Our group was busy over the next week as we questioned the people of Clear Basin City about the local clans and sects in the Sacred Ironwood province. In particular, we focused on the smallest and weakest ones, since they were the ones most likely to be targeted. It turned out that a few clans and sects had gone missing over the past year. However, this wasn’t too unusual.

The world of cultivation was cruel and harsh. The strong thrived while the weak were trampled upon. Sometimes clans and sects went to war with one another for one reason or another, exterminating their enemies to avoid future retribution. Other times, they fell victim to a powerful spirit beast or demon beast. Or perhaps they offended the wrong person, who wiped them from existence. There were countless ways for a small clan or sect to die out.

However, over the course of our investigation, our group discovered that a large number of small clans and sects to the northwest of Clear Basin City had gone missing. Few took note of it, since almost no one in the city had ties to said clans and sects. Unlike the disappearances of the rogue cultivators, the disappearances of these small clans and sects affected the people of Clear Basin City not at all. Not only that, but the clans and sects involved consisted mostly of Qi Condensation cultivators with the occasional Foundation Establishment cultivator, so most didn’t really care.

After looking into it ourselves, we realized that something dire was going on. Overall, if we included the rogue cultivators who disappeared, a few hundred people had gone missing.

The silver lining in all of this, if it could be called as such, was that we didn’t hear anything about large numbers of mortals disappearing or going missing. That didn’t mean that nothing happened, only that no one heard anything. Still, that was something of a relief. The situation was still dire, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

While investigating the disappearances was our focus and priority, each member of our group pursued their own personal interests during our free time. I explored Clear Basin City and all it had to offer. It wasn’t much, at least compared to what I was used to, but it was still interesting. If nothing else, I took this as an opportunity to learn more about cultivator society outside of the Dawn and Dusk Sect.

At nights, when our group rested, I practiced using the Heartflame technique. As the name suggested, this technique allowed one to use one’s inner fire. However, this was difficult and dangerous since one’s inner fire was difficult to control and linked to the core of one’s being. Any mishap or lapse in concentration could result in severe injury. One needed a strong will, otherwise one’s inner fire would rage out of control.

I started off small and only used the technique to summon small sparks and embers. Even this was fraught with peril, and it took me several tries before I succeeded. Whenever I felt myself losing control of my inner fire, I stopped what I was doing right away. While this meant that it took longer for me to summon even a spark of my inner fire, it was better to be safe than sorry. Still, when I first summoned that spark, I felt overwhelming joy.

According to the annotations with the jade slip containing the Heartflame technique, every person’s inner fire was unique to them. Its appearance and its properties differed depending on the person. Their affinities, their cultivation techniques, their chosen path, etc. For example, the inner fire of a Water cultivator who focused on the sword would be different from an Earth cultivator who practiced alchemy. In many ways, one’s inner fire was akin to an exotic flame, albeit one unique to oneself.

The spark of my inner fire appeared as the ember of a black and gold star, one that had the aura of a closed fist. When I first summoned it, it awed me and I stared at it for a while. When I regained my composure, I continued training in the Heartflame technique. Once I mastered the first layer, I would be able to use my inner fire to help me with concocting pills and refining magic treasures.

Speaking of concocting pills, I also spent time practicing alchemy. To avoid affecting Elliot with any potential mishaps, I practiced outside of our room. Since the inn catered to cultivators, it had a few facilities that guests could rent for their use, including an alchemy lab. I rented it for the rest of our stay at the inn.

Unfortunately, my progress in alchemy hit a bottleneck. While I succeeded in concocting a few low-grade pills, most of my attempts ended in failure. At this rate, I would never be able to concoct mid-grade pills, let alone high-grade and top-grade ones.

On our sixth night at the inn, I ended up failing so spectacularly that my pill furnace exploded and filled the entire alchemy lab with thick black smoke. It smelled foul and seemed to clog my throat when I breathed it in. I stumbled out of the alchemy lab, coughing my lungs out. It took several minutes before I could breathe again. The alchemy lab was built in a separate building outside of the inn proper, so at least my failure didn’t affect anyone else.

