnatural forest before them, it was as dark as dusk, as if the forest''s edge was a border between day and night. To call it an alien sight amidst otherwise normal forests and grassy hills was an understatement.


    Baiyun had already seen a sketch, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.


    "A-Are we really going in there? It looks like some kind of ghost forest..." Mohei glanced around nervously, shuddering.


    "Heh. Are you scared? Getting cold feet?" Sanguang laughed.


    "What? You''re the one getting scared! I just said that because I was worried the other disciples couldn''t take it!" Mohei said defensively.


    Baiyun sighed and shook his head. Who would that even convince?


    "Eh? Not you too!"


    Mohei jumped in dismay at Baiyun''s reaction.


    Oops.


    Baiyun decided to resolve the matter by smacking the shield onto Sanguang''s head lightly, which was enough to make the young disciples laugh, though Ying Shi shook his head.


    "You!" Sanguang shouted.


    But he was shushed by a muscular hand before he could continue.


    "Enough fooling around." Ying Shi said. "Baiyun, Jingfeng, the two of you have an important task. Have you prepared yourselves?"


    "Yes, master Ying Shi!" Jingfeng grinned.


    "My brother is one thing, but you''d trust him with it?" Fei An gazed at Baiyun doubtfully.


    Prepared... Baiyun sank into his thoughts briefly. That was a really good question.


    A vow he made to himself previously came to mind. After recent incidents, did he not swear to be more careful in the future, to not endanger himself?


    Baiyun had more time to think about the situation between the previous incidents. Him brazenly wandering into the alchemist workshop was definitely shortsighted. But the hunting party was different in nature.


    Previously, the assurance of a Nascent Soul elder was there at least. But he had overheard the elder''s absence in the carriage.


    But even despite that... How often did opportunities like this come by? Were there truly opportunities devoid of risk, to a servant like him? Perhaps he would die of old age before a truly safe one came by.


    The weekly combat trials were safe, but only the top 3 received prizes. Even if he continued to win through flukes, eventually, the other disciples would grow strong enough that a high rank would become unattainable.


    And even if he always received a prize by some miracle, it was still far too slow.


    Baiyun already had the restriction of not having external meridians. Right now, as a youth, it was an important time to establish the roots of his cultivation.


    Youth and cultivation worked in a strange tandem.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    If he were to reach his fifties before reaching Elixir Condensation and increase his lifespan, he would already have exhausted half his youth. His lifespan would still be increased, but he would not regain his youth and would remain middle-aged.


    In contrast, if he were to increase his lifespan before reaching 10, he would extend the "youth" of his "talent" vastly, even as his body grew physically older. It was even possible for this youthful talent to be maintained for thousands of years if he were able to keep increasing his lifespan accordingly!


    Both cases resulted in the same lifespan, but it was blatantly obvious which had better prospects.


    Opportunities now far outweighed future opportunities! If he had to shoulder the talent restriction of age along with everything, his future prospects of cultivation would be reduced to nothing...


    Would he not be condemned to die of old age then?


    Could it be that not seeking out opportunities was also a risk of sorts? Baiyun felt like this was a very strange way to think about it. Or was he merely looking to justify the risk with shaky logic?


    He realised something at that moment.


    Like a farmer sitting by a stump, awaiting careless hares, he had been far too complacent. Baiyun''s admission into the martial elder''s training along with Ying Shi''s interest in him were all opportunities that had fallen into his lap by chance.


    Such luck was not something to be relied upon. He clenched a fist and vowed that in the future, he would grasp opportunities with his very own hands.


    Only a few seconds had passed since Baiyun''s introspection, but to him, it felt like he had been standing there for minutes. Still, Ying Shi seemed to have sensed his hesitation.


    "I trust my judgement, Fei An. He will succeed."


    Hah. Where was that baseless confidence coming from? It wasn''t as if they had known each other for years. Baiyun shook his head mentally.


    "Ying Shi, are there any protective artefacts I can borrow? I can''t help but worry for my life, entering such territory as a mortal." Baiyun said.


    If Ying Shi was generous enough to lend him an artefact bow, he figured he''d try his luck.


    "A valid concern."


    Ying Shi retrieved a ring from his bag and passed it to Baiyun.


    "This is a Thousand Wills Guardian Ring, an artefact that summons a protective barrier in times of danger. It currently has enough charges to protect you from at least a hundred attacks of those beneath Qi Gathering. But if a red light flashes, it means the ring has only twenty charges left."


    "Many thanks, young master Ying!" Baiyun bowed.


    That was surprisingly easy. Ying Shi was quite the generous young master. The surrounding disciples laughed for some reason.


    He examined the ring in hand. It had a miniature shield as a decorative piece, its circular body large and bulky, unlike the thin lithe stature of most rings. Evident from the countless engravings on its body, it was to make room for as many formations as possible.


    It was too large for someone his age, so Baiyun had to slot it onto his thumb. A white glow shone from the face of the tiny shield as he did so, and he felt a veil of qi engulf him.


    He could sense the shroud was merely qi sense and without protective capabilities, odd for a protective artefact.


    But having used similar artefacts in his past life, he knew its purpose. To conserve energy, the ring would only guard him after sensing an attack. After all, were it to maintain its barrier at all times, it would run out of charges in mere moments.


    The weakness of such an approach was evident. If an attack was too fast for the shield to react to, he would be skewered!


    But more concerningly, how would it interact with his divine sense?


    Baiyun unleashed a thread of divine sense from his mouth. Having improved his cultivation, his thread was now able to reach 12 metres, a massive jump from the prior 3 back in the underground caverns.


    With Divine Touch to actively sense any minute changes to the formations of the ring, he gingerly reached into it with divine thread.


    He sensed something within the ring reacting and quickly retracted it before the barrier activated. Good, he could activate it at will!


    "Let''s go!" Jingfeng said.


    Jingfeng pulled out a bottle of sorts and sprayed him and Baiyun down with scent-covering spray. Then, he summoned faint traces of wind beneath their feet to dampen the sound of their footsteps.


    Baiyun nodded as Jingfeng grabbed his hand and dragged him into the dark forest. They were immediately plunged into night.


    He turned backwards briefly to stare at the rest of the group still standing in daylight, but Jingfeng tugged harder on his hand.


    "Baiyun, it''s dangerous to get distracted! Focus on our task at hand!"


    Technically speaking, it wasn''t as if he had diverted his attention. Baiyun had summoned his divine thread to search for threats.


    While there was enough light to see, it was close to the bare minimum. Coupled with the claustrophobic mess of trees blocking their sight, it was difficult to even see a few metres ahead. Compared to his thread, sight did little for him.


    But Jingfeng had no way of knowing that. Baiyun could only nod helplessly.


    The forest grew denser. Baiyun and Jingfeng had to move in awkward zigzag patterns and skirt around the tree trunks to go deeper. The only comfort was the complete absence of fall leaves and twigs, soft mulch covering the barren earth instead.


    It was the perfect environment for fungal growth, yet not even mould grew here. Baiyun wondered if the mulch was poisonous somehow.


    But as his divine sense swept the surroundings, he noticed a growth in the trunks high above. It was a cluster of odd mushrooms practically bursting with qi!.


    Baiyun tapped Jingfeng on the shoulder, then pointed above.


    "Eh?"


    Jingfeng was confused but he looked up and squinted.


    A few seconds passed before he finally spotted the fungi, his eyes widening. He gave Baiyun a thumbs up, before floating into the air and towards the cluster with a knife in hand.


    Chop!


    Jingfeng descended with the mushrooms in hand, holding them carefully as if they were a precious treasure. He stumbled as he hit the ground, not as adept at flight as his sister.


    Baiyun wondered why he couldn''t have just stashed the mushroom into his bag midair. That would have made landing easier.


    As they delved deeper into the forest, he continued to alert Jingfeng to various fungi growing from the trees. They were not common, but Baiyun would find a cluster every few minutes. Jingfeng seemed to be curious how Baiyun could find the fungi with such ease, but kept silent, not wanting to alert the centipedes.


    But all good things had to come to an end eventually.


    Before them, in a rather conspicuous clearing, a musty-smelling cave jutted out of the ground, large enough for a person to easily fit through. It was one of the many nest entrances the centipedes had.


    Jingfeng motioned to Baiyun and he nodded. There was no need for words. Ying Shi had already detailed the plan.


    Baiyun watched as the boy grabbed a rock, tossing it at one of the many trees; it bounced off several trunks and landed on the ground with a clack.


    Jingfeng pulled out a vial of black liquid from his bag with his other hand, and Baiyun drew his artefact bow, notching in a silver arrow. He adjusted himself, searching for the perfect angle unobstructed by trees.


    The faint sound of scuttling echoed from the cave. It was not loud, but the oppressive silence of the forest made even the slightest sound apparent. The head of a massive centipede with bull-like horns reared out of the entrance, brandishing its mandibles large enough to rip a person in half.


    Jingfeng poured the poison over the notched arrow, and in perfect sync, Baiyun let loose.


    With a faint whoosh, it struck the creature between a gap in its armoured neck.


    The centipede jolted from the impact before freezing. Then it suddenly spasmed violently, unable to make a sound.


    Now! Baiyun mouthed quietly.


    Jingfeng raised his hands and the winds surrounded him, forming into two massive invisible hands! The trees were dense, but the limbs were immaterial, simply slipping around the trunks. They grasped the Gatekeeper Centipede and pulled with all their might, forcefully dragging its massive 5-metre long body out!


    Were it not for the paralysing poison, it would have lodged its legs into the walls of the cave, making it extremely difficult to pull out.


    Jingfeng''s eyes glinted with a cold light as he drew his sword, beheading the creature. Just as quickly as the deed was done, he turned to Baiyun and smiled.


    But the job was not over.


    Jingfeng took several spherical bombs out of his bag, each with a rope fuse. Then he passed Baiyun an intricate lantern with a fake dragon''s head attached to its base, another one of Ying Shi''s artefacts prepared for this mission.


    Baiyun flicked a switch and the eyes of the dragon began to glow red, flames spewing out of its mouth. Jingfeng quickly lit the fuses of each bomb before rolling them into the cave.


    One, two, three, four, five...


    The bombs clattered down the depths, the faint light from their fuses providing glimpses into the root caverns beneath. Jingfeng continued to roll bombs downwards, until 20 had been thrown.


    "Haha, time to run for it!" Jingfeng laughed.


    "Weren''t we supposed to keep quiet?" Baiyun whispered.


    "Eh, our cover was busted after all that! It doesn''t matter anymore!"


    Jingfeng clapped his hands, and a veil of wind surrounded them both. Baiyun could feel his body grow light, every step sending him bounding without effort!


    As bangs shook the very ground beneath them, smoke erupting from the nest, the two of them took off. Jingfeng laughed and laughed; Baiyun could see echoes of Fei An in him at this moment.


    "Here!"


    Jingfeng tossed Baiyun 10 bottles of centipede pheromone. From the speed they were running and his lack of hands, Baiyun was only able to catch 4 of them, the rest tumbling to the ground and breaking.


    "Haha!"


    The two of them made a pheromone trial as they fled, the intense musk almost choking.


    Baiyun could see how experienced the party was at hunting the centipedes now.


    It was no wonder they were so confident. Even the smoke bombs were engineered to blanket the nest in danger pheromones, aimed at sending every worker centipede into a frenzy. Otherwise, they would not charge out of the nest in a craze merely over a small commotion!


    For a kid, Ying Shi was quite a good planner.


    The two of them ducked and weaved through the chaotic cluster of trees as the once silent forest roused. Behind them, a rumbling began to build up. Thousands of furious giant centipedes spilled out of the nest entrances, their feet clattering as they stampeded through the forest!


    Jingfeng laughed, clearly enjoying the run, but Baiyun shook his head. If either of them slammed into one of the trees by mistake or slipped, they would be devoured alive by the furious swarm!


    Faint rays of sunlight began to permeate the canopies as they grew closer to closer to the edges of the veil between night and day. At last, the two of them rushed out of the forest and back into the sunlight, squinting from the blinding light.


    The carriage waited outside with open doors, Ying Shi standing beside it.


    Far in the distance, Baiyun could see half the guards donning strange insect-like armour and holding long poles, bracing themselves for the arrival of the swarm.


    "Get in!" Mohei yelled from inside.


    As Jingfeng and Baiyun ran close, Ying Shi grabbed the two of them and lunged straight into the carriage, crashing into a pile of pillows prepared inside.


    The doors of the carriage slammed shut and the bull immediately took off.


    A furious tsunami of centipedes burst out of the forest, swallowing the landscape! The guards who were left behind readied their strange weapons, prepared to carry out their part of the plan.

 0016: Centipede Den

    The centipedes could not roar nor screech, but the thunderous clattering of hundreds of thousands of feet was no less terrifying.


    Baiyun watched from the windows at the back of the carriage as the guards fled with all their might, dispersing to split the swarm of centipedes. But the scene quickly shrank away into the distance, the guards reduced to the size of ants, then night-invisible specks.


    The bull was simply too fast for him to witness more.


    He sighed, feeling a tinge of sympathy for the guards. It was thanks to their dangerous work that this operation was possible. But in the end, was it not merely the whims of a young master seeking thrills? From Ying Shi''s generosity with the artefacts, he didn''t seem to be exactly lacking in funds.


    A mere rock on the ground could lead to a deadly stumble, just as unreasonable as the demands of their master.


    His thoughts were interrupted as Mohei ran up to him.


    "Baiyun? You can stomach looking out of the window too?" he asked in shock.


    ...this kid. Baiyun laughed dryly.


    The bull charged at full speed, circling the edge of the twisted forest. It was by no means a small forest, but in just a minute of frenzied charging, it arrived at the opposite side!


    "Halt!" Yingtao called out.


    The bull came to a screeching stop and the carriage behind it spun. But before it came to a full halt, Ying Shi forced the door open and leapt out!


    "Go!" he yelled!


    With those words, he took off running. The disciples roared back in response as they spilled out of the skidding carriage, rushing after him as well.


    "Wait, wait, waitt!"


    Mohei yelled as one of the guards stumbled past him to squeeze out of the carriage first. Just as he made another attempt to get out, Fei An shot past him with a burst of wind, laughing as she took off flying towards Ying Shi.


    Baiyun leapt out with Jingfeng next. But as he landed, he felt a veil of wind envelop him. It was the spell from before that made his footsteps light as air!


    "Thanks!"


    He nodded gratefully. Jingfeng must have realised it would be hard for a servant like him to keep up physically.


    Somehow, Mohei was the last disciple to squeeze out of the carriage. Only Yingtao ran further behind, keeping a careful eye out to ensure no one got lost.


    The hoard of disciples yelled as they rushed into the dark forest. Now that the centipedes had been lured out, it was better for them to be loud. That way, it would be easier to keep track of everyone''s position even with limited visibility.


    Without the need for stealth, they found an entrance quickly this time. Baiyun was almost disappointed he couldn''t harvest more mushrooms. He would have to ask Jingfeng to split the spoils later.


    Clack clack!


    A Gatekeeper Centipede reared its head and snapped its mandibles.


    Yingtao leapt high into the air and jumped from tree to tree vertically with little heed to gravity. In mere seconds, she weaved through the trees and shot past Ying Shi, reaching the front of the party!


    The centipede recoiled, but it was too late.


    Yingtao slammed into the centipede from the sheer momentum, smashing its head backwards into the stone walls of the cave. Her hands reached out with fingers arched like talons. With a horrifying crunch, her fingers pierced through the carapace and sunk into grey matter.


    "Hahhhh!"


    She leaned backwards and pulled with all her might. Her muscles bulged as she ripped the massive creature out of the tunnel in one go and slammed it into a cluster of trees, the deafening sound of crushed stone accompanying it!


    Loud splintering filled the air as the trunks of several trees were demolished. They began to topple, but came to a stop against other trees. The forest was simply too dense for them to hit the ground.


    A cloud of stone dust flooded the cave entrance as crushed rock and sand rolled into the depths beneath, their little thuds echoing in a strange rhythm. Yingtao smashed the centipede''s head to pulp with a punch for good measure, before wiping the gunk off her hands. It no longer moved, save for a few occasional leg twitches.


    No one stopped to comment on the kill.


    The disciples covered their noses and mouths as they rushed into the nest, not wanting to inhale the rock dust. Baiyun quickly pulled out a rag and tied it around his mouth before following them in. He could see the massive gashes left on the walls from its feet forcefully being ripped out by Yingtao.


    Ying Shi and the guards pulled out lanterns, their light revealing the grotesque nature of the tunnel. Dried blood, mould and mysterious stains caked the walls. A faint stench filled the air. Fei An frowned and conjured bubbles of clean air around both her and Jingfeng''s heads.


    As they descended the uneven ground, the tunnel narrowed.


    Mohei looked backwards anxiously. But with the disciples packed tightly behind him, he couldn''t leave unless they agreed to all turn around.


    Yingtao suffered most as the only adult in the group. She was too tall for the tunnel and could only crawl awkwardly.


    "We''re here."


    The disciples entered a large underground chamber, the ceiling expanding to a height of 3 to 4 metres. Yingtao sighed in relief, finally able to raise her head and stand once more. The foul scent intensified and the disciples gagged, staring at Fei An and her brother in envy.


    Down here, there was little visible rock. The garbled roots of the forest formed the walls and ground of the biological caverns.


    The stale winds howled eerily. Nonsensical winding tunnels draped in darkness surrounded them; what little light the lanterns provided was not enough.


    "I-I can help!" Mohei said.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    He summoned a ball of flame from his hand and let it float into the air. Baiyun nodded. This was one of the ideas he gave Mohei. Aside from combat, balls of flames could also be floated into the distance to illuminate dark tunnels.


    But Qinghe''s small hand snatched it out of the air and snuffed it out.


    "No need."


    She raised her staff and struck the ground. From its tip, orbs of light flowed out like a stream. Dozens of orbs floated into the many tunnels, lightning up the countless paths ahead. It was still a horrid maze, but they could finally see what lay ahead.


    "Ah! You..." Mohei gritted his teeth.


    It seemed someone didn''t want her job stolen. Baiyun patted Mohei on the back and stopped him from shouting.


    The sudden light seemed to have attracted attention and faint scuttles echoed all around.


    Several small centipedes rushed by in panic. They were less than metre long and had soft whitish-grey exoskeletons, unlike the shiny black plates the adults had.


    Mohei screamed and raised his spear, but Ying shi caught his hand and stopped him.


    "Stop. Do not harm the centipedes unless necessary, much less the harmless brood. If we affect the health of the nest, the Lifesap harvests won''t be good. This was stated during the meeting."


    "Hn..." Mohei grumbled.


    Ying Shi sighed and grabbed one of the little centipedes, holding the squirming creature before Mohei''s horrified eyes.


    "Look, they have no intent to fight. Otherwise, they''d be lured out by the smoke bombs as well. Take a-"


    At that moment, a worker centipede revealed itself behind the bends of a tunnel and charged towards him! Yingtao appeared before it in a flash and crushed its head with a bare hand. She grinned for whatever reason.


    "...self defence is an exception." Ying Shi said.


    He tossed the little centipede aside and let it scuttle away. A few of the disciples snickered, but were silenced by his glares.


    Ying Shi reached into his bag, finally pulling out the aforementioned qi compass.


    It was a round plate of metal, covered in concentric rings of alternating gold and black similar to a bisected onion. The rings clattered as he rotated them with his fingers and adjusted the rows of inscribed sigils on them.


    Baiyun casually swept his divine thread over the compass, sensing clumps of qi had formed above it. He frowned. The artefact was by no means poorly made, but its design was far more unsophisticated than he imagined.


    With how indistinct the qi was, it was fairly difficult for inexperienced users to make out the slightest flow of qi. Ying Shi might be competent, but he was too young to have much mastery over qi control.


    Ying Shi took the lead with the compass in hand and marched ahead. But his eyebrows were furrowed; beads of sweat trickled down his face as he clutched the compass in hand. Baiyun shook his head and wondered why Yingtao wasn''t using the compass instead.


    Fei An seemed very interested in it and floated slightly into the air to peek over Ying Shi''s shoulder, only to be swatted away like an oversized fly.


    Baiyun frowned. Something was off, but he couldn''t quite put his finger on it.


    It took him a moment to figure it out, but he finally realised the atmosphere was far too relaxed. Though each of the disciples kept quiet, they walked leisurely as if they were just on a casual stroll. The only exception was Mohei, whose footsteps were shaky with fear.


    None of them seemed to be paying much attention to their surroundings.


    How reckless.


    Baiyun had heard enough stories of cultivators meeting their demise due to complacency. Well, not that he of all people had the right to complain, given his recent reckless behaviour.


    Regardless, he was on full guard. He would diligently sweep his thread of divine sense in a spherical pattern, searching for fields of qi sense as well as checking Ying Shi''s compass occasionally. His ears were perked, trying to listen for threats from beyond.


    Thud, thud, thud, thud.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. All he could hear was the footsteps of the disciples! It wasn''t as if they were walking particularly loudly; rather, it was the deafening silence that made even the slightest sound stand out. But it infuriated him to no end.


    He tapped Jingfeng''s back and leaned into his ear.


    "Jingfeng."


    "Eh? Ying Shi said not to talk..." Jingfeng whispered back.


    "Yes, but this is important. Could you use that spell of yours to dampen everyone''s footsteps?"


    "Ah... It would be fine if it were just the two of us, but I don''t have enough qi to sustain the spell on everyone for long. Also, you might not know this since you don''t cultivate, but most people can only sustain about 5 spells at once..."


    Baiyun''s face went blank. To think the day would come when he''d be treated as someone clueless about magic...


    And only 5 simultaneous spells? It seemed that while this world had advanced Martial Arts, their spellcasting was underdeveloped.


    Baiyun nodded, but he could not help but feel a little disgruntled.


    The trek continued for another 10 minutes.


    "We are almost there." Ying Shi whispered.


    The disciples looked at each other in excitement, gesturing to each other. But Baiyun was baffled.


    Why had Ying Shi stopped here of all places?


    Baiyun had figured out how to read the compass by now. The rings and sigils of the compass served to adjust the type and intensity of qi detected.


    The clumps of qi above the compass represented what the compass could detect. The compass had been steadily accumulating clumps as they walked, now numbering more than 100. By cross referencing what his divine thread detected, Baiyun concluded the compass had a range of about 5 kilometres, though anything detected past the 3 kilometre point seemed to be unreliable. Past that point, the clumps seemed to change in size and flicker randomly.


    Even with so many detected targets, the projection was only palm sized. It was a large part of why Ying Shi found the compass so difficult to use. Baiyun had a simple workaround, he simply visualised the same projection in a larger scale within his mind.


    Most clumps were about the size of a grape. There were also 10 smaller clusters each about the size of a coin. The map was 3 dimensional in nature, so further downwards, there was a watermelon sized clump, surrounded by a swarm of orange-sized clusters.


    Baiyun figured the grapes were most likely the Lifesap sources, from how consistent their size was. As for the watermelon and oranges, that was without a doubt the Nascent Soul Queen and her Elite Warriors.


    He had no good guesses as to what the coins were, but they were likely miscellaneous objects that just happened to be in the range of strength the compass was detecting.


    While the compass had a fairly large range, due to Ying Shi''s poor mastery, Baiyun estimated he only could detect things within a 100-metre radius around them. Ying Shi should have detected 2 grapes and a coin, but he was leading them to the coin sized cluster.


    Baiyun''s pondering was interrupted by Sanguang excitedly pointing to the ceiling.


    "There!" he whispered.


    A strange root jutted from the ceiling. It was huge and pinkish-white, damp and covered in countless pin-sized holes. A droplet of greenish-gold liquid clung to its tip, the ground beneath it covered in a small puddle of the same substance.


    Lifesap!


    Fei An began to jump excitedly, and the disciples whispered to each other.


    Ying Shi took a spatial gourd from his bag and raised it to the tip, while Qinghe raised her staff and channeled wood qi into the root to coax the Lifesap out.


    Baiyun could not help but doubt himself for a moment.


    Could he have overestimated the tree? It made sense for a tree of this size to have many feeding roots if it needed to nourish so many centipedes, so he didn''t think the 10 coins could be the feeders.


    He swept his divine sense into the compass once more.


    Meanwhile, Ying Shi frowned.


    "Odd. The sap isn''t flowing smoothly."


    "This root has been drained past its limit." Qinghe mused. "This is pretty weird... the centipedes don''t normally drink enough to harm the tree."


