The Path through the Heavens: A LitRPG Wuxia Series (The Heavenly Throne Book 6)

by Yuri Ajin

  Rune’Tan carefully put the sparkling essences they had obtained in the transparent cauldron into the Alchemy Cube. Closing it, he put his palms on the sides of the artifact, and then, closing his eyes, he concentrated.

  The object sparkled, emitting a delicate yellow glow from several patterns on the surface. It was over in a minute.

  “I sped up it a little. In reality, this stage is very complicated, it can take anywhere from several hours to a couple of days and you need to have full control over the processes. If things aren’t going according to plan, then this whole thing doesn’t make any sense,” Rune’Tan said. “So before you start, it’s important to stock up on Stamina Potions and Azure Crystals. Now, the final touch — you need to carefully roll up all this mess inside the Cube into a ball, and then saturate it with ki to secure the pattern and prevent it from activating immediately.”

  This time, the patterns on the Cube flashed even brighter, after which a small shining ball appeared on top. When the glow faded, Kai was finally able to see a green pill.

  [Small Salvation Pill]

  Rank: Gold

  Quality: Peak

  Heals minor damage and temporarily eases pain.

  After consuming the pill, you will wake up only if your condition allows it.

  “So, we got a standard healing pill. It’s a Gold-rank drug, which reflects the quality of the Forces and the energy density within the ingredients. But, aside from that, in any normal trade store, before determining the price, one more indicator is taken into account — the quality of the cleansing process. It can be checked by using a special artifact.” Rune’Tan raised his palm, revealing a wide brown ring. Putting it on the table along with the pill, which stood in the center, he waited for the object to glow yellow, and then nodded. “There are six levels of quality. If the ring goes white that means Perfect quality. High quality — blue. Medium is green, Low is yellow. Poor is red. And there’s also Horrible quality — when the ring turns black.”

  After that, Rune’Tan explained that drugs of Horrible cleaning quality harm the body (unless it was a poison, which wouldn’t work at all). Only pills of Low quality or higher had at least some effect. Accordingly, the closer the quality was to Perfect, the stronger the drug was.

  “You created a pill. What about potions, elixirs, and infusions?” Kai asked.

  “It’s all rather simple. For pills, you just need the ingredients. But if you want to make a potion or an elixir, you also need a special substance, inside of which a more complex weaving will be preserved. And this substance is called Heavenly Water since it’s made from Azure Crystals or their analogs. It’s a liquid version of concentrated energy.”

  A Crystal appeared in Rune’Tan’s hand. He clenched his fist, and Heavenly Water flowed into the container.

  “I turned this Crystal into a liquid with the help of the Force of Melting of the Path of Fire. Unfortunately, none of your elements are good for that. For example, your Yin will destroy the Crystal, releasing all of its energy into the air. But it doesn’t matter; you can just buy this ingredient.”

  “I have one more question. How do I make the Heavenly Flask as an infusion?”

  “Oh, that’s a good question. You must mix the Heavenly Water with your blood to create any infusion, and then pour in a full supply of your ki into it. After that, you place the liquid in a special storage, where it turns into a drug for future infusion,” Rune’Tan said. “However, for the Heavenly Flask, you need soul energy. This is where it gets tricky. You should have at least two Royal-rank Spirit Fruits. One to strengthen the Heavenly Water, and the second to serve as the essence.”

  “Wait a minute. But if I can’t make a drug for the infusion without fire, then how am I supposed to prepare and saturate the ingredients with soul energy for the Heavenly Flask? Do people sell this service? Or will I be able to do that on my own?”

  “You can’t use someone else’s drug for the Flask. I also doubt that you’ll be able to do that without Fire. You need a very complex technique. It’s the pride of the alchemy masters of the Belteise Empire! I doubt that you’ll find those who can perform it in this world. That’s why, if you don’t find an alternative for fire, I’ll have to temporarily use your body to prepare everything for the infusion. But this means that we’ll need one more Fruit with soul energy for me.”

  “All right. Sounds like a plan.”

  “Those were the basics. I have no doubt that you’ve memorized them perfectly.” Rune’Tan chuckled. “Now we can move on to specific examples.”

  He strode forward, passing through the table. The colors of his soul world spun, and Kai and Rune’Tan found themselves in a new place.

  They were in a room full of high shelves, which seemed infinite. There were hundreds of scrolls on the left and just one on the right.

  “These are all the recipes that I can clearly remember and recreate here in the form of memory scrolls.” Rune’Tan pointed to the left. “Among them, you can find healing, combat, lethal, and support alchemy. As for forbidden alchemy, I’m not a big fan of it. Even if I were, I wouldn’t give it to you... I advise you to start with healing alchemy and gradually move on to support. You can skip the lethal section, but if you want to, you can learn a few recipes. This will help you in building a general picture of alchemical principles.”

  “What’s on this rack?” Kai pointed to the only scroll on the right.

  “Can’t you guess?”

  “The Heavenly Flask of Unlimited Destruction and Recreation?” Kai barely uttered.

