Chapter Twelve: Mastery of the Fire Technique

In his bedroom, Lu Qian sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. With every breath, wisps of white smoke drifted from his lips, carrying a faint scent of sulfur. After a long while, he ended his meditation, drawing the smoke back into his mouth. New lines of information appeared on the golden mirror in his mind:

Netherworld Breathing Technique (Minor Mastery: 92/200)
Paperfolding for Spirit Confinement (Minor Mastery: 26/100)
Serpentine Transformation of the Yin Scaled Viper (Minor Mastery: 30/120)
Green Flame Venom Technique (Minor Mastery: 20/50)
Fire Formula (Minor Mastery: 1/50)
Breath Concealment Technique (Minor Mastery: 2/20)

For the past three days, he had not practiced any other spells, focusing solely on the Fire Formula and Breath Concealment. These two were essential for survival in the pharmacy, and he could not afford to be careless. Fortunately, both were relatively basic; with a few days of dedicated effort, he had reached minor mastery.

The Fire Formula was the art of controlling flame. The Breath Concealment Technique allowed him to close all pores, and at minor mastery, he could hold his breath for an hour, greatly reducing the harmful effects of various medicines on the body.

Lu Qian went to the pharmacy. Amidst a sea of bottles and jars, Li Du looked up and asked, “How is your mastery of the formulas coming along?”

With a turn of his right hand, Lu Qian conjured a bright red flame in his palm. Zhu Long and Lin Qing watched with some surprise.

“Not bad, your talent is quite impressive,” Li Du remarked, raising an eyebrow. “Get to work. The alchemy chamber needs Face of Peach Blossom and Fish Scale Grass. Once you’ve prepared them, you can rest.”

“Yes!” they answered in unison.

“Come with me,” Lin Qing said with a smile, her graceful figure faintly visible beneath wide sleeves.

“Alright, Senior Sister Lin Qing.”

“No need for such formality, just call me Lin Qing,” she replied warmly.

Lin Qing skillfully picked up a pair of tongs and placed a peach blossom, the size of a palm and bearing a human face at its center, into a small box. The shelves were not ordinary either; golden threads and cinnabar outlined array sigils on them, ensuring that the spiritual herbs could neither escape nor lose their potency.

“The Face of Peach Blossom grows in places of utmost yin, attracting wandering spirits to take root. When preparing it, do not inhale the vapors, or you’ll be plagued by nightmares,” Lin Qing explained gently. “You may browse through the herbal records in the study at your leisure, but remember, nothing may be taken out.”

The two conversed amiably. Lin Qing had joined the pharmacy a few months before Lu Qian—both were of the same cohort. Zhu Long had been there for two years, but Lu Qian hadn’t interacted much with him.

“By the way, the last row of rooms is for meals. Take whatever you like. And don’t wander into any forbidden areas,” Lin Qing added helpfully.

Suddenly—a scream rang out from the other side.

They turned to see Li Du holding a jade bottle from which a wisp of green smoke billowed, forming a human face twisted with resentment and unwillingness—the source of the anguished wail. Li Du looked on with satisfaction, clearly pleased with his handiwork. He took up a brush and wrote boldly on the bottle: Ghost Arrow Spirit Solution.

Lu Qian was taken aback; he had thought the pharmacy to be like any ordinary apothecary, not realizing the depths of its mysteries—it was truly a rare sight. Lin Qing’s eyes shone with longing and envy. “How I wish I could learn alchemy. Then I wouldn’t have to suffer here. But alas, I lack the talent.”

“What talent do you mean?” Lu Qian asked, intrigued.

“The talent for alchemy—the ability to keep material loss under forty percent and preserve over sixty percent of the medicinal properties. Neither Senior Brother Yulong nor I have met the standard. Little junior, if you ever become an alchemy apprentice, be sure to help your senior sister,” Lin Qing said with a smile.

In the days that followed, Lu Qian focused on preparing medicines, and in his spare time, he recorded all manner of herbs from the pharmacy’s tomes. When not working, he cultivated the Netherworld Breathing Technique and other spells. As a pharmacy attendant, he was entitled to a monthly allotment of herbs, all of which he exchanged for ingredients to make Blood and Vitality Elixirs—a recipe he’d obtained from Mo Liang, perfectly suited for those in the fetal breath stage.

His cultivation advanced rapidly; the ring of light in his mind had grown to eight-tenths full. But it was the two techniques—Fire Formula and Breath Concealment—that had progressed the most, reaching the stage of great mastery:

Fire Formula (Great Mastery: 10/100)
Breath Concealment Technique (Great Mastery: 3/50)

Lu Qian raised his palms, summoning two balls of flame that floated in the air, twisting together to form a three-foot-long fire serpent. The serpent coiled gracefully around him before vanishing.

“A silent one makes the loudest noise when he acts. With great mastery of these techniques, perhaps I can finally begin learning alchemy?” Lu Qian mused. He had no desire to remain in this place forever. It was not a place for long stays; in just two months, two servants had died in accidents, and the senior attendant Zhu Long had been injured several times. Last time, when the cauldron exploded, he had only survived because he sensed something amiss and got away in time; otherwise, he’d still be bedridden.

The pharmacy itself was rife with dangers.

Now, Lu Qian stood before a blazing cauldron, a platter in his hands bearing a lively black fish. On closer inspection, the fish was no ordinary creature—its tail was lined with root-like whiskers, its scales resembled black basalt rather than true fish scales, it had no eyes, and its gills were made of plant tissue rather than flesh and blood. The flames in the cauldron burned hotter and hotter—Lu Qian estimated the temperature at over a thousand degrees. If not for the protective sigils etched on the cauldron, it would have melted by now.

This was the most perilous moment.

The black fish fruit grew within basalt, its scales extremely tough. If threatened, the scales would shoot out with enough force to shatter metal and stone. Thus, it had to be killed instantly with high heat.

After waiting patiently, Lu Qian abruptly kicked open the cauldron and tossed the black fish inside.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The cauldron shook violently as the fish thrashed about, drawing everyone’s attention. Lu Qian struck the cauldron with his palm, and the raging flames quieted instantly. The heat, enough to melt gold and iron, left his hands unscathed.

A glimmer of surprise flickered in Li Du’s eyes. “So deftly controlled—only two months, and you’ve already mastered the Fire Formula?”

Zhu Long was stunned as well, his expression a complicated mix of envy and jealousy. The Fire Formula was not a secret art, but it had taken him a year to reach mastery. That Lu Qian had achieved it in just two months was infuriating.

Thinking of his bleak prospects, Zhu Long’s gaze dimmed. Lin Qing, too, was taken aback, inwardly filled with admiration and envy. Without family backing, who would willingly stay in such a harsh and dangerous place? The only way out was to become an alchemy apprentice; otherwise, after a few years, one would be crippled, if not dead.

Perhaps…

A wisp of green smoke emerged as the dragon’s mouth spat out fine powder. The flames beneath the cauldron died without the slightest delay. Lu Qian moved with the assurance of a seasoned hand.

“Excellent—only thirty-five percent loss. Very good,” Li Du said twice, revealing his satisfaction.

“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master,” Lu Qian replied with a bow. This time, he did not hold back, displaying all his skill to attract Li Du’s attention. There was no need for modesty; the Fire Formula was just a basic technique for attendants, and mastering it in two months merely marked him as talented. No true expert would covet another’s basic skills. To hide proficiency in such a minor art would be laughable. Far better to show one’s ability and earn more resources.

...

(The novel is now signed. If you enjoy it, please consider adding it to your library or supporting it.)