Chen Kai walked out of the Treasure Pavilion under the wide-eyed stares of dozens of onlookers. He could feel Chen Wei's burning hatred boring into his back, sharp enough to drill a hole clean through him.
He ignored it.
In his grip, the pouch of three silver coins felt heavy. It was more wealth than he'd held in three years. He could buy Ling'er a proper meal—maybe some meat and fresh vegetables.
*Hmph. A colony of ants impressed by a single dewdrop\,* Emperor Yao's voice echoed in his mind\, dripping with contempt. *The Nine Essence Purification is garbage—a technique so worthless that even servant disciples of my Eternal Dragon Sect wouldn't spare it a glance. But in this backwater\, they treat it like a divine treasure.*
*It's more than enough\,* Chen Kai replied silently\, his steps steady as he made his way back into the forest. *They underestimate me\, and that gives me an advantage. Now I have an ally.*
*Don't call that disheveled old man an ally\,* Emperor Yao grumbled. *He's a leech who's caught the scent of profit. He'll bleed you dry if you give him the chance.*
*I know\,* Chen Kai thought. *And I'll use him the same way he plans to use me.*
He spent the rest of the morning splitting wood as usual. He had to maintain his cover. He didn't want anyone—especially Chen Wei—suspecting that anything drastic had changed. He worked at a steady rhythm, but inside his body, the Eternal Dragon Emperor Heart Sutra churned ceaselessly, drawing spiritual energy from the thin air to replenish the Qi he'd expended at the pavilion.
That afternoon, after making sure Ling'er was safe and asleep, he headed to the inner courtyard—to Elder Liu's private quarters.
Elder Liu's alchemy chamber was a small, isolated courtyard behind the pavilion. The moment Chen Kai stepped through using his jade token, a wave of searing heat and the pungent stench of herbs hit him like a wall. The place was a disaster. Piles of dried ingredients, failed pill remnants, and empty bottles were scattered everywhere. In the center of the room stood a bronze furnace as tall as a man, its surface blackened with soot.
Elder Liu sat before the furnace, fanning the flames with a look of undisguised frustration. He didn't even glance up when Chen Kai entered.
"You're two minutes late," Elder Liu growled.
"I had to finish my woodcutting duties," Chen Kai answered calmly.
Elder Liu finally turned, looking Chen Kai up and down. "An alchemist still chopping wood? Utterly ridiculous." He stood and pointed to a corner of the room. There, a massive pile of herbs sat in even worse condition than the Morning Crystal Grass from that morning. Most were wilted, rotting, or dried to husks.
"That," Elder Liu said, "is our garbage heap. Grade-one spiritual herbs that failed processing. They're set to be thrown out tomorrow. I want to see if your little miracle this morning was just a fluke."
He gestured at the alchemy furnace. "Know how to use this?"
Chen Kai shook his head.
Elder Liu snorted. "Of course you don't. Listen closely—I'm only saying this once." He rattled off a quick explanation of how to ignite the spiritual flame, control the temperature, and feed in materials. The instructions were rudimentary at best.
Chen Kai listened carefully. Elder Liu's information merged with the deep alchemical knowledge Emperor Yao had already imprinted in his mind.
*Utterly moronic\,* Emperor Yao commented. *He doesn't even understand the basic principles of Yin-Yang balance within the furnace. His flame is unstable. No wonder his pills are riddled with impurities.*
"Enough talk," Elder Liu said impatiently. "Begin. Purify that pile of rotting Black Stone Fungus. If you can extract essence at even fifty percent purity from that garbage, I'll believe you."
Chen Kai stepped up to the furnace. The heat was blistering. He drew a deep breath, shutting out the chaos around him. He activated the Eternal Dragon Emperor Heart Sutra.
Instead of using his Qi to shape the flame the way Elder Liu had taught—a crude and wasteful method—he channeled his Qi directly into the furnace itself, following Emperor Yao's instructions. He didn't control the fire. He became the fire.
WHOOSH!
The unstable flames inside the furnace suddenly crackled and shifted to pale blue—far hotter and far purer.
Elder Liu's eyes went wide. "That control... such refined flame manipulation!"
