As I returned to life, the horror of my final mont lingered in my thoughts. That life had lasted nearly eighty years, but all my mories from it were overshadowed by the terror of suffocating to death while being entombed in ice.
The mory compression that ca with a rebirth helped. It gave separation from the trauma. But still, a lingering fear tainted all my mories from that life. I retained everything I learned, but whenever I thought about how I learned it, I felt a chill deep within my bones.
“Focus on the future, not the past.”
I ran my hands through my hair to drive away the mories. Then, I turned my attention to moving forward.
“System, I want to expand my storage space to be a cube with a length, width, and height of ten centiters.”
Purchase confird. Cost 29,760. 13,070 credits remaining.
I didn’t feel any changes, but when I looked into the storage space, it had grown noticeably. This would, at minimum, allow to better prepare at the end of each life.
With all my essentials taken care of, I still had a large bounty of points to spend, so I considered a few other purchase options. I thought about asking where to find a spatial spirit fire seed or where I might be able to get powerful cultivation techniques, but I decided not to. I wanted to look for these on my own. If I didn’t make any progress, I could always buy the information later.
There was one thing I was interested in looking into though. A long ti ago I had purchased an ability that would let identify pills. The original ability was ‘limited’ and could only identify a few basic types of pills, so during my seclusion, I upgraded it to expand its capabilities, but it still only applied to Rank 1 pills. Having even just a limited ability to identify high-Rank pills might co in handy.
And if I could buy an ability to identify pills, I should also be able to buy a technique to identify other things.
“System, how much would it cost to buy a limited ability to identify cultivation techniques up to Rank 3?”
Cost 500,000 credits.
“And the cost if it only works on techniques up to Rank 2?”
5,000 credits.
“So, Rank 2 costs the credits earned from Master 5, and the cost of Rank 3 is almost certainly the credits earned from Grandmaster 5. A trend that’s likely to continue. Unfortunately, it seems getting Rank 3 is off the table until after I’ve reached Grandmaster a few tis.”
I thought about other possible purchases.
“System, how much to expand my pill appraisal to Rank 2 as a limited ability?”
1,000 credits.
The value of Martial Master 1.
I considered buying one or both of these abilities, but they wouldn’t benefit imdiately, and I could just save so credits to buy them in the future if I felt they were needed. I decided to hold onto my credits in case sothing more important ca up.
Purchases complete, it was ti to move forward.
Moving forward was easier said than done.
I wasn’t sure what I should do. I could return to the sect, attempt to join the Blue Wind Pavilion, or strike out on my own. I decided to lay out potential goals to pursue to help focus.
Acquire a Profound Rank 1 or better cultivation techniqueAcquire a Peak-Yellow Rank 2 or better cultivation techniqueAcquire a Rank 3 cultivation techniqueAcquire a spatial spirit fire seedLearn how to use the spirit fire seed I already hadLearn how to make Rank 2 pillsLook into multi-elent cultivation techniquesLearn more about the world around Find out more about the fight at the Su Clan
I considered these goals and how to best accomplish them. Heading off to explore on my own had so appeal, but it wasn’t for . Trudging through the wilderness also wasn’t likely to help complete any of these goals.
So, Blue Wind Pavilion or Twin Mountains Sect.
The Pavilion felt like it was the better choice, and I had to go there first anyway, so I decided to play it by ear. I would do what felt right in the mont.
“System, send to Dragon Gate City.”
Purchase confird. Cost 30 credits. 13,040 credits remaining.
I considered advancing a few stages before heading to the Blue Wind Pavilion, but part of the reason WuJing had valued was my ability to do high-quality alchemy without having cultivated. I had no idea what his level of cultivation was, but I could guess that not even a Martial Disciple Peak would impress him much. Performing alchemy with no cultivation base had, so that was what I needed to do once more.
With an understanding of the Pavilion’s unwritten rules of conduct that I had lacked during my first visit, I acted like the sophisticated gentleman that I was and headed directly for the pauper’s entrance. I didn’t see any need for a repeat of the humiliation I had endured last ti.
Upon entering, I was greeted by a young woman in heavy makeup whose voice showed how little she cared about .
“Hello, my na is Fan BingQing, can I help you?”
It wasn’t i, but she wore the sa light-blue qipao dress uniform as the other won I had seen working in the Pavilion. As a massive emporium with dozens of workers, running into soone new wasn’t much of a surprise, but the difference in reception was.
Still, I was here for a purpose. The treatnt I received wasn’t overly important.
I put a hand into my robes, pretending to grab sothing, and then reached into my storage space and pulled out a Qi Gathering Pill.
I smiled at the attendant. “I want to sell a pill.”