    Baiyun frowned as he attuned with the compass once more.


    Then his heart sank. This root... it was not the coin cluster they had approached!

 0017: Warriors Will

    The coin was something else close by.


    Baiyun quickly swept his divine thread around the area and found a foreign presence.


    An oppressive force. A formless will.


    His eyes shrank. It was a qi sense from a Core Shaper!


    "Everyone, be alert! Something is coming that way!"


    Baiyun yelled as he pulled out his bow and notched a wooden arrow in, aiming towards one of the tunnels.


    BANG!


    With a loud snap, the arrow shattered into countless fragments that shot down the tunnel. They stuck into the root walls and smashed dozens of holes open.


    The disciples backed away, but nothing came. Some of them stared at Baiyun doubtfully. But Yingtao''s face grew serious.


    ...


    Clatter.


    Clatter clatter.


    The faint clatters slowly grew into hundreds of clatters as a giant centipede revealed itself from a tunnel bend. The disciples paled.


    Under the light orbs Qinghe had summoned, its glossy black carapace glimmered with a hint of gold. Every shell segment was as thick as a dictionary and had long edges that covered the gaps in its exoskeleton.


    It had metre-long straight horns that curved forward like a bull''s and scrimtar-like mandibles of the same length. Its mandibles snapped with the clang of metal and the subtle whistle of sliced air.


    "A warrior centipede!" Yingtao yelled. "Stay back!"


    The disciples screamed and ran as the centipede slid further into the chamber, revealing more of its body, which seemed to lengthen endlessly. Its legs ended in sharp points like stakes, some curved and angled sideways like scythes.


    Yingtao marched forward and the centipede raised its head, 10 metres of its revealed body looming over her.


    Clang!


    The centipede snapped its mandibles before lunging at her! Yingtao crouched and rushed beneath its massive body.


    "HAH!"


    She punched upward with all her might, her fist digging into its underside! The centipede slammed into the ceiling headfirst and smashed straight through the roots with a hail of crushed wood.


    Yingtao had no intention of letting it process the attack. She summoned a pair of earthen hands to grab her legs and anchor her down, then reached upwards and grabbed one of its many legs, pulling its massive body sideways and slamming its head through a root wall!


    Brief tremors shook the root caverns and dust fell from the ceiling. Baiyun held his bow and reached for a black arrow briefly, but stopped. It was better not to get the attention of such a dangerous beast.


    This was quite the commotion... he grew worried and glanced around, hoping it wouldn''t attract unwanted attention. He quickly checked Ying Shi''s compass, but the mini-earthquake had jostled its rings and messed up the readings.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. What a piece of junk!


    Meanwhile, Yingtao pulled out a spear of pure metal. But instead of a pointed tip, it had a mace''s head, a brutish lump of spiked metal.


    The centipede finally recovered and was furious. It snapped its mandibles more and more violently with deafening metallic clangs, before charging at Yingtao once more. This time, it did not raise its head, having learnt from its previous mistake.


    But Yingtao merely looked at it with mocking eyes as she swung the mace downwards and struck the top of its head.


    BANG!


    Its head was smashed into a crater on the ground. With nowhere to go, its momentum arched its body upwards until it slammed into the ceiling.


    The caverns trembled again, but Yingtao bent down and punched the earth. 9 pillars of earth rose and pierced into the ceiling, stabilising the caverns.


    From a distance, the disciples cheered. Even Mohei had forgotten his fear somehow and was jumping up and down.


    "Baiyun! Shoot it! Shoot it in the eye!"


    Baiyun smacked him in the back of the head.


    "Ow! What was that for?"


    While the disciples seemed to have gotten excited from the seemingly 1-sided beatdown, Baiyun could tell the centipede had barely taken any damage. All Yingtao had achieved was disorientating it.


    Ying Shi seemed to be on the same page.


    "You morons! Now is not the time to spectate. Follow me and evacuate!" he yelled.


    "Yes sir!" a few voices called out in unison.


    Baiyun grabbed the grumbling Mohei, following the group as they fled.


    Ying Shi quickly sorted out the jumbled compass and the qi clusters became coherent again. Sweat trickled down his face from focus as he ran. This time, he led the team away from any qi clusters.


    Yingtao was left behind to fight while the disciples fled.


    One by one, Qinghe''s light orbs faded and she was plunged into pure darkness. But she only laughed. An intense aura emerged from her body, expanding into her field of qi sense! With it, she did not need light to see.


    When the disciples were present, Yingtao had to suppress it in fear of overwhelming the disciples. But now, she could fight at her full potential!


    Clangs echoed in the darkness as she engaged the creature. The centipede would charge at her only to be deflected by her spear mace, the attacks repeating like a slow unending dance.


    But Yingtao was listening to the distant footsteps carefully.


    She sensed the disciples had gotten far away enough and took a few steps backwards, circulating her qi and preparing her strongest move!


    Earth Crush.


    The ceiling above crumbled. The centipede looked up in alarm as a massive section of black rock hundreds of times its volume fell.


    It slammed onto the centipede with all its might, pinning down all but its exposed head! It writhed its head and snapped its mandibles in fury as Yingtao approached, but it could not break free.


    The caverns began to shake violently, incomparable to the tremors from before! All around, root walls crumbled and ceilings collapsed, crushing hundreds of juvenile centipedes. The depleted Lifesap root was crushed as well.


    The centipede trembled in rage, but it could anything, Yingtao raised her mace and smashed its head into the ground. But only a scratch was left on its mighty shell.


    Again. She snapped her finger and solid rock reformed the ground, pushing its head upwards once more.


    BANG!


    Yingtao smashed its head downwards and crushed the ground. She snapped her finger and the earth reformed once more.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    ...


    Each time the earth reformed, the rock beneath grew stronger and stronger. It was as if the centipede was merely a nail beneath a hammer.


    There was no exhilarating battle to be had, only torment.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The centipede did not know how many times it had been struck for it could not count above 30. Even as its vision spun and its mind jolted, its eyes fixed onto the human with hatred. Beneath the wall of rock that crushed its body, each of its countless legs struggled with all their might.


    Clear liquid oozed from its head. Only cracks had been left on its mighty shell, but the flesh beneath was badly wounded by the shockwaves.


    To fight an earth cultivator underground was to battle them in their domain. It was not a fair battle.


    BANG!


    Another attack struck it head and broke its antenna, further disorientating it.


    The centipede knew the end was close. But it refused to accept that. It continued to struggle and struggle, its writhing growing more and more intense. The cracks on its exo-skull spiderwebbed deeper and deeper.


    This familiar sensation...


    It knew what it had to do. The centipede rushed forward and slammed through its skull!


    "Whoa!"


    Yingtao backed away in shock as the shell of the centipede''s head cracked open. The Earth Crush''s rock trembled as the centipede shot out in an instant, leaving its exoskeleton behind.


    The centipede was now pure white, clear liquid oozing from its underdeveloped soft shell. It had molted in desperation!


    It rushed into the distance and away from the dangerous human before she could react. Its eyes hardened and the turbid waters of its mind seemed to clear, a rare moment of enlightenment.


    The human it was facing. A warrior, much like it.


    Small humans. Nymphs, much like the brood it protected with its all.


    The cruel human warrior killed its kin.


    A foreign concept formed in its damaged mind briefly.


    Revenge.


    Yingtao''s eyes widened. She rushed over and swung her mace, this time easily cleaving through its body. But with its tail bisected, the centipede only grew faster!


    ...


    Far in the distance.


    Ying Shi glanced at his compass and raised a hand for the disciples to stop. The coin-sized cluster faded away. By now, it was apparent that it represented a warrior centipede.


    How strange. In his previous raid, the aura of the centipedes seemed far stronger, which was why he couldn''t identify them. He had a lot of questions, but no answers.


    "Disciples. It seems Elder Sister has killed the warrior. It''s time to regroup!" Ying Shi said.


    The disciples nodded but Mohei booed.


    "Eh..." he grumbled. "We didn''t even get to see the fight."


    But clattering suddenly came from the distance. Yingtao''s voice echoed right behind.


    "RUN!"


    "What?" Ying Shi gasped.


    Under Qinghe''s countless light orbs, the warrior revealed itself and rushed in! More than half of its immense body had been lost and it left a trail of clear blood and innards behind it.


    No. The reason the coin had vanished was not because of its death. It vanished because its aura had weakened far too much, no longer detected by the compass''s settings!


    Yingtao lunged out from the darkness behind and punched the earth, summoning a row of earth spikes. Most of them missed, but this time, one skewered into the segment right behind the centipede''s head. Its desperate charge was finally stopped.


    Mohei''s eyes widened. He had only spoken casually, but the fight came to them moments later!


    The centipede was not dead. It struggled and snapped its mandibles threateningly, until it finally paused.


    But Baiyun, who had reached a thread of divine sense over widened his eyes. This flow of qi... the centipede had not given up. It was about to cast a spell!


    A strange air of focus came over him and time seemed to slow.


    With a hundred years of spellcasting behind his belt, Baiyun could easily read the qi flow of such primitive magic. He knew that in the next second, a metal spike would be launched in a certain trajectory. And its target... Sanguang.


    He sighed mentally. That brat was lucky he was here.


    Baiyun reached out his ringed finger where the Thousand Wills ring sat, pointing it towards Sanguang. With a single thought, he channeled divine sense into that finger.


    Pierce.


    A spike of divine sense formed beneath his flesh and stabbed upwards! The fragile skin of the finger was instantly shredded, sending droplets of blood flying into the air.


    The divine sense struck the ring with a faint clink, activating the countless seals on it. Strand by strand of qi within rushed through fixed paths and turning mechanisms, the small shield of the ring beginning to glow. A spherical barrier erupted from the ring and began to expand, draping itself over Baiyun''s body.


    It was perfect timing.


    The centipede completed the spell at that very moment, launching a metal spike forward! Yingtao''s eyes lit up with panic, but it was far too late.


    But just as it was about to hit Sanguang, the expanding barrier struck its side!


    The Thousand Wills ring was merely a Qi Gathering artefact. To hope for it to contest even the weakest attack of a Core Shaper was laughable.


    Before Baiyun''s eyes, the barrier burst into molts of light upon contact. It was the natural result of a mantis facing a chariot.


    But even that was enough.


    The straight shooting spike veered from the impact and spun off course, its tip slashing across Sanguang''s stomach before flying past him.


    Baiyun''s moment of focus wore off and time seemed to resume. Blood oozed from his finger and soaked into the Thousand Wills ring.


    Sanguang fell backwards in terror. His eyes shook as he watched blood spill from the massive wound on his chest, soaking his robes red and pooling to the ground.


    The bloodied root floor began to pulse, as if delighted.


    Sanguang did not feel any pain from the shock. but he was terrified. He stammered gibberish for a moment, before breaking into tears.


    "Ahh... ahhh.... Uuaaaahhhh!"


    "Sanguang!" Yingtao yelled.


    The centipede writhed more and more violently, its hatred and killing intent filling the air! Hate! Hate, hate, HATE! It had put its all into that attack, but failed!


    Before it could launch another attack, Yingtao''s mace slammed into its head one last time and crushed it into paste.


    She rushed to Sanguang''s side and accessed the horrid wound, a bloody line of red that ran from his hip to his shoulder. She reached out with the weakest qi sense she could muster, then heaved a sigh of relief.


    "Heavy bleeding, but minimal damage to internals. Sanguang, you will be fine!" Yingtao said, reaching out to grab his shoulders.


    "I..."


    Sanguang mumbled something before falling limp, unconscious from the shock.


    Yingtao summoned an elixir from her spatial ring and poured it into the wound. It bubbled and hissed, letting out a faint white mist.


    "Elder sister. Let me handle this." Ying Shi said.


    "Un." Yingtao nodded.


    She stepped aside as her brother approached, a spool of silver thread and a golden needle in hand.


    With slow and careful motions, he began to stitch up the wound. It was a strange sight, for the muscular hands of a young boy to be that deft and precise. A few disciples watched with hands over their mouths in morbid curiosity, while the others turned away, unable to stomach the gory sight.


    "Qinghe, assist me." Ying Shi said, his hands still working lightning fast.


    Qinghe nodded and tossed her staff to the side. She raised a hand into the air and halted the bleeding of the wound with qi. Then, she raised her other hand.


    From the Sanguang''s bloodied robes and the ground, the blood rose into the air and formed a crimson orb. The root floor pulsed as if aggravated.


    She shut her eyes and focused with both hands still in the air. Motes of glowing red essence began to separate from the blood orb. Over the next few minutes, the orb grew more and more transparent, until finally, it became a sphere of clear liquid.


    Qinghe waved a hand and let it splatter onto the root floor once more, distaste in her eyes. There was no reaction this time.


    On Ying Shi''s end, he had finished up as well. The wound was fully stitched, the crisscross of silver thread glimmering in the light. He was now feeding Sanguang an elixir slowly.


    "Move aside." Qinghe said.


    She pushed Ying Shi''s hand aside before shoving the clump of blood essence down Sanguang''s throat.


    "Um," Mohei suddenly said. "Why didn''t you just use your magic to push the blood back into his wounds?"


    Qinghe glared at him.


    "Ehh? What''s with that look?" Mohei was taken aback.


    "Don''t embarrass yourself by saying nonsense if you know nothing." she harrumphed.


    "Eh?!"


    Mohei turned to Baiyun helplessly. But to his shock, Baiyun was staring at Qinghe with eyes of excitement!


    Baiyun clenched his fists. This girl was an alchemist!


    Light, Wood and Water.


    Those pursuing combat professions usually focused on 1 element, with 1 or 2 supporting elements at most. But being an alchemist demanded mastery over all 9 elements. There were other support occupations that required 9 element mastery too, but that was beside the point.


    Showing control of 3 elements wasn''t enough evidence, but only an alchemist could extract essence with such skill!


    Baiyun began to feel excited, silly as it might be.


    Other than that dodgy old man in the prison, she was the first alchemist he had seen in this life. And definitely the first proper alchemist, not some uncultured swine using spit from his mouth to brew alcohol! Baiyun had no intention of being tossed into prison again just to meet him a second time.


    He began to think furiously, even forgetting his finger was bleeding.


    Having been forced to live as a servant for 8 years, he had a burning desire to see proper alchemy once more. He felt even the mere sight of a pill furnace might send him into a frenzy.


    There had to be a way he could convince her to let him have some proper equipment once more! Perhaps he could volunteer to help as an assistant?


    The biggest issue was his identity.


    Alchemy was an art that relied on fine qi control and sensitive meridians, but he had none. A servant was the worst possible candidate for an assistant.


    It was as if he was a blind man who wanted to help an artist colour their lines in. Who would trust him to choose the colours, or even be able to tell where the lines were drawn?


    Baiyun clutched his head with his hands. Ahh, what a headache!


    The blood dripping onto his hair finally caught his attention. He quickly composed himself and lowered his hands.


    Ah. The ring soaked in his blood was glowing.


    Baiyun''s face grew blank. He had acknowledged it as master by accident.

 0018: Hasty Retreat

    Sanguang''s situation had stabilised, giving Ying Shi a moment to breathe.


    "Baiyun. Your finger is bleeding."


    Ying Shi walked over and touched the bleeding finger. Baiyun recoiled slightly as the boy pulled the ring off his finger and examined the wound.


    "Hm... To think you''d mercilessly crush your finger to activate the ring."


    Baiyun began to sweat, wondering if Ying Shi would say anything about him taking ownership. It wasn''t his fault the ring was designed with a blood acknowledgement mechanism; that kind of rubbish system should have been abolished ages ago! For a world with such unique advancements in certain fields, it was surprisingly backwater in some regards.


    He decided to stay silent for now, as it wouldn''t make sense for a servant like him to know of mechanisms like that.


    Ying Shi stared at the ring intently for a moment and a slight frown crept onto his face. But it disappeared just as quickly.


    "Baiyun. To put aside your differences despite your prior conflict and to show such unwavering bravery in a time of crisis, I must express my admiration. Keep the ring, you''ve earned it."


    Ying Shi nodded, much to the surprise of the disciples.


    "A life for a life... perhaps one day, it too will save you." he continued.


    Ying Shi turned away, staring into the distance in a forlorn manner.


    Baiyun''s face went blank. This kid...


    Yingtao suddenly turned away and covered her mouth, but a hint of her laughter still snuck out.


    "Ying Shi! Are you sure? Even if it''s just a Qi Gathering artefact, aren''t rings like that kind of expensive?" Fei An gasped. "I think it''s worth, uh... more than a thousand tokens?"


    Ying Shi shook his head.


    "It''s 2-, 5000 jade. But what is such a small sum in comparison to a human life?"


    "Master Ying Shi is so wise!" the guards called out in admiration.


    Jingfeng pat Fei An on the shoulder and grinned.


    "Big sis, you''re so small minded. You should learn to be more like Ying Shi!"


    "W-what?!"


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched for a moment. When Ying Shi touched his finger earlier, he had secretly activated Intention Reading.


    Ying Shi was clearly a little upset, but he decided to spin it around into a show of generosity, earning the admiration of the other party members. And he even upsold the actual price of the ring from 2000 to 5000!


    Such shamelessness was usually only obtained after over a decade of posturing and saving face. For Ying Shi to have reached such a level at such a young age... he would be like a fish amidst water when he dealt with clan politics in the future.


    But Baiyun was no slouch either. He would show the shamelessness he had accumulated in his past life!


    "Young master Ying Shi!" Baiyun suddenly called out.


    His eyes grew slightly watery and he kowtowed.


    "Thank you so much for giving me such a precious thing despite my status! I am not worthy!"


    Ying Shi was taken aback by the overly dramatic reaction.


    Meanwhile, Mohei ran up to Baiyun and pulled him back to his feet.


    "Baiyun, don''t be like that. If you think about it, this reward makes perfect sense!" he said. "If Sanguang died, even though he''s stupid and annoying, his clan would be super mad! 5000 tokens to prevent that is nothing."


    Mohei shut his eyes and put a hand to his chest proudly.


    "If I was the leader of this expedition, I''d have given an even bigger reward!"


    Baiyun nearly spluttered. There was a time and place for bragging!


    The surrounding disciples stared at him with contemptuous eyes. Mohei looked around and began to panic.


    "W-what?" he said defensively. "It''s the truth!"


    "Enough!" Ying Shi shouted.


    The disciples quickly turned to him.


    "Now isn''t the time for this. After the death of a Warrior, the nest has likely been alerted. We need to quickly collect the spoils and leave." he said. "Qinghe, tend to his finger."


    Qinghe nodded as she walked to Baiyun with an apathetic look on her face. She raised a hand and halted his bleeding, then applied a medicinal paste to it and wrapped it with a small strip of cloth.


    She turned away from Baiyun and walked off, as he had never been there.


    "Done." she said.


    "Good. Make haste, everyone." Ying Shi said.


    Yingtao stashed the corpse of the Warrior Centipede away, while Qinghe extracted its clear blood from the root floor and collected it into spirit jade bottles that were clear as glass.


    Ying Shi took out his compass and prepared to head back, but Yingtao suddenly took it from him.


    "I''ll take over this time." she said. "You still need a lot more practice."


    Ying Shi nodded.


    Yingtao led the way with the compass in hand. Unlike her little brother, she configured the rings with a few casual flicks of her finger and read the qi clusters with ease. She was even relaxed enough to toss the unconscious Sanguang onto her back with her other hand.


    Baiyun frowned. They had only gotten into this situation because Ying Shi wanted practical experience with the compass?


    They began to retrace their path. Along the way, Yingtao mounded the earth and summoned stone pillars to restore the collapsed chambers. Corpses of crushed juvenile centipedes were strewn all over.


    When they finally arrived at the scene of the Earth Crush where the centipede''s exoskeleton was pinned, Ying Shi shook his head and sighed.


    "Elder sister. I said not to harm the centipedes unless necessary. Did you really have to use Earth Crush? Look at how much you''ve damaged the Twisted Forest and the carnage you caused. You even destroyed a Lifesap source..."


    "Even if you were forced to use the spell to incapacitate the Warrior, you could have left it trapped there. If you didn''t push it into such a desperate situation, Sanguang''s life would not have been endangered."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Well..." Yingtao coughed.


    "You need to get your battle tendencies under control."


    "Yes..."


    Baiyun watched speechlessly. The older sibling dynamic had been flipped so casually.


    "Well, at least a Warrior Carapace is good stuff! We''ll be able to make some good armour out of these once we get back." Yingtao laughed awkwardly.


    Ying Shi shook his head.


    With their prize collected, the group made haste and left as quickly as they could. Gone was the casual atmosphere, after that dangerous encounter. Qinghe summoned fewer light orbs as well, hoping to attract less attention.


    The trek back to the exit did not take long; they quickly clamoured upwards, eager to leave the centipede den.


    At last, they were freed from the stench of the caverns. The disciples took deep breaths and enjoyed the relatively fresher air, a strange sight to see in a dark forest deprived of light.


    "There''s no longer a need for silence. Make a run for it!" Ying Shi said.


    "Yes!"


    The disciples quickly ran out of the forest at full speed. Baiyun noticed a portion of the forest was partially sunken, no doubt thanks to Yingtao.


    At the edge of the forest where the veil of night ended, the carriage was visible. The bull dragged it around as it meadered around, finally stopping before a herb and sniffing it. But seeing the disciples approach, it quickly straightened its head and acted aloof once more.


    Hah. There was a saying that a dog would adopt the mannerisms of its master. Perhaps this applied to mounts too? Baiyun felt amused by his thought.


    The disciples hurriedly rushed into the carriage, but Baiyun stopped and reached for the herb. His eyes lit up! Golden Thread essence! The senses of herbivorous spirit beasts were sharp as ever. Perhaps he ought to adopt a herb sniffing pet one day.


    Baiyun pulled out a shovel and masterfully harvested it with a quick prod to the soil. From behind, an unpleasantly warm puff of air washed over his back. He turned over and looked at the bull, who looked to the side and tried its best to keep up the act, but it flared its nostrils and continued to huff.


    "Baiyun! What are you doing? Come in!" Mohei yelled.


    "Nothing!"


    Baiyun quickly stashed the plant away into his bag and uttered a silent apology to the bull. He needed all the herbs he could get his hands on right now.


    A few guards tapped their feet impatiently from the carriage as he rushed in. He glanced quickly at Qinghe, but she didn''t seem to care much to his relief. He didn''t want to be questioned about grabbing valuable herbs even if he had a convenient excuse.


    Fei An giggled.


    "Heh. The martial elder said you would dig up random plants for fun but I didn''t think it was actually true!"


    "Fei An, please don''t bother others. Give him some peace and quiet." Jingfeng said.


    "Bleh. You''re no fun." she stuck her tongue out.


    The doors of the carriage slammed shut and the bull took off, the carriage rattled behind it noisily .The disciples loosened up, and before long soft chatter filled the small room.


    It was hard to believe just moments ago, they were in a life-threatening situation. Perhaps there was something to be said about the resilience of children. Or they merely had a few screws loose.


    Baiyun turned his attention to the front of the carriage, where Yingtao held Ying Shi''s qi compass, pointing to it as she lectured.


    "Notice the way the qi condenses here. Try not to view the qi as individual strands, or it will be difficult to make out anything. Think of it like the cross-hatching an artist might use for shading. We need to view the picture as a whole, not as individual lines."


    Baiyun had no idea what cross-hatching was.


    "Elder Sister, I understand. You have already informed me in a prior lesson. I follow your advice, but it takes a lot of focus on my part, limiting my perception heavily."


    "Don''t worry, it''ll become natural once you''ve practised enough! Now, pay attention to the points from these sigils..."


    As Yingtao tutored Ying Shi, Baiyun stretched his divine sense to peek at the compass.


    Several rings of the compass had been adjusted, increasing its sensitivity to qi. Thousands of qi clusters were running amok, chasing after several distinct "¾ü" characters, representing "Soldier". It seemed the compass could also track specific people given the right circumstances, in this case, likely the guards sent to distract the centipedes.


    Baiyun watched as the ¾ü clusters drew closer and closer. From the sheer speed of the bull, it barely took any time.


    "Ying Shi! I will fly ahead to fetch the guards!" Fei An yelled.


    The disciples'' eyes widened. They hurriedly distanced themselves from her and clung to their seat handles as tightly as they could!


    "Don''t!" Jingfeng and Ying Shi yelled in unison.


    But before they could stop her, she sent a quick pulse of qi into the seals that kept the windows shut and forced them open!


