rule 12

Chapter 16: One man's trash...

"Who is that?" A young female recruit whispered to her group of friends, trying her best to conceal her bafflement at the scene unfolding before her. 

"No clue," A male recruit standing next to her replied. "Maybe he's the Grand Alchemist's long lost son?" He jested. 

"Silence, you buffoon," A short blonde-haired recruit hissed, mock punching the male recruit on his back.

"Sorry," He hurriedly replied, realizing how badly his misstep could have cost him. 

"And I know that person. He's from the Martial Division, he joined my class today," The blonde-haired girl conspiratorially whispered.

"Martial Division? Didn't those guys only come here to make money? How does that make any sense?" The young female recruit who had initiated conversation on the topic asked. 

"I'm just a recruit like you, Qing. How am I supposed to know," The short blonde-haired woman replied with a shrug."But I can tell you one thing. Someone called him mid-class and he left soon after. Didn't come back the entire lesson." 

They know I can hear them, right? Xiao Feng wondered as he overheard the young recruit's conversation without really intending to. Oh well, it's not like I didn't gossip in my first year. What's good tea without spicy gossip, anyway? 

Directing his attention away from the gossipmongering students and to the alchemist designates, he allowed himself a brief moment of basking in the smugness as the shopkeeper who had been preoccupied enough by a book to ignore the customer standing before him was now running around the shop, directing the other alchemists with names of spiritual herbs even as he deposited more in the basket he had slung over his waist. 

A mere five minutes later, Xiao Feng was staring down three baskets full of spiritual herbs with a scrutinizing gaze. 

He watched the other alchemist designates return to their posts, leaving behind only the one manning the weighing scale. 

"As per your requirements," He began, his tone sounding a little off-balance."I've given you two of each spiritual herb that is edible. The non-toxic part goes without saying. I would be stripped of my rank if I allowed you to walk out of this store with a toxic herb. As for all this?" he asked dramatically, knowing that there was a crowd watching the proceedings.

"You could grind all this together, wrap some of the mixture in paper and smoke it and nothing harmful will happen to you. Though recruit, that is most definitely not permission to try it," The alchemist designate said, once again impressing upon Xiao Feng the weight of his rank. 

"And the milk?" Xiao Feng asked. 

"Well, recruit, I could sell you the milk but I'm not entirely sure if I should," He said. "Why do you wish to purchase milk in large quantities?" 

Xiao Feng cocked his head as he stared at the alchemist designate, before replying, "To drink, of course." 

"Pa-Pardon?" The alchemist designate queried, almost choking on his words in the process. 

"To drink it," Xiao Feng replied again, with a shrug. 

"Why under the heavens would you want to drink raw beast milk, recruit!?" It took every ounce of the alchemist designate's willpower to not scream out his inquiry. 

"Raw?" Xiao Feng questioned, his tone incensed. "Who said anything about drinking milk raw? I will boil it of course. Just because us cultivators of the Martial Division hunt spiritual beasts, doesn't mean we act like them too, you know?" 

The alchemist designate blinked. 

"You're from the martial division?" He asked Xiao Feng.

"Formerly." 

"Oh. Nevermind," The alchemist designate's features relaxed, as he nodded at Xiao Feng in understanding. 

"Hey!" Xiao Feng protested, but the alchemist seemed to be done exchanging banter with him. 

"I can get you spiritual beast milk, but it's going to be expensive, even for you. And just so you know, we have pills at the Foundation Establishment stage that can recover your Qi much faster than nourishment designed for a species that is not your own. It's cheaper too, you know." 

"How much will one bottle cost?" Xiao Feng asked. 

"Three Ge of milk will cost you two silver taels," He replied. 

"What spiritual beast does the milk come from?" Xiao Feng followed up with another question. 

"A Bi-horn," He replied. 

"What does it taste like?"

"I don't know, alright. Look, drink it and find out if you're so curious. Do you know exactly how expensive that is? I make that in a month, recruit. Do you think I can afford to drink it to satiate your curiosity?" 

"Fine," Xiao Feng replied, throwing his hands up in surrender. "As long as drinking it won't do anything to me, I want five bottles of three Ge each".

"Maybe you'll grow horns," The alchemist designate jibed, before he signaled to one of the other alchemists he had been directing earlier. The man in question nodded, before leaving the room. 

Is he calling me bull-headed? Xiao Feng thought. Well, I'll give it to him. Pretty good clap-back. 

"He will be back from the bestiary in about ten minutes. Make yourself comfortable," The alchemist designate explained. 

"What's that?" Xiao Feng asked, completely ignoring the request to leave the alchemist designate alone. He was pointing at a large wooden basket that had a cloth bag lining its inner surface, placed at one corner of the room. It was full to the brim with spiritual herbs that seemed to be ruthlessly discarded within the bag, a far cry from the otherwise meticulously organized and well-maintained shop. 

"Junk," The alchemist designate replied. "When cultivators of the Martial Division go into their expeditions into the Mistveil Bamboo Grove, they pretty much come back to us with anything that even vaguely resembles a spiritual herb. Most of them turn out either rotting, rotted or corroded spiritual herbs. We don't really know what to do with them, so they're all on sale for a fifth of the useful price".

Xiao Feng's practically gleamed with interest, as he gazed at the trash pile as if it were a mountain of gold. 

"Can I look through it?" Xiao Feng asked. 

This time, the alchemist designate didn't even look surprised. 

"You know what, anything you like from that trash heap— just take it. You've already exceeded my sales quota for the entire month, so it's on the house." 

"Really?" Xiao Feng asked.

"Yeah. Just remember, recruit. I'm not giving you a refund once the sale is made, even if you come begging and crying at my feet in a couple of days when you realize that you just spent a fortune on herbs you don't know how to use." 

"That won't happen," Xiao Feng replied, before turning around and heading to the trash heap. 

Now, let's see what the Essence Cultivation Art can do for me.

Chapter 17: .... Another Man's Treasure

Xiao Feng was content to let the alchemist designate weigh each pair of spiritual herbs that he had purchased, as he arrived before the trash heap. 

Essence Cultivation Art, He thought, surreptitiously activating a cultivation art that not even Nascent Soul cultivators could see through, as long as he didn't challenge them directly. 

His gaze was once again confronted by a visual overload, but this time, Xiao Feng had resolved himself to stay focused. 

Well, he wasn't lying, Xiao Feng thought as he reached out for a claw shaped spiritual fruit and held it aloft before him. In his gaze, Xiao Feng saw the true nature of the bruised fruit. He searched and searched again, but he could not find any traces of a core. That explained why the spiritual fruit was down to a quarter of its Qi reserves, that sparse amount diffused across its surface area.

It seemed that as long as a spiritual herb or fruit's core remained alive, it could hold on to the Qi it had amassed from either the tree it belonged to or the bountiful soil. But the moment the core finally shattered, or shattered in the uprooting process, it lost the ability to contain that Qi. 

I guess I might've gotten a bit too excited, Xiao Feng thought, as he tossed the spiritual fruit back into the trash pile. Deciding that it would take too long for him to manually scan each herb or fruit, Xiao Feng allowed his gaze to sweep across the length and breadth of the trash heap. 

Rotting, rotten or damaged. They probably keep these around for recruits like me to experiment with, though a third aren't even worth the price they're asking, Xiao Feng thought. It would've been a useful resource if he was low on cash like he was supposed to be, at least in the eyes of everyone in the Alchemy Division. 

Not willing to give up just yet, Xiao Feng used his hand as a paddle and began to stir the sea of discarded spiritual herbs and fruit. The recruits and alchemist designates were likely observing his eccentric movements with enough unspoken judgements to go well with a few cups of chai to go around, but that was good. 

The more eccentric he seemed in their eyes, the less they would question the meaning behind his movements. 

A gleam of red flickered past his vision. 

Xiao Feng froze. 

That's not supposed to happen, He thought, before instinct kicked in. Recalling the exact spot he had noticed the glimmer of a color that did not belong in the pile, Xiao Feng began to frenetically dig. 

A few moments later, he was holding a small, misshapen lump of black stone. Its surface was covered in whorls, with one spiral giving way to the next. It was a thoroughly unremarkable, completely rotten spiritual fruit that should've been thrown into the bin instead of being sold. 

However, Xiao Feng's gaze was trembling. 

It had a core. One that was gently pulsing, brightening and then dimming. But there was a problem. 

The core was red. The Qi contained within the ostensible fruit was a light red, too. 

When had Xiao Feng last seen a red core? 

On the battlefield, Xiao Feng thought. He had seen it on the battlefield, as the demonic path unleashed a squadron of Shadow Bloodhounds that peppered through his ranks. 

This isn't a fruit, He realized. It's an egg. 

Xiao Feng hurriedly began to grab spiritual fruits out of the wooden basket at random, until he had fourteen more on top of the egg he was gingerly holding onto with his right hand. 

