daoistenigma

Cultivating Chai 94

94: 

Xiao Feng’s features were scrunched up in concentration as he reached for a vial that was full of a thick silver liquid that he knew to be the bone marrow of a Stoneback Ursine. He took a deep breath to still his nerves, knowing what the consequences would be if he failed to refine even a single pill out of all the sets of ingredients he had available. 

Then he poured the valuable bone marrow onto the metal plate that isolated the interior of the pill furnace from...

Return of the Sealed Archmagus Soft Launch- Chapter 1

This Chapter 1 is available to free as well as paid patreons.

It's a bit of a hobby project i've been working on. Later chapters past 20k words might be paid, but it'll be coming on royal road sooner or later.

Any feedback is welcome.

Enjoy!

1: 

“Knowledge is the greatest weapon in any magus’s arsenal. Any spell is only as valuable as the average magus’s understanding of it— obfuscate that knowledge and even a cantrip can serve as a ...

Cultivating Chai 93

93: 

Xiao Feng took a deep breath as he finished arranging the seven ingredients before him upon a bevelled wooden tray that was deep enough to contain any spills, their glass vials and sealed containers catching the soft, diffused light of the private alchemy vault. As Lianhua had taught him, only the ingredients necessary to the pill refinement were to be brought into the alchemy vault to minimize the chances of any unintended reactions between ingredients, which meant that the b...

Cultivating Chai 92

92: 

Days bled into weeks as Xiao Feng’s life fell into a routine that he found wasn’t unlike his college life. He had no doubt that he would’ve woken up each day tired, as was tradition amongst any college student, if it wasn’t for his enhanced constitution that recuperated at a pace that he was still getting the hang of. Each day he had a set of goals to work towards, most short-term with a few long-term and just like people back on earth didn’t become a doctor, lawyer ...

Cultivating Chai 91

91: 

Xiao Feng watched as Beast Master Zen plucked one of the multi-coloured vials from his workbench’s upper layer, a vivid yellow solution that had been sealed with a clay stopper. Placing the solution next to the egg, he reached out to open the same drawer he had pulled out the tongs from earlier, tearing a handful of fibrous, cotton-like material from the larger whole, the deep violet plant fiber catching Xiao Feng’s attention as he tried to decrypt his actions.

The v...

Cultivating Chai 90

90: 

“Come in,” Beast Master Zen’s muffled voice sounded out from inside his cabin as Xiao Feng and Lianhua stood right outside the door, with the former having raised his hand to knock. 

Xiao Feng’s eyes narrowed, his gaze turning to Liulian who lay nestled on the porch, the umbral fang keeping one open eye trained upon him and Lianhua as she rested.  

Have you ever met a Beast Master in combat? Xiao Feng thought, his eyes gleaming with interest ...

Cultivating Chai 89

89: 

Xiao Feng was lost in thought as Lianhua poured him a cup of a Masala Chai only she could make, having refined the astringent Mystic Palms with her inherited Alchemist Flame to draw out it’s flavor profile to a new realm of concentration. The reddish-gold masala chai’s strong aroma infused the air as Lianhua finished pouring him a cup, the steam wafting upwards in gentle curls before silently dissipating. 

He waited for Lianhua to pour herself a serving before r...

The Legendary Fool is out on April 1st!

Howdy all.

This is a public Patreon post for all those that have been following me over the years.

I'm happy to announce that my Deckbuilder LITRPG that I have been working on for the past two years, will be coming to Amazon (Kindle Unlimited) and Audible soon. In case you aren't familiar with that particular story of mine, give me an opportunity to introduce you to the world I've been working on for the last two years amongst others.

When I started writing this story two su...

Cultivating chai 88

88: 

“How did he manage it?” Xiao Feng asked. 

“He did not,” Lianhua cheekily replied, a mischievous glint flitting across her gaze. “Not alone, at least. There was a reason why his fellow alchemists had dismissed him so and the truth of the matter was, Senior Alchemist Sheng had no idea where to begin modifying the Soul Restoration Pill into a concoction. Instead, he decided to focus his efforts on improving the pill formula of the Soul Restoration Pill, hopin...

