Chương 40: Alchemy Practitioner and Meeting Old Acquaintances

Both An and Elder Shoa sat in complete silence, looking out the window. One had a slight smile on his face and a smoking pipe in his teeth. The other looked thoughtful. An couldn't hold back and asked the question that had been bothering him.

"Elder Shoa, I wanted to ask you again about aspects of Qi. Specifically, their differences, and how cultivators can acquire this so-called aspect." The elder shifted his pipe between his teeth and looked at An. Seeing the serious expression on his face, the old man gave in and exhaled.

"Even though we've already talked about this, and I said that this topic is premature for you… Fine, since you want to know so badly... This so called aspect of Qi is a fragment capable of changing, or in other words, transforming, a cultivator's energy inside his source, in his dantian."

"So it's a fragment of the Dao?" An suddenly asked, interrupting the elder. Elder Shoa raised an eyebrow, not expecting to hear about the Dao from him, "Yes, a fragment is indeed a part of the Dao, carrying within it a small piece of that Dao."

"So if a cultivator manages to obtain this aspect of Qi, they have come closer to understanding that Dao?" An continued asking.

"No. A cultivator can gather thousands of such fragments belonging to the same Dao, yet still never comprehend it. Moreover, such fragments only exist for Mortal Dao, not for the Great Dao." The elder saw how An was restraining himself from shouting out the next question, and with a heavy exhale, he continued, without letting the boy so much as open his mouth." Mortal Dao is not connected to elements of any order. Even a mortal who has never cultivated can comprehend a Mortal Dao …

For example, there is a restaurant in... it doesn't matter where. So, the head chef of that restaurant, being a mortal, in his youth, through heavenly luck, comprehended the Dao of Olfaction through the aspect of Scent, which… Hehe! Which almost killed him.

If not for a Golden Core cultivator who was visiting his clan at the time, that aspect of Scent would have devoured him alive without ever activating… Haha!" An suddenly tensed up, especially upon hearing what the aspect had done to that chef.

"What do you mean, almost devoured?"

"A fragment of Dao needs activation, or rather, it needs a huge reserve of energy to rewrite itself, adapting to its host and becoming one with them. And if the cultivator is weak, usually below Foundation Establishment, then during the activation of a Qi aspect, an elder must be present. Otherwise, the internal energy of the host of the fragment simply won't be enough..." The tobacco in the pipe suddenly went out. Snapping his fingers and creating a small particle of Fire Qi, the elder relit his pipe.

"When I was young, there was a disciple among us who showed great promise. He was a genius, the kind you meet once a century… In his foolishness, this disciple attracted a fragment that turned out to be the aspect of Precision, of the Mortal Dao of Archery. Without telling anyone, without finding out anything, he stupidly decided to do it all himself. Eh … In the end, his body was found the next day.

He looked like a dry cane; his body had dried out so much that a single touch was enough for him to crumble into small pieces..." The entire room became submerged in tobacco smoke.

"I've heard from other disciples about the aspect of Sharpness... Which Dao does it belong to?" An felt the smoke beginning to affect him. It felt as if he had just smoked several pipes of strong tobacco all at once." Hmm, one of the most common Mortal Daos, the Dao of the Blade. Many warriors comprehend this Dao and its fragments, and hundreds of times more die from the mere desire to become better with a sword, dagger, or spear… Sometimes, the harder you try, the faster and louder you fall..."

Notes of sadness and sorrow suddenly crept into the elder's voice. Even though An still had many questions, hearing how the elder's voice was changing, he decided to remain silent and end his questions there. Once again in silence, An looked out the window and rocked in his chair, creaking it softly.

"What am I doing... Heh! You've completely distracted me, I even forgot what I wanted to say!" The elder suddenly took a long drag, burning most of the tobacco in his pipe, and looked at An with burning eyes.

"As soon as you came onto this floor, I could already smell the aroma of pills coming from you! Come on, quickly, show me what you've brought!" Elder Shoa leaned forward and began urging him on with hand gestures. Untying his pouch and opening it, An began taking out flasks with pills. Carefully laying them out in front of the elder, he pointed his finger at the first flask.

"This is the Summer Dew pill. I managed to achieve a 4% potency loss… Eh... I'm sure I was just a few attempts short of pushing it to Peak quality." An shook his head with genuine disappointment on his face. Elder Shoa took the flask and took the pill from it. Turning it over in his hand, he nodded several times, put it back in the flask, and threw his gaze at the other pills lying before him.

"The Golden Body Qi pill, I finally managed to refine a pill with a 2% loss! Hehe!" An smiled, holding a flask with a single pill in front of himself. Elder Shoa snatched it from his hands, took the pill, and began examining it from all sides. After examining it and asking several questions about the concoction process, Elder Shoa put the pill back and reluctantly placed the flask on the table. Without waiting for An, he took out the third pill, and his smile stretched from ear to ear.

