Stella let out a deep breath as her consciousness returned to reality. Her eyes fluttered open, and she squinted briefly as she was blinded by the warm midday sun.
Feeling within herself, she couldn't help but sigh. Even with the help of Ashlock's truffles, fruits, and residual Qi blanketing the mountain peak, it would still take at least a few months to move up a single stage in the Star Core Realm.
Yet despite the disappointing realization regarding the monumental amount of time it took to advance through the Star Core Realm, Stella wasn't so worried.
With the existence of the mystic realm, it almost feels pointless to waste time meditating out here, even with the help of the Qi gathering formation and the resources Ash provided me.
Stella shook her head and stood up. Her arse ached as the ground was rough stone, and she had been sitting far too long.
I should really buy a cushion or something for when I meditate. Stella's eyes drifted across the mountain peak and settled on the bench under Ashlock's canopy. Or I could meditate on the bench... not like there's a massive difference in Qi over there compared to here.
Stella glanced up at the canopy of the demonic tree she had been meditating under and saw it rustle in the wind as streaks of sunlight poured through the gaps. It was beautiful, with its striking resemblance to Ash.
Wait... if Ash sees me as his daughter, then are these my siblings?
Stella chuckled to herself and patted the tree on the trunk. Her hand then paused on its bark as she felt something tingle at the back of her brain.
Did I just feel a tiny hint of happiness?
Removing her hand, the distant feeling faded. Placing it back on brought it back. The tree was happy...
Stella withdrew her hand and stared at it, "Since when could I talk to trees?"
Sadly her hand didn't seem to have the answer, nor did she. "Mhm... weird." Shrugging, she walked across the sunlit mountaintop with a spring in her step. She glanced briefly at the far end of the courtyard, where she could see Diana's silhouette, barely visible through the swirling mist around the group of water affinity demonic trees facing the forest between them and Darklight City.
She also noticed Kaida, who was curled around Diana. The snake had grown rather large, which reminded Stella of Maple. Instinctually she reached up and was only half surprised to feel the soft fur of the white squirrel that claimed her head as his throne.
Maple sleepily rubbed his head against her fingers which made her smile.
Eventually, Stella made it to the bench under Ash's canopy. Before doing anything else, she used telekinesis to pull a few low-hanging fruits down to her as she needed replacements for the fruit she had eaten before meditating.
"Let's see. I ate two deep meditations and an enlightenment one." Stella pulled down the required fruit and stowed them away in her spatial ring. She was then about to ask Ash about today's plans when she noticed his attention was elsewhere.
Stella couldn't quite explain it, but she could sense when Ash was asleep or focused on something else.
What could be drawing his interest this time? Stella pondered while tapping her chin and glancing around. Her gaze eventually landed on the large hole in the center of the mountain peak, and she suddenly remembered that the Redclaws were supposed to be arriving today.
Closing her eyes, she entered the spatial plane, and with a click of her fingers, she materialized a portal before her and walked straight through. As the portal snapped closed behind her, she suddenly felt everyone's gaze on her, including two teenagers with crimson hair and eyes she had never seen before.
It had been quite a while since she had to introduce herself to new people, and it was made even worse as they were teenagers. Stella found adults easier to converse and connect with compared to children. Perhaps it was because she didn't have a normal childhood, but she never felt she could connect with those younger than her.
Relax... you can do this, Stella. Just politely introduce yourself to the newcomers. There's no need to worry. You won't make a fool of yourself... it's not like they can see your face—
A slight breeze originating from the hole in the side of the cavern brushed her hair over her eyes, making her blink as it itched her eye. Blink. Stella could feel her hair. Which could only mean one thing... she had forgotten to wear her mask.
Stella felt her stomach sink. She had finally started getting comfortable ordering people around for Ash, but that required the mask that could obscure her expressions. Unlike the Elders of the Redclaw family, she hadn't been brought up with etiquette lessons, nor did she have centuries of life experience to pull from to navigate conversations.
She had a facade as the face of the Ashfallen Sect and the descendant of an immortal. How was she supposed to keep that act up without the darn mask!
Elder Margret suddenly stopped staring at her and became flustered. She put her hands on the back of the twin's heads and forced them into a bow with her, "Greetings Stella. I hope our early arrival didn't disturb you or the immortal's meditation."
