「The next morning.」
Lin Qingfeng went online and opened his quest panel. The progress on the sect guidance mission had barely reached ten percent.
'Another day, another quest for this diligent Senior Brother. So industrious!'
He thought for a moment and decided to take Su Ling'er to check out the Elixir Furnace Pavilion.
In front of the thatched hut, Su Ling'er watched Lin Qingfeng's figure arrive as promised. She knew her life as an undercover agent was about to officially begin.
A new trial had already begun, and she would not stand still.
"Junior Sister, did you rest well last night?"
'Well? Like hell it was! How could anyone rest well in a drafty thatched hut, sleeping on moldy straw?'
But she spoke respectfully, "Thanks to you, Senior Brother, this disciple spent last night in the 'Abode of Returning to Truth.' Pillowed by the scent of straw and listening to the whispers of the wind, it was truly... a unique experience."
Lin Qingfeng was overjoyed to hear this. "Oh? It seems your comprehension is quite good, Junior Sister! That's the spirit! Cultivation is all about enduring the greatest of hardships!"
Su Ling'er's mouth twitched. She added in a low voice, "It's just that the wind was... a little strong. This disciple was nearly blown away."
Lin Qingfeng's expression immediately hardened. "Don't overthink it! The sect is testing your footing! If your foundation is unstable, how can you pursue Cultivation? Alright, stop thinking about it. Today, I'll take you to the Elixir Furnace Pavilion."
"The Elixir Furnace Pavilion? Is that a place for Alchemy?"
An image of Qingxu Temple's alchemy chamber appeared in Su Ling'er's mind. Although outer sect disciples like her were forbidden from entering, she knew it was a neat and orderly place where even Inner Sect Disciples dared not speak loudly.
'So what would an alchemy lab in this demonic sect be like?'
On the way, Lin Qingfeng put on a profound air and began to explain the mysteries of the sect's Alchemy Dao to her. "Junior Sister, do you know the meaning of the 'elixir'?"
As an outer sect disciple of Qingxu Temple, Su Ling'er had only heard rumors about Alchemy. She was curious to hear what this demonic sect's perspective on it was.
"This junior sister is slow-witted. I ask for Senior Brother's guidance."
"Internally, it is the Golden Core Dao. Externally, it is a panacea to save the world. The fire in a single furnace can refine the heart, temper the spirit, and smelt all of creation. Its mysteries form a grand dao to the heavens."
"However, just as water can carry a boat, it can also capsize it. The path of the Alchemy Dao is fraught with variables. A single misstep can result in a ruined pill and an injured alchemist at best. At worst, the furnace will be destroyed and the alchemist killed. It's even possible to create... some unexpected things."
Soon, a quaint, old-fashioned pavilion appeared before them. Even before they drew near, a strange smell wafted over.
The scene inside the gate was noisy and chaotic. Dozens of Pill Furnaces were scattered about haphazardly, filling the air with smoke and the smell of burning. It had nothing in common with the words "No Loud Noises" posted near Qingxu Temple's alchemy chamber.
'This... is really a place for Alchemy?'
'Isn't this the kitchen of some Chaos Demon God? With the Pill Furnaces scattered around like this, aren't they afraid of triggering earthfire and using some 'Fire Lotus' technique to blow the whole mountain sky-high?'
As if he had read her mind, Lin Qingfeng coughed twice and explained:
"Ahem, this is just where the sect disciples usually practice. If you spend some Spirit Stones and make a few contributions to the sect, you can go to the inner pavilion for Alchemy. That's the real place for refining elixirs; it won't be this noisy."
Passing through an invisible threshold, the clamor behind them was instantly cut off. Before them lay an elegant courtyard with exceptionally dense Spiritual Qi.
Su Ling'er almost thought this was a normal place for Alchemy.
Finally, Lin Qingfeng stopped in front of an alchemy room whose doors and windows were actually made of Crystal Stone.
Suddenly! A crazed laugh echoed from within:
"HAHAHA! This Daoist Master is about to succeed! Just a little more?!"
Su Ling'er's gaze passed through the translucent Crystal Stone window to the scene inside.
In the center of the alchemy room stood a purple-gold Pill Furnace taller than a man. In front of it was a man with disheveled hair.
His eyes were bloodshot and his expression was crazed as he yelled, "My Human Essence Elixir! It will definitely succeed this time!"
Su Ling'er's gaze followed the mad alchemist's words and shifted upward.
Through the Crystal Stone embedded in the top of the Pill Furnace, she saw...
In the center of the gently flickering flames, a naked human figure was curled up!
The flames licked at his skin. His whole body convulsed, his mouth wide open, yet not a single sound escaped!
Inside, there was actually a living person!
'They... they're actually using a living person for Alchemy!'
'I was almost fooled by the tranquil environment outside! Is this one of those 'unexpected things' he mentioned? Using living people to refine elixirs, is that it?'
In that moment, Su Ling'er understood.
'Senior Brother must have brought me here to witness this inhumane scene as a warning. In the Guixi Sect, a human life is nothing more than another ingredient for Alchemy.'
Lin Qingfeng hadn't expected to run into Lu Wu doing his research today.
But it was understandable. Players were always trying to find clever workarounds to get ahead. Besides, since they couldn't leave this mountain peak, everyone was idle anyway. It was only natural they'd look for some bugs to exploit.
After all, many gameplay mechanics were discovered through exploration. Lu Wu had spent quite a few Spirit Stones just to hire someone to climb into a Pill Furnace so he could study how to refine high-quality pills more efficiently.
The guy in the furnace was just as much of a character!
He was a regular in the Artifact Refining and Alchemy areas known as "Sacrifice," who specialized in being offered up. He took money to die, stripping off his gear and jumping right in.
To set the mood, and perhaps even to satisfy the special tastes of certain clients, he had even activated a paid pain module—"Convulse Horribly While Dying."
And you had to admit, it really fit the scene. He was probably AFK convulsing while browsing the forums right now.
'Still, if I'd known these two were up to this today, I wouldn't have brought my junior sister here.'
'Looks like it's time for me to spout some profound-sounding nonsense again.'
Lin Qingfeng was even a little excited. After all, playing the all-knowing sage in front of his naive junior sister was actually quite addictive.