"My lady, how many days will it take you this time?"
A young maid in a bright pink dress asked her master with a cheerful voice. She followed closely behind her lady along the lengthy corridor filled with beautiful young women bustling about their duties. Whenever the master and servant passed by, all of them would bow their heads in utmost respect and humility.
"You know that the elixir I'm going to concoct this time won't be easy..."
The voice that responded was full of charm and formidable authority. Though it carried an underlying coldness, those close to her knew well that their lady never intended it to be that way in the slightest.
In a world where power reigned supreme and was filled with cultivators, a young woman who had risen decisively and established her own palace single-handedly amidst war and chaos was no ordinary woman.
"Bai Fanxian" was a name that stood as the supreme existence of this era. The sole Palace Master of the Alchemy Goddess Palace. Her ability in the art of alchemy was unrivaled, second to none. Countless great clans and sects desired her, but she had firmly rejected them all by establishing her own palace decisively. All they could do was present her with abundant treasures and bow humbly when begging her to concoct elixirs for them.
So many were those who desired her, for beyond her abilities, she was also a beauty who could topple nations. Her charm and coldness made young men yearn to conquer her.
But unfortunately, another thing she possessed in abundance was power.
Because she was known as the "Alchemy Empress," what she never lacked were elixirs and mystical items. When cultivating, every single elixir she consumed was one she had concocted herself. No one knew how many times throughout her life she had used her own body as a test subject for the elixirs she created.
This caused both her spiritual power and physical body to soar to a realm beyond any other existence in the world. Even the Imperial Clan, which had inherited special cultivation techniques for thousands of years, could not compare to a fraction of her power.
The world's scholars of that era even established a new power level higher than any the world had ever known, specifically for her.
"Semi-Immortal Being"
That was what they called her.
"What will you name this elixir, my lady?"
Her maid asked adorably.
Bai Fanxian could only reveal a faint smile, because even she had no confidence in the elixir she was about to concoct this time. She couldn't even predict its outcome.
"I haven't thought of one yet..."
"Then I shall wait for you to emerge, my lady..."
Her trusted maid persisted as they both arrived at the large door. Ancient characters were carved above the entrance. They would respond only to her power and open the door for her alone. As long as no one in the outside world possessed power greater than hers, this door would remain sealed for eternity.
She simply called it her workshop.
But she also used it when concocting elixirs and cultivating. When she had achieved a level beyond anyone else in the world, she had lost track of time inside this door for a full three years.
Bai Fanxian walked into the room. The sound of numerous mechanisms echoed behind her as they sealed the door back to its original state. From now on, only she would remain in this vast chamber.
Her workshop was fully equipped with ingredients for alchemy of every type. Countless bookshelves lined the walls, and many legendary materials of the world that she had collected to satisfy her curiosity filled the space.
She walked to the center of the room and waved her hand once. An alchemy cauldron three times larger than herself materialized from a rift in mid-air, as if it had come from another dimension.
Bai Fanxian gently stroked her alchemy cauldron. This was the finest work of a grandmaster refiner, one of her few companions, who had also created this workshop for her.
Whoosh!
With just her gentle touch, bright blue flames ignited. The rapidly rising heat and temperature posed no problem for Bai Fanxian. She waved her hand again, and a number of ingredients materialized in mid-air. If these ingredients were to appear in the outside world, they would certainly trigger a war over their possession, as each type was considered priceless. But now they were being tossed into the cauldron by Bai Fanxian as casually as turnips.
As each ingredient was thrown in, tremendous pressure gradually formed from the center of the giant cauldron. Every piece added made that pressure grow heavier and heavier until the air outside could be seen trembling.
Bai Fanxian remained unmoved. She watched the unfolding results calmly. When the final ingredient was thrown in, she did something no one could have anticipated.
She jumped into the cauldron!
Fortunately, she was alone. Otherwise, countless people would have been shocked to death!
"Ten Thousand Year Ginseng..."
Bai Fanxian murmured softly. She stood at the center of the alchemy cauldron. Around her appeared the numerous ingredients she had thrown in earlier, spinning around her as if she were the center of the universe.
A ginseng root of modest size materialized before her. Its roots glowed brilliantly golden and trembled continuously. It shuddered slightly once more upon contact with Bai Fanxian, before floating to her right, becoming the only ingredient that didn't spin around.
"Ten Thousand Dragon Bone..."
Another ingredient appeared before the young woman. This time it didn't glow like the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng. It was merely a mass of ash held together, emitting only a dark-looking aura.
When it touched Bai Fanxian's body, it trembled slightly before moving itself to her left side, parallel to the previous ginseng.
"Ten Thousand Day Tears..."
The next item was just a single drop of water. The tiny droplet hovered before her. It emitted no aura whatsoever, yet it appeared so crystal clear as if it could dilute anything in the world.
"Ten Thousand Night Blood..."
As if the polar opposite of the clear pure water before, the next drop of water that appeared was pitch black, so dark that even light couldn't penetrate it. It floated alongside the Ten Thousand Day Tears, before lunging into the young woman's body as if plunging into a vast ocean.
There was no resistance whatsoever when it made contact with her skin, as if they stubbornly sank into Bai Fanxian's body just like that.
But the owner of that body furrowed her brow once. The power within her body exploded outward until even the world's finest alchemy cauldron trembled. The stream of pure energy she released around herself drew the numerous ingredients to circulate continuously. The blue flames appeared once more and gradually burned the spinning ingredients. Suddenly, the Ten Thousand Dragon Bone and Ten Thousand Year Ginseng shone brilliantly, one white and one black, intertwining in a circle with the young woman's body standing calmly still at the center.
As if she were being wrapped in an exquisitely beautiful cocoon.
The heat of the blue flames gradually intensified, melting the surrounding spinning ingredients into the surface of the white and black cocoon. As the ingredients were melted and merged, powerful auras were gradually released. Bai Fanxian, at the center of the entire process, closed her eyes. She allowed the spiritual energy flow within her body to gradually guide the energy currents of the surrounding ingredients, until finally the external tremors subsided.
Only a spherical mass of energy remained floating at the center of the cauldron.
As if it were merely a single "pill"...