Chapter Thirteen: "The Hermit of the Vanishing Ruins"

Time is the best fermenting agent.

In the following years, the collaboration between Elder Chen and the Hermit of the Returning Void proceeded steadily and harmoniously.

At a fixed time each month, Elder Chen would go to the mountains outside the Returning Void Retreat to collect a jade box. The contents of the box were no longer limited to Qi-Replenishing Pills.

Sometimes, the box held the equally potent Serenity Pills, capable of dispelling inner demons and stabilizing the mind—prized treasures for those in deep meditation.

Other times, it contained the miraculous Healing Pills, which could rapidly stop bleeding and regenerate flesh from even the gravest wounds, as long as there was still a breath of life.

Every single pill was of flawless quality.

Elder Chen strictly adhered to his agreement with Jiang Xiuyuan and his own sales strategy. He never made a spectacle but used these divine pills as a bond to maintain high-level connections. Each pill that left his hands was carefully selected to ensure the buyer was both capable and discreet.

Gradually, the “Special Supply Pills” from the Garrison Office became an open secret within Qingstone Town and the neighboring hundreds of miles. Everyone knew of their existence, but only a select few were qualified to access them.

This sort of “scarcity marketing” did not diminish the pills’ allure but instead heightened their value and mystique with each passing day. Every pill that flowed from the Garrison Office was treated as a treasure by cultivators, never to be used lightly except in life-or-death situations.

Meanwhile, the mysterious master who forged these divine pills began to be spoken of with increasing reverence and transformed in legend.

At first, people used the title Elder Chen had revealed: “Mr. Jiang.” But as time went on, many felt this name was too ordinary, unworthy of a master of alchemy so profound and elusive.

“Mr. Jiang? Too mundane! Someone who can refine perfect pills is far beyond such a simple title.”

“Indeed, I heard this master lives in seclusion in the mountains, with a cave dwelling called the Returning Void. I think ‘True Immortal of the Returning Void’ is more fitting!”

“‘True Immortal’ is too presumptuous. None of us have even seen his face, so how can we guess his cultivation level? I think ‘Hermit’ is the most appropriate term—it implies a life withdrawn from the world and reflects his detached and noble character.”

This suggestion immediately gained widespread approval.

Thus, the title “Hermit of the Returning Void” was born—imbued with respect, elegance, and mystery—perfectly matching the image people held of this exalted figure.

From some unknown time onward, “Hermit of the Returning Void” completely replaced “Mr. Jiang” within the cultivator circles of Qingstone Town.

It came to represent pills of perfect quality, absolute trustworthiness, and a master of unfathomable power who chose a quiet, humble life.

Elder Chen was pleased to see this change.

At a private tea gathering with several cultivators on the verge of Foundation Establishment completion, he “casually” remarked, “The Hermit is a man of detachment. ‘Hermit of the Returning Void’ is a fine title indeed.”

With his official endorsement, the name was formally established.

Riding the wave, Elder Chen updated the supplier’s name from “Mr. Jiang” to “Hermit of the Returning Void” in the Garrison Office’s internal transaction records. This not only aligned with public sentiment but also better protected Jiang Xiuyuan’s privacy. A specific surname is easier to trace than a vague Daoist title.

What transformed the “Hermit of the Returning Void” from mere legend into true myth, however, was the arrival of another item.

One bright and clear afternoon, as usual, Elder Chen came to collect the goods. This time, alongside ten perfect-grade Fasting Pills, there was something else.

It was a palm-sized formation plate shaped like a tortoise shell.

The formation plate was pitch black, neither metal nor jade, with a heavy weight in hand. It was intricately carved with profound runes that formed a natural tortoise shell pattern, through which thick, sturdy earth-elemental spiritual energy slowly circulated.

“This is…” Elder Chen extended his divine sense into it, and instantly a vast stream of information flooded his mind.

“Xuan Turtle Formation Plate, a low-grade defensive formation plate. Can be activated by infusing spiritual power to create a Xuan Turtle shield capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Usable three times.”

A simple sentence, yet it made Elder Chen’s hand tremble.

To withstand a full-force strike from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator—that was an unimaginable concept.

It meant that a novice Foundation Establishment cultivator holding this formation plate essentially had three extra lives! Against an opponent of late Foundation Establishment level, he could calmly endure three fatal attacks!

This was no longer just a magical tool—it was a trump card for survival!

Elder Chen himself was in the early Golden Core stage and knew well the profound formation skills required to create such a powerful one-time-use formation plate. This was far beyond the reach of ordinary formation masters; it demanded a deep understanding of earth elemental laws.

Mastery of both alchemy and formations? No, this was mastery of both alchemy and formation arts!

How many astonishing talents did this Hermit of the Returning Void still conceal?

Elder Chen dared not speculate further. He only knew that the ally he had secured was a hundred times more formidable than he had imagined.

He did not immediately put the formation plate up for sale. Such a treasure, once revealed, would cause far greater upheaval than even the perfect pills. He had to be extremely cautious.

He waited a month, and when the next batch of pills arrived, he finally showed the formation plate to his closest contact—also the strongest independent cultivator in Qingstone Town—the white-haired elder Wu Shan, who had been stuck at the verge of Foundation Establishment completion for nearly fifty years.

When Wu Shan saw the formation plate and learned of its effects, the nearly three-hundred-year-old cultivator lost his composure, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing red.

“Dao Friend Chen! I must have this item! Whatever it costs!” Wu Shan’s voice trembled.

He had failed twice to breakthrough into Golden Core, narrowly escaping death each time. He knew that during the breakthrough, when the heavenly spiritual energy surged into the body, he was most vulnerable and feared interference above all else. With this formation plate shielding him, his chance of success would increase by at least thirty percent!

A thirty percent increase was enough for him to wager his entire fortune.

In the end, after a “friendly” negotiation, Wu Shan traded half his life savings, three rare and precious refining materials, and a favor in exchange for the Xuan Turtle Formation Plate.

This transaction was strictly confidential.

But no wall is perfectly soundproof.

Half a year later, Wu Shan secluded himself again to attempt the Golden Core breakthrough—and this time, he succeeded.

At the celebratory banquet marking his passage and his becoming only the second Golden Core True Immortal in Qingstone Town’s centuries-long history, after three rounds of wine, he involuntarily sighed, “Without the Hermit’s formation plate protecting me, I fear this lifetime would have no hope of the Golden Core path.”

His words stunned everyone present.

From that moment on, the legend of the Hermit of the Returning Void reached an entirely new peak.

He was no longer just an alchemist capable of perfect pills but also a formation grandmaster able to forge heaven-defying formation plates. His name became tightly linked with “fortune” and “miracle.”

Countless cultivators flooded into Qingstone Town from all directions—not for any other reason but to seek a treasure “produced by the Hermit.” The town’s markets flourished as never before.

And the title “Hermit of the Returning Void” officially began to spread from this small pond to the wider world of cultivation.