Chu Wei’s sleeve flickered with a glow, probably from some spirit weapon he intended to use on Lin Qinghen. But after hearing those words, it was like his spirit deflated. 

The weapon he’d readied couldn’t be withdrawn, so Lin Qinghen saw him pull a long chain from his sleeve, aimed directly at him. But Lin Qinghen didn’t dodge, just stood there. 

Right as it came close, Chu Wei twisted his wrist, sending the chain flying just past Lin Qinghen. It hit the ground, cracking the stone floor with a deep line.

Lin Qinghen didn’t budge, showing not a hint of fear, as though he had expected this outcome. Chu Wei looked frustrated, tossing out, “You’ll regret this sooner or later!”

“Same old story, you little brat,” Lin Qinghen muttered. Expressionless, he returned to the carriage, throwing a quick, “Let’s go, don’t waste time,” to the watching members of the Yin family.

After handling that small matter, Lin Qinghen climbed back in, finding Yin Jiuxiao waiting, sitting there quietly. Sensing him return, Yin Jiuxiao turned slightly and gave him a gentle smile. “You’re back,” he said, his voice soft. Lin Qinghen, a bit rattled from the earlier mess, felt his frustration ease seeing him like this.

Unbeknownst to him, the chair Yin Jiuxiao was sitting on had already broken off two corners beneath his weight.

“It was nothing,” Lin Qinghen reassured him. “Just a kid acting up.”

With that, the Yin family carriage started moving forward without any more delay. After the brief interruption, Lin Qinghen soon got back to business.

He had brought along a book Yu Yinyin found for him, mainly introducing the state of Beizhou. The continent was vast, and Lin Qinghen had barely left the Lin family grounds, let alone traveled afar. Now he had no choice but to cram some knowledge before arriving. But just as he opened it, Yin Jiuxiao spoke up.

“I’ve heard it’s a great place, Su Ye Immortal Mountain. Why don’t you want to go, Qinghen?”

Lin Qinghen glanced up at him and replied, “No particular reason; just don’t feel like it.” Su Ye Immortal Mountain was indeed a good place, but in his current situation, leaving the Lin family only to enter Su Ye Immortal Mountain was like jumping from one den of wolves to another. His only potential ally there was the unreliable Chu Wei.

Relying on others was hardly ideal.

Then, Yin Jiuxiao let out a soft laugh. “Turning down an offer from the top disciple of Su Ye Immortal Mountain, huh? Qinghen, what is it that you want?”

Lin Qinghen turned a page and replied without hesitation, “I want you. If you keep being good, I’ll be way happier than if I went to Su Ye Immortal Mountain.”

Yin Jiuxiao fell silent, lowering his gaze. For a while, the two of them sat quietly.

But as Lin Qinghen looked at the book, his thoughts drifted a little.

What did he really want?

Before, his goal had been simple—to leave the Lin family and find a place of his own. But in the Spirit World, there was no such thing as peaceful days. The weak would always be bullied. Without strength, he could run anywhere and still not escape it.

Whether it was the Lin family or Chu Wei treating him like an amusing plaything, it was all just disrespectful trampling.

What he wanted had changed.

One day, he would ensure no one dared to speak to him like this.

Not that he could say such bold words aloud…he was still far from that point.

And Yin Jiuxiao wouldn’t understand.

Lowering his gaze, he continued reading.

The Yin family’s carriage soon exited the city. At the city gate, everyone transferred to another vehicle—a massive ship. Its mast bore the “Yin” character, and as Lin Qinghen looked, he noticed the ship floated slightly off the ground, its oars moving rhythmically, propelled by an invisible force.

This was a spirit-powered airship. It had an impressive look from afar, but upon closer inspection, the ship’s body was old and barely held up its appearance.

Inside, the state was even worse, with creaking floors that seemed on the verge of collapse. The ship was practically a relic, reflecting the Yin family’s current situation—past glory faded, no longer a renowned power.

Lin Qinghen didn’t mind as long as the ship didn’t fall apart. A slow pace didn’t bother him; he wasn’t in a rush. The true impact came when the ship flew towards the border between Zhongzhou and Beizhou, and he saw a vast stretch of thick fog.

The fog wasn’t white but a heavy, grayish-black color, like light seeping into ink as the ship entered.

He remembered reading about this in the book Yu Yinyin gave him.

It dated back eleven years to a nearly world-ending rift of demonic energy in Beizhou. Though eventually sealed, the catastrophe had almost engulfed the entire region, and this fog was one of the lasting aftereffects.

Hearing Lin Qinghen’s thoughts, Yin Jiuxiao turned slightly from his seat and said, “This wasn’t caused by the demonic rift.”