    "Hahahahah!"


    Qinghe laughed gleefully as she leapt out of the window, shooting off into the distance. But the inside of the carriage was suddenly exposed to the turbulence, leaves, torn grass and even stray branches sucked in! Mohei was smacked on the forehead by a chunk of flattened wood.


    "Ow! Qinghe, you idiot!" he yelled, covering his reddened forehead.


    Jingfeng raised his hands and quickly tried to subdue the winds, while Ying Shi pushed the window shut, finally stopping the turbulence.


    At the drivers'' seats, Yingtao stared intently at the compass. One of the ¾üs suddenly moved abruptly towards another identical symbol. The two ¾üs bunched together and swooped at the remaining 3rd and 4th, before rushing towards the carriage.


    "Halt!" Yingtao called out.


    The bull came to an abrupt stop, its hooves digging mud grooves into the grass. Just in time for Fei An''s return, where she floated outside the carriage windows with a grin.


    Jingfeng pushed open a window and glared at her, then quickly ran out of the way.


    "I''m back!" she laughed.


    In each of her hands she grabbed the nape of a guard as if they were misbehaving kittens. Both of them had sullen faces, but they had gotten lucky. The last two guards were barely held up by Fei An wedging her shoes into the gaps of their chitin armour, swaying in the wind slightly!


    The clapping guard hung limply with his face pale as chalk, muttering something, while the other shut his eyes tightly.


    "Whoa!"


    Fei An suddenly kicked her feet sequentially and launched them into the open window accurately, then tossed the handheld guards in as well. They crashed into the floor of the carriage and laid limp for a while.


    The guards who had entered the centipede nest stared at them with sympathy. Were they a little less lucky, they would have been chosen for this ordeal instead.


    "Big sister! You need to wait for the carriage to stop before opening the windows!" Jingfen yelled.


    It was late, but he finally managed to say what he had been trying to.


    Fei An flew off and retrieved the 5th and final guard, before swooping into the carriage smugly.


    A loud series of endless clattering came from the distance as the warrior centipedes that had been chasing the guards swarmed over. But they lacked the speed and vigor from before, now running at only half the speed.


    The guards tossed their insect-like armour aside before slumping into their seats, exhausted from a long chase.


    Ying Shi shut the windows and Yingtao commanded the bull to take off.


    In seconds, the centipedes were left in the dust.


    "Good work. Expect a hefty bonus when we return."


    "Ohhh!"


    The tired guards immediately perked up, smiling as if some of their fatigue had faded. Baiyun shook his head silently.


    "Ahem." Fei An fanned herself with an expectant look. "What about me?"


    Her eyes turned to Ying Shi, then Yingtao. Neither appeared impressed in the slightest.


    Ying Shi took out a jar of round candy and handed it to her.


    "Yayyy!"


    Fei An began to stuff her face with the candies and loud crunches began to echo. In less than a minute, they were fully devoured.


    Recruiting the services of a relatively powerful cultivator for just a few candies... Ying Shi had found quite the cost effective attack animal, albeit a little feral.


    Ying Shi stood straight and gestured to the disciples, who all quickly looked up. He began a speech as if nothing had happened.


    "This expedition might have been a failure, but we won''t be retreating to the sect yet." he said. "We will be staying at a nearby town for the next two weeks. Once the Twisted Forest blooms, we will have another opportunity!"


    "Yes!" the disciples said.


    It seemed they would raid the nest a second time. Baiyun had already heard of this during the briefing the night before, but he frowned. Even after such an incident, they were still pressing on?


    As the carriage rumbled onwards, some disciples chattered while others fell asleep. It seemed it had been a tiring day for them. But Mohei was slumped against a curtain listlessly and sulking.


    "What''s wrong?" Baiyun asked.


    "Baiyun... we came up with all those cool ideas about fire magic, but I didn''t get a chance to show them off at all..." Mohei seemed on the verge of tears.


    Baiyun sighed and patted the boy''s shoulder, comforting him.


    "There''s always next time."

 0019: Forest Town

    The annual bloom of the twisted forest was a spectacle, but not for the reasons one might expect.


    When the leaf cocoons atop the talon-like branches bloomed, thousands of giant seeds would fly off like dandelions, each with a queen centipede larva clinging on snugly.


    No opportunistic predator would let such an opportunity slip, for each seed and queen larva was a precious cultivation resource!


    When the cocoons turned pink and were on the verge of blooming, thousands of flying spirit beasts would flock over like vultures circling a dying animal.


    But there was no such thing as a free lunch.


    Countless centipedes would also swarm to the treetops to protect the cocoons. Warrior centipedes would even sprout wings and soar into the skies to slaughter any beasts chasing the flying seeds! If not for the presence of the centipedes, the beasts would rip into the cocoons before they even blossomed.


    Ying Shi mentioned the above as he briefed the disciples, now all awake.


    Mohei gasped.


    "Those warrior centipedes are so scary, but they can still fly? What type of centipede has wings?!"


    Ying Shi ignored him and continued the speech; Baiyun patted Mohei on the shoulder to comfort him.


    The plan was simple.


    Each day, Fei An would be sent to investigate the conditions of the forest. If the cocoons were turning pinkish, it was her cue to immediately return and report the situation. Then, the entire team would rush over in the carriage and set up camp, waiting for the chaos to unfold.


    The hunting party would be split into two groups, one for looting, and another for invading the nest again.


    Yingtao, Baiyun and Jingfeng would enter the nest once again to locate Lifesap, while the rest of the team would gather the corpses falling from above.


    Yingtao would be in charge of navigating with the compass and fighting off warrior centipedes if it came down to that. Baiyun was chosen for his sharp senses, proven by how he detected the warrior before even Yingtao herself. Jingfeng was chosen for his expertise in scouting and his ability to lighten and dampen their footsteps with wind.


    It wasn''t exactly a bad selection, but Baiyun couldn''t feel but shoot Ying Shi a questioning glance. He decided to voice a question he had on his mind from before.


    "Is that Lifesap really that important?" he asked.


    Back in the caverns, he was so focused on using the compass and searching the surroundings that examining the Lifesap with divine thread slipped his mind.


    Ying Shi nodded.


    "Somewhat. It''s a valuable material, but if I wanted to, I could easily just buy it right off the market. Some sellers have captured other Twisted Forests and exterminated the centipede population. They can harvest large quantities of Lifesap daily because of that, so the price is affordable."


    "But our clan has a tradition. While it will support us with cultivation materials, for breakthroughs, all ingredients must be gathered by our own efforts. Elder sister needs Lifesap as one of the materials to assist her breakthrough."


    Baiyun slapped a hand to his forehead.


    Another pesky "warrior clan" making trouble for their descendants! He had seen more than enough of such clans in his past life, claiming their descendants needed to be tempered by trials and hardships.


    Ridiculous, it was only gambling on the lives of their descendants! Talented saplings were rare to begin with, and besides, what heartless bastards would send their descendants off into life and death encounters? There were better ways to hone combat skills and mental fortitude without such terrible consequences.


    "Young master Ying Shi!"


    One of the guards who distracted the warrior centipedes called out.


    "It sounds like you didn''t manage to collect much Lifesap earlier? And Sanguang seems to be badly injured too. What exactly happened down there?"


    Yingtao sighed, before giving a brief summary of the disaster.


    There was a moment of silence as the guards entered a daze.


    Baiyun frowned. Why were they acting like it was the biggest shock in the world? Even if the warrior centipedes were supposed to guard the queen, it shouldn''t be that odd for a few of them to wander around the nest from time to time.


    "It launched a metal spike? Since when could warrior centipedes do that?" the clapping guard frowned.


    "They shouldn''t be smart enough to learn techniques of their own. We need to report this to the Beast Association." another guard said.


    Wait. The warriors weren''t supposed to know such a technique?


    Baiyun went deep into thought.


    Combat techniques and spells were far too complicated to create and use without years of dedicated study, something impossible for the less intelligent spirit beasts. But innate techniques were nature''s saving grace. With them, even completely mindless spirit plants could use powerful spells, abilities imprinted into their very nature from birth by evolution!


    But could such a mutation happen so abruptly? Changes to innate techniques only happened over many generations.


    A technique like the metal spike was not simple. Creating matter wasn''t possible at this cultivation stage, so some form of material shifting was involved, likely from its exoskeleton. Then, it would need to be fired with force befitting that of a Core Shaper.


    Metal control, spike formation and velocity. This seemingly simple technique was actually an amalgamation of at least 3 other techniques.


    Complicated innate multi-part techniques normally originated from several coincidences.


    Baiyun imagined a hypothetical beetle, evolving a similar spike-shooting technique.


    The hypothetical beetle had a metallic shell that grew stronger and stronger with every molt. But after many centuries, the shells would grow too powerful to molt, forcing older beetles to be trapped and crushed to death by their own shells.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Countless years passed before a new generation of beetles mutated an innate technique that let them morph their shells to fit their body, finally escaping their evolutionary curse.


    These beetles eventually encountered a tricky new predator, excellent at grabbing onto their bodies. The technique underwent yet another mutation, allowing the beetles to expel specific parts of their shell to escape their predator.


    They would learn to morph their shells into spiker shapes as well, making them tougher to prey on. Every new generation would be a little better at blasting off their shells, until eventually, they launched with enough force to be lethal.


    Such a convoluted process, for a mere spike firing technique¡­


    It was an absurdly slow process that took millions of years at the bare minimum.


    The warrior centipede randomly mutating a new innate technique made no sense. It was possible that specific warrior had enlightened enough to become intelligent, but it would first require a teacher. And even then, learning the basics of spell theory took years! Considering Ying Shi''s hunting party had been raiding the nest for the past 3 years, that didn''t seem to add up either.


    It made no sense for the warrior centipede to suddenly learn a new technique. But Baiyun didn''t have enough information to guess how that was possible. Something was off.


    "Oh right! Guards, salute to Baiyun!" a guard suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts.


    The guards all stood up and showed their gratitude, catching him off guard.


    "Baiyun, you''ve done us a real solid this time. Sanguang is a young master of the Stormseeker clan, and it would have been a major incident if he had died."


    Letting their young masters enter dangerous territory, then throwing a fit if they died... that sort of behaviour from clans was all too familiar to Baiyun.


    "I''m sure the young master has already rewarded you, but the least we as guards can do is show our thanks."


    A guard who had entered the centipede nest perked up.


    "Oh. You see that ring on his hand? Master Ying Shi was generous enough to reward him with it!"


    "As expected of the young master!"


    Baiyun laughed awkwardly as the guards began to talk excitedly.


    If they would just leave him alone, that would be the best thanks he could receive. Being in the spotlight was exhausting.


    ...


    The briefing ended soon, but the disciples began to discuss as the carriage rattled on.


    Baiyun did not find much of what they said important, but a small detail caught his ear. Since they were staying in a nearby town for roughly 2 weeks, Ying Shi would take a quick trip back to the sect to try to request the aid of an elder once more.


    If a Nascent Soul elder had been present, the warrior centipede Yingtao struggled so much to take down would be crushed in mere seconds. There would have been no such incident, nor major damage to the forest.


    But Baiyun wasn''t going to complain, since he got a good artefact out of it. He stared at the Thousand Wills ring with satisfaction. It wasn''t particularly strong but it would be very useful.


    Mohei suddenly tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out of the window.


    "Baiyun, look! We''re almost at the town!"


    "I thought looking outside made you dizzy?" Baiyun asked.


    "Eh? Now that you mention it..."


    Mohei''s face suddenly turned pale and he backed away with his hands clutching his stomach. Baiyun shook his head.


    Outside the window, a town came into view. It was small and simple, consisting of many 2-storey white buildings with black tiled roofs. A river cut through its midst and passed through a manmade stone canal.


    Upstream, grouchy fishermen held long nets and prodded for fish. Further down, elderly folk stood knee-deep in the water as they scrubbed away at clothing.


    As the carriage drew closer, an old man jogged up to it. He grinned with squinted eyes and showed his crooked teeth as he waved.


    The speeding carriage came to a stop beside him and stirred up clouds of dust in its wake, but the old man didn''t bat an eye. He even tried to pat the bull, but it turned its head away and huffed in displeasure.


    As Ying Shi opened the door, he spoke.


    "Oh, hello again! Is it that time of the year again? Time passes so fast these days..."


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, old Lu. We will be stopping by for the next few weeks." Ying Shi said politely. "Now, if you''d excuse us."


    He got off the carriage in a hurry, beckoning for the team to follow.


    "Ah... Don''t be so cold, young man!"


    Ying Shi passed one of his guards a chessboard. The guard looked a little dismayed, pointing to himself for confirmation, only to receive a firm nod.


    The clapping guard sighed and walked to the old man.


    "Old Lu, would you like to play a game of chess?"


    "Ah! Hahaha! I used to be known as the Dragon of the Chessboard back in the day. Come, let me show you my moves!"


    Baiyun was speechless as the old man dragged the unwilling guard away. To think Ying Shi had a side like this to him! Hah... seeing youths treat the fellow elderly like pests was saddening.


    Ying Shi led the disciples across stone pavings and arrived at their destination, a humble inn. It looked identical to the other buildings, save for its 4-storey height. If not for the oval sign of black wood hammered above the door with the inn''s name engraved in gold, it would have been easy to mistake it for merely a larger house.


    He pushed the door open with a creak.


    They entered a large room where an old man was slouched on a counter, fast asleep. All around were unlabelled doors, as well as a circular staircase that led further up behind the counter.


    As Ying Shi''s footsteps echoed, the old man suddenly jolted awake, his eyes growing wide.


    "Young master Ying Shi! Welcome back to my humble inn!" he said with a huge smile. "Excuse me while I prepare the keys!"


    He ducked under the counter and rummaged through several drawers noisily, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. A notebook was tossed into the air and landed on the counter, followed by the clang of several brass keys with numbers on them.


    "There is no need to hurry. Take your time." Ying Shi said.


    More and more keys piled on the table, until the innkeeper popped back up, wiping his sweat off with a hand.


    "Well, I can''t have you waiting, can I? Ahaha!" he laughed. "Honoured guests, here are your keys. Feel free to head to your rooms immediately!"


    "Thank you."


    Ying Shi tossed a bag of tokens to the old man, who hurriedly poured them out and began to count excitedly.


    Baiyun frowned. For an innkeeper, he had no manners.


    To the disciples and guards, this was an everyday sight. They merely took their keys and began to head upstairs. But Baiyun''s eyes were drawn to the tokens on the counter.


    Each of them had rims of metallic metal that made them stick together neatly. On their backs, each had a simple carving of a pavilion. Without a doubt, those were tokens of the WanLing sect.


    Baiyun could still remember the enormous map Ying Shi had taken out during the first meeting. This town had caught his eye previously with its ridiculous name, "Forest Tortoise".


    It was located quite a distance outside WanLing, far from sect territory. Yet, they still used the WanLing sect''s currency?


    Baiyun found that quite intriguing.


    The dullest explanation would be that WanLing owned this village; it wouldn''t be unusual for a large sect. But a strange gut feeling told him this wasn''t the case.


    What Baiyun found interesting was the possibility that WanLing was influential enough for their currency to be widely accepted even in the outside world. With their strange magnetic rims, it would certainly be hard to make forgeries of. A currency backed by a powerful sect also offered far more assurance than a mortal bank could ever provide.


    There was even a tiny possibility that WanLing had power over the country, but it was unlikely. Most sects with such power had branches all over their country, which WanLing lacked.


    Baiyun rubbed his chin. If it was as he thought, he was sure the influence of the WanLing sect would prove useful to him in the future somehow.

 0020: The Fox And The Tiger

    Baiyun sat on the bed of his inn room and looked around.


    It was plain and with few furnishings, merely a bed, a table and a small bookshelf inside. A small potted plant with vibrant fleshy green leaves was placed on the table, a glass spray bottle of sorts beside it. The bookshelf was only populated with books quarterway; the slightly dusty books and abandoned spiderwebs made it a rather sad sight.


    While the room was far from luxurious, it was relatively clean and well kept.


    Baiyun walked over to the table and picked up the spray bottle, pressing the primitive metal mechanism and squirting a few streams of water towards the plant.


    He checked the shelves next and saw the books were mostly informational with a few fictions in the mix. None of them seemed particularly interesting but one caught his eye.


    "A visitor''s guide to Forest Tortoise."


    Baiyun flipped past the uninteresting babble within and arrived at a map that listed the various facilities of the town. His eyes darted across the map quickly. He wondered if he had made a strange habit of memorising every map he came across.


    It seemed there was a bookstore in this tiny town. Interesting...


    Baiyun stroked his chin and headed out of the room with the book in hand.


    "Baiyun! You''re out!" Mohei suddenly called out.


    A few thuds came from the staircase as Mohei ran up to wave at Baiyun.


    "You''re out?" Baiyun frowned.


    He had merely been in the room for a few moments!


    "Ying Shi is already heading back to the sect. He said we could do whatever we want for the next few days!"


    So soon? Baiyun thought Ying Shi would at least stay the night, but it seemed the kid didn''t like to waste time.


    Mohei''s eyes were filled with excitement. Baiyun suddenly had a bad feeling. Was he about to be buried by a mountain of duel requests again?


    "I''m going to the bookstore." Baiyun said.


    "Ehhh? I wanted to ask if you wanted to go fishing with me!"


    Ah. Baiyun coughed, realising he had misunderstood.


    "Sorry! Maybe later."


    Mohei''s dismayed look made him feel almost bad, but he didn''t exactly have the time to dally around. This trip had unexpectedly given him a 2 week ticket away from the surveillance of the spirits, so he needed to make the most of it.


    With the twisted forest close by, a plant that could sustain even a Nascent Soul beast, it was a sure sign the world veins here were particularly dense in qi, meaning the surrounding area was certain to be filled with opportunities!


    "Wait, how did you even know there''s a bookstore? Have you been here before?" Mohei frowned.


    Baiyun merely raised the guidebook in his hands and flipped to the page with the map. Mohei stared at it and squinted.


    "Wow... you barely went into the room for a few minutes and you''re already digging through the books?" he said. "I thought you were just making an excuse, but you actually like reading!"


    Mohei stuck out his tongue before running down the stairs.


    "Bye nerd! I''m off to do something actually fun!" he laughed. "Have fun with your boring books!"


    Baiyun shook his head as Mohei''s voice echoed from downstairs.


    He returned the guidebook to the inn room before heading out, following a road and turning a few corners. Amenities were just a short walk away in a town this small.


    The bookstore was plain and devoid of decoration. About two rows of a dozen shelves full of dusty books could be seen from its open doors. Were it not for the wooden price tags, the shop could have easily been mistaken for a storeroom of unwanted books.


    Baiyun frowned slightly as he walked inside. This town really needed to take care of their books better.


    The store owner was a muscular old man with a permanent scowl. It seemed the population of this town consisted largely of elderly mortals.


    He ignored the stare from the man as he browsed the books, searching for a specific title he hoped would be present. His eyes narrowed as they darted back and forth, before suddenly lighting up.


    "Local Wildlife", "Local Vegetation".


    Guides like these would be perfect for finding nearby opportunities!


    He grabbed them off the shelf and flipped them open, only to be interrupted by a shout.


    "Oi!" the store owner yelled. "This is not a library! If you want to read something, buy it!"


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched. So be it, he could just use divine touch-


    "Reading my books without permission is stealing! You got that?"


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched even harder and he took a deep breath. Would his pride as a former elder stop him from doing the practical thing? All he needed to do was to scan the books and walk out.


    ...


    He sighed and placed the books back onto the shelf. The price tags revealed each was worth 5 copper tokens.


    What did he think he was doing by letting such trivial things bog him down? But even if it was by some ridiculous standard, he had no intention of stealing.


    He comforted himself by telling himself this was a sign he had character and dignity. Probably.


    Baiyun headed out, but the old man suddenly walked over and blocked his path.


    "Oh? My books are too good for your refined little palate?"


    What the hell? Why was this man picking a fight?


    Baiyun hid his anger and forced a smile.


    "I forgot to bring my wallet, so I''m heading off to pawn some things off."


    "Hah! What nonsense is that? Look at that spatial bag on you!" the old man laughed. "Such blatant lies! Who on earth would put their money in a wallet when they have a storage artefact?"


    Baiyun furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. Why were the people of this world so needlessly antagonistic sometimes? Sometimes it felt like people were always picking a fight with him! Was it a cultural issue?


    "What''s that look on your face? Are you angry?" the man jeered. "Then come at me! Hit me if you dare!"


    Baiyun''s face turned blank. Then the gears in his head spun.


    Oh.


    This man was trying to commit insurance fraud.


    Baiyun walked around the man and out of the store before he could be stopped.


    The store owner must have realised he was from Ying Shi''s party and wanted to be beaten up by a cultivator for some kind of payout.


    But it probably wasn''t an actual insurance program given the rural surroundings. Baiyun imagined what he thought was the most likely scenario. Perhaps in the past, a civilian here had gotten injured by a member of the hunting party in a past trip, leading to Ying Shi apologising and personally compensating them. Word spread, attracting fools who wanted the same payout.


    Hah... If the man managed to anger a merciless cultivator, his head would have hit the floor already. What compensation was more valuable than one''s life?


    Baiyun headed off and ignored the old man''s shouts.


    There was a market close by where he could sell the mushrooms he and Jingfeng worked together to harvest. They were spirit ingredients, but richer mortals would buy them anyway for their properties.


    Baiyun haggled with merchants for the next 30 minutes and sold them off for a total of 5 silver tokens and 67 copper tokens, worth 567 tokens in total.


    Mn. He nodded happily.


    Judging from the price of herbs in the Veiled Garden workshop, this wasn''t actually all that much money. Perhaps the merchants had even taken advantage of his lack of knowledge and undercharged him. But their essences were largely useless to him and he needed quick funds.


    Baiyun finally had a little spending power!


    He returned to the bookshop and tossed 10 tokens onto the counter, before taking the two books.


    "Huh. You really were penniless earlier? Hah! Did you have to pawn something off? Seems like you lack even the slightest bit of impulse of control, spending all the money your mom-"The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Baiyun left before the insurance fraudster could say more, then returned to the inn and entered the room.


    There was a lot he needed to do before midnight came.


    He quickly scanned the contents of the two guidebooks with divine sense, then placed them on the bookshelves. He had already memorised them, so he might as well leave them here for future guests. Anyone who read them would have 2 less books they needed to purchase from that man''s store.


    Baiyun thought through the details of the books and came up with a quick plan for the night.


    Then he took out the Thousand Wills ring and used divine sense.


    It was surprisingly intricate despite being a mere qi gathering artefact. For a barrier to be incorporeal to his body yet able to block attacks, there was some complicated internal logic involved.


    When he used the barrier in the caverns, he distinctly remembered the sphere phasing through the ground beneath his feet right before being shattered by the centipede''s spike. It meant the ring could determine what was ground somehow!


    That made sense. After all, if it treated the ground like a solid object, he would be launched into the air whenever he used it.


    Baiyun did not understand formations and seals, but as an alchemist, he had a decent understanding of spellcasting. He could tell the barrier the ring summoned was incorporeal by default, but when touched by something deemed hostile, it would solidify and block the attack. If it met something qi-proof like a servant''s body, it would simply wrap around the object without trying to force its way through.


    The ring also had a separate sensing formation that read the air through some unknown means. If it detected anything off, it would summon a barrier. But this aspect was largely useless to Baiyun. He trusted his reaction speed more than the ring''s and would always activate it manually.


    It was no wonder the artefact had a staggering price of 2000 tokens despite only being a qi gathering artefact. No, even that seemed too cheap! Perhaps it had been sold to Ying Shi at a discounted price as a favour.


    Ying Shi might not have been entirely shameless with his claim that it was 5000 tokens; perhaps it was his attempt at estimating its actual value.


    But before Baiyun tested the ring, he needed to confirm if he could charge it. It would be a disaster if he wasted all the charges during testing and had no way to replenish it.


    He could barely recognise any of the complicated mechanisms inside, but it was easy to figure out what the qi battery was. It was a dense ball of metal containing as much qi as a 5th stage qi gatherer''s dantain, pulsing streams of qi into the surrounding formations.


    Baiyun shut his eyes and focused as he made a thread of qi sense as thin as possible, squeezing it between the mechanisms and feeding it into the battery directly. He smiled as it absorbed his qi.


