Baiyun picked up the basalt fragment and stuffed it into his mouth.

His eyes grew bloodshot as he forced the might of his soul into the stone, willing it to crumble! His entire body, even his vision felt like it was trembling violently. A loud rumbling sound that only he could hear shook his body.

Baiyun's eyes constricted as he collapsed onto the ground, spasming violently. His arms and legs struck the ground painfully as they thrashed, bruise after bruise dotting his skin. His mouth bled as his gums were shredded, but his lips clenched like a vice of iron as he swallowed his blood.

Several painful minutes passed.

Baiyun spat out a clump of black goop into a wooden bowl and coughed raspily, before taking deep breaths. What was meant to be a grey-ish white powder was now stained a striking crimson from his blood, though invisible in the darkness.

With the last of his strength, he pulled out a gourd and filled the bowl with water, giving it a quick stir.

He rolled over onto his back and laid on the ground, heaving painfully.

This was the cost of using too much of his soul's strength in a frail mortal body. He still had a long way to go before he could make use of his soul effectively.

Baiyun let his body enter slumber for an unknown amount of hours. At this point, he had lost track of time. Down here, night was eternal.

And tonight, day as it might be above, there were a lot of repairs to be done. His soul slowly patched his body up, ironically the very same culprit that sent his body into such a state.

Roughly another day passed.

Baiyun got up and stretched. His body was still sore, but it was functional once more. His mouth was still raw and painful, but his gums had been restored.

He took out several grain balls and crushed them into his water gourd, waiting for the chunks to soften before drinking the unpleasant mix. If not for the light spirit's reminder for him to eat previously, he might have entirely forgotten.

It would be better if he had more time to recover, but Baiyun knew he needed to get back to work immediately. With every moment, unattended herbs would lose potency as they grew stale. Jade boxes could alleviate that to some degree, but it was a luxury he lacked.

He picked up the bloodied bowl of water mixed with the Undying Basalt. By now, the rock powder was resting at the bottom, most of the blood mixed into the water.

Baiyun poured most of the bloody liquid into the prison toilet. He swept up the rock dust that coated the floor and added it into the bowl.

Refill the water and stir the mixture. Wait for it to settle at the bottom, then pour out the liquid. He repeated the process until most of the blood was washed out.

He now had a bowl of clean Undying Basalt mixed with water.

Clack. Clack clack.

Baiyun stacked a pile of firewood onto the cold prison floors, then struck it with a flint repeatedly. He was worried it wouldn't light, much like in the caverns, but thankfully, it lit properly this time.

The flames started as embers, then kindled into a full flame. He placed an empty pot onto it and began to prepare the ingredients.

Five elemental essences.

Water, Wood and Mud spirit essences. A speck of Superior Fire essence, and Gold Ash essence.

Next, to pair that which was pliable with the unyielding.

Iron spirit and Gentle Green essence.

And at last, a reagent to contain the qi.

Undying Basalt.

Baiyun got to work.

He tossed the golden fern shoots into the dry pot, burning hot from the flames beneath. They began to smoke and pop unpleasantly, but he ignored it.

Baiyun took out a knife, a chopping board and several bowls. With a steady hand, he chopped ingredient after ingredient almost as finely as paper, pushing them into a bowl with the palm of his hand.

Chopped mountain cabbage and bracket fungus, topped with a sprig of Immortal Brimrose.

He turned back to the ferns, watching as they scorched into charcoal. He pulled out a large metal ladle and beat the burnt plants into fine ashes, before scooping half of the ashes into another bowl.

A little smoke had accumulated in the cell from the blanket trapping it, but he endured it.

Baiyun grabbed the gourd of fishes and opened it to check on them. A faint movement came from within, surprising him. They were still alive? More importantly, the water was now filled with water essence, so he poured a swig of it into the pot.

Spatial environments would kill most animals. But the fish surviving was an oddity for later. He crumbled a few grain balls into the gourd as fish feed and moved on.

He tossed the cabbage fungus mix into the blazing pot, watching as steam billowed.

"What's that smell? Is someone cooking?" a gruff voice asked.

"Hah. I can see the glow of fire beneath that blanket. Must be an awful cook for the smell of burning to be so strong, haha!"

Baiyun sighed.