There was a trace of subtle irony in his tone. “The other states feared the disaster would spread but didn’t want to lend a hand. So, they spent a great deal of effort trying to seal Beizhou off like a diseased wound. Just before the barrier could be completed, the Yin family poured their lives into it, leaving this half-finished work that lingers on.”

After he finished, Lin Qinghen looked at Yin Jiuxiao for a long time, saying nothing, only moving quietly to sit beside him, patting his hand.

Yin Jiuxiao held his hand back. “I’m fine.”

No wonder. The book he held hadn’t gone into detail—perhaps the situation wasn’t seen as suitable for public record. A few lines in a book couldn’t match the vivid scene in front of him. The ship traveled for hours before the gray-black fog began to dissipate.

This fog had left Beizhou half-isolated from the rest of the world for decades. The Yin family had to bring out their decrepit airship as a last resort since there were few means or people capable of crossing the fog. This separation kept Beizhou disconnected from the Spirit World’s other regions, like two worlds apart.

Once the fog cleared, Lin Qinghen finally saw the land below and understood why Beizhou was called the Abandoned Land.

Most of Beizhou was barren, with little vegetation. Looking down, he could still see lingering, smaller rifts of demonic energy. These minor cracks didn’t pose significant threats but left the land scarred and broken, like wounds that wouldn’t heal.

Occasionally, a city appeared, gray and desolate, incomparable to the bustling Zhongzhou.

Yin Jiuxiao couldn’t see any of this. Lin Qinghen noted how solitary he looked, sitting alone with little to do. With both of them stuck on the ship, he seized the chance to chat with him whenever he could.

Lin Qinghen was practical, so even in conversation, he focused on useful topics. Beizhou’s current state became their main subject these days.

“Beizhou is in turmoil, with scarce resources and many places barren from lingering demonic energy, sparking fierce competition. The Yin family used to be the most prominent clan in Beizhou, but now they’re just impoverished, clinging to a small town on the border. Qinghen, now that you’ve seen this, do you regret turning down Su Ye Immortal Mountain to come here?”

He heard Lin Qinghen chuckle. “Not at all.”

Difficult lands and poor conditions couldn’t daunt someone skilled in cultivation.

Not only did he not regret it, but he also had plenty of work to do here.

The old ship of the Yin family sputtered along, stopping and starting. Beizhou’s territory was vast, and they’d already been on this ship for five or six days, still not quite at their destination.

Lin Qinghen’s third novice task was completed during this journey.

He’d been counting the days, so when he suddenly heard a “ding” in his mind one midday, he knew it was done.

Opening up the system, Lin Qinghen saw that the interface hadn’t changed much. But the production platform showed a 6% increase in elixir quality, thanks to his natural affinity. More importantly, there was now a new unlocked factor.

[Elixir Proficiency.]

When he first saw this attribute, Lin Qinghen had guessed it would be important. And now, seeing it positioned at the transition between novice and advanced tasks, he realized its true value. With this feature, the system was definitely on another level.

The proficiency attribute affected the production speed.

The Homeostasis Powder’s production interface had changed. Next to the [30 minutes per batch] was a new note indicating that with each batch produced, the time required would decrease based on proficiency.

For basic elixirs like Homeostasis Powder, each batch reduced the production time by 0.05%.

More crucially, the system added one last note: the production speed would be limitless, and when the time per batch became negligible, increased batch output would show the improved speed.

Given this 0.05% rate, the impact on batch production wasn’t minor.

The system also took care to factor in his past work, crediting the 1,000 batches he’d already made, so his production time was down by 50%.

Now, each batch of Homeostasis Powder took only 15 minutes. He wouldn’t need long to reduce this time even more.

Even without further progress, just this single feature was enough to let him run a small pharmacy on his own.

However, he hadn’t come to Beizhou to survive on Homeostasis Powder alone. The system’s latest task aimed to push him forward.

[Advanced Task One: An Alchemist’s Destiny is to Never Stand Still.]

「Requirements: Improve five ingredients at Yellow Rank, four stars or higher, with an efficacy increase of at least 100%.」

「Rewards: 5 points of natural affinity, 1/4 of a Detoxification Pill, and 3 Yellow Rank elixir recipes of your choice. Exceeding the requirements may trigger hidden rewards.」

Lin Qinghen: …Well, they sure expect a lot from me.

Reading the task, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Sure, the rewards were generous. He’d used a Detoxification Pill before and knew how effective it was. Three elixir recipes were also generous, and there was even a chance for hidden rewards.

But the task itself wasn’t a simple one.

Five different ingredients—might as well consider him a miracle worker!