    Good, it seemed he would be able to charge it without too much hassle. But it was an expensive luxury as he could not regenerate qi without meridians. Any form of qi consumption would permanently deplete his cultivation base; he would even drop in cultivation if he used too much qi!


    Baiyun spent the next few hours activating the ring and fiddling with its mechanisms, trying to manipulate it in various ways. A few dents were left on the wooden floorboards by accident.


    A knock suddenly came from his door as a waiter hurriedly ran up with a bowl of noodles.


    Baiyun sweated. Did they hear the barrier hit the floorboards and thought he was demanding room service? He was on the 4th floor!


    In any case, dinner was served. He apologised for the noise and finished his food, before heading down to return the bowl and utensils.


    Midnight came soon.


    The hoot of an owl echoed and Baiyun opened his eyes.


    He gazed outside the window and saw a town of dark windows draped in moonlight. At this late hour, not a single person wandered the streets. He confirmed with divine thread that the disciples in the neighbouring rooms were asleep.


    Perfect.


    He grabbed the spray bottle and leapt out of the window from the 4th storey. The wind howled as he entered free fall; it seemed his feet would slam into the ground and be shattered at any moment.


    But Baiyun opened his mouth and revealed his teeth, where the Thousand Wills ring was clutched in-between. With a quick jab of divine sense, a barrier expanded around him just in time for the landing.


    It struck the ground with a strange reverberating sound and bounced several times before coming to a stop. Baiyun floated within, seemingly affixed to the middle of the light sphere.


    The barrier faded and he landed on the ground with a grin.


    During his testing in the room, he figured out how to make the mechanism treat the ground as a foe. It would allow him to use the ring to break his falls and enhance his jumps!


    Holding the ring between his teeth was undignified, but using divine thread from his stomach was the best way to activate it quickly given his lack of meridians. He had no intention of smashing a hole through his finger each time he wanted to use it.


    Baiyun ran off into the distance and past the marketplace, but a sudden light made him pause. He was surprised to see one of the stalls was still open even at this hour.


    Surrounded by a sea of closed shops, that lone stall was like a beacon in the night sea. A middle-aged vegetable seller held a bucket of water and several pieces of dirty cloth as he wiped down the tarp roof. He yawned, closing his eyes and wrinkling his dark eyebags. It seemed he had trouble sleeping.


    Baiyun noticed the man had yet to stash his goods away as he ran over.


    "Whoa!" the man suddenly jumped. "You scared me! I didn''t expect to see anyone at this hour. What are you doing here kid?"


    Baiyun read the price tag and grabbed 3 onions before tossing a copper token into the stall''s coin box.


    The vegetable seller rubbed his eyes, but Baiyun was gone when he opened them.


    "A hallucination? ...I really need some sleep."


    No sane person would be buying onions at midnight.


    Meanwhile, Baiyun ran to the river canal. He unscrewed the spray bottle and poured the liquid out, then took out a large bowl.


    He grabbed the 3 onions and crushed them with his bare hands. They crunched and fizzed as he squeezed all the juice he could out. Baiyun''s eyes were shut tightly and watering, but he could still sense the contents of the bowl with divine sense.


    Enough juice had been extracted to fill the bottle, so Baiyun tossed the crushed onions into the canal as a treat for the fish. With his eyes closed, he was blissfully unaware of them fleeing in terror instead.


    And the finishing touch... he plucked off a chunk of the bracket fungus from Martial Elder Guan Qiang''s temple and crumbled it between his fingers into the bowl. It would slow the rate the crushed onions lost their potency.


    Baiyun nodded in satisfaction as he poured the liquid into the spray bottle. He had been planning to make an "anti-beast" spray with what he could find in the wild, but a vegetable stall was still open unexpectedly.


    He did a few stretches before running out of town, following the trail of destruction the bull had left.


    In its mad rush, it had destroyed all vegetation in its way and compacted uneven soil, creating a surprisingly functional pseudo road.


    Baiyun pushed himself to the limit and ran as fast as he could. A little over an hour passed before the Twisted Forest came back into view, much to his surprise. He thought he''d have taken 3-4 hours to get here, given the speed of the carriage.


    The forest that was dark as night during day was now pitch black.


    He sat down to meditate for a moment, resting and mending his muscles with his soul. Then he grabbed a nearby rock before marching in with a lantern. Light would draw attention, but it was exactly what he wanted right now.


    Other than his footsteps, there was only dead silence, quieter than even a cemetery.


    Baiyun sensed various clusters of mushrooms with divine thread, but he sighed and continued onwards. Now that he realised the town was surprisingly close, he wanted to return by morning; there was no time to slowly climb the trees and harvest them. Jingfeng might have taken half the reward, but when they were together, any mushrooms could be harvested in seconds.


    He listened keenly as he walked, until...


    Clatter clatter.


    A slight distance away, a gatekeeper centipede reared its head from a nest entrance, having spotted the unnatural light. Baiyun tossed the rock and struck its head with a dull clack.


    The centipede snapped its mandibles in rage, enraged by the mild provocation.


    Hundreds of thuds echoed from the nest entrance as it slowly dragged its massive body out. But it did not chase, merely circling the cave. But the sound of crawling continued to echo as a swarm of worker centipedes rushed out!


    Baiyun grinned.


    As the skittering of over a thousand feet chased him, he ran as quickly as he could, weaving through the dense trees and leaping around like an agile monkey. It was a good thing the twisted trees only had branches at their very top, or his lantern might have been caught in them.


    He escaped the forest easily and waited for a moment, picking up another rock. 1, 2, 3... He tossed the rock at them just as the centipedes burst out!


    Perhaps because of their absurdly tough shells, these centipedes were easy to outrun. If they had speed similar to the wolf pups in WanLing, he would not dare to bait them.


    Baiyun visualised the map in his mind and ran off the beaten path left by the bull. The tall grass was difficult to navigate and the occasional random pockets of mud killed his momentum and slowed his steps.


    It was a good thing his youthful body was light. If he had the weight of an adult behind his steps, with his current strength, he would be unable to run in such terrible terrain.


    His legs began to tire even with his soul constantly mending his muscles; beads of sweat trickled down his face. The centipedes behind did not slow as if they had endless stamina.


    But a dense forest of giant trees came into sight. Baiyun''s eyes lit up at the sight of it and he ran faster into its midst with renewed vigour, pulling out the onion spray with his free hand.


    He noticed something as his divine thread swept the surroundings. There were an abnormal amount of fallen trees strewn about the forest. Many of the living trees had massive clean cuts and scars, as if they had been sliced by spatial tears. Odd...


    But with the centipedes chasing him, now was not the time to ponder that. Baiyun''s focus went back into the present as he ran, his feet slamming into piles of leaves crawling with bugs. Furious ants crawled all over his legs and chomped into them. But at the very least, the dense roots and fallen logs firmed the ground, making it easier to run.


    "Awwoooooooo!"


    A wolf suddenly lunged at Baiyun from the trees above. But he merely smiled, revealing the ring clutched between his teeth. The wolf was sent flying with a pitiful howl as the barrier slammed into it.


    Dozens of eyes glowed from above.


    Canopy Wolves!


    They growled and prepared to pounce, but one of them let out a high pitched whine as it spotted something. The centipedes chasing Baiyun had finally caught up!


    The wolves howled as they fled, disappearing into the endless sea of branches. The one smacked by the barrier got to its feet and whined, before leaping into the trees and vanishing as well.


    Baiyun laughed as he ran. Just as the books said, the local animals avoided the centipedes like a plague!


    He pulled out the pebble he made in the prison and nodded as he felt the qi welling up within it. This forest was quite dense in qi.


    "Grrrr!"


    A bear revealed itself from a tree truck. Somehow, it had hidden its massive body perfectly behind it!


    Tsk. The book said "Walk 10 steps and another beast will be upon you", but he thought the author was exaggerating!


    But the bear suddenly widened its eyes at the sight of the centipedes.


    "Graaaa!" it quickly turned tail and ran.


    Baiyun sprayed some onion juice on its back for good measure. He had prepared it just in case, but if the centipedes were this effective, it might have been for nothing.


    While each individual centipede wasn''t strong, they had surprisingly durable armour and would swarm their foes to death. And most terrifying of all, they would chase endlessly and never lose focus! It was how Ying Shi''s guards managed to occupy such a large swarm of centipedes for so long.


    If any of them was killed, they would release danger pheromones that would splatter onto the killer, unable to be washed off even by rivers. It was actually easily defeated by cleansing formations or soap, but that wasn''t exactly an option for most beasts.


    The centipedes were mostly neutral when foraging, but anything with that scent would be chased on sight by furious insects willing to fight to the death. And if the killer''s danger scent was dense from slaughtering many centipedes, they would even retreat to their nest and bring an Elite Warrior with them to put down the killer once and for all!


    It was no wonder the animals here wanted nothing to do with the centipedes.

 0021: Aerial Threat

    Baiyun grasped a branch and vaulted over a cluster of thorny shrubs into a clearing amidst the forest.


    The endless canopy above parted and let moonlight bask the earth beneath. Without the veil of leaves from the vying trees, the grass here was tall and vibrant.


    A giant beetle towering 5-metres tall sat peacefully, its mossy black shell glimmering under the brilliant night sky. A lone horn as tall as a grown man jutted from its forehead, its pointed tip blunt yet threatening. Its body was exceptionally rotund; if one were to look at it from a bird''s eye view, its body would appear to be a massive horned circle.


    Baiyun slowed his steps cautiously but it did not seem to care even as he approached, seemingly asleep.


    A Blackhorn Beetle! He didn''t know what he would first find in the forest, but it was peaceful like the guides had said.


    He realised something strange. The town''s population seemed to mostly consist of aging mortals, yet anyone who could venture into a forest this dangerous was certainly a cultivator. Who exactly wrote that guide?


    In any case, this was one of the opportunities he hoped to find.


    Blackhorns were peaceful herbivorous beetles that relied on their mighty shells to fend off predators. The young ones would be protected by adults before their shells hardened, before being chased off to fend for themselves in adolescence.


    Entering the Foundational stage was part of their growth cycle, but much like human cultivators, they needed rare essences for major breakthroughs. Adolescent beetles would raise a unique spirit plant known as the "Blackhorn Root", sitting atop the plant for years and protecting it until maturity, before consuming it and breaking through into adulthood. It was a luxury only spirit beasts could afford with their ability to survive off qi alone.


    Baiyun sent out a thread of divine sense and probed the root beneath the beetle, then nodded in approval. It was full of earth essences that would greatly enhance his physique, far beyond the rock ginseng pill from Martial Elder Guan Qiang.


    He paused to listen for the centipedes and their scuttling through the leaves. Good, they were about to catch up at any moment.


    Baiyun revealed the ring between his teeth and squatted. The barrier struck the ground as he jumped, launching him 6 metres into the air instantaneously!


    "Ack-"


    His vision suddenly blacked out as the blood rushed away from his head. Baiyun''s body was disorientated and briefly stunned, but thankfully, his soul was separate. This body was far too fragile...


    Baiyun puppetted his body with soul and braced himself for impact as he shot towards the beetle. The spherical barrier slammed into its shell and bounced into the air before fading, letting him land atop its shell safely.


    The beetle seemed to stir for a moment, but it settled down. Meanwhile, the centipedes charged into the clearing!


    Baiyun grinned. He took out a metal pan and a ladle and smacked them together loudly.


    BANG BANG BANG BANG, BANG!


    The beetle raised its head in a confused manner. The centipedes charged at it, climbing up its shell fearlessly to hunt Baiyun down.


    Baiyun almost laughed as he swung the pan and smacked the climbing centipedes back down.


    The beetle was angered. It flapped its wings violently, launching Baiyun and the centipedes away!


    Baiyun grunted as the force sent him flying into the canopy of a nearby tree. The branches scratched his arms, but he grabbed onto them like a monkey and hung on.


    A centipede smashed into the branches right beside him and was dazed; he picked it up and tossed it upwards towards the shell of the beetle, where it clung on instinctively.


    Baiyun had a brief moment to think with the centipedes now dazed and scattered.


    It seemed the beetle had little fear of the centipedes, which made sense. A sedentary creature that behaved more like an oversized boulder was unlikely to have many encounters. Besides, the blackhorn root was far too precious to the beetle for it to be frightened off by just a few centipedes.


    He suddenly thought of an idea and reached a hand into his bag for the artefact bow. If he nailed the centipede to the beetle with a silver arrow, he could splatter danger pheromones all over it! Any centipedes he lured over would prioritise attacking the beetle instead and if it slaughtered enough, they would even call upon a warrior centipede.


    But he shook his head. Ying Shi lent him the bow for the expedition, not for him to sneak off and use it for his own gains. For the sake of integrity, it probably was best not to use it unless a life-threatening situation came up.


    Baiyun thought a little further about his hasty plan and realised it had its share of problems too. If a warrior centipede was lured over, he would have to stay far away until the carnage was over. Afterwards, even if the centipedes took no interest in the blackhorn root, an opportunistic spirit beast would probably take the root before he returned.


    Tsk.


    It was clear he wasn''t equipped for the job, so there was no point in wasting time. Baiyun decided it was best for him to move on and look for another opportunity. He would return tomorrow with more preparations against the beetle.


    He leapt down from the tree before he could attract the attention of more canopy wolves, then ran off as fast as he could.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Baiyun turned around briefly and frowned. It was really annoying how much the centipedes lagged behind him. He wondered if he could simply wrangle one of the centipedes and hold it in his hands while he ran. If he used ropes to tie their mandibles shut and around their legs to a convenient handle... hm, that might be a surprisingly viable idea.


    But before he could follow through, Baiyun suddenly turned his head towards the skies.


    Perhaps it was the subtle change in the sound of wind, for reasons unknown, he felt like something was ominous.


    Baiyun reached his divine thread 12 metres above and felt a present rapidly descending! His eyes constricted and he immediately activated the ring, summoning the barrier! There was no mention of a nocturnal airborne predator in the book!


    The sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches echoed as the entity swept down, smashing straight through the canopy/ A shower of leaves fell from above as it landed beside Baiyun.


    "Hey!"


    This voice... Fei An?!


    She stood before him with a grin, patting the dust and debris off her robes.


    "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Baiyun blurted out.


    Outside the sect, he could freely use divine thread! How did she detect him without alerting him? Could it be that the people of this world invented a unique tracking technique? A qi compass wouldn''t have worked on him as a servant physique did not emit qi.


    "Wait, don''t get mad at me! I know you don''t like to talk to me but... you''re entering a very dangerous area!"


    Fei An waved her hands frantically as she spoke, averting his gaze. Baiyun did not realise it, but he was staring at her so intensely, it was as if it could bore through stone.


    "Answer me."


    "Okay, okay! Calm down! I''ll explain everything!" Fei An said. "So back in town, I heard this weird sound in the middle of the night! It was like... Ting, ting ting! So I looked out of the window, and I didn''t expect to see you outside, running about!"


    Baiyun''s face went blank. Was that the sound of the Thousand Will barrier bouncing?


    "So I climbed on top of a roof to see what you were up to. But I didn''t expect you to rush out of town! I didn''t want Ying Shi to get mad if something happened, so I decided to follow you. But I have this feeling that you have crazy sharp senses, so I didn''t use qi sense. I just followed the bull''s path since you were following it too."


    "When you entered the dark forest, I just listened for your footsteps and flew quietly. And when the centipedes started chasing you, I just left a qi mark on one of them and followed that!"


    Baiyun smacked his head mentally.


    To think such a simple trick got him! If he had scanned the centipede thoroughly with divine thread, he would have likely sensed her mark. But he was focused on directing the thread in the path he ran to detect any incoming threats. Threading senses greatly increased their range, but this was their main disadvantage compared to aura fields.


    Perhaps Fei An was smarter than she looked.


    "Anyway, you shouldn''t go deeper into the forest! Haven''t you heard of beast kings?" Fei An said.


    Baiyun was aware of them.


    Spirit forests often formed above "qi faults" where large amounts of qi would leak from underground world veins and burst to the surface. But the further away from the fault, the thinner the qi. The qi-dense centre of the forest would be dominated by the mightiest beasts monopolising the qi. This resulted in an onion-like structure, where every layer further to the outside would be populated by weaker and weaker beasts.


    Artificial qi faults known as Qi Towers could also be created by drilling massive holes kilometres underground, something powerful sects often did.


    "I''m not going that deep into the forest," he said.


    "That''s not the point! To begin with, you shouldn''t even be here! You''re not invincible just because Ying Shi gave you some artefacts."


    Baiyun shrugged and continued to trudge deeper.


    "Hey! Don''t ignore me!"


    Fei An furrowed her eyebrows and pouted as she chased.


    Hah... To think his plans to sneak out in secret would be foiled on the very first day. How unlucky could he be? Baiyun sighed.


    At the very least, he now had a free bodyguard. He certainly wasn''t going to complain about some extra security.


    Hm?


    He paused. Where had the centipedes gone? They should have caught up by now. Baiyun turned around and retraced his steps.


    "Oh? Are you finally listening and going back? I can fly us back to town, so we don''t have to walk forever!"


    Fei An spoke excitedly and waved her arms as she floated into the air.


    Baiyun didn''t reply, but found his answer shortly in the beetle clearing.


    The centipedes were pinned to the ground by a hail of arrows that struck everything indiscriminately, dotting even the grass and treetops. The beetle seemed unharmed and was surrounded by fallen arrows that bounced off its shell.


    Baiyun sighed deeply.


    "W-what?" Fei An said. "Why do you look mad at me?"


    Mad? He was just mildly annoyed.


    "I was using those centipedes to scare off the beasts!"


    "Ah! Erm, I thought your eyes were so scary that the beasts just stayed away..."


    ...


    Baiyun slapped his forehead. He decided to take back what he thought about Fei An looking smarter than she looked.


    "It''s okay! I can figure something out!" she said.


    Fei An waved her hands and dislodged the arrows from the dying centipedes. With another wave, a powerful swirl of wind tossed them into the air along with a storm of fallen leaves.


    A maniacal grin spread over her face as she pulled out a shortsword, disappearing into a flash and rushing towards the floating centipedes! With swift motions blur to the eye, she quickly bisected each centipede head to tail with consecutive slashes.


    Fei An continued to swing her blade and gutted them, digging out their entrails and tossing them aside.


    Centipede blood splattered everywhere but a barrier of wind around kept her spotless. But it also had the unfortunate side effect of flinging blood everywhere, so Baiyun took cover behind a large tree.


    "Almost done! Now to clean them!"


    Fei An used one hand to anchor their position in the air, then used her other hand to summon a tornado of wind that wrung out any liquid remaining from the exoskeletons.


    "There!"


    Fei An dispelled the wind and caught the empty husks as they fell.


    The massive beetle stared at her and shifted restlessly as if worried, but remained seated on its precious root.


    "Hehe! Now you can wear them as scarfs! They shouldn''t be too heavy either, since I gutted them!" she said cheerfully.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched.


    ...how exactly had this child been raised? He would like a word with her parents.

 0022: Mole

    "There! You look good, heheh!" Fei An snickered.


    Baiyun stood there speechlessly, coils of centipede shells wrapped around him like macabre scarfs. There were no mirrors around, but with divine sense and soul, he could get a rough idea of his appearance.


    Such awful taste...


    The centipede shells were rough and uncomfortable. Worst of all, Fei An did not remove their legs, so they dug into his skin and scratched it. If he switched from martial robes to rags, he would resemble a barbarian living in the wilderness, the type of savage who''d even spear human heads on sticks.


    Baiyun sighed as he marched into the forest to test his new "outfit", ready to activate his ring at any moment. Would this really work?


    But to his surprise, every beast he met now fled on sight!


    Fei An walked up to him and pinched her nose.


    "Wow, you stink, haha!"


    After having a moment to sit, the centipede shells now had a bizarre overpowering smell. Baiyun wondered if that was the scent of the danger pheromones. If the smell could frighten beasts, he could make horrible scented candles out of them and them in a lantern.


    Baiyun began to worry if he could even wash the smell out of his robes; they were the training attire Guan Qiang had given him. But at the very least, he no longer had to waste Thousand Will charges fending off beasts when the centipedes lagged too far behind.


    He trudged deeper into the forest with furrowed eyebrows, Fei An floating right behind and following him.


    She pouted and looked like she had something to say, but he decided not to indulge her. Most likely, she wanted to ask where he was heading, but truthfully, he didn''t know either.


    It wasn''t that he was lost; his soul''s memory gave him fairly good bearings.


    But even as he spun his divine thread round and round, he could find no opportunities! If he continued to delve deeper into the forest, he would start to encounter stranger beasts that might not fear the centipedes, much like how the blackhorn beetle didn''t.


    He could try to circle the safe exterior, but even then, he wanted to return by morning so he couldn''t search for too long. It would be very frustrating if he had to return without gaining anything.


    The worst part? Other than the beetle''s root, he could not find a single herb with useful essence to take with him! Guan Qiang''s mountain was a paradise compared to this!


    Spirit beasts being able to survive on qi alone led to strange consequences to ecosystems. Even if herbivore populations exploded and overgrazed, wiping out all plant life, they still wouldn''t starve. And due to the justifiably cowardly nature of predators, many of them would only hunt the weakest prey and subsist off qi at other times.


    The result: overpopulated habitats full of complacent and bored animals!


    Baiyun, seemingly a mortal without aura appeared nothing more than an easy meal, attracting the attention of countless predators who hadn''t eaten for years. Even if he would offer little benefit to their cultivation, he was a tasty sack of meat. It was no wonder he attracted so much attention if not for the centipedes.


    It was a good thing much like the Ying Clan''s bull, spirit beasts were picky with their food, or even the grass and leaves would have been stripped clean, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland of dead trees.


    But couldn''t they have left a useful herb or two for him at least?


    Baiyun let out a deep sigh as he walked, spinning his divine thread round and round. With all the time he had with himself and his thoughts, he even began to wonder why he was doing stupid things like impulsively entering an overpopulated spirit forest alone. He felt like he would go insane if he walked out without a single benefit.


    But he suddenly paused. His divine thread picked up on a strange patch of soil 10 metres away. Baiyun''s eyes lit up and he ran over excitedly.


    Fei An who was bored out of her mind and about to fall asleep suddenly raised her head.


    "Why are you running? Did you find something?"


    She shouted and quickly flew after him.


    Baiyun ran to the strange soil and sent his divine thread beneath into the ground. It phased through layers and layers of hardened earth, until it met with something that resisted its movement.


    No matter. He spun his divine thread like a drill, slowly pushing through the weak resistance until it was through. His thread entered hollow space beneath the soil.


    Jackpot!


    Baiyun lowered himself to the ground as Fei An watched with baffled eyes.


    As his divine sense wormed and prodded, the hollow space was revealed to be a huge network of tunnels, only wide enough for a large housecat to walk through.


    Many chambers had their soil specially prepared, various herbs and fungi of different elements growing in them. Some of the chambers even had glowing crystals affixed to their ceilings as a sunlight replacement.


    Baiyun''s divine thread was not long enough to navigate all the tunnels, but fortunately, it still was enough for him to find what he was looking for. In one of the chambers, a large mole laid on a pile of dirty cotton-like material, fast asleep.


    It was one of the animals in the guidebook Baiyun was most interested in, the Gardener Mole!


    They were intelligent spirit beasts who would gather seeds and spores from all over the land, growing chambers full of herbs for their own breakthroughs. To hide their burrows from the qi sense of beasts and qi compasses of humans, they would line their tunnels with a unique excrement that obfuscated qi, though it was no match for Baiyun''s divine thread.


    It was an incredibly lucky find!


    The guide stated that around 80 years ago, the Myriad Herb Clan from the WanLing sect had sent a large force to excavate the soil all over the forest. If they could not locate the moles with conventional methods, they would simply use brute force.


    Hundreds of gardener moles were captured as pets and the rest fled from the chaos, making them incredibly rare in this forest.


    "Fei An! Go dig here!" Baiyun called out, pointing at the ground.


    "Eh? There''s treasure there!" Fei An asked.


    "Yes, treasure!"


    "Ooooo!"


    Baiyun shook his head as Fei An dug around in her bag, searching for a suitable tool. He didn''t feel particularly good about raiding the den of an endangered beast, but he valued his own survival more.


    A strange thought suddenly entered his mind. Since they were captured and dropped off into herb gardens rather than killed, did this technically fit the definition of "endangerment"?


    "Um..." Fei An said awkwardly.


    It seemed she couldn''t find a suitable tool, so Baiyun passed her a shovel from his bag.


