The rainbow shimmer of the falcons' feathers glowed faintly from the nest, their small bodies curled together in the harmony of the ten-element flow. Baiyun's yin-yang mark pulsed softly, Ling'er twitched restlessly in its sleep, and Xue'er's wings sparked faint arcs even at rest.
Haotian stood not far away, within the alchemy chamber. The jade bottles of Primordial Harmony Pills lined the shelves, glowing faintly in their perfection. Yet his eyes were already turned forward, his hands moving again, seeking not rest but refinement.
"This method…" he murmured, his gaze sharp, "is more than just a path for beasts. It rewrites alchemy itself."
He spread a new batch of herbs across the table. Not rare or divine, but standard stock — herbs used for common recovery pills. Ordinarily, they produced in small numbers, two or three at most from a cauldron's cycle.
Haotian raised his right hand, fingers curled. Threads of chi pierced each herb, drawing their essences into luminous streams. Droplets rose, one after another, until his palm pulsed with liquid light. His left hand formed rapid seals, shaping a stabilizing array around them.
The essences hovered, merged, and stabilized. No cauldron. No flame. No waste.
A sphere formed — larger, denser, richer than any recovery batch he had ever seen. Haotian willed it to divide. The sphere split, once, twice, dozens of times.
When he finished, 110 small spheres hovered before him, each glowing with the faint, steady light of condensed pills. He moved his fingers, inscribing runes into them in a blur. Within moments, 110 triple recovery pills floated in the air, flawless.
Haotian exhaled softly, placing them into jade bottles. "One cycle… one hundred and ten. At this rate…" His eyes narrowed. "The furnaces of the world are already obsolete."
But he did not stop.
He reached next for a pile of frost crystal vein herbs, stock meant for stabilizing marrow and ice qi. Traditionally, their refining was troublesome — difficult to burn cleanly, producing many failures and wastage.
Haotian's hands rose again. The Eyes of the Universe flickered open, tracing every essence line within the herbs. Seals flowed. Essences pulled free. The herbs collapsed into ash, their energies gathered without a trace of waste.
A massive sphere formed before him, glowing bright-blue with frost light. He willed it to divide. Dozens of small orbs split away, then more, then more.
When the process ended, 223 pills hovered in the air at once, each one flawless, gleaming with frost crystal purity.
Haotian's eyes hardened. "Two hundred twenty-three… from what would once yield barely a handful."
He stood in silence, gazing at the glittering orbs. So much essence wasted before… lost to flame, smoke, and failure. If this method spreads, what the world thought scarce will no longer be rare. Entire armies could be fed and healed with a fraction of the resources.
His lips curved faintly.
"…This is insane."
The pills lowered into jade bottles, the shelves filling rapidly. The chamber glowed with multicolored light, the sheer abundance of perfected pills almost overwhelming.
Haotian folded his arms behind his back, staring at the rows of bottles, his voice low.
"This is the power of Primordial Harmony Refinement. The world has no idea what has just been born."
Outside, the nest pulsed with rainbow light. The falcons stirred in their sleep, their feathers glowing brighter, their marrow fed not just by the garden but by the inevitability of the pills awaiting them.
Haotian turned his gaze toward them, his eyes alight with calm fire.
"Your growth… will shake heaven itself."
The dawn sun rose bright, scattering golden light across the courtyard. The elemental garden breathed in rhythm, each herb glowing faintly in its assigned place, the runes pulsing like a beating heart.
From the nest came movement.
Ling'er stirred first, feathers rustling — and when its wings spread, Haotian's eyes narrowed in satisfaction. The frost-white plumage was gone. In its place shimmered a soft rainbow sheen, every feather lined with threads of ten hues. Frost still lingered in its aura, but alongside it burned fire, swirled wind, pulsed lightning, flowed water, and more. Each element was there — unstable no longer, but harmonized.
Xue'er awoke with a sharp cry. Sparks crackled along its wings, but instead of scattering wildly, they refracted into light, shimmering rainbow arcs that wrapped across its plumage. The frost sheen that once dominated its body now carried the glow of every element, weaving in balance.
Haotian's golden eyes glinted. Their elements are stable. The nest has done its work.
He stepped forward, drawing two pills from a jade bottle. The Primordial Harmony Pills pulsed in his palm, yin and yang swirling as though alive.
"Your turn."
Ling'er and Xue'er snapped their heads toward him, cries sharp, eyes bright with hunger and instinct. But unlike before, their restlessness was gone — their bodies resonated with the garden's balance, ready to endure what Baiyun had already taken.
Haotian extended his hand. The falcons leapt down, one after another, taking the pills directly from his palm.