A former great alchemist, now reduced to mere a home cook... but it was the best he could do with his current equipment.

For the next hour, he tended to the fire, watching as the water slowly evaporated. The water had mostly dried off, leaving what looked like grey slag in the pot, smelling of burnt vegetation. Baiyun took out his ladle and beat it into dust as best as he could. It was finally time to add the basalt.

He poured the watery clump in and began to forcefully mix it. A cloud of steam billowed out of the pot as a deafening sizzle echoed in his cell. With the basalt powder now in the mix, whatever that was in the pot now had structure, becoming a black doughy clump instead of loose powder and ashes.

As the last of its water began to evaporate, it began to stick to the pot with a passion, forcing him to scrap the pot's bottom constantly as he mixed.

The smell was awful, but it was almost done. He took the pot off the flames.

Baiyun dipped his ladle into the bowl with the remaining fern ashes, and dumped the rest into the pot. With the ashes there to prevent sticking, he did his best to shape the slag into a sphere with the ladle.

He sat there and watched for an hour as it slowly cooled.

It was done.

Baiyun reached into the pot with a pair of chopsticks and pulled out the hot pill, taking a moment to gaze at it.

The pill was grey and grungy, rough to the touch and smelled of burnt herbs. To grade it by impurities would be ridiculous. It was closer to a solidified ball of impurities that had happened to have the properties of a pill.

A proper Qi Recharge Pellet would be a scentless orb smooth to the touch and beautiful as a pearl, a gleaming orb that shone in the colour of the mineral used.

Whatever he held right now looked more like a dirty old pebble.

Baiyun sighed. He already knew this was the best outcome. In its current state, it was very inconspicuous. Even if he tried to convince someone it was a pill, they probably would only laugh. This would easily pass a random bag inspection.

Still, his heart hurt at the sigh of it.

He cleaned up everything around the cell and stuffed his equipment into his bag, before moving the bed back into its old position. But as he untied the blanket from the cells, he heard a raspy old voice from the cell opposite his.

"Hehahah. Very interesting... You have created a pill even without a furnace or use of qi."

Baiyun was suddenly on full alert.

Qi sense could not be used here, so how did the prisoner know? Even if shadows could be seen through the blanket, the bed flipped onto its side should have covered that!

Then, realisation struck him. The scent of the essence in the air... the old man must be a capable alchemist who could tell merely from the smell!

Was he a fool? That too was a trick he used back on Guan Qiang's mountain!

Baiyun cursed himself. This had always been an old flaw of his. Whenever he got excited, he would tunnel-vision onto his goal and lose sight of the full picture. It was less of a problem in his past life due to his status, but in this life... that was very dangerous.

He needed to resolve that somehow. But how? Habits ingrained after thousands of years were hard to break. He called the WanLing sect complacent, but was he not complacent in his own way as well? Perhaps that was the hubris that came with age.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

But that was him to worry about later. For now, he decided to test the waters with the prisoner.

"You jest. How could that be considered a pill?" he said.

Baiyun was not lying. In his eyes, it would be an insult to alchemy to call it a pill.

"Haha... quite modest." the old prisoner laughed. "I'm quite impressed by your talent. Without the qi suppression of this prison and a proper World Cauldron, I wonder what you could do."

World Cauldron? Baiyun frowned at the unfamiliar term, but he noted it down.

It seemed the old man had no idea he was a servant, thinking of him as a regular alchemist. Which made sense: in what world would anyone expect a servant alchemist? Spellcasting and qi control were practically intertwined into Alchemy, a strange yet powerful marriage.

"Say." the old man continued. "Do me a favour and pass me and slide me a few grain balls and some firewood, will you? I haven't had a bite of anything in over a year."

Baiyun raised an eyebrow.

"You have no need for that as a cultivator. Eating mortal food will only accumulate impurities."

"Hah. Were you not snacking on them either? I heard that familiar crunch, you hypocrite. Hehaha..." the old man laughed. "Can't you let the elderly have a few joys in life?"

Baiyun shook his head in disapproval, but he reached a hand out from his cell and tossed a few grain balls over anyway. The opposite cell was 2 metres away, but they still rolled between the old prisoner's prison bars accurately.

