The Pill Cauldron's Inquiry into Bones

In a remote mountain village forgotten by the world, an ancient legend has been passed down: An immortal cauldron once fell from the heavens and shattered into countless sparks, scattering across the mortal realm. Whoever finds it can claim the hidden treasures of an immortal estate and attain eternal life. Fourteen years later, a boy with bones as stubborn as stone fishes a moss-covered bronze fragment out of the well in his own ruined courtyard. That night, the fragment enters his dreams. He sees an immortal estate shrouded in clouds and mist, hears a pill cauldron rumbling and spirit beasts whispering, and smells the fragrance of spirit herbs. The world mocks him for his mediocre talent, and the immortal sects cast him aside. Yet in a corner where no one pays him any mind, he uses a bluestone as a cauldron and mountain spring water as his guide, refining his first batch of pills, enough to leave even immortals astonished. While the geniuses at the immortal sect tournament show off their magical treasures and spirit pets, in the shadows behind him, a stray dog mutated after accidentally eating one of his pills lazily yawns, a glint of primordial ferocity flashing in its eyes. This is no path to immortality, nor is it the path of demons. It asks neither about spiritual roots nor about fate, only whether the heart is steadfast and the will sincere. What is he refining in the cauldron: an elixir of eternal life, or the pride of a man cast aside by the immortal sects?