Time passed, day and night cycled, and before long, a whole month had gone by.
One afternoon, several weeks later, in the enormous stone chamber where Yang Kai had been staying, the delicate young girl Wan'er sat several hundred zhang away, idly watching the young human who had buried himself in the long table, devouring its contents with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
The long table had originally been piled with several hundred texts, but after a month of study, Yang Kai had nearly finished reading through all of them. On his left were the texts he had already reviewed; on his right, the ones he hadn't gotten to yet — only a scant handful remained.
The precious knowledge contained in those texts had been deeply imprinted upon Yang Kai's mind.
Wan'er let out a soft breath, secretly astonished. This human youth had been remarkably calm ever since arriving a month ago. In all that time, he had barely stepped outside, spending every moment in the stone chamber poring over these texts, completely absorbed.
Suddenly, the space beside her warped, and a faint wave of energy rippled outward. Wan'er's face lit up with joy, and she immediately adopted a posture of deep respect.
Before long, from within the distorted space, the figure of a poised and elegant mature woman gradually solidified — it was Lady Li once more.
"Welcoming, my Lady!" Wan'er hurriedly bowed.
"Mm." Lady Li gave a slight nod, then glanced at Yang Kai in the distance and smiled faintly. "How has he been performing?"
"He's quite interesting..." Wan'er covered her mouth with her hand. "Very different from the humans who came here before."
"Oh? Tell me more." Lady Li's interest was piqued.
"It seems like he's been studying the texts left behind by alchemists this whole time, without going outside at all. He's been completely calm and unhurried, as if he were in his own home. Hehe, my Lady, do you think this fellow might be a little slow in the head?"
Lady Li stared at Yang Kai for a long moment, then slowly shook her head. Her elegant brows furrowed slightly, then suddenly her eyes brightened. "He's not slow. But looking at how he's behaving... it seems he has some intention of walking the path of an alchemist. That saves me a lecture. Come, let's go have a look. Since he's been performing well, it's time to tell him a few things."
"Yes!" Wan'er replied promptly.
The two females, one tall and one small, strolled toward Yang Kai and soon arrived at his side.
Yang Kai remained unmoved, seated in the only chair, his thoughts still immersed in the texts before him.
Wan'er gave a light cough and called out, "Outsider!"
"In a moment," Yang Kai replied flatly without so much as raising an eyelid.
Wan'er froze, then grew visibly displeased. She snapped, "Lady Li has come to see you! You should be paying your respects at once!"
Yang Kai took a quiet breath, glanced at her, then lowered his gaze once more and returned his attention to the text in front of him, utterly ignoring her.
Wan'er flushed with irritation and was about to scold him when Lady Li raised a delicate hand, signaling her to stay quiet. She simply stood there with an amused smile, waiting in silence.
Wan'er gritted her teeth in frustration, silently cursing the outsider for putting on airs. She secretly swore she would make him pay for this.
Time slipped by rapidly. Lady Li and Wan'er waited beside Yang Kai for a full half-day before he finally closed the last remaining text and drew a deep breath.
"Finished reading?" Only now did Lady Li ask, her voice soft and gentle.
Yang Kai gave a calm nod.
"And what do you think?"
"I've learned a few things," Yang Kai answered.
Lady Li's beautiful eyes gleamed. "So you do have some background in alchemy."
Without at least some foundation in alchemy, one could never have understood those texts.
Yang Kai grinned. "You've captured quite a few people with Divine Sense Fire before, haven't you? Locked them up here and tried to train them into alchemists... Hmm, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you want from me now."
Over the course of the month, Yang Kai had read through every single one of those texts. They were all left behind by predecessors — many were alchemical insights and experiences collected from various alchemists, while others were records left by people who had been through the same ordeal as Yang Kai.
Every last one of them had been brought here by the coffin carriers. Under the patronage and cultivation of the master of this place, they had strived to become master alchemists. Unfortunately, none of them had ever been able to meet the requirements, and in the end, their fates remained unknown.