Stella wanted to respond, but nothing came out of her mouth. She replayed every word in her head, but nothing sounded right. Suddenly a small paw smacked her on the forehead bringing her out of her daze.
"You did no such thing, Elder Margret," Stella said as she felt Maple roll over on her head into a better sleeping position. "And who might these two be?"
All three Redclaws straightened up, and Elder Margret helpfully introduced her to the twins, "These two are Oliver and Olivia. They have some of our family's purest crimson soul flames and took an early interest in alchemy. We have trained them the best we could over the years, but our resources are limited. We have also taken a conscious step away from alchemy, so I could never provide them the education they deserved."
Elder Margret gestured to Stella, "Oliver and Olivia, this is Stella. She represents the Immortal, and the Ashfallen Sect that lords over us."
Stella gave them a brief nod and then walked over while trying to ignore the stars in their eyes. She wished she remembered her mask, but it would be odd to wear it now.
It's fine. These two should be spending a lot of time in the cavern, and I don't want to wear a mask every time I come down here to speak to Douglas. I should get used to their stares.
"So, Elder Margret, were you able to conduct alchemy with the cauldron the immortal grew?" Stella asked while leaning over the earthen bowl and inspecting the massive black fruit.
She furiously nodded, "It is actually the best cauldron I have ever had the pleasure of using. Look here at the pill I was able to create."
Stella turned to face the stern woman and was handed a pill that looked like a glass ball. It was cold to the touch and incredibly smooth.
So this is a freshly made pill. It feels high quality, but besides reading that book I got from the Voidmind Elder's stash, what do I know about alchemy?
Humming to herself, Stella side-eyed the Elder and debated if she should ask about the pill. Would the Elder judge her lack of knowledge? Deciding her acting skills were only so good and her knowledge too shallow to continue the lies, Stella took the risk.
"I must admit, Elder Margret, although I have dabbled in some old literature that speaks highly of alchemy's great mysteries... I am not well versed in pill creation." Stella carefully handed the pill to the Elder, "Could you tell me about the pill?"
To Stella's relief, none of the Redclaws showed any adverse reaction to her admittance of ignorance, and Elder Margret explained the entire process from start to finish in one long lecture that didn't bore Stella in the slightest.
So Ash can produce such amazing cultivation resources in mere moments. As expected of him. And Elder Margret created such a supposedly amazing pill with the help of the cauldron fruit.
"So this is a Profound tier pill? What does that mean?" Stella asked.
"Well, you see..." Elder Margret caught her breath and continued, "There are eight tiers of pills that exist in our realm. Mortal, Spirit, Profound, Earth, Sky, Divine, Celestial, and finally the Heavenly tier."
"So you created a 3rd tier pill?" Stella frowned, "That doesn't seem very impressive considering what you told me about the amazing ingredients and how the cauldron assisted your soul fire."
Elder Margret shook her head, "You misunderstand. The body-strengthening pill is a Mortal tier pill. Yet due to the high-quality ingredients and pure soul fire, I could turn such a simple pill with only three basic ingredients into one with a similar effect to a Profound tier pill."
Now that she worded it like that... Stella could see how miraculous the whole thing was. She had turned a tier one pill into a tier three.
"To create higher tier pills, the rarity and number of ingredients required increases exponentially." Elder Margret lectured, "Also, the time it takes to create the pill increases quite quickly. It gets to the point where an alchemist doesn't have the cultivation realm, skill, or ingredients to create higher-tier pills, and they become ever stuck at a certain tier of pill creation."
"I see..." Stella contemplated, "What is the highest-tier pill you can make?"
"As an 8th-stage Soul Fire Realm cultivator with centuries of experience, the best pill I have ever created was an Earth tier." Elder Margret had a hint of nostalgia in her voice, "But I will never create something so high tier again."
"Really?" Stella tilted her head, "Even with the immortal's cauldron, ingredients, and access to the mystic realm?"
Elder Margret seemed to pause, and then her eyes widened, "You're right. With his assistance, I should be able to make an Earth-tier pill before I die."
"Miss Stella, have you ever performed alchemy before?" The male twin, whom Stella believed was called Oliver, asked her with awe in his eyes.
Stella wanted to shy away from the enthusiastic gaze but gathered some courage, "No, I have never tried before."
