Battle Through the Heaven: Purple Heaven

Xiao Xun'er stared at the two streaks of lightning dancing in Xiao Bai's palm, her lips slightly parted, her face a mask of astonishment.

"What kind of lightning is this?"

With her vast knowledge, there were few things on the Dou Qi Continent she didn't recognize. Yet, these two types of lightning were utterly unfamiliar—she had never seen or even heard of them.

According to ancient texts, the Dou Qi Continent once hosted a variety of exotic lightning, but only two remained in existence today: the Black Demon Lightning and the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.

Beyond these, the most notable was the Pill Lightning, which appeared during the refining of high-grade pills.

In the Dou Qi Continent, pills were ranked from one to ten, with the first rank being the lowest and the tenth, known as the Emperor Pill, the highest.

Pills reaching the seventh rank would summon Pill Lightning upon their creation.

For eighth-rank pills, the lightning could manifest in one to nine colors, with the pill's quality distinguished by the hue of the thunderclouds.

Ninth-rank pills, depending on their quality, were further divided from low to high: Ninth-Rank Treasure Pill, Ninth-Rank Mysterious Pill, and Ninth-Rank Golden Pill.

The Black Demon Lightning was the tribulation that heralded the birth of a Ninth-Rank Treasure Pill. For cultivators below the Four-Star Dou Sheng realm, facing this lightning carried the risk of death.

The Thunder Clan, one of the ancient eight clans, possessed a Black Demon Lightning Pool, used to temper the lightning Dou Qi within their clansmen. On rare occasions, some could transform their internal lightning Dou Qi into Black Demon Lightning through this method.

Once successful, they were nearly invincible among peers of the same rank.

As for the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, it had not appeared for countless years. This lightning was the tribulation of the Ninth-Rank Golden Pill, its power so immense that even high-tier Dou Shengs had to tread carefully when facing it.

"This one is the Yi Wood True Lightning," Xiao Bai explained. "It carries the essence of Yi Wood, granting it healing properties. It's a versatile lightning, capable of both attack and support."

He gestured to the other. "And this is the Bing Fire Yang Lightning, infused with the essence of Bing Fire. Both lightning and fire are volatile attributes, so its destructive power is quite impressive."

Seeing Xiao Xun'er's curiosity and surprise, Xiao Bai shared the names of the lightning without hesitation.

"No wonder you want to learn alchemy, Xiao Bai gege," Xiao Xun'er said, her eyes sparkling with realization. "These two types of lightning perfectly align with fire and wood attributes. But with lightning mixed in, will it work?"

She now understood why he had sought to trade for an alchemical inheritance.

"I'm just giving it a try to see if it's possible," Xiao Bai said with a shake of his head.

Xiao Xun'er gazed at him, her eyes gleaming as she gave him a delicate thumbs-up, her smile radiant. "Xiao Bai gege, you've got some guts! To experiment at the cost of a Heavenly Flame!"

Xiao Bai chuckled, teasing the girl who was feigning boldness. "Are you praising me or mocking me? It sounds like you're calling your Xiao Bai gege a spendthrift!"

Xiao Xun'er gently took his hand, holding it close, her voice playful and sweet. "Of course it's praise! Go ahead and squander, Xiao Bai gege. Xun'er's got a bit of pocket money saved up—enough to support both of us!"

Xiao Bai felt a mix of warmth and exasperation at her words. This girl's getting better at tugging at heartstrings! he thought. If this keeps up, will I, Xiao Bai, really end up devoted to her alone?

___

The next morning, Xiao Bai prepared to head out early.

The previous night, he had visited Yao Lao and obtained a primer on the basics of alchemy, along with two first-rank pill recipes.

Yao Lao had been generous, handing them over without hesitation. In a place like Wu Tan City, where there was no Alchemist Guild, such resources would have been easy for Xiao Bai to acquire otherwise.

After studying the alchemy basics from Yao Lao, Xiao Bai planned to buy some medicinal ingredients to experiment with today.

