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Chapter 45

I found the shop as directed by Miss Yu. It was a simple wooden shop front without much in the way of decoration, missing even a sign. No wonder people struggled to find it.

Walking inside, I heard a delicate bell ringing followed by shuffling footsteps from a back room. The shelves were old, but kept in pristine condition. A myriad of different potted herbs and living plants lined the shelves, producing a powerful aroma that soothed me the moment I took my first breath inside the room.

An old lady came out from the room, wearing gloves covered in soil and staring at me with a disgruntled expression. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you looking for, brat?"

Miss Yu hadn't been wrong when she called her an old hag. This lady certainly had a stinky attitude, but if I had a stream of men looking for a brothel entering my shop all day I might be grumpy as well.

"Madam Yu, I was told your shop deals in the finest quality herbs and herbal remedies. Was my assistant mistaken?" I replied, stepping forwards and dispelling the tension in the air with a soft smile and a raised eyebrow.

I had to devote an exceptional quantity of concentration to discern the minor brightening of her face. It went from grumpy and wrinkled to slightly less grumpy and somehow even more wrinkled.

While her expression hadn't improved that much, her tone shifted a great deal. "At least you aren't one of those lecherous layabouts," she scoffed. "Your assistant gave you the right information. Most of the young men who come into my shop are looking for flowers of a more delicate variety. Trash, the lot of them!"

Before she could explode into a rant and take up my dwindling time, I interrupted. "Actually… I was at the young miss Yu's blossom parlour before this. We had quite an interesting conversation, she's a fascinating woman. I mistook her… business for yours."

"What?! And you led me on, making me think you weren't like the rest of those bastards. Honestly, young people these days are all wastrels. Get out of here if you aren't going to be a pleasant customer. Scram!" she cried, waving her hands and pushing me towards the door.

It seemed I had been misled by the young miss from before. She told me that the old woman would find the misunderstanding hilarious, but clearly that wasn't the case.

Honestly I should've trusted my gut. Beautiful women are all bad news. The good ones attract too much negative attention while the wicked ones… Well, I'd just experienced that firsthand.

"Madam Yu, I believe there has been another misunderstanding here. I simply wish to buy some simple healing herbs and remedies. That is all. The young miss Yu and I had a simple conversation, nothing more," I protested, not letting her force me out of the shop.

If I couldn't obtain anything on my second attempt I might as well give up now. Perhaps I should have simply sent Xiao Cui on an errand run instead—she seemed to be far better at dealing with people than I.

I suspected my social skills had adapted to war over the years. Even though this world was far from peaceful, there were many cultural nuances that I had yet to grasp and this had led to plenty of misunderstandings.

Not all could be blamed on me, but quite a few could. Improving one's bedside manner and people skills was just as important as one's cultivation and techniques.

The granny seemed mollified by my response, though her face still looked like a puckered sphincter. "Hmph. Healing remedies, he says. What exactly are you looking to heal, young man?" she asked, wandering back behind the counter.

A sagacious question that I had no answer for. I wasn't looking to heal any specific malady, but simply gather various remedies to dissect and attempt to form my own.

I could've lied, but I felt as though the granny would see right through me. Despite being a mortal, she had that ancient sage vibe. Her piercing gaze felt as though it uncovered all my secrets.

"To be honest with you Madam Yu, there is no affliction I specifically need to treat. I simply wish to have some simple remedies on hand. Any general purpose herbs or salves will do," I told her, putting on my nice young man smile in an attempt to win her over.

She remained unmoved. In fact, she raised an eyebrow upon seeing my face. "Don't do that, it's a little creepy," she berated me. I winced as she continued, "General purpose remedies eh, let me see what I have back here."

The granny disappeared into the back room once more and I heard the sounds of clinking jars and groaning wood as she rummaged through what had to be her storeroom.

After what felt like forever but in reality was only a few moments she returned, carrying three small jars and a sprig of spiky, dark green herbs. She placed them all on the counter, then waved me over.

"Come, lad. These jars are a basic healing tonic, refined from a few local herbs with basic medicinal properties. It's nothing fancy like those expensive alchemists, but it will help with any cuts and bruises. Even minor infections and flu are treatable, but anything more and you should seek proper healing," she explained while holding up one of the jars.

"Now, these are a little trickier. Ten year vital spikeroot, harvested in the Jagged Sword Mountains by this old granny herself. I'm only willing to part with it because I've realised in my old age that I don't have the skill to refine it without ruining such a potent herb. You can have it, but it's not cheap."

I waved a hand. "Don't worry about the price, I have a modest amount of coin. This is perfect, thank you Madam Yu."

"Braggart," she scoffed as she carefully wrapped the spikeroot in silk and then placed it inside a wooden box.

She handed me the jars as they were and I slipped it all inside my robes. I really needed a better way of storing and carrying my things—my robes were growing heavy with the amount of treasures and random items I was stuffing inside them.

While I was out shopping for healing pills and herbs I would make sure to find somewhere selling a useful storage item. Perhaps I could finally get some use out of that half spirit stone in my coin pouch.

Zhao Dan had been too poor to afford a proper spatial storage treasure, having to use all the resources the sect allocated on maintaining and attempting to progress his cultivation. That hadn't worked out so well for him, but I had no such obligations.

"Twenty-six silver and five copper coins," she declared, making my jaw drop.

That was extraordinarily expensive considering these were supposed to be basic remedies. I'd only taken the herb as I suspected my physique would make excellent use of it, but how were commoners supposed to afford this kind of treatment!?

"That's absurd. How do people pay for these?" I argued.

"You expect me to part with that valuable herb for less? That's a ten year vital spikeroot that I spent weeks hunting through those blasted mountains for. I'm giving you a great deal here, ungrateful bastard!"

"How much would the tonics be without the herb, then?" I asked, realising I may have been hasty in my assumptions.

"They're just five copper coins each. One silver and five copper for the three I gave you. I'm giving you the spikeroot for twenty-five silver. Those alchemists in the centre of the city would charge you triple that if you're lucky."

I sighed. Even in this mystical world where immortal cultivators lorded from the sky, it seemed that economies of scale were still functioning on a wide scale. Human greed was truly inescapable.

Opening the pouch of coins that little Cui had given me, I realised there was plenty of money in there. Enough to afford the herb three or four times over.

She really had been busy while I was gone. As her master I felt a little embarrassed. Nonetheless I would make full use of her generosity and ensure to pay her back tenfold when my experiments paid off.

After handing over twenty-seven silver coins, I waved the granny off when she tried to give me the change. "Keep it. You've been very helpful, Madam Yu. I shall be back unless I find a better herbalist elsewhere," I quipped.

She chuckled, taking my joke in stride. "Ha! You'd have to go to the next city to find a better herbalist than me. Bunch of amateur fools prancing about with their meagre knowledge as though they're princes. Frogs in a well, the lot of them. You get on now, you're scaring away customers."

Her cheery attitude surprised me. I'd half expected her to bite my head off when I made the joke but I wasn't about to let one grumpy old woman suppress my personality. Humour made life worth living, especially one as violent as this.

"Thanks, Madam Yu. See you later," I chuckled as I exited the shop. I took a last deep inhale of the floral aroma as I walked through the door, soothing my nerves as I took out the list of shops.

My own suspicions combined with Madam Yu's quips led me to believe that the rest of my shop visits wouldn't be as entertaining. Especially when it came to alchemists. She seemed to despise the lot of them.

Then again, the healing pills I'd had at the city lord's palace didn't do much and I imagined they were the highest quality available in Three River City. That could also simply be my skewed perspective due to my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique.

If these healing pills existed back on Earth they would be considered a miracle medicine. Like paracetamol, penicillin, and codeine all in one. Cultivators certainly seemed to down them the way hypochondriacs did in my previous life.

The next store down the list was an alchemist's. The name was as complex and overbearing as the rest—Master Wei's Perfect Pills.

I scoffed, imagining that the pills I would find there would most likely be far from perfect. However, that wasn't really a problem. I was dealing in quantity, not quality. As long as I had a large enough sample size figuring out a superior recipe wouldn't be too difficult.

Hopefully.

****

As I feared, my visits to plenty of the alchemy pavilions and herbalist shops were not pleasant experiences. For vastly different reasons.

In some, they realised my cultivation level and bent over backwards to serve me. That treatment made me uncomfortable, but it was a reminder of the difference in status between mortals and cultivators.

While I was only a crawling child compared to those lofty Core Formation masters and Nascent Soul sages, I was already a heavenly existence compared to the average mortal. I would still be youthful while their grandchildren grew old, unless someone ended up assassinating me along the way.

It wouldn't be the first time that had happened, after all. I had to stay vigilant when I'd already made enemies.