"This is your Beginning of the Body Qi Path pill? Ho! Excellent work. The perfect ratio of plant essences in the concoction… even just from its appearance, you can tell it's peak quality... Hmm... But I can sense that the aroma is much more concentrated than peak quality, very close to perfect quality… Hmm … How did you manage to stabilize the essence of the Kavana fruit and the root of..." Holding the pill in his hand and examining it, studying it through his Qi, Elder Shoa began asking An questions.

He was particularly interested in how An had managed to neutralize the conflicts between some of the spirit plants used in refining this pill. Sitting beside him, rocking in his chair, An explained everything slowly and openly, trying to answer all the questions in as much detail as possible, describing the entire process from start to finish. After a long conversation of questions and answers, An opened the flask with his best Qi Enlightenment pill, with a 3% potency loss.

They didn't dwell too much on this pill, as Elder Shoa was eager to move on to the last flask, at which he kept stealing glances. Carefully extending his hand, he took the flask, held it in front of himself, and looked thoughtfully at the young man." Oh!" An smiled and was just about to start praising himself and talking about his best pill when Elder Shoa raised his hand and stopped him.

"Even without opening the flask, I can tell what effect this pill has... With a 5% potency loss, it provides an increase of about five to six times the standard particle attraction during cultivation, doesn't it?" Elder Shoa fixed his gaze on An with a serious expression. Seeing the elder's strange behavior, An frowned slightly, but still nodded." Hmm. Judging by the pseudo-green veins, this is a modification for the Wood element... Brilliant... Frighteningly brilliant…"

Elder Shoa shifted his thoughtful gaze to the flask containing the pill.' And at the same time, dangerous…' Elder Shoa thought,'I didn't think he would be able to progress so quickly… It seems I need to speed up and adjust a few things…' He continued to stare at the pseudo-veins on the pill, inside which captured Wood element particles were moving, very slowly, but moving. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Without opening the flask, Elder Shoa handed it directly to An, unlike before, when he had placed it on the table, "This pill of yours..."

"Beginning of the Qi Path..." An said the name of his new creation. Hearing the pill's name, Elder Shoa smiled slightly.

"Your Beginning of the Qi Path... Make them only for yourself. Don't tell anyone that you can produce pills with such effects. It's better not even to show them. Hide them somewhere far away, and only take them out when you're alone… In our sect, as you know, there are no pills that provide such a boost for cultivators below Foundation Establishment without any immediate side effects or internal mutations, even if your pills are not yet of perfect quality…

If someone finds out about your pill, if you're lucky, they'll only demand the recipe. In the worst case, you'll get a new brand, only this time, not on your neck, but on your soul..." The elder exhaled with deep disappointment, his empty and sad gaze looking far off into the horizon. An understood what he was talking about. He was well aware that his life could end in an instant, at any moment. Even now, sitting before Elder Shoa, before a Golden Core cultivator.

What if the elder suddenly got tired of him and their conversations and, with a mere sneeze, could erase him from the face of this world. After several hours of talking about everything and nothing, An descended to the main hall, holding his personal plaque in his hands, sensing his new status as a Practitioner of Alchemy through his Qi. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Approaching the exit, he suddenly saw a group of five disciples walking not far from him.

Recognizing three of them, An pressed himself against the base of the huge main doors so that no one would see him or recognize him. For some time, An simply watched as this group moved away from him, going further and further. Standing still in complete confusion, he couldn't decide what to do.' Should I?'' What if I don't do anything about this, and it comes back to haunt me in the future?'' What if I only make things worse, and my decision only complicates my life further…'' No!

Such a problem needs to be eliminated as quickly as possible, before it turns into a catastrophe.' Standing at the threshold of the Hall, not taking his eyes off the departing disciples, An's eyes finally focused, and any hesitation disappeared from them. They became calm and cold, like never before. He lifted his foot, took a step, and followed the group. Following them, An tried to keep his distance and behave as stealthily as possible. But he had overlooked one thing.

Even though the aroma from the pills had faded, his appearance had not changed. He was still completely dirty and grimy, in clothes with holes burned through them. Everyone around moved back, so that no one would think they knew or had any connection to this thing walking across the Outer Platform. With all these reactions and the talk behind his back, the only reason he wasn't discovered was that he kept a big distance from them. He followed them across the Platform until they entered the Outer Hall.

Stopping outside, he waited a little and only then went inside. Carefully keeping to the edge, close to the wall, he saw that the group was standing by the huge mission board. Understanding why the group had come here, he moved to the wall opposite the board, sat down on the floor, and began watching them, not letting them out of his sight.

"Brother, what about this mission?" A disciple with an iron hand pulled a sheet from the board and handed it to the one standing next to him." Hmm, the reward is too low." Without even taking the sheet in his hand, the disciple with white hair and a crooked upturned nose waved his hand. The disciple with the iron prosthetic quickly returned the sheet and began browsing other available missions.

"What about a territory investigation?" Standing behind them, a huge giant pointed his finger at a sheet attached near the very top edge of the board. Looking up, the disciple with the crooked nose raised his hand and pulled the sheet closer to himself. Taking it, he carefully read the contents.

