The cave flickered with the dim light of dying embers, the air thick with the lingering scent of smoke and damp earth. The fire had burned low, its warmth barely warding off the chill that seeped from the forest beyond. Outside, the Black Hollow Forest whispered, the gnarled branches rustling like unseen hands reaching through the darkness. Tao and Jian sat within the narrow hollow, their bodies weary but their minds restless, the weight of their journey pressing upon them like an unshakable burden.

  Tao unfastened his satchel with careful fingers, the leather worn and stained from travel. One by one, he withdrew the spoils of their venture. A stalk of crimson grass, its edges still faintly warm, as though the embers of an ancient fire smouldered within. A delicate flower curled blue petals exuding a mist like aura, cool and strangely calming. Finally, Jian reached into his own robes and retrieved a handful of the same fiery grass, placing it beside Tao’s findings.

  Jian let out a slow breath, watching as Tao arranged them with deliberate care. His voice was quieter now, thoughtful. “We could only take a few, and even that almost got us killed. What do we do with them?”

  Tao ran his fingers lightly over the stem of the crimson grass, feeling the residual heat against his skin. “We don’t even know what they are.” His gaze lingered on the blue flower, a strange pull settling in his chest. “But whatever they are, they’re worth more than anything we’ve ever come across before.”

  Jian studied the plants in silence before asking, “What are our options?”

  Tao didn’t answer immediately. The flickering fire cast long, shifting shadows across the cave walls, their shapes stretching and curling like spectres in the dark. He exhaled. “We have a few.” His fingers traced the delicate veins in the blue petals. “We could turn them in to the sect for sect points.”

  Jian scoffed. “And get what in return? A fraction of their worth? The elders would take the best ones for themselves.”

  Tao inclined his head slightly. He had expected that response. “Then we could try cultivating them.”

  Jian frowned. “You know how?”

  “Not yet,” Tao admitted. “But the texts we took from the pavilion, some of them had techniques for soil refinement, nurturing spirit plants. If I can understand them, we might be able to grow them ourselves.”

  Jian leaned back against the rough stone wall; his expression unreadable. “And then what? Wait years for them to mature? These plants have probably been growing in that realm for centuries. We don’t have that kind of time.”

  Tao considered his words, then nodded. “Then we sell them. Not to the sect, but to an independent alchemist or a rogue cultivator. Spirit stones would be more useful to us than sect points.”

  Jian tapped his fingers against his knee, thinking. “What about using them?” His gaze flickered toward the plants. “Wouldn’t consuming them directly give us a boost?”

  Tao exhaled, his lips pressing together in thought. “Some plants can be consumed raw, but they won’t be as effective as if they were refined into pills.”

  Jian’s lips curled into a wry smirk. “Good thing we just so happened to stumble into an alchemist’s inheritance, then.”

  Tao met his gaze, the flickering firelight sharpening the edges of his face. “Good thing.”

  Silence stretched between them, thick with contemplation.

  Finally, Jian reached into his robes and pulled out the jade slip he had claimed. He turned it over in his hands, testing its weight, as if seeking answers from the smooth, silent surface. “Let’s see what we actually inherited.”

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  Tao did the same, pressing his fingers against the cool jade. The moment his Qi touched it, the world around him seemed to dim, the cave’s flickering firelight stretching into thin, wavering strands.

  A tide of knowledge surged into him. The Flourishing Root Scripture. A cultivation method unlike anything he had ever encountered. Instead of forcefully refining Qi, it drew power from nature itself. Spirit plants weren’t just ingredients to be used; they could be nurtured, strengthened, and in return, they would strengthen him. The more he cultivated, the deeper his bond with the plants grew, unlocking a path of balance, vitality, and limitless potential.

  More than that, the slip held knowledge beyond just cultivation. Techniques for identifying seeds, estimating their growth potential, refining soil to accelerate maturation without sacrificing potency. And beyond that, a catalogue of spirit plants, their classifications unfolding in his mind like a sacred text.

  Profound Grade. Earth Grade. Heaven Grade.

  Then…

  Tao’s breath caught as the final classifications revealed themselves.

  Starfire Grade. Ethereal Grade.

  Plants that had only ever been spoken of in myth. Herbs rumoured to contain celestial energy. Methods of cultivation once thought impossible. Proof that they were more than just legend.

  A voice slithered into his thoughts like silk slipping through fingers, smooth and laced with mockery.

  “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

  Tao stiffened, his grip tightening around the jade slip. “Shenli.”

  The fox spirit’s voice curled with amusement. “Ah, little cultivator, always so eager to chase the new. One jade slip, and you would cast aside what is already priceless?”

  Tao kept his face neutral. Jian was still lost in his own inheritance, unaware of the conversation happening within his companion’s mind. “This is real knowledge.”

  Shenli chuckled, though his tone held a note of disdain. “Your technique is a jewel among stones, a treasure beyond these scraps. If you dilute it with lesser methods, you will shackle yourself before you even begin to climb.”

  Tao hesitated. “This cultivation method… it can take me to the peak of Foundation Establishment.”

  Shenli’s tone sharpened; his amusement edged with something colder. “Such small ambitions. If you truly believe what I have given you is worth less than this, then take it. Abandon the path. See how far you get.”

  Tao’s jaw tightened. He had long suspected that his cultivation technique was anything but ordinary, yet Shenli had never revealed its origins. Even now, the fox spirit’s voice carried the quiet certainty of someone humouring a child who did not know better.

  “Learn from it,” Shenli murmured, almost indulgently. “But do not think for a moment that it will carry you further than what you already possess.”

  Then, as swiftly as he had come, Shenli’s presence faded, leaving Tao with only the flickering fire and the jade slip pressed against his palm.

  Across from him, Jian exhaled, his eyes still unfocused from the depth of his immersion. He let out a low whistle. “This is… more than I expected.” He turned the jade slip in his fingers. “Molten Fire Alchemy Scripture. It’s not just about refining pills, it’s an entire cultivation method.”

  Tao studied him. “What does it focus on?”

  Jian’s expression shifted, his lips curling in thought. “Strengthens Qi circulation for pill refinement, makes it easier to form pill flames, and lets the cultivator absorb medicinal essence while refining pills.” He hesitated before adding, “And there are combat techniques. Battle methods that use alchemical fire.”

  Tao absorbed this quietly. A fighting style revolving around an alchemist’s flames. Unlike anything Jian had studied before.

  Jian exhaled, gripping the jade slip tighter. “If I master this, I won’t just be an alchemist. I’ll be a warrior and a refiner both.”

  Tao nodded. “It fits you.”

  Jian smirked. “Of course it does.” Then, after a pause, his expression darkened. “But there is a problem.”

  Tao already knew. “You cannot cultivate beyond the fifth layer.”

  Jian let out a bitter chuckle. “Not without making the elders suspicious.”

  Tao gazed toward the mouth of the cave, where the forest loomed beyond the dim light. They had gained strength, knowledge, treasures beyond what they had dared to dream.

  And yet, the chains of the sect still hung heavy around them.

  For now.