"Are you sure about this? Because it will be dangerous. Very dangerous." I asked Ming after pumping her full of my youthful energy.

  I sensed her nod with her chin on my chest, hugging me for comfort. "I'm not worried about you, or the Tower. You're likely as strong as the Wind Emperor, maybe even equal to Daoist Oracle himself. And Grandpa can deal with anything else." Ming whispered in a confident tone.

  Well, I was probably not as strong yet. But will be, once I ascended once more. I even had an Ascension pill saved for that kind of emergency.

  "All right. You can join the Libra Army, but you must train hard the last 3000 days. And I also have a special technique for you to practice." I said and took out the Bamboo scroll with the True Qi technique.

  Ming read through the scroll slowly, taking in the difficult steps required to upgrade her Qi. "Just like Xia, but with a great deal of pain involved." she noted, quite wisely.

  "We'll need to get Xia her Divine Soul, and try again for the demonic portal. It might work, and Feng and Bai can help too." I mused in a thinking voice.

  "...Ah. You want to test your Alchemy while having sex. I agree." Ming said with a loving voice.

  And that's why a wife that understands you is so amazing. I wanted to test if sex improved the success ratio of my transcending pills, because I had a limited supply of precious herbs. I did waste most of my reserves by learning, and failing a lot.

  We flew out, and passed by the stone pillar next to the Soul Array, where Amelia's score of 8722 kills was oppressing my previous high score. "At least is not over 9000..." I muttered in a low voice, then entered the Alchemy Hall with Ming in tow.

  Sadly, Grandpa Xialong was also here, but I could fix that easily. "Old man, you're wasting time and herbs again? Get back to sword training!" I ordered in a commanding voice.

  "...No mercy for my old bones..." the old man muttered and walked out in a slow shuffle, like he was a mortal.

  I could have pointed that Ming was 7 times his age and looked great, but I did have some mercy.

  "Don't get fooled by the lazy Artisan, husband. He couldn't kill 16 ghosts if he was that frail." Ming warned me, in a well-meaning voice.

  I nodded, and took out a leather couch I made for this exact mission. Then I stored my pants and sat down, and began warming up my Saint-grade cauldron, and extracting herbs and marrow from my ring.

  "I love how focused you get when you're refining pills. Now, let's see if you can maintain the focus, while I do things to you."

  Ming spoke with an enticing voice, then lowered her head to lick my balls and shaft, while setting herself comfortably on the couch.

  I let my right hand caress her soft back, then her perfect ass, and began cooking. Hours later, I burst inside Ming's hot mouth then extracted the pill from the hot cauldron. Damn it! Only a Perfect Saint pill.

  I sighed and stored the pill in my ring, then closed my eyes to think. Maybe I did need to use Nether Water, at least for now. Raising the quality of the pill might be the key.

  Ming sat in my lap, then guided my dick inside her dripping hot spring. "I'm going to blow your mind now. Maybe the post-nut clarity will induce some kind of enlightenment." Ming whispered in a wry tone, then kissed my neck.

  I slapped her ass, and began refining a new pill. This time with a few drops of Nether Water too.

  Ming rode me hard, enjoying the process even more than me, since I had to split focus with the difficult soul pill. But then, as the dam broke and I filled Ming womb's with my Yang energy, the pill inside the cauldron shifted as well, and flew out covered in cloud shapes.

  'Cloud-pattern Divine Dragon Spirit Pill. Can upgrade anyone to Divine Realm Soul, level 3. Worth 300 million Divine Crystals.'

  I read with a dumbfounded mind.

  "So, it's a Divine Pill. Congratulations, Pef!" Ming exclaimed after observing the new pill.

  "Indeed. It is Divine, but it also has the cloud pattern. It should work even on mortals." I answered after reading the description a few more times.

  A ghostly hand grabbed the pill from midair, and made it spin slowly. "It took Artisan Heavengaze 50 million years to make a Divine pattern pill. He sold it for 300 million Divine Crystals to an Immortal who had a mortal child. It was an Essence pill, not a Soul one, though." Grandpa revealed in a sad voice.

  "Did it cause a Tribulation?" I asked after thinking for a minute. Only the Essence ascension caused a Tribulation, for some strange reason. Although, there were some special events for strong bloodlines, even for the Soul ascension.

  Ming did her best to ignore the ghost, and drew me close to hide her breasts on my chest. I had began to consider Grandpa as my personal AI assistant, so I wasn't that concerned. Plus, the Artifact's Spirit was practically a magic locus, aware of everything happening inside the Tower. Hiding from him was quite pointless.