Chen Kai paid him no mind. He grabbed a fistful of rotting Black Stone Fungus and tossed it into the furnace.
"You idiot! That's too much!" Elder Liu shouted. "It'll explode!"
But no explosion came. Under Chen Kai's command, the blue flames wrapped around the fungi, forming a tight vortex. The Nine Essence Purification activated.
HSSSS...!
A thick column of foul-smelling black smoke erupted from the furnace chimney, far more than before.
"What is that stench?!" Elder Liu cried, clamping a hand over his nose.
"Impurities," Chen Kai said, eyes closed in concentration.
He continued feeding fistful after fistful of the rotting herbs into the furnace. Sweat drenched his forehead and his face went pale. Wielding an emperor-grade technique with a body at the third level of Qi Condensation was brutally draining.
After a full hour, the entire garbage pile had vanished—transmuted into a massive cloud of black smoke.
"Done," Chen Kai whispered. His hands blurred through an intricate sequence of hand seals—far more complex than the ones he'd performed at the pavilion.
*Merge!*
A clear, chiming ring echoed from within the furnace. The blue flames died.
Chen Kai opened the output compartment at the furnace's base. There, resting inside, were not one but five drops of pure essence, each the size of a thumb, glowing with a deep, rich blackish-green light.
A potent medicinal fragrance flooded the room instantly, drowning out the earlier stench.
Elder Liu trembled. He rushed forward, nearly shoving Chen Kai aside. He scooped up one drop of essence with a jade spatula and held it up to the light.
He was speechless.
"The purity... this is... ninety-five percent!" he cried, his voice cracking. "Ninety-five percent! From a garbage pile! This is... this is impossible! This is sorcery!"
He stared at Chen Kai with a naked blend of awe, fear, and greed. "Kid... who are you, really?"
"I'm Chen Kai," he replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Your disciple and alchemist partner."
Elder Liu swallowed hard. He knew he'd struck a gold mine. He no longer cared who Chen Kai was or where his technique came from. All he knew was that the young man standing before him could turn garbage into pure gold.
"Hahaha... wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Elder Liu threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Our fifty-fifty deal stands! Starting tomorrow, you'll have an unlimited supply of the clan's low-grade herbs."
He paused, then eyed Chen Kai's filthy robes. "But this won't do. An alchemist working under me can't walk around looking like a beggar and living in a shack. It would be an embarrassment."
He unclipped another token from his waist. "This is the key to a small courtyard on the east side. It's modest, but it has basic wards and far more spiritual energy than the outer disciples' quarters. Move there tonight. I'll also arrange for food rations and fresh robes to be sent to you."
Chen Kai took the token. "Thank you, Elder."
"This isn't for you," Elder Liu grumbled. "It's for the essence you'll be producing. Now get out. I need to... reflect." He gazed at the five drops of essence in his hand as though they were a long-lost lover.
Chen Kai gave a slight bow and left.
That night, for the first time in three years, Chen Kai and Chen Ling moved out of their crumbling shack. Their new courtyard was small—just two simple rooms—but it was clean, warm, and most importantly, safe.
When Chen Ling saw the basket of steaming white rice, roasted meat, and fresh vegetables delivered to their door, her eyes shone with disbelief.
"Brother... is this... are we dreaming?" she whispered.
Chen Kai smiled—the first genuine smile he'd worn in a very long time. He ruffled her hair.
"It's not a dream, Ling'er," he said softly. "Eat up. From now on, things are going to get better."
Meanwhile, in a lavish courtyard across the clan compound, the sound of shattering porcelain rang out.
CRASH!
An expensive vase exploded against the wall.
"Trash! Worthless trash!" Chen Wei raged. "Not only is he alive—he's an alchemist? He's working with Elder Liu? He's moved to the inner courtyard?!"
A subordinate cowered in the corner. "Young Patriarch... what should we do? Now that Elder Liu is protecting him, we can't touch him easily."
Chen Wei's eyes burned red. "Investigate him! Find out how he suddenly learned to cultivate! Find out where he got that alchemy technique! I want to know everything!"
He clenched his fist. "He thinks he's safe? I'll destroy him. At the Clan Hunt... I'll make sure he never comes back alive."
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