Chapter 8: Second Playthrough
Dream Dao Attainment, Opening Scheme Against Cultivators
Dream-Making Expert
“Zhao Zijing, the Alchemy Hall lacks an Alchemy Steward.”
“This Venerable knows you have considerable talent in alchemy. Go report to the Alchemy Hall shortly.”
The familiar Immortal Academy from his memories. He watched as one new disciple after another, familiar yet strange, was led away.
Zhao Zijing touched the small green bottle in his robes, then looked at the token in his hand, shock in his heart.
Sure enough, I’ve entered a dream again.
But what’s going on right now?
I’ve returned to twenty years before the last dream ended, right when I had just escorted the new disciples back to the Immortal Academy?
Zhao Zijing’s eyes flickered as he muttered to himself, “But this time, they didn’t make me the Transmission Elder. Instead, I’m to be an Alchemy Steward in the Alchemy Hall.”
“Such a change… I wonder what it means?”
As Zhao Zijing pondered, he saw a white-haired cultivator, aged and decrepit, walking toward him. The man bowed and said, “Are you Alchemy Steward Zhao? This humble one is Yang Qi. Those above sent me to assist Alchemy Steward Zhao in familiarizing himself with the affairs of the Alchemy Hall.”
Zhao Zijing gave a slight nod. He knew this elderly cultivator named Yang Qi was surely a miscellaneous-affairs cultivator with little lifespan remaining.
Even among cultivators, such people were the most mediocre, the most undistinguished.
They lacked the courage to take on missions and venture out, and lacked the qualifications to hold a formal post in the Immortal Academy.
They could only rely on a passable cultivation to handle miscellaneous affairs in the academy, doing odd jobs.
So Zhao Zijing did not stand on ceremony. He nodded, signaling Yang Qi to lead the way.
Before long, with Yang Qi’s assistance, Zhao Zijing formally became an Alchemy Steward of the Alchemy Hall.
The years that followed would be spent completing the tasks of the Alchemy Hall.
Refining pills, and incidentally training a few alchemy apprentices.
Though he knew he was dreaming, Zhao Zijing still silently played his role.
This time, he did not intend to rush into attempting Foundation Establishment.
He was only one hundred and forty-three years old now. In theory, he still had over fifty years before reaching his lifespan’s limit.
So he planned to maintain the dream for as long as possible, prepare himself as thoroughly as he could, and only then attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment.
With his mind made up, Zhao Zijing began a dull, monotonous life of farming, alchemy, and cultivation.
Keeping to himself.
On ordinary days, aside from that miscellaneous-affairs cultivator named Yang Qi, the only people he came into contact with were the two alchemy apprentices who followed him.
Truly, in a dream, one does not know one is a guest.
Forty years passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, Zhao Zijing, now nearing his lifespan’s limit, felt it was time to attempt breaking through to Foundation Establishment once more.
Before entering closed-door cultivation, he summoned Yang Qi and the two alchemy apprentices.
The two alchemy apprentices… there was nothing much to say.