  “Correct.” Rune’Tan smiled. “You can start studying the scrolls. In the meantime, I’ll return to your spirit world. There’s no need to rush. Your friend will wake up in at least five days. I’ll slow down the passage of time here, giving you three months to study. Once you’re ready, call me. We’ll return to reality, where you’ll begin your training.”

  Chapter 10

  THE ALCHEMY SHOP

  “Ugh...” Shacks groaned and winced. Trying to get up, he felt pain spreading through his body. “Where am I?” he asked, looking around the unfamiliar room.

  Hearing footsteps, he stared at the door, expecting it to open any second.

  A half-elf with a blindfold over her eyes entered the room.

  “Have I died and gone to Heaven?” Shacks smiled. “May I know who you are?”

  “My name’s Elea. I’m your healer.” She smiled back. “I advise you not to move. Your body hasn’t yet recovered.”

  “I’m Shacks. Often referred to as Shacks the Magnificent...” he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you. By the way, where am I?”

  “In my house. Ground floor,” Elea explained briefly as she approached the table with various medications and devices.

  “Ground floor?”

  She looked at Shacks, confused.

  “Ah... We’re at the Abode,” she added, realizing that he wasn’t up to speed.

  Shacks was surprised for a moment, but then he smiled.

  “I see. So, they did it!” He nodded sharply and immediately felt severe pain.

  He clenched his fists and his teeth before he could suppress the pain with his mind.

  “I told you.” Elea smiled. “Not all of your bones have recovered. So, lie back and relax. Otherwise, your friend will have to pay for additional treatment.”

  With a bowl of strengthening soup in her hands, Elea sat down on a chair next to the bed.

  “Drink.” She held out the bowl. “This will make my healing technique work better.”

  Shacks was good at seeing lies, so he had no suspicions about what she just said. He took the bowl and drank.

  “That was horrible!” He grimaced, swallowing the disgusting liquid.

  “Don’t move and don’t interfere with my energy,” Elea said in a serious tone, putting her hand on Shacks’ forehead. “This is your fourth treatment. According to my calculations, you’ll need at least six more. However, I can use this technique only once a day so you’ll stay he
re for a week.”

  Elea’s palm glowed green and Shacks felt power rush into his body. He could easily stop it with his ki, but he didn’t, feeling her energy healing him. Little by little, but very thoroughly. Elea was a strong cultivator on the Path of Life.

  “My friend...” Shacks wondered aloud. “Who would that be? And where are they?”

  “You were brought here by Kai. He’s in deep meditation now in one of the guest rooms. I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon so I told him to come back tomorrow.”

  “I see.” Shacks smiled. “What can I say, I’m one tough motherfucker.”

  ***

  It had been two days since Kai finished studying the scrolls. There were about eight thousand of them in total, and he managed to go through them in three months.

  In reality, it had only been five days.

  After meditation, Kai went to see Shacks who had woken up and he told him about everything that had happened. About the mysterious pocket dimension filled with life, about the third test, and flight to the Abode. And, of course, about the clash with the factions, which forced most of the newcomers to go down to the Ground floor.

  Next, he told him that Airus had given him a year to recover and become an official student of the Abode, if he still wanted to. He’d have to go up to the first floor and take an oath on the Stone of Laws. He didn’t forget to inform him that he was also invited to join one of the factions, which he could do after his treatment was done.

  Shacks decided that he wanted to find out a little more about these factions first and take some time to think about what he wanted to do next. Like Kai, he also didn’t find the idea of becoming someone’s servant appealing. Especially since he had just escaped from the shackles of slavery.

  Kai also shared some personal thoughts with his friend. He told him that from the very beginning he suspected that there was another option for zeroes besides factions, which was confirmed when he met Yoh.

  He learned about the existence of the Independence — a group of students who were strong enough to oppose the factions. With their strength alone, they were able to get the opportunity to pass the First Guardian’s Test, thereby getting into the List of Ten Thousand. After that, they weren’t afraid of forced duels anymore.

  In fact, most of the current members of the Cloud Ten, including the first place, were once the members of the Independence.

  Basically, Kai and Shacks had a chance to rise higher without joining any of the factions. But for that, both of them needed to get stronger, which meant that they needed more money. Lots of it. That was why Kai was getting ready to go to the outskirts of the city as soon as possible. He wanted to pay a visit to a tavern with a really odd name — Teeth on the Floor.

  The closer Kai got to it, the more noticeable the differences in the Ground floor became. There was dirt and litter everywhere as well as occasional pools of blood on the street. The buildings around looked like cheap shacks that were about to fall apart.

  But what stood out most of all were the locals, most of whom were dorgans, giants, and dwarfs. Wandering through the filthy streets, they looked more like drunks and hobos than proud students of the Abode.

  A drunk dorgan collided with Kai. Walking with his head down, he swayed from side to side, almost falling into a puddle.

  “Oi, you bastard!” He slurred his words, but he still managed to say an insult. “Are ya blind?! What the fuck did ya push me for, eh?!” He grabbed Kai by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around. “Do ya even know who I am, huh?!”

  Kai did see the dorgan walking toward him. He just didn’t want to step aside.

  As soon as the dirty hand grabbed him, he activated Field of Superiority, driving the rude dorgan into the ground, making him fall into a puddle.