“So this was what you were doing.” A voice said.

I looked to find Willow walking towards me.

“I wondered where you were sneaking off to at night.” She said, grinning at me.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” I asked, my voice rough and hoarse from the black smoke.

“Of course.” Willow scoffed. “A huntress never lets her prey out of her sights. Otherwise, someone else may come along and steal it from under her nose.”

I stared at her in disbelief. For some reason, Willow's words reminded me of Ellen, who also treated me like prey to be hunted. Did I just attract women who liked to pursue rather than be pursued? Still, it wasn’t as if I hated it.

“Aren’t you the thief in this scenario?” I asked.

Willow shrugged.

“Not if I convince your Ellen to share.” She said.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“So,” Willow said, “You were concocting pills.” She looked at the thick black smoke billowing out of the alchemy lab. “Or trying to at least.”

“I was practicing alchemy, yes.” I said. “Rather than rely on others for the pills I need, I thought it was better to make them myself.” I glanced back at the alchemy lab and grimaced. “However, as you can see, it isn’t going well.”

Willow wore a thoughtful expression.

“I can give you some pointers, if you wish.” She said. “I’m a decent alchemist myself.”

I blinked at her in surprise.

“Really?” I asked.

Willow snorted.

“You don’t have to sound so shocked.” She said. “Master taught me. While most of the pills I know how to make require the blood and body parts of spirit beasts, I know how to use plants and vegetation as well.”

I took a moment to think it over. While I preferred learning how to do it myself, having someone give me some pointers could be beneficial. Besides, I had hit a bottleneck in my progress. Maybe Willow could help me break through said bottleneck.

“In that case, I will have to trouble you.” I said. “Thank you, Sister Black Staff.”

First things first, the two of us cleaned out the alchemy lab. I cleaned my pill furnace, using a solution that I bought back at the Dawn and Dusk Sect. It was expensive, but it was perfect for cleaning out failed pills. After that, Willow and I aired out the alchemy lab until it no longer smelled of smoke. I used the cleaning technique I learned from Rainbow Healer Hall for this.

“Now then,” Willow said after we finished. The two of us sat on the floor across from each other, cross legged. “Tell me how you usually concoct pills.”

“I follow the recipe.” I said.

Willow waited for a moment, until she realized that was all.

“That’s it?” She asked. “No wonder you’re having difficulty. Following recipes is necessary in the beginning. However, if you want to progress any further in the art of alchemy, then you need to go beyond that.”

I frowned at her.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I thought alchemy was putting in the right ingredients at the right time.”

Willow snorted.

“If it was that easy, everyone would be a master alchemist.” She said. Her voice took on a lecturing quality. “While that is a good start, alchemy is far more nuanced and complex. Each batch of pills is unique, even when making the same kind of pill.”

Willow held her hands and started counting off with her finger.

“When concocting pills, you need to monitor the pills you’re concocting with your spirit sense and make minute adjustments when necessary.” She said. “To do that, you need to know the properties of the ingredients you’re using, how they interact with each other, and when to put them in the pill furnace. That’s the bare minimum. Beyond that, you also need to keep a number of other factors into consideration, such as the temperature of the flames you’re using, the kind of flames you’re using, the quality and quantity of qi in the environment around you, the time of day, and much more. Each of these can and will affect the concoction process. If you’re adept with arrays, you can use one to create a more ideal environment.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my fingers.

“That is a lot to keep in mind.” I said.

“Yes, but if you want to master alchemy, that is something you need to do.” Willow said in a serious voice. “Otherwise you will never move beyond the basics. You might as well give up on becoming an alchemist.”

I opened my eyes again.

“No,” I said, “I still want to become an alchemist.”

Willow smiled.

“That’s the proper attitude to have.” she said. “To show you what I mean, I’ll make a pill so you can see the process yourself.” She gestured to my storage. “Give me the ingredients of the pill you were just making.”

