When Xiao Ning opened his eyes, the sun hadn't even thought about waking up. Outside, the silent darkness reigned supreme.

  He sat up with a half-sleepy expression, but he was so sleepy he couldn't keep his body upright and fell face-first into the sheets.

  Although his cultivation technique, the Eternal Sleeper, allowed him to stay awake for days or gave him disposition and energy as soon as he opened his eyes, Xiao Ning was naturally lazy. And as such, there was nothing he hated more than waking up early.

  However, since this was related to his beloved Alchemy, he needed to make an effort. Thus, with one eye closed and the other half-open, he got up and started to prepare his things. Without any delicacy, he tossed the knife and the glass jar into the cloth sack and grabbed his gray spear. And, when the first rays of sun finally appeared on the horizon, he left the accommodations.

  Outside the room, already in the outer courtyard, he waited as he let out occasional yawns. And it wasn't long until, wearing her leather armor and carrying her sword, Xiao Shui appeared. On her waist, six small pouches could be seen, slightly larger than a palm, which immediately caught Ning's attention. But due to sleepiness, he forgot about them right after, when he once again opened his mouth and let out a lazy yawn, rubbing his watery eyes.

  When she saw the bum standing there, waiting for her, Xiao Shui couldn't hide the surprise on her face.

  "I thought you wouldn't come," she confessed upon approaching. She was certain she would go to the Forest of a Thousand Dooms alone. Actually, she preferred it that way.

  "I have no choice, I... need to," babbled Xiao Ning, while letting out another long yawn.

  "Well, if you're coming, so be it, but I won't wait for you." As soon as she finished saying that, Xiao Shui kept walking and left Xiao Ning behind, who soon caught up with her.

  The two walked down the Xiao Family's grounds together. When they passed in front of the arenas, they saw there were already people training. And at that moment, Ning remembered the reason he never dedicated himself to practicing cultivation.

  Next, they passed through the gates, which separated the territory from the rest of the city, which was still guarded by two guards of the Virtuous Realm, however, they weren't the same ones as yesterday.

  As expected, Chaos Border City, even in the morning, was already busy. Through the streets, carriages wove non-stop and the merchants, who always woke up early, already had their stalls open, shouting at the top of their lungs for whoever wanted to hear.

  Xiao Shui and Xiao Ning crossed the center and kept walking. They turned left and walked a little further.

  Of course, the one guiding was Xiao Shui. Xiao Ning had no idea where they were going, only that the final destination was the Forest of a Thousand Dooms.

  As they crossed a wide wooden bridge, Xiao Shui looked sideways, showing some curiosity about the cloth sack Ning had been dragging on the ground for some time, and asked:

  "What are you going to do in the forest?" she said, being direct.

  "Hunt Demonic Beasts," he replied with a lazy voice.

  "Hunt beasts?" repeated Xiao Shui, looking surprised. "That place is very dangerous and you're only at the 4th Layer of the Mundane Realm, right? The forest is too dangerous for anyone who hasn't reached the Awakening Realm yet."

  "Well, I have no choice." Xiao Ning lazily slumped his shoulders and grumbled. "I need a new cauldron, after all."

  "Then you should go back and gather Herbs on the mountain. As long as you don't go too high, it's not as dangerous as the forest," suggested Xiao Shui, who despite not liking him, couldn't just let him die in vain.

  "Don't worry. I'll manage!" affirmed Xiao Ning in a carefree tone. "Besides, I have this." He showed the Lei Gong Bracelets on his wrists.

  Xiao Shui looked closely at the bracelets and thought they were very pretty. But she didn't think they would be of any help during a battle. Obviously, she didn't recognize them as Magical Artifacts.

  "But what about you? What are you going to do there? After all, you are also in the Mundane Realm," asked Xiao Ning, lowering his arms.

  Looking a bit embarrassed, Xiao Shui answered reluctantly:

  "I have no choice. I need the money."

  "Money? Your father is an Elder. He is rich. Why don't you ask him?" asked Xiao Ning, raising his eyebrows while looking at her strangely. It was no news that the Elders of any Family possessed gold coins in abundance.

  "I can't do that," replied Xiao Shui vigorously. "I told you before, didn't I? The other Elders are trying to bring my father down. Because of that, we are having problems. Even if my father doesn't want to admit it, I know it. Besides, earlier this year, he already spent a great fortune buying some Medium Spiritual Pills for Brother Chan."

  "Hm... I see..." he murmured, thoughtful.

