The Intersect Alchemical Symposium was a month away, but preparation began immediately. Within a day of Elder Fan's announcement, Rayen's lab had been flooded with scrolls, manuals, rare herbs, and more paperwork than any alchemist deserved.
"This looks like the application process to reincarnate as a filing cabinet," Rayen muttered, thumbing through a four-foot-long requisition form.
:: Bureaucracy acknowledged. Streamlining suggestion: forge three signatures, reroute to 'miscellaneous mentorship' stack, bribe Elder Peng with dried starfruit. Probability of success: 89.2%. ::
"You're disturbingly good at corruption."
:: Thank you. ::
Lin Xue poked her head in, face lit with excitement. "We've got access to the Sect's deep vaults. Tier-3 materials. Some unclassified."
Rayen's eyes gleamed. "Quantum alchemy playground."
The Azure Serpent Sect's deep vault was less a room and more a subterranean temple carved into the roots of the mountain. Alchemical energy hummed in the air like a sleeping dragon's breath.
Elder Fan handed them both silver permits. "Pick wisely. One item per person. These materials are older than the Sect itself."
Rayen wandered between glowing pods, crystal cages, and hermetically sealed vials. Then he stopped.
A single strand of translucent material hovered in midair, like liquid mercury spun into silk.
:: Material: Theoretical. Codename: Etherweave. Function: unknown. Reaction to Qi: variable. Contains dimensional markers across layered space. ::
Rayen reached out, fingers tingling.
"Mine."
Lin Xue chose a dense, humming orb of compressed frost Qi—Frozen Heart Core. "We're about to make science we'll need insurance for."
Back in Lab 7B, they began tinkering.
Rayen laid the Etherweave across a Qi-reactive grid. "If I'm right, this stuff isn't just reactive—it's sentient. It remembers pathways. Meaning… we can program it."
Lin Xue tapped her slate. "I'll stabilize the reaction. If this goes wrong, the lab doesn't just explode—it folds into a pocket dimension."
:: Probability of spatial collapse: 16.4%. Moderate excitement triggered. ::
Working in tandem, they began crafting a shell—a pill housing, not just physical but metaphysical. One that would bond with the user, learning from them, adjusting effects in real-time.
"You're building a thinking pill," Lin Xue whispered.
"I'm building a cultivation assistant," Rayen corrected. "Quantum companion, one-use only."
The Etherweave reacted, folding and spinning, absorbing instructions.
At the center, Rayen inserted a crystallized droplet of Harmonizing Catalyst, encased in a loop of Karmic Thread.
When they sealed the furnace, the lights flickered.
And then the pill formed.
:: Pill classification: Unique. Name: Philosopher's Core. Function: Variable cultivation response enhancement. Bonded signature: Rayen Wu only. Caution: Object may resist disobedience. ::
They stared at it.
Lin Xue whispered, "You made a sentient seed of Dao."
Rayen looked stunned. "I was going for adaptive pill."
They presented it to Elder Fan the next morning.
She stared at the data logs. "This is either genius or a slow-motion disaster."
Rayen shrugged. "Superposition?"
Fan rubbed her temple. "Just don't use it unless you're about to die. Or give a keynote speech."
As the day of the Symposium departure neared, Rayen meditated one last time in his lab.
The Philosopher's Core hovered in a sealed orb beside him.
Within, his ember core pulsed with growing strength. It wasn't just cultivation—it was coherence. A mind, a body, and a will shaped by science and risk.
:: Qi alignment stable. Spiritual integrity: 94%. Estimated readiness for cross-sectal challenge: Acceptable. ::
He stood up and tied his robe.
"Let's go disrupt a continent."