Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

The next morning at dawn.

The morning mist on Gazing Star Cliff had yet to disperse. Su Ming pushed open the stone gate, and a hint of cool mountain wind carrying the bitter, fresh scent of pine needles rushed toward him.

Today, he had changed into a clean purple Daoist robe, its cuffs and collar completely smooth and wrinkle-free. His black hair was neatly tied up with an ordinary black wooden hairpin, giving him an air of calm, flowing water-like stillness.

Shadow obediently flew onto his right shoulder, folded her wings, and didn't let out a single chirp.

Su Ming slowly descended Formation Peak along the stone steps.

At the mountain gate of Formation Peak, Luo Feng had been waiting for some time. Unlike his usual chatterbox self, he simply nodded briefly when he saw Su Ming approaching.

The two walked side by side toward Pill Cauldron Peak.

As the mountain path gradually climbed higher, the surrounding temperature began to rise noticeably. The once lush green spiritual plants on both sides were gradually replaced by fire-resistant, crimson-red shrubs. The earth vein fire energy permeating the air brought a slight burning sensation with every breath.

Elder Qingyang's cave dwelling still looked as dilapidated as ever.

That thin, dried-up old man, wearing his faded gray Daoist robe—so washed out that the hem was even starting to fray—sat cross-legged before the massive, dark-red alchemical furnace in the center of the courtyard.

His eyes were tightly shut, and his breathing was long and deep, as if he had completely merged with the cold furnace before him.

Su Ming stopped three zhang away from the furnace. He folded his hands before his chest and solemnly bowed deeply.

"Su Ming pays respects to Elder Qingyang."

Qingyang's eyelids slowly lifted.

"The materials." His voice was still as hoarse as two dry wooden boards grinding together.

Su Ming straightened up, his hands smoothly sweeping over his storage pouch.

Twenty-three exquisite jade boxes, along with that dark-red earth fire crystal core, arranged themselves neatly in mid-air and floated slowly before Qingyang.

Qingyang's withered fingers rapidly flicked through the air.

Each jade box let out a crisp *pa* sound as it snapped open at his touch.

His scrutinizing gaze swept critically over every single auxiliary ingredient. Then, he collected all the ingredients along with the earth fire crystal core into his own sleeve.

He raised his bony finger and casually pointed at a dusty meditation cushion in the corner of the alchemy room.

"The Medicine Lord sits there."

Qingyang's voice suddenly rose, carrying an irresistible pressure.

"From the moment this old man lights the furnace and ignites the fire, for nine days and nine nights, no matter what happens, your ass must not leave that cushion by even half an inch. If the Pill Fiend comes," Qingyang's eyes bore into Su Ming with a fierce glare, "use your life to endure it head-on."

Su Ming didn't hesitate for a moment.

With steady steps, he walked to the cushion, turned around, and sat down cross-legged.

Shadow fluttered lightly off his shoulder. Instead of running around, she quietly perched on the edge of the cushion, half-squinting, pressing tightly against Su Ming's calf.

Qingyang's gaze lingered briefly on Shadow's pitch-black feathers. He clearly sensed the faint yet pure law aura hidden within this young bird's body, but he said nothing and didn't drive her away.

Just then, space rippled abruptly outside the threshold of the alchemy room door.

Xuanheng had appeared at the courtyard entrance at some unknown moment.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his deep-blue Daoist robe slowly fluttering in the hot wind.

After a moment, he raised his right hand and casually flicked his finger in Su Ming's direction.

A soft green light pierced through the scorching air of the alchemy room, landing steadily on Su Ming's knee.

It was a warm, lustrous green jade pendant. The pendant's surface had no intricate carvings—only four simple, ancient formation lines intertwined, emanating a solid, calming aura.

Su Ming picked up the jade pendant, feeling a cool sensation spread across his palm. The slight restlessness in his Consciousness Sea, stirred by the earth vein fire energy, instantly became as still as an ancient well.

He lifted his head and looked toward the courtyard gate.

Xuanheng's figure had already silently dissipated into the air, as if he had never been there at all.

Qingyang let out a disdainful cold snort.

"Soft-hearted woman's kindness."

The moment the words fell, Qingyang's hands rapidly formed a complex seal before his chest.

"Ignite the fire."

With his hoarse command, the eight deep fire eyes beneath the furnace simultaneously spewed out dazzling orange-red tongues of flame.

The temperature inside the alchemy room skyrocketed to a terrifying level in that single breath. The air was instantly distorted, blurring even the vision.

Qingyang's hands danced through the air like butterflies through flowers, as streak after streak of profound fire-controlling techniques continuously struck the furnace.

The intricate runes on the furnace's surface lit up one after another, emitting a dull humming sound.

Su Ming closed his eyes.

Instead of resisting the terrifying heat, he sank his divine sense entirely into his Dantian.

The *Like Water Art* began to circulate steadily. The dark-blue spiritual energy flowed slowly yet resiliently through his meridians, forming a thin water membrane over the surface of his body.

The external chaos and scorching heat were perfectly sealed off.

The furnace had been lit.

---

**Day One.** Qingyang threw the Nine Netherworld Lotus into the furnace. The orange-red earth fire was instantly suppressed into a dark blue. A terrifying Yin-cold energy spread from the furnace's cracks, and thick frost immediately crept across the walls. Even with the *Like Water Art* protecting him, the extreme cold pierced Su Ming's meridians like icy needles, and each exhalation formed white frost.

Qingyang's expression was as steady as water. He struck a *Blazing Sun Art* under the furnace, and the dark blue and fiery red collided violently. He locked the temperature just above freezing.

Lin Yu's Soul Body flickered in the ring: "Guard your mind! Don't forcibly drive out the cold. Use the *Like Water Art* to go along with it, to embrace it."

---

**Day Two.** Qingyang threw in the Phoenix Rebirth Branch. Inside the furnace, the extreme cold and extreme yang clashed in a brutal standoff. The frost instantly vaporized, filling the walls with thick, white steam. Su Ming's skin flushed red. The *Like Water Art* surged wildly as the water membrane and the heat waves waged a fierce tug-of-war.

Su Ming struggled to open his eyes and silently recited in his heart: "*Observation Micro.*"

A faint, dark-blue glimmer flashed in the depths of his eyes. In his vision, the alchemical furnace transformed into a precise, massive "living formation"—the earth fire was the foundation, the spiritual herbs were the formation lines, and every technique Qingyang used was adjusting the formation's nodes. Su Ming greedily etched all of this into his Consciousness Sea.

---

**Day Three.** The Ten-Thousand-Year Sky-Blue Stone Marrow dripped into the furnace. The violent extreme cold and extreme yang obediently merged. The runes on the furnace's surface stabilized into a soft glow, and a green pill liquid slowly began to take shape at the bottom of the furnace. Qingyang's tense face finally relaxed by a fraction.

Lin Yu let out a long breath: "The first three days—the most violent clash of medicinal properties—this old man held it together. Not a trace of medicinal power was lost."

But Su Ming stared at the earth fire at the bottom of the furnace and frowned. "Master, there's a barely perceptible phase difference between the spiritual energy backflow from the pill liquid fusion and the natural frequency of the earth fire pulse."

Lin Yu was silent for a long time before speaking solemnly, "The earth fire pulse is chaotic and wild. The frequency of the pill fusion is man-made. This phase difference wouldn't be much on an ordinary day, but accumulated over nine days, it will create a terrifying tearing force."

---

Night had fallen. The alchemy room was stifling. Shadow shifted uneasily, shrinking against Su Ming's leg, her feathers slightly bristled.

Beneath the seemingly stable alchemy process, a deadly undercurrent was beginning to surge.