Others were starkly different. In a few of the grottier shops they didn't sense my cultivation which I'd hoped would lead to a more positive shopping experience, but my tattered robes led to prejudicial treatment of a far worse variety.

The experience was tiring, but after my struggles I did end up with quite the collection of healing pills, herbs, tonics, and other assorted remedies. Some of them had unusual scents and unappealing appearances, making me nervous to consume them.

I hoped that the combination of my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique and sturdy cultivator's body would allow me to weather the experience like an ancient tree standing tall in a fearsome storm.

There were still a few shops left on Xiao Cui's list, but I felt as though more medicines would have diminishing returns at this point and decided to head back. The sun was setting, painting the sky in vivid hues of gold and violet and I let the final rays of light wash over me as I made my way back to the clinic.

I reckoned I should save the best for last, once I'd advanced my lacking comprehension of the basic healing medicines available. Wasting the ten year vital spikeroot because I didn't understand its mysteries would be a shame.

Reaching into my shiny new spatial storage bag, which had 5 cubic metres of space, I picked out a pill at random from the assortment I had in there. It was a useful find, though it had cost me the half spirit stone.

I'd received a few gold coins and some silver as change, which meant I ended up with more coins than I'd started the day with even though I was poorer overall. Inspecting the pill, I grimaced at the purplish-green surface that resembled poison.

However, I'd devoured my fair share of poisons in this world already and they tended to benefit me. I tossed the pill in my mouth and it began to dissolve.

The taste was a pleasant surprise, notes of cinnamon and lavender teasing my taste buds as I swallowed the pill. It started to disintegrate, the medicinal energy attempting to spread out into my body. However, my physique refused to let that happen.

Before the waves of energy could travel beyond the confines of my stomach, I felt the same swirling sensation that had occurred when I swallowed Huo Ze Qiang's firestorm technique. The energies of the healing pill were trapped within and names began appearing in my mind.

First, the name of the pill—Average quality, Mortal grade Healing Pill. Simple enough. The grades went from Mortal as the worst grade of treasures, then Martial, King, and Emperor.

Most Qi Gathering cultivators would have a few Martial grade treasures and perhaps some King grade if they were wealthy, talented, or lucky enough to chance upon one. Wang Ren's glaive was an example of a King grade treasure, given to him by his master.

Within the grades I knew there were differing qualities, with Poor being the worst followed by Average and Resonant being the best. That meant this healing pill was—to put it bluntly—shit.

Nonetheless, as the names of various herbs and catalysts entered my mind, most of which I didn't recognise but gained some meagre information about, I was satisfied. One of these pills didn't help much, but the combined insights from all that I had collected would definitely allow me to start working on my own recipe.

I opened the door of the clinic, the queue of women seeking little Cui's secret remedy for their husbands gone home for the evening. I took out another pill and prepared myself to consume it, when I realised I'd made a terrible mistake.

How was I supposed to develop my own recipe when I had no idea how to perform alchemy!?

Chapter 46

The next week went by in a blur. I secluded myself in one of the upper floors of the building so that I could carry out my experiments.

For now that consisted of simply consuming the myriad pills, herbs, and other remedies I'd acquired during my shopping trip. The reason it took me so long simply to eat a bunch of pills was that I was forced to slow down and begin taking comprehensive notes around three days in.

Similarities between the various healing remedies began to correlate and I wanted to ensure that I didn't miss anything. My mind was sharper, faster, and processed information far better since my consecutive breakthroughs, but writing things down remained a potent method of spotting connections one may have missed in their head.

Eventually I figured out some patterns and made connections between different remedies. While there were many differences between the various creations of the dozens of alchemists and herbalists in the city, there were underlying rules that must govern their creation.

Two things remained almost identical in every single pill, salve or tonic that I tried. They all contained an ingredient called Rejuvenating Spirit Grass and they all contained at least as much energy as a single drop of my qi.

That wasn't a reliable measure of their potency, as other cultivator's qi could be more or less dense than my own. I suppose it would have to suffice for now. Until I had a reason to share my discoveries and research with others there was no need for a standard measure of energy.

This was of course different when it came to the raw herbs and some of the more esoteric remedies that I'd acquired. Herbs hadn't been processed, possessing medicinal spiritual energy in its purest form.

While the healing effects of the raw herbs was worse than the refined pills or concocted herbal remedies, the effect they had on my physique was more pronounced. I'd actually made a minor amount of progress in refining my heart.

Only around one or two percent, but progress was progress. I exhaled, rubbing my eyes. I was tired. Even at my realm of cultivation, going a week without sleep was intensive. Especially while focusing my mind the entire time.

Before having a rest however, I wanted to eat. It wasn't a necessity, but more of a ritual to keep me grounded the further I strayed from humanity. Cultivation gave me superhuman strength, reflexes, and vitality, but also left me feeling less human than before.

I looked inside the spatial storage bag, realising there were only the three jars of herbal remedies and the ten year vital spikeroot I'd purchased from granny Yu. I would analyse them after I'd eaten and then move onto the next stage of my experiments.

Exiting the stuffy room I'd been in all week was like taking the first breath of spring air, rejuvenating me. I'd felt rather nauseous due to all the toxins present in the cheap healing pills I'd bought.

The quality of healing available in Three River City was shocking. These alchemists were charging exorbitant prices for shoddy products. Whether that was simply because they lacked the skill to make anything better and this was the norm or this city in particular had an issue I wouldn't know unless I explored the world further.

For now I would have to be satisfied with bringing my own higher quality products into the market. This would benefit the citizens and my own wallet, as well as give me a foundation in alchemy.

With my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique, the pill toxins did not seem to affect me. Rather than build up and form impurities in my body, my refined stomach separated the toxins as a strand of purplish-black goop.

The first time it happened I'd been quite shocked. My body attempted to expel the strand of toxins but the void within my dantian burst to life and devoured it whole. Nothing had come of the constant devouring of the pill toxins yet, but I would keep watch and pray it didn't suddenly fill me with some kind of super toxin.

Walking down the stairs I smelled a tantalising meaty aroma from the kitchen. It seemed like my timing was perfect as I walked in on Xiao Cui cooking while humming to herself.

"That smells incredible, little Cui," I said, startling her as I entered the kitchen.

She yelped and almost dropped the knife she was holding, but caught it in a rather elegant display of acrobatics. For a mortal she was rather flexible.

It was a shame there was no way to turn her into a cultivator. There would come a time where we would have to part ways, but I would do my best to teach her what I could and enjoy these moments until that day came.

Then again, nothing was impossible. My own path of cultivation proved that, so I would keep an open mind. Such a mindset was important as a doctor. If one stubbornly refused to accept new discoveries they would never advance their own abilities and the field of healing as a whole.

"Master! You scared me," she exclaimed, continuing to chop the spring onions on the wooden board. "However, you're just in time for dinner. The village head and I were worried you would never leave that room."

"Oh? I did warn you I would need some time to experiment," I chuckled, leaning over the pot and inhaling deeply of the rich aroma.

"You did, but a week? You look like you haven't slept at all. Did you even eat?" she scolded, pushing me away from the pot as she tossed the spring onions in.

"I didn't sleep or eat. To be honest, I believe I soon won't have any need to do either," I replied and she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Cultivators are strange."

"Indeed they are. I didn't know you could cook."

"My mother taught me a little when I was in the village, but I've been practising over the past week. While I was creating my remedy for the women I experimented with a lot of herbs and spices and managed to pick some things up," she explained, tossing a handful of chopped herbs into the pot and placing the lid on. "It will be a few more minutes."

I walked over to the wooden dining table, where the village head was leaning back with a pained expression on his face. A half drunk cup of tea sat on the table in front of him.

"What's wrong, village head?" I asked.

"You both keep calling me that. I don't deserve the title. Nine Paddy Village is no more. I failed to protect it," he sighed, reaching for the tea and then pulling his hand back. "That bastard City Lord Teng, how can he slaughter his own people without reprise!? Does the Cloudy Falls Sect not care about us lowly mortals?"

I empathised with his feelings but I had a slightly different perspective. Perhaps my cultivation was already shaping my thoughts but when you knew you would outlive everyone around you as well as two generations of their descendants a level of detachment had already appeared.

"I wouldn't say they don't care, but cultivators have different priorities. If they spent all their time tracking down every corrupt city official in their lands and purging them, they would have no time to do anything else. Mortal affairs and the business of cultivators are separate, in their mind. Perhaps it is the wrong way of doing things, but it seems to be the only way they know," I replied.

There was certainly a middle ground to be struck. I fell on neither side, still a stranger in this world and coming to grips with the culture and my own path. I still felt human for the most part, but from my first breath in this world I had been more than that, starting a second life already in Middle stage Body Tempering.

