Early the next morning, Xiao Tian arrived at the Xiao Family's Dou Qi Pavilion. Patriarch Xiao Zhan was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing his son approach, he waved his hand, and the guards pushed open the heavy black gates.
"Tian-er, test your attribute first," Xiao Zhan said.
Xiao Tian stepped forward and placed his hand on the testing crystal. A brilliant silver light erupted, with arcs of lightning dancing wildly across the surface. The moment he withdrew his hand, the crystal ball shattered with a crisp crack.
Xiao Zhan's eyes flashed with surprise, but he quickly recovered. "Good. Go inside. Follow the passage matching your attribute and choose a suitable cultivation method."
"Yes, Father."
As Xiao Tian entered the dimly lit pavilion, his powerful soul perception swept across the dark corners. He could clearly sense numerous hidden guards watching his every move.
He casually browsed the scrolls, deliberately breaking through a simple barrier before picking up a random technique. "Yellow-rank Mid-grade: Flame Art."
After registering at the exit, the heavy doors closed behind him. Xiao Zhan patted his shoulder heavily. "Go back and cultivate well."
After leaving the Dou Qi Pavilion, Xiao Tian went straight to the market and purchased a large quantity of medicinal herbs. On his way back, he stopped at Xiao Xun'er's courtyard and knocked gently.
When the door opened, the young girl looked at him curiously. "Xiao Tian Ge Ge, why are you looking for me?"
"Xun'er, I'm going into seclusion for a while. One month at the shortest, three months at the longest."
Xiao Xun'er's eyes widened slightly. "Why so suddenly? Is it because of the cultivation method you got from the Dou Qi Pavilion today? What did you pick?"
Xiao Tian took out the Yellow-rank Mid-grade Flame Art and handed it to her.
Xun'er glanced at it, then flicked her slender hand. A silver-white scroll appeared. "Xiao Tian Ge Ge, when you first start cultivating Dou Qi, the higher the grade of the technique, the greater the benefits for your future path. A Yellow-rank Mid-grade is a bit too low. This is a Profound-rank High-grade Flame-type technique — Rushing Flame Art. Take it and cultivate with this instead."
Xiao Tian took back the Yellow-rank scroll but refused the new one.
Seeing his reluctance, Xun'er became anxious. "Xiao Tian Ge Ge…"
He leaned down and whispered softly into her ear, "I know your identity is very mysterious, Xun'er. You can casually take out a Profound-rank High-grade technique. Precisely because I know how special you are… and because I want to marry you one day, I won't cultivate this Yellow-rank technique."
"Xiao… Xiao Tian Ge Ge! What nonsense are you talking about? Who wants to marry you?!" Xun'er stammered, her face turning as red as a ripe apple.
Seeing her blush so intensely it looked like blood might drip, Xiao Tian stopped teasing. He condensed a wisp of Dou Qi in his palm and extended it toward her.
"I already converted my cultivation method long ago. Feel it for yourself."
Xun'er, still red-faced, carefully sensed the Dou Qi. Her eyes widened in surprise. "It seems Xiao Tian Ge Ge is also very mysterious… You're actually cultivating an Earth-rank Low-grade technique. No wonder you didn't want Xun'er's method."
After chatting with her for a while longer, Xiao Tian bid her farewell and headed toward the stone forest behind the mountain.
He blocked the entrance with large stones, took out all the medicinal herbs he had bought, and sat down cross-legged.
Time to begin my journey as an alchemist.
Recalling how Xiao Yan condensed a medicine cauldron using an exotic flame in the original story, Xiao Tian waved his palm. A wisp of the Fallen Heart Flame appeared and slowly formed an invincible cauldron in front of him.
Just as joy appeared on his face, the cauldron suddenly dissipated into sparks.
"It's really hard to maintain…" he sighed.
After a full day of practice, he finally managed to keep the flame cauldron stable long enough for actual alchemy.
He started simple — throwing a stalk of Blood Coagulation Grass into the cauldron and carefully controlling the temperature. Under the gentle baking of the flame, the herb slowly turned into fine white powder.
Xiao Tian carefully collected the powder into a prepared box and grinned widely.
"Hahaha! I really have talent… succeeded on the first try!"
After resting briefly, he continued refining the remaining Blood Coagulation Grass, White Orchid Fruit, and Blood Ginseng.
Time flew by.
One month later.
Xiao Tian sat in the stone forest, his face slightly weathered from constant focus. In front of him were dozens of bottles of successfully refined Blood Replenishing Pills, along with a large pile of black ash — the remnants of herbs that had been burned to cinders when he failed to control the flame temperature during the pill-forming stage.
"Being an alchemist is indeed expensive," he muttered. "If not for the money I got from the system, it would be hard to sustain this. But thankfully, I've perfectly mastered first-grade pills. Now I can start refining second-grade ones."
He picked up a Blood Replenishing Pill that had clear pill patterns on its surface and smiled with satisfaction.
After recovering his Dou Qi, Xiao Tian began working on second-grade pills: Marrow Cleansing Pill and Youth Preservation Pill.
Marrow Cleansing Pill required: Bone Forging Grass, Blood Essence Grass, and Marrow Cultivating Root. Youth Preservation Pill required: Rainbow Skirt Grass, Jade Muscle Flower, Body Cleansing Grass, and Red Leek Fragrance.