The reaction was immediate.
Rainbow light burst from their feathers, filling the courtyard with dazzling brilliance. Their cries echoed, sharp and wild, shaking the air. Symbols flared upon their chests — yin and yang circles, black and white intertwined, pulsing faintly with all ten colors.
Haotian's gaze sharpened, the Eyes of the Universe opening wide. Within their marrow, he saw the ten elemental essences flowing in harmony:
Fire coursing like molten veins.
Earth steadying their bones.
Metal hardening talons and beaks.
Water flowing through their blood.
Wind coiling through their wings.
Ice sharpening their chi into blades.
Lightning quickening their reflexes.
Wood nourishing their growth.
Light radiating from their cores.
Shadow weaving around their spirits.
Their small bodies shimmered with power far beyond their youth, each element layered and balanced. Their rainbow plumage now burned with brilliance, a living reflection of the harmony within.
Ling'er gave a piercing cry, wings spreading wide as frost mist erupted alongside fire sparks. Xue'er screeched next, lightning and wind twisting into a spiral around its body. Baiyun joined them, calm but resplendent, rainbow wings glowing, yin-yang seal steady on its chest.
All three cried together — and the sound carried across the sect like a storm breaking the sky.
Haotian folded his arms, his expression unreadable, but his heart stirred. Ten elements. Balanced. Complete. Not one, not two, but all three have become what the heavens themselves would forbid.
The falcons landed before him, feathers glimmering, heads bowed slightly. Their eyes locked onto him, sharp, intelligent, bound.
"You are no longer mere Frost Falcons," Haotian said quietly, his voice carrying weight. "From this day forth, you are the Sovereigns of Ten Elements. My companions, my wings."
The yin-yang marks on their chests pulsed in unison, a silent vow sealed between man and beast.
Above the courtyard, rainbow light scattered into the sky. Those who saw it in the distance murmured of strange omens, but none knew the truth. Only Haotian and the three falcons understood what had been born that morning:
A bond of harmony.A legacy of creation.And the wings that would one day shake heaven itself.
The second dawn rose over the sect grounds, golden light spilling across the tiled roofs and frost-dappled courtyards. Within the elemental garden, the three falcons glowed faintly in their nest, rainbow feathers pulsing with balanced chi. Their yin-yang seals shimmered steadily, no longer unstable, but stable marks of sovereignty.
Haotian approached. The falcons stirred, chirping softly as he extended his arms. One by one, Ling'er, Xue'er, and Baiyun leapt from the nest to perch on his shoulders, their rainbow plumage radiant in the light.
"Come," Haotian said simply.
He strode toward the main hall.
By the time he arrived, the morning assembly had already gathered. Disciples lined the floor, elders seated upon raised platforms, Yinxue presiding with her usual unshakable calm. Conversation stilled the moment the doors opened.
All eyes turned.
Haotian entered last — tall, composed, a faint smile on his lips. And on his shoulders, three falcons perched, wings folded, their rainbow feathers shimmering with every hue of heaven and earth.
The hall froze in silence.
Even Yinxue, for all her poise, leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing in quiet awe. Elder Yinxuw rose from his seat, unable to restrain his shock. "Those… are Frost Falcons?" His voice trembled. "No… what are they…?"
Haotian stopped at the center of the hall. His voice was calm, casual, as though he had not just shattered every expectation of the assembly. "Good morning, everyone. I would like to introduce you to the falcons."
He raised his hand, pointing to each in turn. "This is Ling'er. This is Xue'er. And this is Baiyun."
As if on cue, the three falcons lifted their heads and screeched, sharp cries that echoed through the hall, their rainbow feathers glinting like gems.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then chaos.
The female disciples erupted first, gasping, squealing, charging forward in a wave. "They're so beautiful!" "How do their feathers shine like that?" "Senior Brother Haotian, can we touch them?"
Questions flew like arrows. Hands reached out, restrained only by the desperate attempts of male disciples to keep order. The air buzzed with excitement and disbelief.
Shuyue remained in her place, knuckles white against her sleeves. Her eyes betrayed her longing — her heart ached to step forward, to see the rainbow feathers up close, to touch them — but her heart-seal pulsed like iron chains, anchoring her still.
Amid the chaos, a sharp cough cut through the air.
Yinxue.
Her single gesture froze the hall. The disciples stiffened, voices dying, silence falling like frost.
Her gaze turned to Haotian, cold and penetrating. "Explain."
Haotian only smiled faintly. "It's simple."
His hand rose, fingers trailing a faint ripple of chi. "I raised them myself. Frost Falcons — but reshaped. Through formations, elemental gardens, and a new path of alchemy."
