Lai Qing was just a young man that had been sent down the path of cultivation without any wishes of his own.
He wasn't the best at it and had to try his hardest to even reach Bone Tempering realm.
One day, in the forests that were still present where the desert had formed, he was hunting for weak beasts as he should and found the book that contained information about alchemy.
He dismissed it at first but was soon intrigued by the information and decided to check it out.
That was at the age of 29.
He didn't join any Alchemy sects, or take any teachers and simply tried on his own.
He bought books about ingredients and recipes with what little information he had and used the superior information of the coverless book to augment his understanding of Alchemy.
He spent decades upon decades trying to learn alchemy. When he realized that the book was truly incredible, he started showing it off as well.