Chapter 65: Stir-Frying Pills

Si Chen and his two companions settled down in Danding City.

They purchased a quiet courtyard with a small garden, making it their temporary home. Life quickly fell into a leisurely and orderly rhythm.

Heishan wasted no time turning himself into Danding City's living "food map."

His greatest daily pleasure was pocketing the Spirit Stones Si Chen gave him and scouring the city's back alleys for hidden little eateries, then returning with armfuls of exotic food to share with everyone like a proud treasure hunter.

"Buddy! Old Cat! Come try this! 'Flame Pepper Roasted Chicken Leg' — sss-hah… absolutely incredible!"

Chifeng wasn't as obsessed as Heishan, but he was quite content with this life of sampling all manner of delicacies at any given moment.

Most of the time he lounged in the courtyard sunbathing, or was enthusiastically dragged by Red Bean to serve as a sparring partner.

The little one had boundless energy after waking up, constantly flapping its wings and pecking at the wind blades Chifeng tossed out, playing to its heart's content.

Si Chen also enjoyed the tranquility. With no more fighting and killing, his days consisted of eating, drinking tea, and strolling casually through the city.

Each day he either sampled the various foods Heishan brought back, or leafed through miscellaneous books bought from street stalls to learn more about this bizarre and wondrous world, occasionally teasing Red Bean. Life was simple and fulfilling.

The "working thunder" continued diligently strengthening his muscles and bones, and that "strange core" spun steadily within him. He planned to find a secluded spot after leaving Danding City to form his Nascent Soul.

He had a vague feeling that the next transformation might stir up something a little different.

They made no effort to conceal their whereabouts, and before long, word spread throughout Danding City that Si Chen — ranked third on the Qingxuan Rankings — was currently in town.

The Eastern Region was teeming with young talents like fish crossing a river, and every cultivator who made it onto the Qingxuan Rankings was a hero of their generation.

The top ten on the list each boasted fearsome records of slaying enemies above their own cultivation level — they were destined to stand at the pinnacle of the Eastern Region.

And none more so than Si Chen, who sat at third place.

He had a genuine, bone-chilling record of slaying a Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!

Before long, their small courtyard was flooded with visitors.

Nearly every prominent family in Danding City sent notable clan members to call upon them.

The pretexts were varied: some came to congratulate Si Chen on his place on the Qingxuan Rankings, some warmly invited him to banquets, some earnestly sought guidance on cultivation difficulties…

One family even sent a steward who spoke in roundabout circles.

Only at the end did he reveal the true purpose — that the clan head had an eldest daughter of prime age, gifted in both talent and appearance, who hoped to "make the acquaintance of a distinguished talent" and together "explore the Grand Dao."

"Explore the Grand Dao?"

Heishan happened to be gnawing on a chicken leg nearby. Upon hearing this, he nearly choked. He leaned toward Chifeng and muttered in a barely suppressed bellow: "Old Cat… you know more about these things… is this 'Grand Dao' business… on the level?"

Chifeng gave him a speechless look and couldn't be bothered to respond.

Even the Alchemists in the city — those who were ordinarily treated as honored guests by cultivators from all sides and who looked down on everyone — lowered their pride one by one.

Some came to visit in person, others sent servants bearing gifts, all under the banner of: congratulating Fellow Daoist Si on ascending the Qingxuan Rankings.

The world assumed Alchemists held a lofty, untouchable status — that others always came to them. But that depended entirely on who was involved.

Putting on airs before the third-ranked cultivator on the Qingxuan Rankings, a future titan with combat power surpassing the Nascent Soul Stage? Any Alchemist with that kind of thinking probably wouldn't amount to much anyway.

Si Chen declined nearly all of these gifts — he had no wish to accumulate a pile of inexplicable debts of gratitude.

But one item caught his attention.

It was a pill formula: the "Nascent Condensing Pill."

As the name implied, it was a precious pill used to increase the success rate when a cultivator broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

The sender had been clever — rather than bluntly gifting a finished pill, they had offered the formula instead. It expressed goodwill while subtly hinting that they possessed the ability to refine such a pill, hoping to use it as an opening for a relationship.

For any other Core Formation Stage cultivator, this gift would have struck right at the heart.

But Si Chen merely glanced at it and set the formula aside. The Nascent Condensing Pill was useless to him — he had no need of external aids to form his Nascent Soul.

The matter would have ended there.

But somehow, staring at that pill formula, Si Chen suddenly recalled Wang Yan's theory of "cooking as alchemy."

He had the formula. It seemed he also had the method…

A thought suddenly surfaced in Si Chen's mind: Wang Yan was still in the middle of his breakthrough — perhaps… he could try it himself first?

In the end, he did not refuse the gift.

"Please convey my thanks to your master," he said to the person who had delivered the formula, his tone calm and even.

The messenger let out a quiet breath of relief, bowed respectfully, and took his leave.

Once the idea took hold, it was hard to suppress. Si Chen had always been impulsive by nature — when a thought struck him, he acted on it.

So, pill formula for the Nascent Condensing Pill in hand, he personally made his way to the largest materials trading house in Danding City.

The shopkeeper was a shrewd middle-aged man. The moment he saw Si Chen walk in, he froze for an instant, then his face broke into an unprecedented smile of enthusiasm. He practically jogged out from behind the counter.

"Senior Si! What an honor to have you grace our humble establishment! Whatever you need, just say the word — I'll have it delivered to your residence. How could I let you make the trip yourself?"

Si Chen simply held out the pill formula. "Do you have these materials?"

The shopkeeper accepted it with both hands and looked it over carefully. His heart gave a jolt.

Materials for the Nascent Condensing Pill! This one truly was already at the stage of preparing to condense a Nascent Soul!

