The Vermilion Market

For days, Chen Jinshu barely left the alchemy chamber, her world narrowed to the rhythmic dance of flame and pill.

Between her daily cultivation sessions, every waking moment was devoted to refining Bigu dan. Among all pills, these demanded the least spiritual energy—allowing her to attempt five batches per day before her dantian emptied.

Each time exhaustion claimed her, she swallowed a Spirit Restoration Pill and began anew. Through this cycle, her mastery grew alongside her cultivation.

Thirty batches now lay behind her.

By the tenth attempt, she'd tamed the Golden Blossom Rice into perfect liquid essence. The Spiritbloom Flowers and Verdant Fruit followed after fewer failures.

Yet fusion and purification remained treacherous—entire batches lost to stray impurities, forcing her back to square one.

This thirtieth cauldron held her latest hope. Previous attempts had yielded only flawed pills—inferior grade or toxin-riddled rejects.

"Condense!"

Her teeth grazed her lower lip as her hands wove the final seal, emerald light blooming like a lotus in her palms. Within the cauldron, four blobs of jade-green liquid swirled, compressing under her will.

This gesture was muscle memory now, practiced beyond counting. Were it not for alchemy's fiendish complexity—each ingredient demanding unique treatment—she'd have succeeded weeks ago.

Boom.

The cauldron shuddered as a delicate fragrance unfurled—a wisp of verdant smoke curling above the vessel.

"At last!"

Joy surged through her chest, her pulse drumming against her ribs. She wiped sweat from her brow with a trembling hand.

A single successful pill marked the threshold of a low-tier alchemist. Earlier attempts had emitted faint medicinal scents, but this—this was richer, purer.

Damping the flames, she lifted the lid. Four pills rested inside.

Three gleamed with russet perfection—mid-to-low grade, but respectable. The fourth, a charcoal-black failure, testified to lingering imperfections. She pocketed the successes. A full batch could yield nine pills; managing four streams to produce three viable ones was commendable for a novice. These she'd keep as mementos, neither consumed nor sold.

"One month at Vulture Mountain. Seven days of pill trials. Finally—a low-tier alchemist."

The achievement felt incremental rather than triumphant. Her progress owed much to the Genesis Cauldron's stabilizing influence—without it, countless explosions would have scarred her journey.

Records spoke of prodigies crafting their first pill in five days. Her month of preparation and week of attempts paled in comparison.

"Three Spirit Restoration Pills remain. Qi Refining's third layer is within reach."

Swallowing one, she channeled its energy through her meridians.

One month later...

Chen Jinshu sat cross-legged in her room, assaulting the bottleneck to Qi Refining's third layer.

The early stages posed little resistance—her triple spiritual roots and lotus mark's purification accelerated progress. But the fourth layer would demand years, the seventh another monumental hurdle.

As the final Spirit Restoration Pill dissolved, the lotus mark between her brows flared, its azure light refining the energy into crystalline purity before distributing it through her twelve primary meridians.

Thirty-six cycles later, her dantian brimmed with verdant power—no further refinement needed.

With a final surge, she shattered the barrier.

Crack!

Her dantian expanded as ambient spiritual energy rushed in, reinforcing her meridians. A third-layer aura rippled outward, cloaking her in jade radiance.

"Hah… finally."

Two months total: one to stabilize her foundation and purge residual toxins, the next dedicated solely to advancement.

Vitality thrummed through her limbs. By her estimates, her enhanced reserves could sustain eight or nine pill batches—or ten Spiritual Rain Arts.

"Even after a month of detoxing, so much filth remains."

Black sludge oozed from her pores—accumulated pill toxins and mortal impurities. Until Foundation Establishment, true fasting remained impossible; while Bigu dan staved off hunger, relying solely on them stunted growth and left residues. Hence her periodic visits to the mountain's spirit kitchen for nutrient-rich meals.

"Time to tend the herbs."

In a thought, she materialized before her spatial realm's three-acre field. The plants thrived beyond expectation: Jade Orchids would mature in a month, Purple Stamen Flowers in two. The Golden Blossom Rice already stood ten inches tall—outpacing its counterparts on Vulture Mountain.

Where external fields required annual harvests (shortened to ten months with acceleration arts), the cauldron's space—amplified by its innate energy-gathering properties—halved that timeframe.

After dousing the fields with summoned rain, she unleashed the Wood Spirit Art. Perhaps due to the lotus mark's influence, her energy now carried an extra vibrancy—the plants grew lusher, their greens more vivid than nature intended.

An hour later, she staggered from Vulture Mountain's fields, exhaustion lining her face behind the veil of her muli hat. Plum petals spiraled in her wake, their fragrance trailing like perfume.

"Girl, you've broken through?" Old Man Yong'an called from his plot, sensing her elevated aura.

"Years of accumulation at the second layer," she demurred. "This retreat finally tipped the scales."

"The elders lead a group to Vermilion Market in three days. You joining?"

"They're going?" Her eyes lit up.

"Regular trip for supplies. Safety in numbers, 'specially with elders guarding."

"My thanks for the news. I'll gladly accompany them."

When Chen Yong'an pressed a bag of spirit stones into her palm with requests for seeds and fertilizer, she accepted readily.

Though Vermilion Market lay merely two hundred li distant, the journey teemed with rogue cultivators and dangers. Having rarely ventured beyond clan grounds, she lacked combat experience—a deficiency she'd planned to remedy by hunting Vulture Mountain's low-level beasts after her breakthrough.

This escorted trip was a boon. With her alchemy materials exhausted and cultivation pills depleted, the timing proved perfect. She'd replenish her stocks, scout the pill market's trends—and perhaps gauge what other opportunities awaited.

After securing Third Uncle Chen Huaiyang's permission at the administration hall, she returned to Plum Blossom Courtyard to drill her two mastered arts: Spring Thunder Technique and Spirit Vine Technique. Theoretical mastery meant little without practical testing—whatever dangers lurked en route to the market, preparedness was key.

Three days later, Chengtian Hour (7 AM)...

Veil secured, Chen Jinshu joined the assembly at the administration hall. Under Chen Huaiyang's watch, the group boarded a spirit vessel—two hundred li vanishing beneath them in a single hour's flight.