Qing Xuanling gazed at the grand entrance of the Qing Clan with emotion. A full month had passed since she'd embarked on a journey where she'd risked her life numerous times.

  After all that, the clan's imposing red walls seemed strangely comforting.

  She smiled faintly and greeted the elders standing guard at the entrance. They welcomed her warmly and asked how she was doing. Somehow, she'd become quite well-liked among the guards and instructors—because of that, she somehow ended up learning the names of the guards, who used to be old men.

  "Well, I'll be off now—Grandpa Gao and Uncle Shuo—I've got things to do!" Qing Xuanling took her leave. "Wait to hear news from me soon! I'm sure you'll be surprised~"

  Grandpa Gao and Uncle Shuo exchanged confused glances but simply shrugged. It wasn't uncommon for youths Qing Xuanling's age to suddenly have delusions of grandeur.

  Qing Xuanling strolled through the clan grounds, taking her time to observe her surroundings—something she hadn't done in a long while.

  It had to be said—the Qing Clan possessed considerable style. The clan territory was circular in shape, thus divided into concentric layers. The first layer housed the mortals—thousands of them at present.

  She walked through the mortal district, greeting some residents and appreciating the scenery. Though this was where mortals resided, the clan had constructed houses and buildings of the highest quality. They'd also created numerous parks and gathering areas beautiful enough for mortals to rest and relax.

  Most of these things had been proposed by the Young Master shortly after he became heir.

  The second layer of Qing Clan territory contained the halls and dormitories for cultivators—it was larger than the mortal zone. Here stood the various halls dedicated to the clan's hundred arts, along with administrative buildings.

  Grand pagodas and structures stretched in every direction, interspersed with rivers crossed by elegant red bridges allowing passage from one side to another.

  'The Qing Clan ancestors certainly cared about appearances~'

  As for the third layer—that was where the elders' hall and their family branches were located. Qing Xuanling had only visited once; it wasn't very different from the second layer, though somewhat smaller.

  Lost in these thoughts, she arrived before her dormitory—when suddenly three figures stepped directly into her path.

  Qing Xuanling felt a strange sense of familiarity with the scene.

  "Oh—what do we have here? Isn't this the Qing Clan's filthy pearl?" The figure in front—a boy Qing Xuanling's age—sneered. "Haven't seen you in ages. I thought a demonic beast had finally eaten you!"

  The other two boys flanking him continued the taunts.

  "Brother Daopeng, it's impossible! She's so filthy even demonic beasts wouldn't go near her! Why do you think she always comes back unharmed from field exercises?!"

  "Haha, Xiaopeng's right—I bet the demonic beasts flee the moment they catch her stench!"

  The corner of Qing Xuanling's mouth twitched. She… felt nostalgic. She couldn't help but laugh.

  'Who would've thought I'd one day find the Three Peng Brothers nostalgic?'

  However, Qing Xuanling's laughter seemed to infuriate the brothers further.

  The eldest, Qing Daopeng, immediately flew into a rage. "What are you laughing at?! Do we look like clowns to you?!"

  Qing Xuanling stared at them with narrowed eyes—then slowly nodded…

  "You!"

  Qing Daopeng raised his fist, ready to strike Qing Xuanling's face. But the middle brother, Qing Pengpeng, immediately restrained him while whispering urgently: "Brother, no! Fighting is forbidden on clan grounds!"

  The youngest, Qing Xiaopeng, added in a hushed voice: "Besides—she can easily beat all of us!"

  Qing Daopeng's fury instantly subsided. Indeed—that was the truth. They'd already received beatings from Qing Xuanling before. He snorted forcefully, brushed past her—but not before leaving a scornful remark.

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  "Hmph—just you wait, brat Xuanling! Once we emerge from the secret realm, we'll surely give you a proper beating for everything you've done to us!"

  Qing Xuanling smirked. She'd heard similar threats from the Peng Brothers countless times. They were the only group that kept provoking her even after getting beaten. In fact, she thought she remembered them being the ones who'd blocked her path when she left the clan after borrowing money from Qing Wentian.

  'Though… what secret realm is he talking about?'

  She couldn't help but frown—but ultimately just shrugged. Whatever it was, she had little chance of participating. Her cultivation hadn't even reached mid-stage yet.

  One couldn't dream of running before learning to walk.

  Qing Xuanling shook her head and headed to her room. She'd be quite busy over the coming weeks.

  She entered her chamber immediately. Seconds after she stepped inside, the door to the neighboring room opened.

  "Mmm? Xuanling's back?" Qing Wentian brought a hand to his chin. "What a shame—I missed her. I wanted to tell her about the secret realm… Well, next time."

  Inside Qing Xuanling's room, she had already summoned Xuan Dan. The two now sat facing each other.

