The Transmigrated Alchemist's Revenge System

Chapter 6

# **Chapter 6: "The Impossible Pill"**

The morning sun cast long shadows across the Xiao family's main courtyard as Alex made his way to the patriarch's study. Word of yesterday's demonstration had spread through the household like wildfire, and he could feel the weight of curious gazes following his every step. Servants who had once looked at him with pity now watched with something approaching respect, while his brothers' friends whispered among themselves with barely concealed envy.

Alex carried a small jade box in his hands—a container that held three pills that would either elevate his family's status or paint a target on his back. The experimental pill he'd created using Phantom Moss compounds was unlike anything the cultivation world had seen, but its very existence posed questions he wasn't ready to answer.

"Young Master," Uncle Chen intercepted him at the study's entrance, his weathered face creased with concern. "Are you certain about this? Once you reveal what you've created, there will be no going back."

"There's already no going back," Alex replied quietly. "The question is whether we control the narrative or let others control it for us."

Before Uncle Chen could respond, the study door opened to reveal Xiao Tianming. The patriarch looked like he hadn't slept well, his usual composed demeanor showing cracks of uncertainty.

"Feng," he said formally, "come in. We have much to discuss."

Alex entered the study to find he wasn't alone. Elder Xiao Kun sat in one of the chairs, along with Master Liu—the family's official alchemist—and surprisingly, Xiao Long. His eldest brother's presence suggested this meeting was more significant than Alex had anticipated.

"Father," Alex said, bowing respectfully. "I've brought the samples you requested."

"Samples?" Master Liu asked, his voice carrying the skeptical tone Alex had expected. The elderly alchemist had served the family for over twenty years and clearly resented being upstaged by a supposedly crippled teenager.

"Yesterday's demonstration was impressive," Xiao Tianming said carefully, "but it raised more questions than it answered. Master Liu has concerns about the... orthodoxy of your methods."

Alex suppressed a smile. He'd expected this conversation. "What concerns does Master Liu have?"

"Your techniques violate fundamental principles of alchemical practice," Master Liu said bluntly. "Alchemy requires the alchemist's qi to guide and stabilize the spiritual essences. Without that personal connection, the pills you create should be unstable and potentially dangerous."

"Should be," Alex agreed. "But they're not. Would you like to examine them?"

He placed the jade box on the patriarch's desk and opened it carefully. Inside were three pills, each one representing a different aspect of his revolutionary approach. The first was the healing pill he'd demonstrated yesterday, its green glow steady and pure. The second was a qi restoration pill he'd created using enhanced extraction techniques, its blue radiance more intense than anything produced by traditional methods.

But it was the third pill that made everyone in the room draw sharp breaths.

Unlike the others, this pill seemed to exist partially outside normal space. Its surface shifted between translucent and opaque, and veins of silver energy moved through its structure like living lightning. Even Alex's enhanced vision couldn't fully analyze its properties—the Phantom Moss compounds had created something that transcended normal alchemical understanding.

"What is that?" Master Liu whispered, his skepticism replaced by genuine awe.

"A meridian bypass pill," Alex said simply. "It delivers spiritual energy directly to the body's organs and tissues, circumventing damaged or blocked energy pathways."

"Impossible," Elder Xiao Kun breathed. "Such a thing would require..."

"Would require what?" Alex asked when the elder trailed off.

"Theoretical knowledge that exists only in the most advanced texts," Master Liu said slowly. "And even then, it's considered purely hypothetical. The spiritual matrices involved are too complex for practical application."

Alex picked up the pill, feeling its strange weight in his palm. "Perhaps the problem isn't complexity, but approach. What if instead of trying to force spiritual energy through existing pathways, we create entirely new ones?"

"New pathways?" Xiao Tianming leaned forward. "Explain."

"The human body is more adaptable than most cultivators realize," Alex said, drawing on his pharmaceutical background. "When traditional drug delivery systems fail, modern medicine creates alternative routes. Direct injection, transdermal patches, sublingual absorption—there are dozens of ways to deliver compounds to their targets."

He held up the pill, letting its strange radiance illuminate his face. "This pill contains compounds that exist partially in the spiritual realm. When consumed, they create temporary channels that bypass the normal meridian system entirely."

"And you tested this... how?" Master Liu asked suspiciously.

Alex smiled. "I haven't. Yet."

The silence that followed was profound. Everyone in the room understood the implications of what he was suggesting.

"You're planning to test it on yourself," Xiao Long said finally. "Despite having no idea what the side effects might be."

