After a wedding fit for royalty, and a few years as newlyweds, Sage finally approached Pang Xie, the crab, and Pang Jiangbei, the Cauldron Plant. He brought out a set of techniques that he’d only ever shared small parts of with anyone else. The ‘Instructions of Divine Paradise’. An alchemical manual that Sage found hidden within the Soul Taming Abode, a place he discovered very early in his career, but it was also when he had first been transformed into a non-human. That was the end of a few decades of peace within the Holy Flame Sect and he’d always been moving from one problem to the next since then.

Along with the Instructions of Divine Paradise, came the Divine Breath technique, and also many other techniques related to Alchemy and even a few for self-defense. These were all brought out from the Timeless Master’s Library and put into a Memory Sphere for the couple to study. The supporting knowledge about herbs and basic recipes and practices of alchemy had already been distributed carefully through the Inner World. They used it to form their own alchemical traditions and techniques.

The same had been done with most of the other basic profession knowledge and cultivation techniques from the Timeless Master’s library. He didn’t want to cripple the capabilities of cultivators here, and he was also curious what sorts of new techniques they would invent with thousands of years of advancement. By giving them all the basics, it shortens much of the time for development. It was also slightly detrimental in that it already set directions for the people to follow, but the time savings was worth it. All he had to do was check up on the many Sects of the world every few thousand years to see what they came up with.

“I did not invent these techniques, and I have not spent enough time to master them either. I just have too many things to do. I have to keep making myself stronger to compete with the constant dangers I face.”

The handsome man and beautiful woman he faced merely nodded their heads while he continued, “This life you have now was all in return for this. Study these and become great alchemists. Miss Jiangbei’s true body is the ultimate cauldron that all alchemists wish for, and as her husband you would be the perfect alchemist to team up with her.”

“Alchemy? Pill makers? What do we need that for?”

Pang Xie rudely rejected him, but Jiangbei stepped in with a rude smack to the back of her husband's neck, “Xie! We don’t have anything else to do, so if this is what our benefactor wants us to do, just think of it as rent!”

Pang Xie rubbed his neck and nodded, “Yes, dear. You’re right. Anything you say.”

Then the man, formerly known as a Crab Spider, bowed his head to Sage, “Disciple greets Master. Teach me.”

Sage waved him off, “Stop that. Like I already said, I am no master of these techniques. You two will need to study together and learn it all yourselves. The Prosperity Company will provide you with all the natural treasures that this world can offer. Once you become skilled enough, you will likely run into recipes that call for treasures this world doesn’t have. You’ll just have to make due and come up with your own substitutes.”

“Ahh, well you are still responsible for teaching us many things. Half-Disciple it is then.”

Jiangbei bowed to him and Xie copied her, the two of them bowing low to a teacher rather than kowtowing to a master.

Sage outlined the purpose of all the training materials before he left, getting them started on the path of Alchemy and also formal cultivation. Along with the Instructions of Divine Paradise and reference books, there was also a Qi Cultivation technique. From the Timeless Master’s Library it was one of the few neutral natured techniques. Long ago before Sage found the Seed of Life, he contemplated using one of the six neutral techniques, or five wood based techniques. In the end, he went with Connecting Heaven and Earth, which turned out to be a boon as it was very compatible with the innate technique of the Seed of Life.

Of the six neutral techniques, one of them, the ‘Supreme Ultimate Arts’ was reminiscent of Tai Chi, focused upon controlling one’s own emotions and said to be able to create the ultimate defense. The downside being that it was not just terrible at attacking, but downright crippled at it. The only real way to harm things was to return their own attacks back to them. Along with the Supreme Ultimate Arts, there were five other neutral techniques and they were related to professions. One of them, the ‘Inferno Scale Arrangement’, a very impressive sounding name, was related to alchemists.

The name actually alluded to measuring heat, and created a type of Qi that was extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. The main hurdle in the pursuit of alchemy was maintaining exacting temperatures. Most of the materials had very specific ranges of temperature where they would release their medicinal essence, but if they got too hot, they could be destroyed. When different ingredients were added together, they would create different reactions and the temperature would fluctuate wildly. Alchemists used their Qi and Spirit Power along with various techniques to sense and manipulate the conditions in their cauldrons. Since Sage would protect these two, they didn’t need to worry about choosing a Qi Cultivation to protect themselves.

They also had the Prosperity Company behind them, so they could be supplied with Fire Stones or have a workshop using Earth Flames built. They didn’t need to choose a cultivation art to supply themselves with a powerful flame. Fire based cultivation arts were very common among Blacksmiths, who required constant high temperatures to forge magical devices. Alchemy was more dependent on temperature fluctuation, so it wasn’t as necessary but still very common among alchemists without big backers. They wouldn’t have a Sect to provide a proper workshop and constantly buying Fire Stones as well as training materials was very expensive.

Sage was reminded of the Inferno Scale Arrangement when the Soul Clone was choosing its own Qi Cultivation technique. After forming its own Core, the Soul Clone needed a cultivation technique because it couldn’t use the ‘Life Nebula’ technique without the Seed of Life. Sage thought of using his previous ‘Connecting Heaven and Earth’, but then he put that thought aside. The Soul Clone could train a technique that was good at combat, but that would mean he was planning to bring the Soul Clone out for fighting. While it would theoretically double his combat power to have a clone, Sage would rather retain the benefits his clone gave him now.

Instead of having two bodies to fight with, he would rather have access to the faster time scale. A second in the real world was nearly twelve minutes in the Inner World. So, even if the Soul Clone was dealing with its own matters, it could ponder over every decision and situation his true body faced. Since they shared the same mind, Sage could essentially experience the world in slow motion and full speed at the same time. In the Inner World, he was the decision maker and with the power of his true body the Soul Clone would never truly be in danger.

Ideally, Sage wished there was a cultivation technique to make himself even smarter or faster, but he didn’t have access to anything like that, so he chose the next best option and had the Soul Clone train in one of the other profession related Qi Cultivations: Countless Ego Concoction.