  "Now we have everything we need." Qing Xuanling's expression turned solemn. "How about we set a goal: not leaving this room until we successfully refine our first pill?"

  Xuan Dan nodded. "Good idea. The sooner we can refine pills, the sooner we'll earn hundreds of spirit stones—and with that, we can buy more formulas and ingredients, hehe…"

  Qing Xuanling smiled wryly as she watched Xuan Dan drool. She shook her head and quickly produced the book containing the Clear Flame Technique.

  "I think we should practice our fire-control technique first before attempting pill refinement. We don't have many opportunities—we need to be in optimal condition." Qing Xuanling opened the book.

  Xuan Dan wiped the drool from her mouth, nodded, and moved closer. Both began reading, prepared to exchange insights afterward.

  'Fire is a symbol of alchemy—the rebirth of ingredients into a purer state. But there are hundreds of types of rebirth and thousands of paths to achieve them, few of which are ever tasted. The Clear Flame Technique represents one of the least-traveled paths of rebirth in alchemy.'

  'Not because it is superior to others—in fact, it is somewhat inferior to paths refined over billions of years—but without doubt, the Clear Flame Technique is perfect for offering a fresh perspective on alchemy to the knowledgeable…'

  Qing Xuanling's eyelid twitched. She finally understood why the Clear Flame Technique had been so cheap—it was an alternative path!

  And a rather poor one at that—the creator himself had stated it could only be used to shift one's perspective!

  Qing Xuanling brought a hand to her forehead in frustration, nearly complaining to Xuan Dan—but when she turned to look at her, Xuan Dan was completely absorbed in the book.

  "Sigh… Well, a path is still a path—no matter how poor it may be."

  She dove back into studying the technique.

  Pages turned slowly as the sun began to set. By the time they finished, night had fallen.

  Xuan Dan wiped sweat from her brow. "Whoa—that was quite interesting, but…"

  Qing Xuanling nodded. "No problems with it, but…"

  They exchanged glances with mixed emotions.

  The Clear Flame Technique itself had no flaws—but its approach to alchemy was too unique. They'd read dozens of alchemical methods from Madam Yechan's book, yet none remotely resembled the Clear Flame Technique's methodology.

  Qing Xuanling was the first to decide. "We have no choice but to bite the bullet! Beggars can't be choosers—and even less so us, who are in an worse position! Let's start practicing immediately!"

  Xuan Dan nodded. Indeed—they had neither the right nor the luxury to be picky. No matter how poor the Clear Flame Technique might be, it was still better than attempting alchemy without any fire-control technique.

  Both sat cross-legged and began circulating their Qi according to the Clear Flame Technique's instructions.

  Each separated a thread of Qi from their Dantian and guided it through specific meridians in their bodies.

  Techniques were typically activated by stimulating certain bodily meridians—a mystery, but living beings possessed meridians with specific attributes that, when activated in particular sequences, produced phenomena beyond comprehension.

  The human body, however, possessed more meridians than nearly any other race in the myriad realms—so many that even humans themselves couldn't discover them all.

  Normally, this would make learning human techniques extremely complicated—impossible to locate a single meridian among tens of thousands.

  Fortunately, spiritual roots greatly assisted in this regard.

  Individuals with high-purity spiritual roots possessed natural affinity with meridians matching their root's element—making it far easier to locate the meridians required for techniques aligned with a cultivator's strongest attributes.

  Thus, it wasn't surprising that after five hours, the first to successfully activate the Clear Flame Technique was Xuan Dan.

  "I did it…!"

  Xuan Dan gazed excitedly at the flame floating above her palm. Surprisingly, the flame was mostly transparent—one had to squint to notice fire was even present.

  Qing Xuanling opened her eyes and observed the flame curiously. She was still far from activating the technique herself—she hadn't even located half the required meridians yet.

  She felt slightly disappointed—but not deeply. After all, someone had already learned the technique for her.

  "Xuan Dan—return to my divine sea." Qing Xuanling smiled.

  "Sure, sure—little cheat~" Xuan Dan laughed as her body glowed, then transformed into a beam of light that flew toward Qing Xuanling's glabella.

  Immediately, a flood of information entered Qing Xuanling's mind.

  "Mmm—I see—so that's where they were…" Qing Xuanling closed her eyes, extended her palm—and a transparent flame manifested from nothingness. "Well—that was easier than I thought!"

  Xuan Dan reappeared and pouted. "Of course it was easier—you learned it from me! So unfair! While you can learn everything I learn, I can't learn what you learn!"

  "Don't complain—you have your own divine talent." Qing Xuanling began playing with the clear flame. "Instead of complaining, let's start practicing our control. We need to command this flame as if it were an extension of our own hands."

  Xuan Dan pursed her lips but nodded.

  Thus, the two identical figures began practicing the fire-control technique with near-religious devotion.

  Soon, an entire week passed without either leaving the room.