"You are right. Power is what matters in this corrupt empire. The village was wiped out because I was powerless. That spirit bear fought bravely, but the city lord sent a powerful contingent of guards. They used poison and strange creatures. The villagers turned on each other, brothers killing brothers and fathers killing sons. It was a nightmare come to life. If I was stronger…" the village head clutched his temple, a tear falling from his eye as a silent fury burned within.

"Dwelling on these thoughts will only breed resentment and suffering, Village Head. Think of the future. Xiao Cui still lives and so do you. The spirit of Nine Paddy Village will never be snuffed out as long as you forge ahead. Those who did this to you will pay, that I promise."

He wiped away the tear and nodded, downing the rest of his tea in a single gulp. "You are right, Cultivator Zhao. Thank you for snapping this old fool out of his misery. However, do not throw away your own bright future for our sakes. You have your own path," he said, clamping a hand on my shoulder.

"Grandpa, if I didn't stand up for the pair of you, how could I look myself in the eye. I am a man who values the sanctity of life. Such wanton cruelty cannot go unpunished. I made an oath to uproot infection and disease wherever I found it and in this city there is a cancer most foul. I shall remove it before it can spread."

"As long as you stay true to yourself, then I shall support you from here, Cultivator Zhao," he replied, sitting back in his chair.

"Enough of that nonsense, grandpa. Let's eat," said Xiao Cui cheerily as she carried two steaming bowls of noodle soup to the table, placing them in front of the village head and myself.

I let the meaty aroma wash over me, the golden broth sparkling in the candlelight. Taking my chopsticks, I lifted some noodles to my mouth, blowing once to cool them down before tasting.

Powerful umami and a kick of ginger and chilli exploded across my mouth, the freshly pulled noodles balancing it all out. The broth was rich and meaty, the herbs and spices combined brilliantly.

"Delicious. You've outdone yourself, little Cui," I said, smiling along with her when she beamed at my compliment.

"Indeed, wonderful as always, Cui'er," the village head added, already reaching for a second mouthful.

She brought a third bowl for herself and sat down beside me, digging in immediately with gusto. We ate in relative silence, save for the sounds of slurping and the occasional satisfied moan.

I finished the bowl and raised it to my lips, downing the rest of the soup. I exhaled, leaning back in my chair and patting my stomach. "That was exactly what I needed."

I didn't really need to eat, but there was something spiritual about the ritual of a meal. The human connection and shared joy. That was healing for the soul.

I felt a warmth in my stomach from the soup, my body already breaking the food down into energy and wasting nothing. Actually, I hadn't needed to urinate or defecate since… I couldn't even remember how long. Most likely since I'd reached the Qi Gathering Realm.

Not everything about cultivation was vicious or brutal. We conversed for a few hours after that, well into the late evening. The village head no longer had an air of gloomy suffering about him and Xiao Cui had a sparkle in her eyes that hadn't been present since she'd heard about the death of her parents and the destruction of Nine Paddy Village.

As I returned to my room, I thought back to what the village head had told me about the attack on Nine Paddy Village. He said the soldiers fought using strange creatures and poison.

At the time I'd brushed over it, preferring to comfort the man rather than dwell on the events of the past. However, the more I thought about it the less it made sense.

The city lord's guards didn't use poison. Whatever I felt about Captain Kang, he wasn't the kind of man to fight with such underhanded methods. This whole time I'd blamed the city lord for the destruction of the village, but things were perhaps more complicated than they seemed.

However, I had little information to work with. Ruminating on these matters would only bring distress to the village head and little Cui. For now, my priority was to finish my experiment and work on a healing product.

Once I'd accomplished that I could turn my focus to uncovering the city lord's plots and punishing the bastard who'd harmed Xiao Cui. Only then could I feel unfettered by the events of the past.

There was also the matter of Councillor Gao. He held a potent grudge against me, blaming me for the death of his relative.

While it had been the spirit bear who killed him, I was somewhat to blame. I had incited the bear to defend the village and hadn't made a move to stop it when it slaughtered the guards.

I would find out the truth when I confronted City Lord Teng and Councillor Gao in the palace. All in time.

Entering my room, I sat down on the wooden floor and entered a meditative pose, taking a few deep breaths to calm my thoughts and centre myself. It was time to use Granny Yu's healing tonics and then the ten year vital spikeroot.

After all her bluster and attitude, it would be quite hilarious if her remedies turned out to be just as shoddy as the rest of the products I'd tested. I was being harsh of course, as a few of the healing pills and salves were decent considering the ingredients used and the skill of the alchemists and herbalists who'd created them. However, they still overcharged for those average products which I couldn't abide.

I had three jars of the tonic, but I would likely only need to drink one in order to figure out the composition and effects. Uncorking the jar, I downed it in one gulp and let the cooling tonic wash down my gullet.

It was difficult to test the healing effects when I wasn't injured, but almost immediately the names of herbs and flowers appeared in my mind. Surprisingly, only a couple droplets of toxins were present in the tonic. Granny Yu hadn't been boasting about the quality of her remedies.

I noticed two major differences between her tonic and similar products I'd tested from other herbalists. Hers contained an ingredient I'd never encountered before—Powdered Stone-Ape Scales.

Thinking back to those vicious and mischievous monkeys in the Jagged Sword Mountains, I compared that with the wrinkly, unassuming figure of Granny Yu. Was the old herbalist a secret master?

I shook my head. Surely not. Some wandering cultivators may have acquired the scales and sold them to her no doubt.

The other difference was that she didn't include an ingredient that had been present in almost all the other tonics—Rejuvenating Spirit Grass. I wondered why, but didn't have the knowledge to understand.

Rather than waste the other two tonics, I believed I needed to return to Granny Yu's Blossom Parlour for answers. Maybe she could even be the one to teach me the foundational knowledge to begin preparing my own remedies.

With that settled, there was only one item remaining in my storage bag that I had yet to test. The ten year vital spikeroot.

I took out the spiky herb, inspecting its spiny body and giving it an experimental sniff. It had little odour, only a faint earthy scent that tingled my nostrils. Without delay, I snapped off a piece and tossed it into my mouth.

The spines scratched at my throat as I swallowed, but my sturdy body resisted. I imagined anyone below High stage Body Tempering would be sliced open trying to ingest this herb.

It settled into my stomach and I waited for it to be broken down and analysed. For a moment, nothing happened.

I frowned, wondering if I'd run out of an unknown source of energy or stamina that drove the process. A breath later, my stomach lurched and I felt a familiar sensation; a sensation I'd only experienced once before.

Chapter 47

Rather than being broken down and analysed like the other herbs I'd ingested, the ten year vital spikeroot began to dissolve into motes of brownish-green energy that swirled in my stomach.

It had been a few hours since dinner, but the remnants of Xiao Cui's herbal, spiced noodle soup were still present in my stomach. As the spikeroot was broken down into energy I noticed a similar process occurring with a few of the herbs.

Not all of them reacted, but those that did were broken down into energy in a similar manner to the vital spikeroot. The different streams of energy began to swirl and mix together.

At first the different energies didn't blend, simply swirling around each other in a mesmerising dance. After a few breaths of time, there was a sudden change and two of the strands of energy merged with each other to form a single strand.

The process repeated and accelerated until there was only a single double helix of energy that was a deep, earthy colour like fertilised soil. The swirling slowed down until the strand of energy hovered inert in my stomach.

It was exactly what had happened at the summit of Jagged Sword Mountain when I'd inhaled Huo Ze Qiang's firestorm technique and created the five strands of orange qi. This felt different to then, the resulting energy giving a feeling of incompleteness.

However, my body did not direct me or make any moves of its own. I was left confused, with an unfamiliar strand of energy with my stomach. I thought back through everything that had led up to this point.

Xiao Cui said she discovered the flavours she was using while experimenting with products to sell. That meant that they weren't herbs typically used for cooking, but rather herbalism?

The meal had certainly been delicious, but when I'd introduced the potent ten year vital spikeroot it had stirred up the remnant herbs. My refined lungs were able to turn qi and spiritual energy that I inhaled into healing energy, while my stomach seemed to break down ingredients I swallowed, producing raw medicinal qi or sometimes processing the resulting energy to create new forms of qi.

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, my brow furrowed as I once again ran through the steps in my mind. What was the difference between that time on the mountain summit and now. Was there even a difference?

I jerked upright, slamming my fist into my palm as the pieces fit together. The answer had been staring me right in the face this entire time, but I had simply been too close to the problem to realise.

The purpose of the refined stomach in the Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique was to perform alchemy! It was quite literally an organic cauldron within my own body.

All I needed to do was provide the ingredients and direction and I could produce a myriad of outcomes. Thus far I hadn't even performed any traditional alchemy, mixing qi and spiritual energy rather than raw ingredients.

The reason the strand of earthy energy felt incomplete was because it was formed from raw herbs. Rather than a completed product like the orange healing qi, this was an intermediate product that needed further refining to create a finished product.