"I have some idea," Alex corrected. "My enhanced analysis shows the compounds are stable and should metabolize safely. But yes, there are risks."

"This is madness," Master Liu declared. "You could kill yourself, or worse, damage your spiritual foundation permanently."

"My spiritual foundation is already damaged," Alex pointed out. "And in four days, I face Liu Wei in combat. Without some way to access cultivation abilities, I'll be defeated and our family's reputation will suffer."

"Or you could simply withdraw from the challenge," Elder Xiao Kun suggested. "There's no shame in—"

"There's every shame in it," Alex interrupted, his voice carrying steel. "Liu Wei has spent years tormenting me, using my condition as entertainment for his friends. He's turned my suffering into a public spectacle, and now he's issued a challenge that's designed to humiliate our family further."

He stood, the pill still glowing in his hand. "I won't give him that satisfaction."

Xiao Tianming studied his youngest son with calculating eyes. "This Liu Wei has been particularly cruel to you?"

"He's been relentless," Alex said, drawing on the original Xiao Feng's memories. "Every public gathering, every family event, every opportunity to remind everyone of my... limitations. He's made it clear that he considers me less than human."

The patriarch's expression darkened. "I wasn't aware the situation had become so severe."

"Because I didn't want to burden the family with my problems," Alex said. "But now Liu Wei has made it the family's problem by issuing a public challenge. If I lose, it reflects on all of us."

"And if you win using this pill?" Master Liu asked.

"Then we prove that the Xiao family's innovations can overcome any obstacle," Alex said. "Including the limitations that others try to impose on us."

He looked around the room, meeting each person's gaze. "But that's not the real issue here. The real issue is what this pill represents."

"What do you mean?" Elder Xiao Kun asked.

Alex held up the pill, its silver veins pulsing with spiritual energy. "This isn't just about my personal problems with Liu Wei. What I've created here could change the fundamental nature of cultivation itself."

"Explain," Xiao Tianming commanded.

"For centuries, cultivation has been limited to those born with natural talent and intact meridian systems," Alex said. "What if that limitation is artificial? What if anyone could access cultivation abilities with the right alchemical support?"

The implications hit everyone in the room simultaneously. Such pills would be worth fortunes, but they would also threaten the entire social order that kept cultivators in power.

"You're talking about revolution," Master Liu said quietly.

"I'm talking about evolution," Alex corrected. "The cultivation world has been stagnant for centuries because it's built on the assumption that spiritual power is limited to those born with natural talent. What if that assumption is wrong?"

"The sects would never allow such pills to exist," Elder Xiao Kun said. "They'd see them as a threat to their authority."

"Only if they couldn't control them," Alex said. "But if a single family—our family—held the exclusive knowledge to create such pills..."

"We'd become indispensable," Xiao Tianming finished, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Too valuable to destroy, too powerful to ignore."

"Exactly," Alex said. "But it all depends on whether this pill actually works."

He paused, his expression growing more serious. "There's something else you should know. My meridians weren't damaged by accident."

The room fell silent. Elder Xiao Kun leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"I mean someone deliberately sabotaged my cultivation," Alex said, his voice carrying absolute certainty. "Someone who wanted to ensure I could never threaten their position or their plans."

"That's a serious accusation," Master Liu said carefully. "Do you have proof?"

"I have evidence," Alex said. "But more importantly, I have the knowledge to prove it. The pattern of damage to my meridians is too precise to be accidental. Someone with advanced understanding of spiritual anatomy did this to me."

"Who?" Xiao Tianming's voice was deadly quiet.

Alex met his father's gaze. "I'm still investigating. But I believe it's connected to grandfather's death and the decline of our family's influence. Someone has been systematically weakening us for years."

The patriarch's hands clenched into fists. "If this is true..."

"It's true," Alex said. "And when I can prove it, we'll have our revenge. But first, I need to survive long enough to gather the evidence."

He looked around the room again. "I'm going to test this pill. The question is whether I do so with my family's support or without it."

The patriarch was quiet for a long moment, weighing the risks against the potential rewards. Finally, he nodded slowly.

"What do you need?"

"A secure location, medical supplies in case something goes wrong, and witnesses who can verify the results," Alex said. "And most importantly, absolute secrecy until we decide how to proceed."

"You'll have all of that," Xiao Tianming said. "But I want Master Liu to oversee the test. If you're about to revolutionize alchemy, our family's official alchemist should be involved."

Master Liu looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, but he nodded reluctantly. "Very well. But I want it on record that I advised against this course of action."

