Water Alchemy

*Ding*

{[Basic Array Creation] Art Mastered!}

{[Basic Array Creation] art has evolved into [Array Creation] art}

'Well, this was quite quick… I only built a house and my Array Creation art went up and evolved!'

The house I built was half the size of my Xiao Clan mansion. It had four rooms. Two for sleeping, one in the kitchen and the last one for cultivation.

To deal with the red colour I created another layer that tricks one's eyes giving a duller red.

In other words a prototype for illusion casting arrays. 

It took me a couple of days but we were done with the house. The best part is that I can take this house back with me. It's extremely easy to dismantle it.

"Young Master. Now that the house is finished do you have any specific orders?" 

"No. At this moment I want you ladies to focus on cultivation." As I said, I pulled out three pills.

These were the [Earth Profound] pills.

"Yue'er come over. You know what to do." 

My wife swiftly walked over and took her seat in front of me, she turned around and showed her back to me.

I gave her the pill and she proceeded to consume it.

Her cultivation proceeded to increase rapidly.

Breaking through into [Eight of True Profound] then nine, entering the peak of [True Profound], and eventually breaking through into [First of Spirit Profound].

This was rapid advancement. With such an increase in power, Yue'er won't be able to cultivate for a while.

"Rest and stabilise your cultivation." 

"Un!"

The beauty turned around and kissed me on the lips before getting up and walking away to stabilise her cultivation.

"Right, next."

My maid quickly walked over and took her seat in front of me, showing me her back.

After giving the pill to her she swallowed it and her cultivation surged.

Breaking into [Fourth of True Profound] then fifth, sixth, and stopping at [Seventh of True Profound].

"Done."

"My thanks, Young Master." Xiao Lingxi slowly got up on her feet and gently kissed me on the cheek before walking to the side.

The last one was the older maid, older sister type Xia Dongling.

Just like Xiao Lingxi, reluctant to take pills. This girl doesn't like getting things handed to her. The girl doesn't realise that once she has power she will be spreading my will through her might.

"Think like this. If you are strong I can order things through you. Your power is my power, people respect strength especially as I am the Young Master of the Supreme Ocean Palace."

The maid slowly nodded, she started to see my point of view.

 "Good, now let's start."

I gave her a pill and started to assist her with the Profound Energy circulation. The [Earth Profound] pills are still too much for her.

Her cultivation surged. From [First of True Profound] going all the way to [Fifth of True Profound].

The maid exhaled, her breathing trembled.

"You will need time to adjust."

"Yes. This is still quite new to me." The maid added her own two bits. She still needs to get used to a lot of power. 

"True, some of the fairies could assist you with some basic training. I am certain they don't mind helping a fellow female."

The maid slowly nodded at me.

"Good. Then start with your Profound Energy stabilisation." 

Xia Dongling moved aside, as the maid went to sit in the cultivation room, next to her Mistress.

This left me alone in the bedroom, I took a seat in my bed, cross-legged, and with a simple motion I popped another [Earth Profound] pill.

My cultivation surged, slowly going up to [Third of Earth Profound] 

'Well…this is a bust… barely any progress.' I frowned. The surge of power was barely noticeable.

So I pulled out a [Sky Profound] Pill and popped it into my mouth.

The surge was much more intense than it was from the [Earth Profound] pill. Spreading out through my body. Thanks to my Profound Energy manipulation I was able to guide this excess energy through the veins bonding with my cultivation.

My cultivation surged rapidly rising and breaking into fourth, fifth, and stopping at [Sixth of Earth Profound].

As expected the gap between the Fifth and Sixth is huge. 

While the increase in power was intense, I am back to stabilising my cultivation base. 

Though this is good… 

I am training my Profound energy manipulation.

[Profound Energy Manipulation] (6/10) {65.76%}

'This art is so slow… I have been at this for a few years now…'

Internally I sighed before standing up.

