Jiang Chen arrived at the entrance of the underground refining area. By now, his face was his pass; the guards recognized him instantly. With a quick registration, he bypassed the usual security checks and stepped inside.

The Internal Pill Appraisal Meeting had concluded, and the halls had returned to their customary, solemn silence. Occasionally, a ragged-looking Alchemist would hurry past, eyes glazed with exhaustion, oblivious to everything but their next batch.

Jiang Chen navigated the corridors smoothly, arriving at Room 9-7—Yu Caiqing’s exclusive laboratory on the seventh sublevel.

The heavy stone door was sealed tight, dampening all sound from within.

Jiang Chen flicked his wrist, retrieving Yu Caiqing’s Communication Talisman. He infused a strand of Wood Qi into the paper, watching the runes glow faintly.

He waited.

A full minute passed. No answer.

A frown creased Jiang Chen’s forehead. Did something happen? Alchemy was a dangerous profession; exploding furnaces were a common cause of death for careless cultivators.

Suppressing his rising anxiety, he tried again.

This time, after ten long breaths, the connection clicked open.

“Come in,” Yu Caiqing’s voice drifted out, sounding incredibly weary.

“Senior Sister Yu, I’m here as agreed,” Jiang Chen replied, letting out a relieved breath. She was alive, just preoccupied.

A moment later, the grinding of stone against stone echoed through the corridor. As the door cracked open, a blast of scalding white mist rolled out like a escaping dragon.

Jiang Chen didn’t flinch. He was used to the intense heat of alchemy chambers. He stepped into the fog.

But halfway into the room, the temperature violently inverted.

The scorching heat vanished, replaced instantly by a bone-chilling cold that bit through his robes and threatened to freeze the marrow in his bones.

“What is going on?” Jiang Chen’s expression darkened.

The collision of superheated mist and freezing air caused an immediate reaction. The vapor condensed instantly, turning into a heavy, freezing rain that pattered against the stone floor. Drip, drip, drip.

As the mist cleared under the rain, the scene revealed itself.

In the center of the room, the orange Earth Fire roared like a trapped serpent, struggling against an oppressor. Hovering above it was the [Black Nether Cauldron], but the vessel was encased in a layer of crystalline frost.

Beside it stood Yu Caiqing. She looked drained, her usually sharp eyes dim and unfocused. Yet, her hands remained steady, pouring her dwindling Qi into the cauldron to maintain the precarious balance.

Jiang Chen approached cautiously, keeping his voice low to avoid startling her. “Senior Sister… are you alright?”

There was a long pause before she muttered, sullen and defiant, “I’m not dead yet.”

She took a ragged breath. “I haven’t rested for six days and six nights to refine this batch of [Yin-Yang Interlace Pills].”

Jiang Chen swept his gaze over the nearby table. It was littered with empty pill bottles.

Hungry? Eat a Vitality Pill. Sleepy? Pop a Wakefulness Pill. Low on Qi? Swallow Foundation Spirit Pills like candy.

“Six days?” Jiang Chen’s eyes widened. “Is it necessary to push yourself this hard?”

Yu Caiqing frowned, her eyes never leaving the frost-covered cauldron. “Stay back and observe. Don’t distract me.”

“Then… when do you plan to rest?”

“Whether I rest or not,” she snapped, her patience fraying, “what does it have to do with you?”

Jiang Chen ignored her prickly attitude. He knew it was just the exhaustion talking. Smiling, he began pulling insulated containers from his storage bag. “Well, since you’re busy, I’ll just leave this here. I made some special Spirit Cuisine…”

“I told you, I don’t need…” Yu Caiqing began to yell, preparing to unleash her pent-up frustration.

Then, the lid came off the first container.

A rich, savory aroma exploded into the sterile air, cutting through the smell of ozone and burnt herbs. Yu Caiqing froze mid-sentence.

“This is Pepper-Fragrant Spirit Rice with Braised Beast Ribs,” Jiang Chen announced, opening the next one. “Spirit Pepper and Beast Meat Egg Rolls.” “And Spirit Wine Fermented Egg Drop Soup.”

He laid out six dishes in total. Each one glistened with spiritual energy, the scents weaving together into a symphony of hunger-inducing warfare.

Yu Caiqing stared. Her throat moved involuntarily as she swallowed dryly. She licked her cracked lips. “You… you made all of this?”

A flush crept up her pale neck, turning her ears bright red. Shame flooded her chest. He had come here out of kindness, preparing a feast fit for a king, and she had bitten his head off like a shrew.

If it were mortal food, she would have scoffed. But this was Spirit Cuisine—delicacies that could replenish Qi and heal the body better than any pill.

Seeing her silence, Jiang Chen tilted his head. “Do you not like it?”

“It’s… it’s fine,” she squeaked, her voice barely audible, like the hum of a mosquito.

She wanted to eat. God, she wanted to eat. But she was at the critical juncture of the refinement. The [Yin-Yang Interlace Pill] required perfect equilibrium. She couldn’t stop. She couldn’t relax.

“Almost there,” she muttered, her eyes snapping back to the cauldron, forcing her will to override her stomach. “Just a little longer…”

Jiang Chen fell silent, stepping back to watch.

