Jian Wuxin sealed his courtyard room with a layered Qi ward. No one could enter. No one could see.
Inside, the bronze cauldron stood alone at the center of the room, surrounded by carefully sorted spiritual herbs, a jade bottle of water essence, and the scroll for the Qi Refining Pill Recipe.
He did not place the Qi-Gathering Formation Talisman. Not yet.
This was still experimentation.
The real tools would be used when he could wield them properly.
He sat beside the cauldron, breathing slowly, reading the recipe for the tenth time.
Then, he lit the flame.
---
Week One
Failure.
Explosions. Cracked cauldron walls. Burned herbs. Hours wasted.
His Qi flow was clumsy. His timing was always slightly off.
The Mistroot would burn too early, or the Dew Petal would dissolve too slowly. Even his heat-control technique, borrowed from Grandmaster Lin, felt unstable.
> "Alchemy is not force," he reminded himself after a near-burn.
> "It's patience."
---
Week Two
His first semi-stable pill crumbled the moment it cooled.
The second reeked of rot.
The third held for three breaths… then melted.
Still, Jian Wuxin refined.
He adjusted his stirring technique, slowed his spiritual flame, and began to instinctively feel the shifts in heat and herb resonance.
By the fourteenth day, his body ached. His Qi ran shallow. But he succeeded.
One pill. Real. Refined. Stable.
He stared at it for a long time before sealing it in a jade bottle.
---
Month Two
His speed increased.
Some days, he crafted one pill. On others, none.
But with every mistake, he grew.
He realized that herbs from different regions burned at different rates. That one drop of water essence too much could collapse a whole batch. That his Qi had to flow like water—not lightning.
He never called the banner. He never summoned the puppets.
He worked in silence.
And when the final day of the second month came, twenty Qi Refining Pills sat lined in sealed bottles—cool, glowing, and perfect.
---
Jian Wuxin slumped beside the cauldron.
Not a master.
Not a genius.
But now, he was an alchemist—however crude.
And soon, he would use that to his advantage.
In the shadows, the Soul Devouring Banner stirred faintly.
> "Now… you're ready."