  "Funny you should ask. Clever too. But yes, the cauldron was destroyed by Tribulation, and the Artisan also suffered heavy burns. He only managed to save the pill, and the mortal child became a Divine cultivator. And later an Immortal as well."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Grandpa continued in a longing voice.

  "I would run out of Saint-grade cauldrons fast, if I start making Divine Essence pills." I hummed in a thinking tone.

  "Divine cauldrons too. They are not made to resist external damage, and the Divine Tribulation tests for extreme resistance. Lady Ming can attest to that." Grandpa spoke with a nod towards my Divine wife.

  I took out a Qi Purification pill, and held it up. "Not sure about this kind of pill, though. It's only a support pill, right?"

  Grandpa nodded. "Support or not, it still deals with Qi Essence. You can explode a Saint-grade cauldron if you want to try. Lady Ming would benefit greatly from such a pill, since she didn't swim the river like you did."

  I rubbed my wife's back, thinking for a minute. Grandpa wouldn't suggest this, unless it was truly important.

  "Come back when the pill is ready and save it. I might not be fast enough, as a mere Saint." I asked while taking out a new batch of herbs and some Nether Water.

  Grandpa sighed and flew away, passing through the stone wall like a ghost.

  "I still don't understand what relation you have with your Grandpa. Sometimes he obeys you, other times he ignores you, or does things by himself." Ming asked in a gentle voice.

  I kinda knew why, but it wasn't about obeying. More like, aligning with my karma or something like that. Even his subtle suggestions were just minor course-corrections for a certain karmic trajectory.

  "Heavengaze is a Daoist title. Just think why he was able to gain that title, and not get burned to ash for daring too much." I answered in a warning voice, and started pill refining again.

  Ming had a Wisdom Heart, so she figured out the answer pretty soon, then began to ride my dick again.

  "You're using the Tower as your Daoist name. This Tower." she said an hour later, then hugged my tight.

  I nodded, focused mostly on the Qi pill. "Tower Saint, they call me on this world. But, on the Other Shore, they used my other name. Pef Heavengaze." I said in a distant voice, as the smell of the pure Qi filled the Alchemy Hall.

  "I feel scared, husband. That name is a heavy karma to carry." Ming admitted in a wary voice.

  "Uhmm. It's not easy. But Feng has a much heavier karma. Bai too. I am blessed with my easier load." I whispered in a lighter voice, and pumped my hips gently.

  "Yes, yes. I have my own sacred duty as your wife." Ming said in a wry tone, then began to ride me again, and a bit faster.

  Then the black clouds began to gather, and I shot my load inside her womb, just as the first lightning bolt fell on the cauldron.

  White lightning. I've never seen this color in a Tribulation, but it could be related to the purification pill itself.

  "Now comes the tricky part." I heard Grandpa, then Ming vanished from my lap.

  I stepped closer and touched the bright lightning before it hit the cauldron. The sensation was exceedingly painful and yet soothing, like a pure blessing touched my soul.

  "It hurts, but it's a good pain." I noted as Grandpa glanced at me with a weird look.

  "Don't do it again. Stealing an Ascension is not seen well." he warned me before I could try again.

  Ah. Of course. The lighting was meant for the purification pill. I would get my own lightning bolts when I decided to Ascend.

  "Is there a mind behind the Tribulation? Or just an automatic mechanism?" I wondered while stepping back, and outside the protective array around the cauldron.

  "Yes." Grandpa answered in a joking tone, then swiped his hand and stepped beside me as the cauldron exploded like a bomb.

  The black clouds stayed on the ceiling for a minute longer, like staring at me and Grandpa.

  I was about to say something, then thought better and kept my mouth shut. There might be a limit how much you could provoke the Heavens, before they sent a calamity your way. The Heavens did have eyes, just like Grandpa Heavengaze. And likely much stronger eyes too.

  Ming appeared beside us, blinking confused. "What happened? Oh, big explosion!" she realized fast.

  Then she gulped, as Grandpa flicked the pill inside her mouth, so fast that I couldn't even see the description. Bright light burst from her eyes, and a black sludge emerged from her skin, reminding me of the dark water from the death river.

  Ming groaned in pain, then fainted, while the black liquid kept pouring through her skin.

  "Looks like the water from the death river." I said out loud.

  Grandpa snorted and waved a hand to collect all the black liquid into a floating ball.

  "Not exactly the same, but close enough. It's a good weapon against roaming souls too. Sends them back towards reincarnation." he said in a serious tone, then floated the ball towards me.

  'Impure Nether Water. Considered a delicacy on the Other Shore. Worth: a small favor.' I read with my Discerning Eyes.

  I was confused for a minute, then sighed and stored the liquid in my spatial ring. I might need a small favor from the Other Shore one day. Hopefully very far in the future.