I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

Wang Yan cradled the two Scallion-Fragrance Qi-Restoring Pills in a small jade bowl, holding them with the utmost care as he practically sprinted to the entrance of the small courtyard where Si Chen and the others were staying.

He had been too ashamed to show his face after his repeated failures, but now, with the fruits of success tucked against his chest, his heart was hammering so hard it felt ready to leap out of his throat.

All he wanted right now was to see his master immediately and shout at the top of his lungs: "Master, your disciple has walked your path!"

If he could earn even a single word of acknowledgment, every moment of suffering he had endured would be worth it.

He drew several deep breaths before he could barely calm his racing heart, then gently knocked on the courtyard gate.

Heishan opened the door. His massive frame filled the doorway, and upon seeing it was Wang Yan, he let out a gruff snort. "Well, well — if it isn't the Alchemy Grandmaster himself."

Wang Yan was in far too good a mood to mind Heishan's teasing. He straightened his back, unable to suppress the excitement written all over his face.

"Senior Heishan, I succeeded! I cooked a pill!"

"Come again?" Heishan dug a finger in his ear, convinced he had misheard.

Wang Yan had already squeezed past him into the courtyard, and his eyes immediately landed on Si Chen reclining in his recliner.

"M-Master! Your disciple succeeded! Look!"

Wang Yan strode forward eagerly and, like a child presenting a treasure, produced the jade vial and held it out with both hands before Si Chen.

Si Chen opened his eyes. Curious, he sat up, and Red Bean was roused as well, lifting her little head in a drowsy daze.

Heishan and Chifeng crowded around too, all of them wanting to see what the boy had actually managed to produce.

Wang Yan held his breath and gently pulled out the stopper, tipping two pills into his palm.

Instantly, a distinctive fragrance spread through the air — rich, sharp, and utterly impossible to ignore. It was the unmistakable smell of… scallions.

Heishan: "……"

Chifeng: "……"

Red Bean: "…Chirp?"

For a moment, the only sound in the courtyard was the soft rustle of wind through the leaves.

Under everyone's silent stares, Wang Yan's face slowly turned crimson. He hastened to explain, "Master, the smell may be a little unusual, but the effects are real! Your disciple tested it personally — it genuinely restores Spiritual Energy!"

Yet what happened next surprised everyone present — especially Wang Yan. Si Chen simply gave a small nod, picked up one of the pills, and popped it into his mouth without a moment's hesitation.

The pill dissolved the instant it touched his tongue, releasing a stream of pure Spiritual Energy. The effect seemed somewhat stronger than an ordinary Qi-Restoring Pill — the only issue was that the scallion flavor was rather overwhelming.

"Master… you…"

Watching Si Chen taste it himself, Wang Yan felt his nose sting with emotion. His master trusted him so completely that he was willing to personally try even a pill that looked this strange.

What extraordinary trust and encouragement!

"Master!" Wang Yan's voice cracked, his excitement beyond words. "If… if you don't mind, your disciple can demonstrate the method of cooking alchemy right here, right now!"

He was desperate to prove to his master that he had truly grasped the essence of the technique.

Si Chen was genuinely curious to see how it was done, so he nodded. "Very well."

Wang Yan immediately perked up. Right there in the open space of the small courtyard, he set up his equipment as naturally as if he were in his own kitchen. He produced his iron wok and ingredients, his expression solemn, his lips moving in a low murmur:

"The wok — it is the foundation of the Dao!"

"The flame — it is the soul of the pill!"

"The toss — it is the rhythm of the technique!"

He followed the Four Essentials of Cooking Alchemy he had come to understand, along with the experience from his earlier success, executing each step with meticulous precision.

Light the fire, add the ingredients, stir and toss… His movements were fluid and confident.

Heishan and Chifeng crowded in to watch with curiosity.

But a few minutes later…

Sizzle——

The familiar smell of scorching wafted over. The bottom of the wok was a blackened mess once again.

The confidence on Wang Yan's face froze instantly, replaced by shock and panic.

"No — that's not right… it worked just a moment ago!" He refused to believe it and began cleaning the wok. "Master, please wait — let me try again!"

Second attempt: failure.

Third attempt: another lump of charcoal.

Sweat beaded on Wang Yan's forehead, his arms beginning to tremble. How could this be? The steps were exactly the same!

The atmosphere grew deeply awkward.

Chifeng couldn't bear to watch any longer. He glanced at the earlier pill, still fragrant with scallion, and spoke up with a helpless look on his face.

"So… kid, that one time you succeeded — did you maybe… accidentally throw in something extra? Like, say, a scallion?"

A scallion??

Wang Yan froze, his instinct immediately to argue. How could that be?

Alchemy was an art of supreme precision. It demanded purity of spiritual materials. How could one add something so… so mundane?

