Chapter Eleven: Alchemy

Lin Kunshan’s blow was anything but gentle—though delivered midair, he was a master of the Cloud Soaring Realm. With the aid of magical and spiritual artifacts, he could already ride the clouds and mist; in the feudal era, he could easily pass for an immortal. This was different from the brief, hovering flight possible at the Foundation Laying stage of the Heart of the Zither Realm; at the Cloud Soaring Realm, one could fly on their own power, and with magical artifacts, the effect was truly astonishing.

“What are you doing? Baole is already hurt!” Zhang Xueyi screamed. She watched as Zhang Baole was flung from the living room into the courtyard, panic overtaking her as she rushed to confront Lin Kunshan.

“Hmph!” Lin Kunshan snorted coldly, a surge of energy emanating from him that sent Zhang Xueyi flying back a dozen meters.

“That was the gentlest I could be. If it weren’t for him, would we be in such a passive position now? After all he’s done… Hmph! You’d better keep him in check. Let him handle the shady and underhanded dealings; from now on, he’s not to meddle in any official business of the group. And tell him to watch his filthy mouth. I need to contact the other shareholders.” Exhibiting the full authority of a family head, Lin Kunshan spoke with force before turning and heading upstairs.

Zhang Xueyi, who had been ready to throw a fit, was instantly deflated. She knew all too well what kind of person her brother was.

…

Deep within the research headquarters of Lin’s Pharmaceutical Group, in the most secure underground sanctuary, Li Xiaobo waited anxiously—never expecting to meet Master Chifeng in such a manner.

Within the massive alchemist’s chamber, several Xiaobo Foundation Pills hovered in midair. The ground fire, drawn directly into Chifeng’s body and transformed, bloomed into a myriad of starlike lights. Under the impact of this fiery brilliance, the already-refined Xiaobo Foundation Pills were being stripped apart by those starry flames.

Not only that, but nearby ingredients had been prepared. Whenever some of the pills, sealed under glass, seemed about to collapse, Old Daoist Chifeng would raise his hand and merge the essences of certain herbs, allowing them to coalesce anew.

At this moment, Li Xiaobo could no longer care that Master Chifeng was not receiving him from on high, but rather meeting him amidst such a process. He had never seen or heard of such a sight; it reminded him only of ancient alchemical texts he’d once read—this was the legendary reverse decomposition, analysis, and reforging of pills.

To forge a pill was to distill the essence of heaven and earth into unity, a wondrous effect in itself. Yet to decompose it? How could that be possible?

Witnessing Chifeng’s mastery, Lin Qingyun was delighted. His master now had one foot in the realm of Grand Alchemist—in some respects, were it not for certain external limitations, Chifeng already possessed a grandmaster’s expertise.

“In modern terms, the so-called unity of the primal essence is all a matter of perspective. On the micro-level, things are quite different; hardness and unity depend on the scale you observe. Master Chifeng is far beyond your current realm; analyzing the Xiaobo Foundation Pill at a near-grandmaster level, he need not rely on conventional methods.” In his previous life, Lin Qingyun had glimpsed the realm beyond the Grandmaster of Alchemy. He had not managed to cross that threshold, but his knowledge and vision were far beyond Li Xiaobo’s. Even Chifeng Daoist, at this moment, did not match him in insight, but Lin Qingyun could not say so outright. Instead, he offered a brief hint, enough to guide Li Xiaobo’s thoughts in the right direction.

Li Xiaobo frowned, for both Chifeng’s methods and Lin Qingyun’s words were far too advanced for him. It was as if a towering mountain had appeared on his path, unattainable and distant as the horizon. Still, he would not miss a single detail, and stared wide-eyed, intent on absorbing every nuance.

Bang! Bang! Bang! As the process neared its end and Chifeng attempted to reconstitute the pills, some of the starry flames exploded.

“Interesting. The rest are just auxiliary outputs; the chain reaction centers on these few points. These are the main components responsible for producing the ‘Heart Tribulation’ effect—capable of simulating a Heart Tribulation. Worthy of further study…” Though he had not achieved his ultimate goal, Chifeng had made discoveries.

His words left Li Xiaobo, the creator of the Xiaobo Foundation Pill, deeply shaken. He had developed the pill, but never examined it from this perspective.

At this point, Chifeng noticed Lin Qingyun and Li Xiaobo’s arrival. With a wave of his hand, all the firelight returned to his palm and vanished; the pills, too, were collected.

“Did you see anything? What’s your impression?” Chifeng asked without preamble, fixing his gaze on Li Xiaobo.

“The Heart Tribulation is the first calamity on the path of cultivation, but it is unique—unlike lightning or fire tribulations, which can be mitigated with equipment or formations. No one else can help with the Heart Tribulation; it is, at its core, a weakness in the heart, what the ancients called ‘heart demons.’ The Heart Tribulation is the hardest to predict; if one could know its approach and prepare accordingly, the chances of overcoming it would rise dramatically. That's why I believe that, compared to the usual foundation pills that clear and steady the mind, experiencing the tribulation early is better. One can then prepare specifically for their weaknesses, greatly increasing the chance of success. When I researched these herbs, I had already considered this. The main ingredient you found, Venerable, was indeed the key one I used.”

“I believe…”

Such was the exchange between true professionals—no wasted words, straight to the heart of the matter. Earlier, Chifeng had praised Lin Qingyun over the phone and wished to speak with him, but seeing them so engrossed in discussion, Lin Qingyun did not interrupt.