He walked over to the alchemist designate, who gestured to an empty basket lying on the ground next to the veritable cash register. Xiao Feng dumped the fruits to build up cushioning, before he gently deposited the black egg on top. 

A moment later, the door that led to the Alchemist's Haven opened and the alchemist designate who had gone to fetch the milk, returned with five bottles carried in a sturdy metal receptacle. 

There we go, Xiao Feng thought. Now, let's close this deal before these alchemists realize that I'm the one winning out here. Well, maybe. 

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Feng finally gave up on his efforts towards trying to maintain a low profile. 

Three alchemist designates followed him as he ostentatiously walked across the Verdant Harmony Tree. Well, he wasn't trying to be ostentatious, but he knew that it would be interpreted as such anyway. 

When Xiao Feng had realized that there was no way he could lug across three baskets full of herbs back to his room, the alchemist designate had informed him that they would be assisting him on his journey back. For such a big order, it was apparently the least that they could do.

I hope Lianhua doesn't see me as a gaudy jerk after this. The writing might already be on the wall, but a man can hope, Xiao Feng thought, having genuinely enjoyed her company so far. 

Soon, Xiao Feng stood before the warden, who had hollered at him with a completely flabbergasted expression. 

"Recruit Xiao Feng," The warden addressed, his tone feigning sternness to mask his confusion. 

"Yes, sir?" He asked. 

"You are aware that I must inspect and log every item you take into your room, yes?" He asked. 

"You are?" Xiao Feng questioned, his expression turning odd. "But sir, earlier with the pill furnace…," He trailed off, expressing his doubt. 

"A pill furnace is naturally fine, Recruit Xiao Feng. Though yours is very impressive, I must say." 

"Thank you, sir," Xiao Feng replied, awkwardly chuckling at the compliment. 

"Well, place the first basket on my desk. Let's begin this log now, I don't have all day." 

"I'm uh, sorry sir. I'll make sure not to inconvenience you like this in the future."

"Now, now, it's my job, Recruit Xiao Feng," He said. 

Xiao Feng whispered to the alchemist designates, telling them that they could leave. He had to give them due respect, after all— they were alchemists and he was not. That was not a gap that money could bridge. 

"Yes, sir," He replied, before placing the first basket on his desk as instructed.

Chapter 18: Interlude: Lianhua Wu

From as early as she had stepped into the world of cultivation, Lianhua Wu understood the true nature of strength. 

It had not taken long for her to figure out that her mother, Meixhu Wu, had died, a truth pieced out of the countless clues that were left behind. 

In the family portraits done by a skilled painter, there was another person, a woman the young child had never seen before. In the wardrobes that were full of feminine clothes that were way too large for a child and way too unlikely to belong to her father. In the music instruments tucked away in almirahs, instruments collecting dust that she had never seen her father play and never likely would. 

So she had asked the question that every child brought up without one parent of two eventually ended up asking. 

She had asked her father, asked him how her mother died. 

The first time, he refused to answer. 

The second time Lianhua once again built up the courage to ask him, only to be denied again. 

The third time, a few days before she would officially join the Alchemy Division and work up from the status of a recruit, he finally told her, out of his own volition. 

"Your mother died of Qi Sickness not long after giving birth to you," He had said, his tone soft and gentle. 

It had taken Lianhua Wu moments to understand the implications of his words. 

The tears had dripped down her cheeks before she could even respond. 

Was it her fault then? Was she the reason her mother had died? Was that the reason why her father did not wish to tell her, all this while?

The answer to her unspoken question came in the form of a gentle hug, as her father's slender arms wrapped around her back. 

"There is no known reason for Qi Sickness," Her father had explained. "Childbirth is merely associated with Qi Sickness, there is no medical evidence to deem it as the cause. But mark my words, daughter. I do not need to fully understand Qi Sickness to prevent a situation like this from happening again. One day not far from now, I shall become Grand Alchemist— and it shall be by the virtue of a pill that stops any more untimely deaths from happening." 

Such fire was contained in her father's words, that even young Lianhua could understand the strength contained within them. 

She had lived in place of her mother. Her father loved her, he made her feel so loved, so protected, despite what she served as a reminder of. 

Her father's strength created a resonance within her own heart. 

A small, insignificant ember of her own that sought heat from the blazing fire in her father's heart had come into existence. 

That was the day she had resolved to live her life with strength, to excel in the path her father so cherished— even if young Lianhua hadn't recognized it yet. 

Her father had lived up to her word. 

He had created the Meixhu Pill, a pill that significantly reduced the odds of Qi sickness after giving birth. While it wasn't perfect, his work, that spanned across a decade, across countless sleepless nights, innumerable attempts as ideas, formulae and ratios were thrown at the workboard, only for them to fail and fail again and again until the most complex pill, also the final pill that he needed to become a grand alchemist, succeeded. 

Those years had not been easy for Lianhua. But she had not once complained to her father. She had not allowed herself to slip into despondency as she juggled her own coursework and tests as an alchemist designate while managing her father's administrative duties as a then Senior Alchemist. No, she had met the challenge with strength and resilience. 

Her peers had begun to acknowledge her efforts and dedication. They had come to see her as someone to be respected, to admired, a person to look up to. An ideal alchemist and a dutiful, filial daughter. 

The youngest amongst the present generation of alchemy division to make it to the rank of senior alchemist. 

However, there was nothing in life that came without a cost. 

Before she had even realized it, Lianhua had alienated herself from her peers. She stood alone in the spotlight and the others around her, had become too timid too approach her. She was a prized flower to be admired from afar and when her father walked, the goodwill of the thousands of lives that he had possibly saved, walked alongside him. 

There were plenty of people willing to talk to Lianhua. They would gladly invite her to sit next to them in the Junior Division's mess hall and they would praise her for longer than she could stomach. 

But Lianhua Wu had not had real friends in a very long time. 

She was turning forty two this year, but her life experiences consisted of her dedication to the Dao of Alchemy, managing her father's administrative duties so he could've focused on the development of the Meixhu Pill and occasionally, when time permitted her as it seldom did, hanging out with acquaintances. 

So when Xiao Feng offered her a hairpin that was manifold what his salary back in the Martial Division ought to have been, even though circumstances were clearly much different now, her mind stopped working for a few long moments. 

She was caught completely off guard by an emotion that she had not felt in a very long time, as she blushed harder than a teenage girl. 

She had not felt such warmth from anyone except her father, hadn't felt so touched in years. 

So inexperienced she was in matters of the heart, that Lianhua Wu decided to temporarily retreat, before all but running away from Daoist Jian's Pill Furnace Shop. The old man would definitely hold it over her head, but Lianhua was in no position to care as her heart asked her a question, 

Should I wear the hairpin when I go to check in on Xiao Feng tomorrow? Maybe.  Maybe she would.

Chapter 19: The Dying Egg

Xiao Feng felt a burst of nervousness build up in his gut as the warden finally came across the egg. He had considered hiding it, but he wouldn't be particularly surprised if the warden had a way to sniff any smuggled contraband out— it was the alchemist designate's job, after all. 

Xiao Feng's expression froze when the warden took in the egg's surface with a curious expression, running his right hand across its surface to study the whorls running across its surface. He was lingering onto the egg far longer than he had done with the other spiritual herbs so far. 

"Recruit Xiao Feng," The warden finally addressed him, his tone neutral. "Who sold this to you?" 

Okay, He thought. This is bad. Really bad. 

"The Alchemist's Haven, sir," Xiao Feng promptly answered. 

"I see," He replied. "I believe you may have been sold a rotten spiritual fruit. In fact, most, if not all the spiritual fruits and herbs in that basket are rotten," He explained, pointing at the basket that carried the produce Xiao Feng had bought from the trash pile.

"Oh," Xiao Feng replied, his tone sounding a bit lost. "Oh, yes. I bought those because the Alchemist's Haven was selling it for a fifth of the usual price, sir." 

The warden raised an eyebrow at his words. 

"Do you really need a discount?" He asked, sounding a bit flabbergasted by Xiao Feng's statement as he gently placed the egg in a basket, the contents of which he had already gone through. 

Xiao Feng sheepishly tousled the back of his head before replying, "Well sir, I do expect to fail a lot, given that this is my first experience with refining pills. I thought it would be better to use cheaper materials until I get a handle over the process before I fully commit to it." 

"I see," The warden replied. "Well, we should be almost done here," He said, glancing over to the small pile of rotten spiritual fruits and herbs that remained. 

"Sir, would you perhaps know where I can find a source of fire? Xiao Feng decided to ask, not having gotten to that question with Lianhua before her abrupt departure. 

"A source of fire?" The warden asked, as he gave Xiao Feng an odd look. 

"Yes sir. As a practitioner of Wind Alchemy, I still need to rely on Fire Qi to refine a pill. Or at least, that is what I was led to believe," Xiao Feng clarified, wondering if he had misunderstood Lianhua's words. 

"Recruit Xiao Feng, were you planning on refining pills in your room?" The warden asked, his tone incredulous. 

