"Master, can you lay eggs?"
In Jueyun Karst, Aozang Mountain, a white-haired young man named Ryan, with white fox ears on his head and a fluffy fox tail behind him, looked up and asked curiously.
"Cough, cough, cough?!"
In front of the white-haired young man, the adeptus known as Cloud Retainer choked on a mouthful of tea upon hearing this.
"You child, don't speak nonsense. I am a pure spirit of heaven and earth, not something born from dampness or hatched from an egg."
Cloud Retainer, who had choked on her tea, coughed violently twice. After recovering, she turned to Ryan, who was looking curious, and explained.
"Is that so… What a pity. If Master could lay eggs, I would have a chance to collect eggshells…"
Hearing Cloud Retainer's explanation, Ryan lay on the stone table in front of him with a slight hint of regret, muttering, his fox ears drooping.
However, Ryan quickly perked up again and looked up at Cloud Retainer once more.
"Master, if you can't lay eggs, can you give me one of your feathers?"
Looking at the slender, blue and white adeptus crane in front of him, Ryan asked again with anticipation.
"Feather? What do you want my feather for this time?"
Cloud Retainer took another sip of tea, then looked at Ryan in confusion.
Although she always appeared as a crane here, holding a warm teacup with her wings like hands looked quite peculiar.
"Alchemy."
Ryan answered honestly, his eyes scanning up and down, finally settling on Cloud Retainer's wings.
"Using my feather for alchemy?"
Cloud Retainer couldn't help but raise one of her wings and touched her head.
An adeptus's entire body is a treasure; even a drop of blood can be used for alchemy, so feathers might also work.
However, Cloud Retainer was not an adeptus specializing in alchemy, so she wasn't busy with it all day, and had never tried using her own feathers as raw material for alchemy.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Ryan immediately nodded affirmatively, then eagerly stood up.
"I see…"
"Hey, you child, how rude! You can't just pull it out!"
As soon as Cloud Retainer finished speaking, she noticed Ryan getting up and trying to approach her. She quickly put down her teacup and crossed her wings protectively in front of her.
Seeing this, Ryan had no choice but to sit down obediently, looking at Cloud Retainer with longing eyes.
"Alright, I have collected a few over the years. Take them. If it's not enough, I'll… go ask Li Shui for some."
Seeing Ryan's expression, Cloud Retainer had no choice but to take out a few of the cyan-white feathers she had collected over the years and handed them to him, giving him instructions.
"Alrighty! Thank you, Master!"
Ryan's fox ears perked up again. He happily took the feathers, thanked her, and then eagerly turned and left Cloud Retainer's Cave.
Running all the way, Ryan arrived at a cliff on Aozang Mountain and leaped down.
There was a cave on the cliff face, and this sole entrance was the cave dwelling Ryan had personally opened up and lived in after moving out of Cloud Retainer's abode.
However, due to limited skill, his dwelling was very much a "cave" rather than a "mansion," much like an ordinary mountain cave with furniture placed inside.
Most of the furniture in the cave was wooden, but all of it was made by Cloud Retainer, so there was no need to worry about dampness or insects.
The only non-wooden item was a two-meter-tall alchemy furnace at the very back.
This alchemy furnace was said to have belonged to an adeptus who specialized in alchemy during his lifetime, but having been with Ryan for decades, it was now an old friend.
"Master's feathers…"
Ryan walked over, opened the lid of the alchemy furnace, and placed Cloud Retainer's feathers inside.
Next were various herbs prepared in advance, all of which Ryan had washed and removed excess roots and stems from.
After all the herbs were placed in the furnace, Ryan hesitated for a moment before hugging his white fox tail behind him.
"I'm sorry, tail…"
"Hiss—"
Then, Ryan gritted his teeth and cruelly pulled a small tuft of white fur from his tail, placing it into the alchemy furnace while wincing in pain.
Rubbing his aching tail, Ryan then sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace and raised both hands towards it.
