The winds howled over the Ashen Vulture Ravine, a place choked with toxic miasma and rotting spiritual flora. No outer disciple dared approach it.
Except Li Xuan.
He crouched beside a glowing crimson flower—the Ghostheart Bloom. A single breath of its pollen could kill a normal cultivator. He plucked it barehanded, his fingers surrounded by faint spiritual light.
System Notification:
—Warlord Memory Fragment Integrated: Alchemy Sovereign, Yan Wuji—
—Unlocks: Alchemy Recognition (Passive), Advanced Formula Decoding, Spiritual Domain Awareness, Mental Fortitude, Flame Control (Initial)—
System (Long Chen):
["Heh. Didn't expect you to activate this one so soon. Don't get cocky. Alchemy is useful, but don't go thinking that makes you some pill-refining saint."]
Li Xuan smirked, tucking the flower into his storage pouch. "I didn't ask for commentary."
["And I didn't ask for a disciple. Yet here we are."]
He stood, scanning the poisonous terrain with narrowed eyes. Information flooded his mind: the function of roots, leaves, even the ambient spiritual resonance. He now knew which plants could heal, kill, or explode violently.
System Shop Update:
—New Items Available (Alchemy):
• Flame Body Resistance (Passive) – 100 LCP
• Mental Stabilization Pill Blueprint – 50 LCP
• Exploding Blood Lotus Seed – 180 LCP
• Spiritual Flame – 400 LCP (Unlocks refined pill-forging arts)
• Legion Support Pack I – 300 LCP (Enhance subordinate's alchemy resistance and combat strength)
He didn't hesitate.
He bought the Mental Stabilization Pill Blueprint, then stored it. He would teach it later—to those who followed him into fire.
But alchemy? That was a tool. A forge.
Not the warpath.
—
Later, back at the temporary camp, one of his followers—a skinny youth named Bai Hong—asked, "Boss… where'd you learn to tell so many herbs apart?"
Li Xuan gave him a flat look. "You ask too many questions."
He didn't elaborate. He never did. Let others assume. Let them guess. His path didn't require explanations.
He mixed three powders with swift precision and tossed the result into a fire. A soft explosion of spiritual mist filled the air—calming, stabilizing, invigorating.
The legion members breathed easier. Their fatigue eased. Their spirits lifted.
They didn't know how. Only that following him never felt like dying… until he told them to be ready for it.
—
System Mission Unlocked:
—Objective: Craft one explosive support pill, one recovery pill, and one spiritual enhancement item using battlefield-foraged materials.
—Reward: +180 LCP
—Penalty for Failure: One subordinate loses cultivation base by 1 minor realm.
Li Xuan's gaze hardened.
"So even my people are targets if I slack," he muttered.
["You wanted to play the war god's game,"] Long Chen's voice said dryly, ["Welcome to the table. You don't get to fold now."]
He didn't argue.
He got to work.
—
System Status
• Cultivation: Late Qi Condensation – Peak (580/600 EXP)
• LCP: 233 / 1000
• New Skills: Alchemy Recognition, Flame Control (Initial), Spiritual Domain Awareness
• Skills Available: Phantom Step, Predator's Pressure, Face-Slapping Divine Art
• Inventory: Ghostheart Bloom, Stabilization Pill Blueprint, Base Legion Supplies
• System: Controlled by Long Chen
• Simulation Room: Unused
• Mission Hub: Active (1 Active Task)
• Legion: 6 Members – Enhanced Resistance Pending