Joo-won couldn't help but grin as he strolled through the rows of Skyblossoms. Their electric blue petals seemed to pulse in the moonlight, like a field of tiny, otherworldly hearts.

Who knew turning a patch of dirt into a magical garden could feel this awesome?

Se-yeon and Uncle Tae-yang trailed behind him, their jaws practically scraping the ground.

"This is amazing, Joo-won!" Se-yeon exclaimed

Joo-won hesitated, then smiled. "I learned it from our ancestors. They passed down the knowledge through generations."

Tae-yang added, "I never knew our ancestors had such green thumbs. Why haven’t we heard about this before?"

"Maybe it was a family secret," Joo-won replied with a shrug. "I stumbled upon the knowledge by chance. Let’s hope it brings us prosperity."

"Agreed," Tae-yang chuckled, clapping him on the back.

As they wandered deeper into the garden, Joo-won couldn't help but notice how Se-yeon and Uncle Tae-yang seemed to relax.

The tension in their shoulders melted away, and their eyes looked clearer than they had in weeks. He knew why, of course – those sneaky little flowers were working their magic, cleaning out the nasty poison that had been messing with them. But it won't be enough.

Joo-won's eyes gleamed with determination as his thoughts turned to the next crucial task: concocting the cure. The ingredients danced through his mind - serpent grass, fiery ambrosia, and the precious sap of the ent root. Fortune smiled upon him, for these rare components still lingered in the abandoned apothecary of their clan.

With swift, practiced movements, Joo-won gathered the treasures and returned to his garden. There, under the watchful gaze of the moon, he began the delicate process of preparing the decoction.

Each ingredient was chosen with utmost care, for Joo-won knew that even the slightest impurity could render his efforts futile. The weight of his family's future rested upon this pill - a chance to cleanse the poison that had tainted their bloodline.

"Honored Father," Joo-won spoke, his voice filled with respect, "do we still possess the great cauldron of our forebears? The one used by the alchemists of our clan?"

His father, observing from nearby, nodded solemnly.

"Indeed, my son. The ancient vessel remains, a once-great legacy in the alchemical arts." A flicker of concern crossed his face. "But tell me, Joo-won, have you truly mastered such knowledge?"

Joo-won stood tall, his eyes shining with the fire of conviction. "Fear not, Father. When the sun graces us with its presence once more, I shall present to you the elixir that will purge our clan of this accursed poison."

...

The ancient alchemy chamber lay shrouded in silence, its secrets hidden beneath years of dust and neglect.

Shelves lined with ingredients stretched into the shadows, some jars still holding whispers, others crumbled to mere memories. At the room's heart stood a massive cauldron, its surface etched with arcane symbols – a relic of the Han clan's forgotten glory.

Joo-won moved with the grace of a cultivator, his hands deftly measuring out each precious component.

The knowledge gained in the Tower of Myriad Immortals guided his every action. Into the weathered cauldron went the serpent grass, its leaves still coiled with latent energy. Next, the fiery ambrosia, its golden droplets hissing as they touched the metal. Finally, the ent root sap, thick and green as the ancient forests themselves.

From the corner, Tae-yang observed with a mixture of fascination and doubt. His eyes narrowed as Joo-won worked, clearly wondering how this mere boy had acquired such esoteric skills.

A gentle flame flickered to life beneath the cauldron, coaxed into being by Joo-won's careful manipulation of qi. He stirred the mixture with unwavering focus, his movements fluid and purposeful. As the hours crept by, the chamber filled with an otherworldly aroma – sharp, sweet, and tinged with raw power.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Surely it cannot be this simple," Tae-yang mused, his skepticism growing. "Perhaps I, too, could master this art if it requires so little effort."

Just as the concoction reached its critical point, Joo-won added a handful of Skyblossom petals, their ethereal blue glow pulsing in the dim light. With bated breath, he reached for a small vial of Eternal Transformation Spring water. A single drop fell from his hand.

The reaction was instantaneous and awe-inspiring. Steam erupted from the cauldron in a torrent, carrying with it a surge of pure energy that seemed to pierce the roof of the apothecary. Even Joo-won, with all his newfound knowledge, felt a thrill of surprise at the raw power he had unleashed.

As the mist cleared, Joo-won's eyes gleamed with a mixture of pride and wonder. If a simple elixir could produce such an effect, what untold marvels might lie within the realm of true immortal alchemy?

The path ahead was long, but in that moment, Joo-won knew he had taken his first step towards becoming a true alchemist.

