It was beginning to slip into the afternoon as the sun creeped past the highest point in the sky, after dealing with his business in the Covetous Dragon Pagoda he decided to grab something to eat, but he didn't make the mistake of going to the entertainment district this time.
He could have grabbed the basic food package that all sect members that could acquire from the sects kitchens, but he felt like he wanted a bit more, so he headed to a restaurant that wasn't too far from the outer disciples caves, he had walked past it multiple times already, so he was curious.
Which is why, currently, he was sat at a table scoffing down multiple plates and bowls of food like he'd been starving for weeks, even he was surprised at how fast he could put the food away, but he didn't let that stop his hands from moving.
'I don't know why I feel so hungry, but I might as well eat my fill while I'm here' Was what he was thinking as he slurped up a full bowl of noodles before downing a glass of water.
He feasted for a full half an hour before he finally hit his limit and placed his chopsticks on to the plate in front of him and clasped his hands in thanks.
'I don't think I've ever eaten so much before!' He stared at the stack of plates and bowls in front of him, it was easily multiple adults worth of food.
'I know I was hungry after 2 days of cultivation without eating but even then this feels excessive…'
He laid back in his chair to let the food go down while he thought for a while.
'…was it that scroll after all?' was the only conclusion he could make.
Unfortunately his memory was gone, wiped, or sealed he wasn't sure; Either way he had no way of figuring out what happened or what that scroll did to him, the lady, Li Liling wasn't too helpful to him either but at least she said she'd deliver his message to Old Yu when he returned.
'She seemed to know about the scroll as well, does that mean I wasn't the first person he gave one to? No that makes sense, I can see through that old mans illusion with my sight but whose to say no one else could as well' he rubbed his stomach as he felt a slight pain from eating too fast.
'The last warning she gave to me though…' He felt annoyed just thinking about what she said.
It was clearly implying one thing.
That he had entered some sort of contract with Old Yu, and it was one he knew no details about!
At first it stressed him to no bounds, but then he realised there was no point worrying about it since it was already done.
'I really hope that old geezer comes back soon so I can find out what the conditions of the contract are, I hope I didn't sign away my life' He expression turned grim as he thought of the worst possibilities.
At least Shu He learned one thing.
'I'm never using my blood for anything ever again!'
He sighed as he took in the sounds of other diners chatting between one another and the utensils clattering against the dishes, the sound of grilling meat and crackling fat coming from the back of the restaurant as the chefs were hard at work cooking.
'This place isn't bad; the food is decent, and the price isn't steep'.
The food here was just normal food, normal mortal ingredients and such, just well cooked and given in large amounts; It cost 3 points for an all you can eat buffet for 2 hours so it's great if you want to just stuff yourself with some decent grub.
"Now then…" He muttered as he stood up and began walking to the exit, as he passed the staff on the way out he thanked them for the food and praised it before exiting, common curtesy is standard after all.
He took a breath of fresh air as he began to feel his body become lively as it digested the mountain of food.
'After all the distractions it's finally time to head to where I wanted to go the most.'
A slight smile crept up on Shu He's face as he felt a tinge of excitement.
"To Alchemy Tower" He said to himself, trying to hype himself up.
…
The Alchemy Tower stood alone from a lot of the other areas of the sect, it existed on one of the lower peaks of the Water-Metal mountain range where the sect resided and there was a long walk up to it, for Shu He it took a full half an hour just to climb the grand staircase that wrapped itself around the peak to the top.
'This is ridiculous, couldn't they have fitted an elevator?' He thought as he wiped a droplet of sweat from his brow.
He may have a body that was stronger than normal but continuous exercise of this kind would being to make anyone feel a bit tired.
'Though it isn't anywhere near as bad as the Steps of Ascension' He felt chills as he remembered the crushing force he felt pressing on him as he took the last step, it was a true miracle that he made it to the gate that day.
Eventually he made it to the top step and crossed through a stone arch that was differently designed than the other parts of the sect, it seemed more… cryptic?
He lent on the arches pillar while he caught his breath and looked around, the top of the mountain had been flattened and decorated with square stone slabs in a beautiful pattern, a metallic fence with spear tips at the top surrounded the outside area and smack bang in the middle was a humongous tower.
Unlike the rest of the sect which seemed to have a mixed design heritage of ancient roman and traditional Chinese, this tower resembled something that you might find in the middle ages, it was cylindrical in shape yet it was so tall that Shu He could barely see the top, there were chains wrapped around parts of the tower and run in to the ground a distance away, some piercing in to the side of the mountain peak.
