In the days that followed, Lin Changheng's life fell into a specific routine.
He traveled a straight line between his rented cave mansion and Xu's Alchemy Shop, with an occasional monthly detour to the Li Family Spirit and Flesh Shop.
With the comprehension boost from his First Layer Origin Treasure Seed, Lin Changheng's Cultivation of the *Flowing Fire Technique* progressed steadily toward the Mastery Realm. To his great satisfaction, his Alchemy Skill improved just as much.
The powerful positive feedback left Lin Changheng intoxicated, completely engrossed in his progress.
...
「Half a year passed in a flash.」
Lin Changheng was alone in the scorching Alchemy Room. His expression was a little tired, but he was desperately suppressing the joy in his eyes.
Before him sat three Long Wooden Boxes.
That's right, three of them!
Their lids were all open, revealing they were packed full of Wasted Pills and Inferior Pills.
For the first two months, Ink Master had continued his exceedingly relaxed schedule, performing Alchemy on one day and resting the next.
But ever since an urgent letter arrived from the Xu Clan,
Ink Master's leisurely, retirement-like life was completely shattered.
His schedule changed to two days of Alchemy for every three, and he had to manage two furnaces a day. He would work for two days and rest for one.
Although Ink Master didn't reveal the details, Lin Changheng was observant enough to notice,
that his original daily routine of one furnace of Wood Element Pills and one of Red Flame Pills had changed. Now, every two work days, he would refine three furnaces of Red Flame Pills and only one of Wood Element Pills.
This meant that, for some reason, the Xu Clan's demand for Red Flame Pills had risen sharply.
But for Lin Changheng, this was an exceptionally good thing.
People's joys and sorrows aren't universal, but they are conserved!
Due to all the overtime Alchemy, the delighted expression on Ink Master's face slowly vanished. That joy, however, successfully found a new home in Lin Changheng's heart,
though he couldn't let it show.
Moreover, due to Ink Master's advanced age and declining health, this intense Alchemy schedule made it difficult for him to concentrate, and his stamina couldn't keep up.
Although his Alchemy Skill was masterful, the rate of Wasted Pills and Inferior Pills from his Alchemy inevitably rose from nearly twenty percent to almost thirty percent!
As a result, the monthly Spirit Stealing progress for Lin Changheng's Fire Crow Treasure Seed, which had been nine to ten points, leaped to eighteen or nineteen—nearly twenty!
He mentally connected with the Primordial Cauldron.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed·Spirit Stealing Metamorphosis]
[Spirit Stealing: 82/100]
'Success is at hand!'
Muttering to himself, Lin Changheng's focus sharpened, and he reached out toward the Wasted Pills.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, all the Essence Blood from the Wasted Pills was completely drained.
'No need to rush. One step at a time.'
Without rushing, he processed the Wasted Pills as usual before proceeding to extract about fifty percent of the Essence Blood from the Inferior Pills.
「An hour later.」
All the Elixirs before him were processed and packed away. Lin Changheng stared straight at them, but his Heart and Spirit was no longer on them.
Instead, it had sunk into his sea of consciousness, settling upon the Primordial Cauldron at its center.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed·Spirit Stealing Metamorphosis]
[Spirit Stealing: 100/100]
Then, as Lin Changheng watched, an azure glow at the Tripod Mouth pulsed and undulated.
A Red Treasure Seed that was about to solidify quietly split into three illusory Treasure Seeds.
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed·First Layer]
[Choose one Demon Race Lifebound Talent to Refine into: Fire Control, Breath, Beak Strike]
'Refine into [Fire Control]!'
Lin Changheng had already thought it through and made his decision; there was no need for hesitation.
The other two Treasure Seeds instantly withered, and a hazy aura and rhythmic charm flowed into the Treasure Seed representing Fire Control.
[Acquired: Fire Control Technique·Peeping Path]
With a thought, Lin Changheng plucked the Treasure Seed, and it vanished into his mind.
He felt a slight warmth in his Divine Soul.
HUMMM—
Then, a soft hum echoed in his mind, and a gentle warmth spread through his body, as if he were enveloped in Flame.
He opened his eyes and found that everything in his vision was covered in a red halo. The residual embers in the Pill Furnace also looked completely different to him...
In Lin Changheng's eyes, the embers in the furnace were no longer just fire. He could now see motes of flame dancing, and see how the Fire Spiritual Power gathered, surged, and erupted.
He thoughtfully raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and made a slow, stirring motion.
To his astonishment, the ball of residual fire swayed from side to side in time with his movements, like an obedient pet.
At the same time, a realization dawned on Lin Changheng.
'This Flame is so obedient, moving as I will it. This must be the effect of Fire Control...'
After sensing more carefully, he was delighted to discover that he now had a greater affinity for and easier control over not just the embers in the furnace, but all the ambient Fire Spiritual Power as well.
"Come."
With a thought, Lin Heng beckoned to the embers in the furnace. They immediately flew out and hovered above his palm.
A tongue of Flame gently wrapped around his fingers, yet it brought no searing pain.
[Utility: Preliminary control over ordinary Flame, minor boost to Fire Magic.]
Noticing this, Lin Changheng had a strange look on his face. 'This level of Flame control is only considered "preliminary"?'
In the past six months, he had watched Ink Master—a Tier One Middle Grade Alchemist at the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation—perform Alchemy dozens of times, and his Fire Control ability seemed only marginally stronger than his own now...
It was worth noting that Lin Changheng had observed Ink Master's Alchemy up close more times in the past six months than in the nearly ten years prior.
He speculated that the turning point must have been when the clan's Alchemy tasks became more demanding.
During this period, it seemed Ink Master was intentionally grooming him.
'So I can share his heavy Alchemy workload?' Lin Changheng smiled. He certainly wouldn't refuse and was happy to see it happen, becoming even more proactive in his work.
...
'When I complete the Second Layer Fire Crow Treasure Seed, will my Fire Control instantly surpass that of a Middle Grade Alchemist who has been practicing for so many years?'
A Middle Grade Alchemist held a certain status in both Purple River District and the Xu Family.
'And as for that "minor" boost to Fire Magic... just how significant is it?'
With fiery thoughts in his heart, the crimson waves of clouds on the horizon became a reflection of his mood.
Finally, when his shift ended, Lin Changheng went straight back to his D Level Cave Mansion.
"Fire Bomb Skill!"
After shutting the main door, Lin Changheng immediately began to experiment.
He formed a hand seal with one hand and muttered an incantation. After about three breaths, a ball of fire the size of an adult's fist appeared in his palm, sizzling as it burned.
This was one of the three Low Level Magic spells Lin Changheng had learned.
The other two were the Wood Element's Entanglement Skill and the Earth Element's Earth Shield Skill.
One for offense, one for control, and one for defense—a balanced combination.
The Fire Bomb Skill, in particular, was incredibly powerful.
However, it was slow to form and slow to travel, making it difficult to land a hit. Nevertheless, it was a Magic favored by most Low Tier Cultivators, because if one solid hit landed, the opponent would be a corpse, and the Magical Combat would be over.
Lin Changheng didn't release it; after all, a single one cost twenty percent of his Magical Power and couldn't be wasted. After reabsorbing the spell, he focused his mind, formed the hand seal to guide the energy once more, and simultaneously empowered it with his Fire Control Technique.
In just two breaths!
CRACKLE!
As if oil had been poured on a fire, the originally fist-sized ball of fire instantly blazed up, expanding by more than half its size. It crackled and sizzled without end, spewing sparks in all directions.