The atmosphere in the Grand Cauldron Tower's high-tier trading hall shattered instantly into dead, breathless silence.
Hundreds of alchemists, high-ranking merchants, and elite clan guardians froze mid-step, their eyes wide with sheer disbelief as they stared at the towering black crystal wall.
At the very top of the ancient Master Wall, the fading crimson runes of the [Ancient Lotus-Refining Formula]—a centuries-old unsolved riddle that had baffled generations of Grandmasters—were being forcefully rewritten.
Li-Wen's finger moved through the air with absolute, effortless grace. A sharp, icy-blue beam of condensed spiritual Qi shot from his fingertip, cutting into the solid black obsidian surface of the crystal like a diamond carving through soft wax.
SCREECH...
With every stroke of his finger, a line of flawed ancient text dissolved into golden light, replaced instantly by dense, intricate arrays of new, perfectly balanced alchemical runes.
[Flawed Herb Ratio: 3 Parts Cold-Marrow Jade to 1 Part Earth-Fire Essence]
↳ REVISED: 5 Parts Cold-Marrow, 2 Parts Pure Water Element, 1 Part Earth-Fire Essence.
[Fatal Meridian Clash Point: Ninth Circulation Cycle]
↳ CORRECTION: Introduce Northern Star-Frost catalyst at the seventh turning point to freeze heat volatility before compression.
The light radiating from the black crystal wall transformed from a dull, dying crimson into a brilliant, blinding shade of pure sapphire blue! The spiritual arrays embedded inside the wall began to hum violently, radiating a surging wave of pure, harmonious medicinal energy that swept across the entire three-hundred-foot hall!
"He... he's actually changing the Master Formula!" a three-star alchemist gasped, dropping his porcelain herb vial onto the floor, where it shattered into pieces. "Is he mad?! If the array rejects his input, the backlash will destroy his entire cultivation base!"
"Look at the array reaction!" another senior cultivator shouted, pointing a trembling finger toward the top of the wall. "The defensive runes aren't attacking him! They are... they are absorbing his corrections! The wall is accepting his formula!"
Behind the desk, the two-star attendant who had sneered at Li-Wen just moments ago stood completely paralyzed. The tea cup in his trembling hand slipped through his fingers, smashing against his leather boots. His face was entirely drained of color, his jaw hanging open in sheer terror.
He had called this man a "nameless wanderer from the border provinces." Yet, with a casual flick of his wrist, this very man was casually solving a ancient recipe that even the Guild's Grand Elders couldn't decipher in fifty long years!
Standing a few paces away, Xiao-Yue held her small lotus lantern with both hands, her big, round eyes watching the glowing blue lines floating in the air.
"Brother Li-Wen's handwriting is so pretty," she whispered to herself with a proud, happy smile. "It looks like glowing ice crystals!"
BOOM!
Suddenly, a massive, thunderous resonance erupted from the top floors of the Grand Cauldron Tower!
The heavy bronze walls of the hundred-story skyscraper trembled softly. High above the trading hall, a colossal golden bell—the Grand Cauldron Ancestral Bell, which only rang when a new Grade-5 or above masterpiece was birthed or a historic puzzle was solved—struck three times on its own!
DONG—! DONG—! DONG—!
The deep, majestic bell chimed echoed across the entire Eastern District of the Central Capital, sending flocks of spirit-birds soaring into the twilight sky and alerting every high-ranking elder inside the Guild.
"What is happening?!"
"The Ancestral Bell rang three times!"
"A Master Puzzle has been solved!"
Within seconds, the high-altitude void above the third-floor balcony distorted violently. Space bowed inward like a stretched silk sheet, and three powerful figures stepped out from the swirling spatial rift!
The figure leading them was an elderly man wearing opulent, dark-purple robes embroidered with five glowing golden cauldrons—a Five-Star Chief Alchemist of the Central Pill Guild! His long beard reached his chest, and his eyes carried the profound, terrifying depth of a Stage-5 Sovereign cultivator. This was none other than Elder Gu, the supreme director of the Guild's Research & Vault Division.
Flanking him were two four-star senior elders, their faces pale with shock as they looked down at the glowing black wall.