Time to explore.

~~~~~~Mu Lingxue~~~~~~

The sword-wielding fairy looked dumbfounded at Xiao Long who came out from his house built from…Arrays!

She is still trying to process that…

But now he has cultivation higher than she has!

It only has been a few days!

What kind of pills does he make for himself!?

She was certain that he is selling quite average pills by his standards and keeping the best ones for himself. But even then… the fairy hoped that the gap was not that wide…

But she was so wrong…

"...Young Master Xiao… you called me?"

"Yes. Let's start, shall we? I want to see the Medical Gardens your Palace has."

"O-Of course!"

As she said that the fairy motioned to follow her. Her senses are still all over him… she wants to understand how he reached [Sixth of Earth Profound]!

Though she is not arrogant enough to poke THE Young Master of a Sacred Ground!

"I am curious. Your Palace practices purely Ice and Water, how do you ladies make pills?"

His question got the fairy out of her thoughts. 

"...Oh…well we use Profound Water to make pills."

"...Excuse me?"

"Yes. We use water to make herbs and Profound Cores to dissolve into liquid before turning into pills."

As she said that he looked at her with an utterly baffled look.

"...Such a thing exists?"

"Y-Yes. Water doesn't mix with Fire. So we needed to find another way to make our pills." Her explanation made his world shift…

"I want to see this in action!"

"O-Of course. Please follow me, Young Master!"

Mu Lingxue motioned him to follow her. 

A few minutes later they arrived at an area where icy-looking vegetation was growing. There are a few buildings made from ice as well. Several fairies are maintaining the herbs and grasses.

"Let me find someone who could show you the process."

Xiao Long nodded at her and proceeded to look around while the Fairy found someone.

The Young Master's eyes scanned the plants. He could see familiar grasses only with a different 'tone' to them. 

They were bluer and more robust? He can assume this is because the plants are in such a cold environment.

Other plants were quite interesting as well. Just by checking the grass, he can tell some of the qualities of these grasses.

One which got his attention is grass which helps to dissolve Ice Profound energy.

That alone would make him the most sacred person in this Palace.

Another curious grass is that it calms the Profound energy. Such grass could help him to make pills that could be easier to absorb without fearing crippling oneself with excess energy.

A few minutes later Mu Lingxue walked over with an old looking fairy. Her cultivation was barely in [Sky Profound].

"Young Master Xiao, This is our Medical Palace Mistress Su. She will show you how we use Profound Water to make pills."

He looked at her and respectfully cupped his fist.

"It is an honour. I have never heard of Profound Water Refinement. It caught me by surprise." He said with genuine curiosity. The teen got caught by complete surprise. 

"...The Honour is mine, Young Master Xiao. Please, follow this old lady. I will show you the process."

Xiao Long followed the old fairy, and Mu Lingxue followed after them.

They arrived in the workshop area. It was quite similar to Xiao Long's area in Xiao Clan. The only difference was… it was purely done from ice.

Once there the Medicine Palace Mistress proceeds to show how she does it. Unlike The Supreme Ocean Palace Young Master, the old Fairy is using a bowl.

She created water with her Profound Energy and proceeded to put herbs and grasses into this bowl.

After putting in all the ingredients, the old lady proceeded to do her magic. Xiao Long watched it closely. 

He could see that the herbs and grasses dissolve in this water and turn into a whirlpool condensing into a small pill.

The process was much longer than any of his work, so it allowed him to watch this in detail. 

"Impressive, instead of making the essence move rapidly to lose the solid state, you made it completely stop, freeze, and then disintegrate the unnecessary parts. Leaving only the essence behind.

It's like doing things in reverse!"

The Supreme Ocean Palace Young Master exclaimed with realisation as he observed everything.

"Young Master…you saying that…" 

At that moment the old lady experienced a breakthrough! Both Mu Lingxue and he looked at her with slight disbelief.

"..."

"...unbelievable."

"...Young Master Xiao…your understanding of elements is in a completely different realm!" 

He didn't say anything, he simply nodded. The Alchemist was more interested in Profound Water and this different form of Alchemy.

Instead of listening to these praises.

"Mistress Su, you should stabilise your cultivation base while Fairy Mu will keep me company."

"Understood. Many thanks, Young Master."

~~~~~~Xiao Long~~~~~~

This discovery is so fascinating. I can't believe I found a different way of making pills! Profound Water! Who thought this stuff even existed?

As I was thinking about how the old lady did it I went back to my Profound Array house. I didn't enter it, instead I sat down on the snow just outside of it.

With Profound Energy getting dirty is pretty much impossible. So, I can sit anywhere I want.

First, I popped a Profound Sensitivity pill and accessed improved senses. 

I started to sense and grab Water Profound Energy. In such a location it was everywhere so I didn't need much time to collect large amounts of it. 

With such abundance, it's not hard to start to copy it. 

A few minutes later…

*Ding* 

{You have created [Water Profound Energy] art!}

'There it is. Now let's see what I can do with this.'

I summoned this energy and started to experiment with it.

*Ding* 

{You have created [Profound Water] art!}

"Hmm…"

With water in hand, I proceeded to pull out some of the Sensitive grass I have. 

I created a ball of Profound Water and dropped the grass into it. 

'This is much easier than fire… fire makes it burn the moment it's touched. Instead, I am the one who needs to take the initiative.'

This was where the issue started to appear…how the hell am I going to do it?

After several times of just freezing the whole thing and shattering it to nothing I started to make some progress.

Once I realised how to do it I understood that it was harder than regular Alchemy. In regular alchemy, you just guide your flames. But here you need to keep the water, pull it AND make it do something. 

It is more difficult…

*Ding* 

{You have created [Water Alchemy] art!}

Though after a while I had a familiar green fingernail-size pill. 

After using purifying flames it was just another Mark I sensitivity pill. 

Nothing special, but what is special is the method. If I am to mix regular Alchemy and water Alchemy then I will have an even better form of Alchemy and the amount of things I can mix would increase.

'This means I could use minerals as well.'

Just thinking about the possibilities makes me excited!

Once my tests were done I went inside the Array house where the trio of girls were waiting for me already.

"I learned something new today… I need to test out how it will affect my cooking." I said with a thoughtful look as I zoomed into the kitchen. 

"...What did you learn?"

"Water."

"Water?"

"Yes. Profound Water."

