Specially Made Pill Furnace

Lin Xiao had just left the Great Hall with Qingchu when old Li Le turned and entered a small room behind the hall.

The room was spotless, its floor paved with blue bricks and its four walls built from polished bricks, covered with a layer of plain, immaculate bamboo paper. A straw cushion sat in the center. Daoist Yi Yi, with three long strands of beard beneath his chin, refined features, and eyes seemingly half-open and half-closed, sat cross-legged upon it. Threads of purple radiance faintly streamed from the slits of his eyes. Hearing Li Le's footsteps, Daoist Yi Yi slowly raised his head. A flash of cold lightning shot from his eyes as he asked mildly, "What has young friend Lin Xiao come for?"

Li Le respectfully placed the thick stack of prescriptions before Daoist Yi Yi and chuckled. "Attendant Lin has written a list of ingredients, all common medicinal herbs for refining ordinary pills. It is merely that the quantities are truly enormous. Hmm, there are also several things whose purpose is unclear, though the quantities required are much smaller." He bent down, picked up the top sheet from the thick stack, and respectfully handed it to Daoist Yi Yi.

"Hmm, ten pounds of Fine Gold found alongside a fire-element spirit stone vein, ten pounds of accompanying Warm Jade, all ground into powder?" Daoist Yi Yi tilted his head and pondered for a moment before suddenly chuckling. "Interesting. Young friend Lin Xiao truly retains the nature of the Great Luo Pill Dao, yet he still concerns himself with such trifling matters. Hmm, Fine Gold and beautiful jade powder seem to have only one use—especially Fine Gold and jade naturally carrying a trace of fire spiritual energy from a fire-element spirit stone vein."

Without even glancing at the prescriptions, he merely nodded. "Prepare all the medicinal ingredients, then add another twenty percent of each and send them to young friend Lin Xiao. Hmm, pass down my decree: whatever young friend Lin Xiao needs in the future, give it all to him." Daoist Yi Yi spoke quietly, with a trace of anticipation. "The Great Luo Pill Dao has been exterminated, but perhaps he can bring us a surprise? In today's cultivation world, lacking those pills is truly a deadly matter. Let us see how much he learned from the Great Luo Pill Dao."

Li Le bowed slightly and retreated three steps. Just as he was about to leave the room, he stopped again. He gave Daoist Yi Yi a hesitant glance and lowered his voice. "But Attendant Lin just injured..." Li Le pointed outside and smiled bitterly. "Those few have Ancestor Yi Xuan behind them. Ancestor Yi Xuan was the Supreme Emperor five generations before the founding of the Qi Dynasty. What do you think?"

A sharp light burst from Daoist Yi Yi's eyes as he said icily, "Send those five to serve at the rear mountain's firewood shed, and have them labor bitterly for another three years to temper their natures. I will explain matters to Yi Xuan myself. Go." A ring of gentle light slowly spread from Daoist Yi Yi's body. Within that halo, his form gradually grew fainter until it finally dissipated into thin air.

Li Le silently bowed toward the cushion, stepped forward to grab the thick stack of prescriptions, and hurried away. A smug smile hung on his face as he muttered, "Hmph, so you have this day too? You used to swagger about like tyrants, and this old man could do nothing to you. But today, you angered Ancestor Yi Yi. You will have a bitter fruit to eat!"

Lin Xiao took Qingchu along the shore of a great lake. The lake lay at the foot of the mountain range they had just left, stretching perhaps several hundred miles. A white stone embankment had been built along its shore, thickly planted with mountain azaleas. Within Origin Sect's mountain gate, it was spring all year round, and the azaleas were blooming in dazzling splendor. A sea of blazing red flowers stretched from before their eyes to the horizon. The narrow stone dike resembled a slender silver chain within a sea of fire, and Lin Xiao and Qingchu walked slowly along that chain, surrounded by flowers like flames and breathing in rich fragrance.

Slightly lost in thought as he gazed at that wild sea of blossoms, Lin Xiao felt as though something had stirred within him, and a little strength returned to his body. He turned to look at the vast expanse of white-shimmering water. Several huge boats drifted slowly over the lake, while Origin Sect servant disciples dressed in coarse Daoist robes shouted and yelled as they cast nets for fish. A ring of ospreys wheeled swiftly overhead, seemingly preparing to beg some meat from the servant disciples to fill their bellies.

Qingchu quietly followed behind Lin Xiao, her little hand lightly clutching his sleeve. She stared blankly at his somewhat thin, deathly still back. All she could think of was how, with a casual wave of his hand, Lin Xiao had sent the five senior brothers and sisters who had bullied her for years flying away. Qingchu's small hand tightened, gripping Lin Xiao's sleeve ever harder. Other than Li Le, who had always cared deeply for her, Qingchu suddenly realized that in this cold world, she seemed to have gained another person she could trust and rely upon.

