The early morning mist hung like a translucent veil over the green bamboo leaves of the Dragon-Vein Bamboo Estate. A cool, damp breeze blew from the natural spiritual spring, carrying the crisp, refreshing scent of wet soil and blooming water lilies across the stone paths.
Inside the quiet main courtyard, Xiao-Yue was sitting cross-legged on a polished white marble mat, her eyes tightly closed and her hands rested on her knees in a formal meditation posture.
HUMMM...
A faint, golden-orange aura flickered around her tiny frame. Her breathing was perfectly rhythmic—inhaling the cool, crisp mountain air and exhaling a soft, visible puff of warm mist. Under Li-Wen's strict guidance over the past three days, her control over the volatile Fire-Lotus energy inside her body had improved drastically. The heat no longer flared up in wild, chaotic bursts; instead, it circulated smoothly like a quiet, molten stream through her secondary meridians.
Li-Wen stood five paces away under the shade of a tall spirit-bamboo stalk, his arms crossed over his chest, watching her every breath with absolute precision.
Suddenly, Xiao-Yue's small shoulders trembled slightly. A tiny bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, and the golden warmth around her hands flickered erratically, turning a shade darker into a fiery crimson.
"Stop," Li-Wen's low, commanding voice echoed softly.
Xiao-Yue immediately opened her eyes, exhaling a long, hot breath. She wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve, looking up at Li-Wen with a slightly disappointed pucker on her lips.
"Brother Li-Wen... my chest felt very hot and itchy again," she murmured softly, her voice carrying a faint trace of tiredness. "When the warm energy reached my third shoulder point, it felt like a tiny door was locked tight."
Li-Wen walked over smoothly, crouching down beside her. He reached out his broad, calloused right hand, pressing his thumb gently against the center of her small wrist.
A sliver of pure, gentle Frost Qi trickled into her veins, instantly soothing the burning sensation in her chest. Through his divine perception, Li-Wen examined her internal condition with meticulous detail.
Her Fire-Lotus Bloodline was maturing much faster than an ordinary child's body could handle. The latent energy stored in her core was like an expanding sea of flame, but her young meriadians were still too narrow and fragile—like thin clay pipes trying to channel a raging river of lava. The "locked door" she felt was a natural bottleneck caused by structural meridian congestion.
If this continues for another two weeks, Li-Wen calculated cold-bloodedly in his mind, the Fire-Lotus energy will violently breach her upper meridians during her next natural breakthrough, causing permanent damage to her foundation.
To solve this, ordinary cooling pills or low-grade medicinal herbs were completely useless; they would only clash with the high-tier fire energy and cause violent backfires. She needed a rare, ancient pill—the Nine-Leaf Frost-Lotus Stabilizing Pill—to expand and reinforce her meridians before her body reached its breaking point.
"You did well today," Li-Wen said gently, smoothing down her silver hair ribbons. "The locked door is normal. Do not force the energy through it."
Xiao-Yue's eyes brightened, her minor frustration vanishing instantly. "Okay! Then can I go watch the golden spirit-fish now?"
"Go," Li-Wen nodded faintly.
As Xiao-Yue happily skipped toward the pond with her wooden sword, Li-Wen stood up, his face returning to its usual cold, unyielding tranquility.
An hour later, Vice-President Lin Xuan arrived at the gate of the estate, riding in a simple, unadorned spirit-horse carriage to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
Lin Xuan stepped into the marble pavilion, cupping his hands in a respectful bow. "Senior Li. I have compiled all the detailed information regarding the rare herbs you requested."
Li-Wen nodded, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Speak."
Lin Xuan drew a thick, silk-bound scroll from his sleeve, laying it out on the stone table.
"Senior, of the three main medicinal ingredients required for the Frost-Lotus Stabilizing Pill, the League's private vaults were able to secure two: the Three-Hundred-Year Cold-Marrow Jade and the Spiritual Dew of the High Peaks," Lin Xuan explained, his tone serious and precise. "However... the third and most critical ingredient, the Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core, is not available on the public market."
Li-Wen's dark eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"
"Because the Snow-Lotus Soul Core is a strictly controlled strategic resource in the Central Imperial Capital," Lin Xuan said, leaning in closer and lowering his voice. "It is harvested exclusively from the deep frozen rifts controlled by the Central Pill Guild. They hold the monopoly over all Grade-5 and above spiritual herbs in the central province."
"The Central Pill Guild..." Li-Wen repeated the name quietly.