Wasn't this an incredible cheat? Alchemists usually needed to purchase a quality cauldron, either upgrading it or acquiring a more powerful version as they increased their cultivation and alchemy skills.

However, I had a powerful cauldron within my own body, which could process ingredients with incredible efficiency. Furthermore, the flow of qi was simple to control and smooth given that it was within my body and almost directly next to my dantian—the source of my qi.

With this realisation I realised what I needed to do next. I was working on instinct mostly, lacking any formal training in alchemy or herbalism. However, my physique was inherently focused on healing and medicines, while I also had plenty of medical knowledge from my old world.

I wasn't sure how relevant it would be in this new world, where even the natural laws seemed different, but it was better than entering blind. I took control of the strand of earthy energy, infusing my intent as I began to mould it.

Rather than swirling, I was condensing and twisting the shape of the energy. The herbs Xiao Cui had used to cook the noodle soup appeared in my mind, a few of their effects making themselves known.

Unsurprisingly given the product she had ended up selling, they mostly focused on boosting stamina and energy. I frowned briefly. I really needed to have a talk with her, but she seemed happy with her work.

I didn't want to disrupt the peace she'd found after the tragedy by telling her to pursue something else… I'd think about it later.

Those effects complimented the vitalising effect of the spikeroot, though I couldn't be sure what the final results would be. At the very least I had a fairly complete idea of how to guide the process.

The energy condensed until it was no longer a stream but a writhing and shifting ball of energy. The colour brightened from the deep brown as I continued to push down on it with my qi and intent.

A golden shimmer burst from within the sphere, but it was incomplete. At the last moment when I felt as though the process was coming to an end, I felt a sharp spike of pain in my temple and lost focus.

The golden shimmer dissipated in a brief burst, only a few streaks of gold remaining in the mostly brown sphere. However, despite my minor failure I had still succeeded in completing the process.

I had refined my first pill!

Information appeared in my mind, telling me about the pill I'd created. It was incomplete and a little mysterious, but I gained a rough idea of what it would do.

Even then I couldn't stop the grin creeping onto my face. I wiped the sweat from my brow as I exhaled, a brown mist being released from my mouth. Pill toxins.

As for the pill I'd refined? The effects were in line with the effects of its ingredients. It wasn't quite a healing pill, but more of a stamina boosting pill. If I had to compare it to a product I knew, it was basically a potent pre-workout pill.

Average quality Mortal grade Vital Spike Pill. That was the name that had appeared in my mind at the moment I'd refined the pill.

If I hadn't lost concentration at the final moment, I believed it would have crossed the threshold and produced a Polished quality pill. I needed a short break first, but I wanted to attempt the process again.

This would be great practice for when I eventually wanted to produce a healing pill of my own. Despite the minor failure, I was still extremely satisfied with the results.

Actually, it would have many uses in this world. Cultivators could use it prior to a battle in order to gain a minor boost in their combat strength and allow them to fight at their maximum strength for longer.

Body Tempering practitioners could use it to practise for longer and harder, allowing them to make more gains during each session of cultivation. If not for the relative rarity of the ingredients, I could mass produce it.

There was still around eighty-five percent of the ten year vital spikeroot left in my storage bag, which meant I could make five or six more of the pills. If I refined the process I might even be able to produce more.

Experiencing the alchemical process myself, being more in control this time compared to the time on the mountain summit, had given me some insights into improving the efficiency and speed of the process.

Instead of rushing into another round of pill refining, I stood up and stretched my muscles. They were extremely sore, similar to the fatigue I felt after the extended battle at the summit of Jagged Sword Mountain.

My head still throbbed, the same feeling I had when I overexerted myself with my healing technique. Other than my qi, there seemed to be an invisible pool of mental exhaustion that determined how many times I could perform certain techniques.

I continued to be amazed at my Fivefold Medicine Forge Physique. I had only completed two steps of the first of five layers, refining my lungs and stomach, but the effects were already incredible.

I looked forward to the benefits I would receive when I completely refined my heart and the rest of my organs. Would there be an additional benefit when I finished the first layer?

My hands shook in anticipation. Much of my experience in the Celestial Jade Empire had shaken me, being rather brutal and violent, but this was the opposite. I felt elated and excited for the future.

When I'd been a young man in my first life, before seven years of study and the horrors of war had ground away my passion and fervour, I'd felt this way about the pursuit of medicine. That burning passion for the art of healing had ignited within me once more and I couldn't wait to see what came next.

With my energy restored and my mind devoted to my task, I took a meditative posture once more and snapped off another portion of the vital spikeroot. There were about half of the herbs remaining from dinner, so I could try the process one more time before having to go and ask little Cui if she had any more of the herbs I could use.

Taking a deep breath I tossed the spikeroot into my gullet and swallowed, turning my focus inwards as the alchemical process began.

****

Another week passed as I sunk into my project. After the second time I'd needed to ask Xiao Cui for more herbs. Luckily she had plenty in stock and I was able to continue uninterrupted after that.

My efficiency gradually improved as well as my control the more times I repeated the process. I'd used almost all of the vital spikeroot by now and this was going to be the final time I could make this particular pill.

This was going to be the seventh time I attempted the process. I had just ten percent of the root left, less than I'd used before. Over the course of six attempts I had whittled down the amount I needed to use to produce the same pill.

Not only that but the quality of the pills improved little by little. Not enough to push the quality up yet, but more and more golden streaks appeared each time.

For an unknown reason that sharp spike of pain struck each and every time I drew near to completing the refining process. It seemed unavoidable despite my best efforts to stay focused.

This had delayed my project of producing a healing pill by a little, but I wasn't dismayed one bit. This practice would lead to me producing a far higher quality end product when I moved onto a healing pill.

If I'd attempted to dive right in without this practice I may have ended up making a pill that was only a little better than the ones I'd tested, if not of similarly shoddy quality. My goal was to not only create a more potent healing pill, but at a lower cost.

Pushing aside those thoughts, I dedicated my entire mind and body to the task at hand. First, I ingested the last of the herbs from Xiao Cui. I followed them as they sunk into my stomach and tried to ensure that I extracted as much of the beneficial spiritual energy from them as they were broken down.

The earthy golden energy sat in my stomach, forming into a floating cloud of golden mist. Once that was completed I took the final piece of the ten year vital spikeroot and swallowed it, so used to the scratching sensation that it barely bothered me.

I did the same with the spikeroot as I'd done with the herbs, guiding the process as it broke down into the rich brown energy. Once I had a strand of energy from the root I guided it into the golden cloud and started to compress.

The process was different to the first time as I'd discovered that condensing the energy of the herbs into the energy of the root resulted in a much smoother mix than the inefficient manner I'd used the first time. The brown energy drank in the golden mist as I compressed it all into a spherical shape.

Another change from my earlier attempts was that I infused a single strand of my own vibrant medicinal qi from my dantian, seamlessly blending it into the mix. I'd not tried this particular step yet but it felt right.

Instead of rejecting my qi as I'd feared might happen, the moment it was infused the sphere was compressed even further than ever before. A few droplets of pill toxins and impurities were forced out, devoured by the void in my dantian.

My qi had a positive effect on the pill and I continued to focus as I approached the final step. This was where I'd failed each time before as my concentration was broken. This time I intended to see the process through to the end.

I felt a spike of pain in my temple, but ignored it and focused even harder on the pill that was forming. I compressed it further, the golden streaks spreading across the brown surface.

The pain intensified, but I refused to slip. Streaks of green emerged from within the brown, melding with the gold as I felt a wave of heat burst from my stomach.

My head was on fire, throbbing worse than any migraine I'd experienced, but even covered in sweat and grime I was elated. My nonstop effort had paid off and with the last of my ingredients I'd produced a pill greater than any I'd refined before.

A single phrase appeared in my mind, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise. I'd gone above and beyond even my own expectations.

Masterful quality Mortal grade Vital Spike Pill. I'd somehow skipped an entire quality, going straight from Average quality straight to Masterful, missing out on Polished quality.

I suspected the last minute decision to infuse a strand of my own qi had caused such a drastic improvement in the quality of the finished pill. I extracted the pill from my stomach, letting it fall into my hand.

I hurriedly slipped it into the pill box I kept from my time imprisoned by the city lord, snapping the lid shut before the pill aroma could escape. There were a total of seven pills of varying quality in the box.

I planned to save them to either use myself or find a buyer. I suspected they would fetch a high price as a premium product. Before seeking to make money from my creations however, I needed a bath.

Then, it would be time to tackle my original project. It was time to produce a low cost healing pill with greater efficacy than any others available.

