Kle In was lying on his bed as he thought about the book he just read and the crystal recording he spent hours watching.

Though there is a bit of disappointment, it is still a moment to be celebrated as new knowledge was unraveled before him.

The book is called Forging Spatial Rings. Similar to the Pill Formulas he encountered, it explained how spatial rings are created. There is no Math nor lengthy explanations of theories and while it does involve geometric figures, there is not a single calculation written. To him, it is quite unconvincing that such knowledge originated from a civilization with no modern devices.

When he first got his spatial ring, he experimented on storing various things. The size was less than a cubic meter and when he stored an item longer than that, it would not fit no matter how he pushes and moment he retracts the Qi surrounding the item, it is immediately expelled. At least the book explains how spatial rings are damaged and such action is one of them on top of forcefully attacking the inside space with Qi.

The most interesting part is how blood is crucial to the size of the space and why beast blood instead of cultivator's blood being used. Kle In wondered what is so special about blood. After all, starting with the location of Qi Nodes, Bloodlines and even Formations all have blood in common.

Kle In got up and looked at the spatial ring hanging as a necklace on his chest. If not for the book, he would not make sense of the number carved within the ring's circumference. Base on his estimate, the ring has another three hundred more years before it becomes unusable.

He could not sleep so he got up and went to the kitchen. After eating bread for his supper, he remembered the offensive technique he was supposed to learn today. He decided to give it a try before resting. When he opened the book, finally understand what Sub Qi Nodes are for.

A few thousand-kilometers northeast of Amkayan Municipality starts a mountainous terrain of Gin Awang, home of a devil faction Blood Moon Sect. Atop of a dead volcano are buildings for Alchemy and Forging Magical items. Located on the topmost area of the mountain is humongous castle and an old man with a black and red hue robe is currently overlooking through a window listening to a young man behind him making a report.

"Master, we have received a report from our intelligence network that the alchemy apprentice reported on the auction a few months ago is clean. A student of fifth elder has been disguising as an itinerant alchemist can pick him up anytime."

The old man was quiet, but his student could feel the majestic and imposing aura around him. He is the third Nascent Soul Expert of the sect. When he broke through one hundred and fifty years ago, he realized that the sect has spent so much for a low tier breakthrough pill and if not because of luck, he would have had perished during his tribulation.

Like his previous predecessors, he had his fair share of researching ways of overcoming the barrier between Nascent and Core Formation Realm. Like many before him, there is no other way but to rely on breakthrough pills. Pill quality has always been an issue. Currently, within the entire province of Bang-et, only two are in possession of Heaven Class Essence Flame.

As a Tier III alchemist, he understood very well that Essence Flames play a big part in pill quality which in turn increases the chances of breaking through. The problem is that only the Bang-et Royal Family has them. It is a classic power play but an effective method of controlling the entire province.

He is currently remembering the past. A year after breaking through to Nascent Soul and becoming the Second Grand Elder of the sect, he chanced upon an ancient manuscript in their repository about rearing Heaven Class Flames.

While demonic sects are allowed to flourish, there are certain practices they are restricted to perform, rituals that antedates the unification of the province, and the manuscript is one of them as it involves large scale human and Elven blood sacrifices. A logical move is to set it aside for the sect's survival.

However his heart aches every time he’s reminded of how costly to concoct a single low tier Nascent Breakthrough pill is and how the cost almost doubles when they transact with the Royal Family for a mid-tier pill. When he thought he will end up in vain, he noticed the cost to produce a Heaven Class Essence Flame. After a few estimates, he realized it will come close to the almost the same cost to transact with the Royal Family.

He has always considered himself a prodigy and an outstanding cultivator however when his soul was damaged during tribulation, he understood very well that he does not have any chances of advancing further. He can only rely on future generations to achieve his dreams. As a future gift, he came up with a grand plan to slowly nurture an Essence Flame and evolve it into Heaven Class.

It has been going fine throughout the years but about some forty years ago during an internal cleansing a few decades back, a rat tipped off the Alchemist Guild. It escalated to a degree that the Royal Clan intervened but thanks to his careful planning, investigations all lead and incriminated a certain Half Elven Clan in Ab'atuan Mountain Range causing their extermination.

Unfortunately, the Royal Family did not disclose anything but intermediated nevertheless. Although the case was closed, people still think that missing Alchemy Apprentices is their doing even until now. To this day, he is anxious if someone would snatch his century old treasure. After a deep sigh, he finally spoke.

"You know the drill. Make sure it is flawless."