"Yes," Lin Xuan continued. "The Pill Guild is one of the four supreme sovereign institutions in the Capital, equal in influence to the Royal Martial Academy. Their headquarters—the Grand Cauldron Tower—is located in the city's Eastern Market District. They do not sell Grade-5 ingredients for ordinary gold or spirit-stones."
"What do they demand?" Li-Wen asked flatly.
"They only trade high-tier ingredients through two methods," Lin Xuan clarified. "First, by completing high-difficulty Guild Bounty Tasks posted on their central board. Second, through their official Alchemical Knowledge & Appraisal Tests. If a cultivator can prove exceptional alchemical mastery or solve an unsolved ancient recipe puzzle, the Guild opens its private Treasury Vault for ingredient exchanges."
Lin Xuan paused, looking at Li-Wen with a hint of concern. "Senior, the elders of the Central Pill Guild are famously arrogant and territorial. They look down on outside cultivators, especially those who come from the border provinces. If Senior wishes to acquire the Snow-Lotus Soul Core, visiting the Grand Cauldron Tower in person is the only way."
Li-Wen slowly stood up, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the marble floor. He reached back, adjusting the wrapped heavy blade secured across his spine.
"Prepare the carriage," Li-Wen said calmly, his low voice devoid of any hesitation. "We go to the Pill Guild."
The Eastern Market District of the Central Imperial Capital was a bustling, chaotic paradise of wealth, scent, and ancient power.
Unlike the quiet, serene bamboo forests of the Southern Mist District, the avenues here were three hundred feet wide, paved with polished granite blocks and flanked by towering, multi-story grand shops. Airships and flying spirit-beasts drifted continuously above the rooftops, delivering crates of rare ores, monster cores, and exotic herbs from every corner of the vast continent.
At the very center of the Eastern District stood the Grand Cauldron Tower—the majestic headquarters of the Central Pill Guild.
The building was an architectural marvel: a hundred-story skyscraper shaped like an ancient three-legged bronze cauldron, forged entirely from dark-red spirit-bronze and inlaid with glowing golden array runes. The intense, intoxicating aroma of roasted medicinal herbs and burning spirit-incense radiated from the tower, filling the surrounding five-mile radius with a rich, medicinal scent that invigorated any passerby.
At the foot of the grand tower sat a massive marble plaza, crowded with hundreds of young alchemists wearing official guild robes, wealthy clan representatives seeking custom pills, and mercenary squads turning in rare herb bounties.
A sleek, dark carriage drawn by two spirit-steeds came to a smooth stop at the edge of the plaza.
The carriage door opened, and Li-Wen stepped out onto the granite pavement, his dark coat fluttering softly in the warm afternoon wind. Standing beside him was Xiao-Yue, holding his broad right hand tightly while holding her small lotus lantern in her left.
Because Li-Wen refused to leave her alone in an unfamiliar city, he had brought her along, ensuring she remained under his immediate, absolute protection.
"So tall!" Xiao-Yue gasped, craning her small neck to look up at the colossal bronze cauldron tower reaching into the clouds. "Brother Li-Wen, does a giant cook his soup inside that big pot?"
Li-Wen looked down at her, a faint trace of softness touching his eyes. "No. They refine medicines inside."
Lin Xuan stepped down from the carriage, stepping up beside Li-Wen. "Senior Li, the Guild's main Trading & Task Hall is located on the third floor. I have already arranged for one of our League's junior stewards to guide us through the registration process."
"Lead the way," Li-Wen said faintly.
As the trio walked across the busy marble plaza toward the grand entrance, Li-Wen smoothly maintained a subtle, invisible barrier of Frost-Domain energy around Xiao-Yue, completely masking the faint, warm vibrations of her maturing Fire-Lotus bloodline from the hundreds of alchemists passing by.
The main Trading Hall on the third floor of the Grand Cauldron Tower was vast, sprawling, and deafeningly loud.
High ceiling arches supported by massive jade pillars hovered fifty feet above the marble floor. Dozens of wide bronze counters were lined with Guild attendants reviewing herbs, while a colossal wall made of glowing black crystal—the Grand Task Board—displayed hundreds of active bounties, pill requests, and ingredient exchange conditions in sweeping lines of burning golden text.
Cultivators and alchemists were crowded around the counters, arguing over herb prices, submitting rare specimens, or taking down task wooden tokens from the crystal wall.
Lin Xuan led Li-Wen and Xiao-Yue toward the high-tier Exchange Counter on the northern side of the hall, where a middle-aged Guild attendant wearing a two-star alchemist robe was reviewing scrolls behind a heavy iron-wood desk.
"Greetings, Attendant," Lin Xuan said politely, stepping forward and presenting a silver merchant emblem. "We are here on behalf of the Central Merchant League to inquire about the exchange conditions for a Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core."