Perhaps it was a gesture of sympathy for a fellow alchemist who too had fallen low.

The old man clapped. He snatched them from the ground and took bite after bite, relishing them.

"Delicious... delicious!”

A few pieces of firewood landed outside his cell next, too bulky to fly through the bars. A gaunt elderly hand reached out of the cell and pulled the firewood into the dark depths of his cell.

Chik chik chik.

A strange rubbing sound echoed, until finally, a spark appeared, revealing the old man was rubbing two pieces of firewood together. With the sheer brute force of a cultivator's strength, just that friction was enough to ignite a flame.

Baiyun watched as the prisoner made a campfire of his own.

The old man took out a black glass bottle filled with water. Then he crushed the remaining grain balls into a fine powder with his hands and poured it into the bottle, placing it above the flames. Before long, the grain mixture began to bubble and cook.

Baiyun seemed to have almost forgotten about his "pebble" as he watched the old man.

His eyes suddenly widened as he noticed another detail. Inside the old man's cell, a small formation had been carved onto the wall! Another few black bottles were stuck to it, the insides of their walls misty with condensate. This man was also a Formation Master!

It seemed like he was far from the only vandal in this prison... just how negligent were the guards?

Soon, the old man took the bottle off the flames and let it cool. The flames died down as he waited, now merely hot coals. But the old man laughed and spat into the bottle.

"Hahaha! It seems I'll be getting my hands on alcohol soon again!" he said.

Alcohol? Baiyun was confused for a moment.

Then realisation struck and he nearly recoiled from disgust. This man was using the yeast from his mouth for fermentation?! To call it uncouth would be an understatement!

He might be an alchemist who had lost his dignity, but even he wasn't as far gone as that man.

Baiyun returned to minding his own business.

Days went by in the dark.

For better or worse, the guards did not seem to care. Not once did they come down to check on the prisoners. They did not offer food nor hydration, for it was not something cultivators above Foundational needed.

Was that why he was allowed to keep his storage bag? Perhaps it was a subtle mercy from the Enforcer, realising the child was mortal and could actually starve. The other prisoners did not seem to have their storage bags.

Baiyun fiddled with the pebble he had made, smoothing it idly. It had gathered the slightest wisp of qi, but for it to reach its capacity in such a qi deprived prison would probably take centuries.

He was beginning to grow worried. Perhaps the Enforcers had shown him a tiny bit of mercy, but his supply of food and water was finite. It would run out eventually.

But the sudden sound of clacking armour caught his ear and he perked up. Had a guard arrived to give him a meal handout, as an exception?

The guard approached with a torch in hand, a small boy following him. From the faint light, it was enough to see a surprising face.

"Mohei?" Baiyun widened his eyes.

What was that kid doing here?

Mohei ran over to the cell door and shook it.

"Let him out!" he shouted. "He really is a disciple of Master Guan Qiang! He's innocent!"

"Understood." the guard nodded.

Baiyun was filled with a conflicting swirl of emotions. Wasn't this kid at odds with him? But most of all, he felt relief.

He listened as the guard pulled out a key, opening the cell door with a jangle and the click of a mechanism.

"Hmph. What were you thinking, going into the main district to play? You sure are unlucky!" Mohei walked into the cell with a huff.

Unlucky? Baiyun thought to himself for a moment.

Even this prison stay turned out to be a fortuitous encounter of sorts. While it was a strange thought, perhaps it could be said he had been quite lucky lately.

"Nothing..." Baiyun said eventually.

"Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" Mohei frowned. "Anyway, it's about time you get back to training! Teacher will be displeased. Hmph!"

He huffed as he grabbed Baiyun's hand, prepared to drag him out from the cell. But the raspy voice of the old prisoner suddenly echoed.

"Take this before you go. Hehaha." the old man laughed.

He flicked his finger, sending a green pill flying towards Baiyun!

"Stop!" the guard yelled from several metres away.

His silhouette blurred as he appeared before the pill in a flash, snatching it away in an instant! A strong gust of wind rushed through the prison and the violent bang of displaced air echoed, followed by the loud clatter of his armour. The might of an expert body cultivator was no joke.

The guard crushed the pill between his fingers with cold eyes.

