Moments later...

Vivienne shook her head with a grin and spoke, "You should let that poor girl get a win sometime. She was worried about you a lot, you know?"

Zhen Shi spread his hands helplessly with a slight grin of his own.

Vivienne laughed at this, but as her eyes fell upon Myne's furnace and materials she paused and said, "So this incident... Let me guess, Myne was nervous about his 'furnace spirit taming skill' and suddenly attacked with the knife to show it's power and make you less suspicious?"

Zhen Shi nodded and asked curiously, "What exactly is wrong with that skill?"

Vivienne smiled mischievously, "I'm not sure myself. You should ask Myne later, or just figure it out yourself with experience..."

Zhen Shi was rather nervous at this cryptic answer but was unable to ask further as Vivienne continued to speak, "Anyways, I'm here to teach you pill refining," while sitting down at the previous spot near the pavilion garden and gestured Zhen Shi to do the same.

Zhen Shi obediently followed suit while pushing aside the Blacksmithing tools and materials to the side in order to make space.

Vivienne noted his actions and said curiously, "You should put away those items first..." and suddenly asked with a frown, "I know that I owe you a spatial treasure, but don't you already have one? I mean where do you put that bow and strange music box of yours?"

Zhen Shi scratched his head helplessly, "Uhh... It's complicated..."

While blaming the entire matter onto a certain someone, 'System this is all your fault! Why do you have to be so racis-- *cough* Item-ist? Only allowing System-related items to be stored in your inventory and not Ordinary items... where is the equality and basic decency among fellow items?

How will you face the innocent young systems, that will be the next generation of systems, after engaging in such bigotry? Huh? Huh?'

System: (>ლ)

Vivienne, unaware of the one-sided exchange that had occurred, nodded with a simple grin, "Well, alright. Let's just begin the lesson! First off, Little Bro, I suppose that idiot hubby of mine started you off with a simple knife while using furnace spirits and all his refining skills?"

Zhen Shi nodded with a confused look.

Vivienne shook her head with a smile and explained, "Honestly, even if you have a Soul Tier Furnace it's almost impossible to manifest a furnace spirit before you become a Peak Soul Tier Blacksmith yourself. Not to mention that the majority of blacksmiths do not even use furnace spirits in the refining process!"

She grimaced with a playful smile and continued, "However, this 'master of ours' is actually engrossed with taming furnace spirits!

I admit that I am not an expert in the field of Blacksmithing, but I know for a fact that the usage of furnace spirits has both advantages and disadvantages.

In fact, despite Myne's celebrated and feared reputation, the elites of the blacksmithing world in our time had many disputes with him over the importance of furnace spirits.

But Myne continued to have a deep fascination and interest in furnace spirits. This is why I know for sure that the Blacksmithing technique he taught you must be his personal refining technique, .

Because, regardless of how amazing that technique is, it cannot be used without furnace spirits!"

Zhen Shi was speechless, 'What? Did that bastard mage pull a fast one on me?'

Noticing Zhen Shi's face, Vivienne smiled and explained, "But don't worry. This doesn't mean that you won't be able to use the technique.

is a technique that directly materializes the furnace spirits even if you haven't reached the necessary tier of Blacksmithing yet!

But that will lead you towards Myne's path; the path of Blacksmithing with furnace spirits and away from the public consensus..."

Zhen Shi fell into deep thought, 'Aiya! In that case, I was too quick to judge my beloved brother! I feel guilty... But he is the legendary Merlin, so he should know something important about the furnace spirits that the public didn't...'

At the same time, Vivienne laughed lightly and spoke, "But that was just a statement of facts.

I have faith in Myne. Because in the end, he was still a renowned master blacksmith who stayed true to his beliefs. And I'm sure that Myne won't teach his sworn brother anything that he considers wrong...On the other hand, I'm just a washed-up herbalist and a fake alchemist.

So try out the normal method of blacksmithing as well, experiment a bit, and in the end, listen to Myne's advice, but take his wacky ideas at arm's length," finishing with a smile, but her eyes seemed to be focused on some other matter altogether...

Zhen Shi nodded thoughtfully, still feeling rather guilty about Myne.

Vivienne tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear and continued, "Well, going back to Alchemy, my lesson will be slightly different from Myne's. And don't even think that my lesson to have a wacky ending like his!"

Zhen Shi grinned thinking that nothing could be as wacky as 'Myne the Impaler' and 'Lance the Impaled'!

Vivienne laughed lightly as well and continued her lesson "As I'm sure you know, I was a herbalist, who practiced to become an alchemist. And I mean both Variations of Alchemy; the field of pill refining, as well as the field of transmutation!"

Zhen Shi was surprised. He hadn't been expecting Vivienne to mention transmutation Alchemy as well... As such, he began to wonder about the important stuff... 'Is it possible to turn Iron into Gold?'