Though Lin Xiao's face was always as cold as a corpse's, and though his voice sounded as unpleasant as a ghost's howl, he gave Qingchu an extraordinarily warm feeling. It was a warmth of safety and tranquility, one that reached straight into her heart. It differed from the affection Li Le gave her as an elder—a warmth that left her a little confused.

Still clutching Lin Xiao's sleeve, Qingchu quietly followed behind him. Looking at the white stone dike beneath her feet, Qingchu wished with all her heart that this dike would never come to an end.

"Qingchu!" Lin Xiao suddenly called.

Qingchu had been staring foolishly at Lin Xiao all along and had not heard him call her.

Lin Xiao paused blankly, then abruptly stopped and turned to look at Qingchu. Qingchu stared blankly back at him before suddenly realizing that he had called her. Flustered, frightened, and a little shy, she lowered her head and said softly, "Brother Lin, um, what is it?" Before she could finish, half her face had already turned bright red. The other half was greenish-purple, with faint coldness seeping out and chilling the nearby skin in waves until it turned blue and white.

"Hmm, does Origin Sect have anyone skilled in artifact refinement?" Lin Xiao did not notice Qingchu's expression and merely asked in an indifferent tone.

"Artifact refinement?" Qingchu opened her mouth, frowned, and thought for a long while before hesitantly pointing at her own nose. "That should be Ancestor Yizhen, the head of the Artifact Hall. But Ancestor Yizhen rarely personally refines artifacts for others. For people like us, it is basically impossible even to meet him."

Qingchu swiftly glanced up at Lin Xiao, then lowered her head again. "I have never been to the Artifact Hall either, so I do not know where it is. I have only heard that the Artifact Hall is on Skyfire Peak, but Skyfire Peak..."

Lin Xiao gently patted Qingchu's head and said calmly, "It may naturally be difficult for you to meet him, but I am an Attendant of Origin Sect, and I am seeking him for Origin Sect's affairs. It should not be difficult for me to see him. As for where the Artifact Hall is..." At that moment, a flying boat trailing faint rosy light shot across the sky. Lin Xiao grabbed Qingchu, mounted the Crimson Dragon Sword, and caught up with it.

The Origin Sect disciple piloting the flying boat saw Lin Xiao fly up and hurriedly performed a Daoist salute. "This humble Daoist is Zhi Ji. Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask who you are?" This Origin Sect disciple, who appeared to be around fifty, looked Lin Xiao up and down in surprise. Lin Xiao still wore the Daoist Robe custom-made by the Great Luo Pill Dao, and one glance was enough to tell that he was not from Origin Sect.

"Lin Xiao, Attendant of Origin Sect." Lin Xiao asked blandly, "May I ask in which direction Skyfire Peak lies?"

Lin Xiao, the new Attendant? Daoist Yi Yi's efficiency was high. In just one night, news of Lin Xiao had been delivered to every administrative disciple of Origin Sect. Daoist Zhi Ji naturally knew what sort of person Lin Xiao was. He immediately came to his senses and solemnly saluted him. "Zhi Ji greets Attendant Lin." He could also see that the cold-faced Lin Xiao was not one for idle talk. He casually pointed southwest and said, "Skyfire Peak lies seven hundred miles in that direction. Fly by sword, and the tallest mountain you see will be it."

Nodding and thanking Zhi Ji, Lin Xiao grabbed Qingchu and flew southwest on his sword. The red light, some thirty feet long, was not particularly conspicuous in the sky.

Daoist Zhi Ji muttered a Daoist title in surprise and whispered to himself, "Attendant Lin's cultivation does not seem particularly high. How could that be?" Shaking his head, Zhi Ji continued driving the flying boat and attended to his duties.

Lin Xiao sped forward on his sword for a while. Gradually, patches of cloud and rosy mist emerged from nowhere ahead. Amid the dense red clouds rose a towering mountain, from whose summit a pillar of red light surged skyward to an unknown height, like a heavenly pillar standing between heaven and earth. Beneath the red light sprawled a magnificent complex of palaces. Buildings constructed from crimson jade spread layer upon layer from the mountaintop to its foot, then extended more than two miles outward in every direction. No one knew how many pavilions and halls stood within.

In the void before the mountain, a mass of five-colored clouds supported a fiery-red archway. Upon it, the two tadpole-script characters for "Artifact Hall" were clearly carved in intaglio.

When Lin Xiao and Qingchu were still over two hundred yards from the archway, a clear chime sounded beneath it. A white-bearded Daoist in a green robe emerged from behind the archway and smiled as he saluted Lin Xiao from afar. "Fellow Daoist, please halt your cloud steps. Hehehe, ahead lies the Skyfire Body Refinement restriction. Fellow Daoist must not take another step forward. May I ask who you are and what brings you here?"