I nodded and gave her the ingredients, as well as a fire crystal. As the name suggested, fire crystals were used to create flames for concocting pills and refining magic treasures when Earth Fire wasn’t available. They were useful while traveling, and were good to have on hand when there was no other option. However, they had their drawbacks. They were limited use items and crumbled to dust when they ran out of fire. Not only that, but the quality of the flames created wasn’t as good as Earth Fire.

“You were making Healing Pills?” Willow asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

She managed to figure that out from inspecting the ingredients alone? Impressive. Or maybe I was just that terrible at alchemy.

“Yes.” I said. “The ingredients are somewhat expensive, but even a low-grade Healing Pill can save one’s life if taken at the right time. I figured that learning how to concoct them would be useful. Besides, I could always sell them for spirit stones if necessary.” My expression darkened. “Though that’s a moot point, since I never succeeded in concocting any.”

Willow gave me an amused look.

“Watch and learn, Brother Flamewind.” she said.

Willow took a fire crystal and used it to light a fire in my pill furnace. Afterwards, she waited until the pill furnace heated up enough before she started concocting. Throughout the entire process, she wore a look of complete concentration on her face. I decided to follow her example and focused all of my attention on the pill furnace.

At first, I didn’t see the difference between what she was doing and what I did. To my untrained eyes, it looked like she was just throwing ingredients into the pill furnace. However, as I took a closer look, I realized that that couldn’t be further from the truth. She put the right ingredients in at the right time, yes, but that wasn’t all.

Willow monitored the entire process and made adjustments when necessary. Sometimes this meant putting in an ingredient earlier or later than what the recipe called for. Other times, this meant using her spirit sense to make changes directly. The reasons behind these changes were mostly obvious, such as when one ingredient needed more heat. However, there were times when she made adjustments without any discernible reason, at least to my eyes.

Regardless, as I watched her concoct the low-grade Healing Pills, something in my mind started to open up. Things that troubled me before became clear, and I received answers to questions I hadn’t even thought to ask. All in all, it was an enlightening experience. I found myself awed by Willow’s skill. By the time she finished, we ended up with eleven low-grade Healing Pills.

“This is my best batch yet.” Willow said with a proud smile on her face.

Despite this, it was clear to me that concocting these pills took a toll on her. Sweat beaded her forehead and weariness filled her eyes. I pulled a jade bottle out of my storage bag and used my spirit sense to store them in the bottle.

“Here.” I said, holding the jade bottle out to her. “These are yours.”

Willow shook her head.

“I concocted them as a lesson for you.” She said. “Keep them.”

I placed the jade bottle in her hands.

“You made them. They’re yours. Consider this part of your fee for giving me this lesson.”

Willow snorted, but she took the jade bottle and placed it in her storage bag.

“Whew,” she said, fanning her face with her hand, “I’m a bit overheated. Let me cool down a bit.”

With that, Willow took off her leather jacket. Underneath, she wore almost nothing. To preserve her modesty, she had cloth bandages wrapped around her chest. That was it. The rest of her upper body was left exposed. I couldn’t help but stare at her chiseled physique. Sweat dripped down Willow’s body, making her muscles glisten. My demonic nature stirred, and I wanted to devour her.

I looked away and took a deep breath to rein my demonic nature in. It took a great deal of effort on my part, but it was worth it. I would control my demonic nature, not the other way around. Still, it wasn’t easy. The urge to take Willow was a strong one.

‘Aw,’ Willow said through telepathy, speaking in a teasing tone, ‘What’s wrong? Isn’t this what most of the female cultivators of Flame Fiend Hall wear? Why are you looking away? Feeling shy all of a sudden?’

I took a deep breath before answering.

‘It’s different with you.’ I answered.

In addition to words, one could also convey emotion through telepathy, strong emotions in particular. Despite my best efforts, some of my hunger and desire for Willow bled through. From the corner of my eye, I saw her eyes widened and her lips part.