  When he found out there was an internal fight to bring down the Patriarch, Xiao Ning realized the situation in the Xiao Family wasn't very good, because internal fights always generate serious problems. However, he didn't think things were so bad to the point that one of the Elders was having financial problems.

  "So, what do you want money for?" asked Xiao Ning, sweeping those thoughts away. He would worry about that later.

  "Not that it's any of your business, but..." Xiao Shui reached into the upper part of her leather armor and pulled out a tiny hemp pouch. Then she opened it and dropped a whitish sphere with a porous surface, the size of a bean, onto the palm of her hand. "I need to buy another Low Spiritual Pill to advance to the next layer."

  While Xiao Shui admired the tiny pill in her hand, a shadow suddenly passed in front of her eyes, and the next instant the pill had disappeared.

  "Hey, what are you doing?" she yelled, glaring at Xiao Ning fervently.

  Between Ning's fingers was a small sphere, the size of a bean. When he saw the pill, he finally seemed to feel awake and, with a quick movement of his hands, took it from its original owner.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Oh, ho!" he babbled, nodding his head and feeling excited. "So this is a Spiritual Pill from the Golden Empire."

  "Give it back!"

  Xiao Ning dodged the slap Xiao Shui tried to give him and continued evaluating the pill. He focused his Spiritual Sense on it and examined it thoroughly. And after a complete inspection, looking a bit disappointed, he criticized:

  "This pill is horrible! It's an insult to call it Low quality! It's an Inferior pill and that's being generous!" Seeing a composition of such terrible quality, Xiao Ning couldn't help but grumble like a grumpy old man, waving his hands and demonstrating his stress.

  "What are you talking about?" Xiao Shui finally managed to snatch the pill from his hands. And with a severe look, she vociferated. "Know that this pill cost me five gold coins!"

  "Five gold coins for that?" yelled Xiao Ning in amazement, feeling sorry for Shui having been scammed. "This Inferior pill isn't even worth ten bronze coins. The impurity is too great."

  "And how do you know how much impurity it has?" she inquired, wanting to debunk him.

  "This pill in your hand has only 62% purity. For a Spiritual Pill to be classified as Inferior, it needs to have at least 70% purity. And even those would be considered bad," explained Xiao Ning. "Not to mention, the absorption of Spiritual Energy it enables is at very low levels. The catalyst used, most likely, wasn't suitable for this type of composition. This pill is basically a failure."

  However, despite the detailed explanation, Xiao Shui was not willing to listen.

  "I don't know what you're talking about, but know that Low-level pills have 65% purity. Above that are the Medium-quality ones," exasperated Xiao Shui, who put the tiny pouch containing the composition back inside her armor.

  When he heard that, Xiao Ning let out an expression of astonishment. He hadn't imagined that the level of Alchemy in the Golden Empire was so low. He increasingly understood why a simple Tin Cauldron was so expensive.

  However, he was still not willing to accept such an exaggerated price.

  "Even if these flawed pills are considered Low quality, they are still too expensive. It's not worth buying them," advised Xiao Ning.

  "It's natural that a bum like you, who doesn't dedicate himself to cultivation, wouldn't know this, but..." Xiao Shui made a point of emphasizing bum. She was still annoyed about having the pill snatched from her fingers. "Out of eighty-seven, only thirteen Alchemists in the entire empire are capable of Refining these Spiritual Pills. And the Medium-quality ones, there are only three people who can create them."

  Once again, Xiao Ning was shocked. The quality of Alchemy in the Golden Empire dropped more and more in level. What did she mean there were only eighty-seven Alchemists in the entire empire? And of those, only thirteen are capable of creating these flawed pills? Those numbers were so ridiculously low they seemed like a joke.

  Not knowing how to react to these discoveries or how he would convince Xiao Shui that that Spiritual Pill was indeed very bad, Xiao Ning let out a long sigh and said:

  "Well, whatever." He shrugged his shoulders. "But listen to my advice, don't use it. Wait until I get my Enchanted Cauldron and I'll give you a better one for free."

  But of course, she didn't listen to him. As if a bum like him would succeed in Refining.

  Xiao Ning continued following Xiao Shui through the city. The further they got from the center, the fewer people were seen. Until finally, they arrived at an area where there were no houses, but in their place, occupying the view in a colossal way, stood a huge wall. That was the Chaos Protective Wall.

  The Chaos Protective Wall was like a monstrous bastion, surrounding the entire Chaos Border City. It was what prevented Demonic Beasts from roaming freely through the neighborhoods, devouring people. Its walls, made of stone blocks, were so high they exceeded fifty meters in height. And at the top, there were lookout points for the soldiers, always on guard, to peek at what was happening on the other side.

