Cultivation starts with picking up attributes-Chapter 38: Ch-: Tension between In-laws

Feng Yin beamed.

"Sure~ We dual cultivated and broke through together! It was amazing~ I had to hold Hubby’s hand the whole time though, he was a little scared."

Tian Shen choked on air.

"Feng Yin—!"

Feng Yan’s aura flared faintly.

Not enough to threaten, but enough to make the grass around them stiffen.

The birds in nearby trees fled.

"You two..." Feng Yan began, closing his eyes slowly.

"...entered Foundation Establishment in the same night. In a private tent. With no supervision. With the Breakthrough Aura echoing through the camp."

Tian Shen swallowed. "...Yes, Sect Master."

"I’m... very proud of your breakthrough," Feng Yan said slowly.

"Thank you, Sect Master."

"But I’m not proud of how I learned about it."

"...Understood, Sect Master."

"Also—" He opened his eyes again, deadly calm. "— Wouldn’t have you at least waited until your marriage?"

Tian Shen was almost glowing red now.

He turned to Feng Yan, panicking. He tried explaining but nothing came to mind. He wouldn’t say that your daughter was the culprit, now would he?

Feng Yan’s face looked like it had aged several hundred years.

He finally sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"...Go wash up. Both of you. And wear proper clothes before morning assembly."

"Yes, Father~"

"Yes, Sect Master."

As they turned to flee back inside—

"Wait," Feng Yan added sharply.

They froze.

Tian Shen turned slowly.

"Yes?"

Feng Yan fixed his gaze on him, it was heavy. freewёbnoνel.com

"If you ever hurt her. In heart or in soul. I will fight you to death."

Tian Shen didn’t doubt it.

He bowed deeply.

"I understand."

Feng Yin waved playfully.

"Love you, Daddy~"

"Get. Inside."

"Yes~"

Half a day later.

The forest outside the temporary camp of Beast Taming Sect had changed.

Gone were the chirping birds, the gentle sway of spiritual flora, and the lazy energy that often drifted across the wind. In its place hung tension, heavy and thick like smoke before a wildfire.

Tian Shen stood at the edge of a cliff, arms crossed, eyes locked on a distant mountain range cloaked in unnatural mists. That was where the ancient sect lay—a place left untouched for centuries, sealed in myth and whispered dread.

The Ethereal Talisman Sect.

A cursed name or maybe a haunted legend.

According to rumors, one of it’s remaining vaults held mid-stage cultivation manuals and ancient talisman recipes from a time before its Collapse.

Behind him, Feng Yin approached quietly, her steps muffled despite the twigs beneath her feet. She stood beside him, arms tucked inside her sleeves.

"The elders say even Core Formation cultivators disappear in there," she said softly.

"I know," Tian Shen replied, eyes still focused ahead.

"And yet you’re still considering it."

"Only because we’re running out of shortcuts."

There was silence. Then Feng Yin’s voice again—calm, measured.

"We are the strongest in the camp now. You’ve reached Foundation Establishment. My combat power is already 2nd stage of Foundation Establishment. But even then... there are things in that place we can’t face yet."

Tian Shen didn’t answer right away. He felt the tug in his chest—the ambition, the burning will to push forward. The system’s prompts had quieted recently, but the knowledge that he was living on borrowed time lingered in his mind like a shadow.

He could not afford to slow down.

He could not afford to lose.

Feng Yin stood beside him, her arms folded beneath her cloak, gaze sweeping across the mist-covered horizon. The Ethereal Talisman Sect loomed in the distance like the shadow of a sleeping beast—ominous, ancient, and reeking of danger. Rumors said even Core Formation cultivators vanished in its depths.

Feng Yin thought for a while then said.

"There’s another way. Learn alchemy. Elder Qiu Zheng is a 2-star alchemist and currently in the outer camp. He owes my master a favor."

Tian Shen blinked. "Alchemy?"

"If you learn to refine protective pills, we might stand a chance when we do enter that place later. Besides... we need time. Rushing in now is suicide."

Tian Shen’s gaze lingered on the haunted silhouette of the ruins. Then, after a long breath, he nodded.

"Let’s go see Elder Qiu."

...

Back at the Beast Taming Sect’s temporary camp.

The scent of medicinal herbs and burnt charcoal filled the air.

They approached a dome-shaped temporary pavilion veiled in protective talismans and clouds of thin smoke. Inside, Elder Qiu Zheng stood shirtless, drenched in sweat, muttering curses over a bubbling alchemy furnace.

"Damn you, you useless lump of metal! What do you mean it’s impure spirit ash again?!"

As they stepped inside, a loud boom! echoed, followed by a puff of green smoke and a very offended furnace lid clattering across the floor.

Feng Yin coughed lightly. "Elder Qiu—"

"WHAT NOW?!"

Qiu Zheng spun around, furious, his hair sticking up as if he’d been struck by lightning.

"Can’t you see I’m trying to salvage my— Oh. You’re not my lazy disciple. You’re the fox girl. And... oh my heavens, is that—"

His expression transformed from murderous rage to grandfatherly delight in the span of a heartbeat.