‘Is this what you feel for me?’ She asked, stunned.

I nodded, unwilling to trust my emotions at the moment.

‘By the ancestors,’ Willow said, ‘I’m surprised you’ve managed to hold yourself back. In your shoes, I would have pounced on me already.’

I shook my head.

‘I will not betray Ellen.’ I said. ‘Not anymore than I already have.’

Willow studied for me for a moment.

‘In that case, I’ll stop tempting you.’ She said in a serious voice. ‘As much as I enjoy teasing you, I don’t want to do anything that might make you hate me.’

With that, she pulled a vest out of her storage back and put it on. This wasn’t much of an improvement, but it was better than nothing. After a moment, I managed to regain control of myself.

“Thank you, Sister Black Staff.” I said out loud, giving her a smile. “This has been a most illuminating lesson.”

Willow chuckled.

“You’re welcome, Brother Flamewind.” she said, before pulling a jade slip out of her storage bag. She said the next part through telepathy. ‘This is the first volume of a compendium of the plants and vegetation that the Dawn and Dusk Sect knows about. It contains descriptions of over one hundred thousand herbs, including their appearances and their properties. Reading this will help improve your proficiency in alchemy.’

I stared at the jade slip with obvious greed. While I had read manuals that were similar in nature, they were nothing in comparison to this jade slip. Something like this was invaluable to a budding alchemist like myself.

“What’s the catch?” I asked, looking Willow in the eyes.

She grinned at me.

“How about a drink?” She asked. “If I return to my room right now, Sister Isabel will nag at me for spending time alone with you. Grandfather Riordan already gave me permission to pursue you, but she believes that spending time alone with any man will sully my reputation.” She gestured to the alchemy lab around us. “This place seems private enough, so I doubt we’ll be disturbed.”

“Your… grandfather gave you permission to pursue me?” I asked.

Elder Riordan, or Martial Uncle Riordan if I wanted to be less formal, wasn’t Willow’s actual grandfather. There were too many generations separating them. However, it was easier to say Grandfather than Honored Ancestor. Besides, the word implied a certain level of closeness between the two.

“Yes and no.” Willow said. “This trip is a test. If we do well enough, he’ll give us his blessing. Unlike Master, he isn’t opposed to us.”

Huh. That would explain a few things. In fact, it would explain a lot of things.

“Regardless, that’s not important right now.” Willow said, holding up the jade slip. “Do we have a deal?”

“As long as you’re okay with the cheap stuff, then yes.” I said. “I ran out of my good spirit wine before we left for this trip.”

Willow shrugged.

“That’s fine with me.”

She tossed the jade slip towards me and I caught it, before placing it in my storage bag. After that, I took out a bottle of spirit wine and a couple of cups. I opened the bottle, poured wine into the cups, and gave one to Willow. The two of us drank in silence at first, as we simply enjoyed each other’s company.

“Why do you like me so much?” I asked. “I know it’s a strange question to ask, but I am curious.”

Willow snorted.

“Why do you like me so much?” she retorted.

“You’re strong and beautiful.” I answered right away. “You make me feel warm and safe when I’m around you. Not only that, but you stir my demonic nature, which means that you’re someone who I can love, and who will love me.”

Willow’s jaw dropped as she stared at me.

“You…!” she started to say, then stopped.

Without warning, Willow down her cup of wine. When that wasn’t enough, she grabbed the bottle and drank from it directly. She didn’t stop until she drank almost half of it.

“This is why I like you.” Willow said, pointing the bottle at me. “You’re sweet, kind, and sincere. When we first met, I thought you were someone I could rely on. From what I can tell, that hasn’t changed.” She gestured to her body. “You’re also attracted to me rather than repulsed. Most men I’ve met found me grotesque and repulsive.” She grinned. “It doesn’t hurt that you’re just my type. A man should have muscles. I don’t like pretty boys.”

Her words filled me with pleasure and embarrassment. I sipped my wine to try and hide my reaction.

“We’re also betrothed.” Willow said.