The wounds and lingering doubts left by the demon beast uprising hung like a haze over Qingxu Temple for several days. The disciples of the Discipline Hall and Patrol Mountain Department had significantly increased the frequency and scope of their patrols, with the deeper regions of the back mountain temporarily designated as forbidden zones, strictly prohibiting disciples from approaching casually. The atmosphere within the temple was solemn, lacking its usual lightness, replaced by a heightened sense of vigilance.
The flesh wounds on Xiao Qi's body had already healed without issue thanks to medicinal pills and his own recovery ability. He carefully stored away the temporary wooden token representing fifty contribution points. To him, this was an unprecedented "windfall," a resource earned through courage and a bit of luck.
Contribution points were hard currency within Qingxu Temple, exchangeable for medicinal pills, magical artifacts, talismans, technique jade slips, usage time in cultivation quiet rooms, and even opportunities to seek guidance from high-ranking cultivators. For outer sect disciples with scarce resources, every single contribution point needed to be spent meticulously.
Xiao Qi already had a plan in mind. He didn't rush to exchange for pills that could directly enhance his cultivation; those pills were expensive, and fifty contribution points wouldn't buy many—a mere drop in the bucket. Instead, he turned his attention to things that could improve his overall capabilities, especially those aligning with his current "cultivation" direction.
One day, he arrived at the "Myriad Hall" located near the Transmission Pavilion. This was the core venue for the sect to issue tasks and exchange resources, bustling with people and quite lively. A massive jade screen scrolled with lists of various tasks and exchangeable items along with their required contribution points. Xiao Qi squeezed through the crowd, carefully browsing.
"Detailed Explanation of Basic Object Control Art" (jade slip), requires twenty contribution points.
"Catalog of Low-Level Spirit Grasses" (booklet), requires five contribution points.
"Primer on Talismans" (jade slip), requires fifteen contribution points.
Low-grade Qi Gathering Pills (one bottle of ten pills), requires thirty contribution points.
Green Sprout Grass, Jade Dew Flowers (ten portions each), requires five contribution points.
His gaze lingered on the "Detailed Explanation of Basic Object Control Art" and those ten portions of alchemy materials. The Object Control Art was a fundamental method for cultivators to manipulate magical artifacts and perform telekinesis, with extremely broad applications. Although he could knock out demon beasts with his flat-bottomed wok, that relied more on the wok's inherent sturdiness and his brute strength (relatively speaking), not true artifact control. If he could learn the Object Control Art, even just the most basic level, it would bring immense benefits to his control over the flat-bottomed wok, and even future use of other artifacts. Moreover, he faintly felt that his fine control over spiritual energy might give him some advantage in learning this art.
As for the alchemy materials, they were essential for him to continue exploring the path of "flat-bottomed wok alchemy." His previous success in refining three low-quality Fasting Pills had given him great confidence and motivation to delve deeper. He needed more materials to practice and accumulate experience.
After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Qi made his decision. He walked up to the deacon responsible for exchanges and handed over his identity wooden token and the contribution point token. "Senior Brother, I'd like to exchange for one copy of the 'Detailed Explanation of Basic Object Control Art' jade slip, and ten portions each of Green Sprout Grass and Jade Dew Flowers."
The deacon took the tokens, verified them, and gave Xiao Qi a somewhat surprised look. It was unusual for a Qi Refining third-layer outer sect disciple to not exchange for Qi Gathering Pills that could directly enhance cultivation, but instead opt for these "miscellaneous studies" items. However, he didn't ask further, skillfully deducting forty-five contribution points (twenty for the Object Control Art, ten for the twenty portions of materials), then handed Xiao Qi a pale green jade slip and two small cloth bags containing dried medicinal herbs.
"The jade slip can only be read once with spiritual sense; it will dissipate afterward. Remember this," the deacon reminded as a matter of routine.
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Xiao Qi took the items. Looking at the mere five contribution points remaining on his identity token, he felt little regret, instead filled with anticipation.
Returning to the servant quarters, he eagerly immersed his spiritual sense into that "Detailed Explanation of Basic Object Control Art" jade slip. A flood of information poured into his mind, including the basic principles of the Object Control Art, spiritual energy circulation pathways, hand seal coordination, as well as some common application techniques and precautions.
The core of object control lay in "using spirit to drive energy, using energy to control objects." One needed to release their spiritual energy in a unique frequency and manner, attach it to the target object, then perform precise manipulation through spiritual sense. It placed considerable demands on both spiritual energy control and spiritual sense strength.
Xiao Qi studied it repeatedly several times, confirming he had memorized the technique formula by heart. The jade slip then transformed into points of flowing light and dissipated.
In the following days, apart from completing his daily cultivation and Senior Sister Liu Yun's special training (the training content had been adjusted due to his combat performance, adding more actual combat sparring and adaptive training), he devoted most of his free time to practicing the Object Control Art and continuing alchemy.
For practicing the Object Control Art, his initial target wasn't that heavy flat-bottomed wok, but starting with small stones and wood blocks. Following the technique's instructions, he mobilized his spiritual energy, attempting to envelop a small stone, then using his will to drive the stone to move. The process was far more difficult than imagined. Releasing spiritual energy wasn't easy to begin with, and trying to stably attach it to an object's surface was even harder. Either the spiritual energy would dissipate, or control would be unstable, causing the stone to fly wildly, almost hitting himself at times. This also consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy.
But he didn't lose heart. Relying on that fine perception and control over spiritual energy honed through fire control in the kitchen, he gradually adjusted the output intensity, frequency, and coverage method of his spiritual energy. After countless failures, he finally managed to make a small stone float shakily, and according to his will, slowly move a short distance. Although it was the most trivial progress, it made him ecstatic. He knew he had found the right direction. This kind of fine control was precisely his forte.
Meanwhile, with the twenty portions of materials he exchanged for, he continued his "flat-bottomed wok alchemy" endeavor. Having the experience of his first success, he no longer blindly attempted like before, but began consciously summarizing patterns. He discovered that the flat-bottomed wok's even heating characteristic indeed greatly reduced the difficulty of fire control, but simultaneously required the heat to be extremely precise—any slight fluctuation would be amplified. And that trace of weak spiritual energy he injected during the fire control process seemed to truly resonate wondrously with the flat-bottomed wok. Not only did it make the heat distribution across the wok more uniform, but it also seemed to act as a kind of "catalyst" during the medicinal potency fusion, making the powder easier to coalesce into pills. However, this effect was extremely weak and difficult to grasp.
With the twenty portions of materials, he again experienced numerous failures. Charring, scattering sand, pill condensation failures... all sorts of situations arose one after another. But with each attempt, his control over the entire process grew more proficient, and the failure rate gradually decreased.
Finally, when he used up the last portion of material, he successfully refined five Fasting Pills. Although the quality was still poor—rough surfaces, uneven color—compared to the first three pills, they were considerably more regular. One of them even faintly revealed an extremely thin luster, and the medicinal potency seemed slightly purer.
Looking at these five hard-earned pills in his palm, Xiao Qi let out a long sigh of relief. Sweat soaked his bangs, his mental energy was heavily depleted, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Fifty contribution points had brought him entry into the Object Control Art and steady improvement in alchemy. Although this path was arduous, even somewhat unorthodox, he could clearly feel himself growing stronger in a unique way, bit by bit.
That black, dull flat-bottomed wok, in his hands, was no longer merely cooking ware and a shield. It had become the bridge for him to practice his own path of "artifact" and "control."
And all of this was just the beginning.