"We can learn together!" Olivia piped up.
"Uhm..." Stella wanted to turn down the offer and learn away from prying eyes, but their enthusiasm rubbed off on her. "Alright, fine, show me how it's done."
***
After an hour lecture that she swore was half nonsense, Stella stood before the fruit cauldron with the three ingredients needed for the Body Strengthening Pill laid out before her.
The twins were on either side of her, standing in front of their own earthen bowls. Somehow they had turned this into a competition, and unable to say no, Stella had agreed to their challenge on who could create the best pill.
Elder Margret stood behind them and acted as the judge. "You may now begin."
Stella let out a breath as she focused.
Okay, first, I need to purify the Dragon Marrow... how hard can it be?
Picking up the weird jelly substance, she surrounded it in her spatial flames and closed her eyes. In the silence of her mind, she finally found some peace.
Now what do I do? Remove the impurities?
Stella frowned. Her soul fire wasn't actually hot, so it wasn't like she could burn the impurities away. But spatial affinity wasn't listed in the book as an affinity unable to perform alchemy, so there had to be a way...
What about the spatial plane?
Her entire reality shifted, and everything became outlined in grids. The lump of bone marrow in her hand seemed like nothing special, but as she focused closer, she noticed the tiny traces of impurities floating about as they were outlined in faint grids that were easy to miss.
Stella interjected her spatial Qi into the bone marrow through tiny gaps in its jelly-like surface. She then carefully followed shifting pathways to avoid messing with the crystalized Qi within the bone marrow.
Then as she snaked her Qi toward the marked impurities, she noticed the walls of the shifting pathways slowly erode away from her Qi.
I need to hurry up. Stella cursed as she felt sweat accumulating on her forehead. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her Star Core lightly pulsed with power. Never before had she needed to be this precise and delicate with her Qi control. It was a totally new experience for her.
Luckily, despite her lack of experience, her pure Qi glided through the pathways effortlessly, and she managed to isolate the impurities moments later.
Okay, good job Stella... now what? Think. You can't just shatter them with your Qi, as that will corrupt the rest of the Dragon Marrow... Hmmm.
Her mind raced as she slowly noticed the corruption of her Qi on the pathways. Rather than panic, the time pressure helped her focus. Eventually, she settled on a potentially stupid idea...
What if I just teleport the impurities with tiny rifts?
Since the impurities shifted around like fireflies, all she had to do was open a rift the width of a hair right in front of where she predicted they would move, and with a tiny pop, it was gone!
A minute went by, and Stella meticulously removed every trace of impurity she could spot. However, as she was nearly done with just a few to go, she could already see hints of her own Qi beginning to corrupt the Dragon Marrow as the pathways were eroded away.
It's too risky to continue pushing to get every last impurity out... I should withdraw here.
She wasn't happy about it, but it was important to know when to retreat and take the small victories.
Opening her eyes, she saw the Dragon Marrow in her hand was more translucent than before and almost mirrored that same glass-like appearance as the pill Elder Margret made.
Glancing to the side, she saw Olivia sniffling as she held a blackened blob of Dragon Marrow in her hand.
"Olivia, you took too long to remove the impurities, and your own Qi has ruined the Dragon Marrow," Elder Marget said from behind with the voice of a stern teacher, "Therefore, you are disqualified."
"Can't I try again?" Olivia begged, "Please... I was so close."
Elder Margret shook her head, "You got arrogant, and this is the price you pay. We have a limited amount of Dragon Marrow, so I can't waste any more on giving you a second chance." She then walked over and looked between Stella and Oliver.
"Stella, yours is near perfect, and Oliver... did you even remove any impurities?"
"Y-yes, Elder Margret, look here..." Oliver pointed at a tiny pile of ash on the earthen bowl's rim.
Elder Margret snorted, "That is a poor attempt, but at least you didn't ruin the precious Dragon Marrow like your sister."
Stella felt a pang of sympathy for the twins, but she could do little for them.
I never realized alchemy was this brutal. No wonder most people just focus on cultivation and ignore this path in life.
Her eyes wandered across the other two ingredients.
If I had to also remove the impurities from both of these, I don't think I would have any patience left to actually make the pill. And yet Elder Margret said all this is for a tier one pill? Wouldn't preparing all the ingredients for an Earth-tier pill take days?
