The damned meditation cushion.

That light brown gambling stone, whenever it caught my gaze, would cause the embryo of the pill within me to tremble uncontrollably, stirring up a burning heat in my heart.

Back in the Azure Pill Pavilion, on that underground plaza, there were masters dedicated to stone-cutting. Qin Chuan had observed them for a long time and naturally learned a thing or two. Moreover, many people preferred to take the stones home to cut them themselves, so it wasn’t a difficult skill to master. These stones posed no challenge for them, and certainly not for Qin Chuan! If there’s anyone in this world who can claim mastery over meticulous work, pill cultivators might rank second—no one would dare claim first!

Stone-cutting was nothing remarkable. Qin Chuan was so confident that he could peel the shell off a raw egg in a breath, leaving the inner membrane perfectly intact.

He cradled the egg-sized stone in his palm, slowly channeling spiritual energy into his right hand. Soon, a pale white glow spread, bathing his hand in a jade-like aura. Thin threads appeared in his palm—this was the Jade Swine Hand!

The Jade Swine Hand was but a minor spell, with no real combat strength, but it was unparalleled when handling materials.

Qin Chuan stared intently at the stone hovering three inches above his palm. The outer layer of brown, brittle stone skin peeled away, revealing within a lustrous white jade streaked with blood.

Suddenly, the pungent odor grew stronger, filling every corner of the cramped stone chamber and stinging his eyes.

As the stone’s surface became pure white jade, even the Jade Swine Hand struggled. The jade was extraordinarily tough—like an unbreakable toffee. Its resilience seemed to come from the blood threads intertwined within.

“Hey! I saw you brought back plenty of Qi Restoration Pills today!” The little creature, who had been perched on Qin Chuan’s shoulder, finally spoke up, seizing the moment to lend a hand—or rather, to take advantage of the situation!

But Qin Chuan acted as though his ears were stuffed with donkey hair, ignoring the creature’s words entirely.

The white threads shifted in form, weaving together like ripples stirred by water, gradually solidifying into a single point of light. Upon closer inspection, this light contained a spiral of energy! Qin Chuan had somehow applied the spiral finger technique he’d comprehended himself to transform the Jade Swine Hand—a stroke of genius, wild and imaginative.

Even the creature beside him was awestruck. It knew well how the spiral finger technique was cultivated, but never imagined Qin Chuan could extrapolate its use.

The creature watched Qin Chuan’s profile closely, perhaps more seriously than ever before. It realized Qin Chuan had always carried a pent-up energy. His journey might not have been dazzling, but he had certainly forged his way through brambles. Never had he furrowed his brow in haste; his thoughts were never about seeking gain or avoiding harm, but about overcoming obstacles. If he couldn’t surmount them, he would crush any stone blocking his path!

“Not bad at all…” the creature murmured softly, so quiet it probably didn’t even notice itself, let alone the focused Qin Chuan.

Spiritual energy surged like a lake with its dam broken. He hurriedly took a Qi Restoration Pill to stem the decline.

The spiral energy drilled into the jade, producing a grating, teeth-on-edge sound. With each repetition, the pungent odor grew thicker, and bloodshot lines covered Qin Chuan’s eyes.

When his spiritual energy was exhausted, he sat cross-legged for a moment. The pill’s effects weren’t fully spent, and soon half his energy recharged within the spiral.

Taking another pill, and with previous experience, it became much easier. He first severed the threads of blood on the jade’s surface; deprived of its resilience, the jade became brittle, and breaking it was no longer difficult.

With spiritual energy penetrating deeply, the jade, though hard, was ultimately like water without roots. When the task was done, all that remained in his hand was a nondescript black pill embryo.

At this point, the pill embryo within him fell silent.

“Could I have damaged it by being too forceful?” He couldn’t inspect his own body, so he had no idea what color the pill embryo inside was. Could this black pill embryo from the gambling stone be the same as the one gifted by Master Xingzhi?

Qin Chuan shook it left and right, but seeing no reaction, he gave up for now, storing it in his bag for another day—perhaps fate had not yet arrived.

Though cutting the stone seemed long, it didn’t actually take much time. After sitting cross-legged, he began to refine pills.

The pill he was to refine was again the Fasting Pill, same formula, but with a different taste!

The prescription was truly mysterious; in his previous two attempts, perhaps things went too smoothly, and he failed to notice the profound principles of mutual generation and restraint.

It was said the Minor Family Grass had long since gone extinct, vanished in the river of time, yet one could use the tip of Major Family Grass to achieve similar medicinal power.

This debate of small and large was subtle indeed.