"Uh… yes sir?" He replied with an uncertain look on his face. 

"Did you not see the passageway labeled Cultivation Halls in the central foyer?" He asked. 

"I did, sir. Uh, but, I thought Cultivation Halls meant that it would contain cultivation chambers and training rooms," He replied, his judgment made from his predecessor's memories. A cultivation chamber was a small, sealed room where in good quality spiritual stones were placed on a bed of heated bronze coal. The reaction between the two would lead to the spiritual stones melting, releasing the trapped Qi within and causing the Qi density within that small area to skyrocket. 

Those small rooms might have been the place where his predecessor spent most of his life in, often cultivating for hours at end, sometimes, even days. 

It was an addictive feeling, he knew. The work Xiao Feng put in was rewarded with strength, in a way that was not possible on earth. Each time he cycled the spiritual Qi through his dantian and across his meridians, effect amplified by the acupuncture points, he grew a little stronger, his qi reserves a little grander and his body, slightly more resilient. 

"Recruit Xiao Feng, is pursuing the Dao of Alchemy not cultivation for us?" The warden asked him, his tone revealing a strong sense of underlying pride. 

If I give the wrong answer here, I might actually piss him off. That is less than ideal, He thought. Well, I never liked people to sucked up to professors back home, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do to survive.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for your guidance," Xiao Feng enthusiastically replied, deploying his secret weapon a moment later as he bowed to the warden. 

Bows carried significant importance in a society that was governed by either strength or the import of one's status. A cultivator would not easily bow to another, unless they acknowledged him.

"Rise, rise, Xiao Feng," The warden hurriedly asked him to stand back straight, clearly aware of his identity due to Lianhua. 

However, Xiao Feng noticed that he dropped the formal title from his address, referring to him directly by his given name. 

Gotcha, He thought, before doing as directed. 

"There are not only cultivation chambers and training rooms within the Cultivation Hall, you can also reserve Alchemy Vaults that offer specialized flame burners for those that do not possess an alchemist's flame and when you have doubts, or wish to undertake research of your own, there is the Grand Library, which contains a collection of over five thousand tomes, scrolls and written records, both ancient and present," The warden revealed to him, springing a pleasant surprise on Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng enthusiastically nodded at the warden's explanation. 

"That was the last of it," The warden said, as he placed the last rotten fruit back in the basket. "You are free to return to your quarters." 

Finally, Xiao Feng thought. 

Only after he was behind the shut and locked door to his quarters, did Xiao Feng reach for the egg, holding it in his hands as he collapsed onto his bed. 

He studied the egg carefully as he held it aloft before him, while lying down on the bed with his back against its soft mattress. 

"You're dying, aren't you?" Xiao Feng asked, noticing that the pulsing and dimming cycle had gotten even quicker since he had originally taken notice of the egg. "The warden can't tell what you are. Neither can the alchemists who tossed you into the pile. That must mean that you are either damaged, or maybe, the species that laid this egg has a very small chance of giving birth successfully. Now, that leaves me with two options," He muttered. 

"I can either wait to do anything until I research the library and find out exactly what you are. I don't expect it to be easy if multiple alchemists failed and the time it would take to do all that might exceed what little you have. Or…," Xiao Feng trailed off, his expression looking uncertain. 

There was no telling what kind or nature of spiritual beast might hatch from this egg. As far as he was aware, every spiritual beast, no matter which species it came from, started at the equivalent of the Qi Gathering stage. However, its heritage decided how fast and how strong it could grow up to be. 

The spiritual beast in the egg could turn out to be a highly poisonous one. It may not be able to overpower him from birth, but many things had the potential to go wrong. 

"Or," He repeated. "I could help you now," He said, knowing that he had already decided on an answer.

Chapter 20: Sleep tight, little one

There was really only one way Xiao Feng knew that might save the dying egg. It was unsurprisingly, not a profound or even a complex method. 

The original Xiao Feng had not been an alchemist and neither was he too interested in learning about spiritual beasts, besides the specific species and breeds the demonic path employed on the battlefield. 

The present Xiao Feng was not much different, albeit he was strongly curious about both those fields. 

The egg lives for now, but does it still have the strength to recover what was lost? Xiao Feng wondered. 

He got up from the bed and walked over to a cushioned wooden chair placed slightly before a wooden study table. Dragging the chair back a little, he sat down on it, placing his hands that still contained the wooden egg on the table. 

Xiao Feng took a deep breath to confront the moment of truth as it arrived. 

Then, in a slow trickle, he willing the Qi reserves in dantian to move. He directed the two thin strands of Qi through the acupuncture points in the abdomen and his arms, albeit with little effect as the strands were already too thin to be compressed further. 

Then, he allowed them to seep into the dying egg. 

'Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump', An unfamiliar sound echoed in his mind, its tempo disconcertingly fast. It took him a few moments more to notice the undulations in the tempo, the first thump a loud, ear-piercing one, the second a receding, fading one. Xiao Feng made the connection between the sound he was hearing, no, perceiving and the cycle of it's core pulsing and dimming the Essence Cultivation Art had revealed to him. 

But it was too late for Xiao Feng to determine what the significance of the egg's or perhaps, the creature within the egg's heartbeat was, as the original strand of Qi he had offered was greedily devoured. If it stopped there, Xiao Feng would not be as alarmed as he was— for the egg, a creature not even fully formed, tugged at the Qi flowing through his meridians. 

Xiao Feng instinctively fought back, as his body's survival instinct kicked in. Unfortunately, it was too late. He tried to pull away, first physically and then via his dantian, as he willed it to stop allowing the flow of Qi to his his meridians. 

The egg was glued to his hands and Xiao Feng had somehow lost control over his own meridian, as it took and took from him. 

"Stop!" Xiao Feng had intended to scream, but voice came out weak and strained. 

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Xiao Feng had lost a quarter of his entire Qi reserves. 

Just as he resolved himself to do something drastic, the pull on his Qi ceased, the egg slipping from his grasp and clattering on the ground. 

Heavily panting, Xiao Feng took the next couple of minutes to get his own heartbeat back in control. Only then did he gaze at the egg laying on the ground, noting that its surface seemed unharmed, no, even fuller than before. More rounder, even though it was still a far cry from the either spherical or ovular shapes most spiritual beast eggs were supposed to be. 

His heart filled with trepidation, Xiao Feng said, "Well…," He trailed off, still shaken by the experience. "That wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had, that's for sure."

Only when he had calmed down enough, did he turn his gaze to the egg and activated his Essence Cultivation Art. 

"Hm," Xiao Feng hummed in thought. "It has reverted to its previous state. The pulsing and dimming cycle has slowed down to what it was when I first found it," He analyzed. "Does that mean that the egg is no longer dying?" 

Xiao Feng had no intention to directly touch the egg again, atleast not in the near future. He wasn't exactly sure what would've happened to him if he had run out of Qi before the egg let go. Under normal circumstances, the consequences would be limited to extreme exhaustion that would last a day or two, rendering him unfit for combat. However, those circumstances had been anything but normal, making Qi Exhaustion a very real possibility. 

I can die if I touch the egg again, Xiao Feng thought, as a chill ran down his spine. Granted, that was only speculation on his part, but even that was terrifying. 

"Wait," Xiao Feng muttered, as realization struck him. "If it's Qi you want, it doesn't have to be mine, right?" 

Without waiting for an answer, not that he was expecting one, Xiao Feng gingerly stepped away from the egg and reached for a vial of milk, unstoppering it and pouring just a bit on the egg. 

It slid down its surface, without absorbing any of it. 

"You let me go and now you don't want the milk. Are you full, then? Or do you not like milk?" Xiao Feng rhetorically asked the egg. 

Well, I guess it should be fine for now, then, He decided, reaching for the basket that contained the rotten fruit, dumping it's contents on his bed and then using the empty basket to scoop up the egg without touching it. 

Xiao Feng hurriedly placed the egg in his wardrobe, before contemplating what to do next. 

"I guess I can't exactly leave you in the dark," Xiao Feng muttered, even though he knew he was being unreasonable. The small egg had survived one martial cultivator and multiple alchemists manhandling it and had nearly defeated him, a foundation establishment cultivator, without lifting a finger or paw. Darkness would not be its demise, but Xiao Feng stuck in his bathroom slippers between the wardrobe door and it's wooden casing, to let it act as a stopper and let the light keep flowing. 

"There," He said. "Now sleep tight, young one. I'll be back and we'll see if you like milk tomorrow."

Xiao Feng had underestimated the drawbacks of owning a high-quality pill furnace. Besides the obvious, that came in the form of literally everyone and their grandparents gazing at him as if he was running away with their family inheritance, as he walked down the pathway that was labeled Cultivation Halls, the darn thing was also incredibly heavy. 

Oh and he was also carrying it wrong. 

The other, clearly more well-informed alchemists, wore specialized backpacks that had two metal railings running parallel to each other as they jutted out from the bottom and two more that ran along the cushioned back before joining them, forming a reverse - L shape to host the pull furnace, which was further secured with a strap. 