    "Thanks. But how did you know there''s treasure below?" she asked.


    "It''s just a feeling. Now dig!"


    Fei An stared at him doubtfully but began to dig anyway.


    She raised the shovel into the air and swung it downwards like an axe, cleaving the soil and sending huge chunks of soil and rock into the air! But before they could splatter on her robes, she blew them away with gusts of wind, smashing through trees and tumbling away into the distant forest.


    Baiyun''s eyes twitched as he watched her massacre the earth, the loud thuds echoing. How could there be such a violent and inefficient way of using a shovel? If she was going to dig like that, she could have used one of her weapons! But she still dug a hundred times faster than he ever could have, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.


    Fei An seemed to be having fun at the very least.


    Underground, the mole began to stir from the faint tremors. It opened its eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling in a daze, still half asleep.


    "Fei An! Dig faster!" Baiyun yelled. "The gardener mole is getting away!"


    "What?! How''d you know? And you should have told me earlier!" Fei An yelled back.


    Her arms blurred as she swung the shovel faster and faster, loud metallic slams echoing! The shovel''s head began to dent and grow red hot, its handle growing crooked. Even at this hour, birds fled from the trees and flocked into the night sky.


    The mole finally snapped away and squeaked in terror.


    Above, the tremors from Fei An''s attacks grew stronger and stronger. The mole was almost tearful as it skittered through the tunnels, running back and forth between its herb chambers frantically. Baiyun could tell the mole wanted to flee but could not bear to leave its herbs behind.


    Finally, the mole unearthed a large red ginseng, biting it in its mouth gently before rushing into the tunnels deeper below!


    A loud crackle shook the den as the shovel finally broke in, crushing the ceiling of a chamber and caving it in. Fei An let out a cry of dismay as the rocks crushed the spirit mushrooms beneath.


    "Ah! What a waste! Ow ow ow, hot!"


    Fei An quickly tossed the shovel aside; though the wreck of red-hot melted metal could hardly be considered a tool at this point. It bounced onto the ground and burnt the grass it touched into ashes.


    She quickly unleashed her aura as a burst, flooding the tunnels with qi sense!


    "Found you! Tempest hand!" she yelled.


    Fei An clasped her hands together and a ball of swirling winds formed within. She loosened her fingers and opened a small gap, a column of swirling wind with 5 fingers snaking out and rushing into the tunnels beneath!


    The little mole dug desperately into the soil and struck its burrows to collapse them. But it was far too late; Fei An''s tempest hand pierced through the loose soil and wrapped its swirling fingers around it. The mole squeaked as the winds spun it round and round until it was too dizzy to fight back.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The hand began to flicker as it yanked the mole out and tossed it onto the grass, reaching its limits and dissipating into thin air. Fei An let out a sigh of relief.


    Baiyun squatted down before the mole as it squirmed on the ground desperately, hugging the red ginseng in its paws as if it were a precious baby.


    He sighed.


    If the mole had been a little more resolute and ran off immediately, Fei An would not have been able to capture it. But he couldn''t help but sympathise. From the experiences of his past life, he knew just how much effort it took to grow a herb garden.


    He truly had wronged this little beast. Baiyun conveniently ignored how he felt none of this sympathy for the centipedes and blackhorn beetle for being less "presentable".


    Fei An suddenly snatched the mole from the ground and held it high in the air.


    "Whoa! It''s so cute!" she squealed.


    She reached out a hand to pet it, but the mole let out a furious shriek and chomped onto her fingers!


    "Ow! Bad!"


    Fei An hurriedly pried its mouth open and revealed her unharmed fingers. If even red-hot metal could only slightly scald her, such a paltry attack wasn''t getting through her body cultivation.


    She placed the mole down on the ground and stared at it with a troubled look. Then her eyes lit up as she reached a hand into her bag.


    "Here, yummy!"


    She grinned as she passed it a juicy grape, but the mole hissed and swatted it away.


    "Ah!"


    Fei An hurriedly summoned a gust of wind before it could hit the ground, then floated it into her mouth.


    "This little guy is so stubborn..." she complained as she chewed.


    Baiyun shook his head as he watched her.


    "Fei An, let''s discuss splitting the spoils."


    "Oh! I almost forgot!"


    Fei An shot upright and mused to herself.


    "Wait... but how do we split the mole? It''s not like we can cut it in half..."


    Baiyun nearly spluttered at her words. If it had been earlier today, he would only take it as a joke, but he had just watched her bisect a swarm of centipedes!


    "Don''t!"


    "I won''t! Do you think I''m crazy?" she huffed. "Well, I guess I could take the mole while you take the herbs, but our clan doesn''t really need a gardener mole..."


    He decided not to mention she could technically sell it.


    "Fei An, what if you passed the mole to me? I want to see if I can tame it."


    "Eh? In that case wouldn''t it be quite unfair for you? Since I couldn''t have found it without you, you should have the herbs! There''s no way you''ll be able to tame it!"


    Fei An looked at him doubtfully.


    Baiyun wondered if he was being a little too suspicious for a moment, but he had already dug himself into this hole, so he continued.


    "You said your clan didn''t need the mole, right?"


    "Yeah but..."


    Fei An seemed strangely reluctant.


    On the ground, the mole noticed the two humans seemed to be distracted. It tried to dig away stealthily, but a tempest hand materialised out of nowhere and flipped it onto its back where it squirmed helplessly. The hand pulled glowing bindings from Fei An''s bag and tied the creature down.


    "Just give me a week, okay? If I still haven''t managed to tame it by then, we''ll negotiate again." Baiyun said.


    "Hnn..." Fei An seemed troubled.


    She thought to herself for a good minute before nodding.


    "Fine. But don''t blame me if you can''t tame it!" she grumbled. "Oh, and I''ll pass you some of the herbs later."


    Baiyun coughed. It seemed she was still a little sympathetic to him, giving him a share of herbs anyway. If he did successfully tame the mole, would this be taking advantage of her?


    Perhaps as an elder, much like how he refrained from using Ying Shi''s bow earlier, he should have a little more integrity and refuse...


    ...


    ...


    Baiyun couldn''t. He was unable to muster up the strength to reject her offer. How could an alchemist ever say no to spirit herbs?


    He sighed and quickly pondered his life decisions. Where had he gone this astray?


    Meanwhile, Fei An picked up the squirming mole wrapped in artefact bindings and plopped it into his hands.


    "Here. If you want to turn the bindings off, I''ll tell you the keywords."


    She paused for a moment.


    "Giant Squid!" she yelled.


    The bindings flashed for a moment before coming loose. It continued to cling to the fur of the mole, but the creature was now free to move. The mole squeaked and jumped into the grass, immediately plunging its claws into the soil.


    "Big Monkey!" Fei An yelled.


    Baiyun watched speechlessly as the bindings tightened around the mole once more, leaving it stuck in the soil with its behind sticking out.


    He sighed deeply.


    "W-what? The elders told me I should use unusual keywords so the bindings wouldn''t activate by accident! Don''t give me that look!"


    Fei An said defensively, waving her hands around. Then she paused and turned away.


    "Um... Don''t tell anyone about this." she said. "Or I''ll get you!"


    Embarrassed, she jumped into the massive hole she dug before Baiyun could say anything. How convenient.


    Baiyun thought for a moment that he was supposed to be the one telling her not to say anything, given how he had been trying to sneak out in secret. But this was actually a good thing, since he didn''t know if he could trust her to keep quiet. She was quite talkative after all.


    As Fei An summoned tempest hands to harvest the various herbs, the mole suddenly let out a shrill cry and struggled in its bindings. Baiyun covered its eyes and walked away. No one should have to witness their herb garden being looted.


    "Whoa! Glowberries!" Fei An''s voice echoed from the hole.


    Baiyun slowly inched further and further away. No reaction from her. Then he took off running at full speed!


    He pulled out rags from the bag and wrapped the mole in a bundle, shielding it from brambles and branches as he rushed through the forest. He ran onwards for 30 minutes, huffing as he came to a stop.


    Fei An should be too far away to find him by now. And from his divine thread, it seemed to be a secluded spot devoid of spirit beasts.


    Baiyun placed the mole on the ground gently and unwrapped the rags. The mole stared at him listlessly, too deflated to struggle, as if it had accepted its own fate.


    He reached a hand towards the mole to comfort it, but stopped. He didn''t feel like he had the right to, considering he was the culprit behind its misfortune.


    In any case, it was time to get to business.


    Baiyun closed his eyes and focused, letting out a wisp of soulsense from his mouth. Soulsense stemmed from the very essence of one''s soul and could not be cultivated.


    Excluding spirits, the souls of most life stemmed from the same source, the shattered remains of the origin deity. That similarity made it possible for soulsense to convey the purest essence of thought, transcending even the language barrier.


    "Little one. Let''s negotiate a soul contract." Baiyun said.


    The mole widened its eyes and froze in shock. It was not rare for the more intelligent spirit beasts to have languages, but it was a solitary creature who had never communicated.


    It began to squeak in fear. Strange hairless monstrous giants had kidnapped it and now one of them was forcing strange thoughts into its very soul! They were foreign and alien concepts it could not comprehend, overwhelming it and shaking its mind.


    The mole rolled around in the ground in agony.


    Ah. Baiyun quickly halted the flow of thoughts, feeling slightly awkward. Perhaps he was a little too hasty.


    He reached into its mind again but this time conjuring imagery instead. Even if it didn''t understand language, he was confident it could comprehend it.


    The mole froze as a vision entered its mind''s eye.


    Baiyun and the mole entered the illusion together, the dark forest gone.


    Suddenly, it was in daylight, in a different forest teeming with herbs and precious fruit! The strange giant took it around the forest and harvested seeds with it.


    The giant mouthed unknown noises that sounded like the alien thoughts previously, before pointing somewhere into the distance and taking it there.


    They arrived at a massive herb garden, one unconstrained by dark chambers, endless fields of herbs stretching as far as the eye could see! A wondrous aroma filled the air, tinged with the delightful smell of essence as sunlight cascaded from above onto the myriad herbs, their vibrant colours converging like a rainbow.


    Baiyun nodded, thinking he had done a good job, before realising the mole was squirming again. He subtly read its intentions and figured out what was going on.


    Too bright! Too bright! The sun was too bright!


    ...he began to regret making the vision theatric. How had he forgotten an underground creature would hate sunlight?


    Baiyun snapped his fingers. The sun rushed across the horizon and set in an instant, the moon rushing over in its place. Then, endless clouds hid it from sight, blanketing the garden in darkness.


    The mole was finally able to focus and stared in awe. It had never seen so many herbs in its life. With them, it could become the strongest mole ever!


    It watched as the giant pointed at the garden, then to it. Strange thoughts from the giant forced themselves into its mind once more, but much more subdued this time.


    It finally understood what the giant wanted to tell it.


    An incredible garden like this could belong to it. All it needed to do was to follow him.


    No. No no no no!


    Clearly, the giant wanted it to grow a garden like this, so he could take everything away and use it for his benefit instead!


    The illusion began to distort as the mole envisioned its own thoughts.


    All around, clones of Fei An and Baiyun rushed into the incredible garden, snatching the herbs away and running off. The mole might not know language, but it was smart enough to know not to trust invaders that attacked it!


    Baiyun began to get a headache.


    After all he did to the mole, he wanted to give it a fair contract that treated it as a companion at the very least. Did he really have to force a contract on it? That would make him no better than a slaver.


    He sighed. Even if it wasn''t human, a spirit beast able to analyse essence and grow herbs with such efficiency was no less intelligent.


    But he couldn''t just give up.


    Baiyun rushed around the vision and stopped every clone of himself and Fei An, beating them up and taking the herbs back! Having to beat up clones of himself made him feel rather strange.


    He summoned a massive cauldron, then gathered the stolen herbs and plopped them in. Flames surrounded the cauldron and it rumbled, before spitting out a shower of pills that glittered like gems!


    Baiyun snatched the pills out of the air and ran back to the mole, where he stuffed pill after pill down its mouth as it squirmed. The mole began to glow as mighty power filled its body.


    Foundational! Core Shaping! Nascent Soul!


    The mole widened its eyes and looked at itself in disbelief. What was this incredible power that filled its body? It felt like it was the strongest in the world and that nothing could stop it! Even if a million giants faced it, it would defeat them all in 1 attack.


    But just as quickly, it shook its head angrily. Impossible, impossible!


    Having forced the mole''s suspension of disbelief to its absolute limit, Baiyun''s imagery exploded and shattered into countless fragments, snapping them out into reality.


    They were once again in the dark forest, Baiyun wrapped head to toe in centipede shells once more.


    Baiyun tried his best to read the mole''s thoughts to figure out what was going on.


    It huffed in anger. Turning precious herbs into weird shiny pebbles that could make it strong? That was the most stupid thing it had ever heard in its life! Pebbles were obviously not edible!


    Baiyun''s face went blank.


    He was beginning to realise diplomacy was not his forte.


    Baiyun did his best to analyse its thoughts and figure out how to communicate with it without frying its brain.


    30 minutes of struggling passed as he tried his best, until finally, he managed to convey what he actually wanted to ask.


    The mole stared at him in silence. For some reason, it didn''t feel afraid of him anymore. Perhaps it was because the giant was surprisingly silly.


    If the giant fed it a "shiny pebble" made of herbs that truly advanced its cultivation, it would agree to follow him! Though the mole was unaware this was a dao agreement, a concept too complicated for it to understand.


    Baiyun sighed.


    It seemed he had a week to tailor a pill for the mole''s breakthrough. This mole seemed to be of the 9th stage of Qi Gathering, so he would need to induce a Foundational breakthrough to make any progress.


    What an unreasonable deadline...


    And since the mole had 0 combat ability, it wasn''t as if he would gain a powerful ally. All higher cultivation would do was allow it to tend to Foundational herbs, which he didn''t need right now.

 0023: Negotiation (1/2)

    It was dawn by the time negotiations with the mole ended.


    Baiyun ran back to town as fast as he could, the little critter tucked beneath one of his arms. The sun rose as if it were racing him, but he arrived at town just as morning came.


    He let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his face.


    "Brghhh..."


    The mole let out a weird nauseated sound; the poor thing had been swinging around under his arm as he ran full throttle, still hugging onto its red ginseng for dear life.


    Some of the elderly folk who had risen early stared at him with odd looks, wondering about the strange kid smuggling an animal about.


    Baiyun coughed and took out his largest wooden bowl, placing the mole inside and wrapping it up with rags. He wasn''t sure if a suspicious bundle of cloth with something wiggling inside was any better, but at least the mole could hide from the sun inside.


    "Ah!"


    Fei An suddenly shouted from somewhere. Baiyun looked towards the call and saw her perched atop the inn roof like a pigeon.


    The townsfolk cried out in alarm as she leapt from the roof, her hair billowing in the wind. She landed on the ground gracefully and used her falling momentum to charge at him with full speed!


    "Hey! Where did you run off to? I searched everywhere and couldn''t find you?" she huffed.


    Baiyun could only laugh awkwardly. It wasn''t as if he could attempt to contract the mole with her around.


    "Sorry, I got distracted and wandered off."


    "Hmmm?"


    Fei An circled Baiyun a few times with a suspicious look.


    "Well whatever. I guess you have your playful side too, huh? Here''s your share of the herbs. You can keep the pouch!"


    She stuffed a drawstring pouch into his hand. It was small enough to fit in his hand, but divine sense revealed it was a spatial bag with as much room as a large backpack, packed with a large assortment of herbs.


    Baiyun furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He had been wondering about it since he first received his spatial bag, but the WanLing sect really was quite casual about handing them out. If it was just a suspicion from before, he was now fairly certain this world had discovered a way to manufacture spatial artefacts cheaply.


    It-


    A shrill and furious cry from the wooden bowl interrupted his thoughts as the mole clawed at the rags above!


    "Ah! It must have smelled me!" Fei An yelled.


    She hurriedly ran off, zooming more than 20 metres away before pausing. Fei An looked around awkwardly before rushing back to Baiyun and leaning in to whisper to him.


    "Erm. Don''t tell anyone or I''ll take the herbs back!"


    Then she ran off again.


    Baiyun sweated as the mole''s sharp claws tore through the cloth and flailed in the air. Some of the elderly people backed off, probably imagining something far more fearsome beneath.


    It was going to be troublesome if the mole went into a frenzy every time it came near Fei An! He hurriedly used soulsense to project some imagery to calm it down.


    The mole watched an illusion of Baiyun chasing Fei An off, then valiantly stealing back some of its herbs. At the same time, the herb bag was shoved under the rags and into the bowl.


    "Krrr!"


    The mole briefly dropped its red ginseng and hugged the pouch in delight. Then it fiddled with the drawstring and stuck its head in, much to Baiyun''s alarm.


    Living things were not supposed to enter spatial spaces! A hand briefly reaching into one was one thing, but sticking a head into briefly might cause disorientation or even unconsciousness. But somehow, the mole seemed perfectly fine even as it leaned half its body into the bag to lick and sniff at the herbs.


    It pulled out a small golden root and slowly nibbled on it, then hugged the pouch tightly as if to proclaim this was its belonging now.


    First the strange fish in his gourd that survived his spatial bag and now this mole... Baiyun frowned as he used divine thread on the mole, but he couldn''t find anything off.


    Very strange. It seemed quite likely this was related to the casual way spatial bags were treated. Was there something different about this world''s spatial laws? Baiyun''s curiosity burned but he shook his head and snuffed it out.


    There would be no end to it if he tried to investigate every oddity about this world. He only had 2 weeks outside the sect, so he needed to make the most of it. Such things should only be pondered once he had the luxury of time on his side, once he had grown stronger.


    Right now, he should be preparing for tonight''s expedition. Even with the unexpected boon of the mole''s herbs, he still wanted the beetle''s blackhorn root.


    He headed to the marketplace quietly, and spent the next few hours making purchases.


    It was afternoon by the time Baiyun returned to the inn''s entrance, his bag now stocked with new supplies. He looked at his remaining 126 tokens and sighed. Money was always spent in an instant.


    He pushed the door open and marched in.


    The innkeeper was dozing off as usual, but quickly snapped upright and freshened up as if nothing had happened. He coughed and spoke up as Baiyun approached.


    "Hm? Is there anything you want, kid?"


    "I''m looking for a friend named Qinghe. Do you know where her room is?"


    Now that he had some valuable herbs on hand, perhaps he would be able to negotiate with her somehow.


    "Qinghe? She-"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The innkeeper suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes.


    "If you''re friends, wouldn''t she have told you where her room was?" he asked.


    What was with this change of attitude? Baiyun raised an eyebrow.


    "I was busy yesterday after returning from the hunt, so I didn''t get a chance to ask."


    The innkeeper huffed.


    "Hmph. I think I know exactly what''s going on!"


    "Huh?"


    Baiyun was baffled.


    "Kid. Even if you like someone, you can''t go knocking on their door and harassing them!"


    WHAT?


    Baiyun nearly spluttered. The old man thought he was an annoying suitor bothering a young lady!


    Ridiculous! How could a man in his mid-thousands have any interest in some smelly kid who hadn''t lived even a tenth as long as his secluded cultivations? If the lady was''t at least 2000, it was completely out of the question!


    Hm? Or was that too young compared to his age? Perhaps 3000 to 6000 was more suited. Not the man had any way to know, but it infuriated him all the same.


    Baiyun''s anger suddenly wavered as a horrifying thought struck him.


    In his past life, he was far too dedicated to his crafts and had never been in a relationship. Most of his time was spent cooped up in a cave doing alchemy, at least until his father ordered him to teach the sect''s disciples.


    Come to think of it, even if there was a 3000 year old lady interested in him, wouldn''t she have a few screws loose? In this life, he was barely older than the blink of an eye!


    He absolutely wouldn''t accept a woman degenerate enough to take interest in someone as young as he was. In fact, he would happily introduce them to WanLing''s prison.


    ...


    ...


    Baiyun suddenly deflated.


    He hadn''t thought about it previously, but didn''t this mean he was destined to be forever alone? With the criteria he had set for himself, it was impossible for him to be matched with anyone.


    Perhaps he should have listened when his father told him to find a wife instead of just messing around with herbs all day. But it was far too late to regret his past life.


    Baiyun walked away from the innkeeper and up the stairs with a faint tear in the corner of his eye. It seemed it was destined for alchemy to be his only love.


    Who needed a spouse anyway? Alchemy was all he needed!


    He mumbled consolations to himself as he trudged across the hall.


    In truth, it would be very easy for him to find Qinghe''s room. All he needed was to send divine thread into the room of every disciple as he walked past.


    But he didn''t feel like it was right to spy on his own teammates so casually, so he decided to ask the innkeeper instead, leading to this ridiculous situation.


    "Ehh? When did you come out of your room? I was here all morning!"


    Mohei suddenly ran over.


    "And why do you look so gloomy?"


    Baiyun laughed dryly and shook his head.


    "Nothing. I just went out early to buy something."


    "I see... So you look sad because your favourite snack wasn''t on sale! It''s okay, it will probably be on sale again tomorrow!"


    Mohei crossed his arms triumphantly, his face full of confidence. He did not have a single shred of doubt about his conclusion.


    But Baiyun only stared back blankly much to his shock.


    "Eh? Impossible, I thought my deduction was perfect!"


    Baiyun shook his head.


    "By the way, I have something to discuss with Qinghe, do you know where her room is?"


    "Oh, her room is right there!" Mohei pointed at one of the doors. "Wait, what''s that weird bowl you''re carrying?"


    Mohei inched towards the bowl and even sniffed it, but Baiyun pulled the bowl away.


    "Thanks, Mohei!"


    Baiyun forced a smile and walked off, but Mohei grumbled and sulked. Even as Baiyun knocked on the door, he occasionally glanced over and frowned.


    Behind the door, someone grumbled in annoyance before pushing it open. Qinghe revealed herself, scowling as if she wanted to strangle someone.


    "You? What do you want?"


    Baiyun was taken aback by her hostility, but he took the rags off the bowl and tried to maintain his smile. Inside, the mole was fast asleep, hugging the herb pouch tightly between its claws. It seemed it had even stashed the red ginseng inside.


    "...I found this thing. You''re an alchemist, aren''t you?"


    Qinghe looked at him doubtfully for a moment. It seemed she had a lot she wanted to ask, but she only sighed.


    "Fine, come in. But don''t waste my time."


    "Ahhh! No fair!"


    Mohei''s yell came from all the way across the hall.


    "Baiyun! Aren''t we friends? Why are you showing her the mole, not me! I want to pet it!"


    He rushed over in a full sprint, but Qinghe yanked Baiyun into the room and shut the door before he could reach it. Baiyun wasn''t sure what to feel.


    The curtains of the room had been replaced by opaque cloth that blanketed it in darkness. Alchemy textbooks were strewn all over the place and a dense herbal smell filled the room. On her table was a mortar and pestle beside dozens of glass jars of various extracts, along with metal filters and various glass tools.


    It seemed while she had been considerate enough not to use a cauldron here, she was still hard at work honing her craft.


    Baiyun nodded. Diligence like this was commendable, far better than the useless lazy disciples he used to have. However...


    He walked over to her replacement curtains and pulled them open.


    "Urgh! What do you think you''re doing?"


    Qinghe practically hissed as she shielded her eyes from the bright noon sunlight.


    Baiyun opened the glass windows behind the curtains and let fresh air into the room.


    "You should let some air into the room every now and then, the feng shui in this room is terrible! And tidy up your room a little more. An organised room is an organised mind!"


    He walked around the room as he spoke and gathered her scattered textbooks, placing them onto her table.


    "Hey! Don''t close my textbooks, I placed them face down to bookmark them!" she shouted. "Did you come here just to act like a naggy old man?"


    Baiyun nearly choked at those words of hers.


    Qinghe huffed and waved a hand, sending a swirl of wind into the room from the window. The stale air was displaced in an instant, leaving only fresh air in the room.


    "There. Happy?" she crossed her arms. "If you want to negotiate, show some consideration to the other party. You should be glad I didn''t kick you out immediately. Now, let''s talk business. I assume you''re here to sell the mole?"


    Her eyes turned cold and calculative in an instant. It was difficult to believe how much of a slouch she appeared to be just moments ago.


    Baiyun could only laugh dryly.


    "The mole is not for sale. I''m here for something else."


    "Oh?"


    He could tell Qinghe was gauging him. If he truly was a hillbilly who knew nothing about value as his servant status suggested, she would almost certainly rip him off.