Chapter 48

At dinner that evening, Xiao Cui informed me that during my secluded alchemy sessions, a woman who smelled of flowers and honey and was frustratingly annoying had visited, seeking an audience with me. I deduced it was the younger Miss Yu, waving away both her and the village head's teasing about a beautiful woman calling for me.

I was curious as to the reason she had decided to visit my clinic. In the first place I wasn't sure how she'd figured out this was where I lived, given that its current fame among the citizens of Three River City was due to Xiao Cui's stamina concoctions, rather than my own healing abilities.

Unfortunately for her, I had bigger priorities than seeking out a brothel mistress for entertainment. I'd narrowed down the myriad ingredients in the various remedies and pills I'd tested down to a few of the most potent and least toxic and planned to stock up on them in preparation for my tests.

The main obstacle to my goals was that most of the shops which stocked the ingredients I required would massively overcharge me for even a small quantity. Also, if they caught wind of me attempting to purchase larger quantities they might suspect me of being a new competitor.

I was a new competitor, but giving them advance warning wouldn't be beneficial to my plans. I needed to figure out my recipe in secret and then flood the market overnight, catching the rest of the city's alchemists and herbalists off guard.

My healing techniques were far superior to theirs, but as the saying goes even a dragon cannot suppress the local snake. I would be a fool to move so blatantly and let the competition know my every move.

Instead of attempting to purchase larger quantities, I enlisted little Cui and the village head to help me in buying small quantities of every ingredient from various shops around the city. We convened at the end of the day, so that I could figure out whether I would need to make another shopping trip or not.

For the majority of the ingredients on the list we'd acquired enough between the three of us that I could experiment for a month without running out—although that depended largely on how quickly my skills improved. While Granny Yu had avoided Rejuvenating Spirit Grass for her healing tonics, I decided to use it.

I believed her decision was due to the large quantity of impurities in the commonly found grass. However, I could avoid that problem with the near perfect efficiency of my stomach which removed most of the toxins and impurities during the refining process.

Alongside the grass, the basic ingredients I planned to use were Sparkcap Amanitas, Powdered Beast Cores, and Pulsing Hibiscus petals. They were all common ingredients present in many of the pills I'd tested and the ones that would synergise best.

However, there was a slight problem. Of all the ingredients I required, there was one particular ingredient which none of us had managed to acquire—ten year ash bark.

Plenty of the herbalists had regular ash bark, which they had tried to sell us with increasing levels of persuasion and frustration, but I specifically needed the potent spiritual energy contained within ten year ash bark for my recipe.

That unfortunately meant that I would need to make another detour outside the city before beginning my experiments. I could choose a substitute ingredient of course, but I had a feeling that would lead to a subpar final product.

I intended to produce the highest quality pill possible, in order to give the people of the city the greatest healing at the lowest possible cost. Besides, my own pride wouldn't allow me to create something that wasn't the absolute limit of my abilities.

Of course, without a real grounding in alchemy or assistance from a skilled master, I could be making poor decisions guided by arrogance. Unfortunately, lacking such a master I would have to stumble forwards and learn from my failures.

The best case scenario would be to succeed, learning little but benefiting greatly. An easy and prosperous life was the dream of any human, be they mortal or cultivator.

****

I'd feared a repeat of my brief journey to the Jagged Sword Mountains when going on a trip to acquire the ten year ash bark. A short detour that had turned into a chaotic battle and led to me almost losing my life multiple times.

That risk had brought an ample reward in the form of multiple breakthroughs and the rekindling of my friendship with Wang Ren. However, I did not have the luxury of time right now and couldn't afford for another world shaking treasure like the Ten Ascensions Lily to appear.

Thankfully the place I was travelling was a lot less popular with local cultivators. Mostly it was herbalists and alchemists who came to Silent Wind Glade to gather ingredients.

I spotted a few as I made my way through the grassy knolls of Silent Wing Glade, harvesting various herbs and spiritual plants. A few nodded my way but we didn't interact much. All of them had some level of cultivation, though it was restricted to the Body Tempering Realm.

I'd learned during my research that distinguishing spirit herbs which had reached milestones such as Ten-Year or Hundred-Year was rather simple once you knew what to look for. The spiritual energy was far more condensed, having gathered over a longer period or due to unusual circumstances.

While the phrases ten year or hundred year were used, or even thousand year in the case of exceptionally rare instances, it didn't always take that length of time for a herb to accumulate enough spiritual energy. That was just how long it would take if only the natural energy of the world was absorbed by the plant.

Due to my talent at sensing different forms of energy, an ability I'd possessed since arriving in this world and had yet to make sense of, I didn't believe this particular task would pose too much difficulty.

****

I sighed, sitting at the base of yet another ash tree that was more spiritually potent than its peers but hadn't quite crossed the threshold into being a ten year specimen. My hubris had led me to believe this would be an easy search but thus far I was finding it frustratingly difficult.

I glanced around, frowning at the rustling grass. Someone had been following me for the past hour or so as I went around Silent Wind Glade.

At first I had ignored their antics, as they were just a three-star Body Tempering practitioner and posed no threat to me. However, it was getting a little annoying having a stranger tail me.

"Stop hiding, you're not very good at it," I called out, chuckling as a startled man jumped out from the tall grass.

He was wearing robes that I'd seen before. One of the larger alchemy pavilions had a sort of uniform, all their alchemists wearing the same forest green robes with red trim as the man before me.

The Jade Cauldron Association wasn't the richest group of alchemists in Three River City, nor did they have the most talented alchemists in their employ. They did however, have the greatest number of them.

Why one of their number was following me around as I searched for magic tree bark was a mystery. The worst case scenario was that they had somehow figured out my intentions or guessed at them through my shopping trips and had sent a spy to confirm them.

Given how startled he seemed at being noticed, I wondered if they even knew the extent of my cultivation. If they had, I doubted they would've tried to send such an obvious weakling to tail me.

His face was pale and while I was lost in thought he tried to make his escape. I instantly crossed the distance between us, appearing in front of him as he fell on his backside in shock.

"Don't even try it. Who sent you?" I demanded.

Of all the responses I was expecting, from the man cracking and spilling his secrets all the way to outright denial, what he actually did hadn't even made the list. Before I could stop him, crunched something between his teeth and his eyes rolled back into his head.

I leapt forward and shoved my fingers into his mouth to try and fish out whatever he'd swallowed, but it was futile. As his mouth started foaming and his body convulsed I turned to my healing technique.

However, I was too late. My technique was ridiculously powerful, able to heal almost any injury or affliction.

What it couldn't do was revive the dead. Not yet, anyway. I cursed at the sky, angry and confused at the senseless loss of life.

The confusion dominated the anger. Getting caught wasn't a great look for the Jade Cauldron Association, but it shouldn't have warranted such a severe reaction.

For the man to kill himself to avoid questioning…? I suspected that the person who sent him was either working to their own purposes from within the Jade Cauldron Association or simply using the alchemy group as a cover.

When I returned to the city I would investigate, but as I had come all the way out here I wasn't going to return without finding what I sought. First, I approached the man's corpse and searched through his belongings.

Looting the dead was distasteful, but I wasn't above taking the possessions of someone who'd been collecting information about me for undoubtedly nefarious purposes. Throwing away dessert when it falls from the sky is the act of a fool.

Unfortunately he seemed to have been well prepared for his untimely demise. There was very little of value stored on his body. Six silver coins and three coppers, which wasn't a bad haul, but aside from the meagre wealth there was only a plain jade and some distasteful pills.

After collecting everything, I stored the man's body in my storage bag. The bag didn't stop the effects of time entirely, but I noticed it reduced it to a negligible crawl while objects were stored inside. Once that was sorted, I resumed my search with renewed vigour.

****

Yu Chun stared at the rune inscribed jade in her hands with simmering rage in her eyes as the nasal voice of her employer scratched at her ears. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to crush the piece of magic rock worth more than her entire parlour, but she had no doubts about the grisly fate that her employer would bring about if she dared defy him.

"My patience wears thin, whore. I don't care what you need to do to keep him occupied, just ensure it is done. You have until the end of the week to get Zhao alone or I will find another rotten tofu seller to carry out my orders. There is no shortage of desperate bitches in this city. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are unique, Yu Chun," Councillor Gao snarled as the glowing inscriptions faded from the air and sank into the now inert jade.

She almost smashed her desk in fury as the communication ended. However, Yu Chun knew herself to be better than Gao Deng Luo, at least when it came to comporting oneself with dignity.

In that regard, the snivelling rat was no better than a common street thug. "If not for the influence of his clan…" she sighed.

A knock at the door broke her from her daydreams and she moved to unlock it after ensuring the hidden drawer in her desk was once more hidden from sight. Opening it, she found a scowling Du Wen waiting outside.

"I am rather busy and not in the most pleasant of moods, Du Wen. What is it this time?" she demanded, rubbing her temple as she returned to her padded chair.