87: On Chai

87: 

“What is it that you are noting down?” Lianhua asked as she watched spring water bubble in the now clean pill cauldron. 

“Nothing important,” Xiao Feng replied, entirely too nonchalantly. 

“Is that so?” Lianhua asked with an upward lilt to her tone, her expression one of amusement as she leaned forward to peek at his notebook. 

“All you had to do was ask, you know?” Xiao Feng chided, feigning disapproval with a shake of his head...

Cultivating Chai 86

86: 

So why did you tell me to use the Essence Cultivation Art on him? Xiao Feng asked as he returned to the Administrative Division, carrying a woven basket in his left hand whose contents were covered by a layer of thin cloth. You know, it’s not like it actually does anything to people.

“You look down upon the greatest cultivation art in my possession?” His predecessor’s voice rumbled in his mind, his tone laden with an arrogance that...

Cultivating Chai 85

85:

“You…You dare?” Alchemist Zhi asked, as the confusion evident upon his visage was substituted with rage, the colour returning to his cheeks in a flush of fury. “A puny recruit dares to question an alchemist designate’s integrity? With a word, I could have those robes stripped from your back and have you cast out of these halls!” He snarled, his voice held low in an effort to control a rage so visceral that it was practically radiating from his gaze, yet sti...

84: Unexpected Encounter

wanted to make this chapter longer, but i'm kinda sick so it's gonna have to come out in 2 parts

84: 

Xiao Feng bit back the urge to whistle as he walked back to his room, just about managing to bite back the grin that threatened to stretch across his visage. It wouldn’t do if an alchemist designate saw him grinning ear-to-ear as he returned from the administrative sector; there were enough rumours floating around about him already. 

Even though his concentration...

Cultivating Chai 83

83: 

Lianhua’s expression turned from one of intrigue to one of astonishment as her keen gaze inspected the fully refined mixture that was now resting at the base of the pill furnace. 

Plucking a spiritual silver ladle from the hooked display, Lianhua began to stir the refined mixture in search of inconsistencies. A few minutes passed as she continued through her inspection, even using a few bouts of her Alchemist’s Flame to assess the purity of the mixture.  2025-02-07 18:01:09 +0000 UTC View Post

Cultivating Chai 82

82: 

On his second attempt, Xiao Feng opted for a slightly different tactic. In his soul space, besides the modest area that belonged to his predecessor, he was the sovereign. As such, he could choose what portion of his sight was overlaid onto his college campus’ grassy lawn. Lianhua’s scrutiny as a Senior Alchemist would be welcome under most circumstances, but for now, she was proving to be distracting in more ways than one.

The padded walls of the alchemy vault that s...

Cultivating Chai 81

81: 

As Xiao Feng walked back to his dorm room, he couldn’t help but think upon the truths that had been revealed to him. A true bond was a far heavier responsibility than Xiao Feng had expected, which presented him with a question that he had not seen coming. 

Do I even want to enter into a true bond? He wondered. His goal in the continent of Tian wasn’t to become a Beast Master or a cultivator and his second chance at life wasn’t something Xiao Feng want...

Cultivating Chai 80

80: 

Xiao Feng stumbled backwards before his instincts kicked in and he managed to prevent himself from falling. His gaze met Liulian’s, her ruby-red eyes intensely staring into his own, before he pulled away to face Beast Master Zen. 

“Not what you expected, I presume?” Beast Master Zen asked, as he stood next to his umbral fang, Liulian.

“That was…,” Xiao Feng trailed off as he searched for the words to describe the experience he had just borne witnes...

Cultivating Chai 79

79: True bond

Hours blurred into days as time ebbed away, yet Xiao Feng did not leave the cavern. There was a very real possibility that the elephantine spiritual beast still lurked the lands outside his hard-fought shelter, but in truth, that was not enough of a reason to keep him confined within the darkness. 

Umbral Fangs did not let fear dominate them, for they were the ones to instill it in others. Yet, everything he had ever known had been ripped apart from him by the e...