"Rise!"
Ryan lightly shouted, and the alchemy furnace began to slowly lift off the ground.
"Ignite…"
"Adeptal Art! Please, Martial Uncle, possess me!"
Then, Ryan circulated adeptal power and activated an adeptal art. Flames gradually began to rise around him, and a red Damselette phantom slowly appeared behind Ryan.
He himself was not fire-attributed, so he needed to use adeptal arts to control the fire element power.
Under Ryan's guidance, the phantom behind him slowly raised its hands, aiming them at the alchemy furnace in sync with Ryan's movements.
A fierce cluster of flames fell beneath the alchemy furnace, beginning to heat it according to Ryan's plan.
At the same time, Ryan freed his left hand and performed another adeptal art to control the medicinal ingredients within the alchemy furnace, refining them into essence.
This continued for about a day until the flames beneath the alchemy furnace gradually weakened, and the phantom behind Ryan slowly dissipated.
Once the alchemy furnace landed steadily and opened, a golden glowing pill flew out from within and stopped in front of Ryan.
Ryan reached out and grabbed the warm pill, then lightly brushed it with his white tail.
"Shatter Delusions, Condense Truth! Golden Light Traces Origin, Illuminates Pill Soul! Appear!"
Then, Ryan uttered a spell, and the next moment, his already golden pupils emitted golden light that shone upon the pill.
This was one of his innate special abilities, allowing him to appraise the effects of pills, but only the effects of pills.
In order to make good use of this ability, he did not learn Mechanics, which Cloud Retainer had placed high hopes on him for, but instead learned alchemy.
Although Cloud Retainer was not an adeptus specializing in alchemy, she knew a thing or two and taught it all to Ryan.
The golden light in Ryan's eyes flickered for a while before slowly dimming, and at the same time, the pill's information appeared in his mind.
[Growth Pill (1 Star): Increases height by three centimeters after consumption. Can be imbued with Heavenly Tribulation.]
"Growth Pill, isn't this what I've been researching for a while now…"
"And it can actually be imbued with Heavenly Tribulation, but the sun has already set, it might disturb the residents…"
Ryan muttered as he looked at the text.
Although he said it would disturb the residents, he eagerly got up and walked out of his cave dwelling, leaping down from the cliff and gracefully landing in the open area near Aozang Mountain.
After he stood firm, Ryan slowly held the pill in his hands.
"Heavenly Tribulation as the Engraver! Nine Heavens Thunder Forges Profound Light! Transcende!"
Rumble, rumble—
As Ryan's voice fell, thunder suddenly boomed in the originally clear sky. Dense dark clouds quickly gathered, dimming the world, and lightning could be faintly seen surging within the clouds.
The calm mountain forest instantly became swept by howling winds, blowing Ryan's fox ears back.
"You child, didn't you promise me you wouldn't act recklessly?"
As soon as such a large commotion appeared, Cloud Retainer flew over from the mountain at the first instant, folded her wings, and landed not far from Ryan, her tone a mix of displeasure and reproach.
"Don't worry, Master, after the previous few heavenly thunder body refinements, my lightning resistance is very high now!"
Ryan, holding the pill, turned his head and told Cloud Retainer with a confident expression.
Boom—!
As soon as Ryan finished speaking, a bolt of lightning struck, instantly engulfing him.
After the lightning passed, Ryan, whose fur was scorched black and bristling, fell straight to the ground, leaving only a golden pill floating in the air, quietly awaiting the subsequent tribulation lightning.
But if the subsequent tribulation lightning were to strike, Ryan, who lay beneath the pill, would inevitably be affected again.
"This troublesome child…"
Seeing this familiar scene, Cloud Retainer helplessly held her forehead with her wing.
Whoosh—!
Just as Cloud Retainer was about to intervene and take Ryan out of the range of the lightning tribulation, a cyan figure flashed past, grabbed Ryan from the ground, and instantly vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already beside Cloud Retainer…