The refinement begins.
The dragon tongue herb is ground into powder.
The mithril flower's nectar and a small amount of magical elements need to be extracted.
The eight-branched herb must be carefully handled to avoid its toxins, using only the appropriate amount.
Nanako is quite confident in her alchemy abilities - after all, what kind of mage would she be if she couldn't even brew magical potions?
Bubble, bubble—
The herbs in the cauldron continue to boil, producing bubbles.
Nanako takes out a monocle, carefully observing drops of mysterious white liquid seeping through the distillation tube.
She leans in to take a sniff.
Achoo!
A fishy smell hits her face.
Nanako rubs her nose contentedly, proudly gazing at her masterpiece.
"Officer Nanako? Will drinking this white, sticky liquid remove the curse from our bodies?"
Elina curiously reaches out, taking a tiny bit of the potion's solvent between her fingers. As she pulls her fingers apart, sticky threads form between them.
Crystal clear.
Nanako holds her spoon proudly and says, "It's not that simple. There's still one crucial step remaining."
"What is it?" Elina asks curiously.
Nanako smiles lightly, waving her small spoon: "Secret Source!"
Indeed.
Pure Secret Source is the most important and indispensable step in potion brewing.
Otherwise, it would be no different from an ordinary medicine.
Nanako carefully takes out a small piece of mithril, then uses specialized alchemical tools with a touch of magical energy to carefully inscribe runes one by one according to the book's instructions.
After all preparations are complete.
Nanako carefully places the runes in a specialized device.
Magical energy is the substance diffused from diluted Secret Source.
And if enough magical energy is collected, pure Secret Source can be synthesized in reverse.
"According to my apprentice, there's Secret Source dew near the volcano outside Lake Town, so synthesizing pure Secret Source shouldn't be too difficult."
Nanako ponders as she carefully activates the Secret Source runes.
Gurgle—
The runes emit a faint, eerie mithril glow.
The device starts up.
Nanako continuously infuses her magical energy into it.
Time passes second by second.
Under Elina's astonished gaze, surrounded by countless runes, a drop of liquid shimmering with metallic halos slowly condenses.
Drip—
Elina exclaims excitedly: "It's dripping! Nanako, the Secret Source is dripping from that tiny opening!"
Nanako grins, showing her neat white teeth, beaming with joy.
"Let's keep going! If we extract more Secret Source, we'll have a way to break the curse!"
"Yes, Lady Nanako!"
[At the Church]
"What? You're saying that Winter Spring Valley officer actually extracted Secret Source?"
Knight Commander Marshal stares at the messenger in shock, frowning:
"Are you certain what you're saying is true?"
The attendant pounds his chest with one hand, saying: "Knight Commander, I overheard it outside that officer's room, though I'm not entirely sure of the details."
Knight Commander Marshal falls into deep thought.
It must be true.
Lady Saint Anna had already told them that this curse was indeed related to Secret Source magic.
And to break this curse, they would definitely need to approach it from the Secret Source system.
"But didn't Lady Saint Anna say Secret Source magic was almost lost to time? That only some ancient and evil beings and their kin could master Secret Source magic..."
He frowns and says: "As expected of the Winter Spring Valley mage group, to think they even dabble in Secret Source magic!"
He immediately makes a sinister decision in his heart.
He turns his head, squinting at the attendant, saying: "After they complete the potion, find a way to get your hands on it. I'm sure Lady Saint Anna would be very interested in such a potion!"
"Yes, my lord!"
[At the Alchemist Guild]
Finally, after who knows how long.
Nanako collapses onto a stool, her ahoge drooping lifelessly as she pants:
"Finally finished... That was really difficult, Nanako is completely exhausted!"
Elina gazes excitedly at the half-vial of pure Secret Source.
"Lady Nanako, now we just need to mix the Secret Source with the potion to create the real magical potion, right?"
Nanako gets up, proudly taking the small vial containing Secret Source.
Then she approaches the potion cauldron, focusing intently:
"Yes! Success or failure depends on this moment! It's time to witness a miracle!"
Nanako carefully opens the vial.
Then gently drops a single drop into the iron pot filled with potion.
Splash—
Instantly.
Purple steam rises from the iron pot.
The originally crystal clear and sticky potion instantly transforms into a mysterious liquid mixing purple and red.
Bubble, bubble—
Bubbles constantly rise in the liquid.
"Great success ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ!!" Nanako is so excited she almost jumps up.
This pot of potion matches exactly what's recorded in the book, perfect in both color and smell.
She really did brew the perfect potion!
Elina asks excitedly: "So can we help the residents break the curse now?"
Nanako extends her hand, saying seriously: "Not quite, there's still one very important potion that needs to be used together."
Elina looks puzzled.
Nanako carefully opens the smaller alchemical furnace beside them.
Suddenly, golden light bursts forth.
Inside the furnace is a pot full of golden liquid like oil, looking absolutely dreamlike.
Elina exclaims: "Wow! So bright!! What is this, Officer Nanako? It's so golden!"
Nanako pulls out the formula from her chest, touches her lips, and reads:
"It's a formula that goes with the potion, called... Secret Source Indian Divine Oil!"
Elina pauses, confused, scratching her head: "Indian Divine Oil? What a tongue-twister. Is this some kind of auxiliary potion?"
Nanako nods seriously, pondering: "It must be, though Nanako hasn't figured out if it should be mixed in or taken separately."
Elina (✪ω✪): "It seems so sophisticated!"
Nanako thinks for a moment, checking the book and formula again carefully.
Well, since they're in the same formula, they should probably be mixed together.
Whatever!
Let's pour it in and see!
Nanako struggles to lift the small pot and pours all the golden liquid into the potion.
Bubble—Bubble—
An intense, unusual fragrance bursts from the potion.
Achoo—Achoo—
Nanako and Elina both sneeze hard, then rub their noses, staring dumbly at the strange vapors.
Instantly, both women's faces turn bright red.
"Officer Nanako..." Elina says blankly: "Is the formula really supposed to be like this? Why do I feel like something's not quite right with the smell..."
Nanako rubs her small nose, then touches her burning cheeks, puzzled:
"It should be correct..."
According to the formula, there shouldn't be any major problems.
"But why does my face feel so hot?" Nanako wonders.
And suddenly her body feels hot too.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
