The private alchemy lab within the Lantern Cliff Residence proved to be absolutely magnificent in both scale and appointments, measuring fully three times the size of even a Grade-D alchemy room at Pill Peak's Lab Hotel.
The architectural craftsmanship on display was truly extraordinary—ornately carved wooden beams supported the ceiling while the rafters featured elaborate painted decorations depicting auspicious creatures and flowing spiritual energy patterns. The interior furnishings had been selected with obvious care and attention to aesthetic refinement, creating an environment that balanced practical functionality with visual beauty. Someone had even thoughtfully designated one corner of the spacious chamber for a small relaxation area, complete with an elegant tea table, comfortable chairs with cushioned seats, and a complete set of fine tea preparation implements.
The alchemy lab came equipped with a ready-made Dao Furnace as standard infrastructure, and this particular furnace certainly looked impressive at first glance. Its surface featured intricate gold inlay work and jade carvings that created elaborate decorative patterns, presenting an image of luxury and expense that would satisfy any cultivator's vanity.
However, when Lordi subjected the apparatus to closer professional scrutiny, examining its actual construction quality and the grade of materials used in its manufacturing, the truth became disappointingly apparent.
Despite its ostentatious appearance and decorative flourishes, the furnace's fundamental quality proved roughly equivalent to the standard-issue furnaces provided in the Grade-D alchemy rooms at Lab Hotel.
What genuinely captured Lordi's interest, however, was the formation array positioned directly beneath the Dao Furnace. This array had been specifically designed and calibrated to extract and channel Ninth tier Nether Fire from deep underground sources, drawing upon geothermal spirit energy concentrated in the mountain's depths.
Positioned around the periphery of this array, Lordi observed three circular socket holes carved into the stone floor. The dimensional specifications matched perfectly with standard d-grade Spirit $tone dimensions, ensuring proper energy transfer.
According to the detailed explanation provided by that helpful Manager Chiu from the Hall of General Affairs, the operational procedure was straightforward and user-friendly. When an alchemist wished to activate the formation, they simply needed to insert spirit stones into these three socket positions. Once properly energized, the array would establish a connection with the underground Dao Flame, providing sustained heat for elixir refinement work. The temperature could be regulated through adjusting the quality and quantity of Spirit $tones used, allowing for precise fire management during delicate alchemical processes. It was actually quite an elegant and practical system for standard alchemy work.
However, despite the undeniable utility and convenience of these built-in facilities, Lordi found himself completely uninterested in making use of either the provided Dao furnace or the ground fire array.
After all, he already possessed a better quality Dao Furnace that he'd obtained from Kinson Wexford—it's personally selected by an Inner Sect Bloodline Lord and without doubt it represented a significant upgrade over common standard-issue gear.
More importantly, he also had fused to Ice Pith Fire. This Eighth tier Dao Flame's unique properties made it vastly more suitable for high-level elixir refinement.
Given these superior resources already at his disposal, the built-in lab's standard equipment held no appeal whatsoever.
Instead of bothering with the inferior built-in systems, Lordi carefully positioned his personal Dao Furnace in an optimal location within the chamber, taking time to ensure proper placement for spiritual energy flow and heat dissipation.
Then, drawing upon the clever precaution concept he'd spontaneously developed while trapped in the Hanz Estate, he proceeded to design and install several small but effective trap mechanisms around his workspace.
These traps were specifically engineered with one critical feature: they would automatically trigger and interrupt any ongoing One-Clicck-Cultivation processes the instant he physically left the alchemy chamber.
Only after completing these security preparations and satisfying himself that his workspace was properly protected did Lordi finally settle into position.
"System," he commanded inwardly, "I want to practice. Select the skill. Select the Alchemy Skill: Jade Tempering Pill."
~ Ding! *System Notification Chime*
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ is at your service!
> One-click-cultivation, worry-free-ascension!
+ [Features]
- Intelligent upgrades tailored to your cultivation needs!
- Fully automated cultivation: Sit back, relax, and let the system do the work!
...
> Cultivation hosting: Initializing...
- Friendly reminder: During cultivation, the host will lose control of his/her body.
- Do not panic. This is a normal system function.
> Initializing body control override...
...
Throughout the following several days, Lordi established a productive routine that made efficient use of his time. He alternated between two primary alchemical tasks. Refining batches of Jade Tempering Pills and producing Foundation Establishment Pills.