The two-star alchemist didn't even raise his head immediately. He casually took a sip of dark tea from a porcelain cup, stamped a document on his desk, and then slowly glanced up with an indifferent, slightly impatient expression.
"Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core?" The attendant snorted softly, looking at Lin Xuan's merchant emblem with a hint of condescension. "Merchant Lin, you should know the Guild's rules. Grade-5 resources are restricted items. They are not open for ordinary currency purchase."
"We are aware," Lin Xuan replied smoothly, remaining calm and professional. "My esteemed friend here wishes to apply for an official Ingredient Exchange Appraisal or accept a high-tier bounty task to fulfill the requirement."
The attendant's gaze finally shifted from Lin Xuan to the figure standing behind him.
He saw a tall man in a plain, rustic dark coat, carrying a massive heavy blade wrapped tightly in dark cloth across his back. Beside the man stood a small, seven-year-old girl with silver hair ribbons, looking around the hall with curious eyes.
There were no official Alchemist Guild badges on Li-Wen's chest. He wore no luxurious silk robes of the capital's high clans, nor did he possess the distinct, arrogant aura of a pampered young genius from the inner academies. To the attendant's eyes, Li-Wen looked like nothing more than an ordinary, low-tier mercenary or a nameless wanderer from the border provinces.
A faint, contemptuous smirk curled at the corner of the attendant's lips.
"An Appraisal?" The attendant chuckled dryly, setting his tea cup down with a sharp CLACK. "Friend, do you think our Grand Cauldron Tower is a border town pawn shop where anyone off the street can demand an Ingredient Exchange Appraisal?"
The attendant pointed a thumb toward the massive black crystal wall in the distance.
"If you want a Grade-5 herb without an official Master Alchemist rank, you have two choices," the attendant said lazily, his tone laced with blatant arrogance. "First, complete three Grade-4 Bounty Tasks from the black board. Second, solve one of the Ancient Unsolved Recipe Puzzles displayed on the Master Wall."
"However," the attendant added, eyeing Li-Wen's wrapped blade with mock pity, "the Grade-4 tasks require hunting Stage-4 peak spiritual beasts in the wilderness, and the Recipe Puzzles haven't been solved by even our three-star senior elders in fifty years. I suggest you take your little girl back to the western markets and buy some low-grade ginseng instead of wasting the Guild's time."
Lin Xuan's expression instantly turned cold. "Attendant! Mind your tongue! You are speaking to—"
Li-Wen raised his hand smoothly, stopping Lin Xuan mid-sentence.
Li-Wen's face remained completely calm, his dark, abyssal eyes unruffled by the attendant's blatant disrespect. He didn't show a sliver of anger, nor did he bother to unleash his crushing aura to intimidate a mere two-star clerk.
Instead, Li-Wen's dark eyes turned slowly toward the massive black crystal wall rising in the center of the hall.
At the very top of the black crystal wall, glowing in faint, fading crimson text, was a complex, ancient alchemical diagram titled: [The Ancient Lotus-Refining Formula - Incomplete Segment].
It was a lingering, unsolved recipe puzzle that had baffled the Central Pill Guild's highest masters for over half a century—a ancient formula attempting to harmonize conflicting Ice and Fire properties within a single medicinal core.
Li-Wen stared at the ancient diagram for three quiet seconds. Through his inherited knowledge of the Ancestral Northern Legacy, the flaws, missing circulation paths, and incorrect herb ratios of the ancient formula appeared as clear and obvious as black ink spilled on white paper.
Li-Wen slowly stepped past the counter, walking toward the center of the crowded hall.
"Brother Li-Wen?" Xiao-Yue looked up, holding his hand as they walked.
"Wait here for a moment," Li-Wen murmured softly.
Under the astonished, bewildered gazes of hundreds of surrounding alchemists, merchants, and guild guards, the tall man in the plain dark coat stopped directly before the colossal black crystal wall.
Li-Wen raised his broad right hand, pointing his index finger toward the glowing ancient formula at the very top of the crystal.
A single, razor-sharp sliver of refined, crystalline Qi condensed at his fingertip.
"What is that nameless wanderer doing?!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Is he crazy? That's the Ancient Lotus Formula! Even Chief Elder Gu couldn't solve it!"
"He's going to trigger the wall's defensive array!"
Li-Wen paid no attention to the rising clamor. With absolute, effortless precision, his finger moved through the air, carving brilliant, glowing lines of new, corrected runes directly onto the face of the ancient black crystal wall!
See you in next chapter...