"Noted," Alex said. "Now, shall we make history?"

An hour later, Alex sat in the family's private healing chamber, surrounded by medical supplies and monitoring equipment. Master Liu had insisted on every possible precaution, including antidotes for common alchemical poisoning and emergency spiritual treatments.

"Last chance to reconsider," the alchemist said, his voice carrying genuine concern despite his earlier skepticism.

Alex looked at the pill in his palm, then at the faces of his family members. Uncle Chen stood by the door, ready to summon help if needed. Xiao Tianming and Elder Xiao Kun watched with barely concealed anticipation. Even Xiao Long seemed invested in the outcome, though whether he was hoping for success or failure remained unclear.

"I've been reconsidering for three days," Alex said. "It's time to act."

He placed the pill on his tongue and swallowed it whole.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Alex felt a strange tingling sensation spreading through his body, as if his blood had been replaced with liquid lightning. The sensation intensified, and suddenly he could see—actually see—the spiritual energy flowing through the room.

"Incredible," he breathed, watching as streams of qi moved through the air like visible currents. "It's working."

But that was nothing compared to what he felt next. The pill's compounds were creating new pathways throughout his body, temporary channels that bypassed his damaged meridians entirely. For the first time in years, Alex could feel spiritual energy flowing freely through his system.

"How do you feel?" Master Liu asked, his voice tight with concern.

"Different," Alex said, standing slowly. "Like I've been underwater my entire life and can finally breathe."

He extended his hand, focusing on the sensation of spiritual energy. A soft glow appeared around his fingers—not the brilliant radiance of a powerful cultivator, but definitely visible spiritual manifestation.

"Impossible," Master Liu whispered. "Your meridians are still damaged. I can sense it. How are you channeling qi?"

"I'm not channeling it through my meridians," Alex explained, marveling at the sensation. "The pill created alternative pathways. I'm channeling qi through my nervous system, my circulatory system, even my lymphatic system."

"That should be impossible," Elder Xiao Kun said. "The human body isn't designed to handle spiritual energy outside the meridian system."

"The human body is more adaptable than we realize," Alex said, demonstrating his new abilities by lifting a small stone with telekinetic force. "We've just never had the tools to explore its full potential."

He spent the next hour testing his temporary abilities while Master Liu took careful notes. The pill's effects were remarkable—Alex could perform basic cultivation techniques, manipulate spiritual energy, and even enhance his physical capabilities. His power level was roughly equivalent to a third-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, which was far from impressive by elite standards but miraculous for someone with crippled meridians.

"How long will the effects last?" Xiao Tianming asked.

"Based on my analysis, approximately six hours," Alex said. "After that, the compounds will metabolize and the temporary pathways will fade."

"And the side effects?"

Alex considered the question carefully. "Some fatigue, probably. The body isn't used to processing spiritual energy this way. But nothing dangerous."

"You hope," Master Liu added grimly.

"I hope," Alex agreed. "But hope based on careful analysis and preparation."

As the demonstration continued, Alex noticed something interesting. The pill's effects weren't just temporary—they were adaptive. The longer he used his new abilities, the more efficient the alternative pathways became. His body was literally learning how to process spiritual energy in new ways.

"This is revolutionary," he murmured, watching the energy flows through his enhanced vision. "With refinement, these pills could permanently alter someone's cultivation potential."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Master Liu warned. "We don't know the long-term effects yet."

But Alex was already thinking beyond the immediate implications. If he could create pills that granted temporary cultivation abilities, he could also create ones that enhanced existing abilities, or that provided specific powers for limited periods. The possibilities were endless.

"Father," he said, turning to the patriarch, "I'll need to create more of these pills before the challenge with Liu Wei. And I'll need better materials."

"Whatever you need," Xiao Tianming said. "This changes everything for our family."

"And for the cultivation world," Alex added. "Though that's a conversation for another day."

As the pill's effects began to fade, Alex felt the strange pathways closing and his borrowed abilities slipping away. But the experience had given him something invaluable: proof that his theories were correct and that his scientific approach to cultivation could achieve the impossible.

More importantly, it had given him a weapon to use against those who had wronged him. Liu Wei was just the beginning—a test case for abilities that would eventually bring down much more dangerous enemies.

"Well?" he asked as his spiritual energy finally dissipated completely. "Are we ready to revolutionize alchemy?"

The silence that followed was filled with possibility and danger in equal measure. What Alex had created was more than just a pill—it was a paradigm shift that would reshape the entire cultivation world.

The question was whether they could control the consequences of what they'd unleashed.