"Prisoners are not permitted to hand items to visitors. Contraband will be confiscated." he said in a monotone voice.

The old man laughed loudly, his crooked teeth shining in the torchlight.

"Confiscating? I don't think it'd be possible to return the item in that state."

The guard did not grace him with an answer.

Mohei stared at the old man, then turned to Baiyun with doubtful eyes.

"You know that old man?" he asked.

Baiyun shook his head.

"Nah. I just talked to him a little while I was trapped here."

Mohei nodded wisely.

"Makes sense. Old people are lonely, so if you talk to them for a bit, they'll give you free stuff!"

Baiyun's eyes twitched and he nearly spluttered. The audacity of this kid! When would the day come when youths respected elders?

He coughed loudly, hurriedly changing the topic.

"Did Guan Qiang send you here to fetch me?"

"Hmph. It was my idea! He said you must have given up on training and run away." Mohei huffed. "I was mad since I thought you were running away from our duel, so I asked my butler to investigate! Who would have thought you'd be locked here of all places?"

Baiyun was completely speechless.

Really? That was the reason he was saved? There was something he found deeply frustrating about that.

Did the Enforcers not inform Guan Qiang of the incident, or was he the type to ignore mail? Baiyun suddenly had a headache.

"Hurry. I don't have all day." the guard said.

"Sorry!"

Mohei and Baiyun followed him out of the prison.

As Baiyun stepped out, he squinted his eyes, nearly blinded by the sunlight. But to breathe fresh air once more was beyond delightful, so he could not complain.

Mohei dragged him across the city, into a bathhouse to wash up, then bought several steamed buns for him. Passersby watched as Baiyun was dragged out of the main district's gates, still chewing on the buns slowly.

"Thanks, Mohei."

"Hmph. I just don't want to bring you to the elder looking like a beggar. No need to thank me."

Baiyun supposed disregard was better than ridicule. But he was still grateful.

As he walked alongside Mohei on a stone path, presumably in the direction of the Martial Temple, he reached into his storage bag. But he suddenly paused.

Beside several extra pieces of stolen Undying Basalt, a green pill was now there!

His eyes widened. That crazy old man somehow snuck a second pill into his bag while the guard was distracted! He hadn't noticed at all! How did that maniac do it, and who exactly was he?

Baiyun reached out to touch the pill, sensing its contents briefly.

It was some sort of recovery pill, clouded with a large amount of impurities. No, there was something familiar about it. The impurities were suspended in a certain manner, similar to how they were in Guan Qiang's body elixir.

Perhaps there was a seal in this pill as well. Was the old man trying to take him as a disciple for whatever reason? Baiyun wondered if he was overthinking it. He needed more knowledge in the field of Formations to be sure.

"What are you looking for?" Mohei asked.

Baiyun shrugged and pulled out his pebble. The smell of burning herbs had long since faded.

"Nothing much,"

The boy glanced at it briefly.

"That's an ugly pebble. You should find a nicer one."

Baiyun let out a forced laugh.

As they continued their walk, Baiyun focused on the pellet, sensing the wisps of qi that entered it.

With how impure it was, he didn't really have plans to eat it anymore. But he could still make use of it to sense the surrounding qi without having to expose his divine thread.

----------------------------------------

Elsewhere.

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Within the Martial Temple, the light spirit confronted Guan Qiang, trembling with anger. He sat on a chair with his back turned to her, reading something on a desk.

"I entrusted him to you and you let this happen? Why won't you bail him out?" she shouted.

The martial elder turned his chair, finally facing her.

"Earth has informed you of Baiyun's actions. Or are you still unaware?" he said. "He is simply too reckless. A little time down in a cell would do well to humble him.

"What? There has to be a better way to go about it! How could you leave him to starve there?"

"Starve?" Guan Qiang harrumphed. "I happened to have a look in his storage bag not too long ago. He has more than enough food to last a week."

"No child should be left alone in the dark for a whole week!"

"Enough! For a mere spirit, you are too insolent. Do not question the way I teach."

Guan Qiang waved his hand and chased her out, slamming the door shut.

The light spirit cursed to herself.

It was just as she feared. Guan Qiang had taken interest in Baiyun's potential and wanted to train him as a Combat Servant. He would be moulded merely into another tool of the sect.