The morning mist clung to the mountains like a drunken ghost, and the Azure Cloud Sect shone proudly above it all — a thousand stone steps carved into the spine of the world, where cultivators sought enlightenment, immortality… and occasionally, glory.
For Lin Feng, enlightenment was a secondary goal. Right now, he just wanted his cauldron not to explode.
"Careful… steady… just a drop more of Mistfire Dew," he muttered, holding a jade vial with trembling hands.
Inside his small alchemy hut, a bubbling bronze cauldron emitted a strange, gurgling hum — like a spirit beast about to sneeze.
Lin Feng's robes were half-burnt, his hair frazzled, and the floor was covered with the corpses of dead experiments: melted ladles, cracked spirit stones, and one unfortunate frog that had tried to help.
"Come on, old boy," Lin Feng coaxed, "today's the day we make history. A brew that heals injuries and tastes like plum wine! The Sect Elders will have to forgive me this time."
He dropped the last ingredient — a single petal of Azure Flame Orchid — and the cauldron began to purr.
A golden mist rose. For one glorious second, Lin Feng grinned.
Then the cauldron hiccuped.
"…Oh no."
BOOM.
The explosion shook the entire mountainside. A column of multi-colored fire shot into the sky, painting the morning clouds with rainbow fumes.
Disciples ran from their huts, shouting. Elders appeared in flashes of light, robes fluttering. Someone screamed, "He's done it again!"
When the smoke cleared, Lin Feng was lying in a crater, clutching the half-melted cauldron like a baby. His eyebrows were gone.
A soft, buzzing hum echoed in his ears — like voices whispering at the edge of his mind.
"Who dares disturb my slumber…"
"…Who drank my blood essence?"
"…Where is the wine?"
Three voices. Deep, ancient, and thoroughly annoyed.
Lin Feng blinked. "Uh… sorry? You're in my head, I think. Can I get a refund?"
The first voice was cold and sharp.
"I am Jin Jue, the Sword of the Heavens. You are unworthy to speak my—"
The second growled like thunder.
"Mo Xuan, King of Beasts. You dare bind me, human?"
The third hiccupped.
"…Wait, did someone bring more wine?"
Lin Feng sat up, dizzy. "Wait, what do you mean bind? I was just brewing tea!"
He looked at his hands — faint golden lines crawled across his skin, glowing with chaotic energy. A sword's hum echoed from one palm, a beast's roar from the other. His cauldron pulsed once more — then melted into liquid light and vanished.
A system-like mark burned onto his wrist:
[Triple Spirit Fusion — Incomplete]
"…Triple what now?"
At that exact moment, the door slammed open.
"LIN FENG!" A voice roared.
Elder Hu Tian, red-faced and wide-eyed, stormed in. His beard was smoking from the explosion.
The old man's eyes widened as he saw Lin Feng glowing faintly gold.
"You—! You've merged with three spirit entities!"
Lin Feng blinked. "Is that bad?"
The elder gaped. "Bad?! You've committed spiritual heresy! The heavens will reject you! The sect will—"
A rumbling shook the room. Clouds above the mountain twisted violently, thunder crackling within.
A single golden lightning bolt tore the sky apart — and struck Lin Feng squarely on the head.
The world went white.
When he came to, he was lying in a crater again, smoking gently. Around him stood disciples whispering, horrified.
One of them muttered, "He got struck by heavenly lightning! Twice!"
Another whispered, "He's cursed… Heaven's abandoned him."
Lin Feng groaned, sitting up. "Cursed? No… just unlucky." He spat out soot and smiled weakly. "I think Heaven sneezed on me."
From inside his mind, the sword spirit scoffed:
"Heaven's sneeze? This is divine punishment, fool."
The beast spirit growled:
"I told you, release me!"
And the drunken voice chuckled:
"Heh… could've been worse. You could've spilled the brew."
Elder Hu Tian rubbed his temples. "Lin Feng, by order of the Sect Council, you are hereby expelled from Azure Cloud Sect for blasphemous cultivation conduct and… general stupidity."
The disciples gasped.
Lin Feng sighed, brushing dust from his tattered robes. "So… no second chance?"
"No."
"Can I at least take my cauldron?"
"It exploded."
"Oh. Right."
He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds disperse. Somewhere, faint laughter echoed — not from mortals, but from Heaven itself.
"Fine," Lin Feng muttered. "If Heaven won't have me, I'll walk my own path."
He turned away from the sect gates, clutching a half-empty gourd of wine. The three spirits within his body stirred, arguing as he walked down the mountain.
"Your body is too weak."
"Your mind is too noisy."
"Your wine is too cheap."
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "Then I guess we'll have to fix all three."
The wind carried his words into the mist — and somewhere far above, Heaven trembled once more.