  Bewildered, the drunk stared at Kai, whose violet eyes radiated endless cold.

  “Get lost,” he said.

  Not daring to look Kai in the eye anymore, the dorgan rushed into the nearest alley, trying to get away as far as possible.

  Kai continued on.

  Soon, he heard loud chatter. He found the tavern he was looking for.

  Seeing two giants and a large dorgan at the entrance, he didn’t slow down. They glared at him menacingly, but let him pass without a word.

  Once inside, he looked around. The tavern was huge but otherwise unremarkable and very noisy. A long counter stretched near a distant wall. Tables and chairs were scattered around and almost all the seats were taken.

  Locating the right table, he headed toward it, carefully maneuvering between the drunken and aggressive patrons. At some point, he stopped, feeling something under his foot. Lifting it, he saw several bloody teeth, and then continued on his way.

  “Hello! Long time no see!” Yoh shouted, surprised and slightly drunk. “What’s up?”

  “I was looking for you,” Kai replied, sitting down at the table.

  “And you found me... Although... Tao told you where I was, didn’t he?”

  Kai nodded.

  “What can I get you?” A dwarf waitress appeared out of nowhere.

  “Nothing, thank you,” Kai replied shortly.

  “Another beer for me.” Yoh pushed an empty mug to the edge of the table. It smelled deadly. The drink was probably brewed with the help of lethal alchemy. After all, only such alcohol could influence True Masters.

  “Whatever you like, Yoh. But you know the rules — you need to pay in advance.”

  The redhead two Azure Crystals on the table.

  The waitress left after taking them.

  “Do you really need another drink?” Kai couldn’t help but ask.

  “It’s only so I could stay here,” Yoh grunted. “Or do you think they let me sit here for hours without ordering anything?”

  “And why do you want to stay here?”

  “This is how I make money. I collect information, listen to gossip, and talk with interesting visitors of this fine establishment. This is how I perfect my service — information selling. You remember that I’m saving up to...” He looked around. “To join the factions,” he whispered.

  Kai arched an eyebrow.

  “People here aren’t fans of factions,” Yoh kept whispering. “And if they find out about my plans, I could get in trouble... You’re probably wondering why this place is so crappy and what are all these cultivators doing at the Abode?” He grinned. “It’s simple. Look around. You see these punks and wonder how the hell did they manage to get here... Each and every one of them was once considered talented. They had the best resources, teachers, techniques... Every year, their strength grew. They were supported by their families, sects... All of them were invincible at some point. And then they got the Abode’s mark. They were invited to the Trial. They passed and reached the unreachable — The Cloud Abode. They dreamed about climbing to its top. About rare resources, incredible techniques, power... Overcoming one opponent after another. They knew that it’d be difficult sometimes, but that they’d manage. And then...”

  The waitress brought him a new drink. Yoh took a long sip.

  “And then they were instantly thrown into the mud, like trash. They realized that they’ve been fed lies since childhood. Their world crumbled before their eyes. Suddenly, they were nobodies. They were laughed at... They were zeroes... But they still see the light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a chance to rise. They swore that they’d definitely become stronger and take revenge. As it happens in stories...”

  Slowly placing the mug on the table, he grinned sadly.

  “And then time passed... At the beginning, they get out of their way to earn more coins and visit the pavilions more often. They risk their lives every day. They believe that strength is still with them. Anger toward the world and themselves clouds their minds. A month passes. Then another. Then six months. A year. And their strength is still at the same level as before. They’re still trash. Time keeps passing and all their efforts are for nothing. After a while, many break. After all, getting into the Abod
e and not achieving anything is a shame. In the end, they resort to vice to numb the pain. Lust, alcohol, drugs, gambling, gluttony... All to distract themselves, but they end up even deeper, closer to the bottom. Getting out of here is almost impossible. And only delusion keeps them from leaving the Abode for good... This was what happened to me. Fortunately, I met Elea. She’s amazing. Even with an incurable spirit injury, she doesn’t give up and she doesn’t whine. She continues to stubbornly move forward. Her example saved me. But unlike me, many have lost the battle with their inner demons. Those are the ones you see now.”

  Yoh finished his drink in one go and bowed his head. Silence hung over the table. Although Kai didn’t feel anything, he understood.

  After a minute, Yoh spoke up.

  “Forgive me... Seeing your calm eyes and remembering what you gave up, I couldn’t restrain myself,” he apologized, raising his head. There was a faint smile on his lips. “So, you were looking for me? Did you want to talk about something?”

  Kai slowly nodded.

  “Tao said you can help me rent a space.”

  “Yes, I can. You came to the right place. I can sort it out quickly. I’m well connected,” Yoh replied with a deep sigh. “What do you need? A home for comfortable meditation?”

  “No.” Kai shook his head. “I need a house. Preferably with a separate workshop.”

  “You surprise me again.” This time Yoh smiled sincerely. “And what kind of a workshop?”

  “Alchemical. Nothing too expensive, but not the cheapest one either.”

  “Gotcha. I can find something like that. There are workshops that you can rent per hour.”

  “No. I need one of my own.”