Clearly, their Golden Sunstone furnaces were a fair deal lighter than the hunk of metal he was lugging around by hand, his resources kept within the furnace itself before Xiao Feng had nowhere else to keep it. 

That old codger Jian couldn't even throw in a damn free bag after I spent over thirty gold taels at his shop. What a terrible business owner, Xiao Feng thought, wondering if this world needed marketing crash courses. 

No, no, those cut-throat business models can stay back in the old world. Plus, it wasn't like a martial cultivators would calmly go oh drat after realizing that he went to buy a new sword and came back with fifteen accessories that were worth more than the actual sword. Liberating cultivators of their gold came at the risk of getting liberated from life, after all, He wryly thought, amused by the imagery. 

Finally, he arrived before a set of double-doors, above which the words Alchemy Vaults were written on a jade plaque. 

It was finally time to brew some scrumptious chai.

Chapter 21: It is called Chai

Xiao Feng wore a curious expression on his face as he stepped into the small antechamber that seemed to serve as a reception area. A single alchemist designate was seated behind a wooden counter, her expression contemplative as he jotted down notes on a half-unfurled scroll. 

He came to a stop before the alchemist designate, deciding that it was better not to speak until she was done. A few minutes later, she finally finished the task with a final stroke of her feather pen. She put the feather pen back to rest in an open inkpot, before rolling the scroll and placing it to the side. 

Only then did her gaze fall upon Xiao Feng. 

"Yes?" She asked in a formal, clipped tone.

"I wish to book an alchemy vault," Xiao Feng replied, offering her a polite smile. 

"Are you an alchemist designate?" She asked, eyeing his robes for an embroidered patch only to find none. 

"No," Xiao Feng replied. 

"Do you have written permission from one of your instructors, allowing you to refine pills on your own?" She asked a follow-up question. 

"Uh… No?" Xiao Feng replied, his tone a bit uncertain. 

"Then, I'm afraid I cannot let you reserve an alchemy vault," She plainly stated, neither surprised nor annoyed at his lack of information. 

"Wait, wait, erm," Xiao Feng hurriedly replied. "I don't actually want to refine a pill. I'm only here to brew a concoction." 

"Oh?" The alchemist designate made her curiosity known, her eyes conveying actual interest for the first time since their conversation's inception. 

"Yes," Xiao Feng replied, slowly placing his heavy pill furnace on the table before lifting its sturdy lid to reveal its contents. "These are the ingredients I plan on using." 

Clear surprise was visible on the ocean-blue haired woman's visage, as she took in the ingredients Xiao Feng had revealed. 

"What concoction requires such expensive ingredients?" She asked, her tone almost sounding impressed. 

"I am seeking to recreate a mortal concoction that was used back in the village I hail from with spiritual ingredients," Xiao Feng explained, his tone conveying a yearning that was not untrue. 

"I… see," The alchemist designate muttered, her expression seeming a little bit lost. "Regardless, I cannot let you book an alchemy vault without the express permission of your teacher. Even alchemist designates like me have gotten injured when the pill refining process goes awry, so we have to be cautious". 

Xiao Feng felt disappointment weigh down on him, but now that he was so close to his goal of brewing tea, he couldn't just give up. 

"How about I keep the lid of my pill furnace," Xiao Feng said, before placing the sturdy metal lid on the table and sliding it towards her. "...with you. Surely, I cannot refine a pill with an incomplete pill furnace. However, the cauldron is all I need to brew a concoction". 

"Procedure directs me to say no to you, but…," The alchemist designate considered his request. "Why do you wish to brew this concoction so desperately?" She asked. 

Xiao Feng could have lied. Maybe he should have. But in the heat of the moment, it was the truth that came to him. 

"Somedays, on the days that are tough, I find myself longing for my old home. The familiar faces I left behind, I find myself wondering where they are now. The friends that have likely already moved on with their lives. My uncle, who I consider to be more than a father.... I wonder these days if leaving him behind to pursue my own dreams was the right decision. I can no longer return, so I wish to at least create something that lets me taste the flavors of my old home". 

The alchemist designate looked at him in a different light, as empathy and perhaps resonance, sparkled in her eyes. 

"I understand. It will cost you two bronze taels an hour to rent the alchemy vault. If there are any tools or equipment you need, you may tell me now and we shall lend it to you, free of charge. You will leave behind the lid of your pill furnace, as you have offered to. Is that acceptable?" She asked him. 

Xiao Feng's visage brightened up as he offered her a warm smile, before bowing to express his gratitude. 

Rising a few moments later, he answered, "I would need one mortar and pestle, one tongs, a stirring spoon, a knife, a cutting board and a spare bowl." 

"That will not be a problem," The alchemist designate confirmed, her tone having shifted from neutral professionalism to warm encouragement. 

After Xiao Feng paid his dues, he pushed open the door to the alchemist designate's right to reveal a broad passageway that was painted in a silvery white.

The diffused light emanating from the crystals lined along the ceiling gave the walls a shimmering effect. Dozens of mahogany doors, evenly spaced and facing each other, offered a powerful contrast as crafted elegance met natural beauty.

Xiao Feng noticed the heavy silence blanketing the passageway, his own footfall the only sound he could hear after the door clicked shut behind him.

He kept walking past the other alchemy vaults until he was standing before one marked by the number twenty four, on a wooden plaque placed above the door frame.

Xiao Feng inserted the key the alchemist designate had given him after he had paid and turned it, a satisfying click echoing out as the door swung inwards.

The Alchemy Vault was simple at first glance, but Xiao Feng did not take long to notice some peculiarities.

The small square room he found himself in had cushioned walls including the roof, which also housed four elongated, narrow-rimmed hose fittings in each corner. The floor was tiled with an obsidian black stone that Xiao Feng hadn't seen in the Martial Division, a red-crystal powered burner and a cushion placed before it the only other furnishings he noticed.

The padded walls are probably the reason why it's so silent outside and for that matter, inside as well. I guess it's important to eliminate distractions from your environment when refining pills. Well, if you don't want them blowing up in your face, that is, Xiao Feng thought, as he began setting up his new workplace of sorts.

The cauldron part of the Pill Furnace was placed on top of the inert burner, the ingredients contained within placed to its right, on the obsidian flooring.

The sound of a key turning sounded out behind him, though Xiao Feng was not alarmed by the intrusion.

The ocean-blue haired alchemist designate walked inside, holding a metal tray upon which the equipment he had asked for rested with one addition. A small box that was padded with velvety fur rested on it, it's purpose unknown to it. 

Xiao Feng gingerly accepted the tray from her and placed it on the other side of the pill furnace's cauldron.

Before he could even ask, the alchemist designate spoke. 

"The small box contains a gemstone keyed to this alchemy vault. If things go awry, shatter the gemstone and those hoses," She pointed to one of the hoses at random, directing Xiao Feng's gaze to the roof, before continuing, "will release a strong torrent of Water Qi that should be enough to quench the fallout of a failed pill refinement under most circumstances". 

"That's great to know," Xiao Feng said, not having expected built in safety measures to this degree. 

"I told you this before, but you would do well to always remember that refining a pill is never an easy task. While it is fleetingly rare for an alchemist to die refining a pill, injuries are fairly common and the cost of ingredients are a mental pressure onto themselves. Only when you respect your tools, understand your limits and temper your mind to adapt to the minutiae of the variables affecting the pill refinement process, will you quality as a true alchemist," She explained, her tone earnest as she offered him insight that was likely to be based on her own experience. 

"Thank you, uh, may I know your name? Sorry, I forgot to ask," Xiao Feng explained himself, feeling a bit sheepish as he realized that his own enthusiasm to brew tea had caused a lapse in his usual manners.

"I am Alchemist Jun, currently incharge of the alchemy vaults," She said, not minding his mistake. 

"Well Alchemist Jun, you know this already but I am Xiao Feng, a recruit. I really appreciate your guidance," He said. 

"It is only my job, Recruit Xiao Feng. Feel free to ask me anything pertaining to alchemy, for it is better for me to answer now than have you make a mistake and answer to my superiors later," She said, her frankness something that Xiao Feng found refreshing.

"Well, can I know how that burner works, then?" He asked. The design gave him enough of an inkling, with a rotating knob that was connected to the red crystal through a metal pipe that pierced right through to it's center. But, it was still better to ask. 

"Have you, perhaps, joined the sect recently?" She asked, her tone trying it's best not to sound judgemental. 

"Only yesterday. I transferred from the Martial Division," He replied. 

"Oh!" Alchemist Jun exclaimed in realization. "I see. I was only curious because it's a topic that is taught very early on to recruits. That," She pointed at the crystal housed in a metal construct, 

"...is dragonstone. Contrary to its ostentatious name, it is a fairly commonly traded ore that has a simple reaction we alchemists use to our advantage. Even slight contact with Qi causes the ore to combust, though it will only do so for as long as it has access to that Qi source. If you look at the surface of the knob, you will see a hole. Twist it clockwise by half a rotation and a channel will open up on the other side, giving you a route to supply Qi with. Twist it counter-clockwise by the same half-rotation, and it will cut off your route, causing the dragonstone to once again go inert." 