"Everyone is complaining about losing money. I can't imagine that as the proprietress the situation is much better for you. Now, we've known each other since the day we slid out of our mother's wombs into the stinking gutters of this rotten city, so I know that you wouldn't do this without a compelling reason," he began, gently closing the door behind him and taking a seat opposite her.

"The rest of them don't know that. There's been talk of ousting you. Feng Li Mei has been spreading rumours and gathering support. She has enough to make a move," he slid a hand across the cherry wood desk, grimacing at the dust that gathered at the tips of his fingers. "You aren't usually this messy. I need to know why."

Yu Chun let out a deep sigh, sinking into the chair as she allowed Du Wen to see a side of herself that no one else in the city was allowed a glimpse at. "I can't tell you much, unless you want to put yourself in danger."

"Life for a man like me is dangerous by nature. Powerful men with that kind of secret don't enjoy having it walking around. Tell me, Yu Chun," Du Wen chuckled, his tone whimsical but his eyes painting the sorrowful truth.

"Gao," she replied, meeting his gaze with an equally pained stare.

He sighed. "How did you get yourself tangled up in this nonsense again, little Chun? I thought we left that life behind when you managed to scrape together the money for this place."

Du Wen never called her that unless he was burning with the fury of the heavens. The last time he had called her little Chun had been the night Long Bao had… She opened her mouth to explain but he raised a hand to cut her off.

"Don't say anything else. I know their filthy fingers are shoved into every dark crevice of the city, but I prefer to live in ignorant bliss. I will handle Feng Li Mei, but I won't be able to delay her long. A week at most," he conceded, standing up and walking to the door.

"Thank you, Wen. A past like ours is not easy to escape. As you know, heaven's net is wide and its mesh inescapable. In this city, the Gao Clan are the heavens beyond the heavens. All we can do is struggle and pray we aren't devoured first."

Du Wen scoffed, shaking his head as he walked out the door. "You aren't as profound as your ego would have you believe, Yu Chun. Leave that to the old hag."

The lock of the door clicked shut behind him. She turned her gaze to the ceiling, sinking into the comfortable padding of her chair.

"I suppose I shall have to pay that man another visit. Avoiding that infuriating little girl will be difficult, though I have to commend her enterprising nature. A stamina boosting concoction of all things…" she muttered, a grin forming on her face. "She reminds me of myself when I was that age."

Chapter 49

The sun had already set by the time I returned to Three River City. Finding the ten year ash bark had taken far longer than I expected and the unfortunate incident with the man tailing me had left a sour aftertaste.

Even when I pursued alchemy and healing I was unable to avoid the brutality of this world. I'd become mired in plots and schemes far beyond my grasp and despite my best efforts to avoid them, it seemed inevitable that I would need to dirty my hands or find myself caught unawares as a dagger slit my throat in the night.

When I tried to open the front door I found it locked. Xiao Cui and the village head must have retired to bed already, given the late hour.

Unlocking it was easy. It was a very simple array formation that had been inscribed prior to Grandpa Guan giving me the building. The instructions for unlocking and locking it were included in the deed.

The faint aroma of cooking permeated the lobby and when I entered the kitchen I found a bowl of noodles and silky tofu left out for me. Xiao Cui was a devoted disciple, cooking for me even though I didn't need to eat.

I reached for a chair to sit, but my eyes narrowed as I sensed movement on the upper floors of the building. I immediately dashed out of the kitchen and raced up the stairs.

When I reached the floor which Xiao Cui and the village head slept on, I stopped for a second. Upon sensing that they were both alive and well, their aura that of peaceful rest, I continued upwards until I was outside my bedroom.

My hand hovered against the door, allowing my senses to permeate the room before I entered. When they brushed against a feeble presence within I let out a relieved breath.

The door clicked as I opened it, but I was already gone from the entrance. There was a feminine yelp as I grabbed the intruder and pressed them against the wall where they'd been standing.

"You know, Sir Zhao, there are those who would say that pressing an unfamiliar woman into the wall against her will is not how a gentleman conducts himself," drawled a honeyed voice.

I kissed my teeth and released her, taking a step back as she twirled around and leaned into where I'd been standing a moment before. She staggered, eyes widening in shock but I saw through the act.

Yu Chun caught herself before falling and stood up straight, staring at me with a predatory smile painted in red. "You're no fun," she harrumphed.

"I don't take kindly to strangers invading the privacy of my home, especially where the safety of my disciple is concerned. You're only alive because you left the two downstairs untouched," I snapped. "What do you want?"

She sighed, taking a seat on the edge of my bed and lounging against the frame as though it were her own room. "All the men in my life are so high strung. Where are all the relaxed playboys I can wrap around my finger like dragon's beard candy?"

I let the weight of my qi slip out, pressing down on her as though she was deep under the ocean. I admired her courage, her bemused facade not shifting an inch.

Unfortunately for her, I could see beyond the poorly constructed falsehoods. Her fear was a hideous stench marring the air of my room, reminding me of the impurities left after a breakthrough.

"Do not test my patience. You have five seconds to explain yourself or you'll spend the next few weeks as a test subject for my experiments," I snarled.

"Cultivators are far too perceptive. If only I was gifted with spirit roots, perhaps I could raise my skills to a level where even the likes of you and that vile man would fall under my spell…" she mused, trailing off when she saw my fierce glare.

"I confess, the reason I am here is a little embarrassing, Sir Zhao. After our last meeting, I found myself entranced by your talent and handsomeness, desiring another conversation with you," Yu Chun continued, her words dripped into my ears like honey, her eyelashes fluttering as she spoke.

Honestly if not for the fact that I was exhausted after my trip and the events of the last couple months, I might have believed her. Yu Chun was a beautiful woman and it had been a while since I'd spent the night doing anything but cultivating or sleeping—both in my own company.

Hurting a woman was near the bottom of the list of things I wanted to spend my time doing, but I'd had enough of her games. Before she could blink I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

She screamed, but I muffled it with a hand over her mouth. "I told you to be honest. If you had any idea about cultivation, you would know not to try and slip something past one at my realm," I sighed, holding up a jade, orange runes floating in the air around it. "What is this?"

I knew what it was already. A communication jade. However, what I needed to know was why Yu Chun had snuck into my room with one hidden inside her clothes.

"A communication jade," she replied blankly.

I narrowed my eyes and tightened my grip on her throat.

"My employer wanted to listen in on our conversation," she wheezed.

"Who is your employer?" I demanded, crushing the jade in my hands.

As the dust fell between my fingers Yu Chun's eyes grew wide and I felt her heart rate quicken. I supposed these were sturdy, from a mortal perspective. Not my intention, but if it squeezed more information from her then I'd play it up. My grip tightened a little more.

"I can't say. He'll kill me. Please," she begged, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

She could've been lying, but with her emotions on full display and her soul crushed under the weight of my qi, I doubted it.

Treating a woman like this, even if she was a duplicitous brothel mistress, wasn't my idea of fun. As I considered what to do, I felt a shift in the spiritual energy around the clinic, triggered by the security array.

I threw Yu Chun onto my bed, leaping in the opposite direction right as the window shattered. A throwing dagger buried itself in the door, the blade twanging as it cast scattered moonbeams across the room.

Where the dagger struck, the wood hissed and smoked as it rotted away. Poison or acid coated the blade.

It might not harm me if I was struck instead, but better not to take the risk. Keeping that ace up my sleeve might allow me to catch the intruders by surprise.

By now I didn't need to interrogate Yu Chun to figure out her purpose here. Whether she had been informed or not, her goal was to distract me while the real threats broke in to assassinate me.

There was an obvious culprit, based on the evidence. Councillor Gao had apparently decided that he couldn't tolerate the city lord's decision to free me.

When the masked figure leapt through the broken window, followed by another similarly black-clad assassin, I met their gaze. A pair of familiar eyes stared back.

Wang Bao and I shared a brief moment of recognition before the second assassin tossed a dagger at my heart with pinpoint accuracy. We both knew that no matter the outcome, only one of us was leaving here alive.

I applauded Yu Chun for not making a noise this time, remaining out of sight and wrapped in my covers. Fighting against two foes was going to be challenging enough without having to protect a mortal.

I dodged another dagger and danced around Wang Bao's sword strikes, my mouth curling into a frown. It wasn't challenging at all.

The last time Wang Bao or the city lord's men had seen me, I wasn't even in the Qi Gathering Realm. Vice Captain Wang didn't even put me in his eyes and even then he'd brought help to take me out.

However, my cultivation had advanced in leaps and bounds. My unique methods combined with serendipitous encounters had allowed me to reach five-star Qi Gathering far faster than usual with half the effort.

Three clashes later and I realised that I was simply delaying the inevitable. Wang Bao's associate grew frustrated with their continued failure to strike me and rushed forward.