"Tian Shen!"

The elder exclaimed, eyes twinkling like he’d just been reunited with his long-lost favorite wine gourd.

"So you’re the one causing a stir around camp. Foundation Establishment at your age! My, my, come in, come in!"

Tian Shen blinked.

"You know about the breakthrough?"

"Of course! The whole camp knows it."

Tian Shen sighed. "Actually, I came to learn alchemy."

Before Elder Qiu could respond, Tian Shen’s eyes flicked toward the still-sizzling alchemy furnace.

Floating above it was a faint green bubble—clearly an attribute orb.

Without hesitation, Tian Shen reached out and casually popped it like a soap bubble.

『You have gained 1-star Alchemy Furnace (Bound Item), Alchemy Experience ×100.』

『Auxiliary Professions Panel Updated: New Profession Unlocked - Alchemist (Rank: None)』

"...That was anticlimactic," Tian Shen muttered silently.

Elder Qiu was still staring at the remains of his experiment.

"You know I’ve failed ten batches trying to trigger 3-star pill. Alchemy sure requires wealth!"

Tian Shen, ignoring the sputtering elder, opened his system panel.

『Available Experience: 1,600』

『Upgrade Alchemist Profession to 3-star?』

『 Y/N』

"Yes."

『Ding! Alchemist Profession upgraded to 3-star Rank.』

Satisfied, he closed the panel then focus on the Elder.

Tian Shen coughed and commented.

"Ahem. You were going to teach me, weren’t you?"

Elder Qiu composed himself, though a faint twitch remained in his left eye.

"Right. Alchemy. Teaching. Ahem. The core principle of alchemy is harmony. You must understand the balance between ingredients, flame, and timing."

He gestured, and a new furnace rose from the ground like a summoned beast.

"Watch closely. I’ll demonstrate the basics. Don’t blink, you might miss my genius."

With flair only a frustrated master could summon, Elder Qiu began the process. His hands moved with practiced precision—herbs floated in, spiritual flames licked the base, and golden pill mist swirled.

Thirty minutes later, a single golden pill popped out of the furnace with a soft plink.

"Now you try," Elder Qiu said, handing over the spot like a chef challenging a toddler to recreate a soufflé.

Tian Shen stepped forward. He was thinking which pill to pick from his arsenal of alchemy knowledge. He found one suitable for the situation so he picked it.

He started as the recipe required, mentally selecting the ingredients. The system helpfully auto-sorted them into categories with flashy little animations. Tian Shen just followed the flow.

Ten minutes later—

*Plink*

A pure, mist-veiled, slightly glowing blue pill slid out of his newly bound furnace.

Feng Yin, confused, asked.

"That’s... better than expected. But what kind of pill is it?"

It was—

『Demon Clearance Pill (3-star)』

『Effect: Grants temporary resistance to demonic energy. Duration: 6 hours. Cooldown: None.』

"Demon Clearance Pill, useful against shielding demoning energy."

Elder Qiu, who had just resumed breathing, choked again.

He took the pill and squinted at it. Then he sniffed. Then he bit a small piece off and chewed like a squirrel testing a nut.

"It’s a 3-star pill?!! With Purity... 70%?!!!"

Elder Qiu shrieked.

"You are bullying this poor old man!"

Elder Qiu howled.

"He breathes and flowers bloom! He blinks and furnaces refine themselves!"

Tian Shen interrupted, stopping the elder from going in the path of self destruction.

"So... I pass?"

"You pass?! Boy, if you don’t leave this place with a cauldron full of pills and my recipe book, I’ll throw myself into a fire spirit and combust out of shame!"

Feng Yin leaned on the nearby table, smirking.

"You seem popular, dear."

"I seem cursed," Tian Shen muttered.

Elder Qiu stared at him with watery eyes.

"What kind of monster are you...? Even my disciples are only 1-star alchemists after three years!"

As if summoned, the two disciples—one with soot-covered cheeks, the other clutching a half-charred apron—entered the tent.

"Master, the new ingredients—"

Both stopped dead as they noticed the half eaten blue pill in Elder Qiu’s hand.

"...He didn’t make that, did he?" one asked suspiciously.

"Oh no," Elder Qiu said, smiling like a madman. "He did. First try. In under ten minutes."

The disciples looked at each other. Then back at Tian Shen.

"I hate him," one whispered.

"Me too," said the other.

Feng Yin clapped her hands.

"Well then. We’ve made progress today. Pills to keep demonic energy at bay. You have become 3-star alchemist. And a pair of existentially defeated disciples. I’d say that’s a win."

Tian Shen tucked the pill away and glanced at the sky.

"...I feel like my life just got a lot weirder."

"Welcome to being talented," Feng Yin said, slipping her arm around his.

"Now let’s get some rest. Tomorrow, we wil make pills again."

Elder Qiu, meanwhile, was clutching his notes like a man protecting state secrets.

"I’m not sleeping tonight. I’m dissecting that refinement step by step. I’ll surpass him or die trying!"

His disciples quietly began setting up a hammock.

"For him or for us?" one asked.

"Both," said the other solemnly.