Whenever he found himself with gaps between elixir refinement sessions, during the cooling periods when Dao furnaces needed to stabilize or when raw materials required time to properly settle, he devoted that time to continuing his personal cultivation practice. The dual approach allowed him to simultaneously advance his cultivation base and maximize productivity.
The work progressed smoothly and efficiently, his alchemy skill improving with each successful batch as he internalized the refinement processes more deeply.
Before long, he had completely exhausted the entire stock of raw materials that Kinson Wexford had provided. Surveying his completed inventory, Lordi made the practical decision to retain a portion of these elixirs for his own future use and emergency reserves.
The remainder, representing the bulk of his production, he carefully packaged in appropriate storage containers designed to preserve their potency. With elixirs secured, he departed from the Lantern Cliff Residence and made his way back to the familiar route leading to the Withered Orchid Villa of Inner Sect.
——
The moment Lordi crossed the threshold into the villa and entered the main hall, stepping from the bright afternoon sunlight outside into the more subdued interior lighting that filtered through expensive silk screens positioned over the windows, he immediately froze in his tracks as if he'd walked face-first into an invisible wall of solid spiritual energy.
His eyes widened dramatically, his entire body going rigid with shock at the sight that greeted him, because nothing—absolutely nothing—in his expectations or mental preparations for this visit had prepared him for the scene currently laid out before his startled gaze.
Kinson Wexford sat slumped in an ornate luxury chair positioned prominently in the center of the hall, the kind of elaborate piece that probably cost more Spirit $tones than most Inner Sect disciples saw in a year. But the expensive furniture only served to make the occupant's condition more shocking by contrast, highlighting rather than disguising the extent of the damage that had clearly been inflicted on this Foundation Establishment cultivator who normally radiated power and barely contained arrogance.
Both of Kinson's legs were wrapped extensively in white cloth bandages. The bandaging extended from his ankles all the way up past his knees, disappearing beneath the hem of his robes in a way that suggested the injuries continued even higher, possibly affecting his entire lower body.
Beyond the obvious physical trauma visible in the bandaged legs, beyond the way Kinson held himself with the careful rigidity of someone who knew that any wrong movement would trigger waves of pain, his overall complexion appeared absolutely terrible in ways. His face had taken on an unhealthy grayish pallor, the kind of sickly color.
Dark circles had formed beneath Kinson's eyes, so pronounced they looked almost like bruises, and his skin had taken on a faint sheen of unhealthy sweat despite the comfortable temperature in the hall. His normally immaculate hair hung limp and slightly disheveled. Even his posture, normally so rigidly upright with the pride of a Mid Phase Foundation Stage Bloodline Lord, had collapsed into something approaching a slump.
Lordi's reaction was completely unfeigned, his surprise and concern absolutely sincere rather than performed for Kinson's benefit, because whatever complicated feelings existed between them, seeing someone he knew beaten to this state triggered genuine shock.
He hurried forward with obvious urgency, "Esteemed... Senior Brother Wexford! What in the world happened to you?!"
Kinson's expression remained completely flat and emotionless as Lordi approached, his face a carefully maintained mask that betrayed absolutely nothing of his internal thoughts or reactions to this junior brother's sudden appearance in his villa.
However, despite the carefully neutral arrangement of his features, the Bloodline Lord's eyes fixed on Lordi with an unblinking stare of such focused intensity that it carried almost physical weight, his gaze boring into this junior brother like twin drills attempting to pierce through flesh and bone to examine what lay beneath.
Inside his own head, Kinson was unleashing every single piece of vile profanity his extensive and creative vocabulary could produce, stringing together curses in combinations.
Mother fuck!
Damn this absolute bastard!
Fuck this goddamn motherfucking son of a diseased whore who spawned this disaster on two legs!
Well. This piece of shit standing here with his fake concerned expression and his innocent questions hadn't actually done anything directly, yet somehow, because of this worthless little shit's reckless actions and complete lack of consideration for consequences, Kinson had very nearly been beaten to death by that mad birtch, Kim Selena, in the most humiliating public spectacle imaginable!
That mad bitch had subjected Kinson to the most degrading public thrashing of his entire cultivation career, attacking him in front of witnesses with such savage fury that he'd genuinely feared for his life for several terrifying minutes before one of the Upper Three Bloodline Lords had finally intervened to stop the assault.