Stella didn't know how to describe it, but knowing how steep the path to becoming a master alchemist was made it all the more appealing.
If I became an alchemist capable of crafting pills of the Heavenly tier, Ash would be even more proud of me, and I could help him so much more. I know he loves and cares for me now as his own daughter, so I'm not worried he would throw me away... but that doesn't mean I should get complacent! Nobody likes a lazy daughter.
With the fire of passion burning in her chest... or was that her Star Core? Either way, she gathered the three ingredients that were all prepared and threw them into the cauldron she bathed in her soul fire.
Honestly, this was the stage she had absolutely no idea what to do. Elder Margret had described it as cooking a meal... but she had never cooked before. Ash always provided her fruit, and sometimes she feasted on birds that were prepared for her by Diana.
Closing her eyes, the spatial plane did help with manipulating the ingredients more precisely, but the actual combining of them was a mystery to her.
Do I wrap the Qi Flowing Grass around the Dragon Marrow like a dumpling?
Stella did that, and all she noticed were hints of corruption seeping back into the ingredients, which made her panic a little. However, right as she was going to try and unravel them and try again, she felt something lovingly embrace her soul fire.
Lilac flames, far purer than her own that could only belong to Ash blanketed the clump of ingredients and helped keep the corruption at bay.
"Thank you, Tree," Stella muttered under her breath and smiled. The sensation of a caring parent helping her while learning something new warmed her heart as it wasn't a feeling she was used to.
The sudden help allowed Stella to try different combinations of the Starlight Lotus, Qi Flowing Grass, and Dragon Marrow without worry.
Soon she was getting the hang of it, and ten minutes later, a pill rose from the cauldron.
Stella retrieved it and frowned. It was clearly a lot worse than Elder Margrets, with a dark cloud overshadowing the sparkles of the Starlight Lotus and the lush green of the Qi Flowing Grass within the glass marble.
She was disappointed but also proud. This was her first-ever attempt at trying alchemy, after all.
Turning around, she handed the pill to Elder Margret and the three Redclaws, and even Douglas started at it in awe.
"Have you really never performed alchemy?" Elder Margret asked skeptically. "Even with the hints of corruption, this is a high-grade Mortal tier pill, or perhaps even a Spirit tier pill!"
So definitely a high-grade tier one and might even be a tier two... got it. I think I'm fine with that as a first attempt.
"That's amazing, Stella!" Olivia gave her a bright smile despite the redness in her eyes from tears.
Oliver also nodded in approval, "Mine was a dud. I corrupted the ingredients in the cauldron." He then scratched the back of his neck, "Even with the help of some mysterious lilac flames that tried to help me, I still messed it up."
Elder Margret let out a long sigh, "You two have really disappointed me today—"
"Don't be too harsh with them, Elder Margret," Stella interrupted the woman, "They are still young and have a lot of time to grow and improve."
The two twins looked at her as if she was their guardian angel. For some reason, she felt no need to shy away from their gazes... perhaps it was because they had gone through a trial together.
Elder Margret was about to reply when she suddenly paused. Her spatial ring flashed with power, and a talisman appeared in her hand. It glowed with power.
Stella noticed a sliver of the Elder's Qi enter the talisman, and then it seemed like she was listening to something.
Everyone waited patiently, and eventually, Elder Margret furrowed her brows, "The Grand Elder has called an emergency meeting. Apparently, the Ashfallen Sect has given us a decree. Stella, you wouldn't know anything about it, would you?"
Stella thought long and hard, but nothing came to mind, so she shook her head. "Must have come straight from the immortal... I could go and ask him for you?"
"No, it's quite alright." Elder Margret waved her off, "I will head back now to hear what the Grand Elder has to say. Can I leave the twins here?"
Stella glanced between the teens and sighed, "I guess so."
"Great, see you all later." Elder Margret turned and was surprised when a rift manifested before her, showing the courtyard of the White Stone Palace. Without hesitation, she stepped through and vanished.
Stella let out another sigh as she saw the two eager teenagers gaze at her.
What am I supposed to do with them? Should I take them to the mountain peak and let them cultivate under the fire trees?
And what the hell was that decree Elder Margret was going on about?
