Knowledge is the crystallization of wisdom.The source of power.
Without foundational alchemical texts, no matter how gifted one may be, it's impossible to easily step into the world of alchemy. These writings are the painstakingly accumulated experiences and achievements of predecessors — the very first steps to becoming an alchemist.
Yi Tianxing didn't expect Qiu Weiming or Wang Fengshan to possess great alchemical talent. All he needed was for them to become alchemists. For the entire Xuanhuang Village, that would mark a tremendous leap in strength. In his eyes, this was far more precious than any individual pill. A single pill may only help one person, but a foundational alchemical manual could lead to the crafting of hundreds or thousands more. It was a sustainable path.
To him, books were treasures far beyond rare artifacts.
Books carry knowledge. Knowledge contains infinite possibilities.
Carefully, he stored away the Foundational Alchemical Canon, then looked back into the stone chest. The glowing orbs inside were gone, but several items still remained. Among them might yet be a true treasure. The light orbs had clearly been broken open by the ogre earlier.
"What's this?"
Yi Tianxing pulled out another item from the chest — something heavy and rock-like. Upon taking it out, he saw that it was a strange, jet-black ore, riddled with countless tiny holes, just like a beehive. These holes weren't forcibly drilled but seemed naturally formed, as if born of the world itself. And despite being the size of a fist, it was unbelievably heavy — weighing several hundred jin.
"A chunk this small weighing hundreds of jin? This material must be extraordinary. And it seems to be strongly attracting the Spirit Pearl inside me," he muttered. As soon as he held the ore, the mysterious Spirit Pearl in his body began to throb violently, sending waves of intense desire through his mind and will.
It wanted to consume this stone — desperately.
Despite the overwhelming urge to toss the ore into the Spirit Pearl's space immediately, Yi Tianxing held himself back. He brought out the Heavenless Tome, determined to identify it before doing anything.
Hive Demon Iron (蜂窝魔铁): Has a high chance of evolving and upgrading divine weapons. Grants them self-regeneration — even if damaged, they can fully restore themselves in a short time. Can autonomously absorb worldly energy. With sufficient integration, it allows divine weapons to shift forms at will. An elite crafting material. Grade: Mid-tier Heavenly.
The tome swiftly revealed the nature of the ore in his hand.
It was an extremely rare mid-tier heavenly-grade material.
"The Spirit Pearl actually wants to devour something like this… What kind of treasure is it, really? A dragon pearl? Or something even more mysterious?" Yi Tianxing furrowed his brows.
He had his theories about the Spirit Pearl's nature, but had never been able to confirm them. Even the Heavenless Tome, which could identify almost anything, offered no information on the pearl. That could only mean one thing: the pearl's level was beyond what the tome could perceive.
"Alright, then. Let's see what happens if I give it to you."
Now that he knew what he was holding, Yi Tianxing no longer suppressed the Spirit Pearl's desire. With a thought, he sent the Hive Demon Iron into the Spirit Pearl's space.
The moment it entered, the chunk of ore disintegrated instantly, vanishing without a trace. But then, something bizarre occurred: within the Spirit Pearl space, mysterious wormholes suddenly appeared one after another, as if countless needles had pierced through the fabric of space.
It looked like space itself had been turned into a sieve — a terrifying sight.
"Oh no… Is the space collapsing? I've stored all my rare treasures in there! If it collapses, I'll be penniless again!" Yi Tianxing's heart almost leapt out of his chest. The Spirit Pearl space housed all his most important valuables. If it were destroyed, they would likely be sucked into chaotic space-time currents — unrecoverable.
But fortunately, the collapse he feared never came.
Instead, from the countless wormholes, mystical energy began pouring into the space, rapidly enriching and expanding it.
The Spirit Pearl space was growing — breathing — evolving.
It was as if someone were inflating it from the inside.
From its original dimensions of three meters in all directions, it expanded rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had doubled, and it wasn't stopping.
Yi Tianxing could only watch. He couldn't interfere in any way.
The transformation lasted for nearly half a quarter hour before the spatial wormholes slowly faded. In their place stood a drastically changed Spirit Pearl space.
Its size had grown from three meters to over a hundred meters in all directions.
The difference was like heaven and earth. What once felt cramped now seemed vast. All the stored treasures now only occupied a small corner — barely noticeable.
"This Hive Demon Iron really is extraordinary. Back when I used the Profound-grade Spatial Stone, it only expanded the space to three meters. But this single heavenly mid-tier material… grew it dozens of times over! Incredible. But what exactly determines what the Spirit Pearl wants to absorb?"
Yi Tianxing had many rare materials in storage, but the Spirit Pearl showed no interest in most. Its preferences were unpredictable. The only certainty was when it gave off a reaction like this one.
"Perfect. With this space, I can store much more now. A hundred meters wide — that's going to be useful. If only I could store living beings…" he thought with glee.
He also faintly sensed that those wormholes hadn't vanished entirely. They seemed to be subtly drawing in ambient energy — nourishing the space even further.
Whether that was true would become clear only with time.
He then reached into the stone chest one last time — and pulled out an unexpected item: a fishing rod. Emerald green, with a transparent line, the rod was clearly an artifact.
"A fishing rod? That's new… Interesting. But it's still just a blank embryo. Would need lots of effort to develop. Not much use to me right now," he concluded.
It could serve as a strange weapon or be used for actual fishing — entirely up to the user. But since it wasn't useful for him at present, he simply tossed it into the Spirit Pearl space.
Most of the other stuff in the tent was just gold, silver, and miscellaneous junk — clearly looted from the people imprisoned here. He ignored it all, taking only the stone chest itself — its material was unique and worth keeping.
Yi Tianxing stepped out of the tent.
Cao Zhengchun approached at once and reported respectfully, "Master, everyone is ready and willing to follow you back to the village. Just give the order, and we'll move out immediately."
"Don't call me 'Master.' You can call me Yi Tianxing, or Village Chief. You're not a servant. Anyone who joins the village becomes a citizen of Xuanhuang Village," Yi Tianxing replied calmly.
He wasn't the type to accept loyalty at face value. Especially from someone like Cao Zhengchun — infamous in history for his deeds. A man who still retained his past memories. Trust would not come easily.
"Yes, Master." Cao Zhengchun nodded without protest, his respectful demeanor unchanged.
"The items in the tent were likely taken by the ogres from the people here. Before we leave, go in and reclaim what's yours. Even if it's not much, it's still something," Yi Tianxing announced.
Everyone rushed into the tent, each finding a few of their original belongings. Some had been destroyed, others looted from the dead. It wasn't much, but no one really minded.
Compared to surviving, possessions were secondary.
"Master, this is a token of my loyalty. I hope you'll accept it." Cao Zhengchun re-emerged, holding a wooden box. He bowed as he presented it.
"What is it?" Yi Tianxing asked. He hadn't seen this box earlier, meaning it had likely been hidden among the other items.
"This contains the cultivation methods and martial techniques I've practiced. I offer them to you willingly," Cao Zhengchun said firmly.
To most people, cultivation methods and martial techniques were personal secrets. They were a practitioner's foundation — often tied to life and death. The same technique could create a genius or a fool, but with enough analysis, flaws could be found. Offering these up was nearly equivalent to laying one's life bare.
Yi Tianxing looked at Cao Zhengchun deeply and said, "This is the root of your future strength. Cultivation methods and techniques are extremely personal. If you give them to me, others will also learn them in the future. Are you sure about this?"