"I thought the knob was for controlling the intensity of the flame," Xiao Feng disclosed, looking a bit confused as he studied the burner. 

"Why do you need the knob for that, Recruit Xiao Feng? You can simply modulate the Qi you let flow through the metal pipe to modulate the intensity of the flame. Though be warned, common dragonstone will not be able to withstand Qi that exceeds the stage of Qi Gathering."

Oh. Right, I can do that, He wryly thought. 

"Thank you for your guidance, Alchemist Jun," He finally decided to end the conversation, lest any other lacunae in his understanding of cultivation be revealed. 

Alchemist Jun nodded to him and began walking to the exit. The door to the passageway was half open, when she stopped. 

"Xiao Feng, may I ask you a question?" She asked, her tone losing that formal edge. "It is a personal one, so you needn't answer if you do not wish to," She added. 

"Sure," Xiao Feng replied, though inwardly his heart almost skipped a beat. 

Please don't ask me about some complicated martial technique, He prayed to anyone that was listening. 

"What is the name of the concoction you wish to replicate?" She asked, intrigue contained within her words. 

"I don't think you would have heard of it, Alchemist Jun. It is merely a villager's concoction," He replied politely. 

"Still, I wish to know, if you are willing to answer." 

Xiao Feng tried to conceal a slight smile, as his lips curled up in amusement, before answering, "It is called Chai, Alchemist Jun."

Chapter 22: Dao of the Masala Chai

To make a cup of masala chai was a matter of following the recipe without fumbling. To make a good cup of masala chai was an entirely different matter. You could follow the exact same steps, ape a chef off an internet video movement by movement only to make the blandest tea possible and then stand there flummoxed, wondering how people could enjoy such a banal experience. 

However, there was no great mystery to the art of brewing masala chai, for like most disciplines, it only asked for preparation and practice. 

Of course, the ingredients made a difference. Good ingredients made good tea, no doubt about it. 

The problem was, Xiao Feng wasn't sure if what he had qualified as good ingredients. Hell, he wasn't even sure if they qualified as ingredients at all. 

The first step to making chai, was to take a saucepan and fill it with two cups of water. Their tall sides and typically deep bottoms made their design ideal for prolonged boiling and simmering. Acquiring fresh spring water hadn't been a challenge for Xiao Feng, considering that enough dispensers were scattered across the Alchemy Division. 

While spring water did not assist in cultivation and a cultivator could live without water for as long as they had their Qi reserves to sustain them, drinking water was still a very effective way of expelling impurities that built up in the body, from sources like pills and spiritual beast meat. 

The second step was where Xiao Feng was confronted with a bit of a problem. A fact that had come as a shock to his coffee-addicted dorm mate as he brewed him up a cup of masala chai was that there was more to the art than a single ingredient and some frothed milk. No offense intended, of course. 

You see, Masala Chai or just Chai in general, was all about infusion. The part about that was the frankly limitless possibilities it created. There was a whole tier list for Xiao Feng's go-to ingredients when it came to Masala Chai. 

The first and most essential ingredient was a small chunk of ginger, grated into fine, small pieces to make sure that the flavor was infused properly. The spicy kick it possessed was essential to the very ethos of the Masala Chai, making them an inseparable duo. 

Green cardamom or Elaichi was another one of his go-tos, though it needed to be ground in a mortar and pestle to release its true flavor profile, a sweet, floral spice that had citrusy notes to it. 

Cloves or Laung were always a good addition, the warm spice carrying an intense flavor profile, a unique combination of sweet, bitter and spicy. 

A single cinnamon stick once given the mortar and pestle treatment added a familiar, comforting aroma to the chai as its flavor profiles melded well with the others, its woody flavor adding a divine earthiness.

On the days Xiao Feng wished for an extra kick, he added a few black peppercorns for their spiciness. 

The problem he faced on the continent of Tian, realm of Sephari, was the fact that Xiao Feng had access to absolutely none of those. 

The water was poured in the pill furnace's cauldron, almost double the amount required for a single cup of chai, because Xiao Feng was expecting a large amount of it to boil away as he figured out the right balance of flavor profiles and aromas. 

Arrayed before him were seven small glass jars, each one properly labeled. 

"I guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way," Xiao Feng muttered under his breath, as he twisted open the first jar. 

"Firedust, eh?" He considered, as the jar opened up to reveal a granular spice compacted into diamond-shaped constructs. He found himself wondering if its shape was natural, or if it had been manually pressed that form for specific reasons. It's faded gray appearance certainly did not evoke the image of fire, but who really knew how it worked in the world of cultivation. 

His predecessor certainly didn't, considering that he would eat raw meat if it meant that he could get back to cultivating faster. Well, if the Martial Division didn't mandate it's cultivators to eat Qi-rich food prepared for them in the mess hall, anyway. The point being, his predecessor had never had any interest in the culinary arts. 

Xiao Feng braced himself, before popping the firedust diamond into his mouth and biting into it. 

The burn came immediately and its approach was torrential. Xiao Feng had felt like this only once before, when he had sampled wasabi for the time in a cheap sushi to-go restaurant without knowing exactly what it was. It was most certainly not real wasabi, just dyed horseradish, but that didn't really do much to alleviate the unnatural feeling burn in his sinuses. 

It had been unlike any spice he had sampled before and the same was true for firedust. 

Tears trickled down his chin as he tried to fake cough away the burn. Sweat beaded on forehead and Xiao Feng reached for the remaining spring water and downed it without hesitation. 

It did nothing for him.

Just as Xiao Feng was about to sprint out of the alchemy vault he had paid for in search of more water, the burn began to fade and then, without warning, vanished entirely. 

"Huh," He said, as he stared down at his own empty palms with confusion. He felt rejuvenated instead of feeling drained, as if he had just gotten done with a long, relaxing bath. He poked his own cheek, and realized that it felt soft and supple. It was as if he had just woken from a long night's rest, his body itching for action. 

"This is fantastic," Xiao Feng said, as a wide grin stretched across his features. "Man, I can make some diabolical Masala Chai with this," He said, before he chuckled at his own words. 

Then, the smile faded, as Xiao Feng looked downwards, only to be confronted by the six glass jars that remained. 

The first spice had made him cry. What would the other six do?

23: Channel your inner panda

"Oh," Xiao Feng panted as he collapsed backwards from a cross-legged position onto the couch placed behind him. "When I… get my hands on that… damned alchemist designate…," He trailed off, waiting for the heartburn to pass. 

It did, only lasting a couple minutes. In truth, Xiao Feng could have cycled his Qi to clear away the effect of any foreign bodies in his bloodstream with ease if he wanted to. The same was true for most poisons, even, but in those cases there was no guarantee that he would be able to overcome its toxins. 

However, he did not resort to such means, because it would defeat the purpose of the exercise. 

As Xiao Feng took a deep breath in, glad to have gotten rid of the heartburn, he noticed the difference almost immediately. His lungs felt lighter, the air flowing in and out of his lungs with a newfound smoothness. The difference was slight, but a cultivator like Xiao Feng would not let such a change go unnoticed. 

"Nope," Xiao Feng said, as he kept the jar containing the gelatinous cubes that went by the name Cumulus Essence on the far end of the alchemy vault. "I categorically refuse to make chai that gives people heartburn. Even if it did give my lungs quite the cleanse, nah. I refuse to commit sacrilege," He snorted derisively.

That left five spices for him to taste test. 

His gaze focused on what at first glance, seemed to be orange-colored pebbles. They were small in size, but not quite uniform in shape. Xiao Feng opened the jar and gingerly picked up one such pebble, finding its texture to be powdery as some orange-coloured granules dusted his hand. 

Xiao Feng possessed the strength to chop an entire tree in half with but a single swing of his blade, yet he found himself deathly intimidated by a simple spice that went by the name, Emberfruit Gems. 

A saying crept up into his mind as he navigated the dilemma he found himself in, one from his predecessor's memory— 'Hesitation on the battlefield will kill you far quicker than your opponent's blade can'. It was Elder Haoyun who had said that and it was a saying that had stuck with Xiao Feng. 

He plopped the Emberfruit Gem in his mouth. 

Xiao Feng's eyes went wide from surprise as he tried to navigate the explosion of flavor in his mouth. It was very sweet, but not sickly sweet. There was a dimension to it, a weight that reminded him of the dollops of sweetened condensed milk he snuck out of the fridge with a trusty adult-sized spoon, when no one was watching, of course. 

Unable to wait any longer, Xiao Feng bit into the Emberfruit Gem. A loud crunch rang out and he flinched upon realizing just how hard it's surface had been.

Normally he would've cursed out whoever had the gall to name a damn pebble, a fruit, but the sweetness coursing through his mouth kept his annoyance at bay. 