“Uncle Banyue, once they get going, it’s hard to say how long they’ll be. I’ve just broken through to the Heart of the Zither Realm and wish to study alchemy…” Clearly, Master Chifeng would not be free anytime soon, so Lin Qingyun decided not to linger as a third wheel.

As for his parents’ affairs, he had inquired about them in his previous life. Master Chifeng had been in seclusion refining pills and had provided no useful information.

“Foundation established in the Heart of the Zither Realm? Excellent. If you wish to practice alchemy, that’s simple enough.” Daoist Banyue, pleased, took Lin Qingyun to another alchemy chamber.

In a side courtyard’s alchemist’s room, Daoist Banyue handed Lin Qingyun the core jade slip controlling the formation, enabling him to operate the various arrays, ground fires, and other aids as he wished. Once Banyue left and Lin Qingyun activated the isolation and defense arrays, a profound sense of tranquility washed over him.

After a long separation, he could practice alchemy once more.

In his previous life, he had charged ahead relentlessly, appearing to dominate his path and stand at the pinnacle, leveraging Master Chifeng’s guidance, his family’s pharmaceutical group, the Fortune Alchemy Furnace, and countless secret formulas gained by helping others overcome tribulations. At his peak, his mastery of alchemy even surpassed that of Chifeng.

But this made him the target of all, both within and without; every faction calculated against him. He had believed he was supported by numerous powerful friends, but in the end, he was still betrayed.

Reborn, he now realized he had missed the true essence the first time around.

Until one is truly invincible, it is best to lie low and develop quietly. Some things may be experimented with, but some secrets must never be revealed.

A gentle hum vibrated the air as the Fortune Alchemy Furnace appeared before him. In his previous life, though he possessed this wondrous artifact and a physique that could defy tribulations, he never truly plumbed its depths.

The Fortune Furnace was powerful, but Lin Qingyun’s current strength was limited. After hovering in midair, it settled down, and with his focus, it shrank to a manageable size.

On the nearby shelves were many herbs—some of them newly procured by Daoist Banyue at Lin Qingyun’s request, rare even for master alchemists.

The Heart of the Zither Realm’s foundation is forged in nine stages, surpassing the ordinary, restoring youthful vigor, bringing clarity and peace of mind, and opening the senses to the profound.

At this stage, one begins to transcend normal limits—reversing aging, understanding oneself. The process is all about refining and solidifying one’s foundation. At higher levels, one prepares to strengthen the soul, laying the groundwork for the Cloud Soaring Realm. A variety of medicines assist this, and today Lin Qingyun, assessing his own needs, used his spiritual power to send more than a dozen herbs flying into the Fortune Furnace.

His main cultivation method since childhood was the Scarlet Sun Heart Technique, passed down from Master Chifeng. But his breakthrough to the Heart of the Zither Realm, aided secretly by the Heaven-Scorching Blade’s tribulation power, was achieved through the Eight-Nine Profound Yang Body Refining Art and Law—a method that appeared on the Fortune Furnace after he reached Grandmaster in his previous life, but which he had not had time to fully study.

Now, in this life, he had decided to cultivate it from the start.

A typical Foundation Alchemist of the sixth tier might reach only the level of a high-grade pill master, but Lin Qingyun’s current state defied such categorization. While he could not yet craft third-level advanced pills, the techniques he employed were already those of a master.

The ground fire gathered around the Fortune Furnace at his command, rapidly melting and decomposing the herbs within. Some became liquid, some reduced to fine powders. Certain herbs had multiple properties and needed to be combined with others at precise moments.

Taking the Scarlet Sun Heart Technique as his base, he now turned to the Eight-Nine Profound Yang Body Refining Art. Upon reaching higher tiers, he could cultivate the Eight-Nine Divine Art, but for now, he focused on fire-attribute pills, fierce and vigorous.

The essential pills to prepare at this stage were the most common: Spirit Gathering Pills for replenishing spiritual energy, Body Tempering Pills to refine and fortify the body, and, for higher tiers, Mind Focusing Pills.

For battle, there were Healing Pills, and on the edge of life and death, Revitalizing and Life-Extending Pills…

There were too many to list, and he could prepare them as needed. There were currently two schools of thought regarding pill usage: one held that overreliance on pills—since all medicine is somewhat toxic—should be avoided except for healing and life-saving; the other believed in growing strong first and worrying about residual toxicity later.

This debate only intensified over the years, eventually leading to open conflict. Lin Qingyun, however, was unconcerned.

His Fortune Furnace refined pills with almost no residual toxicity, and even his improved formulas had less than a third of the usual side effects. In his previous life, this advantage had allowed him to sidestep such disputes entirely.

Lost in thought, Lin Qingyun finished refining a batch of Spirit Gathering Pills—twelve high-grade, second-level pills from a single batch, two more than most, and each containing sixty percent more spiritual energy.

Spirit Gathering Pills were the most basic and common among the ranks of alchemical goods, the standard by which one’s mastery was judged. Most on the market were made by novice or advanced alchemists as practice.

Yet the more fundamental the pill, the harder it was to improve—and the more valuable a breakthrough. Even an increase of thirty percent in spiritual energy, short of Lin Qingyun’s current achievement, would yield the Lin Group hundreds of millions in additional revenue each year, with overall impact worth billions.

In his past life, Lin Qingyun had rolled out numerous such innovations in quick succession; this time, he intended to proceed gradually, changing things silently, step by step.