Time ticked by, agonizingly slow. The struggle between the Black Nether Cauldron (Yin) and the Earth Fire (Yang) grew violent. The cauldron began to vibrate, emitting a low, resonant hum.

The [Yin-Yang Interlace Pill] contained the dual energies of creation. Swallowing one could harmonize the opposing forces within a cultivator’s body, returning their constitution to a primordial, fetus-like state of purity. Yu Caiqing needed this pill to break her bottleneck. If she succeeded, the path to the Golden Core realm—whether Human or Earth grade—would open.

Heat and cold pulsed through the room in alternating waves.

Even Jiang Chen, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation and dual Spirit Roots, felt the strain. He could only imagine the pressure crushing Yu Caiqing.

Suddenly, the cauldron screamed.

BOOM!

The heavy lid of the Black Nether Cauldron blasted into the ceiling.

The delicate balance shattered. The Yin and Yang Qi inside spiraled out of control. The cauldron resonated with the chaotic Yin energy, unleashing a tidal wave of absolute zero.

In a split second, the roaring Earth Fire was frozen solid. The frost spread outward like a shockwave, coating the floor, the walls, and the ceiling in thick blue ice.

Yu Caiqing stood frozen, staring blankly at the disaster.

Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate. He abandoned the food, sprinting forward. He grabbed Yu Caiqing by the back of her robes and hauled her backward, dragging her toward the heavy stone door.

He slammed his palm against the emergency release mechanism. The gears ground against the encroaching ice, and the door slowly hissed open.

They tumbled out into the hallway just as the interior turned into an ice cave.

“A normal pill failure shouldn’t cause this much feedback!” Jiang Chen gasped, dusting frost off his shoulders.

Several Alchemists in the hallway had stopped, staring at the smoking, frozen room with wide eyes.

“Senior Sister, are you hurt?” Jiang Chen asked, checking her for injuries.

Yu Caiqing slumped against the wall, her eyes hollow. “Failed?” she whispered. “Just like that?”

Six days of sleepless effort. Countless pills consumed. All gone in a heartbeat.

“It was stable… it was right there…” tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Senior Sister Yu!” Jiang Chen grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. “Snap out of it!”

She blinked, focusing on him, then turned her head to look back into the ruined lab.

The furnace had exploded. The Black Nether Cauldron was a twisted wreck of frozen metal. It would take a month to repair the room, let alone the equipment.

Two clear tears traced paths down her soot-stained cheeks.

Jiang Chen softened his voice. “It’s just one failure. I have plenty of materials. We can rest, recover, and try again.”

Yu Caiqing shook her head slowly. “You don’t understand. This wasn’t just a lack of skill.”

“Then what was it?”

She took a shuddering breath. “It’s my Spirit Root.”

She looked at him with a miserable, fragile expression. “I was born with Water and Fire Spirit Roots. But when I was young… I touched this Ice Hairpin.” She pulled the ornament from her hair. “It mutated my Water root into an Ice-Water hybrid.”

“That sounds… strong?” Jiang Chen frowned.

“It is, but it cost me my status as a Core Disciple,” she said bitterly. “And for this pill… the Yin-Yang Interlace Pill requires perfect balance. My mutated Ice-Water root is too domineering. It suppresses my Fire root. I can’t maintain the equilibrium.”

Jiang Chen understood. “So, your internal attributes are fighting each other.” He rubbed his chin. “There must be a solution.”

Yu Caiqing stared at the hairpin in her hand. “I hoped this hairpin would accelerate the mutation, turning the Water completely into Ice so I could control it. But it’s too slow. Unless I find a Heavenly Treasure to bridge the gap…”

Heavenly Treasure?

Jiang Chen paused. His hand moved to his storage bag.

“Senior Sister,” he said, pulling out a glowing blue sphere. “Are you talking about something like this?”

The [Ice Soul Orb].

“I found this by accident,” Jiang Chen lied smoothly. “If you need it, I can sell it to you. Market price.”

Yu Caiqing stared at the orb. The enchanting blue light reflected in her tear-filled eyes. She could feel the pure, condensed Ice Qi radiating from it—exactly what she needed to complete her mutation and stabilize her cultivation.

She looked from the orb to Jiang Chen, a brilliant smile breaking through her despair.

“You really are my Lucky Star!”

She didn’t hesitate. With a wave of her hand, a small mountain of spirit stones appeared on the floor.

“Five hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.”

Jiang Chen’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Five hundred Mid-Grade? That was equivalent to fifty thousand Low-Grade stones!

“Senior Sister,” he breathed, looking at the glittering pile. “You are truly wealthy… and beautiful.”

Yu Caiqing took the Ice Soul Orb, clutching it to her chest like a lifeline. “With this, I won’t need to hunt for resources outside. Consider the extra payment a thank you.”

Jiang Chen patted his chest, stowing the money with blinding speed. “From now on, your problems are my problems, Senior Sister!”

Yu Caiqing looked at him. Her apricot eyes were soft and misty, like dewdrops in a spring morning. The professional distance she usually maintained had completely evaporated.

She bit her lip gently, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Jiang Chen… where is your home?”