"How could the cauldron explode?"
"This old man clearly sensed the heaven-and-earth energy already stabilize. The pill should've formed by now. An explosion shouldn't be possible at this stage."
"Exactly. With Little Ying's soul strength, there's no way she'd make a mistake in the final step."
"How strange."
"…"
The Cao Clan elders hovered at the door, whispering to each other, deeply puzzled by Cao Ying's failure.
Within the Cao Clan, anyone who could be an elder was at least a 6th-rank alchemist, with several 7th-rankers among them. Their knowledge and experience in alchemy were vast.
Just by sensing the changes in heaven-and-earth energy, they could judge whether a 4th-rank pill would form successfully.
Given the situation, there was only one explanation:
Right at the moment of forming the pill, the alchemist had voluntarily given up.
…
"Cough, cough!"
Black smoke filled the room, and only when the flames began to dissipate did a graceful young girl in a black dress become visible. There was a layer of black soot on her originally tender, fair face, making her dark eyes look even brighter.
Suspended in front of her was an ancient-looking book. A line of characters was written on it:
[Xiao Ting's Great Dao Journal (Cao Ying's Observation Copy)]
As for the contents inside, Cao Ying had taken a single distracted glance at them during alchemy—and that was exactly what caused her to blow up the cauldron.
"I'm actually just a character in some storybook… Battle Through the Heavens?"
Because of her powerful soul and her habit of reading widely from a young age, even as a thirteen-year-old girl, Cao Ying's mindset was unusually mature.
Even so, as she read the Journal, she couldn't help feeling shocked.
After all, this was a question of whether she herself actually existed.
But when she read further—especially the part where Xiao Ting said he himself was certainly real—Cao Ying's emotions quickly calmed.
Propping her chin with one hand, she flipped through the Journal with great interest.
"How interesting. Judging from my five years as a veteran story-reader, having opened countless books, that so-called Battle Through the Heavens by 'Tian Can Tu Dou' is definitely not the creator of the Battle Qi Continent. Rather, by some method I cannot comprehend, he managed to learn of Xiao Yan's growth."
"He then used his own subjective imagination and literary skill to show Xiao Yan's life, while Xiao Ting is an 'otherworlder' who learned about Xiao Yan's life and the Battle Qi Continent through that book."
"Because Xiao Yan eventually becomes a Dou God and stands high enough, he can learn many of the Continent's secrets."
"But if something wasn't written in Battle Through the Heavens, or it was something Xiao Yan never encountered on his path, Xiao Ting doesn't know it either."
The Battle Qi Continent was vast beyond measure. Cao Ying didn't believe Xiao Yan had seen everything. Therefore, Xiao Ting definitely wasn't all-knowing.
Ultimately, he was just an alternative kind of puppet pulled into reality by a storybook, who merely believed himself a step above them "natives."
The Pill Tower, with its long history, definitely had more comprehensive intelligence on the Continent than Xiao Ting.
As the Cao Clan's Enchantress, Cao Ying didn't believe she had any reason to fear—
"Hm!?"
Her pupils suddenly shrank.
She had reached the newest part of today's Journal update, and her expression turned serious.
"Central Plains Genius Corrector."
"And the representatives… Feng Qing Er and… me!?"
"Feng Qing Er in battle, and me in alchemy!"
Cao Ying felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck her, leaving a tingling numbness all over her body.
Did that not mean she was just a background prop? A stepping stone?
She, the Cao Clan's Enchantress Cao Ying, was actually just a pitiful contrast? A foil?
As a seasoned reader, she understood this trope all too well: the more incredible she was, the better she could show off the protagonist's brilliance.
Now it was worse—whether or not Xiao Ting fully understood the Battle Qi Continent, she didn't know, but he knew her inside out.
"Damn it, that lecher actually knows this young lady inside and out."
A strange blush crept onto her cheeks as she ground her teeth.
As for the fact that Xiao Yan would step on her as a stepping stone, she had already been forewarned and would never allow it to happen.
"Maybe I should get someone to capture them while they're still weak—drag Xiao Ting and Xiao Yan here to be my medicine boys?"
Cao Ying let out a "jie-jie-jie" cackle, but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
She mustn't let anyone hear that kind of laugh, or they might mistake her for a Hall of Souls mole and get rid of her.
Actually, even that wouldn't be too bad—she could always tell her mother about the Journal's contents—
"Huh!?"
Suddenly, Cao Ying felt like two hands had clamped down on her heart.
In the next instant, her soul lost control of her body and sank into a strange, lightless space. She could no longer sense the passage of time and was plunged into eternal, solitary silence.
"Haa… haa…"
Cao Ying panted heavily, eyes full of terror.
A realization rose from the depths of her heart:
She absolutely must not harm Xiao Ting in any way—not even in thought. Just thinking about it was a crime.
She absolutely must not reveal the existence or content of the Journal in any way.
"I'd rather die directly than go through that again."
Pressing a hand against her still-developing chest, Cao Ying shuddered.
This experience completely erased any doubt she'd had about the Journal's authenticity.
A Journal that could bypass the senses of the Cao Clan's Dou Venerate and plunge her into a living hell at any time had no reason to lie.
"Central Plains Genius Corrector…"
Cao Ying murmured, a proud glint appearing in her eyes.
Now that she knew in advance, she would never be Xiao Yan's stepping stone. If anyone would step on her, it could only be Xiao Ting.
For a Journal holder who was "all-knowing and all-powerful" regarding her specifically, she would accept defeat.
Just then, her Journal flipped another page by itself in her mind, and a line of information flowed in:
Plane's Blessing: [Seven Days of Alchemist Hand-Technique Experience]
In the next moment, countless images appeared in Cao Ying's mind—scenes of herself soberly locked away cultivating alchemy.
"Now, if I refine a 4th-rank pill, it feels like I'll be much more proficient."
Her eyes sparkled. After wiping the ash from her little sooty face, she took out another pile of medicinal ingredients, sat down cross-legged, and began refining again.
This time, she would attempt to refine a Qi Gathering Powder!
…
At the same time, within the Eastern Pavilion's core area in the Wind and Lightning Mountain Range—
"Huff… ha…"
Feng Qing Er's delicate body trembled. Fragrant sweat soaked through her colorful long dress.
When she saw that Xiao Ting had written that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix bloodline was only second to the Ancient Void Dragons, intense anger flared in her heart.
Though she also knew that in ancient times only the Ancient Heaven Phoenix could truly stand side by side with the Ancient Void Dragons, her pride refused to allow anyone to belittle her.
In that instant, anger and the thought of "teaching Xiao Ting a lesson" rose up together.
The Journal immediately issued a warning, her entire body plunged into an icy abyss, and her very life felt as though it had fallen into someone else's grasp.
After extinguishing all malice toward Xiao Ting, she continued reading. When she read that she would be "corrected" by Xiao Yan in the future and end up only able to look up to him, rage churned again in her heart.
If the Xiao Clan had remained the old Xiao Clan and Xiao Yan possessed Dou God bloodline, then fine—she could accept losing.
But right now Xiao Yan was just some nobody from a remote region. Why should he surpass her?
"Xiao Yan, you can forget about defeating me this time."
Feng Qing Er snorted inwardly, no longer putting Xiao Yan in her eyes.
The opponent she took seriously now was Xiao Ting.
"I have to think of a way to make contact with him early."
...