In the days that followed,
Lin Changheng went about his work and life methodically each day, settling into a routine all his own.
He traveled back and forth between his rented cave abode and the Xu Family Alchemy Shop, occasionally extending his route to the Li Family Spiritual Meat Shop each month.
With the boost to his comprehension from the [first-tier origin treasure seed], Lin Changheng steadily advanced toward proficiency in the Flowing Flame Art, with gratifying results.
The same held true for his alchemy.
The powerful positive feedback left Lin Changheng utterly intoxicated, engrossed in his progress.
Half a year slipped by in a flash.
Lin Changheng stood alone in the sweltering pill-refining chamber, looking slightly fatigued, but desperately suppressing the joy in his eyes.
Before him sat three long wooden boxes.
Yes, three!
Their lids were all open, revealing boxes packed full of ruined and inferior pills.
For the first two months, Master Mo had continued as before, refining pills every other day, working one day and resting the next. His life had been leisurely indeed.
But after an urgent letter arrived from the Xu Family,
Master Mo's leisurely, practically retired life was torn to shreds.
He now refined pills on two out of every three days, producing two batches a day, then resting after two days of work.
Although Master Mo had not revealed the specifics, Lin Changheng had keenly noticed something.
What had originally been one batch each of [Wood Origin Pills] and [Crimson Flame Pills] per working day had become three batches of [Crimson Flame Pills] and one batch of [Wood Origin Pills] every two working days.
This meant that, for some reason, the Xu Family's demand for [Crimson Flame Pills] had risen sharply.
But this was a tremendous boon for Lin Changheng.
Human joys and sorrows were not shared, but they were conserved!
As Master Mo worked overtime refining pills, his formerly delighted expression slowly vanished from his face and successfully transferred itself into Lin Changheng's heart.
He simply could not let it show.
Moreover, Master Mo was old and frail. Such intense pill refining made it difficult for him to concentrate, and his stamina could barely keep up.
Despite his well-honed alchemical skills, the proportion of ruined and inferior pills inevitably rose, climbing from nearly twenty percent to almost thirty percent!
As a result, the Spirit Seizure progress of Lin Changheng's [fire crow treasure seed], previously nine to ten points per month,
Jumped to eighteen or nineteen points-nearly twenty!
He reached out to the Origin Cauldron with his mind.
[Fire crow treasure seed · Spirit-Seizing Transformation in progress] [Spirit Seizure: 82/100]
"Success comes right now!"
Murmuring those words to himself, Lin Changheng focused his mind and reached out to brush his hand over the ruined pills.
Whoosh!
In an instant, every last drop of blood essence was drained from the ruined pills.
"No hurry. One step at a time."
Without growing impatient, Lin Changheng finished processing the ruined pills just as he always did before proceeding to extract roughly half the blood essence from the inferior pills.
An hour later.
All the pills before him had been processed and packed separately. Lin Changheng stared straight at them, but his mind was already elsewhere.
It had sunk into his sea of consciousness and settled upon the Origin Cauldron at its center.
[Fire crow treasure seed · Spirit-Seizing Transformation in progress] [Spirit Seizure: 100/100]
Then, beneath Lin Changheng's gaze, azure radiance rippled continuously around the cauldron's mouth.
A crimson treasure seed on the verge of solidifying quietly split into three illusory treasure seeds.
[Fire crow treasure seed · First tier] [Choose one innate Demon Race talent to refine into the seed: Fire Control, Breath Exhalation, Beak Strike]
"Refine [Fire Control] into it!"
Lin Changheng had already weighed the matter thoroughly and made his decision. There was no need to agonize over it further.
The other two treasure seeds instantly withered, their hazy energies and Dao resonances flowing into the treasure seed representing [Fire Control].
[Refined: Fire-Control Art · Path-Peeking]
With a thought, Lin Changheng plucked the treasure seed, and it slipped into his mind.
He felt his soul grow slightly warm.
Bzzz-
Then a soft hum rippled through his mind, and warmth instantly suffused his entire body, as though flames had enveloped him.
He opened his eyes and found everything in his field of vision veiled in a crimson halo. Even the lingering flames in the pill furnace looked entirely different...
To Lin Changheng's eyes, the remaining flames in the furnace were clearly leaping sparks of fire, with fire spiritual power gathering around them, rising, and bursting forth.
Thoughtfully, he slowly raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and gently moved them.
Astonishingly, the flames swayed from side to side in rhythm, like an obedient pet.
At the same time, understanding dawned in Lin Changheng's heart.
The flames are so docile, following my every whim. This must be the effect of Fire Control...
After carefully sensing things further, he discovered to his delight that it was not merely the flames in the furnace. Even the free-floating fire spiritual power around him was clearly more receptive to him and easier to control.
"Come."
With a thought, Lin Changheng beckoned toward the lingering flames in the furnace. They immediately floated free and hovered above his palm.
Tongues of flame curled meekly around his fingers without causing the slightest burning pain.
[Effects: Basic control over ordinary flames; minor enhancement to fire-based techniques]
Noticing this, Lin Changheng wore a strange expression. "This level of flame control is only 'basic'?"
Over the past half year, he had watched Master Mo—a first-rank, mid-grade Pill Master at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer—refine pills more than a dozen times. His fire control seemed only slightly stronger than Lin Changheng's was now...
It was worth mentioning that the number of times Lin Changheng had watched Master Mo refine pills up close over the preceding decade did not even match the number from this past half year.
By his reckoning, the turning point had come after the Lineage increased Master Mo's pill-refining workload.
Master Mo seemed to have been deliberately cultivating his abilities lately.
"So I can help shoulder his heavy pill-refining workload?" Lin Changheng smiled. Naturally, he would not refuse. He welcomed the development and became even more diligent in his work.
Once the [second-tier fire crow treasure seed] is complete, could my fire control surpass that of a mid-grade Pill Master with so many years of experience in a single leap?
A mid-grade Pill Master held a certain standing both in Zichuan Market and within the Xu Family.
And just how much enhancement does that 'minor' boost to fire-based techniques provide?
With fervent thoughts burning in his heart, even the waves of crimson clouds on the horizon seemed a reflection of his mood.
When his shift finally ended, Lin Changheng went straight back to his D-Class Cave Abode.
"Fireball Technique!"
After shutting the door, Lin Changheng immediately began experimenting.
He formed a seal with one hand and murmured an incantation. Roughly three breaths later, a ball of fire the size of an adult's fist appeared in his palm, sizzling as it burned.
This was one of the three low-level techniques Lin Changheng had learned.
The other two were the wood-based Entangling Technique and the earth-based Earth Shield Technique.
One for attack, one for control, and one for defense-a sensible combination.
The Fireball Technique, in particular, was astonishingly powerful.
But it took a long time to form and flew slowly, making it difficult to land a hit. Even so, it was favored by most low-level cultivators. Land just one solid hit, and the opponent would be laid out dead, bringing the duel to an end.
Lin Changheng did not launch it. After all, this single fireball cost twenty percent of his magical power; he could not waste it. After drawing it back in, he formed another seal with a thought and guided his power, this time applying the Fire-Control Art as well.
Barely two breaths!
Crackle!
As though oil had been poured onto a fire, the fist-sized ball of flame instantly blazed fiercely, swelling by more than half. Crackling bursts sounded without pause, and sparks flew in every direction.