But Vivienne, seemed to be distracted... She heaved a heavy sigh as her eyes fell upon the ever-flowing stream and the ever-flowing rocky stream.

She began to speak, bringing Zhen Shi out of his far-fetched imagination and back to reality, her words almost a whisper, "My entire life, I grew up under the care of my Mistress Nimue, because my actual mother Queen Diane, curse her for trapping me and Myne, was too busy with her schemes and royal trickery...

Mistress Nimue was a renowned Alchemist Sovereign who had mastered two opposing elements; fire and water!

And I was born with a special physique, a body born to master the element of water. Simply due to this fact, I made quick strides in cultivation and in comprehending the law of water.

As such, when Mistress Nimue took me in as her apprentice, she had great hopes for me since I already possessed the potential to master one of her elements very easily.

But the law of water is extremely unsuitable for pill refining; which is a profession of the fire. Thus during my apprenticeship, I was unable to actually practice or even attempt to refine a pill...

Even though Mistress said that it did not matter, even though she said that with hard work I could succeed just like her, I was unable to get over the roadblock of Water.

And in the end, when I sacrificed the (pseudo)soul and my law descended, it was completely water. There wasn't a hint of a room for another. Even though she said it was fine, I knew that she was disappointed. But now... I have a second chance!" and finished with determination in her eyes.

Vivienne paused as she noticed Zhen Shi's quizzical face and said with a grin, "Forget it. It's just a lady's nonsensical ramblings."

Zhen Shi had been intrigued by her story but stifled his curiosity out of politeness and nodded.

Vivienne smiled in thanks and spoke with a hint of nervousness, "Initially, I was not planning to refine pills myself and was only going to instruct you. But now... I feel like maybe I should...

Since I lost the water law, I can now use fire in order to make pills. But if I begin, just like that bastard husband of mine, I'll use all of my refining skills. As such, the lesson will be more difficult for you..."

She suddenly paused and asked, "Or maybe I'll just postpone my attempt and instruct you?"

Zhen Shi hurriedly shook his head. Although he was unaware of Vivienne's past, he could see that this was an important moment for her and thus wished to be supportive. Besides, with he could easily make sense of what she was doing regardless of hard it was.

So he simply grinned, "No worries. I learn best when it's more complex!" with an encouraging look.

Vivienne nodded in thanks once more, but rather nervously...

She flicked her hand and manifested a light green cauldron with the engraving of a far-spreading mystical forest wreathed in shrubbery and vines, "This a Peak Soul Tier alchemist cauldron with a rather unique build. It enshrouds the law of life and has the added effect of nourishing ingredients.

It was extremely expensive and wasn't even supposed to be sold, but Laura was able to get us an insane discount on top of what you already earned at the Golden Bridge, and I even felt like I was taking advantage of her. Granted we're broke now," and finished with a stifled laugh.

Zhen Shi was stunned as he had instantly transformed from a wealthy bachelor to becoming a common pauper, but since they had gotten a valuable treasure in return and there was the possibility of transmuting gold, he simply smiled and remained silent... in support of Vivienne, of course!

Vivienne, ignorant of his thoughts, continued, "Since the cauldron is based on the element of life, it should be very suitable for your undying flame."

Flicking her right hand she caused a strange red and white flame to manifest heating up the entire room. Her eyes flickered as she spoke, "This is the Conflicting Dragon Flame," and true to its name the red and white seemed to be in perpetual conflict, with the two flames consuming each other but always replenished soon after...

Zhen Shi's eyes glowed as he noticed this, and Vivienne continued, "This fire was a gift from my mistress Nimue. She had mastered the dual laws of fire and water and gifted this in the hope that I would too. But until the day she left to roam the world, I was unable to use it due to my Law of Water," finishing with a heavy sigh.

But suddenly she smiled, "But now... I can!"

Continuing her lesson, "Either way, this flame is a Heavenly fire much like the Undying flame of the Vermillion Bird, but your fire is only based on a spark of the true flame, right? So this is much stronger..."

Zhen Shi was surprised at her accuracy and nodded.

Smiling, Vivienne threw the flame onto the green pill cauldron instantly forming a strange mixture of red, white, and green to manifest. As the flame rippled, the engraving of the mystical forest seemed to wave about in a wind.

----------------------

While Vivienne's story was something Zhen Shi had not known about the Lady of the Lake from Legends of the Earth, Zhen Shi was sure that this was an important event for her. As such, he was worried that maybe Myne should be here to support her...

But as a Soul Formation Stage fellow, his spiritual transmission range was not more than a few meters, and Myne was not nearby, at least as far as he could sense. So he had no choice but to give up.

---------------------

Vivienne heaved a nervous sigh as she flicked her hand causing four herbs to appear.

