Growing Fame

"H-How is it?" 

My maid asked me with some worry.

"It's good! But it's lacking! I could use the catalyst grass to give some more essence to the power of the pill." I said rapidly as I was thinking for a bit.

I looked at Xiao Lingxi who was nervous.

"Don't worry. You will understand what it means in due time. For now, let's collect all of them."

"All?" She asked with a gulp.

"All."

And so where Xiao Lingxi was removing the roots I was replanting the grasses. 

By the time the sun was setting, we were walking back to the Xiao Clan.

The next day I was back to refining. I prepared the catalyst grass and took the roots, I started calling them the vitality root as it was easy to remember.

Once all the things were in place I started to use Alchemy Fire to turn the grass and the root into liquid essence before I started to refine it into a pill. 

This time it was dark yellow, after using purifying fire it became light yellow the size of a candy.

After inspecting it I swallowed it. 

My eyes widened when I felt my muscles swell with vitality. 

'This is…perfect stuff for a bodybuilder!'

As I realised this I did some basic exercises without any Profound energy. The further I worked on this the better I understood how incredibly useful this pill would be in the early stages of cultivation!

Not wasting any more time I made another three for my maid.

"Lingxi, come over!" 

I got the girl's attention as I left my pill room and went outside. 

The black-haired maid walked over and I handed over three light yellow pills to her.

"Guess what? I just figured out what these new pills do!" 

"...Um what do they do?"

"It's a vitality pill."

"..."

"..."

"!!!"

"Yes, I guess you understood?" 

"...Yes! It's a pill for [Elementary Profound]! C-Can I test it out?" The girl was extra invigorated when she realised the ability of the pill.

"Sure. Those are for you anyway."

As I said that I left her to do her thing while I went back to cook some more.

[Basic Refinement] (7/10) {45.68%}

[Refinement Art]

[Basic art of refinement which involves using fire to remove impurities from herbs]

'Just from mixing two essences of herbs, I got a whopping increase of 0.30%. This is great! With the stuff I have, I can cap the Basic Refinement!'

With a new mission in mind, I swiftly went back to the pill room and started cooking those pills!

~~~~~~Later, the Same Day~~~~~~

*Ding*

{[Basic Refinement] Art Mastered}

With the last pill dropping into a wooden bowl, I checked the notifications. 

The basic Refinement is finally complete. 

I stroked my chin while thinking about how to progress further.

Thinking for a bit I checked my storage ring. 

A frown appeared on my face. Apart from some catalyst grass, some vitality roots, and purifying grass there is nothing else left. 

No other pill materials are left.

"...Right…why not use the privileges I was given? First I need a purple storage ring. My Yellow one has extremely small storage compared to the purple one."

I pulled out the communication talisman and called the Black Moon guild. Time to order a new storage ring. 

Once that was done I went outside to see what my maid was doing.

"Young Master! Are you finally done? I just had my breakthrough several minutes ago!" The girl swiftly walked over to me and looked with excitement. 

"Yes, I am done. I refined all the roots." 

She swiftly nodded her head.

"The pills are simply incredible!"

"Yes. They are…" As I thought about this. 

'...Wait a sec! I have a whole fucking clan at my fingertips… 

Oh… yeah… carrot and stick tactics it is!'

"Young Master?"

"You just had a breakthrough but you do have some sort of sense of how many pills you need to reach [Nascent Profound]?" 

My question got her thoughts for a few moments.

"...I still have those two pills, the effects last quite a while." 

After a while she finally said.

"Maybe 8? 10 should be enough to reach [Nascent Profound]." 

I nodded and summoned the bowl and then handed over 8 pills to her.

When she took the pills the girl had a weird look on her face before it morphed into a resolute look.

"May I ask what you are going to do with the rest of the pills? A [Spirit Profound] doesn't need those anymore…" 

I put my finger on her lips.

"Lingxi, my cultivation is secret for now. At this moment I am just [Third of Nascent Profound]. It's more than enough and believable." 

She blushed quite hard from my actions but she did nod at my words.

"Good girl. For the rest of the pills, I will be employing our clan. They will work for their Young Master." I said with a smirk. Since they handed over such a role to me I will abuse it.

"I understand."

"Good. Now rest for a bit, then you can start preparing some food for us."

~~~

Xiao Li looked at the pills in front of him. He has brought some of the Xiao clan doctors to inspect the pills as well. The old men were gushing over these pills as the effects are simply extraordinary!

Both of them! The so-called Vitality pills are Heavens sent for everyone who is starting to cultivate. It lessens the amount of effort one needs to put to cultivate in [Elementary Profound] while the sensitivity pill is good enough even for him to cultivate!

"Long'er this is incredible! Do you know how incredible it is to have an Alchemist in one's clan!? Even Xiao Sect has only one!" 

Xiao Long had a thoughtful look before starting to explain himself.

"Yes. I found out that I have a talent for Fire arts." As he said that he lifted his hand and showed orange flames dancing above his palm!