Elder Gu's divine perception swept over the hall, instantly locking onto the newly carved sapphire runes at the top of the black crystal. As his sharp eyes scanned the corrected herb ratios and circulation pathways, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"The Northern Star-Frost catalyst..." Elder Gu muttered, his voice shaking with a mixture of awe and overwhelming enlightenment. "The missing bridge wasn't a higher-grade fire herb to force balance... it was an absolute ice catalyst used to freeze the volatility during the seventh cycle! Fifty years... I spent fifty years searching for the wrong equilibrium!"
Elder Gu turned his head abruptly, his blazing, authoritative gaze dropping toward the center of the hall.
There stood Li-Wen, his hand slowly lowering back to his side. His dark coat hung straight, his face as cold and unruffled as an unyielding glacier. Beside him, Xiao-Yue was casually swinging her small legs, entirely unfazed by the sudden appearance of three terrifying Stage-5 powerhouses.
Elder Gu didn't hesitate for a single second.
SWISH!
He descended from the balcony, floating down to the marble floor in a blur of purple light, stepping directly past the stunned crowd until he stood three paces away from Li-Wen.
The surrounding alchemists held their breath, expecting Elder Gu to demand an explanation for altering the Guild's sacred wall.
Instead, under the completely shattered expectations of everyone present, the world-renowned Five-Star Chief Alchemist held his hands high, bowed his waist at a strict ninety-degree angle, and cupped his hands in a grand, formal gesture of deep respect!
"This old man, Gu Chang-Sheng, greets the Honorable Grandmaster!" Elder Gu spoke in a voice full of profound reverence. "May I ask... which hidden ancient faction or central sanctuary does Senior hail from? Your insight into the ancient lotus-refining methodology has completely shattered this old man's lifelong ignorance!"
The entire trading hall went dead silent.
A Five-Star Chief Alchemist—a figure whose status was equal to a royal duke or the grand patriarch of an ancient clan—was actively lowering himself, addressing a young man in a plain coat as "Senior" and "Grandmaster"!
Behind the counter, the two-star attendant dropped to his knees, his entire body shivering uncontrollably in sheer horror. He knew that if Li-Wen uttered even a single word about his earlier rudeness, Elder Gu would strip his skin and banish him to the slave mines before the sun set.
Li-Wen's expression remained as smooth as still water. He looked at Elder Gu with an indifferent, level gaze.
"My origins are irrelevant," Li-Wen said faintly, his low voice carrying a quiet weight that commanded absolute authority. "I am here for a simple exchange. I corrected your flawed ancient formula. In return, I require a Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core."
Elder Gu straightened up, his eyes shining with unbridled enthusiasm. "A Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core? Say no more, Grandmaster! A single core is nowhere near equal in value to the masterpiece correction you have bestowed upon our Guild today!"
Elder Gu turned his head toward the two four-star elders behind him, his voice instantly turning cold and imperious. "Go to the Grand Inner Vault immediately! Fetch the highest-quality Nine-Leaf Snow-Lotus Soul Core preserved in the millennium cold-jade box! Bring it down within thirty seconds!"
"Yes, Chief Elder!" the two elders responded instantly, turning into two streaks of light as they rushed toward the upper floors.
Within twenty seconds, one of the elders returned, holding a translucent, rectangular box carved from pure, glowing white jade.
Elder Gu accepted the box with both hands, stepping forward and presenting it to Li-Wen with extreme care.
Through the translucent jade lid, one could see a pulsating, ice-blue crystalline flower core floating inside a liquid pool of concentrated spirit-dew. The moment the box came near, a terrifyingly pure, freezing wave of spatial energy radiated outward, making the temperature in the surrounding ten paces drop drastically!
Li-Wen raised his hand, his long fingers lightly touching the cold-jade box. His divine perception probed inside, confirming the immaculate quality and pure, uncorrupted spatial-ice property of the Soul Core.
It was a top-grade specimen, harvested from the deepest depths of a subterranean frozen rift. It possessed the exact, unblemished potency needed to refine the Nine-Leaf Frost-Lotus Stabilizing Pill for Xiao-Yue.
