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Chapter 74 - Cauldron
🕑 Added 2024-07-24 07:00:13 +0000 UTCThe next day, Anda started secluding herself in the Alchemy room to prepare for the upcoming Alchemy Conference.
Anda brought out an old-looking cauldron and stared at it. She reminisced about the time when Leyvi and her had just entered the Mountain Dew Sect together.
When she was tested to have a spirit root, she didn't feel happy at all. She was afraid to be separated from the only person who treated her sincerely. Thankfully, Leyvi also possessed a spirit root which made her happy and relieved.
As she had a fire-attributed spirit root, she was recommended to study Alchemy by Elder Cherry, the elder in charge of the outer disciples. Without thinking much, she just agreed to the recommendation and joined the Alchemy Hall. At the same time, Leyvi who had an attributeless spirit root was recommended to join a demonic beast-hunting group, become a spirit herb picker, or mine in the spirit stone mine.
They were given the most basic Martial Skill at first, but learning them wasn't mandatory for someone like her. Leyvi learned the basic Martial Skill but wasn't compatible with it, so every time he joined a demonic beast-hunting group, he would be injured. In the end, she advised Leyvi to stop taking hunting missions and search for spirit herbs instead. Although it was slower, it was much safer.
Before she became an Alchemist, she became an assistant in the Alchemy Hall, doing odd jobs and helped cleaning the alchemy rooms each day to earn some contribution points. When she had free time, she would learn and memorize about all kinds of alchemy ingredients from the books in the Alchemy Hall.
After she passed the memory test a year later, she was finally allowed to learn and practice alchemy. However, in order to learn, she was required to have a cauldron first which she didn't. The sect only provided a place to live and a good cultivation environment for sect members, however, everything else must be earned by their own effort. This became a big problem for Anda because she didn't earn much and it would take a few years of saving to buy a cauldron. Although she had started saving early on, it was still far from enough.
During that time, Leyvi offered his help by saving his contribution points too. Anda accepted because she knew Leyvi would still help her whether she agreed or not.
Due to this, what would take Anda longer to buy, became shorter by half. A year and a half later, they saved enough contribution points to buy the cheapest cauldron available, it was old but usable.
Anda was indebted to Leyvi again because she had delayed his cultivation to save contribution points for her cauldron. At this point, her feelings for Leyvi keep getting stronger, however, she doesn't dare to express them because it might destroy their friendship.
Since she finally had a cauldron, Anda started her first pill refinement lesson with the alchemy instructor at the Alchemy Hall. She first had to learn the fire-controlling method and alchemy techniques for extracting, containing, refining, mixing, and forming.
Most tier-1 products don't require much fire, normal fire for cooking was enough at this level. Furthermore, Qi Refining pills are easy to make because alchemists don't have to do the hardest part of many alchemy processes, mixing, for this formula.
One only has to extract the Qi from spirit herbs, contain the Qi in the cauldron, remove the impurities, and then allow them to take form, in this case, into a pill.
Because of this, becoming an Alchemist Student was very easy. When Anda made a Qi Refining pill for the first time, she was officially an Alchemist Student.
The fire control requirement became increasingly higher at the Alchemist Teacher level. It was also no surprise that most Alchemists stopped at Alchemist Disciple level, unable to progress anymore.
In fact, it was also what happened to Anda. She could only make low-grade Qi Refining pills and a few other easy alchemy products.
Her fire control wasn't good enough, and her alchemy techniques weren't proficient enough. She had difficulties in balancing her fire control, techniques, and timings.
For more than five years, she could only produce low-grade alchemy products. Although she wasn't talented, Leyvi would always spare a portion of his spirit herbs harvest so that she could practice more alchemy.
Anda was happy to have a true friend like Leyvi. Leyvi would always complain about how slow his cultivation was but he never faulted it to her. This was why she always wanted to be better in Alchemy, so she could return his favor for all these years but unfortunately, her talent wasn't good enough.
Anda remembered that day when Leyvi proposed to her, it was the happiest day in her life. All this time, she never asked about his feelings toward her because she was afraid their relationship would become awkward. At that moment she didn't care anymore, whether he truly liked her or not, it wasn't important, she only wanted to be his.
Later, when she was making Qi Refining pills from the spirit herbs that Leyvi gave to her, a miraculous thing happened where she gained eyes that would let her see the data of the ingredients and guide her to perform fire control and alchemy techniques perfectly, which includes the timing, ratio, motion, and temperature. It was the Alchemic Vision.
The more accurate and precise she became in following the guidance from the Alchemic Vision, the better the grades of the pills she made. Anda was extremely ecstatic and overjoyed knowing that she could finally be useful to the man she liked.
Soon, she learned that Leyvi gave her a new heaven-defying ability when he shared his biggest secret with her. It was at this moment that her feelings transformed from liking to loving.
All she wanted now was to spend the rest of her life with him, the man who always treated her well. She would also give her all to be the best alchemist and give everything to this man. By everything, she meant everything! Wealth, Women, Power! Her husband deserved all of them.
After being together with Leyvi for a while, she knew that she was very special and important in Leyvi's heart. Throughout their relationship, Leyvi had never said something like 'I love you' to her, not even once. Although he never said it, his actions were enough proof and the best indication of his love for her. To her, this was more meaningful than some empty words.
It was not until she was trapped in the fire sphere made by Little Fiery that she saw with her own eyes, how deep Leyvi's love for her was. Despite all the things that happened to him, to the very last moment, before he passed out, he would still think about her first. How could she not be touched?
From that moment on, she would live for him, she would die for him. In the next life, she would be his again. In the life after that, she would still be his again, and again and again, for eternity.
If the heaven tried to prevent them, she would burn the heaven. If anything tried to prevent them from being together, she would destroy them mercilessly.
When she heard someone say that Leyvi wasn't a good match for her, she was furious and wanted to kill them but she restrained herself and only put them on the ban list. This was enough to destroy their life. Killing them would cause Leyvi and her unnecessary trouble after all.
In the end, Leyvi still pleaded with her on their behalf. Her husband was too soft-hearted, but she still lifted the ban on them for his sake. To her surprise, they became members of Leyvi's fanclub.
As they encountered more and more heaven-defying opportunities, the more she noticed that Leyvi wouldn't be the primary beneficiary as if there were dark hands behind the scenes manipulating the situation. Maybe she was just paranoid, but it still bothered her, to the point of making her furious.
Now, she felt it was useless to be mad at this weird situation. If it happened again, all she had to do was accept the opportunities on Leyvi's behalf. To her, every problem has a solution, and this is the best solution for now.
In the Alchemy room, Anda caressed the old cauldron she and Leyvi worked so hard to buy.
"I hope you can hold on for much longer." She said softly.
Anda could feel that the cauldron she cherished so much, didn't have much time left. It was on the verge of collapsing from all the alchemy processes it conducted.
In Bara City, Anda had brought it to a reputable blacksmith shop for repair, but there was nothing they could do. It was made from weak materials in the first place and the durability had reached its limit. It was easier and better to forge a new one instead.
As a form of respect and love, Anda decided to use the old cauldron until it reached the end of its life.
It was made to be a cauldron, it will also die as a cauldron. Her cauldron.