Sea Dust Grass—when thirsty, it seemed one could drink rivers, but in reality, only two pots at most. It replenished human qi with earth qi.

Then there was Star Fragment Grass, Wind Eating Grass, Dew Drinking Stone…

At first glance, the pill contained nothing that directly restored human qi, but with the balance of heaven and earth qi, its effects far surpassed ordinary Fasting Pills!

To truly convert this energy and achieve complete grain-free fasting, it would require at least a three-day Fasting Pill! Qin Chuan recalled the lingering warmth in his belly, feeling excited.

No, no! Unwittingly, he seemed to have fallen into a misconception; was this really a Fasting Pill?

The original intent of this pill didn’t seem to be fasting and grain avoidance, but to nourish the internal organs and temper muscles and meridians! What people called fasting was merely a side effect!

Yes, yes…

Suddenly, Qin Chuan’s mind was opened, joy mingled with astonishment. He had sold such a marvelous pill at the price of a mere Fasting Pill!

Ah! He had overlooked the pill’s true value because he never intended to pursue an external cultivation path. External cultivation and internal integration were almost entirely separate; at least, as far as his knowledge went.

All the essence in this Fasting Pill had been wasted—a real pity!

Qin Chuan had a hunch: if he could fully direct the pill’s abilities, hammering away day and night, the results would be extraordinary!

Fortunately, there were no body cultivators in the Northern Sect, so none could taste his refined Fasting Pills. Thus, his pills wouldn’t stir up any great commotion.

But facts proved Qin Chuan wrong. Before long, when these Fasting Pills caught the attention of the sect’s higher-ups, they stirred up a storm—nearly capsizing his little boat.

He wondered if he should try cultivating the external method.

In a daze, Qin Chuan forgot he was refining pills, instinctively increasing his spiritual energy and channeling it through his meridians into the formation.

The blue-black cauldron was roasted until it turned red-hot, the heat waves distorting his vision.

In the end, the furnace exploded! “Bang!”

As Qin Chuan stood stunned, the lid of the cauldron shot straight up to the ceiling. With a clang of metal, it rebounded, heading right for Qin Chuan’s crown.

Had it struck him, half his body might have been lost.

Suddenly, Qin Chuan was jolted awake by the two loud crashes, no longer caring about external cultivation. A wave of scorching air blasted towards him, and he instinctively rolled aside in alarm.

If he didn’t flee, would he stay for a steam bath? Qin Chuan narrowly escaped with his life, but the mat beneath him wasn’t so lucky.

“Hiss…”

To his surprise, the thin cloth mat, upon contact with the red-hot lid, began to smolder, emitting a pungent burnt odor.

Before the smell faded, the mat suddenly caught fire with a ‘poof’.

He kicked the heavy lid aside, not caring about the damage to his Ten Directions Shoes, then quickly grabbed the burning mat, opened the stone door, and threw it outside.

Smoke and heat billowed from the cave, making it inaccessible for a while.

He could only lean against the entrance, watching the smoldering mat and grumbling to himself. No wonder the ground of Yellow Spring Valley was littered with charred debris—likely the remnants of burnt mats!

The creature on his shoulder, as soon as the stone door opened, hurriedly crawled into Qin Chuan’s embrace. It was a rare “item”; though gifted by the Master, the fewer who knew about it, the better.

Luckily, he had plenty of mats in his storage bag; such items were common even in mundane places, so he had an endless supply.

He pulled out new Ten Directions Shoes from the bag, tossing the old pair—burned by kicking the cauldron lid—together with the scorched mat.

Had this happened in childhood, his family would have grabbed him by the ear and scolded him, but alas, things had changed, and there was no chance for that now.

While waiting for the smoke to clear, he didn’t idle. Instead, he silently recited the third volume of the Mustard Seed Immortal Finger—Direct Path to External Cultivation!

He hadn’t paid much attention before, but now…

“This, this…” Qin Chuan was dumbfounded! How could such embarrassing postures be described like this?

Though written in words, every character was a gem, concise and incisive. At a glance, it was almost like the comic books he used to read as a child!

But how was he supposed to perform this posture with his hips raised to the sky? Wait! Suddenly, Qin Chuan perceived the subtlety.

This posture, with its lowered waist and bent knees, seemed familiar!

Wasn’t this the very set of movements he’d performed instinctively the day he broke through? For a moment, his expression was odd—his actions then, expressed in words, were so undignified?

The firelight wasn’t large, but it lit Qin Chuan’s face crimson. It wasn’t shame, just the glow was so intense it made his face burn.

“Bah, it’s all your fault, damn mat!”