    Baiyun decided to do a quick scan with divine thread just in case, but something caught him by surprise. His thread found Mohei pressing his ear to the door, listening intently.


    He nearly slapped a hand to his forehead.


    That kid was more mischievous and nosy than he expected! Without precise control, a wooden door would let out a slight creak when leaned against, something the sharp ears of a cultivator would easily catch. Yet, neither he nor Qinghe had heard anything. Exactly how many people had he eavesdropped on to reach this level of mastery?


    Wait. It was true he really did know little to nothing about the value of things to this world, but he suddenly had a ridiculous idea.


    It would all depend on Mohei now.

 0024: Negotiation (2/2)

    Even under the sunlight from the window, the mole remained fast asleep.


    Qinghe stared at it doubtfully.


    "Just to make it clear, you do own this mole?" she asked with a frown.


    "You could say that..." Baiyun scratched his head.


    "What''s with that shaky answer?" Qinghe huffed. "Whatever. I''m not sure what you want to do with the mole but I won''t push you. Just know that it will be difficult to keep your hands on the mole once you return to the sect, given your status."


    Baiyun could only agree in silence.


    She was right; it wasn''t as if a servant could stop the sect from confiscating the mole, nor did he have a herb garden for it to tend to. The light spirit did own a garden she let the servants use freely, though it was only for mortal crops. Any spirit herbs planted there would outcompete and kill the ordinary plants.


    But Baiyun had his own plans for the mole.


    "So, what are you here for then?" Qinghe asked.


    "I''m here to sell some of the mole''s herbs."


    Qinghe stared at the herb pouch between its paws and looked rather bemused.


    Baiyun smiled awkwardly and coughed.


    "But you might have to pretend to rob them from me... if the mole knows I''m willingly selling its herbs, all my efforts taming it would go to waste."


    Qinghe looked at him in silence for a moment, then turned away and covered her mouth.


    "Okay, I''ll play along this time." she said, her voice strangely light. "Go lie over there and do your best to act unconscious."


    She pointed to a spot on the floor and Baiyun stared at it speechlessly. But he nodded helplessly and placed the mole bowl on the ground before flopping over and rolling his eyes over.


    In mere seconds, his state was now identical to a truly unconscious person, similar to how he slept with his soul still awake.


    Qinghe nodded to herself, then squatted down and snatched the pouch from the mole.


    "Kr?"


    The mole was confused for a moment as it roused. But just as quickly, it let out a furious cry and charged at her! Its claws swiped at her shoes but glanced off harmlessly; even the clothes of a young master were no simple items.


    Qinghe sweated a little at the sight of the creature unleashing its fury.


    "Aren''t you going to activate the binds on it? I''m starting to feel bad for the poor thing." she asked.


    Urgh. Still lying on the ground limply, Baiyun scrunched his face.


    "I''m just a mortal, I can''t use qi." he lied.


    "Don''t give me that nonsense! I recognise that artefact, it''s voice activated!"


    "...then I shouldn''t let you know the keyword, shouldn''t I?"


    But the real reason was that Baiyun absolutely refused to say any of the keywords Fei An came up with in front of anyone else. What was she thinking, coming up with keywords like "big monkey" and "giant squid"?


    "Fine."


    Qinghe pulled a small cage out of her bag and shoved the mole in as it let out shrill cries.


    She began to shove the cage into one of the inn closets, but paused for a moment. Then she stuffed a pill into its mouth and flicked down the mole''s throat.


    It froze for a moment before rolling over, fast asleep.


    Baiyun had to admit he was slightly relieved. If Qinghe had left the mole to panic and squirm in the closet, he worried it would get traumatised.


    He silently apologised to the critter, promising he would make up for this in the future.


    Qinghe shook her head and returned her attention to the herbs in the pouch.


    Her hands moved with blazing speed as she pulled them out, blurring as she placed the herbs on the table and sorted them. Every new herb would be sorted into a new line, while herbs of the same type would be arranged top-down by quality.


    "So, how much for these herbs?" she asked.


    Qinghe''s voice was casual as if she were merely buying roadside vegetables. She seemed to smile faintly for a brief moment, but just as quickly, it faded.


    Baiyun frowned. Was that tone an attempt to make him falter, worrying the herbs weren''t worth much after all?


    But even if he didn''t know the exact exchange rates of the herbs, he understood just how useful the essences in them were.


    He did attempt to ask for their pricing during his visit to the market previously, but unlike the mushrooms, the mortal merchants didn''t recognise them.


    Baiyun let out an awkward laugh.


    "Well... I admit I don''t actually have much clue how much these herbs are worth. I''ll be honest, I came here in hope of trading some of them for your old alchemic equipment."


    A risky move! But Baiyun had a plan.


    "Oh?" Qinghe raised an eyebrow.


    "I''ve always been curious about alchemy, you see."


    Outside the door, Mohei put his hands to his face.


    "Well, if you want to take a look, I won''t stop you. But just know that alchemy is beyond that of mortals."


    Qinghe spoke as she reached into her bag. Several things came out to the wooden floor in a tumble: various cauldrons, old textbooks and strange glass apparatuses.


    "Here, take your pick."


    She arranged them neatly in rows as if she were selling goods at a bazaar. Baiyun found it quite strange. If she was capable of arranged herbs and items in such an orderly manner, why was her room such a mess? Youths truly perplexed him sometimes.


    He put on a perplexed face as he looked through the various items, frowning and musing to himself as he poked at the various tools and flipped through the textbooks.


    Finally, Baiyun picked one of the cauldrons, all the alchemical textbooks, several glass containers, 2 metal filters of sorts and a mortar with its pestle.


    The cauldron''s insides were stained a blackish-blue by some kind of pill explosion. Contaminated essence like that would affect the quality of pills but he could easily make a solvent to remove it.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    As for the textbooks, they were worn and tattered, evidence of the countless hours Qinghe had studied them.


    He could have easily read them all on the spot with divine sense, but Baiyun figured they''d make for a good cover up. Besides, he liked to read alchemy manuals page by page and without spoilers; he enjoyed reading them more than he did novels. Mere fundamentals were unlikely to be of any use to him, but he was interested in seeing how alchemy was taught in this world.


    Baiyun pretended to fidget nervously as he gathered the last of his items.


    "Um, so these are the items I want. Will these herbs be enough to pay for it?"


    Qinghe''s eyes seemed to shift for a moment but she smiled.


    "Hm... you''re cutting it close, but I''ll make an exception for you. It''s barely enough."


    This girl!


    But she fell right into his trap. Other than his idea to make use of Mohei''s eavesdropping, he still had many schemes!


    His nervous facade faded and he marched to the table of herbs with confident strides.


    "Silver Leyleaves, golden veined mudroot, crimson truffles. Blackened mugwort, twisted-head codonopsis, rockskin ginger," Baiyun spoke.


    Qinghe''s eyes widened incredulously as he slowly recited their names. One by one, all 30 herbs were named; he even reordered the herbs while he was at it.


    She had secretly arranged them by aesthetics, not quality! Baiyun''s new arrangement was far more accurate, but he intentionally made mistakes for those with internal damage hidden from sight.


    "Tsk, tsk tsk. Did you really think I''d come here to negotiate without prior knowledge? Please, let''s have a fair trade, shall we?" Baiyun smiled.


    Outside the door, Mohei widened his eyes in disbelief, then jumped in excitement.


    Qinghe let out a sigh and held out her palms in resignation.


    "Fine, fine. You had me fooled this entire time, well played. So, what''s your actual price then?"


    "Well..." Baiyun coughed. "I''d like you to make the offer instead."


    Qinghe raised an eyebrow.


    "It''s the least you can do after that fiasco, isn''t it?" Baiyun said awkwardly.


    He knew if he named an actual price, he would likely make a mistake and ruin all his prior efforts.


    "Okay. Fine. For the items you''ve chosen, how about all the crimson truffles and the purple brackets?"


    Baiyun began to feel the tension. Now that his cards had been played, it would come down to Mohei now! If the kid proved unreliable, he would have to find an excuse to make contact and use Intention Reading.


    He reached out with divine thread and found that outside the door, Mohei was frowning.


    This... Baiyun felt a really bizarre feeling he couldn''t describe. His ridiculous idea might just work!


    "That''s a bit expensive for an old defective cauldron, basic tools and outdated textbooks, isn''t it? I can tell the cauldron has suffered some essence damage."


    Baiyun spoke with a smile.


    "They''re not outdated." Qinghe grumbled. "Fine, what about that chunk of Golden Mudroot?"


    Outside the door, Mohei''s frown lessened but he didn''t seem impressed.


    "Still too expensive."


    Baiyun stared at her with piercing eyes.


    Finally, Qinghe raised her hands and shook her head before laughing.


    "Alright, alright! It was just one final test! I give up." she said. "Just the silver leyleaves and the iron bloodroot then, alright? I''ll give you a good deal to make up for the discourtesy."


    Mohei seemed to get excited. Baiyun smiled.


    He had been a little worried about how reliable the kid would be, but it worked out surprisingly well! Mohei was still a young master in the end; even if he wasn''t an alchemist, his clan would make sure he had a well-rounded education in all fields.


    Despite how playful and childish Mohei was, it seemed he still did his lessons properly.


    "Thanks, I accept."


    Qinghe and Baiyun traded their items and began stashing their bags. But Baiyun couldn''t hide his excitement as he reached for his last item, the cauldron.


    He held it with trembling hands and couldn''t help but stroke it with a grin. Qinghe furrowed her eyebrows slightly at the sight.


    These were but the simplest of tools, but he had finally gotten his hands on alchemic equipment once more!


    Perhaps 8 years was not technically a long time to a prior immortal, but even a mortal would find it unbearable to be locked away from their interests for months or even weeks. Baiyun had to take a deep breath before he composed himself enough to stash it into his bag. It was almost as if he was being forced to say goodbye to a friend he had seen for the first time in years.


    Qinghe sighed.


    "Your name is Baiyun, right? I didn''t know you had this side to you.


    Since you''ve already done your research, you should already be aware, but I''ll still remind you as a formality. It''s impressive how you''ve honed your theoretical knowledge to such an extent despite your lack of education, but ultimately, alchemy is built upon qi control.


    Even if you know exactly how to process a medicine, what''s the point of that if you can''t use a cauldron? I assume you''re trying to forge your path regardless despite that. But the truth is, sometimes, we just weren''t born with the talents for the things we pursue.


    Forcing yourself against the tides for years before realising your efforts are in vain... there''s no greater pain than that."


    Qinghe looked off with a forlorn look and Baiyun''s eyebrows twitched. This from a girl who couldn''t even keep her own room clean? From how she appeared around 15, it should be at least another decade before she could say such things!


    Still, she was right for the most part. They didn''t exactly apply to Baiyun, but he still appreciated her sentiment despite his complaints.


    "I''ll manage somehow." Baiyun smiled.


    "Good luck with that." Qinghe shook her head. "Well, if it''s ultimately futile, let me know and I''ll refund your purchase. I can even recommend you as an instructor for basics at the Myriad Herbs clan. An instructor without meridians... Hah, that would make for quite the story, wouldn''t it?"


    It seemed something about a servant learning alchemy despite the limitations resonated with her somehow.


    The world of barter was cutthroat, but with the hard fought battle over, pleasantries returned to the table.


    Baiyun shook her hand and thanked her before heading out.


    Mohei suddenly rushed away from the door as he heard the footsteps. As Baiyun opened the door, he turned away and whistled badly, pretending he hadn''t been eavesdropping.


    "O-oh, you''re finally out! Did things go well?"


    "Haha, it went perfectly! I''m in a good mood today, so let''s play for the rest of the day!" Baiyun smiled.


    "Really?" Mohei''s eyes lit up. "Wait no, don''t call it play, that''s for children! We''re hanging out!"


    Baiyun laughed.


    "Why are you holding that anyway?"


    Mohei pointed to the cauldron in Baiyun''s hand, the mole placed in it instead of the wooden bowl.


    Baiyun coughed.


    "It seemed like it would be more comfortable for the mole, wouldn''t it?" he made an excuse. "And the lid is more convenient than rags."


    "But isn''t it heavy?" Mohei seemed puzzled.


    "Just think of it as weight training."


    "Well, okay..."


    Baiyun wasn''t going to admit the real reason was because he wanted to hug the cauldron.


    The two of them headed downstairs as they chattered.


    Mohei took Baiyun and showed him around town, introducing him to various snacks. Baiyun wanted to pay for them as a token of gratitude, but Mohei refused, saying he had a huge allowance, so he should be the one treating instead. Baiyun could only relent helplessly. It seemed he would have to repay Mohei''s favour another day.


    The afternoon passed in an instant and the sun soon began to set.


    The two of them sat by the canal with the elderly fishermen.


    Mohei splashed in the waters and laughed as he swung at the fish with his net wildly. The old men seemed to have fun as well, chuckling at the antics of the young.


    Baiyun was the only one who didn''t understand. Wasn''t what made fishing enjoyable sitting by a tranquil lake, taking in the scenery and the sounds of nature peacefully? He had once thought that it was strangely similar to meditation.


    But he still played along.


    As the sun fully set and night followed, the fishermen waved goodbye and left.


    The mole finally began to stir and Baiyun passed it to Mohei. It stared at him in confusion, not understanding why it was being "abandoned" and tossed to another giant. But it still had its herb pouch so it didn''t complain.


    "Mohei, can you help me take care of the mole tonight?" Baiyun asked.


    "Tonight? Are you doing something?"


    Mohei began to pat the mole as he spoke and it squirmed in his arms.


    Baiyun made a few excuses before hurriedly fleeing from the confused boy. After his preparations this afternoon, it was time for another trip to the forest!


    With the mole''s ingredients, once he got his hands on the blackhorn root, there was something he planned to make.

 0025: Blackhorn Beetle

    Amidst the dark night sky dotted with faint specks of light, moonlight shone from above and cascaded into the water of the town canal. The soothing trickle of flowing water echoed peacefully.


    Baiyun sat close by and fiddled with various items he bought from the marketplace.


    The most expensive item he bought was a small qi lantern and 5 impure qi stones as fuel, at the staggering price of 200 tokens. It was small enough to be hidden in the clasped hand of a grown man and was made of a flimsy tin-like metal with 4 panels of glass slotted in. Some simple formation lines were painted within with metal ink, allowing the lantern to convert qi from items inside into light.


    It was sold by the sole artefact shop in the town, that sold only simple household artefacts useful for daily life. Even mortals could make such basic artefacts if they had the blueprint and the right materials.


    Baiyun tied 3 hand mirrors around the lantern''s side with ropes and took out a paintbrush and a jar of glue. He applied the glue evenly and plastered scraps of cloth on.


    As the glue dried, he adjusted the 3 mirrors into a concave angle and fastened the contraption onto the mirror with yet more rope.


    It was a crude contraption and perhaps even unsightly, but he was in no position to be picky right now.


    Baiyun pointed the modified lantern to the skies and flicked it on. The light reflected off the mirrors and focused into a steady beam that shone several times brighter and illuminated the clouds. He turned it off before it could attract attention and nodded in satisfaction.


    With this, he could now search for distant threats even in the darkest of places.


    Perhaps he could even shine it in the skies to make sure Fei An wasn''t- no, the bright light would pinpoint his location instead.


    Baiyun had a sudden thought. Exposing his location was a really bad downside, wasn''t it? He frowned and wondered if this contraption was a dud. Such concerns made basic senses such a pain to deal with...


    He sighed. At the very least, it would probably be effective at blinding his foes. Though it was somewhat redundant since he already had the onion spray.


    Baiyun swept his divine thread around and looked around cautiously, before rushing out of town and following the bull''s trampled path.


    This time he didn''t have any centipedes chasing him that Fei An could mark. But he still couldn''t help but feel somewhat paranoid. Every now and then he''d stop and rush backward to sweep his divine sense, but each time, nothing was found.


    It took him much longer to arrive at the forest due to those efforts.


    Baiyun wrapped the centipede shells around himself before marching into the dense greenery. There were no clear paths and only incoherent messes of vegetation. But he had created a mental map of the forest and was now retracing it.


    Snarling from various beasts echoed around him but none approached. Baiyun wiped the sweat off his forehead as he returned to the Blackhorn beetle''s clearing where it slumbered as usual.


    That complacency would be its downfall.


    Baiyun walked around with hushed footsteps and placed his hands on the surrounding trees. Each of the trees were meticulously examined with divine touch as he frowned.


    He placed down a stool from his bag and sat, taking out the mortar and pestle he purchased from Qinghe. He pulled down the herb with golden thread essence the Yingtao''s bull had been gnawing on with a strange look on his face. To think it would be useful here of all places...


    Baiyun ground up a leaf of the golden thread herb with golden fern shoots from Guan Qiang''s mountain. There were much better options in the herb pouch, but he had left it with the mole.


    He took out a pot and tossed in a pile of ropes, before pouring in the crushed herbs and massaging the paste in. This would give the ropes enhanced strength, but he could not produce such ropes ahead of time as they would grow weaker from essence degradation over days.


    The largest tree around was quite the spectacle with a trunk wide enough for 2 grown men to wrap their arms around it. Baiyun took out a firewood axe and chopped away at the trunk for several minutes until it was unsteady.


    Grueling work, but it was nothing compared to the Undying Basalt wall.


    He carved circular grooves into the surrounding trees and slathered lubricant from a large wooden bucket into the exposed inner bark. When he purchased them from the town''s marketplace, he got carried away and bought 20 buckets. The owner looked concerned but didn''t ask, noticing Baiyun was from Ying Shi''s party.


    Finally, he took out the slimy yellow ropes from the pot and tied them to the branches of the almost-fallen tree; he slotted the rest of the rope around the grooves carved into the other trees.


    Baiyun held the ends of the rope and tied it into a massive noose as he crept towards the still-slumbering beetle. He had been planning to hide and come back an hour later if the constant chopping alerted it, but the insect was still complacently sleeping.


    The preparations were complete.


    Baiyun approached the slumbering giant quietly. He opened his mouth and exposed the ring clutched between his teeth and jumped, the barrier striking the ground and launching him high into the air!


    He slotted the noose around the beetle''s head and pulled as he fell, snapping it taut around its neck from his momentum.


    Finally, the creature roused. A furious bellow echoed as it vibrated its wings! But Baiyun knew the beetle wouldn''t move from its spot. He ran around it and reached into his bag, leaping over bushes and weaving between trees.


    The huge insect was confused, not understanding why it was being circled. But suddenly, a bucket of lubricant struck its back with a clack! From every angle, the buckets clattered against its shell and tumbled to the ground, covering the grass in a thick coating of oily liquid.


    "Hrrrrr!"


    Once more, it shook its wings and sent the oily substance flying in every direction. But Baiyun quickly summoned his barrier and deflected it harmlessly, before rushing towards the unsteady tree.


    He braced himself against the ground and gave it a mighty kick! A loud crackle filled the air as the tree shook and groaned, beginning to topple. The ropes tied to its branches grew taut, snapping tightly around the grooves of the surrounding trees.


    Baiyun watched with bated breath as the beetle finally realised something was wrong. As the rope pulled at its neck, it tried to claw at the grass but it only lathered more of the oil onto itself.


    The falling tree hung midair at an awkward angle as it and the mighty beast played tug of rope. Smoke began to rise from the immense friction and the trees groaned as it snapped taut between their many grooves, but Baiyun''s alchemic solution made it hold on somehow.


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    A statement! Baiyun had chosen the direction where the ground sloped most to maximise the strength of the falling tree, but it still wasn''t enough. Tsk. If only there were a little more force...


    Baiyun suddenly narrowed his eyes. He knew he couldn''t wait longer; if the rope snapped, all his efforts would be for naught.


    He rushed around the beetle as it struggled and barrier jumped towards it, slamming into it from behind! A small force compared to the might of the falling tree, but at last...


    It was a small movement at first, but more and more oil soaked into the underside of the beetle as it flailed. Until finally, it spun across the soil and slid down the subtle slope, crashing into the trees and sending a shower of leaves into the air!


    Only then did the fallen tree hit the ground, relieved of its duty at last.


    Baiyun quickly activated another barrier jump as he fell back to the ground, splashing off the lubricant soaked grass. It would be a disaster if it soaked into his shoes.


    The patch of mud beneath the beetle had been revealed, exposed to fresh air again for the first time in years. In its midst was a large tangle of fleshy roots that were black as night.


    As Baiyun fell, he reached into his bag and slotted a stool beneath his shoes as he squatted. Its legs sunk cleanly into the soil as it struck the ground with him, the impact violently slamming into his legs.


    "Whoa!"


    He lurched forward and was nearly launched off, but he quickly grabbed the edges of the seat with all his might, barely stopping himself from being launched off. Phew. He really did not want to land face first in a pile of mud.


    The beetle struggled in the distance, but the rope around its neck and its lubricated legs halted it.


    Baiyun reached into the soil and yanked the roots out of the soil, holding them high in the air. He could not help but laugh; to think his ridiculous plan to use lubricant actually worked! It was an idea he thought up on a spur when he saw it on sale in a general store.


    It had caught his attention back then because he was surprised by how cheap it was despite its large composition of oil.


    He could feel the roots compress in his hands as they drooped, their texture a strange mix of rubber and flesh. How ironic for a herb brimming with vital earth essences to lack the firmness of earth.


    Baiyun quickly rinsed off as much mud as he could with a water gourd before barrier leaping away and leaving the stool behind. Unfortunate. He had owned it for more than half of this life.


    He wrapped the roots around his neck, a strange addition to the already grotesque centipede scarfs. Muddied water seeped into his robes and he grimaced.


    There was no choice. Regular spatial artefacts would destabilise and degrade complicated compound essences found in high quality ingredients like the Blackhorn root.


    Qinghe''s pouch was an example of a specialised herb storage artefact but it was presently with the mole and was currently full.


    "Hrrr... Hr! Hr! Hr!"


    The ground trembled as the beetle grew more and more agitated. Time and time again would it try to get up, only to slip and crash sideways into the ground over and over again. But with every tumble, more dirt caked its shell and diluted the lubricant.


    Thumps echoed through the forest each time the beetle tugged at the ropes, raising and slamming the fallen tree into the ground repeated. More and more frays appeared in the rope as they grew black and charred from the friction; smoke and embers billowing from the grooves cut into the surrounding trees.


    A loud snap echoed through the forest as the rope finally broke, the beetle finally getting onto its feet. It shook its wings violently and sent a violent hail of muddied lubricant flying everywhere!


    Baiyun quickly activated a barrier jump and leapt away over the lubricated grass. But just as he landed, the barrier struck a clot of oily mud and slid across the ground before fading, his shoes sinking into it.


    Tsk! He quickly barrier jumped again and tossed his shoes away.


    Running with such slippery shoes was suicide and if he stashed them into his bag, they would get all over his items. The only option was to discard them.


    Baiyun could only run barefoot with all his might, enduring the pain of rocks and branches digging into his soles and wedging themselves between his toenails. A trail of red was left from the bloodied cuts he sustained.


    Meanwhile, a thunderous buzz echoed through the air, accompanied by the sound of blade-like wings slashing through the air. He did not need to turn his head. His divine thread told him the beetle had soared into the skies.


    "Hrrrr!"


    The beetle suddenly tilted its body downwards, blurring as it shot forward with tremendous speed! Baiyun widened his eyes and barrier jumped upwards.


    A gust of wind rushed beneath him as the beetle shot past, a deafening boom echoing as it sliced the forest asunder horn-first. What was once a vibrant patch of forest was instantly reduced into a muddy ditch of smothering crushed wood.


    It appeared dazed for a moment, but it shook the gunk off its head and slowly rotated itself to face Baiyun.


    Sudden acceleration rivalling that of an arrow... another trait the wildlife guide failed to cover. Baiyun began to sweat and wondered why he trusted in it so much.


    But he couldn''t blame the guide''s author. Who would expect a sedentary Qi Gathering beast that slept all year to have such absurd speed and destructive power? He thought the enraged beetle would be slow and easy to outrun because of how armoured it was!


    He quickly pulled out his mirror lantern and shut his eyes as he flicked the switch.


    "HHHHRRRR!"


    The beetle let out a cry of fury and turned its head away as the immense light shot straight into its right eye. But with how its eyes were on the sides of its head, he couldn''t blind its other eye.


    Baiyun turned and ran deeper into the forest. It was risky, but with how enraged the beetle was, it would likely chase him all the way back to town.