"Wait-!" Wang Bao cried, but it was too late.

I had guided the battle towards the door and ripped the dagger from where it was buried in the wood. The would-be assassin thrust his own dagger at my neck, but I was faster.

He clutched at his throat as his blood spilled, the scent of burning flesh filling my nostrils as the last remnants of the poison went to work. I stepped past his dying clutches at my legs, facing off against the city's vice guard captain.

"You know, I was quite shocked to learn that Captain Kang's right hand man was colluding with that vile bastard Gao," I admitted, pushing him for information. "Despite our differences, I respect his pride and honour. I believed those under his command would hold themselves to similar standards, but perhaps he is a diamond hidden in dogshit."

Wang Bao snarled, abandoning caution as he leapt at me. He slashed wildly, waving his sword like a child throwing a tantrum. I ensured that my dodges were timed to the last second, giving him the illusion of almost catching me.

I planned to play with him a little longer until his focus slipped, but the battlefield shifted in an instant. I felt two more intruders on the floor below.

I dodged Wang Bao thrusting his sword at my gut, grabbing his wrist and crushing it in a single movement. To his credit, he barely winced as I turned his bone to dust. My next strike was a palm to the side of his head.

His eyes rolled back and he dropped to the ground. His sword clattered against the floorboards, but I was already gone.

I burst into little Cui's room to see the village head standing between her and two Body Tempering practitioners garbed in the same black outfits as Wang Bao and his accomplice. The closest of the assassins stabbed the village head as I took a step.

Before his blade could cut the village head I smacked it away and backhanded the man without controlling my strength. I had no time to hold back with the head's life at risk.

A sharp crack rang out as the man dropped to the ground like a sack of cabbages. The second assassin looked at me, then at his fallen comrade.

His eyes were conflicted, fear of me and whoever had sent them here clashing as he froze in indecision. I made the choice for him, my fist smashing into his gut and the follow up kick snapping his neck.

Killing wasn't enjoyable, but they had come to kill Xiao Cui. If they had left her and the village head alone and only come for my life, perhaps I would've spared them. However, they crossed a line they never should have.

I stored their bodies, realising that my spatial storage bag was now full. There was still a corpse in my room, but I could at least keep little Cui and the village head away from that one.

"Zhao D- Master! Who are those men?" Xiao Cui exclaimed, clearly startled but to my surprise, not crying or breaking under the pressure of the situation.

For a teenage girl she was sturdy. Whether that had been her character from the beginning or she was being tempered by her time in Three River City and travelling with me, only the heavens knew. I suspected it was a little of both.

"I believe it is related to the matter with your village and that irritating councillor. I will handle it," I replied.

"Don't worry about us, Cultivator Zhao. We shall clean the room and make some food. I think we need to have a little comfort after that shock," the village head said with a smile. "It seems I owe you a life debt twice over. I am not sure what more I can offer, but I am at your beck and call."

"Nonsense, Head Wei. I only did what any man in my position would do," I dismissed him with a wave.

"Ha! If only that were true, benefactor Zhao. The Celestial Jade Empire would be a paradise," he scoffed.

I didn't reply. He was right of course, but it was important to see the best in people. Or so I believed, anyway. I hoped I would still hold true to that belief if I ever reached the pinnacle of my path.

When I entered my room once more, I found Yu Chun sitting at the edge of my bed, gently kicking the unconscious Wang Bao. I raised an eyebrow quizzically, scoffing at the stifled yelp she emitted when she noticed my presence.

I took the two corpses back out of my bag. She yelped again as they hit the floorboards. "Can you stop that? I'm trying to focus. Also, your acting is as believable as pigs being able to fly."

"I heard there are spirit boars which can fly. Apparently their meat is a delicacy," she replied, smirking at me from behind her sleeve.

"Of course there are…" I muttered. Damn magical world and its implausible creatures.

There would be no hiding this incident. If the city guard vice captain went missing there would be a search and I was sure that Captain Kang would not leave me out of it.

Instead of allowing it to get to that point, it would most likely favour me if I approached the captain and the city lord myself. Doing things this way might even lead to Councillor Gao exposing himself.

At the very least, Wang Bao would face punishment for his crimes. That was an outcome I would be pleased to witness.

Of course, I was no fool. Leaving everything to the whims of City Lord Teng without taking precautions would be idiotic.

With my five-star Qi Gathering cultivation, I could force his hand by exerting my strength. However, there was always a bigger dog. A taller sky.

Doing that would only bring the Cloudy Falls Sect down on my head. As it was, I was already under scrutiny from the elders of the sect and had no desire to exacerbate that particular problem.

I stomped on Wang Bao's chest hard enough to make him cough. His eyes flickered open and he tried to sit upright. I kicked down and his head smacked the floorboards.

That seemed to do the trick, startling him awake. Before contacting Captain Kang, I would squeeze every last drop of information from this filthy bastard.

Chapter 50

I stood beside Captain Kang, watching the impassive face of City Lord Teng Shi. To his side, Councillor Gao was containing his emotions far better than our previous encounters.

However, he was not skilled enough to hide from my senses entirely. I felt the broiling rage beneath the surface.

"Lord Teng! I assure you, there is a reasonable explanation for my actions," Wang Bao begged on his knees.

Captain Kang spat on the ground, slamming his boot against his former Vice Captain's back. "Silence, black-bellied bastard!" he roared.

The city lord raised a hand and the captain stepped back. "Enough, Captain. Let the man speak. I wonder what rambling nonsense he will come up with to excuse his actions."

"Thank you, Lord Teng!" he spluttered, raising his head to face the throne. "This bastard, Zhao Dan, was plotting against you. My men found evidence of a treasonous plot and we moved to end it before it could take hold. Somehow, he has raised his cultivation to an absurd level in such a short time. The only explanation is nefarious techniques!"

The city lord sighed deeply, while Captain Kang looked at his former brother with a forlorn expression. "Former guard Wang, do you think this lord a bumbling imbecile?" Teng Shi asked, cocking his head to one side.

"N-no, Lord Teng! You are a dragon amongst men, the mightiest cultivator for a thousand li," he exclaimed, arms waving madly.

"And yet you dared to take the life of a man I declared free, spitting on my face in the process? Give this bastard a dog's death, Captain. First, ensure you squeeze every drop of information from him. Any methods are fine," he ordered with a flick of his sleeve.

"Yes, my lord," the captain replied, hauling Wang Bao to his feet and dragging him out.

I was left alone in the throne room with the city lord and the councillor. "Honestly, if he'd managed to kill you without causing such a mess, I might have even been grateful. Bumbling idiot," Teng Shi chuckled while staring at me.

I frowned. I knew the city lord hadn't let me off the hook entirely, but to declare it so freely made me suspicious of his intentions.

He suddenly turned to Councillor Gao. "Councillor, you're getting sloppy. I don't mind you throwing your weight around, as long as you keep it to the slums. This is your only warning. Do not test me again or you will find yourself seeking more modest employment."

Councillor Gao's eyes widened as the city lord spoke, but he remained restrained. Coughing once, he replied, "Of course, Lord Teng."

I was confused at the interaction and more perplexed about why the city lord had allowed me to witness it. However, I remained silent.

"Zhao Dan, it seems I owe you an apology. It is a little demeaning to be apologising to a criminal, but I am not the kind of ignorant bastard who overlooks the folly of his subordinates. Wang Bao will be dealt with. Thank you for helping to clean up my house," Teng Shi said, gripping the edge of his throne.

"We would be having a different conversation if Xiao Cui came to harm. However, I am glad to see that the city lord is magnanimous and upright," I replied with a bow. "I shall take my leave."

"Indeed. Don't get into any more trouble, Zhao Dan. I am growing tired of your face."

I didn't reply further. Turning around, my face twisted into a snarling frown. As I marched out of the palace I allowed my cultivation to expand outwards.

Suppressing my five-star Qi Gathering cultivation down to two-star was a necessary expenditure while facing the city lord and the councillor. I only needed to show I was stronger than Wang Bao, while still concealing the fact I was a threat to both of them.

On the plus side, this incident had allowed me to sow the seeds of discontent between the two ruling forces in the city, while blunting one of the councillor's swords. I had no doubt that Councillor Gao was not done with me, but I could rest easy for now.

I wanted nothing more than to beat the annoying councillor senseless, but I would restrain myself until the time was right. If I wanted to ensure the Cloudy Falls Sect stayed off my back, I had to keep City Lord Teng in power while removing the tumour that was Councillor Gao.

****

Xiao Cui was busy when I returned. Despite the events of the previous night, she seemed unshaken and was happily serving the long line of customers leading out the door of the clinic.

She greeted me with a smile and a wave. I noticed that as well as women, there were even a few men in the queue now. I guessed they'd heard of the miraculous effects of my disciple's medicine and wanted to try it for themselves.

