Note: I've been struggling with a new idea recently, my mind wanders to it, so I had to write it down to get it out of my system. It's my second project. I want some early thoughts on it, so I would really, really appreciate it if you guys could check it out. It's on Scribble Hub as of now. Here. It's free to read, of course. Any and every comment counts!

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As the cauldron continued to shake violently, my heart raced. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and my hands trembled from the intense heat that had seared my flesh from earlier. A deafening hum filled the room, and I heard the distant sounds of thunder outside.

A tribulation?! I cursed.

“Steady the Gu!” I shouted, my voice barely audible over the cacophony of the brewing elixir. Renji and Kai strained to maintain their control over their Gu, their faces contorted with effort.

The cauldron’s contents churned and frothed, changing colors rapidly, again.

Failure was not an option. If this elixir wasn't made correctly, I would be dead meat.

So, quite literally, my life depended on the success of this elixir. My thoughts bubbled inside my mind as I frantically considered every detail of the scroll, every nuance of the process, wondering if I’d made a mistake. I had to ensure that the elixir was perfected.

The violent reaction in the cauldron showed no signs of abating. It hissed and spat, emitting bursts of blinding light. The room trembled as if caught in an earthquake. Biscuit latched onto my thigh while Noodles climbed me up and went inside my robes, curling around me.

I glanced at Renji and Kai, their brows furrowed in concentration as they struggled to maintain the delicate balance of Gu. Renji in particular was turning red, “Hold it steady!” I urged, my voice frantic.

Just as I thought the elixir might stabilize and calm down, an explosion rattled the cauldron, sending a shockwave that slammed into me and others. It was blinding, and the very air seemed to crackle with electricity.

Thankfully, I had the support of the wall behind my back. The heat had increased so much that I couldn’t even be close to the cauldron.

To think this is not that high-level concoction, mid at best…

I shuddered just imagining what a high-level concoction would be like.

I realized with a sinking feeling that the cauldron was on the brink of exploding. If it did, the consequences would be catastrophic. The entire mansion, and perhaps even the surrounding area, would be obliterated in the blast. Time seemed to slow as I grappled with the gravity of the situation. Failure here would not only cost me my life but also the lives of everyone I cared about. Biscuit, Noodles, and to an extent, Renji and Kai too. I had to find a way to control this chaos, to bring the elixir to completion before it was too late.

But I… I’m powerless.

With a surge of determination, I shouted to Renji and Kai, “Pour more Gu! We have to stabilize it, no matter what!” Then, I looked down at Biscuit, grabbing her and cradling her in my arm, “Biscuit, can you—can you help? Can you guide their Gu? Master needs it.”

Biscuit stared at me with big, unblinking eyes before leaning in and licking my cheek. “Moew.”

She turned and jumped on Renji’s shoulder. Her demeanor changed, and her eyes sharpened. A blinding golden light flickered around her and in an instant, I noticed all the Gu simply… vanish. What is she doing?! I panicked but stopped myself from reacting in any bad way, she—she probably knew what she was doing. Right

Renji and Kai’s eyes widened, and their vanished Gu returned back before getting sucked into Biscuit and through her, toward the stone below the cauldron as well as the cauldron itself.

The room quaked, and a pressure like none other bored down on me. I knew that the next few moments would determine our fate. If this elixir failed, there would be no second chance, probably, most likely. My life along with my Disciples hung in the balance.

However, just as I thought that the cauldron would explode, everything quieted. The thunder outside, the heat, the shaking, the earthquake, everything. Silence. There was silence.

With bated breath and a pounding heart, I managed to tear my feet off the ground and walked to the cauldron, praying—for the first time ever—to whatever god there was.

Inside the cauldron, there was a shimmering golden liquid…

“We did it,” I grinned.

Renji and Kai smiled and Biscuit simply stared around before huddling near my feet. As for Noodles, she was busy sleeping. So much sleep, I shook my head.

The distant thunder had stopped and I looked up at the ceiling, wondering what kind of a mess the sect would be in. It likely appeared to everyone as if someone had a major breakthrough. Not to mention, my mansion. My shoulders slumped just imagining the misunderstandings this might have caused. The elders might have a clue as to what really happened; if what the Archivist said was to be taken seriously, all the elders likely made elixirs for their disciples.

Not to mention the ingredients were available easily for me—an elder. Which could only mean that this was an unspoken thing done by every elder. It was all good and stuff, but I still worried for those who didn’t know what was up. I’d be a prime target; one needed to be neutralized before “stabilizing cultivation.”

What a fucking mess, I groaned, my disciples blinking their eyes at me.