    Ying Shi''s team would be able to take it down, but at this hour, they were asleep. The casualties would be immense if the beetle plowed its way through the buildings!


    He needed to find another beast to tackle it.


    Once again, he had thrown himself into a dangerous situation, despite his promise to be more cautious.


    Baiyun shook his head in self-deprecation.


    Cries of terror from various beasts echoed through the forest. Birds took off into the skies, some even desperately carrying their nests. The patter of paws striking grass echoed as land-dwelling beasts fled.


    There was no longer a need for the centipede scarf. Without the warding property, it was nothing but an uncomfortable hazard that could get caught in branches. Baiyun pulled it off his neck and stuffed it into his bag.


    Even beasts with Foundational cultivation fled. It seemed almost absurd; after all, these beetles grew Blackhorn roots in preparation for their foundational breakthrough. How could a mere Qi Gathering insect scare away hundreds of beasts, even some above its realm?


    The answer was simple. There was more to strength than cultivation stages.


    It was like a comparison between a rat and an elephant. Even if the rat had flesh 50 times stronger than the elephant¡¯s, a stomp from the elephant would still crush it into blood paste. And in this case, the colossal beetle had the superior body cultivation on top of that!


    Size was power. It was why powerful spirit beasts would often grow to ludicrous sizes like that of a mountain. From its sheer mass, this beetle was a threat even to Foundational cultivators.


    Baiyun leapt away with his barrier again as the beetle rose into the air and charged once more. Again and again they did their deadly dance, each time another scar added to the forest. Hundreds of trees had been destroyed by the rampage of the beetle; from above, one could see the countless gashes cut into the once pristine sea of vibrant green.


    "Hrrr¡­"


    The beetle shook its head again, as it trudged back to face Baiyun.


    Hundreds of scratches scarred its once pristine shell, even on its armoured eyes. Its movements felt slower and more fatigued than before, but even then, it was still determined to slaughter him!


    But Baiyun was in worse condition.


    From all his running, his feet were covered in horrible wounds and caked in bloodied mud. His entire body screamed for him to rest, but he could not patch his muscles. His entire soul was focused on exterminating the deadly microbes entering his wounds from the exposed soil, limiting his ability to patch his muscles.


    His vision was spotty and his head spun. Barrier jumps took their toll on this frail body.


    Baiyun had entered the dangerous depths of the forest Fei An warned about and the charges of the Thousand Wills ring had dwindled to half their capacity. If it fully ran out, his fate was sealed!


    He panted as he limped into yet another clearing. In its midst was a crude hut, a mess of sticks and branches held together by mud that had hardened into stone.

 0026: First Elixir

    "HRRRRR!"


    The exact moment Baiyun stepped into the clearing, the beetle charged once more! Loud bangs and horrifying sound of splintering wood shook the very forest as the very ground trembled.


    Baiyun hurriedly lunged to the side as the giant shot past, saving a use of his ring; it was only possible because of how much the beetle had slowed.


    His eyes widened as he realised the beetle was charging straight towards the hut. Had he gotten a random hermit involved in this mess?


    But two eyes revealed themselves from the dark entrance of the hut as a massive hand cloaked in thick black fur grasped the side of the doorway. A human head would look as small as an orange between its fingers.


    "GRAAAAAAAAAHH!"


    A roar shook the forest as the dweller revealed itself, a massive gorilla draped in long curtain-like strands of hair that swayed in the winds it stirred. Its nostrils flared as it huffed deeply, its amber eyes narrowed in fury!


    It raised its arms and charged towards the incoming beetle, opening its palms wide and leaning forward with bent legs to brace for impact. It tilted its head to the side as the horn shot past its ear, its hands clenching around the head of the giant insect.


    The firm ground beneath its feet began to crumble but it held on even as the impact forced it knee-deep into the ground, leaving deep grooves of crushed earth in its wake. Had the gorilla been pushed a metre further, its hut would have been destroyed by the confrontation.


    It let out another roar as it punched the beetle''s chin, the impact sending the front of its body into the air.


    Baiyun decided it was time for him to make himself scarce and quickly took off. He had achieved his goal of getting a dangerous spirit beast to distract the beetle!


    When he saw the hut earlier, he thought for a moment a strange person might have been living there, but given the crude construction, he should have realised it was a beast''s dwellings.


    Qi permeated the ground. Trees shook as their very roots were disturbed. The earth trembled.


    Behind him, fists of stone erupted from the ground like steam from geysers, striking the beetle and sending it flying higher into the air!


    Baiyun suddenly felt a piercing gaze on his back and couldn''t help but turn with widened eyes. He found the gorilla staring at him with narrowed eyes as it raised a finger and flicked.


    !


    A blast of qi shot towards him and he bit down on his ring!


    Baiyun''s vision suddenly blacked out as a resonant thunk echoed. He felt himself soaring through the air and crashing into a canopy. The sphere of light tumbled down the sea branches in an odd dizzying manner before hitting the ground and releasing him.


    He held back the urge to vomit as his insides spun. How ironic that the first attack the barrier successfully managed to shield was the one that left him in the worst condition. He could almost laugh.


    BOOM!


    Somewhere off in the distance, the beetle hit the ground painfully and left a crater.


    Baiyun wheezed as he got on his feet and forced himself to run, reaching into his bag and wrapping the centipede scarves around his neck again.


    To think a mere Core-Shaping beast would gaze with him like that...


    He gnashed his teeth. What would be such paltry insignificant ants to the past him had given him plenty of trouble in this life, but he took it in stride. But the way the gorilla stared at him with the same disdain... it was infuriating!


    Baiyun clenched his fists as he ran and ran.


    The agony from his wounded feet soon faded with numbness taking its places. Without the sensation of touch, they felt more like lumps of dead meat attached to his ankles. That was not a good sign.


    But at last, he made it out of the forest.


    His feet were in no condition to run, but he didn''t know if his pursuers could still find him. So Baiyun let himself fall to the ground and examined the state of his feet.


    Bloody mud entwined in tangles of root and grass caked them. At some point, they had started to serve as pseudo shoes that staunched the flow of blood and prevented further injury. The same lubricant he used on the beetle had backfired on him indirectly by forcing him to discard his shoes.


    Baiyun wrapped his arms and legs in thick cloth and wrapped several old robes around himself. If he couldn''t run, he would simply crawl.


    He made his way back toward the bull''s trampled path and pushed his way through the grass. From there, the crawl back to town was much easier.


    With each time he grasped the earth and pulled himself forward, his body grew muddier and muddier. He could not help but think what a miserable and unsightly state it was and curse.


    6 hours passed as he crawled. It was agonisingly slow, but it was plenty of time for his soul to mend his wounds.


    Baiyun''s arms were numb by the time the town came to sight. He stopped by the river connected to the town''s canal, propping himself up and plunging his legs into it.


    A stinging pain struck him as muddied red seeped into the river and flowed downstream. He pulled and tugged at the tangled vegetation and finally freed his feet from their prison.


    He could only sigh at the sorry sight. He had done what he could to mend his wounds with soul, but there was little skin that remained.


    Baiyun took some time to wash himself, his clothing and the blackhorn roots. He dried the bloodied water off his feet and wrapped them in thin cloth carefully, before putting on a spare set of shoes and changing into a fresh set of robes.


    It was still dark, about 4 in the morning.


    He walked back to town slowly and to the inn, pushing its doors open.


    The desk was empty at this hour with no personnel in sight. Such lax security, the innkeeper not even sparing the effort to lock the doors at him. But he wasn''t complaining about the hassle it saved.


    Baiyun trudged up to the second floor when he suddenly paused before his door.


    There were fingerprints on the doors that weren''t his! He was certain it wasn''t left by the staff either, for there was only a single person in charge of room service; whose thumbprints he had already noted when food was brought to him.


    He sent divine thread into his closed room and found a foreign object. A cage was now in its midst, with a mole pawing at a pile of pillows inside.


    This...


    Baiyun walked to Mohei''s door and checked, finding matching fingerprints. Ah. So it was his.


    While he wasn''t usually one to care about such minute details, with divine thread and his subconscious memory, it was easy for him to sense even subtle changes.


    It was as if a drawing he previously saw suddenly had scribbles all over it. Even without perfect memory of what the original image looked like, it was easy to tell something was wrong.


    Fingerprints were far from the only minor detail divine sense recorded. The position of every hair, the arrangement of veins beneath his skin. Every crack within a rock, the exact texture of its gritty surface and the mixture of minerals within. Every single blade of grass in a field, their tiny pores taking in the air. And much more.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Divine sense was powerful.


    But remembering such detail would drive most to insanity, so this was mostly a subconscious feeling. Fine details would usually only be noticed when the user put their mind to it, such as when Baiyun wanted to sense the essences in herbs.


    Baiyun opened the door quietly and limped in, looking around at the walls and furniture with a slight frown. Something felt a little different about his room that he couldn''t quite place his finger on, but he figured it was because Mohei had entered.


    "Krrr?"


    The mole raised its head and sniffed. Its eyes lit up as it suddenly spotted the blackhorn roots around Baiyun''s neck and it began to squeak and claw at the cage excitedly.


    "Settle down." Baiyun mumbled.


    He walked to the table where Mohei had placed a note under a key.


    "Sorry for breaking in. Your mole is very noisy so I can''t sleep, I had no choice! The key to the cage is here ->"


    A small arrow drawn on the note pointed to the key that weighed it down. Baiyun chuckled to himself silently as he picked it up.


    With a quick twist and a small click, the doors of the cage swung open and the mole scrambled out! It wasted no time running to Baiyun and trying to paw at the roots dangling around his neck.


    "Okay. I can give you a piece. But don''t eat it. Understand?"


    Baiyun tried his best to communicate his intentions with soulsense as he passed it a small segment. The mole bit the root between its mouth and rushed back to its cage. It pulled out the herb pouch hidden below a pillow and stuffed the root in.


    Hah...


    What an presumptuous creature to so casually declare the pouch as its own so confidently. For a moment, he wondered if he should try to make it clear who owned that pouch. but he decided not to antagonise it.


    One he showed the mole the wonders of alchemy, he was certain it would happily pass the herbs to him on its own accord!


    With the adrenaline wearing off, the fatigue was starting to set in. Baiyun stashed his shoes and cloth bindings away before plopping onto bed and lying flat. His soul was fine without sleep but the same could not be said for his mortal body.


    But the mole suddenly let out a shrill squeak. It clawed at the side of the bed and clamoured on, tapping at Baiyun''s leg wounds as if asking what happened.


    This mole... Baiyun was taken aback.


    It hesitated for a moment.


    "Krr..."


    Then it reached into the herb pouch and pulled out a small red ginseng, an immature twin of the large red ginseng it previously hugged.


    After what he did to it, even if the mole knew not of how he was the cause of its miseries, it was still willing to forsake a precious herb for his sake?


    Baiyun felt a strange emotion he could not describe and he clenched his fists for a moment before sighing. Hah... some creatures were too pure and innocent for this world.


    He reached out a hand to ruffle the fur on the mole''s head as it squirmed, clawing at his hand in protest. He would have to repay this favour a hundred-fold one day.


    Baiyun reached for the small ginseng. As much as it would be responsible to reject it, without the aid of precious herbs, it would take weeks for wounds of this severity to recover. He was far too pragmatic to allow that.


    "Kr."


    ...


    He pulled on the ginseng, but the mole''s grip was like iron. It held on tightly for a full minute before finally reluctantly letting go.


    Baiyun conveyed his gratitude with soulsense to it but he didn''t know if it understood such an abstract concept. The mole slumped sadly.


    He turned his attention to the herb in hand. From the other guidebook which he had learnt the names of local herbs with, he knew it was Crimson Blood Ginseng.


    The herb brimmed with such potent vital essences that he could feel them brimming out even without divine touch. A strange illusion that it was beating in his hand like a living heart could be felt despite how motionless it was.


    It was a true natural treasure!


    Most essences in herbs didn''t do much on their own, but the most precious of herbs innately had complimentary essences. It would have incredibly restorative effects even if used raw; one could even say it was a natural elixir, a pseudo elixir borne from the hands of nature!


    Baiyun already knew what precious herbs the mole had in the pouch, but holding one in his hands set something ablaze in his heart. That light could be seen in his eyes as he walked to the table in excitement.


    The mole let out a squeak of horror as it saw the giant walk on raw exposed flesh, but Baiyun was too distracted to even feel it.


    Now that he thought of it, was this not an opportunity?


    He had been stubbornly thinking he had to make a medicine that could help the mole in its breakthrough to convince it of alchemy''s wonders. But that technically wasn''t part of the agreement.


    As long as the mole was convinced alchemy worked, it would be enough to establish the contract. And if he showed it an elixir could recover wounds far better than the raw ginseng, perhaps that would be enough persuasion!


    Baiyun smiled, beckoning for the confused mole to look.


    He reached into his bag and pulled out various alchemic tools and a knife. Then he slashed the ginseng into small chunks with quick slashes of his knife and the pieces fell into the stone mortar waiting beneath.


    "Kr! Krrrr!"


    The mole squeaked in fury. It had given him a precious herb it raised with blood and sweat but the giant was destroying it?


    Baiyun huffed. Bah. It would understand when he showed it the final product!


    Two sprigs of Purple Grass, a Blueflower and a small snip of Golden Thread Fern; from Guan Qiang''s mountain and stolen from Yingtao''s bull respectively. He tossed those into the mortar as well.


    With one hand he kept the enraged mole at bay, and with the other hand, he obliterated the herbs into paste with quick thumps from his pestle.


    Baiyun deftly flicked his fingers to parry each of the mole''s strikes. He poured the paste from the mortar into a filter, pressing down on it with his pestle to force out as much liquid as he could into the glass container beneath.


    A striking red liquid more crimson than blood dripped filled the beaker. Under the dark skies of the early morning, it was like a splotch of red ink in a black and white photo, Baiyun''s reflection in it was slightly unsettling.


    He stared at it for a moment and paused. The mole was too tired to interrupt.


    ...


    Back to work. Baiyun unwrapped the filter and revealed a clump of crushed and blackened fibres. 36% of the essence was still left unextracted.


    He opened his mouth wide and swallowed it whole like a python.


    "Krr?!" the mole was baffled.


    Soulsense!


    Much like how he crushed the Undying Basalt into powder in the prison, he attacked the tough herb fibres. They began to tremble and compress as liquid oozed out. Each individual fibre began to fray and break into smaller and smaller strands until only powder remained.


    Baiyun grimaced as unpleasant vibrations permeated his abdominal organs.


    He had sustained significant injury from a similar act back in the prison, but this time he was unharmed. Plant fibres that could be crushed by a pestle was nothing compared to the absurd durability of the basalt and his cultivation had improved slightly since then.


    Wisps of qi flowed into his dantain and brought him a small step closer to the next level. While Crimson Blood Ginseng was largely medicinal, it was still ultimately a spirit herb. It was as potent as eating the herb discards the sect had fed him for about 900 days! But truthfully, that said more about how pathetic the qi contents of servant food was than it did about the qi contents of the ginseng.


    Baiyun glanced at the crude red liquid within the glass container and saw that small black dots had begun to form on its surface.


    Good. That meant it was reacting the way he wanted. He didn''t technically need visual cues because of divine touch but he still liked to see signs.


    "Look."


    Baiyun poked the mole and pointed at the pathetic liquid that could barely be considered an elixir.


    "Once it sits for a few hours, it will be far more potent than the herb could ever be. Maybe you''ll be a little more convinced of alchemy''s prowess then?"


    He knew the mole couldn''t understand a word he said, but if he spoke to it enough, he hoped it would at least pick up a few words over time.


    At the same time, he conveyed a vision of how the elixir would restore the skin on his feet to the mole.


    "Km!"


    The mole crossed its claws, unconvinced.


    Whatever.


    After the small rush of making a somewhat functional elixir, Baiyun felt a little too antsy to let his body just lie still on bed till morning came.


    He went to the bookshelf and looked through the books, when an unassuming fairytale book caught his eye. This book... had it always been there?


    ...what nonsense was he thinking? Baiyun shook his head as he recalled an old memory of when he first entered the room. It had always been there.


    He sat on bed and flipped through it slowly. Divine touch let him read books with far more ease, but he still found it the most satisfying to read them directly. It didn''t occur to him how odd it was that it was this unassuming book that drew his attention instead of the newly acquired alchemy books from Qinghe.


    The mole climbed up his leg to take a look. It tilted its head in confusion, not why the giant was staring at lines and scrawlings on sheets of light brown.


    Baiyun could already feel faint tingles from his wounds as they began to subtly recover; even merely from consuming the crushed pulp.

 0027: Tree of the Old Yan

    There once was an old tree in the Great Old Yan.


    Its trunk reached millions of kilometres into the skies above and its canopy felt as vast as the skies of the seemingly endless Old Yan. So ancient was the tree that it was rumoured to have stood at the birth of existence.


    Every leaf was vibrant green and brimmed with life. Their shape was that of teardrops, yet their joy knew no bounds. Even as the heavenly turbulence swept the skies above, each gust mighty enough to tear through steel like old cobwebs, they merely swayed in it as if it were ordinary wind and laughed all the while.


    Such was the might of the old tree that each of its leaves was alive, and to the old tree, they were its children. For without another one of its kind, it would neither flower nor fruit.


    Seasons passed by like seconds on a clock around them. Civilisations would grow and crumble to dust in what felt like mere minutes. Time was in a constant flux. A saying arose that nothing in the Old Yan was eternal but its sole heavenly tree.


    To be eternal was a lonely existence.


    In the Old Yan, each eternal day was said to be as long as infinity. Yet they passed by one after the other for the old tree.


    But with the endless banter of its countless immortal children, there was never a dull moment. And such was their number on some days, the tree would bemoan, asking how it could possibly keep up with each and every one of them! The leaves would laugh and tease her in response.


    All was well.


    But on the 9th eternal day, one of the leaves stopped smiling.


    Sadness? It was the first time the old tree had seen such an emotion.


    Mother tree called for silence and gathered the attention of every leaf . They stared upon that lone leaf in worry. For the first time in the Old Yan''s history, there was no laughter atop its canopy.


    Many of the leaves cried out in concern, but the voice of the tree was the loudest.


    "Child! What¡¯s wrong?"


    As if it had felt the somber air, even the heavenly turbulence paused. The sad leaf drooped from its twig listlessly, the vibrant green that once filled it now tinged with a hint of yellow.


    "Mother... I am saddened. Was there nothing we could have done for that town beneath?"


    Town?


    Mother tree and the countless leaves were confused. None of them had ever paid attention to the affairs of the mortals beneath for more than a single eternal second, yet the leaf had even gotten attached to them.


    For the next 2000 years, they listened in silence as the lone leaf recalled the storied history of that town. Much was said but little mattered. It was a town of ancients that worshiped the old tree. But pillagers attacked and razed it to ashes even as the devouts cried out to the old tree for help.


    A deep sigh came from mother tree.


    "Alas child, we remain rooted to the earth as decreed by the 1st heavens. We are here as witnesses of eternity, not harbingers of change."


    The lone leaf was outraged.


    "Even after hearing of their tales, you do not care in the slightest? Then, mother!" it cried. "If you can do nothing, I shall take matters into my own hands. I saw the refugees flee to the north, so I will follow and protect them from future calamities! Farewell!"


    "Wait!"


    Mother tree cried out, but the leaf severed itself from its twig and let the heavenly winds carry it far into the distance.


    The countless leaves began to speak again for the first time in 2000 years, but it was no longer jovial. And how could it be? With the tree mourning and praying for the safe return of its child, it was no time for jokes and laughter. They too were worried for their sibling as well.


    As the next eternal day approached, for the first time, the tree and its leaves stared into the vast Old Yan and observed.


    They did not see the lone leaf again, but changes swept the world! The many mortal races were no worms that dug in the mud with lifespans that ended before an eye could even blink. No, they had learnt to harvest the divinity that lingered in the air.


    Mother tree gasped.


    "That child... it must have spread a secret of the heavens!"


    The leaves did not understand her concern and only laughed. Slowly, the jovial mood returned as they speculated on the adventures of their lost sibling.


    Only the old tree was worried.


    And on the 10th eternal day, another leaf snapped itself off its twig.


    "Farewell mother! I shall leave to seek adventure too!"


    "No! Not again..."


    It was slow at first, but gradually, leaf by leaf departed into the skies. Their number was great and innumerable, but in the face of endless time, even a slow trickling leak would drain an ocean.


    And on the 11th eternal day...


    Mother tree stood in the cold dead winter and sobbed. All it did was reminisce about the old days where innumerable voices chattered excitedly in the winds. Its endless branches were barren, save for a lone leaf that swayed in the raging winds.


    The other had left a hundred eternal minutes ago, but it alone remained with the old tree. Now, by choosing to stay, it had become the lone leaf.


    "Mother... I cannot bear to see you like so another second longer. Forgive me, but I must venture out as well. I will bring my siblings back so you can smile again!"


    "Child! Please don''t! Please! You are all that I have left!" the old tree wailed.


    But the heartbreaking cry only reinforced the determination in its heart. A loud snap echoed as it broke itself off and soared downwards. Now, mother tree was truly barren.


    The lone little leaf sailed through the skies of the Old Yan, past oceans and continents. It found nothing and began to worry. But on the 12th eternal day, it found a heavenly tree just as mighty as mother and rushed over excitedly. The heavenly tree had living leaves of gold that spoke as well, but they never smiled and only discussed the great dao gravely.


    Little leaf was overwhelmed and couldn''t understand any of the talk. How strange! Didn''t the heavens say there could only be one heavenly tree, which was mother?


    But if anyone in the Old Yan knew something, it had to be that strange tree!


    "Have you seen my siblings?" it called out.


    The ancient tree harrumphed in disdain.


    "A remnant of the 1st heavens... how distasteful. Begone from my sight at this instant!"


    But a wise owl perched in its branches spoke.


    "Now, now. Loosen up a little, it is but a mere child." it shook its head, "Little one, I apologise. I have seen a few, but alas, they were eaten by thousand-reach giraffes!"


    The little leaf sobbed at the fate of its siblings. How could such cruelty have befallen them? But it flew onwards further.


    On the 13th eternal day, it found an old dragon that weaved its body like a thread through the endless tapestry of clouds.


    "Have you seen my siblings?" it called out.


    "Alas! They fell into the great abyss and were never seen again."


    The little leaf sobbed, but it flew on further.


    Eternal day after day passed as it asked a million strangers, but there had only been news of its siblings'' deaths.


    Little leaf was exhausted.


    It landed in the white crystal desert in the white plains at last. It was no longer vibrant green and was now an old leaf covered in cracks.


    All it felt now was regret. And in its last moments, little leaf wondered where mother tree was now.


    "Mother... I miss you."


    With those words, it faded into dust.


    ...


    Baiyun flipped to the last page of the book. There was only a depiction of a fallen tree with its wood rotted black.


    He stared in silence for a moment. Then he flung the book in anger and it slammed into the floor! The mole cried out in fear as the thud resounded loudly.


    This was supposed to be a book for children? Ridiculous! Baiyun took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He didn''t understand why he was so furious about this. This wasn''t like him.


    Something about the folk''s tale had touched upon something deeply personal.


    He let out the breath and let his anger melt away.


    Baiyun looked back down on the book and finally saw the author''s name on the cover. Bai Lian Xiao, the Hundred Laughing Faces... what a bizarre name.


    The mention of the 1st and 2nd heaven was even stranger, for the 8th heaven had reigned for so long that few records of even the 7th remained. Not even the oldest of sages from his old homeworld knew anything about such a bygone time, let alone the people of a mortal world.


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    He supposed the book must have been written recently, inspired by the declaration of the 9th heaven as they took over.


    Baiyun could still remember the golden words that flooded through the cosmos and etched themselves into the very fabric of the universe 108 years ago. The heavenly words consumed even the dark canvas of space, rendering all of existence as bright as day.


    From the most venerable to the lowest of the lowest of the low, everyone without exception looked upwards. Their eyes were blinded and overflowing with tears as the very words seemed to carve themselves into their very souls.


    No one who witnessed it could ever forget, especially so for Baiyun; as in a sense, it was the event that led to the death of his past self at the hands of his disciple...


    Almost no records of the first 6 heavens existed, but it was easy to make up myths. To compare the tree to the 1st heaven was to make it sound as old as time itself, which did match the author''s tendency to exaggerate with mentions of infinity.