"Oh," He said. "I was wondering what I'd do about sugar, but this is great. It lacks the creamy aftertaste that condensed milk has, giving it far more versatility. Although…," Xiao Feng sighed and shook his head. "....it's way too expensive to be something I can use for commercial purposes. I can't sell a cup of chai if it ends up costing more than what a Qi Gathering cultivator makes in a month".

On the flipside though, I can certainly afford to drink it, He thought and found himself cheered up. 

He exhaled and found that there was a coolness to his breath that had not been there before. 

Xiao Feng inhaled and cupped his hands before him, before exhaling again. His own breath was now pleasantly sweet, in an almost floral manner. 

It doubles as a mouth freshener too? Damn, that's practically a cheat. 

Of the remaining four spices, Xiao Feng ultimately only found use for two of them. 

The crushed petals of the Sky Lotus were too savory to be used in Chai, though Xiao Feng himself might found use for them, considering it helped recover some of the Wind Qi the egg had stolen from him earlier. Still a far cry from an actual alchemist-refined pill but now that he already owned an entire jar, he didn't have to care much about the efficiency part.

The Dark Root shavings suffered from a similar flaw. The fine shavings were less spicy than the Firedust but they were also bitter. They were perhaps the most niche spice he had come across, though he could still see many use cases. Dark Root shavings could, for example, be used for a dish that had a sweet base, to make it more savory while dulling much of the sweetness. 

He also noticed the influx of an inky black Qi in his Dantian. It was a small, insignificant amount compared to his Wind Qi reserves and it did not take him long to figure out what it was.

Darkness Qi.

Xiao Feng snuffed out the unfamiliar Qi by cycling his Wind Qi. His affinity for Darkness Qi was too low for him to make use of it and he only intended to foster one more element within its territory. That was for when he got his own alchemist's flame. 

The remaining two spices that worked out for him, did not have as profound an impact on the chai brewing process as Firesand or the Emberfruit Gems.

Nevertheless, Xiao Feng was glad to have found them. 

The earth-attuned humus root, upon being finely diced, offered a rich, earthy undertone that Xiao Feng could easily introduce into his masala chai back on earth. It wasn't exactly a ginger replacement, which he had mostly given up on finding, at least directly, but it would help take a bit of the edge off the Firesand and offer rich earthiness instead. 

Plus Xiao Feng really liked the nature of Earth Qi resting in his dantian after he consumed some humus root. It was gentle, soothing and rejuvenating— a pity he could keep it there, for he had no intention of getting used to having a Qi housed in his dantian that he did not expect to use. 

Finally, there was the Pureflow Gel. A gelatinous substance that was colored in a vivid shade of azure, Xiao Feng liked to think of it as water jam. Because, well, the moment his tongue made contact with the gel, it popped. The liquid flowing down his throat had a citrusy kick to it, one that was far stronger than green cardamom. It wasn't perfect for his purposes, but Xiao Feng felt like he could balance it with the divine sweetness that the Emberfruit Gems offered. 

Now with the ingredients for his chai chosen, all Xiao Feng had to do was channel his inner panda as he attempted to discern which of the spiritual plants he had purchased would suffice for the most important step of all. 

The Tea Leaves.

Chapter 24: Making Masala Chai

Too minty, Xiao Feng thought as he chewed on a heart-shaped leaf with a pointed tip and wide base. I guess it would work for some sort of herbal tea, but I need more neutral tones for Masala Chai. 

Undeterred by the disappointment, Xiao Feng turned his attention to the next sheaf of leaves arrayed before him, plucking one out. 

This one was a long, narrow kind, it's hue a light purple. Not the appetizing leaf, if he was being honest, but every one of his ingredients had come from the Alchemist's Haven, meaning that they all had medicinal properties. 

"Hmm," Xiao Feng hummed in thought after biting into the leaf. Wow, that's unexpected. It has a savory, umami-rich flavor, as if I was biting into meat instead of a plant. Again, doesn't really work, but that's a pretty cool ingredient. 

Xiao Feng's gaze flickered over to the dozen or so leaves he had already passed up on, his enthusiastic expression undeterred by the failure. This was what it meant, to be a pioneer in your field as you tackled unknown horizons without being certain, or even being guaranteed success. 

Mostly though, he was really happy to have so many hitherto unknown ingredients to play around with. As much as he loved Masala Chai, the twenty-first century that he lived in had already explored every permutation and combination of ingredients that went well with chai and published it on the internet. 

Now though, Xiao Feng's potential was fully unshackled. 

He reached for a leaf that had a pretty unique shape, it's shape resembling an open hand with all five of its fingers spread outwards except with one difference. All five of the leaflets met at a single point, from which a central stem extended downwards. 

"That looks interesting," Xiao Feng said, before reaching for the unique, bronze-colored leaf. 

He bit into it.

"Oh wow," Xiao Feng muttered. "That is bitter," He said, his expression brightening up before he went in for another bite. 

"Mm-m," He chewed the leaves, noticing how the moisture wetting his mouth lessened the more he chewed. "Astringent," He declared. "And boy, is it strong," He said, as he swallowed the now crushed leaves. 

For a change, it was not a particular element of Qi that made it's way to his dantian, but instead, unattuned Qi that any cultivator always kept in his reserves for a wide variety of purposes, from voiding the mortal requirements of needing to consume food and water to empowering bodily mechanisms that included quickness of movement and the physical strength behind one's actions, like throwing a punch. 

Xiao Feng generally maintained a ratio of 6:4 in favor of Wind Qi, the remaining forty percent unattuned Qi that he could either convert to Wind Qi or use it for enhancing various functions of his body. After all, he could not channel the wild and untamed Wind Qi through his fist with intent to land a physical blow without harming his own meridians. 

So it was safe to say that any cultivator would not mind drinking a brew that give him a little kick of unattuned Qi. 

"It's got a bit of a burn to it," He noted out loud, feeling it in his throat. "But besides that, I might just have found my number one prospect." 

Another twenty minutes of testing later, Xiao Feng finally concluded that the Mystic Palm or the five-fingered astringent leaf he had singled out earlier, was still his best shot at brewing a cup of Masala Chai.

"Well," He said. "It's time to get this show on the road."

Xiao Feng wrapped his hand around the burner's knob and twisted it clockwise by half a rotation, before supplying a trickle of his Qi to the red crystal. True to Alchemist Jun's words, the crystal blazed to life, its flames a rare carmine red. 

The spring water he had placed in the pill furnace's cauldron began to gently bubble. In Xiao Feng's free hand was one diamond of Firedust and one Emberfruit Gem. He let the most impactful ingredients bloom in the spring water first as it boiled, before reaching for a spoon and scooping out one spoonful of Pureflow gel and letting it slide into the cauldron. Finally, he sprinkled diced Humus Root across the cauldron, making sure that it's earthy notes seeped in thoroughly. 

Xiao Feng increased the density and rate of Qi he was supplying to the burner, watching as the flames intensified and the spring water began to aggressively boil. 

Flavor and color dyed the spring water into a breathtaking hue, an ethereal, shimmering silver that made Xiao Feng wonder if what he was making could even be called chai anymore. 

Only after five minutes had passed and there were further changes to the hue, did Xiao Feng relent on the temperature of the burner. 

Four Mystic Palms were plucked out of it's sheaf and slid into the water, before Xiao Feng reached for the wooden stirring spoon he had asked for earlier and began to stir. 

There was a change in hue once again as gentle bronze warred against ethereal silver, the bloom of the tea leaves against the already bloomed ingredients.

A dark, metallic golden hue was the end result. Xiao Feng felt more like a goldsmith than a tea maker as he stirred the pool of liquid gold. 

He wasn't done yet, though, 

He unstoppered the vial of milk that he had used before to pour some out for the egg, before sniffing the bluish-white milk. 

He had been very consciously avoiding the decision, but Xiao Feng could not put off tasting the milk any longer. 

He took a sip. 

"Right," He said, before his lips curled up into a grin. "Oh my lord, that is delicious," He said. The concentration of spiritual Qi in the milk was much higher than any of the spiritual roots. On top of that, it's creamy consistency paired really well with the rejuvenating dose of Qi contained within and also kept it naturally cool. 

It tasted like flavour-less, but creamy ice-cream, if he had to put it in a nutshell. 

Xiao Feng poured the entire vial of expensive milk into the chai. 

Now, only one final ingredient remained.

Chapter 25: Emberdust Blend

Xiao Feng watched with a muted awe as the bluish-white milk diffused into the dark-golden hued chai. Milky white spread across the landscape of dark gold, scattering away the intensity of its hue. 

"Perfect!" Xiao Feng exclaimed, as the hue of the now completed Masala Chai Prototype 1: Emberdust Blend revealed itself to be a breathtaking light-golden one.

The completed Masala Chai had gone from an unappetizing dark golden medicinal soup to a warm, inviting hue, the weight of the bi-horn's milk balanced out by the ample spring water Xiao Feng had used to make the Chai. 