Alchemy was a world of wonders, with pills and spirit herbs ranked by their power. Earth, Sky, Heaven, Cosmic, Divine, Ultra, and Eternal – each class a step closer to the realm of immortals.

The Skyblossoms he'd cultivated were no mere weeds. Second grade Sky Class, a treasure most cultivators could only dream of. Joo-won smirked, remembering how most "alchemists" in the kingdom couldn't even produce a decent Earth Class pill. Amateurs.

CRACK! The sound echoed through the dusty chamber. Tae-yang's eyes widened as the cauldron split open, revealing seven perfect blue pills. They gleamed like captured starlight, not a single impurity marring their surface.

"Heavenly Clarity Pills," Joo-won announced, offering one to Tae-yang. "Eat."

Tae-yang hesitated, but his trust in the young master won out. He swallowed the pill, and instantly felt like he'd swallowed lightning. Energy surged through him as he sank into meditation, feeling the poison being driven from his body.

Black, foul-smelling liquid oozed from Tae-yang's pores, staining the ground beneath him. But Tae-Yang barely noticed, lost in the rush of power. He could feel his cultivation soaring, breaking through not one, but two stages!

Joo-won watched with satisfaction, recalling the cultivation hierarchy.

From Human to Soldier, Expert to General, Master Swordsman to the lofty Emperor class – each with its own sub-stages. Tae-yang had just leaped from the sixth stage of Expert to the eighth, a hair's breadth from the General class.

"Not bad," Joo-won mused, thinking of his father stuck at the first stage of General, while the Emperor himself had only reached the second stage of the Emperor class.

A grin spread across his face as he imagined the shock on everyone's faces when they realized what he'd accomplished. The Han clan's fortunes were about to change, and Joo-won couldn't wait to see what came next.

Tae-yang emerged from his meditation, his eyes shining with newfound vigor. The years seemed to melt away from his face, leaving him looking two decades younger. Joo-won couldn't help but grin – one down, two to go.

"Father, Se-yeon, your turn," he called, tossing them each a gleaming blue pill.

Joo-won watched in awe as the transformation took hold. His father's brow furrowed in concentration, dark tendrils of poison seeping from his skin. When he opened his eyes, they held a strength Joo-won had never seen before. The second stage of the General class – a feat that would make even the most seasoned cultivators green with envy.

But it was Se-yeon's metamorphosis that truly took his breath away. Her aura pulsed and grew, skyrocketing through not one, not two, but three whole stages! As the last wisps of black mist dissipated, she stood before them, radiant as the morning sun. The fourth stage of the Human class – and she wasn't even old enough to drink rice wine yet!

"Whoa," Joo-won whispered, feeling a mix of pride and... was that a twinge of jealousy? He shook it off. "Se-yeon, you're practically glowing! And Father, I bet you could arm-wrestle a white tiger now."

Se-yeon flexed her fingers, marveling at the energy coursing through her. "I feel like I could fly," she laughed, her voice ringing with newfound confidence.

Joo-won's father placed a hand on his shoulder, his grip firm with renewed strength. "Son, you've done the impossible. The Han clan owes you a great debt."

...

Joo-won sat cross-legged, his eyes closed in deep meditation. The Heavenly Clarity Pill sat before him, glowing with untapped potential. He knew that swallowing it would catapult him into the ranks of true cultivators, but a nagging doubt held him back.

"A strong house needs a strong foundation," he murmured, recalling the cautionary tales of cultivators who'd rushed their training. Their qi channels shattered, their minds broken – all because they'd bitten off more spiritual energy than they could chew.

No, he couldn't risk it. Not when the fate of the Han clan rested on his shoulders.

A smile tugged at Joo-won's lips as he thought of the Tower of Myriad Immortals. Hanjjokkom might be crankier than a wet cat, but he knew his stuff. Plus, the tower had already worked its magic on Joo-won's poison-riddled body.

"Time for a field trip," he decided, springing to his feet.

As he packed his bag, Joo-won's gaze fell on the precious vial of Eternal Transformation Spring water. Its otherworldly glow reminded him of both his triumph and his limitations. Sure, he'd concocted a miraculous pill. But without that magical water? He'd be back to making mud pies instead of miracles.

"Can't be a one-trick pony," Joo-won muttered, determination hardening his features. He needed to sharpen his mind, to stoke the fires of his inner energy. Only then could he truly master the art of alchemy and lift the Han clan from the ashes of obscurity.