She'd broken bones, ruptured meridians, slapped on his face in ways that would take months to fully repair, all because that mad bitch surnamed Kim had somehow gotten the completely mistaken impression that Kinson was responsible for directing the person who'd violated her precious clan sister!
The injustice of it burned in his chest like concentrated acid—being punished for crimes he hadn't committed, suffering consequences for another person's actions simply because of perceived association and assumed authority over a useless subordinates.
And now here stood the actual source of all his problems, looking concerned and innocent and completely oblivious to the chain of catastrophes his existence had triggered!
This Filthy Fucking Moron!
If Kinson wasn't acutely, painfully aware that he absolutely needed to show restraint for Senior Sister Lith's authority and Her Highness's clearly expressed interest in this infuriating junior brother, if he didn't know with absolute certainty that harming Lordi Payne would bring down consequences far worse than anything Kim Selena had inflicted, he would have already delivered the most devastating killer slap his Foundation Establishment cultivation could produce directly across this smug bastard's face!
He would have channeled every ounce of spiritual essence he could still muster despite his injuries into a strike that would cave in Lordi's skull, scatter his nascent soul, and leave nothing but a red smear on the expensive floor as a warning to anyone else who might consider causing Kinson similar problems in the future.
The urge to commit immediate and extreme violence pulsed through this Bloodline Lord's damaged body like a physical ache, a burning need that demanded satisfaction and screamed at him to just give in, to unleash all this accumulated rage and pain on the convenient target.
Through tremendous force of will and through multiple deep breaths that sent spikes of pain through his injured ribs, Kinson managed to wrestle his raging emotions back.
He locked down the murderous impulses and forced his face to maintain that neutral mask even as his hands clenched on the chair's armrests hard enough to make the wood creak ominously.
When he finally spoke, after what felt like an eternity of internal struggle but was probably only a few seconds of tense silence, his voice emerged cold and clipped.
"What is it? State your business quickly."
Seeing his senior brother's obviously hostile attitude radiating from every line of his battered body, reading the barely suppressed fury in Kinson's body language despite his visible attempts at control—the tension in his jaw, the white-knuckle grip on the armrests, the way his spiritual energy was roiling chaotically around—Lordi's mind immediately began racing through possible explanations.
It didn't take a genius to piece together a plausible theory for what had happened, especially given recent events and the various complications that had arisen from his encounter with that so called Simona's sister lady in purple. If someone from the Kim clan had tracked down his supposed "backer" and blamed Kinson for Lordi's actions, if they'd decided to extract revenge on the person they mistakenly believed was responsible for directing and protecting him, then this whole catastrophic beating suddenly made horrifying sense.
Lordi's face was all in sincere apology. Moving quickly before Kinson's precarious emotional control could snap entirely and result in consequences neither of them wanted to deal with, Lordi hurriedly retrieved the carefully prepared vial of pills from his storage pouch with hands that trembled only slightly.
He reverently laid out vial after vial in neat, precise rows across the table positioned beside Kinson's chair, his movements swift and deliberate.
Foundation Establishment Pills of legendary level quality, their jade containers practically glowing with the concentrated spirit flow of the treasures within.
Jade Tempering Pills of legendary level quality that radiated such pure essence that even sealed in their vials they made the surrounding air shimmer faintly with power.
Each pill was a masterwork of alchemical art, each elixir inside representing resources and skill that most Inner Sect alchemy stars could only dream of accessing. The warm noon light streaming through the windows caught the polished surfaces of the jade vials as they were arranged, making them gleam like precious gems.
As these legendary level elixirs were arranged before him, Kinson's once-furious eyes gradually widened until they threatened to pop from his skull entirely, his carefully maintained neutral expression cracking as shock and avarice warred with lingering rage for control of his features.
His breathing, already somewhat labored from his injuries, quickened noticeably as he stared at the fortune being casually laid out within arm's reach. The sight of such concentrated elixir wealth, the tangible proof of exceptional quality evident in everything from the perfect uniformity of the pills visible through the translucent containers to the way they emanated spirit flow in steady, controlled pulses, worked on Kinson's fury like a powerful sedative injected directly into his bloodstream.
All of his earlier displeasure, every bit of the resentment and rage that had been churning through his thoughts like poison since the beating, every murderous impulse that had demanded satisfaction and revenge—all of it began to dissipate like morning mist burned away by the overwhelming radiance of a rising sun.