Chapter Forty-Eight: The Alchemy Workshop

“Roar, roar, roar—”

With a thunderous thud, the black behemoth struck by Lin Yanghao’s fireball let out a series of anguished wails before collapsing to the ground in a deafening crash.

Seeing this, Lin Yanghao realized he had succeeded in slaying the beast. Relief washed over his face as he approached the fallen creature, drew his enchanted dagger, and carved a hole into its head.

“Hahaha, just as I hoped—a spirit beast core! And a fire-type core at that! My cultivation of the fireball spell is finally assured,” Lin Yanghao thought, elated.

Truthfully, Lin Yanghao had only been taking a chance. During his days poring over ancient texts in the archive, he’d learned about spirit beasts—how, upon reaching a certain level, some powerful spirit beasts would condense a beast core within themselves, much like humans entering the Core Formation Stage. However, spirit beasts that formed such cores were usually even stronger than human cultivators of the same rank—far beyond what a mere peak-stage Qi Refinement cultivator like himself could hope to defeat. Yet the evidence lay before him: the black beast had truly fallen to his fireball.

Perplexed, Lin Yanghao examined the corpse closely. As expected, he discovered that the beast’s meridians were in complete disarray, and its body bore many grievous wounds. With this revelation, the mystery was solved.

“No wonder its defenses were so formidable—it was a high-tier spirit beast with a condensed core, but for some unknown reason had been gravely injured. That’s the only way I could have seized such an opportunity. This fire beast core’s efficacy far surpasses that of any fire spirit pill. Even a single beast core like this should be enough to bring my fireball spell to the Small Accomplishment stage, whereas it would take a hundred ordinary fire spirit pills to match its potency,” he thought with delight.

Spirit beast cores were not only invaluable for cultivating elemental arts, but also played a crucial role in alchemy. By adding a core aligned with the pill’s attribute during refinement, the success rate of pill formation could be greatly increased.

Holding the fire beast core, Lin Yanghao was in high spirits. Bidding farewell to over a hundred fellow martial artists, he set off toward Xianzhi Market, which was not far away. Across the spiritual realm, many cultivation cities and markets existed to facilitate trade among cultivators.

Though the beast core was potent, it could not be used directly; the demonic taint within needed to be purified first. Thus, Lin Yanghao’s current goal was to cleanse the fire beast core.

“Is this Xianzhi Market?” Before him stretched a field shrouded in white mist. Lin Yanghao recalled from his studies that this mist was in fact a formation set by cultivators to prevent mortals from stumbling into the marketplace. The formation only affected ordinary folk; a cultivator need only release a trace of spiritual energy to pass through safely.

“Fellow Daoist, are you also here to trade at Xianzhi Market? How about we go together?”

Just as Lin Yanghao was about to enter, a soft voice sounded behind him. He turned to see a fair-faced man, smiling warmly at him.

The young man wore flowing white robes, his hair jet black and features strikingly handsome—even Lin Yanghao felt a pang of inadequacy in comparison.

“Very well, let’s go together. My name is Lin Yanghao. And you, how should I address you?” Lin Yanghao agreed after a moment’s thought—after all, making a friend was always better than making another enemy out in the world. Judging from the man’s fine attire, he likely came from a wealthy, influential family. Though Lin Yanghao harbored a certain distaste for such scions, it depended on the individual. More often than not, those he’d met were arrogant and unruly, yet this white-robed man seemed genuinely amiable. For some reason, Lin Yanghao felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity upon first seeing him.

“I am Tan Zhuo,” the man replied. “To be honest, Brother Lin, from the very first moment I saw you, I felt a kinship I can scarcely describe. That’s why I wished to befriend you. If you don’t mind, let us call each other brothers from now on!” Tan Zhuo’s face lit up with joy as he spoke candidly.

“Agreed! From now on, I’ll call you Brother Tan. You know, I too felt an unexplainable sense of closeness to you—perhaps our meeting was truly ordained by the heavens!” Lin Yanghao replied cheerfully.

With that, the two of them entered Xianzhi Market together.

The moment they stepped inside, Lin Yanghao was astonished by the sight before him. The market resembled a bustling town, utterly distinct from the outside world. The streets were crowded with people, lined on both sides with stalls and shops brimming with all manner of cultivation wares, dazzling Lin Yanghao with their variety.

“Brother Lin, is this your first time at a market?” Tan Zhuo guessed immediately, amused by Lin Yanghao’s wide-eyed curiosity.

“Yes, I won’t hide it from you, Brother Tan. I was but a humble mountain villager until fate led me to join the Seven Luminaries Sect. By chance, I acquired a fire beast core, and I came here today to have it purified,” Lin Yanghao explained.

“Oh? So Brother Lin is a distinguished disciple of the Seven Luminaries Sect. But what of being a mountain villager? That’s a carefree life. Given the choice, I’d rather be born in the countryside, far from these endless intrigues,” Tan Zhuo replied, a trace of melancholy in his voice.

“Well, I won’t hide it from you either. I am the second son of the Tan family, one of the Four Great Houses of the spiritual realm. But never mind these unhappy matters. Brother Lin, remember this: never flaunt your treasures before others. The world of cultivation is rife with treachery; even blood brothers and fathers and sons have killed each other for the sake of a single treasure. Please, heed my words and be ever cautious as you step into this world,” Tan Zhuo said earnestly, without waiting for Lin Yanghao to reply.

“Thank you for the advice, Brother Tan. I will never forget your words.” If Lin Yanghao had harbored any lingering doubts about Tan Zhuo, they vanished completely after this. These were words that only someone who truly cared would say; those with ill intentions would sooner wish for your downfall than warn you so sincerely.