It was the only pill I had, and it wasn’t in a proper bottle because I hadn’t had a chance to make pills since purchasing the expanded space. This was a pill from my last life that I had kept in my old storage sheath. I wasn’t willing to show the sheath off, so I had to pretend I had simply been keeping the pill in a pocket without any protection.
I hadn’t thought too much about the pill when I had stored it away, but after handing it over, I suddenly rembered that it was one of my Perfect Basic Qi Gathering Pills with 100% efficacy. I didn’t know how common such a pill would be, but I had never heard of anyone else making one. Showing it off might not have been the right move.
The woman grabbed it from my hand and gave it a quick look.
Her expression froze, but only briefly.
She looked at with narrowed eyes and then back at the pill in her hand. After several monts of deep thought, she snorted.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I’ll give you 10 silver for it.”
“10? That’s less than what I could get for a High-Purity pill.” I wasn’t sure what the value of a Perfect pill was, but it had to be worth more. The Pavilion sold High-Purity Basic Qi Gathering Pills for 20 silver, and in my last life, they were paying 14 for them. Even if a Perfect pill only sold for 30 silver, 10 was a low-ball offer.
“You haven’t been storing it in a pill bottle, and I have no idea how much efficacy it’s lost. These pills aren’t so rare that I’m willing to overpay for questionable goods. If you insist, I can get an appraiser down here. I’ll go up to 12 silver, but that’s the limit.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll take 12.” I sighed in disappointnt, but quickly put it out of my mind. The price didn’t matter much. I was just selling the pill for starting capital and to get my foot in the door. My current alchemy skills were equivalent to printing money, so I didn’t need to dicker back and forth over a few extra silver.
“Please sell two blue peonies and an alchemy room for an hour.”
“What?” She gave a sharp look. “Are you an alchemist?”
“Yes, I made that pill. I can show you if you want.”
I could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Alright… let’s go there then.”
The walk was short. I took the flowers and quickly made them into two new Perfect pills. I had already shown my hand, so I decided to make it as strong as I could for the eting ahead.
As I handed her the pills, I made my play. “I’d like to et with your boss, Chen WuJing.”
She took them and stared at them for a long mont.
“Okay, I can arrange that. Co with .”
She led to a room with only a couple of old chairs inside. It was small and dusty. The walls were stark gray bricks with no windows or any sign of decoration. The room felt like a storage closet.
“Please wait here for a bit. Soone will co to find you when Manager Chen is available.”
Saying this, she closed the door and left in the room alone.
I generally considered myself a good-natured person. I wasn’t going to criticize a low-level employee for doing her job, even if she was a bit rude. I don’t know, maybe she had a bad day. It’s fine. But being stuck in what was little more than a prison cell for more than an hour? That got to .
Just as I was contemplating storming off, Fan BingQing finally returned.
“It has been—” I started to complain, but she cut off.
“The manager can see you now.” Her voice remained indifferent, and she turned around and walked away without giving another glance.
Swallowing my irritation, I stood and followed after her. This girl didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if she was a little rude to . All that mattered was how her boss acted.
When we arrived at WuJing’s office, I expected her to simply walk straight in like i had. Instead, she knocked politely and waited. It took nearly a minute for WuJing’s voice to loudly command us to “Enter.” Without even glancing at , Fan BingQing quickly opened the door and slipped inside.
I walked into the sa richly appointed office I had been in before. Fan BingQing stood off to the side, and Chen WuJing sat behind his desk reviewing a stack of docunts. After a brief pause, he set them down and looked up at .
His eyes instantly narrowed. They shot to Fan BingQing before quickly returning to rest on .
After only a brief pause, WuJing jumped to his feet, cupped his hands in a martial arts salute, and gave a slight bow.
“Hello, welco to the Blue Wind Pavilion. I am Chen WuJing, Manager Chen. How may I address you?”
“Su Fang.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but I was surprised by how different his behavior was from the last ti we t.
“Ah, so it’s Alchemist Su. I have long heard your well-known na. I apologize for not greeting you from afar.”
At this mont, the only person more stunned by WuJing’s change in deanor than was Fan BingQing.
“Manager Chen—”
WuJing cut her off before she could say sothing wrong. “Qing’er, prepare so tea for our guest.”
“Yes, Manager Chen.”
She departed, and WuJing’s attention returned to .
“Alchemist Su, how may this one help you today?”
Originally, I was split on what to do in this life. Join the Pavilion or return to the sect. This interaction though… it was all wrong. WuJing’s behavior made more than a little uncomfortable.
If i ca, her ability might help her nd things, but it would only further demonstrate how much of WuJing’s behavior was an act. I could look at joining the Blue Wind Pavilion again in the future, but for this life, it didn’t feel like it could be my ho.
“Manager Chen, I was hoping you could tell what you know about the Twin Mountains Sect.”