He paused, eyes flicking across the gathered disciples. "A path I call Primordial Harmony Refinement."
The words struck the hall like thunder.
Haotian continued, unhurried. "For thousands of years, alchemists have relied on furnaces and flames. Burning herbs, melting impurities, forcing essence into pills. It is inefficient. Wasteful. Flawed at its foundation. I have created a method that extracts 100% pure essence directly, without destruction. No cauldron. No flame. No waste. The results…" He gestured lightly toward the falcons, their rainbow feathers gleaming, yin-yang seals glowing faintly. "…speak for themselves."
Gasps rippled through the assembly. Elders exchanged wide-eyed glances. Even Yinxuw's lips parted, struggling for words.
"Impossible…" one elder whispered. "To discard the furnace itself…"
"Thousands of years of refinement, erased in a single hand…" another muttered.
Haotian's voice cut through the whispers. "One batch of herbs that would yield three pills now yields over a hundred. Common herbs, once deemed barely worth cultivation, can now produce abundance. Rarity itself is overturned. And the pills are flawless."
His eyes swept the hall, calm but sharp. "The old foundations of alchemy… are broken."
The silence that followed was heavier than thunder.
The disciples could not speak. The elders could not breathe. Even Yinxue, whose poise never faltered, gazed at him with a flicker of something rare in her eyes — astonishment.
Haotian folded his arms, the three falcons screeching proudly upon his shoulders, their rainbow wings glowing like banners of a new era.
"This," he said quietly, "is only the beginning."
The second dawn rose over the sect grounds, golden light spilling across the tiled roofs and frost-dappled courtyards. Within the elemental garden, the three falcons glowed faintly in their nest, rainbow feathers pulsing with balanced chi. Their yin-yang seals shimmered steadily, no longer unstable, but stable marks of sovereignty.
Haotian approached. The falcons stirred, chirping softly as he extended his arms. One by one, Ling'er, Xue'er, and Baiyun leapt from the nest to perch on his shoulders, their rainbow plumage radiant in the light.
"Come," Haotian said simply.
He strode toward the main hall.
By the time he arrived, the morning assembly had already gathered. Rows of female disciples filled the floor, elders sat upon raised platforms, and Sect Master Yinxue presided with her usual unshakable calm. Conversation stilled the moment the doors opened.
All eyes turned.
Haotian entered last — tall, composed, a faint smile on his lips. And on his shoulders, three falcons perched, wings folded, their rainbow feathers shimmering with every hue of heaven and earth.
The hall froze in silence.
Even Yinxue, for all her poise, leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing in quiet awe. She rose from her seat, unable to restrain her shock. "Those… are Frost Falcons?" Her voice trembled. "No… what are they…?"
Haotian stopped at the center of the hall. His voice was calm, casual, as though he had not just shattered every expectation of the assembly. "Good morning, everyone. I would like to introduce you to the falcons."
He raised his hand, pointing to each in turn. "This is Ling'er. This is Xue'er. And this is Baiyun."
As if on cue, the three falcons lifted their heads and screeched, sharp cries that echoed through the hall, their rainbow feathers glinting like gems.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then chaos.
The disciples erupted. Gasps, squeals, cries of disbelief filled the hall. Some jumped to their feet, others surged forward a step before freezing, unable to resist the urge to get closer.
"They're so beautiful!""Senior Brother Haotian, how do their feathers shine like that?""I've never seen anything like it—!"
The air buzzed with excitement and awe, their orderly assembly dissolving into chaos.
And yet, not everyone moved.
Shuyue sat rigid at her place, her nails pressing crescents into her palms. Her eyes betrayed her longing — her heart ached to step forward, to see the falcons up close, to touch those rainbow feathers. But the invisible weight of the heart-seal pulsed within her chest like chains of iron. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain still even as her soul screamed to move.
Her lips parted — then pressed shut again. She could not.
The others surged like a tide. She sat frozen, silent, her longing hidden behind calm eyes.
And then, amid the chaos, a sharp cough cut through the air.
Yinxue.
Her single gesture froze the hall. The disciples stiffened, voices dying, silence falling like frost.
Her gaze turned to Haotian, cold and penetrating. "Explain."
Haotian only smiled faintly. "It's simple."
His hand rose, fingers trailing a faint ripple of chi. "I raised them myself. Frost Falcons — but reshaped. Through formations, elemental gardens, and a new path of alchemy."
He paused, eyes flicking across the gathered disciples. "A path I call Primordial Harmony Refinement."
The words struck the hall like thunder.