As for a medicine cauldron, Xiao Bai had no intention of purchasing one. He had asked Yao Lao about it the previous night and learned that even an ordinary two-port cauldron cost upwards of a hundred thousand gold coins—equivalent to the Xiao Clan's entire annual income.

He didn't have that kind of money, but he didn't need a traditional cauldron either. He had already made other arrangements a few days ago.

The most critical component of a medicine cauldron was the fire port, which served two purposes. For alchemists below the Dou Ling realm, it allowed them to channel their Dou Qi to produce tangible flames, as their internal Dou Qi couldn't manifest flames on its own. Additionally, the fire port facilitated the infusion of wood attributes into the cauldron, a necessity for those with wood-based Dou Qi.

But Xiao Bai was different. He planned to refine pills directly using his two types of lightning, bypassing the need for a conventional medicine cauldron.

If his courtyard had a kitchen, he might have even tried using a wok to test his theory.

As he reached the Xiao Clan's main gate, a lively voice called out from behind.

"Brother Bai!"

Xiao Bai inwardly rolled his eyes. Why do I run into this guy everywhere?

For the past three years, this kid's voice had been listless, but today it brimmed with enthusiasm, reminiscent of how he was three years ago.

Turning around, Xiao Bai saw a black-clad youth standing not far away, his face beaming with energy.

Spotting Xiao Bai's glance, the youth waved with exaggerated flair, flashing a wide grin full of white teeth.

Xiao Yan jogged up to him, smiling. "Brother Bai, you heading out too? Let's go together!"

Xiao Bai knew Xiao Yan was likely off to buy the medicinal ingredients Yao Lao had instructed him to gather. With a nod, he started walking toward the city.

"Sure, but I need to stop by the blacksmith first to pick something up."

"The blacksmith?" Xiao Yan's curiosity was piqued, but seeing Xiao Bai's reluctance to elaborate, he didn't press further and simply followed along.

Along the way, Xiao Yan's mood was noticeably upbeat. Gone was the dejection from the previous day; his eyes sparkled with confidence. Xiao Bai wondered if Yao Lao had spent the entire night feeding him expired motivational speeches.

Xiao Bai's trip to the blacksmith wasn't for a weapon but for a small cauldron he had commissioned a few days ago—a round-bellied, three-legged, two-handled vessel with a lid.

Today was the day to pick it up.

Since he intended to refine pills but wasn't using an alchemist's traditional cauldron, he had to have one custom-made.

His priority was affordability and durability. Pill refining often led to cauldron explosions, so sturdiness was non-negotiable.

The blacksmith was the best option for this.

The Xiao Clan resided in the eastern district of Wu Tan City, an area considered the noble quarter, though the city lacked true imperial nobility. The three major clans were all based here.

The northern and southern districts were bustling marketplaces, with the Miteer Auction House located in the north.

The western district, however, was the poorer residential area, where noisy businesses like blacksmiths were relegated.

Xiao Bai and Xiao Yan made their way to a large blacksmith shop in the western district.

The shop's owner spotted them and, with a barely perceptible glint in his eyes, approached with eager warmth.

"Young master, you're here! The cauldron is ready, forged from the blackwood steel you specified. It's guaranteed to be sturdy and reliable!"

Blackwood steel combined the hardness of steel with the resilience of wood, though its Dou Qi conductivity was subpar.

High-level cultivators wouldn't bother with it for weapons, but mercenaries favored it for its affordability and durability, saving them significant expenses on gear.

With limited gold coins, Xiao Bai had opted for this material for now. It was just for experimentation. If his lightning-based pill refining proved successful, he could commission a new cauldron with better materials later.

But the shopkeeper's demeanor today felt off. When Xiao Bai had mentioned using blackwood steel previously, the man had been dismissive. Today, his enthusiasm was almost excessive, and Xiao Bai's brows furrowed slightly in suspicion. Something's not right.

Still, he wasn't worried. With his current strength, he could walk unchallenged in Wu Tan City, and with Yao Lao backing him, he was curious to see what scheme this shopkeeper was brewing.