"This is the Alchemy Tower?" He looked at it with mixed feelings.
'This looks less like a wizardry tower like I might have expected and more like… a demon kings castle'.
He walked closer and saw that the dark bricks of the tower seemed to the shimmering with a green aura, he used his sight and saw the tower engulfed in a fog of thick green energy along with lines upon lines and symbols of formations running through the tower and chains.
This time, he truly felt sick after looking at it.
He turned off his sight as he walked to the side of the road and heaved slightly, the food in his stomach threatening to burst out.
But he managed to hold it in at least by taking deep breaths and breathing out.
'I need to stop looking at obviously complex things with my sight for now…' He noted to himself.
'That green aura though, it's so thick it's visible to the naked eye… it was definitely qi, it had the same feeling, but it was different like the elemental variants…. It felt gentler, like I'd become stronger just by bathing in that light'.
He wasn't sure if his instincts were right, but at the very least it wasn't an aggressive energy.
Shu He was half tempted to touch the bricks, but after seeing all those formations he didn't want to ask for trouble, so he went straight to two grand wooden doors that rested at the bottom of the tower.
'Is there a door knocker?' He looks around but could see no such thing.
He took a step closer and-
*Creeeeeeeeeak*
The two grand doors automatically opened for him, inviting him inside.
"They've even got automatic doors…" He stared with surprised for a second before waltzing in, if they're opening the doors for him, he's allowed right?
The moment he stepped in he could see a massive open hall, there was high quality green carpet with a golden trim lining the floor, the walls were lined with various decorations like paintings depicting various people performing tasks with flames, holding pills that glowed and such.
He looked around but he couldn't see many people at all, rather there was only one person, and it was the person standing at what seemed to be a front desk, he scanned the room to see if there was anything else of interest but all he could see was staircases at multiple sides.
Without anything else to do he walked up to the front desk while getting a good look at the person standing behind it.
She wore green and white robes that were similar to the sects, the brunette hair was tied up in a bun with two simple pins holding it in place, she saw him walking up and stood up from the chair she was resting on to prepare.
"Um, hello i-" Shu He decided to speak first to break the silence but before he could finish-
"If you're here to request a pill to be made unfortunately all of the alchemists are busy at the moment, please go to the pagoda to buy what you need" The woman spoke monotone like she had said the same line thousands of times before.
"Err… No i-" Shu He paused as he processed in his head what he was just told, but since it was a misunderstanding he tried to speak again but-
"It doesn't matter who you are right now the tower is in the middle of a competition and cannot be disturbed, please leave".
She interrupted him with an answer phone like voice again.
"Wait, no- i-" Shu He was beginning to get impatient, and annoyed.
A loud, blatant sigh interrupted Shu He talking once more.
"If you don't leave I will be forced to call the guards-" The woman began speaking again, but this time-.
*BANG*
"Goddamnit let people talk, you rude woman!" Shu He slammed his hands on to the desk while yelling making the lady stare at him completely shocked.
"Rude? Did you just call me rude?!" She said, looking insulted.
"Yes I damn well am! I'm not even here to order a pill yet you assumed I was and then decided to chuck me out when I couldn't even talk to defend myself! If that isn't rude then pigs can fly!"
"...Certain pigs can fly though". She said quietly after realising she was at fault.
"It's an expression!" Shu He really wanted a table to flip over right now.
"W-well if you're not here to order pills then why are you here?!" She yelled back in return.
"Why? Don't people come here to learn alchemy?" Shu He asked with a confused expression.
She looked blank eyed when he heard what he said, as if she'd heard something incredulous.
"Uh, hello?" Shu He waved his hands in front of her blank eyes.
"You're here to.. learn alchemy?" She asked, just to be sure.
"Yes? Is there a problem?"
"No! No problem at all, it's just that we don't get many applicants at all" She explained.
"Really? Isn't alchemy really important?" He asked doubtfully.
"It is, but because it requires a lot of dedicated time to learning about it, many cultivators don't even consider it- Why would they learn to make pills when they can just buy them" Her expression turned sour.
'Well that's true, if I had no personal curiosity I wouldn't either' Shu He thought to himself.
"There's that and anyone that's really interested in becoming an alchemist goes and joins the Sleeping Forest Sect even if they have to travel for years to get there" She went on to explain.
