Sect Master Wu was under immense stress. He couldn't risk Lin Qi, the newly designated "Unseen Shattering Grade" phenomenon, interacting too much with the real Inner Disciples. The potential for a real mistake—like Lin Qi accidentally revealing he was just a clumsy seventeen-year-old—was too high.
So, Lin Qi was immediately assigned to the most critical, yet isolated, role in the sect: Water Collector for the Lower-Tier Refinement Kitchens.
"Disciple Lin Qi," Sect Master Wu declared solemnly the next morning, standing beside a nervous Disciple Supervisor Feng. "Your first task is one of supreme importance. It is a trial of humility and endurance."
Lin Qi, holding a badly patched wooden bucket, nodded enthusiastically. "Is it difficult, Master? I hope it's not too far."
"Far?" Wu gave a short, strained laugh. "The source you must use is the legendary Gloom-Woven Creek. It flows down from the Forbidden Poison Peaks! Its waters are so potent, they cleanse all impurities... or kill you instantly. Only the strongest can safely approach it!"
The Gloom-Woven Creek was a small, stagnant trickle behind the main outhouse, famous primarily for the alarming green color of its moss and the fact that nothing lived within ten feet of it. It was, indeed, toxic, but mostly just to local field mice.
Wu finished with a flourish. "Your path will be paved by hardship. Go forth! Fill this bucket, and return before noon!"
The Classic Maxim, mangled by Wu: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single misplaced step. (Especially if that step leads into a swamp.)"
Lin Qi followed the winding path toward the Gloom-Woven Creek. He wasn't thinking about Qi, or impurities, or death. He was thinking about how much his left sandal squeaked.
Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.
He paused, adjusting the sandal strap. This took nearly fifteen minutes. He then stopped to watch a particularly vibrant beetle struggle with a fallen leaf. Another ten minutes passed.
Finally, he reached the creek. The air shimmered slightly green above the water, a natural byproduct of the concentrated mineral deposits.
"It's not very big," Lin Qi commented to the beetle he had carried along for company.
He approached the bank. The ground was slick with algae. True to form, Lin Qi, distracted by trying to balance the empty wooden bucket on his head, slipped.
SPLOOSH!
Lin Qi tumbled forward, plunging shoulder-deep into the infamous, highly toxic waters of the Gloom-Woven Creek. The wooden bucket floated away.
Any normal cultivator at the Qi Condensation Stage (or even the Core Formation Stage) would have instantly succumbed. Their meridians would seize up, their organs would liquefy, and they would be reduced to a pile of expensive green sludge.
However, Lin Qi was not normal. He was a sealed Grand-Emperor Void-Smasher.
The creek's potent toxins, which contained concentrated amounts of the 100 most volatile minerals, didn't enter his body to destroy him. Instead, they slammed into his skin, hit the invisible barrier generated by his Core of Infinite Density, and were immediately sucked inward.
The Core, which was currently sealed and Qi-starved, greedily devoured the high-density poison. The toxins, instead of being fatal, acted as an incredibly rare and potent Nourishing Elixir for the sealed Core. The Core pulsed once—a microscopic release of sealed power—and instantly converted the creek's toxins into pure, life-affirming Cosmic Yang Energy.
Lin Qi emerged from the water completely fine, shivering only from the temperature, and utterly unaware that he had just accomplished the "Toxin-for-Essence Self-Refinement Technique," a legendary, forbidden art sought by millions of Immortals.
"Brrr. That was cold," he muttered, catching the floating bucket.
He filled the bucket, the water now looking oddly clearer and subtly emitting a faint, sweet aroma that no one in the Sect had ever noticed before. The residual Cosmic Yang Energy from his Core had purified the creek water itself.
Lin Qi arrived back at the kitchen area well past noon, dripping wet and carrying the bucket.
Disciple Supervisor Feng gasped when he saw him. "Lin Qi! You are alive! And you are… wet?"
"I fell in, Supervisor Feng," Lin Qi admitted cheerfully. "It was slippery."
Sect Master Wu hurried over, his face a mask of profound relief. He was about to scold Lin Qi for his tardiness, but then he caught the scent of the water.
It was crisp, clean, and carried the subtle fragrance of freshly blossomed lotus and spring dew. Wu looked at the water—which was supposed to be toxic green—and saw that it was clear, with a faint, pulsing blue light.
"You… you didn't just survive the Gloom-Woven Creek," Wu stammered, his eyes wide. "You purified it!"
He snatched the ladle and dipped it in. The moment the water touched his lips, a jolt of clean, pure Qi surged through his weary meridians, instantly healing a decade-old minor injury.
"This is no creek water! This is Minor Elixir of Stream Dew!" Wu cried, his voice breaking with ecstasy. "You didn't just fetch the water; you used your overwhelming purity and innate Dao to transform a deadly source into a supreme cultivation aid!"
Wu bowed low, forgetting his status entirely. "Lin Qi! Your commitment to cultivation is inspiring! Your technique, the 'Submergence Purification Dao,' is a true marvel! You have blessed the Whispering Willow Sect!"
Lin Qi, who was busy drying his ear, looked confused. "But… it was slippery."
The Original Maxim, quickly penned by Wu on the back of his hand: "A common slip is never just a fall, but the universe's way of ensuring you land in a better spot than you deserve."
Lin Qi was immediately assigned to collect water from the Gloom-Woven Creek daily, his "Submergence Purification Dao" now the most revered, misunderstood chore in the entire sect.