Chapter 18: Silent Cultivation, Hidden Fires
The cavern's stillness was absolute, broken only by the drip of distant water.
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged against the far wall, a small cluster of jade bottles from Liang Feixu's ring resting beside him.
He turned one over in his hand. Inside, the pills glimmered faintly — pure, refined, but not enough to draw Heaven's gaze. Exactly what he needed.
No upgrades this time. No celestial-grade glow. Just quiet strength.
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Layer by Layer
One by one, he consumed the heaven-grade cultivation pills, letting the refined qi seep into his meridians at a controlled pace.
The Origin Chaos Sutra spun steadily, binding the energy into liquid qi within his dantian. He could feel his body knitting further from the damage sustained in the cliff fall, the marrow deepening in density, and his qi channels widening slightly with each session.
After the third pill, his cultivation base was stable at Qi Condensation Stage 8, edging toward Stage 9 — but not enough of a leap to create any sudden surges that might be noticed by the hunters outside.
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The Alchemist's Path
When his qi cycles were settled, Lin Xuan turned his attention to the jade slip marked Ecliptic Lotus Pill – Formula.
Liang Feixu's notes were elegant, concise — and completely different from the structure of the Empyrean Pill Scripture. Where the Empyrean Scripture favored harmony of elemental resonance, the Ecliptic Lotus method relied on timing and layered infusions of qi at precise moments, forcing the ingredients to merge into a more volatile but potent whole.
Lin Xuan spent hours committing every detail to memory before attempting his first trial batch.
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Trial by Flame
From Liang's stores, he chose mid-grade herbs to avoid wasting rarities. The portable furnace warmed under his control, and he followed the steps exactly:
First infusion, a slow yin flame.
Second infusion, a brief yang burst.
Third, a combined flow to fuse the essences.
The batch produced three modest pills — not strong, but the balance was right.
He repeated the process again and again, alternating between Liang's method and the Empyrean Scripture's approach. He began to understand how each technique compensated for the other's weaknesses, his alchemy control becoming sharper, his sense for ingredient resonance more precise.
By the end of the third day, he could produce stable mid-grade pills without failure — a speed of improvement that would have stunned most masters, though for him it still felt like only the beginning.
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Hunters Above
On the fourth day, while meditating, Lin Xuan paused mid-breath. His divine physique's heightened senses picked up faint vibrations through the rock above.
Outside the cavern, voices murmured — faint but sharp with intent.
"…the tribulation was here, I'm sure of it."
"Then where is he? You saw the cliff — nothing survives that fall."
"Don't be so certain. If he's alive, he's hiding. And I want his head and whatever he's hiding before the others find him."
The sound of boots crunching on stone faded slowly.
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Lin Xuan opened his eyes, gaze calm but edged with steel.
They're still looking. Which means they still believe I have something worth dying for.
His hand rested on the portable furnace. He would stay hidden for now — but when he emerged, he intended to be far stronger than when he fell.