“I guess it’s time to cultivate, everyone.”

I smiled lightly, grabbing bottles specially made to pour the elixir in, making sure not to waste any single drop. This much elixir easily filled up a few vials for me, and from what I knew, a single drop was enough to prevent the explosion when it was time and the person reached that state.

“Whew,” I turned and ushered everyone outside, and sure enough there was a commotion outside the mansion, people cheering the loudest I’d ever heard. They were cheering for me, believing that I’d had a breakthrough to the next realm.

“Um, why’s everyone cheering, Master?” Renji asked.

“Nothing. Don’t pay attention, from now on, nothing but cultivation matters. Also, get some herbs from down below, useful ones. Need to speedrun, you two—”

“Meow?”

“—I mean, three, you three need to speedrun.”

“Hiss…”

My eyes twitched as Noodles stirred awake. “Yes, yes, you four need to cultivate!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Yes, Master!’

“Meow!”

“Hissssss!”

What a mess, I thought as we reached the back of the mansion where everyone took their place and started cultivating. Meanwhile, I wondered what to do. Victory seemed rather near now. Renji and Kai would breakthrough with a hundred percent in their purity, while Noodles and Biscuit didn’t really matter in this. The quest had been activated because of Renji and Kai. I doubted it would count Biscuit as she’d already broken through to Awakened Realm, though I wondered with how much purity exactly.

As for Noodles, I really questioned if she was a… cultivator. Suspicion crept up on me, so I sighed and used [Identify] on her, and sure enough—a screen appeared in front of me like a sudden bolt of lightning.

Damn, that’s a lot of nothing. I almost whistled, and decided to check up on my system screen as well. It had been too long since last I’d done it, as, well, there wasn’t really a reason for me to check. There was nothing more than my pathetic self at display there. I chuckled self-deprecatingly. This would likely change once I recovered, though—given I’d be using it more since it would serve me. Right now, aside from [Inventory], [Identify], [Herald of Flags], and perhaps [Quest System], nothing else was useful. [???], perhaps, but it was goddamn full of question marks!

But, I guess, beggars can’t be choosers.

I leaned back, letting the screens around me sink in, wondering what my next move would be. Reinforcements would likely be arriving sooner now, and so would any possible attacks. Why? I’d just fucking had a breakthrough apparently! My sarcasm aside, the Obsidian Shadow Clan would find no better time than now to launch an attack if they wanted to get a hand on this place. To them, I’d just had a breakthrough, and my cultivation at the moment was violent and I was most likely stabilizing it. Meaning, it was the perfect time to attack me.

Looking at Renji and Kai, they’d likely be taking at the very least a week to breakthrough, and while reinforcements may arrive early. I doubted the First Elder would move any major pieces to my location, given that attacking this place was the obvious move, but it could also just be a distraction. Moving any major piece here would risk the capital as well as actual major cities.

I was royally fucked.

I wished he’d send an elder at the very least.

***
Sure enough, reinforcements had arrived quickly. That same day several people came and most positioned themselves all around the town. A few were left as my guards, given that I was in the mansion and I’d barely need a guard.

Formations were in place, and the town stood in eerie silence, people hadn’t been evacuated. I paced atop the mansion with fear and uncertainty—it had been three days, three fucking days, and there hadn’t been any move yet. I was scared, what were they planning? I had meager reinforcements as it was, and I knew they were like lambs awaiting slaughter, but I didn’t care for that. What I cared for was our next move—or, more precisely, the Obsidian Shadow Clan’s next move.

Those motherfuckers had appeared out of nowhere. The image of that man who had plunged a sword into my heart, shattering my Eclipse Heart, flashed in my vision. A sour taste filled my mouth, and I shook my head to get rid of that memory.

The Obsidian Shadow Clan had every reason to attack Bleak Town, not just for strategic placement in the coming war, but for the hidden treasures they coveted in the Bleak Abyss Gorge.

A distant figure suddenly caught my attention, and I shifted my weight from my right leg to left, squinting for a clear view of the figure against the backdrop of the darkening sky.

Jin Ruo? I thought, what was he doing here?

Jin Ruo whipped through the air and landed right beside me in the mansion, bowing instantly before looking up, huffing for air as sweat dripped down his forehead. A frown was evident on his face and he appeared to have something important to say.

“Elder,” he panted. How fast had he flown to be panting like a dog? Wasn’t he a cultivator? “there's something you need to know.”

My eyes bore into Jin Ruo’s, urging him to continue.

“The leader of the Obsidian Shadow Clan,” Jin Ruo whispered, his voice trembling with annoyance, “he's dead.”

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