Chapter Thirty: Ascending the Mountain

By the time Ying Chen stepped out the door, dawn had already arrived.

He first made his way to the Office of Affairs, where he collected his monthly stipend, lingering a moment longer to see if there were any particularly lucrative assignments available. Unfortunately, such opportunities were exceedingly rare; even if one did appear, it would be snatched up at once—more likely, it would have already been promised to someone before its public listing.

Ying Chen did not dwell on his disappointment. After leaving the Office, he took a detour toward the Alchemy Hall.

The Alchemy Hall at Redwater Cliff occupied an expansive area, even boasting its own dedicated peak. The disciples' usual comings and goings reached only the front portion of the complex. Behind this, stretching up the mountain, were broad swathes of buildings: cultivated medicinal fields, workshops for processing herbs, rooms for crafting talismans, and more. From a distance, one could even spot immense open-air alchemical furnaces, standing four or five stories tall, perpetually billowing smoke.

Most eye-catching among these structures were the personal alchemical chambers of the elders. Though called “chambers,” they were, in fact, imposing halls, surrounded by various workshops and rising like small mountains themselves.

Elder Gu was one of the true authorities of the Alchemy Hall, and his chamber was naturally one such peak among the others.

Ying Chen did not possess a pass for the Alchemy Hall. He entered the hall and explained his purpose to a staff member, who then directed him to Elder Gu’s chamber.

Along the way, he noted the strict security: Daoists patrolled the medicinal fields by ghostly firelight; squads of corpse puppets and ghostly shadows moved between the workrooms and shops. Ying Chen was glad he had not recklessly attempted to enter the forbidden rear mountain.

His guide was a paper effigy conjured by a steward of the Alchemy Hall. It floated ahead of him for nearly half an hour before stopping before a grand hall. Whether the steward had sent word ahead or not, a young Daoist boy soon emerged to greet him.

In this ruthless place, it was Ying Chen’s first time seeing an actual Daoist acolyte. The boy looked to be fourteen or fifteen, with a bright, ruddy complexion and brimming with energy. He spoke with a cocky air. “Here to take the apprentice test again?”

Ying Chen replied evenly in the affirmative. The boy continued, “You’re in luck. Senior Brother finally has some free time to deal with this.”

“Some people come every two or three days; others come every day, hoping to catch this opportunity. Some have missed it entirely, but you happened to arrive just in time…”

With that, he led Ying Chen toward a side hall.

Listening quietly, Ying Chen quickly understood that he was not the only one who’d come after hearing Elder Gu’s lecture and hoped to apprentice in the alchemical chamber.

Yet, clearly, the matter was not so simple: some had come several times already, but the “Senior Brother” in the Alchemy Hall had not had the leisure to attend to them. Today, Ying Chen truly had luck on his side.

As they entered the side hall, Ying Chen saw that seven or eight others were already waiting.

“Wait here with the others,” the Daoist boy instructed, then turned to leave.

Just then, a broad-robed Daoist hurried out from within the hall. At his appearance, the waiting crowd all brightened, and the Daoist boy quickly bowed his head and greeted him, “Senior Brother Zhu.”

So this was the “Senior Brother” presiding over today’s proceedings. But, for some reason, Ying Chen found the man’s face vaguely familiar, though he could not immediately recall where he had seen him before.

The Daoist’s gaze did not linger on any of those waiting, but he turned to the Daoist boy and asked, “Is everyone here?”

“One more just arrived. That should be everyone,” the boy replied.

With a wave, the Daoist said, “Bring out the prepared herbs. Let them each select and begin their alchemical trials. Whoever can successfully produce a potion will remain…”

The boy asked, “What about the quiet rooms for refining?”

“Are there any to spare?” the Daoist retorted. “Just bring out several furnaces and have them work here in the hall.”

With that, he finally seemed to have a moment for the crowd, casting a glance over them—his eyes suddenly landing on Ying Chen.

“Hm…” The Daoist’s brow moved. “Ying Chen?”

Ying Chen was slightly startled; a memory flickered in his mind—he recognized this Daoist from the White Bone Society’s ritual assembly. That day, the White Bone Hall had been dimly lit, and Ying Chen had focused more on Yu Daojing and the others, so this figure had not made much impression.

He did not know the Daoist’s name, but that hardly mattered. Ying Chen cupped his hands in greeting, following the Daoist boy’s example. “Greetings, Senior Brother Zhu.”

Zhu’s expression softened. “You’re here to take the apprentice test as well?”

Ying Chen confirmed he was. In front of everyone, Zhu said to the Daoist boy, “Look after him.”

Immediately, Ying Chen felt the shift in the others’ gazes. Even the Daoist boy’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Ying Chen.

But Zhu paid them no mind, giving a few more instructions to the boy before hurrying off.

The boy watched him depart, then turned back with a noticeably more respectful demeanor. “Senior Brother Ying, please wait a moment. I’ll fetch the herbs and furnaces.”

With that, he hurried off. The others looked on with even more envy. Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Brother, how do you know Senior Brother from the alchemical chamber?”

Ying Chen laughed it off. “We’ve merely met once by chance.”

The others clearly did not believe him, but Ying Chen offered no further explanation.

Before long, the Daoist boy returned, trailed by a group of attendants—some carrying trays of assorted herbs, others hefting alchemical furnaces, which they arranged throughout the hall.

Soon, the furnaces were set up, each spaced apart to prevent interference during the refining process. But the Daoist boy surveyed the arrangement, then called the attendants back to adjust it: one furnace was left with ample space around it, while the others were placed closer together.

Then the boy turned to Ying Chen. “Senior Brother, this furnace is for you.”

Ying Chen accepted. The boy also allowed him to pick his herbs first, and the envy in the others’ eyes turned to outright jealousy.

Ying Chen ignored them, smiling calmly as he began selecting his ingredients from the trays.

As expected, the herbs were of average age and potency, and their processing varied in quality, resulting in inconsistent grades.

Clearly, this was the first test: refining a potion from such materials would be more difficult, and only careful selection and combination would ensure a smoother process.

Being allowed to choose first was already a considerable advantage.

Ying Chen quickly assembled a set of ingredients suitable for preparing the Trifold Moonlight Powder, minimizing the inconsistency in quality.

Only then did the Daoist boy allow the others forward to make their choices, while Ying Chen had already seated himself before his furnace, preprocessing his ingredients before decisively igniting the fire to begin the alchemical trial.