“That’s not what’s worrying you,” Cha Ming said.
“It’s not,” Sun Wukong replied. “What worries me is the tribulation. This plane isn’t the weakest mortal realm in existence, but it isn’t the strongest either. Who knows how violently it’ll respond when we try crafting a transcendent-grade item? Even you, with your talent in creating poetic talismans, haven’t dared to create anything past half-step transcendence, right?”
Cha Ming shuddered. “I just felt an inexplicable foreboding feeling. I felt that if I tried it, it would be the end of me.”
“It’s the same with this pill,” Sun Wukong said. “It won’t be my first time fighting a pill tribulation, so I know what to expect if the tribulation is reasonable. If it’s reasonable. But that’s not something we can affect. All we can do now is practice and prepare for the tribulation.”
He summoned a long sheet of paper in the air and flung it at Cha Ming. “Here’s what I need you to get for me.”
Cha Ming’s eyes widened when he saw the list. He didn’t balk, however; they’d need to stake everything they had on the success of this pill. Still, if Sun Wukong thought all of these were necessary, the tribulation was a greater threat than he’d ever imagined.
Cha Ming emerged from the Clear Sky World a few months later. Huxian was outside playing with his four friends.
Fear me, Mr. Mountain, the greatest mountain in existence! the mountain yelled, appearing and disappearing as it tried to crush them in their clever game of tag.
Cha Ming chuckled every time he saw it. The mountain was childish, temperamental, and rather silly, but it somehow suited the other four demons and their own quirks. Gua had his vanity, Silverwing had his strange wisdom and pride, and Lei Jiang was a little stupid and loved bragging. Huxian didn’t have a quirk so much as an obsession with eating, a manic lust for power, and a complete disregard for the rules. Cha Ming considered it a stroke of good fortune that Haijing’s laws were so severe that even the small fox was kept in line.
“Big brother!” Huxian yelled, zooming through the yard and up his arm. “How did it go?”
“Just a few more steps and we can begin,” Cha Ming said. “But I need a favor. I need to borrow Lei Jiang.”
“For the tribulation?” Huxian asked as though he’d been expecting it. “No problem. If he can’t handle it, no one on the plane can.”
“The lightning isn’t my worry,” Cha Ming said, “it’s what comes after it. The three of you should benefit greatly from this at the very least. You can channel the lightning through your terribly named Greater Friendship Circle and push for a breakthrough into late core formation.”
“Great!” Huxian said. “I’ve already established that tribulation lightning isn’t so tasty, but what about pill tribulation lightning? I wonder if it tastes any different?” He thought for a moment before going back to teasing the pet mountain. While it wasn’t as strong as Huxian and his three other friends, they’d managed to boost its cultivation to the middle of foundation establishment, a very respectable strength for a three-year-old demon beast.
After greeting his disciples and answering a few questions, he weaved through the winding alleys of Haijing Academy until he arrived at another courtyard much closer to the Alabaster Group. Elder Gan answered the door and looked at him in surprise.
“What a rare guest,” Elder Gan said, waving him in. “I haven’t seen you in months.”
To Cha Ming’s surprise, he poured hot water into a brown paste. Once the scent hit him, he knew exactly what it was.
“Jin Huang succeeded,” Cha Ming said, taking the cup eagerly. He took a sip of the alchemically enhanced coffee and realized that, despite his extremely strong body, he felt more alert and quick thinking. “This is amazing! This would even affect Haijing royals!”
“That’s right,” Elder Gan said. “He’s making quite the fortune with this invention. Apparently your friend from Gold Leaf City, Wang Jun, caught a whiff of it and splurged venture capital on expanding the business. Thousands of chains are popping up all over the continent as we speak. The producers are under a very strict nondisclosure contract on the recipe, though I doubt that’s necessary.” He ground the brown grit between two fingers. “I can’t, for the life of me, figure it out.”
He didn’t know the secret, but Cha Ming knew. With his transcendent soul, he could see shimmering runes suffusing the coffee paste. Along with select alchemical additives, many of which he suspected were poisons, the coffee would not only have an enhanced flavor but would also bypass the body’s natural resistances.
“I’m sure it’s a vital trade secret,” Cha Ming said, his eyes glittering as he drank another wonderful sip. He would need to visit Jin Huang for supplies the next time he secluded himself. He was convinced that his results would be much better if he concocted while drinking the beverage. Then he shuddered as he realized he was very close to committing the same cardinal mistake as Mo Tianshen.
No food or drink in the laboratory, he reminded himself.
“I’m sure you didn’t come to my room to discuss coffee,” Elder Gan said, drinking from his own cup.
“Indeed, I didn’t,” Cha Ming said. He brought up a barrier of transcendent force to seal off the room, then waved his hand. Fifty vials landed on the table, twenty types of pills in all. All of them were peak grade, and all of them bore a Grandmist seal.
“What a fortune!” Elder Gan said. “You could fetch a quarter million top-grade spirit stones with this!”
“I want you to sell these for me,” Cha Ming said. “Then I need you to buy some things for me.” He handed Elder Gan a folded sheet of talisman paper.
“What are you up to, exactly?” Elder Gan asked as he unfolded it. “The formation flags, even peak-grade ones, will take months to manufacture. The vast amount of elemental