This was extraordinary! They never had a fire arts user in their clan! An Alchemist on top of that!

"Wonderful! And you developed this from the manual you read?" 

The Clan Leader asked curiously.

"...Yes. The descriptions written there were enough to understand the basics. The rest was trial and error."

"Extraordinary, truly! My grandson is one of a kind genius!" 

"...I just take my training seriously, Grandfather." 

"Yes! Yes! Everyone should follow your example. Tell me what do you want for these miraculous pills?" The Clan Leader asked with a jovial tone. He is ready to shower his grandson with riches!

"I need more resources to improve my craft, grandfather. I request that herb gathering should be added to the clan's mission board. While the pills will be able to be used for exchanges to increase the incentives to gather them." 

"Of course! This is without question! Xiao Clan will assist in any way it can to help you improve your craft!" Xiao Li agreed immediately, he would have done this anyway!

"Good then let me show you the herbs I need." 

Xiao Long then showed his grandfather the herbs he needed. The doctors who saw them were baffled, these herbs were garbage that grows everywhere! 

"Very well! Everyone saw these? Good. Then update the mission boards and inform the disciples. We will gather as many as Long'er needs!"

Seeing that everyone is scrambled to follow the orders. 

"Grandfather, there is something more. Can we talk in private?" 

Xiao Li nodded and motioned for everyone to leave.

"What is it, Long'er?"

His grandson then pulled out a white-ish pill and showed it to him.

"This is a purification pill. It removes impurities from one's body." 

"..."

"More specifically… It removes impurities in Profound veins as well. This means… it opens profound entrances."

*Sharp inhale*

The old man swiftly looked around to make sure no one was listening.

"...Are you certain it works?"

That moment Xiao Long revealed his cultivation, this revelation nearly made Xiao Li get a heart attack! His grandson was nearly as powerful as him!!!

"All of my Profound entrances are open… I took purifying baths and took the pills." 

"...T-This…Long'er you are more than legitimate to enter Xiao Sect!"

Xiao Long clicked his tongue when he heard what his grandfather said.

"I don't care about a Sect which abandoned us, grandfather… we have more than enough capital to become a clan which can stand on its own two feet." 

"...This… you are right, Long'er…" The Clan Leader slowly nodded. More than 150 years have passed since Xiao Beili was exiled. 

Though Xiao Clan always wanted to return to Xiao Sect which is one of the powerhouses of the Blue Wind Empire 

But, if they can unlock Profound Entrances…then…nothing matters!

"...then Long'er what is your plan? How does this pill work and how many do you have?"

"I don't have many of these pills. I plan to strengthen the elders first and then slowly spread through the younger generations."

Xiao Li slowly nodded.

"When we should not waste time."

"Indeed."

~~~~~~???~~~~~~

A purple-dressed old man alongside a middle-aged woman dressed in exquisite blue robes cultivated with closed eyes for a while before they opened their eyes.

"...The effects are short." The woman said with a slightly disappointed tone.

"... It's a pill made by a 15-year-old boy, Fengyi. The boy just started his journey as an Alchemist." The old man said with a satisfied smile.

"Such talent should be nurtured in proper surroundings. He should join my Palace." She said with a frown. The woman still finds it absurd how such a child developed on his own. Such talent only appears once in several thousand years.

"On the contrary. We should watch him from a distance. This is not simple cultivation. Alchemists like him need inspiration which they gain when they explore the world on their own." 

For a while, she didn't say anything.

"If this is the case then he should be watched. I am interested in his progress. I don't want anything to happen to someone who has such potential."

The old man slowly nodded.

"...The perception of Profound Energy, what I sensed was beyond that of [Sovereign Profound], even if it was for an extremely short time." The woman said with a heavy tone. She just had a crack towards what is beyond the barrier of the Mortal coil.

It was an extremely short one, but it was there. Just experiencing this once she wants to find this boy and make him start making those pills for her Palace.

But patience towards this is necessary and Supreme Ocean Palace will make sure the boy gets whatever is needed to improve his art.

"Yes, well, the alchemist who made these pills just barely entered into the martial way. You don't expect it to be impressive."

She nodded before getting serious.

"I assume you watch over him? Or should I send some Overlords to watch over him? He is from that…Blue Wind Empire was it? They only have Thrones. So an Overlord would be a perfect bodyguard for him."

"...We can arrange something." The old man had a thoughtful look.

"Then do so. We don't want him to fall into certain wrong hands." As she said that she had a specific mundane-looking man dressed in plain green robes in mind. She can't allow that man to get any sort of ideas about the boy. 

"...Indeed, I will arrange things. He already ordered a purple storage ring, and one of the elders can deliver it for him."

~~~~~~Floating Cloud City~~~~~~

People did notice that there was something strange around Xiao Clan. It's like the whole Clan just got a second breath and something started to happen.

The guards were more enthusiastic, clansmen were more proactive. 