“Of course, Alchemist Su, I would be more than happy to share what little knowledge I have with you. May I ask what business you have there? I do not wish to pry into your secrets, but knowing this may help understand what information would be of value to you.”
“It’s no problem. As you may have guessed from the pills I sold to the attendant, I received a blessing that promises to be of great help in learning the secrets of alchemy. I wish to further my studies, and I have heard the sect may be a good place to do so, but I know little of it.”
WuJing looked at a pill bottle that was sitting on the corner of his desk. “Yes, a Perfect Basic Qi Gathering Pill. Very impressive for one so young. If you wish, a position in the Pavilion could be opened for you, but the Twin Mountains Sect is also a fine choice.”
“Is that so? Would you recomnd it?”
“To soone at your level? Yes. It is likely the best place to learn alchemy in all the Wastes.”
“Do you know about their cultivation technique? I have heard so things, and they’ve made concerned.”
“Yes, I know of it.” His tone shifted, and he spoke slower and more deliberately. “It is not my place to share their secrets, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. The technique I believe you are referring to is given only to the less skilled disciples.”
“Oh? And would you still recomnd the sect to soone like that?
“Absolutely, even more strongly. The Twin Mountains Sect provides a ho for alchemists of middling ability. That place isn’t for you. It isn’t for anyone with true ability, but for those who lack the skills to advance further, it is what they need. For soone of your ability, however, they have more… advanced paths one can take.”
“You are so convinced of my ability after seeing only a few pills?”
“I know what it ans to make a Perfect pill, as would anyone trained in alchemy. The elders will fight over you if you go there, but you should be careful who you choose to ally with. Make no mistake, the sect may seem peaceful, but as with any organization, the waters run deep.”
“And you have a suggestion for ?”
“Elder Mu.” His response was imdiate and resolute. “I believe you will do well with his guidance.”
WuJing seed very conflicted about what to say on the topic, as if he wanted to say sothing but didn’t know if he should. However, I already knew that he was a great actor, so I couldn’t be sure what was real and what wasn’t.
“You are a new Martial Disciple, right? You understand that after Disciple is Martial Master and then Martial Grandmaster?”
I nodded.
“Do you know about the realm above Martial Grandmaster?”
“No.”
“Above Grandmaster is Martial Lord. The ascension to Lord is a bit different from those before it. It’s more complicated. For the purposes of our conversation, though, the important fact is that it is impossible to beco a Lord while within the Wastes. It is equally impossible for Lords to enter the Wastes. All Grandmasters living in the Wastes, including myself and Elder Mu, are looking for an opportunity to leave so that we may one day ascend.”
“And you believe that I can sohow help Elder Mu ascend?”
“Yes. The Twin Mountains Sect is an outpost of a far stronger sect in the outside world. With your abilities, I would expect you to be able to quickly climb up the rungs of the Twin Mountains Sect and join their patron sect as a core disciple. As your master and teacher, Elder Mu will benefit from your achievents. If you do well enough, he will gain an opportunity to ascend to Lord.”
He looked at aningfully.
“That is why the elders will fight for you, and that is why Mu will want you. The reason I think you will want Mu is because he is aloof from the sect’s politics. His only desire is to advance. Most of the other elders are too worried about the sect’s internal affairs and have lost the hunger needed to push forward.”
The benefits WuJing would receive from such an arrangent were left unsaid, but I knew they would exist.
“How should I get in contact with Elder Mu?”
“That may be difficult. I cannot contact him directly, so you will have to rely on yourself to do so. You can, of course, make a public display of your abilities. If you openly craft a few Perfect pills, you will certainly draw his attention, but if you do so, you may lose the opportunity to choose which master you follow. The best path is to find a deacon who reports to him. All deacons in the sect are subordinates of one of the elders. As long as you can find one of his deacons, I trust you will be able to catch the elder’s attention.”
After a few more pleasantries, I departed. Originally, I had planned to ask for information on so of my previously listed goals, but I didn’t. Asking for techniques and fire seeds here didn’t feel right. WuJing had sent to learn from soone else. I would see what Elder Mu had to offer.
Should I completely trust WuJing? No, but I always felt he was playing straight with . His personality shift made clear just how much of his behavior was an act, but even then, it didn’t feel dishonest. If he wanted, he could easily kidnap and force to work for him. Instead, he offered guidance.
WuJing had a powerful social blessing and was skilled enough to use it properly. He may or may not be a nice guy, I don’t know, but he knew how to do business. Screwing over soone caught in a ti loop would definitely be bad for business.
Of course, he had no way of knowing about said ti loop, but his blessing gave him more than enough information to be cautious.
I would follow his advice and et Elder Mu. It would be a good test of how far I could trust WuJing’s judgnt. If everything worked out, I would be more than happy to work with him again in future lives.
I just needed to et with i next ti so that she could give him information about first.
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