Master's Earth Fire Gift!
Building a small power of his own had nothing to do with chasing the Sect Master's seat. A position that small held no interest for him.
What he wanted was to do right by his family in the limited time he had in Tianhuo Country. Building a Zhang family presence within Qingyun Mountain would give every Zhang cultivator here stable access to resources and keep them safe from being pushed around by rival powers.
His thoughts kept circling back to the same starting point: find Zhang Yuyang first.
Zhang Yuyang had joined the sect years ago, and as the Grand Elder's son, he almost certainly carried weight and connections among every Zhang family cultivator on the mountain. Track him down, have him gather the family together, then lay out his intentions and his identity; that was the fastest road to consolidating any real power.
"Junior Brother Zhang Lingxiao, are you in? It's your Senior Brother Han."
Han Tianlai's voice carried through the door.
Zhang Lingxiao got up, pulled his shoes on, and went to answer it.
Han Tianlai stood outside in the dark, dressed in Personal Disciple robes. Zhang Lingxiao greeted him with a respectful nod. "Sixth Senior Brother, what brings you out this late? Something urgent?"
"Junior Brother, Senior Sister Ouyang tells me you refined a Supreme-Grade Gathering Qi Pill and you're already a First-Order Supreme-Grade Alchemist?"
Han Tianlai's face lit with something close to disbelief, his eyes fixed on Zhang Lingxiao as he'd stumbled onto buried treasure.
Zhang Lingxiao blinked, then shook his head.
Han Tianlai had no idea how stale that news already was; he'd moved on to Second-Order since.
"Hm? Why the head shake, Junior Brother? Don't tell me Senior Sister Ouyang was pulling my leg."
Han Tianlai frowned. Ouyang Shishi teased plenty, but never about something this serious.
"Sixth Senior Brother, the truth is I'm already Second-Order Supreme-Grade. I just finished refining a Supreme-Grade Gathering Spirit Pill."
"What?!" The words hit Han Tianlai like a physical blow.
He'd spent years devoted to the Dao of Alchemy and had only just reached Second-Order High-Grade. This junior brother of his, with no formal training, had blown past that in two days flat?
It didn't seem possible.
"Junior Brother, bring it here, let your Sixth Senior Brother take a look at this Supreme-Grade Gathering Spirit Pill."
Supreme-Grade pills were worth more than most fortunes. A close look, maybe some insight to be gained from it, might be as close as he'd ever get to glimpsing what a Supreme Alchemist actually felt like.
"Heh, Sixth Senior Brother... I ate it," Zhang Lingxiao admitted, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
"Next batch I refine, I'll set one aside for you. Promise."
Han Tianlai's face fell for half a second before brightening right back up at the promise.
"Fine. Truth is, the real reason I came tonight is to bring you to see Master. The old man cut his seclusion short just for you."
"Sure," Zhang Lingxiao said, nodding.
They mounted their Xuan leaves under Han Tianlai's lead and flew up toward the summit of Alchemy Peak.
The peak itself was nothing like the grand palace crowning Qingyun Mountain's main summit. Just the opposite: modest almost to a fault, with a single small stone house barely different from the one Zhang Lingxiao already lived in. It said everything about the Alchemy Peak Master's tastes.
Han Tianlai landed by the stone house and knocked. An old voice answered from inside.
"Xiao Liu Zi's here? Bring Xiao Bazi in with you."
"Yes, Master!"
Han Tianlai turned back and gave Zhang Lingxiao a rueful half-smile, clearly resigned to whatever nicknames Master handed out to his disciples.
Zhang Lingxiao bit back a laugh of his own. Xiao Liu Zi. Sounded uncomfortably close to a palace eunuch's name.
They pushed through the stone door together.
Inside sat a small, hunched old man with a shock of white hair, barely tall enough to reach Zhang Lingxiao's chest even standing and smaller still, folded into his wooden chair.
"Disciple Han Tianlai, with Junior Brother Zhang Lingxiao, greets Master!"
Han Tianlai shot Zhang Lingxiao a look the moment he finished.
Zhang Lingxiao caught the cue, dropped to one knee, and spoke with real solemnity. "Disciple Zhang Lingxiao greets Master."
"Good. Both of you, rise."
Every other peak on Qingyun Mountain answered to a Peak Master at Xuanwu Realm Perfection. This little old man was the exception in the Xuanwu Realm Early Stage in terms of cultivation.
What he lacked in Realm, he made up for a hundred times over in alchemy. A Fourth-Order Alchemist, and a rare one at that.
Fourth-Order Alchemists could refine pills fit for Earth Martial Realm cultivators to consume, a distinction so rare that all of Tianhuo Country's official records counted only three living Fourth-Order Alchemists. This old man was one of them.
His name was Su Dantai, Elder Su, to anyone with manners.
Elder Su beamed, stroked his grizzled beard, and climbed down off his seat to help Zhang Lingxiao to his feet personally, looking him over with the fondness of a man admiring a fine piece of jade.
"Xiao Bazi. Your Sixth Senior Brother tells me you taught yourself the Dao of Alchemy and you're already First-Order Supreme-Grade?"
Stale news again.
Zhang Lingxiao shook his head, honest as ever. "Answering Master, this disciple isn't nearly as gifted as that. I'm a Second-Order Supreme-Grade now."
"What?! Don't you dare toy with this old man, brat!" Elder Su's beard puffed out as he glared, half convinced he was being made fun of.
"Master, every word of it is true," Zhang Lingxiao said wryly.
"I don't believe a syllable of it. Not unless you refine one right here, in front of me." Elder Su chuckled, mischief bright in his eyes, and shot Han Tianlai a knowing look.
Zhang Lingxiao caught the exchange between them and understood immediately. The old man wanted to watch a Supreme-Grade pill get refined with his own eyes; he just hadn't wanted to come out and ask for it directly.
"Then let this disciple show Master and Senior Brother right now!" Zhang Lingxiao said cheerfully.
He reached into his Qiankun Pouch and pulled out Little Red, the Mystic Fire Bird, along with the Xuan Water Cauldron.
Two days of feeding on Supreme-Grade Gathering Qi Pills had done wonders for Little Red; she'd already broken through ahead of schedule, now a true Third-Order Yao Beast.
The cauldron drew nothing from Elder Su. Little Red was another matter entirely; surprise flickered across his weathered face the moment he saw her.
The Mystic Fire Bird. The Yi Yao Pavilion's most prized possession, and here it was in his own junior disciple's hands. The kid had real skill behind him; no wonder he could pull off Supreme-Grade refining at his age.
Su Dantai stroked his beard, drew several pills and a pill formula from his storage ring, and passed them over.
"Here is the formula for the Second-Order Spirit Enhancing Pill, along with the spirit herbs it calls for. Study it, then begin."
Once Zhang Lingxiao had it in hand, Elder Su lowered his voice, mysterious.
"Xiao Bazi. Pull off a Supreme-Grade Spirit Enhancing Pill, and your Master will hand over a Dao of Earth Fire."