"Focus!" Calla reprimanded.
Laine always considered himself a focused individual, but with Calla floating beside him, his eyes couldn't help but stray to her porcelain skin—or more specifically, to the swaying cleavage that peeked out above the green trim of her white hanfu dress.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm ready. Please teach me the skill."
They stood beside the stone table in Laine's hut. On the table was one of his recent purchases from the open market in the Stone Hut Layer: a plain, round cauldron with a dull surface. It stood on three stubby legs and had a basic vent at its base for airflow. The lid was simple, with a small handle for easy lifting.
Its name was the Bronze Pill Furnace, and it had cost him 50 spirit stones. Originally, Laine had planned to buy a clay pill furnace for 20 spirit stones, but with the amount he made from his trip, he splurged. Besides, the clay furnace had poor heat retention and control, prone to cracks and inconsistent temperatures during concoction, which would have drastically increased his failure rate.
He had also tried to find the bald stall owner who sold him the fake urn artifact, but both the man and his stall had vanished. He asked other nearby vendors, but strangely, they had no idea who Laine was talking about. This baffled him, but he pushed the mystery to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to attend to.
Calla gave him a serious look and nodded.
Immediately, a torrent of information surged through Laine's mind, causing sharp pain to lance through his head. After a few moments, the pain subsided, and Laine smiled at his newfound knowledge.
"So, it's called Ember Ignite. Haha, I wouldn't be able to purchase a skill like this legally anywhere."
Skills related to artifact forging, alchemy, or similar professions were highly restricted by large sects. The black market was the only place one might come across such a skill—if they were lucky. Even then, the price would be astronomical. Several thousand spirit stones likely wouldn't be enough.
Ember Ignite was a basic flame skill used in pill concoctions. It generated a steady flame that could adjust in intensity and heat, ideal for heating ingredients and maintaining precise temperatures during the pill-making process.
"Try to start the pill furnace." Calla said as she crossed her arms, exposing more of her cleavage.
Laine didn't let her action affect his focus and honed in on the information she transmitted mentally to him.
Unbeknownst to him, Calla smiled when he didn't get distracted. He had earned quite a few points in her book by staying on task.
The first step was to draw aura from his aura reservoir.
Laine was still getting used to the sensation of his aura reservoir. To break through the 1st Stage of the Neophyte Realm, he had to form, stabilize, and integrate with this space. The aura reservoir, located in the navel area, was where a cultivator gathered and stored their aura.
The next step was to cycle his aura through his life lines and guide it to his fingertips.
Breaking through the 2nd Stage of the Neophyte Realm required him to do something similar, and that was to cycle aura specifically throughout his vital organs and blood vessels. Doing this strengthened his blood vessels. Improving not only his resilience but also his healing capability and stamina. He wouldn't have been able to flee like he had from Larissa if he had not successfully broken through to the 3rd Stage of the Neophyte Realm.
The 3rd Stage focused on the life lines. With enough aura, the capacity and resilience of one's life lines increased, enhancing both energy storage and utilization. Once enough aura was accumulated, cultivators could push through to the next stage.
Life lines were channels for aura, forming from birth and maturing around the age of sixteen. While they didn't directly affect life and death, they are integral to the body's composition.
In appearance, life lines resembled a mature tree, with branches spreading in all directions. The aura reservoir acted as the trunk, the core where all the life lines converged.
This was only a small part of the information Calla had just implanted in his mind. Laine realized how little he actually knew. But he accepted it—he was a weak rogue cultivator, and his kind often perished young in this harsh world.
He felt the aura gather at his fingertips. Extending his arm, palm facing the Bronze Pill Furnace, he willed the aura forward. Tiny orange sparks traveled from his fingers into the furnace. The sensation was a pleasant warmth spreading through him, almost like a gentle current flowing along his skin. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced before, an intoxicating rush of power and control.
"How could you possibly use the skill straightaway?!"
Laine wasn't expecting her outburst. He jumped, losing focus, and the ember faded away.
He turned to her. "What's wrong? Stop trying to make me lose focus. And don't think I didn't notice you playing with your breasts earlier. Wait until tonight, okay?"
"I wasn't playing with my—wait! Stop with the nonsense." Calla took a breath, her face flushing slightly. "Explain to me why you could use Ember Ignite so effortlessly."
"What do you mean?" Laine scratched his head. "I've only learned one other skill. Isn't this a below-average learning speed?"
Calla shot upwards. "Below average! It took my previous master two days—two whole days! Do you know what this means?"
"Your previous master had poor comprehension."
"Do not be an idiot. My previous master was a heavenly genius. There isn't a word to describe what you just did. It seems you may only be a wastrel because of circumstance and not your own ineptitude."
Laine's heart raced. Could he really have such talent? He had always considered himself average—or worse—in everything he did. But according to Calla, his potential might be greater than he had ever imagined.