"Senior Brother Rollo, what does it say?" Standing next to the three were two girls. Both blondes with red tips, bright red eyes, and completely identical appearances, down to the scratches on their hands. They were twins. One of the twins stepped closer to Brother Rollo, stood on her tiptoes, and began reading the mission sheet over his shoulder. Catching the scent of her perfume, Brother Rollo swallowed greedily and lowered the sheet slightly so that she would have to lean closer to him.

The second twin rolled her eyes at the sight. The other two, the one with the iron prosthetic and the giant, were whispering to each other and smirking at Brother Rollo.

"The mission requires capturing several live Blood Lions at the middle stage, investigating the territory, and not forgetting to record all types of spirit beasts we can find in the area marked on the sheet." Holding the sheet in his hands and reading it, Brother Rollo felt the twin looking over his shoulder constantly nodding.

"Sister! Listen, the reward is 1000 contribution points, 200 each. That's not so little!" With a clear and naive smile, she turned to her sister. Seeing her sister's face, she smiled back at her, then turned to Brother Rollo, who was also looking her way, holding the sheet in his hand. She nodded.

"Only, we must officially take this mission through an elder, not through the usual seal, so that there is a detailed record of all of us." Agreeing, the second twin decided to get at least some guarantee that these three wouldn't plot anything funny. Hearing her words, the faces of the giant and the one with the prosthetic twisted. The giant was about to open his mouth when the disciple with the iron hand, knowing his big brother's character well, tugged the giant's arm.

"Of course! There's no other way! Let's go, let's go!" Brother Rollo immediately reassured the two sisters with a big, sincere smile. He even showed a gesture of respect, folding his hands in front of his chest and slightly bowing his head to show how pure his intentions were. But he didn't forget to throw a glance at the giant. Approaching the counter with an elder, Brother Rollo handed over the mission sheet and requested official registration.

"Names and a drop of your blood!" The elder sitting behind the table immediately understood the reason for such mission registration. One glance at the two girls in the group, who had clearly only recently joined them, and he nodded, took the mission sheet from them, and began waving his hand, urging them to get it over with quickly.

"Outer disciple Rollo Por."

"Outer disciple Uku Tom."

"Outer disciple Badu Dum."

"Outer disciple Li Am."

"Outer disciple Li Um." Each in turn said their name and dripped a drop of blood onto the corner of the sheet. The last to let fall a drop of blood was the second twin, the one who had insisted on all of this.

"Done. Now you can begin the assignment at any time, just make sure to meet the deadlines specified in the mission description, and also, be careful out there." On his last words, the elder looked at the sisters, as if saying this specifically to them. At the same time, he tossed the sheet into the air, and it immediately flew back to the board, to the very top.

Only after stepping aside, "Li Am, Li Um, I suggest we meet tomorrow at sunrise at the eastern gates of the Sect, which will lead us straight to the Beast Lands, where we will begin our mission. What do you say? Will one day be enough for your preparations?" Rollo Por turned to the twins and asked politely.

"That works. Tomorrow at dawn then." Li Um grabbed her sister's hand, nodded, and headed for the exit of the Outer Hall, pulling her sister along with her." Heh... Brother Rollo, who would've thought they'd turn out to be smarter than we expected..." Not taking his eyes off the sisters, the giant muttered quietly with a smirk and a dangerous look." Hmm, it doesn't matter anymore. Once we're there, in the Beast Lands..." Rollo Por began to say.

"Where everyone is for themselves, and no one meddles in other people's affairs, where no one will ever hear your screams..." The one standing next to him, with the iron hand, finished Rollo Por's sentence, grinning from ear to ear. All three smirked, watching the backs of the departing sisters. After waiting for them to leave the Outer Hall, they also headed for the exit.

Sitting against the wall, An had been watching them the whole time, every movement, every expression on their faces, even from across the huge Hall. After waiting for them to leave, he stood up, walked to the board, and, finding the sheet at the very top, read all the information from it, specifically the nature of the mission. Without thinking long, he began looking through the available missions related to the Beast Lands.

According to the book Know Whose Tracks These Are, The Beast Lands were a vast forest territory connecting all the Sects of the Alliance of Four. Through these enormous forests, paths and roads for trade caravans had been laid. The Lands themselves were, for the most part, a kingdom of beasts and bandits. A very long time ago, during the founding of the Four Sects, there was a long and bloody battle with the rulers of the Beast Lands, spirit beasts of the fifth and sixth ranks.

After endless battles lasting two hundred years, the Sects managed to drive the leaders of the beasts out of those territories, losing more than two-thirds of their numbers in each Sect in the process. After conquering these Lands, these endless forests covering an area of millions of square kilometers with their foliage, the Sects decided to use these grounds to allow the remaining spirit beasts to repopulate. And after a vast span of time, the forests, once empty shells, were again filled with life.

From time to time, when the Sect needed specific spirit beast specimens that were not available on their own Peaks within the Sect, missions appeared for disciples to capture them in the Beast Lands. Usually, only disciples who had reached the middle stage of Qi Condensation were allowed to take such missions, as it was very dangerous, even on the very edge of those lands. Finding a mission to capture several Eared Crocodiles, An activated his Qi, waited for the seal to appear, and sent the sheet back.