Of course, Xiao Feng was not talking about the Emberdust Blend as a whole when he praised it, merely its hue. Even without having sipped the Emberdust Blend Chai, Xiao Feng knew that its cost had already exceeded the realm of what most within the Frontier Sect would be willing to pay. 

Heck, he wasn't even sure he could convince Elder Haoyun to try it at the price he would need to set the Emberdust Blend Chai at to turn a small profit 

For now though, Xiao Feng would take the victory while it was being offered to him. 

"Now, I just need a strainer and cups," He said, while turning the burner's knob counterclockwise by half a rotation, denying the dragonstone any more Qi to fuel its flames with. 

Xiao Feng leaned in and took a moment to bask in the aroma of the Masala Chai. The spicy notes were the most predominant ones, but it seemed like the diced humus root had done its job, as he was able to catch onto earthy notes. They had a subtler presence, much like the hint of citrus he caught onto, likely a result of using the pureflow gel. 

Nodding to himself, he left the alchemy vault, walking down the passageway and past it, until he was standing before Alchemy Jun. 

"Yes?" She addressed, even as her gaze was fixed on the pages of a thick tome. It seemed to Xiao Feng like Alchemist Jun's work had been completed, so he decided to go ahead with the gamble he had planned. 

One way or the other, Xiao Feng would get his final ingredient. 

"Alchemist Jun, sorry to disturb you," Xiao Feng politely opened the conversation. "I needed a strainer and two cups if you have those available," He requested. 

"Sure," Alchemist Jun replied, her tone having reverted to professionalism, albeit with a friendly tint to it. 

She placed a cloth bookmark between the tome's pages, shutting it before she reached for a drawer handle that was built into her desk. 

Two ceramic cups were placed on the wooden table, followed by a double-layered strainer that had a metallic body with organic looking threads criss-crossing each other. 

Alchemist Jun seemed like she was on the verge of returning to reading, so Xiao Feng spoke up, "Oh and Alchemist Jun, I had a request that was more personal in nature." 

She raised an eyebrow at his unexpected statement, the question within her gaze obvious as she replied, "What is it?" 

"If possible, erm, could you accompany me to the alchemy vault?" Xiao Feng decided to press forward, as asked directly. 

"Did something go awry?" She asked, as her gaze met his own. 

"No, no, of course not. No, uh, Alchemist Jun, I wanted you to sample the concoction I have made," He said, somehow managing to sound shy in the body of a heroic cultivator. 

"Is your concoction not made out of valuable spiritual roots and spices? I am not sure if it would be appropriate for me to partake in it," Alchemist Jun replied, giving a formal answer that should've been enough to make Xiao Feng give up, had he not noticed the undertone of curiosity contained in her words. 

"Please, Alchemist Jun. The final ingredient of Chai is having someone to share a warm cup with. No matter how heavenly a beverage may taste, it remains, at the of the day, a beverage. Chai means more to me than that, Alchemist Jun. Back in my mortal village, it possessed the power to bring people together, over conversations both warm and cold, over debates both impassioned and dull, over relationships, sometimes friendly, sometimes of the heart. It would mean a great deal to me, if you would accept." 

"Well," Alchemist Jun replied, her tone sounding a bit overwhelmed. "If you feel strongly about it, it's for me to refuse. Besides, I must admit— you have piqued my curiosity, though I remain skeptical. Is there really such a beverage, one capable of moving hearts and minds? Let us go and find out." 

"Thank you, Alchemist Jun," Xiao Feng replied as his lips curled upwards into a smile. 

Back in the alchemy vault, Xiao Feng's honored guest sat next to him, cross-legged, as she leaned forward and inspected the concoction he had brewed. 

Without further ado, he lifted the pill furnace's cauldron by it's handle, his immense strength allowing him to hold it steady as he poured a cup of Masala Chai. The strainer placed upon the ceramic cup held back the undissolved remnants of the ingredients from negatively influencing the experience. 

A few minutes later, two cups of light-golden hued chai were steaming before Xiao Feng and Alchemist Jun. 

"Please," Xiao Feng requested, as he reached for his own cup. 

Alchemist Jun accepted her own cup gingerly, as if she were afraid to spill any of the liquid. "How do I drink it?" She asked. 

"Small sips," Xiao Feng replied. "Take your time savoring it, it tastes better that way," He added. 

Alchemist Jun nodded, her expression seeming almost intimidated as she stared down the cup of Masala Chai. There was no poison in it, naturally, the Alchemist's Haven would not have sold a recruit such spiritual herbs and she had seen for herself what herbs Xiao Feng was taking with him in the Alchemy Vault. It was just a blend of valuable medicinal herbs and yet the aroma, her very instincts as an alchemist told her that there was more to it. 

More than the sum of its parts. 

Xiao Feng and Alchemist Jun took a sip of the Masala Chai almost at the same time. 

The moment he sipped the Masala Chai, Xiao Feng's gaze widened in astonishment. Flavour flooded his mouth, only shortly followed after by the heat. The intense masala from the firedust had been diluted by spring water and bi-horn milk, but it was still very much there as he felt the heat tingle in his mouth. 

It would've been overpowering, if it were not for the soft, delightful sugary heaven the Emberfruit Gem had unleashed on his palate, its effect only amplified by the creamy bi-horn milk. 

Xiao Feng swallowed the chai, feeling the burn of masala as the warm liquid flowed down his throat. Only after did the earthy, slightly tangy aftertaste reveal itself, there to be explored across repeated samplings.

Xiao Feng could not stop himself from taking another sip.

And another. 

One after that. 

Until he realized that his cup was empty, no more masala chai to be had. Sweat had beaded up on his forehead, yet Xiao Feng felt completely refreshed and hydrated. 

"Erm, uh, Recruit Xiao Feng," A soft, gentle voice spoke from his left, directing Xiao Feng to turn his gaze. Alchemist Jun gazed back at him, her cheeks colored a light red as she, too, had an empty ceramic cup in her hands. "May I," She began and then paused, as the redness on her cheeks deepened by a degree. "I can pay if needed…. so may I have another cup of this chai?" She asked, her mask of perfect composure gone as she made the request. 

"Pay?" Xiao Feng asked, his tone sounding offended. "No need. I would not be able to face my ancestors if I asked you to pay for chai. Please," He gestured towards the cauldron, directing her to pour another cup. 

It was safe to say that the Emberdust Blend, while far from perfect, was a resounding success.

Chapter 26: Alchemist Jun

As Alchemist Jun savored her second cup of Masala Chai, Xiao Feng took the opportunity to leave the alchemy vault and retrieve his pill furnace's lid. On his way back, he once again found himself taken aback by how silent the passageway leading to the alchemy vaults could be. 

To isolate sound to such a degree just showed the lengths to which Alchemists would go to just to secure a slight advantage. Xiao Feng had to be careful while using the Essence Cultivation Art for alchemy, whether it be seeing through spiritual herbs or refining a pill later on, lest one with the right knowledge and hunger see through what he was capable of.

It was unlikely, but Xiao Feng knew better than to underestimate cultivators. 

Unsurprised to find the door to his alchemy vault locked, Xiao Feng inserted his Qi into the lock and turned it an entire rotation clockwise. It was annoying to have the door automatically lock into place once left ajar, but Xiao Feng saw the wisdom in such a decision. While alchemists might zealously seek out advantages, they were also creatures of passion. 

He would not be surprised if their kind lost track of time and their surroundings as they threw themselves into the depths of alchemic experimentation. 

As Xiao Feng stepped into the alchemy vault, he noticed that the second cup of Masala Chai Alchemist Jun had poured out for herself was now also empty. An observation that coincided with the growing blush that spread across her features. 

Wisely choosing to ignore Alchemist Jun's clear embarrassment. Xiao Feng seated himself at her side before he spoke, "Thank you, Alchemist Jun, for honoring my selfish request. I know you must have a lot of work that I rashly pulled you away from, so I will not hold you any longer." 

There. Xiao Feng had offered Alchemist Jun a clear out and he was certain that she would expect it. She liked the Masala Chai, not him. 

"No, please," Alchemist Jun replied hurriedly. "Let me help organize this, at least," She said, gesturing to the sprawl of spiritual herbs scattered across the alchemy vault. 

"I can do it myself," Xiao Feng replied, only to almost immediately recognize the error in his ways. Alchemist Jun felt indebted. Xiao Feng's memories reminded him that a cultivator hated being in the debt of another. "But, your help would naturally be welcome". 

Her expression brightened a little, as she started to wrest control from the blush coloring her features. 

"Yes, naturally. It's the least I can do, to repay you for treating me to this hometown speciality of yours. I can tell that it was made with a lot of care," She said and then offered him a pleased smile. 

This time, it was Xiao Feng's turn to blush a little. 

The two cultivators in the alchemy vault seemed to have unanimously reached the conclusion that it was best to work in silence for a little while. It did not take long for them to organize the spiritual herbs and stack the sheafs on top of one another. 