  Of course, most of the protection was still provided by the four Families. But in case a sneaky beast managed to fool the watchful eyes of the vigil cultivators, the wall would be there to block it or at least delay its advance.

  Xiao Ning found himself standing in front of a steel gate, which was one of the six passages to the outside. Guarding it were eight guards of the Virtuous Realm, wearing battle garments and cutting weapons, looking imposing.

  Since the gates were open, so merchants and visitors could come and go as they pleased, Xiao Ning and Xiao Shui had no trouble leaving.

  "Good morning, Miss Shui!" wished one of the guards, accustomed to the young woman's visits, when the two passed.

  Outside the wall, it didn't take much effort to find the forest. Because it was right there, suffocating the city.

  Trees as tall as the wall itself, or even taller, with trunks so thick that even if dozens of people hugged them it still wouldn't be enough to go around them, painted the landscape ahead. Their verdant manes tangled into one another, turning the lower parts into a dark, damp, and unfriendly terrain.

  That was the west entrance to the Forest of a Thousand Dooms. Home to hundreds of thousands of Demonic Beasts and terrible Magical Beasts. A place that even the most powerful would be cautious of.

  As usual, Xiao Shui took the lead and Xiao Ning followed closely. The two entered the forest together and gradually distanced themselves from the city. Xiao Shui drew her sword and started paying close attention to the spaces between the trees. She had been to this place many times to know that the slightest carelessness could cost dearly.

  As she walked, she looked even upwards, as well as at the crevices forming in the bark of the driest trees. Once, when she came to hunt, she was suddenly attacked by a snake that hid in a hole in a rotten trunk. Therefore, she knew she had to distrust even the fallen leaves on the ground.

  Xiao Ning, on the other hand, twirled his spear relaxedly, while dragging the cloth sack in his other hand, leaving a churned trail behind. He didn't worry so much about peeking into holes or sweeping leaves, because he could sense, with his Spiritual Sense, any lurking creature within a three-meter radius.

  However, despite having been walking for a few minutes, not even a monster track had been seen. For a forest that everyone feared due to its creatures being numerous and powerful, the Forest of a Thousand Dooms was disappointing.

  Xiao Shui, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around and faced Xiao Ning.

  "How long are you going to keep following me?" she exasperated, looking annoyed.

  "Aren't we going to hunt together?" asked Xiao Ning, looking confused. He really thought they were going to hunt together.

  "No. You're just going to get in my way," replied Xiao Shui in a severe tone. "I need to hunt many Demonic Beasts, I don't have time to keep protecting you."

  Xiao Ning looked at her, scratched his head, and said:

  "Well, if that's how it is, take care then." Saying this, he looked from side to side and right after, turned randomly to the left.

  But as he was walking away, Xiao Shui reminded him:

  "Be careful not to go too deep into the forest. The most dangerous monsters stay in the farthest areas." Although she didn't want him following her, she also didn't wish for his death. So, warning him about the most dangerous regions was the least she could do.

  Xiao Ning thanked her for the tip and with a wave goodbye, walked away.

  As he walked away, he looked around for any monster tracks. At first, he found nothing. Everything was quiet. But, high up in a tree, as far as his eyes could reach, he spotted some broken branches, twisted as if something had rushed through there. Curious, he left the cloth sack on the ground and holding only the spear, began to climb, jumping from branch to branch.

  He couldn't fly like the Elders of the Xiao Family, who were in the Spirited Realm, and the Patriarch. However, if he concentrated all his strength in his legs, he could make substantial jumps. Thus, reaching the highest part of the tree was no problem.

  When he finally reached the highest branches, he looked around and soon found something. Stuck between one of the broken branches was a tuft of grayish hair, with a dark tint.

  Xiao Ning knew many types of monsters. Both Demonic Beasts and Magical Beasts. Therefore, just with a footprint or, in this case, a tuft of fur, he could usually tell which creature it belonged to. However, although familiar, he couldn't remember the name of the beast that the dark-gray fur he had in his hands belonged to. The name was stuck on the tip of his tongue along with a foggy image and there it remained.

  Anyway, he climbed back down the tree, very carefully, since a fall from that height could kill him. He picked up the cloth sack and kept walking. But this time, following the trail of broken branches.

  Xiao Ning walked for a few minutes, when suddenly:

  "HUUHU! HUUHUH!" A loud and strange roar, endowed with a bestial timbre, echoed through the forest.