Zhen Shi identified them instantly with and spoke out, "That is Simbelmyne, Senzu Beans, Crimson Nirnroot, and... Felandaris?"

Vivienne looked at him with praise and said, "Indeed. These are the basic ingredients used here in the central plains for the basic Mortal Tier Healing pill. But don't underestimate it just because it is a Mortal Tier pill because it is useful even for pinnacle Soul Tier experts!

It is good that you are skilled in the study of herbs... After all, it is important to have knowledge about herbs and their possible substitutes as different herbs are present in varying rarities in different areas, and you never know when an ingredient might not be available..."

Vivienne was gradually calming down, as she spoke about alchemy. She pointed at the cauldron and explained seriously, "Alchemy is a process of mixing and matching properties of living herbs to form pills that suit our needs. It can be considered to be a Manipulation of Life.

While cauldron spirits can also be used in Alchemy, as creatures of energy, how could Cauldron Spirits know how to handle the properties of live herbs?

They might be useful in Blacksmithing, but for Alchemy they are definitely not!

But, once again, it's up to you..."

As Zhen Shi nodded in understanding, Vivienne waved her hand covering all the ingredients in the red-white flame, "First we will heat the ingredient herbs and extract their essence. This is slightly tricky as you have to use different temperatures for each ingredient and maximize the extracted essence."

Just a few minutes later, she had successfully extracted the pure essence of the ingredients and were now slowly combining them to form a mixture of essences.

Suddenly, as if in a trance, she flicked a hand immediately burning up the remains of the ingredients into fine ash-like particles. With another flick of her hand, the fine ashes were added into the mixture of essences.

Vivienne smiled with a distant look in her eyes, "That was something my Mistress always instructed me to do... To never waste a single part of any ingredient, and to use even the essenceless ingredient husks that would usually be discarded as useless..."

Now completely free of nervousness and with a light smile she spoke out confidently, "This was her first enhancement technique, [Ashes to Ashes]!" and combined her hands into a strange sign.

Immediately, the ashes of the ingredient husks glowed with a bright aura and the mixture of ingredient essences with a darker aura. They beautifully complemented each other as they converged in a whirlpool of darkness and light.

The Conflicting Dragon flame intensified causing the darkness and light to blur in a mystical manner and the green pill cauldron to reverberate. Deep within the flickering conflicting flame, one could even see the light shadow of an ever-growing endless forest.

Vivienne seemed to be unable to keep her lips from curling into a satisfied smile as her final regret was washed away... With a blissful smile and teary eyes, she continued the lesson for Zhen Shi's sake, "The pill embryo has already formed successfully. It is only a matter of time before the pill is formed.

During this time, Alchemists would generally add a personal touch to signify their creation or a signature if you will. What I will do is rather unusual... but extremely effective."

Vivienne flicked her free hand causing a strange white caterpillar to appear, "Mistress Nimue was at heart a herbologist like myself, and was well-versed in all that had medicinal effects. The use of creatures in pill refining, is only practiced in distant lands with a lack of basic ingredients.

Thus it is looked down upon by most of the benevolent cultivators as barbaric and demonic. Demonic Cultivators use similar practices to improve the grade of pills and equipment through the sacrifice of lives and souls.

As a result, using this technique is an act of treading the fine line between benevolence and malevolence."

With a calm gaze, she flicked the red-white flame onto the body of the white caterpillar. The caterpillar glowed with strange divine light and immediately burned into small white dust...

Almost instantly, the dust began to glow and a terrifying yet gentle presence was exerted within the pavilion. Zhen Shi's eyes widened as he felt this powerful aura and aether.

Vivienne continued speaking with a far-away look in her eyes, "That was a Divine Silkworm, my Mistress's first gift to this useless disciple. She had hoped that I could use it on my first pill, but I was never able to live up to her expectations... until today!" and with a look of sheer conviction, she moved to form another strange hands sign.

Instantly, the shimmering divine dust began to swirl about in the daylight of the pavilion and surrounded the almost completed pill.

As the divine dust grew closer and closer to the pill, a strange resonance reverberated throughout the pavilion and the central garden...

For that single moment... the stream stopped flowing, the wind paused, even the sun stopped shining on to the pavilion.

Immediately, thousands of divine dust particles manifested from thin air covering the entire pavilion and creating a mesmerizing scene!

Despite the colorful aether that Zhen Shi saw on a daily basis, he was spell-bound by this sight. He couldn't help but think back to Zhen Xixi and her similarly mystical magic...

The Divine Dust swirled and danced as if in celebration of liberation and formed a whirlpool centering on Vivienne.

Slowly, the Divine Dust was pulled into the pill, forming the strange shadow of a white silkworm behind it...

Vivienne calmly spoke out with her wet with tears of satisfaction, "This was her second and final enhancement technique... [Dust to Dust]!"