    But who exactly wrote this book? Baiyun picked up the book and used divine touch to analyse it as best as he could, but it seemed to be made of ordinary paper and ink. The only thing off was how strangely perfect the brush strokes were; the lines were neat and clean even on a microscopic level.


    This book wasn''t written by a mortal.


    Baiyun suddenly jolted as he finally noticed the movements of the skies from the corner of his eye. The book was not long, but somehow, an hour had already passed. He hurriedly rushed to the red elixir and picked it up. The essences had already fully reacted by now, if he waited any longer, it would only lose potency!


    It was now a murky black-red that swirled ominously, with little traces of the bright crimson red it once had been.


    The mole began to make gagging sounds at the sight of the liquid as if to berate him.


    Baiyun shook his head as he placed a large wooden bowl on the floor. He raised his legs over it carefully as he took the beaker of elixir and slowly poured droplet after droplet of it onto his wounds. He carefully shifted and adjusted them to ensure the most even coating he could.


    A jolt short through his feet as they began to convulse and bulge with veins. His face was strained as he kept them still with all his might, miraculously not spilling even a single drop of elixir.


    "Krrr!"


    The mole shrieked as the wounded flesh began to squirm as bits of pink matter seemed to surface. Bit by bit, the pink matter stretched and began to cover the skinless muscle, revealing their nature as fresh skin.


    Baiyun continued to pour the elixir bit by bit onto his wounds for the next few hours; the sun rose, the light of dawn basking him from the windows.


    "Stop hiding and come here!" he shouted.


    The mole whimpered as it crawled out from the cage, only to be surprised by how much the giant had recovered. All the wounds were gone and replaced with delicate pink flesh. It would take a few more days for it to return to normal but the worst of it was over.


    Baiyun chuckled at its reaction. Was this not a testament to the might of alchemy? He proudly conveyed his feelings to it with soulsense.


    "Krr, krr!! KRRRR!" the mole squeaked in indignation.


    Too grotesque! It would get nightmares for weeks! Besides, Baiyun was supposed to prove the "stupid pebbles" weren''t useless, not whatever the "scary water" he showed it was!


    ...the contract remained unfulfilled.


    Baiyun slapped his hand to his head.


    This stupid mole! In this situation, it wouldn''t make sense for him to make a pill as the wounds were external. Why did it have to fixate itself on pills specifically? He wished he had shown it a larger variety of alchemic products.


    Hah... Whatever. He had gotten the ingredients needed for the mole''s breakthrough pill anyway. Though, there was still the problem of how he''d concoct it. Qinghe''s cauldron was a step closer, but he still lacked any method to control essence.


    Baiyun padded his spare shoes with thin cloth before stuffing the mole into the cauldron and heading out with it. He decided to take a breather for now.


    He trudged downstairs and left the inn, sitting down on a bench close to the town''s well.


    The light of dawn was beautiful and the wind swayed his hair gently. It was nice to have a moment of peace.


    Baiyun let his thoughts run aimlessly for the next hour as he stroked the cauldron, pondering all sorts of mundane thoughts. The mole slowly dozed off inside.


    Why did the town need a well if the canal was already a source of water? And the location of this town made no sense. There were wild locations full of natural treasures close by, but was there a need for a whole town instead of just a small cultivator camp? Not to mention there only seemed to be mortals here, yet they seemed so familiar with the cultivators.


    His thoughts came to a pause as divine thread sensed Jingfeng approaching, before tapping him on the shoulder.


    Baiyun turned over and stared at him blankly.


    "Not even surprised?" Jingfeng grinned. "I even masked my footsteps with wind!"


    "What is it?" Baiyun asked.


    He was slightly miffed about his moment of peace being interrupted.


    Jingfeng saw the annoyed look and sighed.


    "Hah... How do I go about explaining this?" he began. "Elder sister Fei An told me about how you had been sneaking into the wilds and told me to keep an eye on you. But by the time I started looking for you, Mohei told me you already ran off! I couldn''t find you anywhere! You snuck out again to the forest, didn''t you?"


    It seemed after Fei An told him to keep it a secret, she ended up being the one to spill it. Though from the sound of it, she was being lazy and passed her role to her brother. At least he seemed to be the only one she told.


    Baiyun was about to reply when Jingfeng suddenly grabbed his sleeves and pulled them back. His arms were covered in bruises and scratches; when he fled the beetle, he had quite the rough tussle through forest plants and canopies.


    He hadn''t been able to restore those injuries because of how much he focused on recovering the wounds on his legs.


    "Look how hurt you are..." Jingfeng frowned. "Why sneak out by yourself anyway? You could lose your life! If you want to explore so badly, why not ask around and gather a team? It''s much safer during daytime too."


    Baiyun laughed awkwardly.


    That was true. But he would only receive a small percent of the spoils in a large team. Besides, if he had the audacity to challenge the blackhorn beetle in their presence, they would probably call him crazy and forcefully drag him away.


    He had to admit he would have struggled to capture the mole if Fei An didn''t happen to be there on his first trip however. But the blackhorn root was precious enough to him that he wanted the full share. After he used a part of it for the mole''s Foundational breakthrough, it would be very useful for his own advancements as well.


    Baiyun scratched his head and acted innocent.


    "Ah! Why didn''t I think of that? You''re right, Jingfeng. But I''m a little worn out so I''m afraid I''ll have to rest for the next few days."


    He had already accomplished his goal in the forest for now, so there wasn''t a need to return especially with his injuries.


    Jingfeng let out a sigh of relief.


    "That''s great then! I was worried you''d decline and insist on sneaking off anyway... You need to take care of yourself. You only have one life!"


    Baiyun laughed.


    "Yeah, that''s true."


    A second life was still precious.


    The two of them chatted for a little before parting ways. Baiyun stretched and relieved the tension in his joints when Jingfeng suddenly paused and turned around.


    "...I''ll get mad if you sneak behind my back after promising that, okay?"


    "You worry too much!" Baiyun laughed again.


    Jingfeng gave him one last suspicious look before walking off, and Baiyun got up.


    That was enough rest. There was much to be done.


    He returned to the inn and headed upstairs to his room, taking a seat at his table. He put away his alchemy tools and took out two of Qinghe''s textbooks.


    [An Apprentice''s Guide to Alchemy, by Elder Qian Laohe]


    [An Apprentice''s Guide to Grade 1 Pills]


    Baiyun slowly flipped through them and mused to himself as he read leisurely. At times his eyebrows would furrow, at times he would laugh, but he mostly read with focused eyes and keen interest. Onlookers would think he was reading an amusing novel instead of a monotone textbook.


    Interesting, very interesting!


    The contents of a beginner''s textbook was naturally nothing profound, but he found himself engrossed regardless. They did not differ much in key principles from the basics of his past word, but the key differences in techniques used were quite fascinating.


    In the centre of the universe were the heavens. The closer a world was to them, the denser qi would get. Qi grew sparser and sparser the closer to the universe''s edge one got, until there was only an empty void.


    Baiyun''s current world was close to the edge and relatively devoid of qi. To climb to merely Nascent Soul, one would have to claw and fight for resources and often cultivate for at least a hundred years.


    Aoyang''s homeworld was a ridiculous contrast however. It was only a quarter of the radius towards the heavens and blessed with vast qi. In such hallowed ground, mortals did not exist, for even children would be born with qi surpassing that of Nascent Soul cultivators.


    The apprentices of this world lacked the luxury of such power and had to use more creative methods.


    Baiyun imagined an instance of an apprentice from each world refining the Heartearth essence of an Earthcore Gnarl.


    The old world apprentice would pulverise the herb into a fine paste with qi and forcefully separate all solid matter. Then, they would separate the base components from the liquid with careful qi control.


    10-30 seconds, only Qi Control used. 99.9% of all essences extracted with minimal loss.


    Meanwhile, the new world apprentice would have to spend several minutes grinding the herb into a paste and filtering it. They would also use water magic to extract as much of the liquid from the pulp as possible. It was fairly consistent with what Baiyun was doing in this world, but the next part was what made it novel.


    The people of this world invented what they called "Temporal Alchemic Particles", fake alchemic essences created by unique spells! These particles were often designed to bind to their target essence. And with their nature as the caster''s spell, they could simply be floated into the air with the real essence attached.


    Since the particles extracted were of the earth attribute, a little earth mastery was also needed for this.


    6-15 minutes, Qi Control, Water Magic, Alchemic Particle Creation, Earth Magic used. 90% of Heartearth essence extracted, no other essence obtained.


    There was also the caveat that the alchemic particle binding to Heartearth would first need to be researched and discovered. If it had yet to be discovered, the research could take weeks.


    This was on paper a landslide victory for the old world alchemist.


    But if the old world alchemist had used 9999 units of qi, the new world alchemist had only used 1 unit. It was as if a mortal stood against a towering giant and barely lost the fight!


    Marvellous! Truly marvellous!


    As an elder from his old sect once said, limitations bred ingenuity. Baiyun was extremely excited as he nodded in approval, holding back his desire to shout his praise for the alchemists of this world.


    Temporal Alchemic Particles... Baiyun wished so badly he had functional meridians so he could actually try creating his own. Ah, why did he have to be born in this accused body that couldn''t cast a single spell? He was certain he would be able to discover new uses for these particles beyond separating essence!


    For a moment, he remembered his old lab. If he had caught wind of such an innovation in his past life, he could have easily spent a hundred sleepless years researching excitedly!


    Baiyun could only sigh as he shook his wistful thoughts away. That time was already long gone.


    Hours passed in a flash as he read and the noon sun soon glared through the window. He finally noticed the passage of time as he looked up with a squint.


    It was time to put down the books and get to work. Baiyun''s hands shook with reluctance and he had to take a deep breath. But he knew himself and his tendencies. If he really let himself go, he could easily spend the next few years analysing and theorising about all of Qinghe''s old textbooks. That luxury of time was something he did not have right now.


    He placed the books back into his bag gently with a saddened look on his face. It was as if he was holding a delicate newborn he was afraid to drop.


    There was still much to be done today.


    Baiyun left the inn and made a quick trip to the market.


    Iron Salt (10 tokens), Silver Dust (30 tokens), Rose-tinted Grass (2 tokens), Thorny Ironroot (8 tokens) and last but not least, a really long metal spoon with a rubbery handle (4 tokens).


    54 tokens spent, just like that...


    He frowned at his remaining 72 tokens. It truly was stifling to be poor. At the very least, the iron salt and silver dust he had bought weren''t primary ingredients and would probably last him for at least a year.


    Baiyun looked around town and found a quiet alleyway. He sat down and took out his alchemic tools.

 0028: Alchemic Trade

    A faint grinding came from the alleyway as Baiyun got to work. It was a strange place for such a sound to be emanating, but perhaps it was why no one bothered him.


    He used a mortar and pestle to grind ironwood and red grass into paste before pouring them into a glass beaker and adding a spoonful of iron salt and silver dust.


    The Iron Strength Pill.


    This was a recipe for a pill of this world, but he had added some new ingredients due to his inability to create alchemic spell particles. His new additions would react and get rid of certain unnecessary essences as an alternative, though it was crude and awkward, as if someone had substituted chili flakes in a dish with black pepper.


    The mixture slowly began to turn grey as it bubbled and popped.


    Such reactions often took hours at minimum but he didn''t particularly mind right now. Baiyun happily took out Qinghe''s textbooks and resumed his reading, though every few minutes, he''d give the bottles a good shake.


    The noon sun intensified as hours passed by, but the alley remained well shaded.


    Baiyun put his book aside as he noticed the mixture had gone flat from the corner of his eye. He opened his cauldron and took out the mole, placing it in a wooden bowl and tossing a rag over it. Its muffled squeaks of angry echoed beneath; it did not understand why its nice sleeping spot had been taken away!


    A few soft clacks echoed in the alleyway as firewood was stacked neatly by deft hands.


    Baiyun sighed. Alchemists were supposed to summon alchemic fires they could perfectly control with unique properties. Different pills would benefit from different types of flame and he had studied over a hundred different alchemic flames in his past life.


    And here he was, forced to use firewood of all things. It wasn''t as bad in the prison because he was using an ordinary pot to cook his "qi pebble" back then. But now that he had an actual alchemy cauldron, it felt almost as if he were sullying it.


    Hah... what nonsense was he thinking? If anything, he was cleansing it!


    The reason why the cauldron had been sold for cheap was due to the blackish-blue stain that contaminated it. It was of metal origin and technically a good quality essence, so he planned to absorb it into the Iron Strength Pill.


    It seemed almost too simple for the stain to be removed in such a way, but his knowledge of alchemy made him able to choose ingredients perfectly suited to neutralising and absorbing it.


    Getting rid of a problem by turning it into a boon. Now that was what efficiency was! Baiyun nodded to himself, pleased, until it occurred to him that absorbing an old stain into his pill was actually quite revolting.


    He slapped his forehead and sighed deeply.


    The cauldron had heated up sufficiently by now, so he poured the mixture from the beaker in. Despite the thick consistency of the paste, not a droplet stuck to it. Qinghe''s beakers and bottles were not ordinary containers. They were made of gloss glass, a cheap aquaphobic alchemic glass with qi-proof properties.


    Hot steam billowed out from the cauldron as the paste sizzled and crackled, the intense smell of herbs and a metallic scent that almost felt like blood filling the alley.


    Baiyun grabbed the handles of the cauldron and awkwardly shook it, doing his best to mix it eventually. The paste slid freely within and did not cling to the walls. He wished Qinghe had sold him some sort of non-stick ladle to go with it, but normal alchemists would use qi sense for mixing instead of such an awkward method.


    The paste began to turn into a thick slop as more and more steam escaped. Sweat dripped from his face as he did his best to lift the heavy cauldron.


    "Hah!"


    Baiyun shouted as he flicked the cauldron upwards in a swift and violent motion. The slop inside flipped in the air and splattered on its other side as if it were a pancake in a wok.


    ...he began to question himself and wonder what poor decisions led him to this moment.


    And he had plenty of time for that, for the process was slow and tedious.


    Baiyun''s arm muscles screamed in pain and the heat made him feel as if he were being boiled alive. If not for the Rock Ginseng pill''s permanent effects, he was certain he would have passed out from heat stroke and exhaustion.


    The substance continued to shrink within the pot until it began to solidify. He took a deep breath as he finally slammed the pot onto the ground beside the campfire. His muscles sighed with relief, finally free from the burden of tossing a heavy cauldron like a wok.


    Baiyun took out a long metal spoon and applied a thin layer of lubricant onto it. He reached into the cauldron with the spoon and struck the mass, splitting it into small chunks of equal size.


    He smacked each chunk from every direction until they were forced into spherical shapes, then picked up the cauldron and tipped it over.


    The grey orbs tumbled out of the cauldron and into a bowl lined with a thin layer of silver dust.


    Baiyun''s first proper batch of pills! They were not elegant, in fact, they were ugly and slightly misshapen and stained by burnt oil lubricant.


    The crude mortal methods used to refine them were practically an insult to alchemy. But he could not help but smile.


    He took a quick peek into the cauldron and checked on the stain. It was now gone, replaced by a splotch of white grey. Still ugly unfortunately, but it would no longer interfere with non-metal pills.


    Baiyun waited an hour for the pills to cool before swallowing the most misshapen of them. Urgh... it tasted of burnt oil. But he nodded in satisfaction as his body absorbed the essences.


    He slowly channeled the essences into his bones as the pill slowly dissolved; it would probably be about 10 hours before it was fully digested in his stomach. Metal bones and earthen flesh was a classic of the earth body path. Other than choosing to fully focus on their best element, cultivators could also cultivate supporting elements with compatibility with each other.


    The best path for an alchemist was to cultivate pure qi that could be converted into any element. But that wasn''t practical for his current self unfortunately, so it was best to stick to what worked best with his servant constitution.


    Baiyun took out a knife and slowly began to shave off the surface of the pills. Rough uneven surfaces and burnt lubricant stuck to their outsides simply would not do. As the outer layers flaked off from the knife scrapes, slowly, they began to shine a brilliant silver sheen.


    The pills that previously resembled stones now looked like orbs of silver! There was still a slight graininess to the pills, but Baiyun was satisfied. He swallowed the pill shavings so as not to waste them, absorbing their essence as well.


    It was now time for another meeting with Qinghe.


    ...or maybe he could read a little more? Baiyun wandered and forth in the alley indecisively until he finally caved and reached for the textbook. Reading a little more wouldn''t hurt.


    He reached into his bag for his favourite stool then remembered he had lost it against the tussle with the beetle. Unfortunate. He sat back down in the alley and mused to himself as he read and read with glee.


    Hours and hours passed by...


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    Ah.


    Baiyun pried his eyes away from his book and looked up suddenly. The skies were now pitch black; it was now night.


    Drat.


    He tossed the mole back into the cauldron and hurriedly rushed back to the inn, running upstairs and knocking on Qinghe''s door. A minute of silence passed before she finally opened the door with a scowl.


    "You again? Why are you bothering me at this hour?" she harrumphed.


    Baiyun grinned as he held out his bowl of freshly refined Iron Strength pills.


    "I made some pills. Care to take a look?"


    Qinghe furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him with doubt. But she sighed and beckoned for him to come in.


    Baiyun was surprised to see her windows were open and letting moonlight in. He expected her to close them immediately after he left.


    He reached for the string switch of the qi-light atop the ceiling, only for Qinghe to suddenly stop him.


    "Don''t. I''ll really get angry this time." she glared.


    ...was this girl allergic to light?


    Qinghe picked up one of the pills and raised it in the moonlight, feeling its smooth texture and sensing its insides with qi sense. A little puzzlement graced her face and her forehead creased slightly.


    "What are these supposed to be? I can sense they are proper pills but..."


    Baiyun smiled.


    "There are Iron Strength pills. I modified the recipe slightly."


    "Huh? But those are double layered pills! Yours are a homogeneous mass, you can barely even call it the same pill anymore at this point!" Qinghe huffed.


    Double layered pills involved forging an inner pill, then adding new ingredients and refining a 2nd layer of different pill matter around it.


    Qinghe closed her eyes as she channeled more qi sense into it, doing her best to sense its essences. The senses of a qi gatherer were weak, so she was only able to obtain a small amount of insight, unlike Baiyun''s divine sense.


    "Well... I can sense you got some of the essences right, but the ingredients are off... hm..."


    Her eyebrows seem to crease deeper and deeper. Baiyun didn''t feel like waiting for her to finish reacting, so he grabbed one of the pills and tried to toss it into his mouth as a demonstration. But Qinghe snatched it out of the air and stopped him.


    "Don''t be rash! These are unknown pills, you can''t just eat them randomly! Let me test it first."


    Baiyun was speechless. Well, at least she was concerned about his safety.


    Qinghe reached into one of her many storage pouches and rummaged for a moment. A little squeak came out from within and she pulled out a little creature! It was a strange little hamster with shiny metallic fur, with chunks of white metal crystals jutting out of its back.


    The rodent sniffed around and paced on her hand as if looking for a treat.


    She seemed quite pleased with herself as she presented it to Baiyun.


    "Do you know what this is? It''s a-"


    But Baiyun was already staring at it with fervor. A pill testing beast of metal element!


    Pill beasts were animals specially bred to react strongly to pills. The higher grade they were, the stronger their reaction to alchemic products.


    Most pill beasts were massive creatures with mighty bodies that could endure even the most disastrous pills. In his past life, Baiyun owned a Rank 15 Cauldron-shelled Dragon Turtle. Its size was that of a small mountain, and its body exaggerated the effect of pills by a 100 times!


    Small pill beasts that could survive spatial environments were a luxury. Due to their tiny stature, any mishaps with powerful pills were often lethal and the alchemist would need to prepare many replacements. The only reason for their existence was portability, for alchemists that often went on long trips.


    Now that he thought of it, its spatial properties...


    He suddenly noticed Qinghe was grinning at him and paused.


    "It''s cute, huh?" she smirked. "Were you even listening to what I said?"


    Baiyun coughed. That wasn''t the reason but whatever.


    Qinghe passed the hamster one of the iron pills. It stared at the orb with big round eyes, sniffing and licking it, then paused as if contemplating.


    "If he refuses to eat it, then it''s poisonous! Yinyin has a really sharp nose." she said.


    She named it? Baiyun raised an eyebrow.


    The eyes of the hamster suddenly lit up. It held the pill to its mouth and began to furiously nibble! Each bite was small but fast as lightning; not even 10 seconds had passed by the time the pill was fully annihilated! Somehow, it managed not to drop even a single crumb.


    "Squeak!"


    Yinyin shut its eyes and clenched its little paws into fists. A crackle sounded out as metallic grey crystals sprouted out of its back and mixed into the midst of the white crystals.


    The hamster leapt from Qinghe''s hands onto a table and began to run in circles excitedly. There was no need for her to explain; the pill was a success!


    "This..." she mumbled. "Let me have a moment to myself."


    She pulled out a small chisel from the bag and turned towards the hamster, who sat down obediently at the sight. Slowly and carefully, she chipped away at the crystals and removed them from the hamster. It looked quite strange with a bald and hairless back, but it began to roll around on the table on its back, as if happy to be free from its burden.


    Qinghe slowly examined the grey crystals with thoughtful eyes. It seemed that converting metal pills into crystals made it easier for them to be examined with qi sense. But at the sight of the hamster''s antic from the corner of her eye, she smiled and rubbed its exposed belly.


    Baiyun could only shake his head internally. For her to be so attached to a small pill beast was ill advised. Even with its sharp nose, sooner or later, he was certain it would meet its end from ingesting a pill it underestimated. The only outcome he could foresee was that of heartbreak.


    Qinghe put the hamster back in its pouch and examined the crystal for another minute before finally speaking.


    "I''m surprised. These are genuine Iron Strength Pills and of quite the high quality. Did you really make these? You didn''t use any rare and expensive ingredients, did you?"


    Baiyun coughed.


    If Qinghe knew the "rare ingredient" used was the stain at the bottom of her old cauldron, what would she think? If not for that, he would only have been able to create Iron Strength pills of inferior quality.


    "Yes, I can assure you I made them. But my methods? That''s a secret, at least for now." he smiled. "I wanted to show you my capabilities and make a deal with you!"


    "Huh? Well, I suppose I can hear you out."


    Qinghe seemed slightly baffled.


    "I want to showcase more modified pill recipes, but I don''t have the herbs for them. Lend me 10,000 tokens, so I can purchase them and show you the results!"


    Baiyun slapped his hands onto the table as he spoke, doing his best impression of a confident youth.


    He hoped her curiosity as an alchemist would convince her. If he was in her position, he knew he would. To a young master like her, it was but pocket change, a trifling sum for something so intriguing!


    But Qinghe frowned.


    "I refuse. Pay up."


    Baiyun slapped his forehead. Why did this girl have to be so stingy?


    "Don''t give me that attitude." Qinghe said. "I''m still not fully convinced you made those pills. And besides, why would I expect you to succeed on your first attempts with new recipes you haven''t tested?"


    Well, those were good points. But she was still a miser!


    "Fine! You can have some of the black mugwort then!" Baiyun sighed.


    He previously had no idea about the value of herbs, but Qinghe''s textbooks had given him a rough idea of their valuation. But they were old textbooks so there was a chance market changes would affect them, so Baiyun chose a herb that was rare and only grew in the wild. Black mugwort also didn''t have many essences useful to him.


    Baiyun reached for his cauldron and opened its lid, revealing the mole inside. It raised its head in confusion and paused, then suddenly let out a furious warcry!


    "KRRRRRR!"


    It''s claws clatters as it rushed and did its best to lunge out, but it only slid around awkwardly in the slick walls of the cauldron.


    "...why is it in the cauldron?" Qinghe asked.


    "Uh. Don''t ask." Baiyun coughed.


    He collapsed to the side and pretended to be unconscious before the mole could realise they were in cahoots.


    Qinghe sighed. She poured a small vial of elixir into the cauldron and shut its lid. She opened it a minute later, the mole now fast asleep again.


    "I''ll take some extra as reimbursement. I didn''t charge you the previous time I used sleep medicine."


    "Right..."


    Baiyun didn''t feel like arguing at this point.


    He reached for the mole''s herb pouch and pulled out several clumps of black mugwort, letting her choose the specimens she liked.


    Well, while he was at it...


    Baiyun glanced at the mole and made sure it was truly asleep, before taking a few extra herbs from its pouch and placing it into his bag. He did feel a little guilty, but with Qinghe as the scapegoat, he fell to temptation.