He dared not delay. "Yes! Yes, we do! Please wait a moment, Senior — I'll fetch them from the storeroom right away! Only the finest quality!"

These materials were extraordinarily rare and would never normally be put out for sale on the floor.

But the shopkeeper didn't hesitate for even half a moment. Never mind selling — if Si Chen had simply demanded them outright, the owner behind this shop would probably have offered them up with both hands just to forge a good connection.

The shopkeeper asked carefully: "Senior, are you planning to open a furnace and refine pills?"

He was curious — Si Chen's combat power was astonishing, but he'd never heard that the man also knew Alchemy.

Si Chen shook his head and replied quite naturally: "No. I'm going to stir-fry them."

The shopkeeper stared. "…Pardon?"

The smile on his face froze instantly. His mind couldn't quite process what he'd just heard.

Stir… stir-fry? Using materials for the Nascent Condensing Pill to stir-fry? Had he misheard, or was this Senior joking?

Before long, the materials were assembled. The shopkeeper, in a state that felt almost dreamlike, presented the storage bag filled with priceless spirit materials with both hands — and didn't even dare mention payment.

Si Chen said nothing more. He casually left behind a pouch of Spirit Stones worth far more than the materials, then turned and walked away.

* * *

Back at the small courtyard, Heishan had gone out foraging again. Chifeng was dozing, and Red Bean was napping on his shoulder.

Si Chen walked to the open space in the center of the courtyard and stirred his thoughts.

He raised his left hand, palm upward. Thunder-light surged in his palm, instantly condensing into an ordinary-looking… wok.

His right hand crackled with thunder-light as well, forming a long-handled… spatula.

A thunder wok. A thunder spatula.

The faint crackling of lightning woke Chifeng. He opened his tiger eyes and stared in puzzlement at the implements in Si Chen's hands. "Si Chen, are you… cooking?"

He remembered there was a perfectly good stove in the kitchen.

"Mm," Si Chen nodded, adding with complete seriousness, "Stir-frying pills."

"Stir… stir-frying pills??"

Chifeng thought he'd misheard. Even Red Bean opened its dark, round eyes and tilted its head in curiosity.

Si Chen offered no further explanation and set to work on his own. Having eaten his way through so many cities, he had naturally observed the techniques of all manner of cooks.

And so, the third-ranked cultivator on the Qingxuan Rankings — the young man who had once leveled a mountaintop with a single strike — began handling those spirit materials, the kind that would drive Core Formation Stage powerhouses into a frenzy, exactly like a chef preparing to cook.

He chopped some into sections, crushed others, his movements not particularly practiced, but his bearing thoroughly convincing.

Once the preparations were done, he tossed all the spirit materials into the thunder-crackling wok in one go.

As for fire?

He gave a casual wave, and a blazing crimson-gold flame — far more scorching and pure than any fire on Red Bean's body — appeared from thin air, enveloping the bottom of the thunder wok.

This was no ordinary fire. It carried a magnificent, sovereign authority, as though it could incinerate all things, yet it obeyed Si Chen's will with perfect docility.

All the fires in the world seemed to fall under his command.

For a time, the small courtyard was filled only with the crackling of thunder-light, the roaring of flames, and the clanging of spatula against wok.

Chifeng and Red Bean watched with their mouths agape, eyes wide as saucers.

Si Chen wielded the thunder spatula with convincing form, tossing and stirring the contents of the thunder wok — his movements were actually quite fluid, carrying the air of a seasoned chef.

But before long, things began to go wrong. During one toss, Si Chen misjudged the force, and several precious pieces of "Jade Marrow Zhi" flew clean out of the wok and landed on the ground, their spiritual radiance dimming by more than half in an instant.

Si Chen's thunder spatula paused for a moment. Then, as if he hadn't noticed a thing, he continued stirring with the same composed air.

Chifeng: "….."

Red Bean: "……"

The spirit materials inside the wok rapidly transformed under the interplay of thunder and fire, their energies surging violently and emitting a sizzling sound.

Before long, the commotion gradually subsided.

Si Chen judged that the timing was about right and withdrew the flames, then peered into the wok with great anticipation.

At the bottom of the wok lay a charred, sticky, blackened mass trailing wisps of dark smoke, giving off a strange odor that blended the smell of burning and medicinal herbs.

Not only had no pill formed — there wasn't even a recognizable shape.

Si Chen stared at the blackened lump in silence for a moment.

He rarely failed at things, especially something whose underlying principles seemed to him not particularly complex. A rare flicker of irritation swept through him.

"Why," he said, fixing his gaze on the charred mass, his tone carrying unmistakable displeasure, "has no pill formed?"

The moment the words left his mouth, something even more baffling occurred.

Whether the charred, paste-like substance in the wok had somehow understood him, or for some other reason entirely — the wok suddenly blazed with blinding light!

Within that radiance, an invisible hand forcibly combed through the chaotic medicinal energies, compressing and condensing them… all impurities were purged in an instant.

When the light faded, three pills lay quietly at the bottom of the thunder wok — their core-patterns crisp and clear, perfectly round and flawless, wreathed in violet qi.

Supreme-grade pills, their extraordinary fragrance filling the air!

First-grade Nascent Condensing Pills!

Si Chen's displeasure vanished in an instant, replaced by delight.

He picked up one of the pills, nodded with satisfaction, and declared: "Wang Yan didn't deceive me. This cooking as alchemy method truly works!"

Chifeng: "……"

Red Bean: "Chirp?"

The tiger and the bird exchanged a glance, each seeing the same speechless disbelief in the other's eyes.

Though they weren't entirely sure what had happened in that brief moment…

It was absolutely, positively, without any doubt —

NOT because of any "cooking as alchemy method"!!