I pulled out some of the meat I still have from the [True Profound] beast and started to cook. Instead of just cooking I pulled out the spices and herbs and created profound water. Then proceeded to bond them with the meat in the water.

Same time making it more tender than ever, once the preparation is done, I created my alchemy fire and started to cook the meat.

The smell was out of this world, I started to feel hungry just from smelling it.

'Damn…'

~~~~~~Outside~~~~~~

The smell of the barbeque meat started to spread through the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace.

The way this place is constructed is to allow Profound energy to flow. The downside of such a thing is that the smell of cooked meat can spread far and wide. 

The fairies who spend the majority of their time cultivating picked it up easily. 

This made their stomachs growl. Even if they are not hungry they still picked it up and it made them hungry. 

They were extremely vulnerable to such smells as they never eat properly except for the nutrition pills. After all, the higher the cultivation the less one needs to eat.

But this… this was like torture.

The majority of fairies could not focus anymore and instead went out to figure out what this heavenly smell is.

~~~~~~Back to Xiao Long~~~~~~

*Ding* 

{You have created [Profound Cooking] art!}

"..."

I mentally flicked the notification away and proceeded to continue my cooking, rolling the meat. It was glistening from the heat.

Not too raw or too cooked. Just perfect.

Once it was done I flicked the slabs into the dishes.

***Gulp***

"Done. Let's taste it."

"..."

"..."

"..."

I slowly cut a piece of the meat and proceeded to take a bite.

"...This is good… even better than I thought…" 

"..."

"..."

"..."

All three slowly proceeded to take their bites.

At that moment all three twitched for a second before twitching some more.

"...Haaa~~~"

"Hnnn~~~"

"...Heavens…this is not fair…~~~"

The trio had rosy cheeks as they were struggling to eat and not twitch.

I guess they never had such prepared food before.

Now this is making me want to hunt different types of beasts just to try to cook them.

After eating it was time to rest.

…

…

…

The next day when I got out of the array house, four fairies were waiting.

"Big Brother! What was that!? Why does it smell so good!?"

'These are…'

My gaze went to the pair of girls who looked identical… These are…

"I never smelled anything this good before!" 

"Un! Are you the one who cooks it?" the pair got closer to me. They were extremely beautiful and at the same time cute girls.

"Um…who are you, girls?"

"Oh! I am Feng Hanxue!"

"And I am Feng Hanyue!"

Then an older fairy intercepted, not allowing the pair to get too close.

"I do apologise for the pair's behaviour. I am Mu Lanyi, I am ranked 4th Fairy of the Frozen Cloud."

"It's fine. I do like such refreshing behaviour." 

The moment I said that one of the twin girls poked out from behind the older Fairy.

"Oh!"

"You heard it is sis! Young Master Xiao likes us!"

"Yep! After all, we are so friendly!" 

*Sigh*

"Young Master, are you sure? They never left Frozen Cloud before. They have no idea how to behave." 

"We do!"

"Yes! The Palace Mistress trained us!"

"It's fine, Fairy Mu." 

As I said that I looked at the other Fairy, it was Mu Lingxue. At that moment I looked at Mu Lanyi and then at Mu Lingxue…

They look similar… Are they siblings perhaps? 

Such a curious thought.

"Lingxue, let's go, yesterday's exploration ended quite abruptly."

"As you wish, Young Master." The fairy respectfully nodded as she motioned to follow her.

"Wait! Big Brother! Can we go with you?"

"Yes! We want to hear some stories from the outside world!" a pair of fairies like agile panthers appeared on both of my sides.

Honestly, these two are just a pair of cute animals…

"...Sure… though I didn't explore much myself. I spend most of my time working on my craft."

"Un! That's fine. We can exchange stories about our homes then!"

One of the twins said with a happy tone. 

Though I could see how the pair of Mu girls don't like these two twins… 

How interesting…

~~~

Mu Lingxue frowned and frowned some more as she saw how the Feng Twins were behaving around Xiao Long. They are so clueless that it's hard for her to watch.

Don't they know how dangerous it is to behave so close to a Young Master of a Sacred Ground!?

Don't they understand that he only needs one sentence to end Frozen Cloud!?

Regardless, the Fairy didn't complain in front of Xiao Long. She is not suicidal. 

But, it made her truly annoyed how he had completely forgotten about her, and instead, he focused on the twins. 

The Feng Twins kept him entertained with their bubbly personalities talking about everything. And most importantly they naturally knew how to praise him and his work.

And their praise was extremely genuine so it was not annoying. Instead, it was quite inflammatory which made him talk with them more than other fairies, including Mu Lingxue who was just third wheel by this point.

The group arrived back at the Medicine Palace where Xiao Long proceeded to collect some of the herbs.

"Big Brother, we use these to help with our cultivation and practising Frozen Cloud Arts. Though we don't know many details. Palace Mistress doesn't want us to mingle in Medicine Gardens." One of the Feng sisters said with a pout.

"I see… this is quite good. Let me make a pill."

As he said, he proceeded to gently harvest some of the grasses and then use his flames to make a pill.

However…he frowned when he realised it doesn't work that well with grasses that have Water Profound Energy.

~~~

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