Deep down, he found the suggestion completely absurd — even a little insulting to the sacred art of cooking alchemy.

"No harm in trying," Si Chen said. He was purely amused and wanted to see what would happen.

Since his master had spoken, Wang Yan had no choice but to steel himself. When he loaded the next batch of ingredients, with a sense of grim resignation, he grabbed a small piece of scallion and tossed it in.

Light the fire, stir and toss, cover the lid…

This time, no smell of scorching came.

A short while later, a peculiar aroma — a blend of medicinal fragrance and rich scallion — drifted through the courtyard once more.

Wang Yan lifted the lid with a skeptical look…

There, resting at the bottom of the wok, were three round, unremarkable-looking but unmistakably fully-formed pills. The Scallion-Fragrance Qi-Restoring Pills.

It… it worked again?!

Heishan: "……"

Chifeng: "……"

Red Bean: "……"

This thing… it really did need scallions?!

Absolutely absurd. Absurdity had opened the door and invited more absurdity right in.

Wang Yan stood rooted to the spot, his face cycling between red and white. He had trained so hard in the Four Essentials of Cooking Alchemy, and it turned out the most critical step was adding a scallion?!

Si Chen, who had been silent throughout, watched this dramatic scene unfold. He savored the lingering scallion aftertaste still fading in his mouth, and then, softly, he began to laugh.

He walked over to Wang Yan and patted the shoulder of this thoroughly humbled young man.

"There are countless Grand Daos in this world, and ten thousand paths to walk. Who says… one of them can't smell of scallions?"

Wang Yan shuddered. Looking into his master's smiling eyes, the spirits that had plummeted to rock bottom were instantly reignited by those words.

That's right! Three thousand Grand Daos! Who says the scallion-fragrance path cannot lead to the profound?!

A scallion-scented Grand Dao was still a Grand Dao — and it was his, Wang Yan's, and his alone!

"Master!" He was moved to tears again, his heart surging with the kind of elation one feels upon hearing the Dao at dawn.

His master's realm of understanding was truly beyond anything he could fathom. He always knew exactly what to say to illuminate the path when his disciple was lost.

Si Chen looked at this young man who had grown so moved by a few offhand remarks — and had somehow, inexplicably, become his disciple — and thought that the bonds between people were truly a strange and wonderful thing.

After a moment's thought, he said, "We will be leaving Danding City soon."

"What?" The excitement on Wang Yan's face froze instantly.

"Master… you're leaving? Where are you going? Your disciple…"

"You will stay here."

Si Chen shook his head and cut him off. "This courtyard — consider it yours and your mother's from now on."

Wang Yan was stunned.

This courtyard was incomparably better than the cramped, run-down shack they called home, and the Spiritual Energy here was abundant… this…

"Master, please let your disciple follow you! I'll pour your tea, carry your firewood…" Wang Yan grew anxious. He truly could not bear to part from the kindness that had changed his life.

Si Chen shook his head. "You have your own path to walk."

Seeing that Si Chen's mind was made up, Wang Yan knew further words were useless. He could only nod deeply, his eyes rimmed red. "Your disciple… obeys. Your disciple will cultivate without cease and will never betray your expectations, Master. When you return one day, your disciple will greet you with a furnace — no, a wok — of supreme-grade spirit pills!"

Si Chen smiled and said nothing more.

* * *

At the same time, countless tens of thousands of miles away, inside the dim grand hall of the Night Rain Tower.

Behind the curtain, that graceful silhouette was listening to a subordinate's report.

"Tower Master, word has come from Danding City. Rumors are spreading on all sides — it seems Si Chen is already preparing to condense his Nascent Soul."

"Oh?"

The Tower Master's voice carried a note of clear surprise. "That fast? This little brat — he's even more of a prodigy than that bastard was back in his day?"

The black-robed figure reporting below kept his head lowered, not daring to pick up the thread about "that bastard," and continued.

"Furthermore, we have discovered that the Fang Clan has been quietly assembling a force in secret. Among them are no shortage of Late Nascent Soul Stage experts. Judging by their movements and the Array Formations and artifacts they have prepared… it appears they intend to strike when Si Chen is at his most vulnerable — during his heavenly tribulation for the Nascent Soul Stage."

Silence fell behind the curtain for a moment.

"Send ten gold-ranked agents over…"

She stopped mid-sentence, fell into thought for a brief moment, then changed her mind. A playful smile curved the corner of her lips.

"Never mind."

She rose slowly to her feet, her silhouette tracing an alluring curve in the faint light.

"I'll… go myself."

Her subordinate seemed unsurprised by the decision and replied with respectful deference. "Understood."

He knew full well that whenever matters connected to "that person" arose, the Tower Master always paid special attention.

And Si Chen was "that person's" own nephew.