"I'm glad you took my advice seriously," she said calmly.
A brief pause followed before her tone shifted, becoming more instructive. "However, there are a few things you need to understand beforehand."
Li Yan didn't interrupt. He simply stood there, calm and attentive, waiting for her to continue.
Cao Lian's expression turned slightly more serious as she began, her tone steady yet instructive. "First, alchemy requires discipline, patience, and consistent effort. Do not be discouraged by failure. Everyone fails at the beginning—even those who later become legends."
Her gaze lingered on Li Yan for a brief moment before she continued, "Second, based on both knowledge and experience, I have never seen someone begin alchemy at your current level of cultivation."
"The size of your Qi reserves—your Qi pool within the core—matters more than anything else. At your level, it is not enough to refine even a single Tier-1 Low-Level pill."
She paused briefly, letting the weight of her words settle before continuing. "So, my advice is simple—do not attempt pill refinement yet. Instead, focus on strengthening your Qi reserves. Practice by channeling your Qi Fire—Refining Flame, into an empty furnace."
"That is the safest and most effective way to build your foundation."
Li Yan absorbed her explanation in silence, his expression calm and thoughtful. He did not interrupt, allowing her words to fully settle before responding. "I've read about this in the Shadow Knowledge Pavilion," he said evenly.
"But I appreciate the reminder." He paused slightly, his gaze sharpening. "However… there's one thing I'd like to confirm. How much Qi reserve is required before I can begin refining pills?"
Cao Lian gave a faint nod, clearly pleased by the question. "A good question," she replied. "Use the same method I just described. When you can continuously maintain your Qi Fire within a furnace for at least two hours without interruption, that is when your Qi reserves are sufficient to attempt pill refinement."
Li Yan nodded, committing the answer to memory before asking again, "I understand. Then one more question—during refinement, can Qi Replenishment Pill be used to recover Qi reserves?"
Cao Lian answered without hesitation. "Yes, it can," she said calmly. "But only if your control remains stable. The moment your focus breaks, the pill's quality will drop, or the entire process may fail."
She paused briefly before adding another point, her tone firm but not harsh. "Also, during your training phase—when you are building your Qi reserves—do not use Qi Replenishment Pills at all. Let your Qi recover naturally. That process is what expands your Qi pool."
Li Yan nodded once more, his understanding clear. He cupped his hands and gave a slight bow. "I understand, Elder Cao. Thank you for your guidance."
Cao Lian waved her hand lightly, dismissing the formality. "It's nothing."
With a small motion, she summoned a palm-sized silver badge and extended it toward him. "Take this," she said. "It's a communication artifact. Its range covers the entire sect. If you have any questions about alchemy, contact me. Just channel your Qi and thoughts to contact me."
Li Yan hesitated for a brief moment, his gaze lingering on the artifact, but he accepted it in the end. "Thank you, Elder Cao," he said, his tone sincere.
With that, he bid her farewell and descended the staircase, his steps steady as his thoughts shifted toward the path ahead.
Behind him, Cao Lian watched for a moment before turning away, her expression returning to calm focus as she headed toward the Alchemy Vault, intent on ensuring that Li Yan's transaction remained known to no one.
____
Upon arriving at his residence, Li Yan stepped into the empty room that had long been free until this moment. The space was quiet, illuminated only by the soft glow of Qi lanterns lining the walls. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the items he had purchased.
The Mortal-Tier Mid-Level Alchemy Technique scroll unfurled mid-air, its yellow surface reflecting faint light across the room.
With another wave of his hand, the pill furnace appeared, which he set at the center of the room. Its black-gold body gleamed as if newly forged, engraved with intricate patterns of ancient beasts—phoenixes, serpents, and qilins—each design faintly pulsing with dormant energy.
Between them, flowing cloud motifs carried subtle traces of Qi, giving the entire furnace a quiet, living presence. Li Yan's gaze lingered on it for a moment, appreciating its craftsmanship without distraction.
Despite spending over ten thousand Shadow Points, his remaining balance still exceeded twenty thousand.
The cost did not trouble him. To Li Yan, resources spent on growth were never a loss—only preparation. With that thought settling in his mind, he crossed his legs before the furnace and placed the alchemy scroll in front of him.
His eyes moved swiftly across the text, absorbing every detail with sharp focus.
The "Mystic Essence Refinement" technique outlined the core principles of alchemy—precise control over Qi flames, careful timing in combining ingredients, and the maintenance of the integrity of medicinal essence during purification.
It also described subtle Qi pathways that guide energy flow into the furnace, ensuring stability and efficiency throughout the refinement process.
Time passed quietly.
Li Yan exhaled slowly and closed the scroll, having already memorized its contents in full. "Qi regulation, ingredient harmony, and mental clarity…" he murmured. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Let's see how far I can go."
He raised his right hand and drew upon his Darkness Qi, trying to turn into Qi Fire/Refining Flame. The air in the room dimmed slightly as a cold stillness spread outward. A muted gray flame flickered into existence above his palm—unstable at first, before sputtering out completely.
Li Yan remained calm.
Moments later, he tried again, the flame reappeared, steadier this time, its movement quiet and controlled. "Darkness Qi Fire…" he observed inwardly. "More stable than expected. It may suppress fluctuations during refinement." He rotated his wrist slightly before dispersing the flame.
Then he shifted to Fire Qi.
A bright orange flame ignited instantly, vibrant and aggressive, its energy pulsing with intensity. Unlike the previous flame, this one crackled with raw power. Li Yan adjusted it with careful control—reducing it to a small flicker, then expanding it into a larger, roaring sphere.