Citizens believe that it's related to the fact that the wedding day of the City's treasure and the number one talent of the Xiao Clan is getting closer. 

Other citizens are saying that some sort of trading deal between the Xia family and the Xiao Clan has happened.

Regardless, the city is getting busier than ever before. A lot of Xiao Clan disciples are out of Clan grounds and doing all sorts of assignments for the clan.

The city was busier than ever before.

~~~

With a sigh, I opened my eyes. Finally, [Sixth of Spirit Profound]. As always the gaps started to widen considerably after reaching the halfway point. It's what distinguishes between the rabble and the good in the Realm.

For example, there are ten times more [Sky Profound] experts in the early stages from 1 to 5 than from 6 to 10. This drop is constant in the Blue Wind Empire. If someone would have a statistical curve you could see this very obviously. This is because of the Profound Entrances. One could see which number of entrances is the most common in the Blue Wind Empire.

After thinking about the statistics I got up from the ground and looked around. I can see my maid working out seriously and she is extremely close to that [Nascent Profound].

She should be able to reach the middle stages of [Nascent Profound] faster than I did. I guess in a few more weeks she should be able to beat the shit out of Xiao Yulong. 

After thinking about what will come after. I looked at my fresh purple storage ring. It spooked the shit out of me when an old man with insane cultivation delivered it! 

It's either they didn't have it in stock in New Moon Guild or something else entirely. Either way, I even got a bonus which is a book with all the products the guild has. 

It's something I have been reading up on for the past few days. 

"Let's see…"

Flipping through the pages, I skipped the pills they have, instead, I went to see the raw materials for pill making. 

…

…

…

'What's this? Blood Spring Grass is grass that only grows in places where a water spring is running and used to have a battlefield. 

This shit is specific… but the grass effects are good for blood strengthening. The guild has a limited amount of this grass.'

Looking at this for a bit I can see this working with the vitality root. Instead of boosting muscle vitality, it could boost bloodline strength.

I noted down this specific grass and continue to look for more.

Eventually, my eyes ended up on something fascinating. A desert flower.

This flower developed a peculiar trait of absorption. It developed such a thing from constant sun exposure. 

Not only that, this stuff is extremely cheap and I could order it in bulk.

Writing this down I proceeded to look for more.

The issue with many herbs, grasses, roots, or ginseng is that these idiots give them extreme names without proper explanation.

What the fuck I will do with a 300-year-old root? I could buy it just to check. But I feel like those silly Amazon buyers who buy stuff just for curiosity's sake…

Regardless, after typing down what I want I called the Black Moon guild to order the stuff. 

Once that was out of the way I went over to see Lingxi and her training.

~~~

Xiao Lingxi's body shook as she felt a surge of power in her body, her Profound Veins fully awakened as she reached [First of Nascent Profound]. It only took her over a week of intense training. 

She could not control her giddiness as she was finally there.

*Clap*Clap*Clap*

"Congratulations Lingxi, five small realms in a month and a half." 

Hearing her Young Master's praise made her blush for a bit. He sounds as if she did something impressive! It was his hard work that carried her! If not for those pills she would still be late [Elementary Profound]!

"...Young Master, it's your pills who did all of this." She said with an embarrassed look. The longer he is supporting her the more guilty she is feeling for using him. 

"The pills may have made it faster but it was you who trained. Regardless, now that you have achieved [Nascent Profound] we can start training in earnest. 

Come over I will teach you a few techniques, after that, I will open all the Profound Entrances."

Xiao Lingxi got cold feet when she heard that. 

"Well?"

She sighed in resignation. The girl had ideas to kill herself when she dealt with Xiao Yulong. But that is just getting less and less like a possibility. The amount of guilt is getting to her.

"...Young Master, you are too good for Lingxi…" 

The black-haired girl said with a small smile. 

"I don't know about that. I feel quite privileged to have a beautiful maid." He said with a shrug.

Her heartbeat increased for a bit before she smiled even more. She walked over to him. 

Xiao Long put his index finger on her forehead. His finger glowed as he had directly taught her a very unique technique.

"...This is? A method of how to absorb Profound Energy? Such a thing even exists!?" The girl exclaimed with a baffled tone.

"Yeah, I created this technique at the time when I only had 11 Profound entrances. It's great, it's even greater when you have all of them open."

She nodded at him. As her mind processed the technique. This was incredible… 

"...Still…Young Master, you are a genius! Even I know that it takes years to create a technique."

"I would use the word resourceful Lingxi. Now why don't we proceed with your Profound Entrances? Once we are done you can start cultivating in earnest."

Hearing that, makes her once again feel cold feet. Her Young Master is far too good. She still needs to find ways to pay him back for all that help.

"As you wish. Lingxi will follow you." She said that with a respectful bow. 

"Good, now let me explain how this whole thing works."

Xiao Long then proceeded to explain how he will purify her body and the Profound Entrances.