Rebirth: Dominator of the Multiverse

Chapter 11

Azure Jade Fan Pendant

Fan Xue Li let out a soft sigh. "My master wanders far from home, his whereabouts lost to the winds." In his previous life, that master had been his father as well—the mighty Saint Emperor Tai Hao, who had swept through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, subjugating all under heaven. Yet he had vanished without trace, leaving Fan Xue Li to harbor dark suspicions of foul play at the hands of the Qing Xi Empress. The memories flooded back now, vivid and unrelenting, stirring a quiet lament in his heart.

Seeing this raw glimpse of the young man's soul laid bare, Master Fang could not help but sigh in turn. "The moon waxes and wanes; wholeness has ever eluded the ages." Then, glancing at the little fox—the Nine-Spirit Fox in its guise—he spoke gently. "My true form is also that of a Nine-Spirit Fox. A century of cultivation shaped me into human semblance, and another fifty years forged me into a master alchemist. Yet my progress halted here, stagnant for three full decades. In those years, I exhausted every artifice—deploying formulas beyond count to shatter my bounds—only to find my efforts waning, ever more futile. Perhaps in time, I too must take to wandering paths afar..."

His words arose from a fleeting melancholy, yet they struck Ming Na and Xiang Nu like thunderclaps. They exchanged glances, wide-eyed with astonishment. Master Fang, born a fox? To rise from beast to man, to claim the mantle of master alchemist—that demanded genius beyond the stars.

But soon enough, their surprise softened into sighs of sorrow. Master Fang's years weighed heavy upon him, and even a master alchemist's lifespan had its limits. Without ascending to grandmaster, the day of parting drew perilously near.

It was then that Fan Xue Li shook his head, his voice grave. "Pill formulas mend ailments and balance vital humors—they are not meant for longevity or forced transcendence. To wield them for breakthroughs without the proper way invites calamity upon oneself at once. Even with the way grasped, the foundations crumble unsteady, barring further ascent in the days to come."

In his prior incarnation, after becoming a grandmaster alchemist, he had chased rapid gains through elixirs, propelling his fleshly form leagues in a single day. In the end, that haste had sown instability, reaping bitter ruin. It was why, in this life, he sought to temper his body in quiet diligence. Master Fang's plight, then, was a riddle he knew intimately, thread by thread.

At these words, Master Fang's face lit with profound wonder. The more he pondered Fan Xue Li's counsel, the more its profundities unfolded—arcane truths that struck like a draught of clarity, unlocking one gate to reveal the myriad beyond.

He could not contain himself. "Brother Fan, and if one has erred in such misuse of formulas—what remedy then?"

Fan Xue Li peered deep into Master Fang's inner breath, musing for a moment before replying. "Your constitution is yang-dominant, aligned with wood in the five elements. Yet the formulas and arts you cultivate lean to water's flow—complementary, yes, but a barrier to true breakthrough. Seek out Phoenix Wutong Wood and nurture it daily beneath the rising sun; it shall unravel the fetters within you. Transcendence may still elude, but your current roots will hold firm, at the least."

As a grandmaster alchemist, he knew the virtues of all things medicinal; such counsel came to him as effortlessly as breathing.

He spoke of it with the ease of an old tale recited by heart, yet Xiang Nu, listening from the side, stared in slack-jawed awe. To discern Master Fang's cultivated formulas and arts at a glance—to pluck Phoenix Wutong Wood from the vast thicket of wood-aligned rarities—this insight bordered on the terrifying.

Master Fang, for his part, felt his very soul ignite in revelation. He murmured, half to himself, "Phoenix Wutong Wood! Of course—innately yang, infused with the essence of withered timber, its properties mild and harmonious, a mediator for all creation. Brother Fan, your words pierce the veil of my deepest confusions, illuminating every shadowed doubt..."

With that, he bowed deeply to Fan Xue Li, fists clasped in solemn gratitude.

This guidance was worth a thousand gold apiece, banishing all haze from his mind and spirit, propelling him toward the Ninth Heaven's clarity.

In his eyes, Fan Xue Li's path stretched boundless, a horizon without end.

Fan Xue Li waved it off hastily. "Brother Fang, you honor me too greatly. These are but echoes of my master's teachings from long ago—I merely relay them now. If they prove of use to you, that's reward enough. Only... I ask that you keep my identity close to your chest."

For him, the peril lay in imbalance: until his fleshly realm matched his alchemical prowess, to bear such a jewel invited ruin. The fewer who knew, the safer he stood.

"Naturally," Master Fang replied. In this moment, he regarded Fan Xue Li as a true junior brother of the craft, his gaze brimming with fraternal warmth. He noted the youth's modest fleshly cultivation, yet trusted that with Fan Xue Li's command of formulas, breakthroughs would cascade like a river unchained. The boy's safety, then, held little cause for worry.

Still, after a pause for thought, he drew from his bosom an azure jade fan pendant and pressed it into Fan Xue Li's hands. "This may serve you well, Brother Fan. Take it."

He had overheard, from beyond the door, the exchange between Fan Xue Li and his mother—the youth's intent to enter the Rising Sun Rite of Forging Assembly. This pendant, attuned to amplifying insights into forging's power, was thus a fitting gift.