The morning air over the Azure Serpent Sect was unusually still. Spirit beasts barely stirred in the woods, and even the birds seemed cautious. Within Lab 7B, Rayen Wu stood before a cluster of ingredients laid out in perfect geometric alignment.
:: Lab integrity check complete. Ambient Qi flux stable. Initiating cognitive partitioning protocol. ::
"Good," Rayen muttered. "Let's see what happens when we pair a Coldroot Crystal with a volatile Fireleaf Pod under recursive modulation."
The furnace ignited with a low hum as Rayen placed the ingredients in a copper cauldron.
:: Warning: Interaction predicted to be chaotic. Suggest reinforced spiritual boundaries. ::
"I thought chaos was our baseline."
With precise timing, he added powdered Moonglow Husk and activated the heat rune. The mixture hissed, then shuddered. Swirls of red and blue steam twisted above the cauldron, forming fractal patterns.
Suddenly, the spiritual air warped.
The concoction split into two halves—one icy, one blazing.
"Fascinating," Rayen whispered. "Dual-aspect resonance. Like Yin-Yang alchemy but unstable."
He reached for a stabilizing agent, but a tremor passed through the room.
:: External interference detected. Ambient Qi spike from northwest quadrant. Source: Lab 7C. ::
Rayen frowned. "Lab 7C?"
He closed the cauldron lid and rushed out, heading next door. The air reeked of scorched herbs and spiritual dissonance.
Lab 7C looked like a disaster zone. Crucibles lay shattered. A thick cloud of smoke curled from the remains of a failed transmutation.
Standing amidst the mess was a young woman in green robes, coughing violently.
"Do you always open dimensional tears during breakfast experiments?" Rayen asked, stepping inside.
She glanced up, eyes wide and fierce. "It wasn't supposed to rupture."
"Clearly."
"I was trying to generate a transient phase core using a compressed Qi lattice Without accounting for waveform collapse," Rayen finished. "Yeah, that'll do it."
The woman wiped soot from her cheek. "Name's Lin Xue. I've read your Soup paper."
Rayen blinked. "Wait, people are citing me already?"
"Oh yes. You're infamous."
:: Social threat level: Low. Probability of collaboration: 62%. Potential rival detected. ::
Rayen offered her a hand. "Let's clean this up before the Elder shows up with a lightning talisman."
Back in Lab 7B, Rayen and Lin Xue began recalibrating their experiments, occasionally bickering like rival engineers.
"I still think phase-locking can reduce entropy loss," she said.
"Only if you use a stabilized core array. Otherwise, you get soup explosions. Trust me."
She arched a brow. "You enjoy this, don't you?"
Rayen smirked. "It beats dying in a black hole."
She stared. "What?"
"Never mind."
Their combined efforts produced something unusual: a soft blue pill pulsing gently in rhythm with the surrounding Qi.
:: Compound classified: Harmonizing Catalyst. Effect: Aligns user's spiritual resonance with nearby cultivation nodes. Side effects: Dizziness, temporary synesthesia, minor hallucinations of celestial geometry. ::
Lin Xue grinned. "We made a cultivation harmonizer. Together."
Rayen exhaled. "Add it to the list."
**[Rayen Wu – Cultivator Status Sheet]**
• Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment – Layer 1 (Ember Core: Stable)
• Core Stability: 88% (Post dual-resonance experiment)
• Martial Techniques:
⁃ Ember Pulse Palm
⁃ Thermal Weave Breathing
⁃ Steam Qi Displacement
⁃ Kinetic Feedback Reversal
⁃ Thermal Refraction Layer
• Alchemy Techniques:
⁃ Controlled Entropy Infusion
⁃ Quantum Fractional Distillation
⁃ Recursive Alchemy
⁃ Phase-Resonant Modulation (New – Joint Discovery)
• Pill Formulas Mastered:
⁃ High-tier Body Refinement Pill
⁃ Ember Spark Draught
⁃ Soup of Enlightenment (banned)
⁃ Enlightenment Kernel (Prototype – Forbidden)
⁃ Dewfire Insight Tonic (Experimental)
⁃ Harmonizing Catalyst (New)
• Notable Items: Quantum Entangled Drive (Q.E.D.), Lab 7B Access, Jade Crucible, Sect Trial Token
• Reputation: Courtyard Philosopher, Duelist Alchemist, Collaborative Innovator
That evening, as the sun dipped behind the mountains, Rayen sat by the herb garden, sipping tea while Q.E.D. ran data.
Lin Xue sat beside him, watching the stars emerge.
"Do you always work like this?" she asked.
Rayen smiled. "Only when I'm trying to change the world."
"Good," she said. "Because next time, I want in from the start."
:: Collaboration locked. New research thread initiated: Dual-Core Cultivation Synergy. ::
Rayen raised his cup. "To shared anomalies."
She clinked hers against his. "To beautiful disruptions."