Haotian continued, unhurried. "For thousands of years, alchemists have relied on furnaces and flames. Burning herbs, melting impurities, forcing essence into pills. It is inefficient. Wasteful. Flawed at its foundation. I have created a method that extracts 100% pure essence directly, without destruction. No cauldron. No flame. No waste. The results…" He gestured lightly toward the falcons, their rainbow feathers gleaming, yin-yang seals glowing faintly. "…speak for themselves."
Gasps rippled through the assembly. Elders exchanged wide-eyed glances. Even Yinxue's lips parted, struggling for words.
"Impossible…" one elder whispered. "To discard the furnace itself…"
"Thousands of years of refinement, erased in a single hand…" another muttered.
Haotian's voice cut through the whispers. "One batch of herbs that would yield three pills now yields over a hundred. Common herbs, once deemed barely worth cultivation, can now produce abundance. Rarity itself is overturned. And the pills are flawless."
His eyes swept the hall, calm but sharp. "The old foundations of alchemy… are broken."
The silence that followed was heavier than thunder.
The disciples could not speak. The elders could not breathe. Even Yinxue, whose poise never faltered, gazed at him with a flicker of something rare in her eyes — astonishment.
Haotian folded his arms, the three falcons screeching proudly upon his shoulders, their rainbow wings glowing like banners of a new era.
"This," he said quietly, "is only the beginning."
The hall was still heavy with silence after Haotian's declaration. The disciples shifted uneasily, their eyes wide, their hearts torn between awe and disbelief.
Then, from among them, a timid voice rose.
"C-could… Senior Brother Haotian… show us?"
The hall stirred. Heads turned. The young disciple who had spoken blushed scarlet under the sudden attention but did not retract her question. Her eyes shone with a mixture of fear and desperate curiosity.
Yinxue's sharp gaze flickered toward Haotian. She gave no command, no prohibition — only silence, as though daring him to follow through on his own words.
Haotian's lips curved faintly. "Of course."
Gasps spread like wildfire.
Without further explanation, he raised his hand. A faint ripple of light spread from his sleeve, and with a casual wave, bundles of herbs shimmered into being — drawn directly from his spatial ring. Roots, stalks, crystals, and leaves, each glowing faintly with chi, floated for a moment before settling neatly onto the stone floor in ordered rows.
Disciples leaned forward, breath catching. Even the elders stiffened.
Then a voice finally broke out, half incredulous, half fearful."Wait— you're going to refine it here? In the main hall?"
Haotian's answer was not words, but action.
He stepped forward, standing tall before the assembled herbs, and raised his right hand. "Watch carefully."
His fingers curled into seals. Chi threads slipped into the herbs, and the air seemed to shimmer.
The herbs quivered, and from within them, threads of light emerged — fine, glowing strands like veins drawn into the air. Each carried its elemental hue: crimson for fire, azure for water, green for wood, gray for earth, white for ice, gold for metal, silver for lightning, pale white for neutral herbs, and even faint glimmers of light and shadow.
Gasps filled the hall.
"Their essence—!""He's pulling it out directly!""No flame, no cauldron—!"
The threads gathered in his open palm, weaving together into a glowing sphere of multicolored essence. No impurities. No smoke. No waste.
Haotian's eyes narrowed as he exerted his will. The sphere trembled — then split apart, dividing smoothly, perfectly, into smaller spheres.
One became ten. Ten became a hundred. At last, 110 orbs hovered in the air above his hand, each glowing with steady light.
Then, with his left hand, he formed runic seals. His fingers blurred as dozens upon dozens of runes flew into the spheres, stabilizing, shaping, condensing.
In the blink of an eye, the spheres solidified — and 110 flawless triple recovery pills floated in the air.
He lowered his hand, and the pills descended neatly into jade bottles. The clink of glass echoed in the dead silence of the hall.
Not a disciple moved. Not an elder breathed.
Every pair of eyes was locked on Haotian.
Ziyue stood frozen in her place. Her throat went dry. She swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze away.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. The man I recruited… the stoic one who never sought recognition, who followed orders without complaint… this same man now stands before the sect, shattering a thousand years of alchemy with a single hand…
Her chest tightened. Her breath quickened.
And I—
She stopped herself, pressing her lips together, eyes wide with turmoil.
On Haotian's shoulders, Ling'er, Xue'er, and Baiyun screeched proudly, rainbow feathers flashing in rhythm with their master's brilliance.
And in that instant, not only disciples, not only elders, but even Ziyue herself knew — the name Haotian would spread far beyond the Moon Lotus Sect.
This was the dawn of a new era.