Five Years

What exactly was the nature of the "Fate" organization's Holy Maiden, and what would she become in the future? Qin Ran had no desire to know.

What were the benefits and drawbacks of the cultivation technique she practiced? Had she chosen to cultivate it herself, or was she forced by the organization?

Was she under the control of the "Fate" organization, compelled to act against her will? In truth, her heart was kind.

Did she treat him differently from others? Did she actually have feelings for him...

These were questions Qin Ran had never pondered.

When a pair of tender, affectionate eyes occasionally surfaced in his mind, ripples would stir in his heart. Then he would curse under his breath: "Fox spirit."

Whether he had truly developed feelings for the Holy Maiden was a question Qin Ran often mulled over in his idle moments.

After much contemplation, he finally concluded that he had been moved—but only in the physical sense. His heart had stirred, yet his mind and soul remained untouched by any emotion toward her.

His rational soul reminded him that the Holy Maiden would never harbor affection for him. Any illusion of her liking him, or his own fleeting attraction, was solely due to the influence of her cultivation technique.

Her technique had provoked his heart's unrest.

Thus, whenever the Holy Maiden sought him out, he would feel restless. But in his daily life, he remained composed, quietly living his own existence.

Reading, cultivating, refining pills, brewing tea...

Letting time slip by in serene tranquility.

Qin Ran read with meticulous care, unhurried and deliberate, which meant he progressed slowly. The foundational herbology texts Pang Xuan had sent him took over a year to finish.

On one bright afternoon, as he turned the final page of the last book, an extraordinary sense of relief and accomplishment filled him, as radiant as the sunlight outside.

He took a deep breath, closed the book, and lifted his gaze to the window, where the sapphire-blue sea shimmered under the sun's touch—dreamlike in its beauty.

Exhaling, he stood and stretched leisurely, smiling. "Everywhere is a place for cultivation."

The past year's routine had been so orderly that it almost felt like he had returned to Dan Peak—except without Li Shiyin.

As a mere clone, he had no interest in Li Shiyin, so he found Dan Peak far more agreeable in her absence.

After shelving the books for future reference, he brewed a pot of medicinal tea, poured himself a cup, and settled by the window to sip it slowly while admiring the deep-sea vista.

Only then did he rise and step outside.

With the herbology texts completed, it was time for the next step: honing his control over Divine Essence Condensation. And for that, he needed to procure a batch of herbs from Pang Xuan.

Stepping into the corridor, he could hear heavy panting from the room opposite his.

His neighbor was the Chief Alchemist, an old man whose lust for women was legendary. If he wasn’t refining pills, he was undoubtedly atop some woman.

Given his status, it was questionable whether any female alchemist in the base remained untouched by him. To each their own—the old man had devoted his life to pill refining and cultivation, amassing status, resources, power, longevity, and vitality, all for the sake of bedding more women.

Qin Ran understood but did not condone.

After all, he was merely a clone, created solely to serve the will of his original self.

Closing his door, he strode down the corridor toward the exit.

He could have teleported outside using his identity token, but there was no need. He preferred to walk, familiarizing himself with the base.

The "Fate" organization's base was divided into three main sectors: living quarters, alchemy workshops, and storage areas.

The alchemy workshops were for pill refiners, the forging zones for artifact smiths, and the talisman chambers for seal masters. The storage areas housed pills, artifacts, and talismans.

The living quarters were further split into what Qin Ran privately dubbed "luxury suites" and "prison blocks."

His own residence lay beyond the central altar, where the corridors were spacious, well-lit, and the rooms lavish—clearly the luxury sector.

But on the other side of the altar, dim lighting, cramped cells, and squalid conditions marked the prison blocks. Here resided low-tier alchemists, failed refiners, newly captured and unbroken alchemists, and those awaiting execution.

As Qin Ran walked leisurely outward, those in the luxury sector greeted him respectfully—alchemists he had mentored, whose lives he had saved, who had reaped rewards thanks to him, or who had avoided the prison blocks altogether.