Skyfire Body Refinement restriction? Upon hearing the words "skyfire," Lin Xiao could not help recalling the boundless agony Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire had inflicted upon him when he formed his golden core. He shuddered instinctively, then hurriedly returned the salute. "Lin Xiao. I have specifically come to request an audience with Senior Yizhen, head of the Artifact Hall."

"Lin Xiao?" The old Daoist guarding the archway froze for a moment, then hurriedly saluted. "This humble Daoist is Zhi Ming. Greetings, Attendant Lin." He carefully examined Lin Xiao and found that his appearance was precisely identical to the Daoist image Daoist Yi Yi had sent over. Daoist Zhi Ming then glanced at Qingchu, whom Lin Xiao held in his hand. A faint gleam shot from his eyes and circled Qingchu several times. Once he had discovered that Qingchu cultivated the entry-level technique of Origin Sect's lower-ranking disciples, Daoist Zhi Ming nodded and smiled. "Please present your token, Attendant."

A token? Lin Xiao and Qingchu were both stunned. Lin Xiao had handed his Consecration Token to Li Le earlier, asking him to gather medicinal ingredients. Where was he supposed to find an Attendant's token now?

Lin Xiao's brows creased slightly as he said expressionlessly, "I handed my Consecration Token to Li Le, the Medicine Mountain steward, to gather the medicinal ingredients I require. Thus, it is not on me at present."

Lin Xiao spoke bluntly, but Daoist Zhi Ming was rather dumbfounded. Even if Lin Xiao looked exactly like the image Daoist Yi Yi had sent, without the Consecration Token, he did not dare let Lin Xiao into the Artifact Hall. The Artifact Hall was Origin Sect's specialized place for refining all kinds of magical artifacts for its disciples. It naturally held countless secrets that could not be leaked. How could he casually allow someone without any proof of identity inside? The cultivation world was full of ever-changing ghostly tricks and schemes. Daoist Zhi Ming had only just formed his golden core; how could he determine whether this young man who looked exactly like "Attendant Lin" was truly Lin Xiao?

After a moment of silence, Daoist Zhi Ming smiled bitterly. "Attendant Lin, in that case, please allow Zhi Ming to seek instructions from Ancestor Yizhen." He gave Lin Xiao an apologetic glance.

After pondering briefly, Lin Xiao understood the difficulty involved. Keeping a cold face, he nodded. "Then, thank you."

Daoist Zhi Ming gave Lin Xiao a Daoist salute, then hurriedly mounted a streak of green light and flew toward Skyfire Peak's summit. His sword light was swift, more than ten times faster than Lin Xiao's sword flight. The green streak vanished into the red light in an instant. Lin Xiao blankly watched the direction in which Zhi Ming had disappeared, then nodded with a hint of bitterness. "My sect's Sword Control Art truly falls short compared to those of other sects!" Another thought arose in Lin Xiao's mind. As the Great Luo Pill Dao's sole surviving disciple, perhaps he ought to fundamentally improve some of its weaknesses.

"Perhaps, if my sect had possessed a powerful Sword Control Art, we would not have been destroyed by the demonic path this time..." Lin Xiao's face darkened. He clenched his teeth tightly, producing a crisp crack. He had not considered at all that Daoist Danling and the others had been assassinated by a plot before they could even fight.

After only the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a red streak and a green streak flew out from the pillar of light atop Skyfire Peak. A red-faced Daoist clad in a fiery-red Daoist Robe embroidered with great swathes of flames in gold thread came racing over on the red light. From far away, two golden beams shot from his eyes and swept over Lin Xiao. Then a thunderous laugh burst from his mouth, making the archway ahead hum. "Hahaha! Young friend Lin Xiao, what brings you to this old Daoist? Hehe, Zhi Ming, you truly do not know how to behave! Why did you stop Attendant Lin from entering?"

The red-faced Daoist lowered his sword light. A patch of faint cloud formed beneath his feet, and he glided lightly before Lin Xiao. He heavily slapped Lin Xiao's shoulder and laughed. "Speak! What do you need Yizhen's help with? Hmm, I cannot do much else, but if you need magical treasures or flying swords refined, I can prepare a few fine pieces for you."

Daoist Master Yizhen was extraordinarily brawny. Lin Xiao, who stood over eight feet tall, barely reached his chest. Qingchu, huddled beside Lin Xiao, was even less worth mentioning. Set against Daoist Master Yizhen's huge body, she was like a little dog standing before a powerful horse, completely inconspicuous.

