A Song For The Ages

The midday sun filtered softly through the thick canopy above the Saint Alchemy Branch, casting long shadows across the cobbled paths. Feiyin and Mu walked side by side, the weight of their intentions carried in every step. It had been three days since Feiyin's meeting with Zhou Ruin, and the pieces of their strategy were finally aligning.

"Do you think they'll bite?" Mu asked, his tone cautious, almost weary, while his green hair fell in disarray.

Feiyin gave a quiet smile, bright eyes scanning the horizon of the compound as if already seeing the outcome unfold. "They don't need to bite, just nibble. That'll be enough."

The plan, as laid out in long, whispered discussions between the two, was bold. They would deliver a batch of thirty high-quality Spirit Fortifying Pills to a drop point set by the Crimson Heart Faction, one of the established and influential outer disciple factions. In return, they'd gain shared access to a lower-tier chamber in the Molten Cave, a prime cultivation site saturated with raw essence.

The Crimson Heart Faction wasn't known for charity, and business came before sentiment in the Saint Alchemy Branch. Which was why, when Feiyin and Mu requested a meeting, they didn't just walk in with a pitch, they brought leverage. Feiyin held Deacon Yun's token, a mark of silent endorsement provided discreetly by Zhou Ruin. It wasn't official backing, but it was enough to show they weren't just any nobodies.

They met with Link, a second-class disciple in his mid-twenties with angular features, sharp eyes, and a laugh that came quick but never reached his gaze. He wore the Crimson Heart armband like a badge of both pride and threat. The meeting took place in a shaded alcove behind the exchange hall, where no one paid too much attention.

"So, you're the miracle pill-makers I've been hearing whispers about," Link said, eyes flicking to the token. "That's a bold move, boys. You want access to our chamber, and all you're offering is pills?"

Feiyin smiled, calm and pleasant. "Not just any pills. Thirty Spirit Fortifying Pills, all tested and refined to peak purity. You can verify them yourself."

Link's smirk deepened. "Alright. One pill, then. We'll test it now."

He gestured, and a younger third-class disciple, nervous and pale, stepped forward. Mu's stance shifted, subtle but sure, his fingers curling around the base of a hidden needle behind his back.

"If you're wasting our time, or if this harms one of ours," Link warned, his tone still casual but his eyes cold, "you'll wish you'd stuck to street peddling."

Feiyin smiled, calm and unbothered. "Then let the results speak for themselves."

The disciple swallowed hard, then consumed the pill. The next fifteen minutes were tense, silence falling like a blade over the group. Feiyin stood relaxed, Mu behind him as motionless as a statue, eyes scanning every flicker of expression.

Then the disciple's posture straightened. His eyes brightened, breath steadying.

"It's... good," he said, almost disbelieving. "My spiritual sense feels clearer."

Link's brow rose. He clapped once, slow and deliberate. "Alright, kids. You were from the Runeweavers, right? You've got something here."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Link narrowed his eyes. "But what's to stop us from just taking the recipe from you and cutting you out?"

Feiyin's smile didn't waver. "Because Deacon Yun would be rather upset if her formulas started spreading around the branch without her consent." His voice remained calm, but his Saber intent subtly surged, wrapping the air with invisible pressure.

"And so would I."

Though they couldn't see it, the disciples around him felt the shift, an edge of killing intent that brushed past their skin like a whisper from a honed blade.

Mu didn't move, but his fingers twitched behind his back, ready to respond at a moment's notice.

The tension lingered until Link chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to bring the knives out, boys. Thirty pills, then. Every two weeks. And you'll get your chamber time, three sessions a week."

Feiyin nodded, still smiling. "We accept your terms, ."

"To a pleasant partnership," Link said, his grin returning, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Pleasant indeed," Feiyin replied, eyes as bright and unreadable as ever.

Later that evening, they stood at the entrance of the Molten Cave.

The massive stone gate loomed before them, carved into the mountainside and pulsing with faint red light. A deacon, adorned in the fire-crest robes of artifact refining elders, confirmed their names against the roster and let them through with a glance.

The interior was unlike anything Feiyin had felt before. The air was thick, hot, alive, essence danced like motes of fire in the air. The deeper they walked, the more their bones hummed with it.

"Feels like my skin's burning," Mu muttered, grinning. "I like it."

Feiyin nodded, focusing. His three dantians began to stir of their own accord, drawing the ambient essence as if welcoming an old friend. Settling into the chamber they were assigned, a small stone room with a sealed boundary and adjustable essence flow, they sat opposite each other.

They began their cultivation.

Feiyin closed his eyes, and his spiritual sense bloomed outward like a ripple across still water. The Molten Cave thrummed with energy, dense and sweltering, but vividly alive. To his refined perception, the world essence around him shimmered in a thousand delicate frequencies, like the reverberations of a masterful symphony.

Using his oscillation sense, he attuned himself to the environment, letting its pulse guide his breath. With every inhale, he wove invisible threads of spiritual sense into the ambient essence, gently nudging it along the proper path toward his body. He didn't force it, instead, he coaxed it, like drawing breath into the lungs or guiding a blade to its sheathe.

As the world essence entered him, he directed it carefully into each of his three dantians. The spiritual threads wrapped around the flow, helping it integrate smoothly with the swirling qi nexuses. The vortex at his lower dantian responded first, expanding from three to four inches in height, its rotation quickening in seamless rhythm.

Feiyin maintained his focus, his mind finely balanced between control and surrender. His spiritual sense played conductor to the chaotic orchestra of energy, harmonizing dissonance into structured resonance.

Beside him, Mu grunted lightly, sweat lining his brow. The resonance in the cave pushed against him like a tide, testing his focus.

"Don't force it," Feiyin murmured. "Let it flow. Take what you prepared."

Mu adjusted his posture, taking out a pill specially made to help the body adapt in an essence-rich environment, his breathing evening out.

Time passed unnoticed, consumed by silent focus and subtle advancement. When they finally emerged four hours later, both were changed. Stronger. Sharper.

As they left the cave, the twilight sky bathed the world in gold. Mu exhaled deeply. "That really felt like days' worth of cultivation."

Feiyin nodded, his expression calm yet relieved. "It was worth it. Now, we can work on what we have and focus on expanding it."