But once he crossed the altar into the prison sector, the sights and sounds turned nightmarish, hellish. At one point, he even overheard escape plans being whispered behind a door.

None of it concerned him. He passed through without pause, reaching the main gate.

Activating the gate with his token, he stepped onto the cliffside platform outside.

Strictly speaking, though his freedom wasn’t restricted, this was his first time leaving the base since his arrival.

Nearly two years indoors—such was the life of a dedicated cultivation shut-in.

From the platform, Qin Ran gazed at the boundless sea ahead. A pair of white seagulls arced gracefully across the distant sky before vanishing beyond the horizon.

He inhaled the briny sea breeze, savoring its caress against his face.

"Coming out once in a while isn’t so bad," he mused, squinting in the sunlight. "I should do this more often."

With that, he activated his movement technique, soaring from the cliffside platform, through the barrier formation, and onto the mainland. From there, he flew straight into Demon City, heading for Yuanlai Teahouse.

Pang Xuan was, as usual, snoring behind the counter, his rotund frame teetering precariously on his stool.

Qin Ran rapped the table twice before the man finally stirred.

"Master Li!" Pang Xuan struggled upright, beaming as he bowed. "It’s been too long!"

"Every time I see you, you’re asleep. Your duties must be terribly light," Qin Ran remarked dryly. "I’m almost envious."

"Ah, you flatter me..." Pang Xuan chuckled awkwardly.

"I’ve finished the herbology texts. The first day’s test on spiritual herbs shouldn’t be an issue now," Qin Ran cut to the chase. "So I need a batch of herbs to practice controlling Divine Essence Condensation for the second day’s assessment."

"You came all this way for that?" Pang Xuan laughed. "Consider it done. I’ll notify the herb keepers to deliver them promptly."

"Good." Qin Ran nodded and turned to leave. "Send plenty. Training consumes herbs quickly."

"Understood."

Back on the bustling streets, Qin Ran hesitated briefly before heading to a blacksmith’s workshop. There, he commissioned a custom set of kitchenware.

Thus, when the Holy Maiden next visited Qin Ran’s room, she found him in the midst of cooking.

The room was filled with the sweet aroma of fish bone soup. She looked at Qin Ran in disbelief and asked, "You... you're cooking? You actually know how to cook?"

"Of course!" Qin Ran nodded, cutting the tofu he had prepared into cubes and tossing them into the fish soup. He then turned to the Holy Maiden and asked, "My skills aren't bad. Would you like to try some?"

The Holy Maiden shook her head repeatedly. "No, no. I don’t care for mundane grains like these."

"What a shame." Qin Ran covered the pot, letting the tofu simmer in the soup, and then asked her, "Ran out of pills again?"

The Holy Maiden took out a pouch of medicinal herbs from her sachet and placed it on the table. "Refine some more for me."

Qin Ran glanced at the herbs on the table and hesitated before asking, "Have you noticed that the consumption of Cloud Spirit Vein Pills has been increasing?"

"Has it?" The Holy Maiden widened her eyes.

"Not sure." Qin Ran shook his head.

He ladled out a bowl of tofu fish soup, tasted it, and found it decent. Bringing it to the table, he also served himself a bowl of rice and began eating.

As he ate, he noticed the Holy Maiden still hadn’t left. "Want to give it a try?" he asked again.

The Holy Maiden hesitated for a moment before pointing at the fish soup. "I’ll just have a little sip of the broth."

Qin Ran obliged and poured her a bowl.

One bowl led to another, and soon she had finished all the fish and tofu.

Whether it was because Qin Ran’s cooking had captured her taste buds or for some other reason, the Holy Maiden began visiting his room more and more frequently.

As for Qin Ran, he had no other hobbies beyond indulging in culinary delights. Between cultivating, studying, and refining pills, he often ventured out of the base to explore the cities of Demon Island in search of various ingredients—either to craft gourmet dishes or, occasionally, culinary disasters.

Thanks to him, the Holy Maiden ended up tasting quite a few bizarre creations.

Time flew by in this manner, and before they knew it, three years had passed. Soon, it was time to depart for the competition at Hailang Sect.