"It will suffice," Li-Wen said calmly, sweeping his sleeve and storing the cold-jade box directly into his spatial ring.
Elder Gu let out a soft sigh of relief, smiling warmly. "Grandmaster, the Grand Cauldron Tower is deeply honored by your visit today. If you require any additional rare herbs, refining cauldrons, or quiet alchemical chambers, our highest-grade Heavenly Cauldron Suite on the eighty-eighth floor is at your complete disposal!"
The surrounding crowd gasped again. The Heavenly Cauldron Suite was reserved exclusively for visiting sovereign lords or the Guild's supreme ancestors!
Li-Wen glanced down at Xiao-Yue. The little girl was holding her small lotus lantern, looking slightly sleepy after standing for so long amidst the crowded noise of the hall.
"Very well," Li-Wen agreed faintly. "I require a quiet, high-grade refining chamber for three days. No one is permitted to disturb me during this period."
"Understood! Absolutely no one will enter within three hundred feet of the suite!" Elder Gu promised instantly, bowing once more. "Guards! Clear the private VIP spirit-elevator at once! Escort the Grandmaster and the Young Lady to the eighty-eighth floor!"
Ten minutes later, the grand, high-altitude doors of the Heavenly Cauldron Suite closed smoothly, sealing off all noise, dust, and probing eyes from the outer world.
The suite was breathtakingly grand: a vast, circular hall constructed from white spirit-marble, cantilevered directly out from the eighty-eighth floor of the bronze tower, offering an uninterrupted, panoramic view of the entire Central Imperial Capital below.
At the center of the hall sat a massive, three-legged bronze cauldron forged from Sun-Gold Ore, resting atop a natural fire-vein array embedded deep within the floor.
Xiao-Yue immediately trotted over to the soft, velvet couch situated by the wide crystalline window, dropping her small pack and hopping up to sit down comfortably. She rubbed her eyes, looking out at the shimmering golden lights of the vast city below as night fell over the Capital.
"Brother Li-Wen," Xiao-Yue asked softly, her small voice carrying a hint of weariness. "Are we going to cook the icy flower now?"
Li-Wen walked over to the center of the refining chamber, his dark coat sweeping behind him. He reached back, unbuckling the leather straps of his heavy blade and setting the wrapped weapon against the central marble pillar with a heavy THUD.
"Yes," Li-Wen said gently, sitting down cross-legged before the Sun-Gold Cauldron. "Tonight, I refine the pill that will fix your meridians permanently."
With a flick of his wrist, Li-Wen summoned the three primary ingredients from his spatial ring: the Three-Hundred-Year Cold-Marrow Jade, the Spiritual Dew of the High Peaks, and the newly acquired Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core.
The three legendary treasures hovered in the air before him, radiating intense, conflicting blue and white spiritual lights.
Li-Wen closed his eyes, taking a deep, slow breath. The chaotic, powerful Qi within his dantian settled into absolute, icy equilibrium. The Ancestral Northern Rune on his chest flared with a quiet, blue starlight glow through his shirt.
HUMMM...
Li-Wen opened his eyes, two beams of cold, crystalline blue light shooting from his pupils into the base of the cauldron!
Instead of summoning a traditional, scorching alchemical fire to heat the cauldron, Li-Wen executed the forbidden ancient technique of the Northern Legacy—The Absolute Zero Frost-Refining Method!
A surge of pure, glacial frost-fire—a flame so cold it burned directly through spiritual matter—erupted from his palms, enveloping the Sun-Gold Cauldron in a layer of thick, shimmering blue ice!
The room's temperature plummeted instantly. The air crystallized into tiny, floating ice stars, and the grand cauldron began to vibrate with a high-pitched, harmonic hum.
Sitting on the couch in the distance, Xiao-Yue watched the mesmerizing sight with wide, shining eyes. The cold air didn't bother her at all; instead, under the protective influence of Li-Wen's array, she felt a profound sense of warmth, peace, and absolute security.
Li-Wen's hands moved like blurred shadows, guiding the three hovering herbs into the ice-covered cauldron one by one.
The final, crucial stage of preparing the remedy for the Fire-Lotus Bloodline had officially begun.
See you in next chapter...