Xiao Feng's gaze turned to the half a cup of Masala Chai that still remained within the cauldron and decided that it was better to keep it as proof of concept instead of drinking it right there and then. Unlike regular, mortal Masala Chai, the spiritual herb and spice version would not go bad. 

Just based on the Qi contained within the Masala Chai, it would take days before it lost a sizable amount of its reserves.

He capped off the pill furnace's cauldron with it's lid, making sure to slow that process down by even longer, now that the remaining Masala Chai was preserved in an air-tight canister. 

"You're going to need a fiber bag to carry all this," Alchemist Jun said, her tone cheerful. "Don't worry, I have one. Follow me," She said, picking up the stacked herbs, before placing the jars of spices on top of it along with the empty vial of bi-horn milk. 

"Thanks," Xiao Feng replied, as he moved to follow her out. 

Neither of them had expected a third cultivator to be present in the passageway they had just stepped out of. An alchemist designate by the patch on his robes, the cultivator who had the appearance of a man in his early twenties was securing his pill furnace on one of those specialized backpacks he had seen earlier. 

His gaze turned to Xiao Feng, a recruit and Alchemist Jun, most definitely not a recruit with the ajar door to the alchemy vault his only other witness. 

The blush that spread across Alchemist Jun's visage took even Xiao Feng by surprise. She did not speak a word, as she began to walk forward at a brisk pace, past the alchemist designate who still had half a step in his own vault, through the door, which creaked shut behind her. 

"What are you looking at, mate?" Xiao Feng asked, as he met the alchemist designate's gaze and stared right back. 

"O-Oh," The words escaped his mouth before he could even craft a response. He shook his head, pushed his backpack into the border of his alchemy vault and a click sounded out as it locked into place. 

Xiao Feng's annoyed expression turned into a mortified one, as he came to terms with what had just taken place. Oh man, not only did I just create trouble for Alchemist Jun, the rumors this is going to encourage…. There go my plans of trying to stay low-key in the Alchemy Division. 

Maybe he should think twice before inviting a member of the opposite sex to a room smaller than a walk-in pantry. 

In my defense, I was too excited to think of any such ramifications, He thought. Perhaps that was enough of a defense for a golden retriever, but Xiao Feng could hardly excuse himself. 

When he stepped into the antechamber that served as the Alchemy Vaults' reception area, he noticed that his belongings had already been bagged up for him. 

Without a word, he plucked the fiber bag off the counter and moved to leave. 

"Wait, Xiao Feng," Alchemist Jun said, her voice coming across as small and delicate. 

He turned around. 

"This is for you," She said, as she offered him a small, leather-bound notebook that was well-worn. 

Xiao Feng kept the pill furnace on the ground, before accepting the gift. 

"These are notes I made years ago, when I was still a recruit studying to become a full alchemist. Hopefully, you can make use of these," Alchemist Jun said, her tone so soothingly gentle. 

Xiao Feng bowed low in thanks, if only to hide the burn in his cheeks. 

Not long after, he left, his heart still racing faster than even the Hero of the Zheyan Pass could run.

Chapter 27: Gossip Girls (and boys)

"Psst, hey, look at him. That's Xiao Feng," A young female recruit whispered to a friend that was sitting next to her.

"Who's Xiao Feng?" The response came in a disinterested sounding tone from a female recruit with short amber-coloured hair asked. 

"Didn't you hear?" The tone of her voice dropped conspiratorially. "It's only been a day since he joined our division, yet he's already courting a full-fledged alchemist."

"What? Stop joking," The amber-haired recruit replied. "I've tried talking to alchemist designates so many times and they always ignore me unless it relates to their duties," She added, her tone cemented with skepticism. 

"That's not all," A third person, a male recruit seated opposite them in the mess hall joined the conversation. "Do either of you know Senior Alchemist Lianhua?" He asked. 

"Of course we do," The amber-haired recruit snapped at the uninvited addition to what was their private conversation. "Who doesn't?" 

"Well," He said, undeterred by her response. "You know how she doesn't accept disciples despite being a Senior Alchemist, right?" 

"Yeah," The female recruit who had originally initiated the conversation replied, before her friend snapped back again. 

"She took a disciple. His name, coincidentally, happens to be Xiao Feng," He explained to the clear and abject shock of the two female disciples. 

"No way. Senior Alchemist Lianhua is the sacred flower of our Alchemy Division. If she were to accept a disciple, it would be a girl," The amber-haired recruit refuted, her cheeks flaring with emotion at the clear slander to a person she very much looked up to. 

"I'm friends with old Jian. He told me that directly, face-to-face. If you wish to doubt the blacksmith-shopkeeper who makes it his business to know the going-on's within our Division, that is up to you," The male disciple replied with an unbothered shrug, having said his part. 

Oh, that old codger, Xiao Feng, who had queued himself in the line for the buffet that had been arrayed for all recruits within the Junior Division, thought. When I see him again, I'm going to show him exactly why I'm valued by Elder Haoyun so much. Though… I guess I need to practice my martial techniques before then, He wryly thought, only slightly annoyed. 

After a quick five minute wait as he waited for others before him to take their pick, Xiao Feng finally got access to a tantalizing selection of dishes. 

Xiao Feng ended up shamelessly going for five different types or maybe cuts of meat with a ladle full of diced spiritual roots serving as garnish for his carnivorous diet. 

Some cuts of seared meat were stringy, others overly chewy as Xiao Feng dug into his lunch with his simple but trusty wooden chopsticks. It was a far cry from the spiritual beast meat Xiao Feng got served in the Martial Division, but he supposed that it made sense. 

He was dining in the recruit section, so he couldn't expect to be treated like royalty. However, the more likely reason was probably the fact that alchemists didn't need to be fed Qi dense cuts of beast meat, as they were not required to maintain their physique to the standards required to participate in battle. 

Not all cultivators were equal at the same stage, or for that matter, the same layer. Xiao Feng was the strongest cultivator present in the entire mess hall, even though he was not the highest layer one at the Foundation Establishment stage.. 

Every cultivator who wished to ascend a stage was required to face Heaven's tribulation. However, not all cultivators faced the heaven's might, it's decree or any of the dozens of names and titles given to the phenomenon, equally. 

Martial Cultivators like Xiao Feng faced heaven's tribulation with ordinary robes clothing their physical bodies, a powerful sword in hand to not just defend themselves, but fight back against the might of the terrifying, bone-chilling thunder seeking to smite their mind, body and soul. 

However, Alchemists chose the easier path. They tackled Heaven's tribulation clad in expensive, often single-use armor that was reinforced to degrees that were not tenable in actual combat. 

They did not wish to brave death to ascend and thus the rewards the mighty heavens bestowed upon them were far from equal. Alchemists at the same stage and similar layer as Xiao Feng did not possess even near the capacity of Qi he could contain in his dantian. Their meridians were nowhere near as resilient as Xiao Feng's and their physical bodies were not capable of achieving the explosive growth he could by weight training. 

In a nutshell, the alchemists considered martial cultivators to be pig-headed madmen and the martial cultivators looked down them, considering them to be cowards who were too afraid to cultivate the proper way.

Lunch ended up being a brisk affair, as Xiao Feng shoveled down the meat in a martial cultivator style. He didn't expect Lianhua to eat in the Junior Division's mess and she had told him that she'd be checking on him today, so it was best for him to get back to his room as soon as he could. 

Well, that and the fact that Xiao Feng seemed to have no friends at his own level and his reputation amongst the recruits seemed to already have been sullied. 

Yeah, I'm done here, He thought, as his superior hearing, hearing that exceeded what the alchemists were capable of mind you, picked up on a young recruit gossipping about the serial womanizer, Xiao Feng. 

As he walked down the passageway that led to his dorm room, Xiao Feng contemplated the options he had when it came to dealing with the egg. 

Unfortunately, his ponderings came to an end as he noticed a familiar silhouette standing before his room, patiently waiting. 

Xiao Feng's expression froze. 

Normally, he would be wondering if Lianhua was doing all this on purpose, as four, yes four disciples peeked upon her from the other end of the passageway, their expressions gawking as they watched a Senior Alchemist dutifully wait for a recruit to return to his room.

Instead, Xiao Feng was simply at a loss for words as he noticed that Lianhua's ponytail had been tied into a bun that was held together by the very blue jade hairpin he had gifted her. 

It went perfectly with the azure, floral imprint robes she was wearing, a dance of flowers represented on the tapestry that was her dress conveying an elegant beauty that only her visage could surpass. 

Whoa, He thought. I guess I didn't make a faux pas, after all. 

And then, Xiao Feng realized that he had just made mortal enemies with Grand Alchemist Xin Wu, as Old Man Jian's admonition finally clicked into place. 

Oh man, the whole 'can I take your daughter on a date' is not going to fly with that stern old dude, is it? I'm going to get my chai poisoned, aren't I, He thought wryly before making his presence known.