Elizabeth Miller
Stories
12
Chapters
11,207
Words
346.8 K
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0
Reading
1 d, 4 h
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"Well, this is the place." My destination was a small, unassuming building at the end of the street. Its wooden façade showed signs of wear, the paint peeling in places, and the signboard above the door swayed gently in the breeze. I pushed open the creaky door, the bell above jingling softly to announce my arrival. The scent of old paper and ink greeted me, wrapping around me like a familiar embrace. The interior was dimly lit, casting long shadows that danced on the walls. Shelves filled with books…-
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Decadent desserts, delicate pastries, and fragrant teas adorned every inch of the table. A servant carefully placed a cup of fruit wine and roasted quail skewers before me. Tianyi fluttered her blue wings softly as she perched on the cup, while Windy slithered out of my sleeve and began his feast on the roasted quails. I cleared my throat and addressed the man seated across from me. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Patriarch Wei Yong. Your hospitality is truly generous." The man inclined…
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126 •
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I blinked, the familiar lighting of my room at the Jade Harmony Inn slowly coming into focus. The warm, golden glow from the lantern on the nightstand cast gentle shadows across the walls, wrapping me in a comforting embrace. For a moment, I wondered if it had all been a dream. If the intense battle, the desperate struggle, and the bitter defeat were mere figments of my imagination, conjured by my anxieties. A fleeting hope stirred within me. Maybe I hadn't lost. Maybe the final round was a…
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With a quick flick of my wrist, I sent a golden needle towards the fallen vial. The glass shattered, releasing Ghost Willow extract into the air. I covered my mouth and nose, but Kai, paralyzed and unable to react in time, inhaled the potent toxin. His bloodshot eyes widened in desperation as he struggled against the effects of the Ghost Willow. His breath came in ragged gasps, and I could see the intense effort he was putting into staying conscious. My heart hammered a rhythm of guilt and admiration. He…
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126 •
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I took a moment to catch my breath, wiping the sweat from my brow. Fang Xiang was securely immobilized, his sneezing and cursing fading into the background noise of the roaring crowd. I quickly took a mental inventory of the potions and items I had used in the battle against him. I still had two Serpent's Breath Smoke Bombs left. The Entangling Vine seeds—those were all used up. Maybe I could find another plant or seed to pair with them in the wood zone. "Two Slickweed Kelp Essence vials, three…
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I should have expected the scarcity of ingredients as we moved through the zones, but not to this extent. My frustration mounted as I glanced around the fire zone, struggling to think of useful combinations to make. The once plentiful and varied array of ingredients had been picked clean by the people before me, leaving behind only the most basic components. “Come on, there has to be something,” I muttered to myself, sifting through what little remained. The embers of determination flickered, but the…
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The screams and shouts of the crowd could be heard from the contestant's lounge. I sighed, feeling too mentally tired to even get nervous. Zhi Ruo stared at me curiously, his pill furnace lying beside him on a cart. "You're still not gonna tell me what Feng Wu did to you?" I shivered, the memories of that night too harsh to remember. "If you three idiots getting me drunk last night didn't work, what makes you think I'd say it now?" The second-class disciple hadn't laid a hand on me, but the mental scars…
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A whirlwind of information about the final round left my head spinning. The Crucible of the Five Elements... it sounded daunting, exciting, and a little bit terrifying. My gaze drifted to the ancient storage ring on my finger, a gift from Guowei Wang that held my prize, the Two-Star Pagoda Pill Furnace. It was hard to believe that such a massive tool was now mine. I'd have to get as familiar with it before the round. There goes my day off, I suppose. "If I'd known Guowei Wang was so generous," Zhi Ruo…
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“You're lucky I reminded you,” Zhi Ruo said, shaking his head. As we made our way toward the Alchemy Association, I couldn’t help but berate myself internally. Of course there would be a prize for making it to the finals! How could I have been so wrapped up in my own little world that I missed that crucial detail? I had been so consumed with my quest and the intrigue surrounding Jingyu Lian that I had completely overlooked it. After a quick nap and a hearty breakfast – while Zhi Ruo went home to…
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I moved on to the next recipe, letting it unfurl before me. Titled as the "Sunfire Vitality Elixir," detailed a concoction said to enhance a cultivator's inner fire and resilience. However, the process was convoluted, requiring precise timing and a complex sequence of heating and cooling cycles. As I meticulously examined the steps, I kept in mind what I needed to do. Although the Heavenly Interface didn't have a specific idea in mind for refinement, it seemed to have a quantitative threshold for what…
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