The Ashen Alchemist

Jin was a lowly pill-sweeper for the Verdant Cauldron Sect, possessing a weak Wood spiritual root that made him barely fit to tend the herb gardens. But when a rival demonic sect massacres his home in search of a primordial treasure, Jin is forced to swallow the forbidden Ashen Lotus Flame to keep it from enemy hands. The flame incinerates his spiritual roots, replacing them with veins of ember and ash. Unable to cultivate normal spiritual energy, Jin must forge a new, heretical path of alchemy, using the ruined remains of his enemies and toxic herbs to concoct explosive, heaven-defying pills.