The old Daoist's arms were nearly as thick as Lin Xiao's thighs. His two heavy slaps nearly knocked Lin Xiao off his sword light and onto the ground. Lin Xiao swayed, barely managing to steady himself on the sword light, while his shoulder burned with pain. Lin Xiao gave a dry laugh and saluted the old Daoist. "Senior Yizhen, Fellow Daoist Zhi Ming was merely being cautious. This junior has not taken it to heart. Hmm, I truly have a matter for which I seek Senior's help."

"Hmm! I thought as much! No one would come to Skyfire Peak to find me without business." Daoist Master Yizhen shook his head and grinned. "They all think this old Daoist has too fiery a temper and does not resemble a cultivator, so they are unwilling to see me! Heh, since you have business, come up with me. Hmm, the Purple Smoke Wisteria produced on Skyfire Peak has just borne fruit. Young friend can have a fresh taste."

Daoist Master Yizhen grabbed Lin Xiao by the shoulder and raised his sword light toward Skyfire Peak's summit. His immense true essence formed a protective aura around his body, tightly enveloping Lin Xiao and Qingchu. He brought them up the peak as swiftly as lightning, rushed into the pillar of red light, and slowly descended through a perfectly vertical hole at the mountaintop.

No one knew how deep the hole was. In any case, when Lin Xiao and Qingchu looked downward, they could not see its bottom at all. The thick red beam rose from the depths of the hole. The farther the three descended, the higher the temperature outside became. Daoist Master Yizhen's cultivation was profound, while Lin Xiao's body had been tempered by skyfire, so neither feared the heat. But Qingchu was drenched in sweat, beads rolling down her cheeks one after another. Daoist Master Yizhen glanced at Qingchu and nodded faintly. With a casual gesture, he cast a spiritual seal upon her. A green light enveloped Qingchu and blocked the surging heat outside for her.

Huddled beneath Lin Xiao's arm, Qingchu cautiously thanked Daoist Master Yizhen. "Disciple Qingchu thanks Ancestor."

"Hmm!" Daoist Master Yizhen merely nodded at Qingchu and said nothing more. One look at Qingchu's clothing told him she was only a servant disciple, likely a little maid assigned to serve Lin Xiao. What was Yizhen's status? He had no interest in wasting words on Qingchu. What truly interested Daoist Master Yizhen was why Lin Xiao had come to find him.

After descending over two thousand yards into the hole, Lin Xiao saw an opening in the wall, roughly thirty feet across, at a place where hair-thin scarlet flames were faintly visible spurting rapidly from the stone walls. Two Daoist boys in red robes sat cross-legged before the entrance, their faces covered in sweat as they meditated and regulated their breathing atop a slab of green jade.

Daoist Master Yizhen pulled Lin Xiao into the opening, raised his right leg, and viciously kicked both Daoist boys in the buttocks. He shouted, "You two little bastards, hurry and pick a plate of Purple Smoke Wisteria fruit for our guest. Hmm, check whether there is any Cold Osmanthus Brew left that your grandmaster buried behind the cave. If there are still a jar or two, dig them out. If none remain, hmm, go ask your Ancestor Yi Yi for a jar of tribute wine."

The two Daoist boys were kicked into the air and rolled miserably a long distance across the ground. They nimbly flipped back to their feet. One flew out of the cave, while the other ran madly toward its rear. Clearly, they had ample experience handling Daoist Master Yizhen's orders.

Daoist Master Yizhen led Lin Xiao into the depths of the cave residence. Once host and guest had taken their seats in a spacious stone chamber nearly a hundred yards across, he smiled and asked, "What may this old Daoist do for young friend?"

Without a word, Lin Xiao drew three slips of paper from his sleeve. With a flick of his fingers, he sent them flying toward Daoist Master Yizhen.

Daoist Master Yizhen caught the papers casually and rapidly scanned them.

Without warning, Daoist Master Yizhen leaped up from his cushion and shrieked, "Heavens, is this a pill furnace? What pill furnace stands a hundred yards tall? This—this would consume how much material?"

Lin Xiao looked steadily at Daoist Master Yizhen and said calmly, "That is right. A specially made pill furnace a hundred yards tall, one capable of producing one hundred thousand pills in a single batch!"

"One hundred thousand pills in one batch?" Daoist Master Yizhen's eyes turned green! He rapidly paced several circles around the stone chamber, then suddenly slapped his thigh and roared, "Damn it, I—ah, this humble Daoist will squander his fortune for once today and refine this pill furnace for you!"

Then Daoist Master Yizhen's expression suddenly turned miserable. Throwing back his head, he cried out, "How much material would it take to be enough?"

Lin Xiao drooped his head and silently examined his own hands.

Qingchu looked at Lin Xiao with eyes full of boundless admiration. She did not know what Lin Xiao intended to do, but a pill furnace a hundred yards tall? It sounded magnificent. Qingchu felt that Lin Xiao was truly incredible!