Fire Crow Seedling Matured

Following this, Lin Changheng went about his daily tasks and life in a methodical fashion, having established a unique routine.

He traveled in a straight line between his rented cave dwelling and the Xu Family Alchemy Shop, with his path occasionally extending to the Li Family Spirit Meat Shop once a month.

Under the enlightenment-boosting effects of the [First-Level Origin Treasure Seed], Lin Changheng's cultivation of the Flowing Fire Art steadily advanced toward the mastery realm, yielding gratifying results.

The same held true for his alchemy.

This intense positive feedback left Lin Changheng intoxicated and deeply immersed in his craft.

Time slipped by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Changheng stood alone in the sweltering alchemy room, his expression showing a hint of fatigue, though the joy in his eyes was suppressed with great effort.

Before him sat three long wooden boxes.

That's right, three of them!

Their lids were all thrown open, revealing that they were filled to the brim with failed pills and inferior pills.

During the first two months, Master Mo had proceeded as usual: refining every two days, with one day of work followed by one day of rest, living quite leisurely.

But ever since an urgent letter arrived from the Xu family clan, Master Mo's leisurely, retirement-like life was thoroughly shattered.

It changed to two refining sessions every three days, with two batches per day, followed by one day of rest.

Although Master Mo did not disclose the specific situation, Lin Changheng carefully noted that the original schedule of one batch each of [Wood Origin Pill] and [Crimson Flame Pill] per day had shifted to three batches of [Crimson Flame Pill] and one batch of [Wood Origin Pill] every two days.

This meant that, for some reason, the Xu family clan's demand for [Crimson Flame Pill] had risen sharply.

But for Lin Changheng, this was a massive stroke of good fortune.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared, but they are conserved!

Master Mo's originally cheerful mood slowly vanished from his face due to the overtime alchemy, successfully transferring itself into Lin Changheng's heart, though he dared not show it.

Moreover, because Master Mo was aged and frail, such intense alchemy took a toll on his ability to concentrate, and his stamina could hardly keep up.

Even though his alchemy skills were proficient, the rate of failed and inferior pills inevitably rose, climbing from nearly twenty percent to nearly thirty percent!

This resulted in Lin Changheng's [Fire Crow Treasure Seed] spirit-stealing progress, which had been nine to ten points per month, leaping to eighteen or nineteen points, nearing twenty!

He communicated with the Origin Cauldron through his thoughts.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed: Spirit-Stealing and Life-Generating in progress]

[Spirit-Stealing: 82/100]

"Success is at hand!"

Murmuring to himself, Lin Changheng focused his mind and reached out to touch the failed pills.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the essence and blood of all the failed pills were completely drained.

"No rush, handle them one step at a time."

Without impatience, he processed the failed pills as he always did before proceeding to extract about fifty percent of the essence and blood from the inferior pills.

An hour later.

The pills before him had all been processed and packed away. Lin Changheng stared straight at them, but his mind was no longer on them.

Instead, it sank into his sea of consciousness, landing upon the Origin Cauldron at the center.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed: Spirit-Stealing and Life-Generating in progress]

[Spirit-Stealing: 100/100]

Then, under Lin Changheng's gaze, cyan light surged and ebbed at the mouth of the cauldron.

A crimson treasure seed, on the verge of solidifying, quietly split into three phantom treasure seeds.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed: First-Level]

[May choose one Demon Race innate talent to refine into: Fire Control, Breath Attack, Beak Strike]

"Refine into [Fire Control]!"

Lin Changheng had already fully deliberated and made his decision; there was no need for further hesitation.

He watched as the other two treasure seeds withered instantly, their hazy aura and Dao essence flowing into the treasure seed representing [Fire Control].

[Acquired: Fire Control Strange Art: Path Glimpse]

With a thought from Lin Changheng, the treasure seed was plucked and vanished into his mind.

He felt a slight warmth in his soul.

"Hum—"

A soft chime rippled through his mind, and a gentle warmth instantly enveloped his body, as if he were wrapped in flames.

He opened his eyes to find everything in his field of vision veiled in a crimson halo; even the residual fire in the pill furnace appeared entirely different to him.

To Lin Changheng's eyes, the embers in the furnace were clearly dancing fire seeds, their spirit energy converging, rising, and bursting forth.

Thoughtfully, he slowly raised his right hand, splayed his fingers, and made a gentle beckoning motion.

To his astonishment, the cluster of residual fire swayed left and right to the rhythm, just like an obedient pet.

At the same time, a realization dawned upon Lin Changheng.

The fire is so docile and responsive; this must be the effect of Fire Control...

After sensing it more carefully, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he was not only more attuned to the residual fire in the furnace but also found the surrounding stray fire spirit energy much easier to manipulate.

"Come."

With a flick of his mind, Lin Changheng beckoned to the embers in the furnace, and they instantly broke free, hovering above his palm.

The tongues of flame coiled tamely around his fingers without causing the slightest burning pain.

Effect: Preliminary control of ordinary flames, minor enhancement of fire-type spells.

Noticing this, Lin Changheng wore a strange expression. "This level of flame manipulation is only 'preliminary'?"

Over the past six months, he had observed Master Mo, a first-tier mid-grade alchemist at the fifth level of Qi Refining, perform alchemy over a dozen times, and the master's fire control seemed only marginally better than his own current level.

It was worth noting that in the ten years prior, Lin Changheng had not watched Master Mo perform alchemy as many times as he had in these last six months.

He surmised that the turning point had come after the family increased the burden of his alchemy assignments.

Master Mo seemed to be intentionally grooming him during this period.

To help him shoulder the heavy alchemy workload, perhaps? Lin Changheng smiled; he certainly wouldn't refuse, as he was happy to see it happen and had become even more proactive in his work.

Once the Double Fire Crow Treasure Seed is successfully cultivated, could my fire control ability surpass such a seasoned mid-grade alchemist in one fell swoop?

A mid-grade alchemist held a certain status both in Zichuan Market and within the Xu Family.

And as for the "minor" enhancement of fire-type spells, to what extent would that be?

With burning thoughts in his heart, the crimson clouds on the horizon became a reflection of his own state of mind.

Finally, when his shift ended, Lin Changheng headed straight back to his Grade D cave dwelling.

"Fireball Spell!"

Closing the door, Lin Changheng immediately began his attempt.

He formed a seal with one hand and chanted, and after about three breaths, a fireball the size of an adult's fist appeared in his palm, crackling as it burned.

This spell was one of the three low-level spells Lin Changheng had practiced.

The other two were the wood-type Entanglement Spell and the earth-type Earth Shield Spell.

One for offense, one for control, and one for defense—a reasonable combination.

The Fireball Spell, in particular, was exceptionally powerful.

However, it was slow to form and slow in flight, making it difficult to land a hit. Yet, it remained a favorite among most low-level cultivators; as long as it landed squarely, the opponent would be left as a corpse, and the duel would be over.

Lin Changheng did not release it, as a single cast consumed twenty percent of his mana and could not be wasted. After suppressing the spell, he shifted his focus, channeled his energy again, and simultaneously applied his Fire Control technique to it.

It took only two breaths!

"Sizzle!"

As if oil had been poured onto a fire, the fist-sized fireball instantly roared to life, expanding by more than half, crackling incessantly as sparks flew in every direction.