As for me, I planned to seclude myself in my room once more in order to finally begin working on my healing pill recipe. I hoped there would not be any further incidents that required my attention for a while.

Refining a low cost, high efficacy healing pill was only the first step towards achieving my goal of raising the healing arts of this world to a new level, but managing to accomplish it would be a magnificent feeling. I opened my door, preparing myself for the long session of alchemy ahead.

However, when I went into my room I found Yu Chun sitting on my bed. I frowned. I'd expected her to leave while I was handling Wang Bao and the city lord, but she seemed to have taken it upon herself to stay.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question? Why the hell are you in my room? Wang Bao won't be a problem anymore," I replied.

"I can't return to the blossom parlour. My life is in danger," she said with a shudder.

"Your employer? Councillor Gao, I assume?"

She shivered again. "You shouldn't speak so freely. The walls have eyes and ears everywhere in this city. Let me stay with you for a while. I can make myself useful," she implored, opening her eyes and pressing her palms together.

I rubbed my temple while sighing. This situation kept getting more irritating. However, I wasn't a callous bastard. Even though she'd been part of the plot to keep me distracted, I knew it was difficult for a mortal to ignore the pressure of a cultivator's orders.

Especially a man as sinister as Councillor Gao. Even I got the creeps from him and I was strong enough to kill him in a few blows.

"Fine. However, I am about to enter a period of seclusion. I will need to be left alone for a few weeks at the very least. You can ask Head Wei what you can do to help. Maybe give Xiao Cui a hand with her customers. You know how to convince people to do what you say," I told her.

She nodded. "Thank you, Zhao Dan. I am in your debt. That little girl is quite the specimen. I will see what I can do to teach her," Yu Chun replied.

I snorted, placing a hand on her arm as she walked past me. "My disciple is an innocent young flower. Don't lead her astray," I warned.

"Ha! If you truly believe that then you are a fool, Zhao Dan," she giggled, closing the door behind her.

I waited for her retreating footsteps to fade before sitting on the floor of my bedroom. I took out a portion of the ingredients I'd prepared, laying them out on the ground before me.

While my physique allowed me to analyse the composition of the various remedies and pills I'd tried, it didn't tell me much about the actual process of refining them. I would need to experiment and practice my alchemy skills in order to figure that out.

First, I wanted to figure out how to refine each ingredient in order to extract the most beneficial energy from them. My physique would guide the process, but in order to produce the most effective pill possible I would need to take more control over the entire procedure.

I started with the Rejuvenating Spirit Grass as it was the simplest of the ingredients. Even when my stomach went through the process automatically there were very few toxins extracted, though that was also dependent on the quality of the herb. The different sources which we'd acquired the ingredients from all had varying degrees of skill and the quality of the ingredients would be vastly different.

I picked up a stalk at random and put it in my mouth. Unexpectedly, it was like chewing grass. I wasn't sure why I'd expected anything else given that I was… well, chewing grass.

Swallowing the chewed up spirit grass, I observed the process without interfering. It dissolved in my stomach and a small stream of herbal energy was extracted, with two individual drops of impurities getting sucked into the void in my dantian.

That must've been a decent quality stalk of grass, to produce so few impurities. I imagined most of the herbs we'd gathered wouldn't be so pure. However, as long as I continued to improve my technique it wouldn't matter too much.

The next few days passed by in a blur as I continued to improve my technique. I tested each of the ingredients, except for the valuable ten year ash bark. By the time four days had passed, I was able to refine all of the base ingredients without a single drop of impurities forming.

The only exception was when the quality of the ingredient was so low that it was impossible for there not to be any impurities left behind. That was the case even when I squeezed all of the spiritual energy possible out of the herb in question.

Satisfied with my progress, I let out a breath stained with black mist, before inhaling clean air. I snapped off the smallest possible portion of the ten year ash bark and swallowed it, ready to begin the last step of improving my technique. After this, it would be time to dive into alchemy for real.

****

Captain Kang held Councillor Gao's arms behind his back, his grip like an iron vice. The councillor struggled against him but it was futile. There was no escape.

They were at the base of the stone dais which held City Lord Teng Shi's throne. The lord himself wasn't in the throne, but instead descending the stone steps with cold fury in his eyes.

His anger was bubbling out into the room, the full weight of his presence as a four-star Qi Gathering cultivator pressing down on Gao Deng Luo. "Treacherous snake! You dare smile in my face while preparing to thrust a dagger in my back?" he snarled.

"Hmph! You are a fool, Teng Shi. Your actions have continued to allow Three River City to fall further and further into the mud. I was hopeful when I first took this position. A powerful City Lord with ambitions of rising to the heavens. Yet you constantly abandoned your duties to seek increasingly ridiculous cures for that mewling brat of yours. My only regret is not trying to kill you sooner," the councillor hissed.

"As the water recedes, so the rocks appear. Rather than the fortress of a dragon, my palace seems to be a nest of snakes. At least you remain loyal, Captain Kang," Teng Shi sighed.

It was phrased as a statement, but he gazed pointedly at the man in question as he spoke. Captain Kang felt a shiver run down his spine. Teng Shi may have grown soft in recent years, but there was a time he was feared as the Iron Fist of Three River City.

"Of course, Lord Teng. This lowly servant is yours to command until the day I draw my last breath," he replied, stamping his foot in place of a salute.

"The only question that remains then, is what to do with you, Councillor?" the city lord mused, now face to face with the treacherous Gao. "I believe a slow, agonising death seems appropriate."

"Yes, my lord," replied Captain Kang.

"First though, I will lower myself to your level, Gao Deng Luo, and extract a little personal satisfaction," the city lord chuckled, before slapping the councillor across the face with the back of his hand.

A sharp crack rang out across the throne room as the man's head snapped to the side. He spat blood while staring daggers at the city lord.

"What a beautiful expression. I hope you continue to look that way until the moment of your death, old friend," the city lord said, before turning with a flick of his sleeve and taking a step towards his throne.

He froze as his foot touched the step. Captain Kang opened his mouth to ask what happened when he found himself unable to move.

Taking advantage of the moment, Councillor Gao struggled to free himself. However, the moment he slipped from Captain Kang's grasp, he felt a burning pain explode across his chest as he was smashed across the throne room.

A stone pillar cracked as his back wrapped around it. He coughed blood and collapsed to the ground. "Who dares!?" he weakly cried.

Shadows swirled from the edges of the room, condensing into the figure of a man. He stood in front of the former councillor, leaning over until he was staring directly into his eyes.

"I dare, little cousin. Do you have a problem with my actions?" the man said, slapping the councillor's cheek twice with a sadistic grin on his face.

"Gao Shan! Why are you here?" the councillor exclaimed, fear crawling from the deepest recesses of his soul as he stared into his elder cousin's eyes.

"Ahh, that's better. This is how people should react to my presence," he said, stretching his arms wide as he stood up. He snapped his fingers. "Seal the palace. Don't let anyone escape. Control or death," he ordered as five shadowy figures darted in different directions.

Councillor Gao watched this all unfold, clutching at his burning chest. Blood ran down his chin and he grimaced as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Cousin, why are you here? I had the situation under control," he asked hesitantly.

"Clearly. You seemed to have everything in the palm of your hand, little Luo. The patriarch sent me to fix your mess. He detected the strand of his will that he sent with you had disappeared. Explain."

The councillor kissed his teeth. "That bastard, Zhao Dan. He uses an esoteric healing technique; one I've never heard of before. It expelled the puppet poison from the city lord's son. I sent someone to assassinate him but somehow he managed to raise his cultivation three stages in a matter of weeks! If you find him, you will find the answers the patriarch seeks."

"An unfamiliar healing technique, you say? No matter. Whatever happened, I am here to fix it. There will be no more mistakes. You were given an opportunity to prove yourself to the clan, little Luo. Three River City is essential to the patriarch's plans. You failed. Your fate is no longer yours to decide," the shadowy man declared.

"Gao Shan! Give me one last chance. I will handle the bastard myself."

Gao Shan waved his arm. City Lord Teng suddenly moved, racing from where he was frozen to appear in front of Gao Deng Luo. He grabbed the former councillor by the neck and slammed him into the stone pillar once more.

"You disappoint me, little cousin. I used to have high hopes for you. Now, you will be more useful as a puppet," Gao Shan sighed as he flicked a small worm into the councillor's mouth.

Turning to the throne, he casually strolled up the steps and then reclined in it as though he was the emperor himself. "The reign of the Cloudy Falls Sect is drawing to an end. The era of the Gao Clan approaches. Eventually the patriarch will be under my thumb. As the heavens will it," he cackled, the full force of his cultivation descending on Captain Kang, who exploded into a mist of blood.