The contrast between the two flames became clear as he alternated between them, refining his control with each transition.
For several minutes, the room remained silent except for the faint hum of Qi.
"Let's begin as Elder Cao Lian advised," Li Yan murmured. "Time to test my limits."
With a small gesture, a palm-sized timer appeared in his hand—a simple device he had acquired earlier. Its front displayed a stopwatch, while the back held a compass-like mechanism. Activating it, he focused his attention and channeled his Fire Qi once more.
The orange flame surged forward from his palm and struck the base of the furnace.
At that instant, the engravings across the cauldron's surface lit up. A low hum resonated through the room as faint ripples of Qi spread outward. The furnace absorbed the flame steadily, its body warming as the first stage of Li Yan's alchemical training began.
Li Yan continued channeling his Qi Fire into the furnace in steady repetition, raising the heat, lowering it, then adjusting it by the slightest margins. Each shift was deliberate. Each fluctuation is measured.
The balance between excess and deficiency was razor-thin, yet his control grew sharper with every breath.
Time passed unnoticed.
Finally, the flame flickering beneath the furnace dimmed and vanished as his Qi reserves ran empty. His chest rose and fell steadily, a thin layer of sweat forming across his brow.
"Not bad for a first session," he thought, his gaze lingering on the now-silent furnace.
The foundation had been laid.
The technique was fully memorized. His control over flame had stabilized. And the furnace responded to his will without resistance. But more importantly, he had pushed his Qi to its limit. The prolonged control, the constant adjustments, the uninterrupted flow—it had drained his Qi Core completely.
Li Yan lifted his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead before exhaling slowly, calming his breathing.
His gaze shifted toward the timer.
And then—he froze.
01:52:57.
For a brief moment, Li Yan remained completely still.
According to what he had learned from Elder Cao Lian, his current cultivation should not even allow him to refine a single Tier-1 Low-Level pill. His Qi reserves should have been insufficient.
Yet—
"Almost two hours…" he murmured under his breath.
The result far exceeded his expectations.
A faint crease formed between his brows as he fell into thought. "Is this because of my dual elemental affinity…" he wondered, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Or is the Superior-Level affinity the real reason?"
Either way, the conclusion was clear.
His Qi reserves were far beyond normal.
"This means…" Li Yan muttered, "…I don't need to practice with an empty furnace for days as I thought earlier."
The realization settled in his mind with quiet certainty.
With a slow exhale, he relaxed his posture slightly. "Now… I'll let my Qi recover naturally," he said to himself. "And prepare for the next step."
With a flick of his wrist, eleven white scrolls materialized before him, each emitting a faint pearly glow. They hovered in the air, swaying gently as if stirred by an unseen current. These were the Tier-1 Low-Level pill recipes.
Li Yan raised his hand and opened the first scroll.
Ancient script flowed across the surface, elegant and precise, accompanied by detailed diagrams illustrating herb combinations and refinement sequences. His eyes moved steadily across the text, absorbing every detail.
Within moments, the entire structure of the pill—ingredients, order, timing—was etched into his memory.
He did not rush.
One by one, he studied all eleven scrolls.
Afterward, he summoned a blank scroll along with a feather-like pen. With controlled movements, he began listing every ingredient and quantity required for each pill. His handwriting was clean, efficient, without hesitation.
When he finished, he dismissed the recipe scrolls with a wave of his hand, storing them back into his ring.
Next came the nine Tier-1 Mid-Level recipes. The process repeated—study, memorize, record.
Then the thirteen Tier-1 High-Level recipes.
Then the eight Tier-1 Peak-Level ones.
The room remained silent throughout, broken only by the faint scratch of the pen against the scroll.
When Li Yan finally finished, the list before him had grown extensive. But as his eyes scanned the contents, his expression sharpened.
Some ingredients overlapped across multiple recipes.
He quickly reorganized the list, merging duplicates. The number of unique ingredients decreased, while their required volumes rose significantly.
Efficiency.
Everything was calculated.
Then his gaze paused. "Beast cores…"
Five of the recipes required them—one core per pill.
Twenty sets each.
One hundred Tier-1 Beast Cores in total. Li Yan leaned back slightly, his expression thoughtful. He already possessed eighteen extra cores beyond the one thousand he had gathered for his task.
But that still left—
"Eighty-two more," he murmured.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "That's manageable."
As for elemental alignment, that wasn't an issue. He could easily exchange or rearrange the cores he had already stored to show Yao Fuhuo as evidence of his task completion.
Li Yan rolled up the ingredient list and put it away. Then he checked his Qi reserves, which were already nearly full again, and he meditated for a few minutes to fully replenish them.
Then, in the second session of practice with an empty furnace, he was surprised to see that this time he passed the two-hour limit. "My reserves are sufficient… but that doesn't mean my control is."
Then he slowly rose to his feet.
"It's time…" he said quietly. His gaze steadied. "…to visit the Tier-1 Hunting Ground again."
____
As Li Yan stepped out of the sect and into the Tier-1 Hunting Ground, the afternoon sun hung high above, casting long streaks of golden light across the rugged terrain. Without pausing, he moved forward with purpose, his pace steady, his gaze sharp.
He had no intention of wasting time.
With a quiet breath, Li Yan extended his Spiritual Sense outward. The invisible wave spread across the surrounding land, brushing against trees, soil, and hidden life beneath the surface. With his knowledge from herbalism already etched into his mind, each fluctuation in energy carried meaning.
Moments later—
"Found one," Li Yan murmured.