"I've heard that their alchemy division is far greater, but is the difference really that big?" Shu He asked, still wondering just how big the gap was.
"It's like night and day, here we have this single tower that basically serves as housing, living quarters, concoction rooms and such for all of our alchemists, but over in the Sleeping Forest Sect their division is the size of a small city with some of the greatest alchemist making their nest there, it's incomparable" She then look quizzically at Shu He.
"Why didn't you go there if you wanted to be an alchemist?" She asked.
"Well…" Shu He thought about it, but he really only had one explanation "It just happened… maybe it was fate?" He said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Fate…" Her eyes looked listless for a second before tears started rising in the corner of her eyes "Then was it fate that I'd be stuck alone down here while everyone else is having fun with a competition above? Uuuuuuuu!" She began sobbing on the desk.
Shu He just backed away slightly with an awkward expression.
"So about me learning alchemy…" He tried to steer the topic.
"Right, sorry I lost myself there" She suddenly perked up wiping her tears with her sleeve and pulling a golden circle out of it before placing it on her eye, it was a monocle.
"Then let me ask you some questions first, do you have any prior experience with alchemy at all?"
"No"
"Have you reached Meridian Awakening?"
"Not yet, that's a requirement?"
She nodded "Qi externalisation is key for alchemy, but it matters not since you'll reach it eventually".
"Have you turned your Core Flame into an Elemental Core Flame?"
'I'm guessing that's what Bai Lian had done since her core flame was pure ice qi'.
"No, would it be a problem if I did?"
"Alchemy requires the use of Alchemic Qi, although we don't have to turn our core flames into an Alchemic Core Flame we must use a technique to do something similar, that cannot be done if the core flame has been turned in to another element beforehand".
"I see" Shu He nodded; it made sense at least.
"What were your results on the 5 Elements Formation test?"
"If I remember correctly it was 'Wood, Upper Earth; Water, Middle Earth; Fire, Middle Earth; Metal, Upper Dust; Earth, Upper Dust, ".
"Good"
"Are there preferrable elements for alchemy?" Shu He asked out of curiosity.
"Of course, most of the materials we deal with are some form of plants so a high Wood compatibility is great, but there will be materials that match elements you're weak with and you will have difficulty concocting with them, that's why different alchemists have different specialties" She explained.
"Then lastly, what is your name?"
"..Shu He.. did I pass?" He asked slightly nervous.
"Pass? This wasn't a test I was just making sure you met the minimum requirements, and you do, or at least you will once your reach Meridian awakening".
"Oh, that's good then" Shu He wiped away that hint of nervousness he had growing in this throat.
"That reminds me I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Tao Ru and I'm a 2nd class alchemist, oh if you don't know the ranks you'll learn about them later, they go from 3st to 1st , 1st being the best of course."
She then reached under her desk and brought out a scroll before pushing it to Shu He.
Instinctively Shu He backed away slightly.
"What's wrong?" She looked at him strangely.
"Ah, uh, I don't need to do something like use my blood to open it do I?" He asked in a hurried manner.
Tao Ru's brows furrowed as she stared at him weirdly.
"No? Of course not it's just a text scroll"
"Oh. Thank heavens" He said before walking up to the desk again and taking a look at the scroll.
The label on it read 'Beginners Guide to Alchemy'.
'So it's basically the Alchemy for Dummies here'.
"Do I need to pay?" He asked.
"Normally you would, but since we rarely ever get applicants we just give it out for free to those who ask" She said while waving her hand gesturing Shu He to not be bothered about paying.
"Then, thanks" He placed it in his robe for safe keeping, he would be diving into it when he got back.
"Like I said earlier, the rest of the alchemists are busy with a competition that can take a few more weeks at least so you won't be able to find a teacher and I'm stuck here so I can't help either, so just give a read of the scroll and familiarise yourself with the process and how it works."
"Okay, I will"
"When you reach Meridian Awakening come back here and we'll see if someone will be your instructor."
"Great!" Shu He eyes sparkled.
'I wonder who I'll get as a teacher'.
Tao Ru sighed "Then, this is all I can do for you right now, I have some stuff to do as well despite how unbusy I look".
"Okay, I'll see you another time then". Shu He waved as he started walking out, the doors opened for him as he neared and slammed shut silencing the room.
A heavy sigh sounded out once more.
"I wonder how fast he'll give up" Tao Ru muttered depressingly.