Cultivating To Immortality

Chapter 741: Pill

The woman was startled, a hint of vigilance flashing in her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal.

She carefully observed Song Yan for a moment, then suddenly smiled, a hint of admiration and gratitude in her eyes.

She turned and softly called towards the backyard: "A Qing, come quickly."

From the backyard, there had been faint rustling sounds of trimming flowers and plants. Hearing the woman’s call, a man dressed in a coarse cloth long gown lifted the curtain and walked out.

It was Liang Feng.

Compared to their meeting on Bei Ya Mountain a few years ago, the gloom in his brow had dissipated considerably. His Cultivation remained at Qi Refining Stage 6, but his complexion had improved greatly.

"Daoist Song!" Liang Feng’s eyes lit up with surprise when he saw Song Yan. He quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands: "It’s been years, but your demeanor is as impressive as ever."

Song Yan smiled slightly: "You look well. It seems Lanxi Cave is a good place to live."

"This is Xiao Ju, my companion," he introduced, turning sideways.

Liang Feng nodded to Xiao Ju, then lowered his voice: "It’s not convenient to talk here, follow me."

He turned to his wife and said softly: "A Qing, I’m taking the guests to look around the valley. We’ll be back later."

The woman understood. She took a green jade Talisman from under the counter and handed it to Liang Feng: "Be careful on the way." Then she offered an apologetic smile to Song Yan and Xiao Ju: "My humble abode is simple, and my hospitality is lacking. Please forgive me."

The group turned to leave. Xiao Ju looked back at the woman, a curious expression on her face.

Feeling the young girl’s gaze, the woman in plain clothes smiled gently at her.

After leaving the flower shop, Liang Feng led the two through the market and into a secluded mountain path.

"I remember, when we were in Linghua Valley, you told me you found a quiet place rarely visited by people. Why is it here?"

Song Yan asked as they walked: "This place can hardly be called rarely visited."

Liang Feng gave a self-deprecating smile: "The people from Linghua Valley found me, and I was worried about A Qing’s safety."

"We changed places many times in between... In the end, I had no choice but to join Lanxi Cave."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

This was between him and Linghua Valley; as an outsider, he had no real business meddling.

During the Bei Ya Mountain incident, he had already preserved Linghua Valley’s original Spiritual Seed and directly helped Liang Feng revive his wife.

He had no need to trouble himself with resolving such residual issues between the two parties.

Song Yan had only one goal in coming here: to obtain many moon-bearing lotus seeds.

However, after his wife recovered, Liang Feng seemed easily contented. There was no trace of blame or resentment on his face, only the happiness of living with his wife.

Speaking of his current life, he had no complaints: "This place is also very good. Although I have to deal with many people, as long as I pay Spiritual Taxes on time, it’s generally safer."

"This Lanxi Immortal Cave has only been established for eight or nine years, so there aren’t actually many people. Including the small Families that have relocated here, there are only about a thousand permanent residents."

Over a thousand people.

Lanxi Cave’s coverage was wide. Most of the deep mountains in northern Chu were uninhabited, so a thousand residents was indeed not many.

The Immortal Caves and mountain peaks of various Loose Cultivators and Families permanently residing in Lanxi Cave radiated outwards, encircling a special mountain peak.

On this mountain peak was a Tidal Stream.

It was said that the Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator who established this place initially only built an Immortal Cave here to diligently Cultivate the Dao. Later, when this person traveled down the mountain, he saw Loose Cultivator Fellow Daoists being bullied and persecuted, and often came to their rescue.

Thus, more and more people spontaneously came here, establishing their own Immortal Caves in the surrounding mountains and wilds.

On one hand, they wanted to follow this person or become his Disciple, and on the other, they didn’t want to disturb his pure Cultivation.

Over time, the number of Loose Cultivators in this vicinity grew.

Until one day, the Disciple of that Foundation Establishment Cultivator received his instruction, established rules and regulations, and officially founded this Lanxi Cave.

Liang Feng introduced the situation of the place while leading the two to an Immortal Cave.

This was where Liang Feng and his wife usually lived, quite a distance from the market.

It felt like it was already at the edge of Lanxi Cave’s territory.

In the Immortal Cave courtyard, there were several Spiritual Fields. Some were planted with Spiritual Flowers and Spiritual Plants, and others with common Spirit Medicines.

A small white dog was also kept in the courtyard.

Seeing Liang Feng bring strangers home, the puppy showed no hostility. Instead, it barked happily and ran to greet them.

It circled around Song Yan and Xiao Ju’s feet, occasionally licking its nose, very adorable.

Xiao He emerged from Song Yan’s lapel, curiously looking at the puppy.

The puppy was startled and froze in place.

"No wonder you’re so radiant now. Such leisure and elegance are truly enviable,"

Song Yan joked.

However, he had no intention of entering the Immortal Cave, because among these Spiritual Fields, there was no moon-bearing ancient lotus that he wanted to see.

Presumably, a meticulous person like Liang Feng wouldn’t carelessly plant such a thing at his doorstep.

"Just getting by," Liang Feng said with a smile, but his tone was full of happiness.

He merely patted the puppy in passing, then bypassed the Immortal Cave.

After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, they arrived at a desolate mountain foot. He flicked his fingertip, and the green jade Talisman glowed faintly.

A narrow path entwined with vines miraculously appeared on the rock wall ahead.

Song Yan found it somewhat familiar.

"This ’Green Vine Barrier’ was set up by me, imitating the Formation of Linghua Valley."

Liang Feng pushed aside the vines, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. "Although it’s not as grand as the Sect’s work, it’s enough to evade the detection of ordinary Qi Refining Cultivators."

The three entered single file, and their vision suddenly opened up.

The valley was only a hundred zhang in circumference, but surrounded by steep green peaks on all sides, it formed its own world.

A waterfall cascaded down in the southeast, a clear stream meandered at the bottom of the valley, and several Spiritual Fields were scattered along both banks.

The three walked all the way into the valley.

"Daoist Song, you lent me the lotus seed and saved A Qing. For both her and me, it’s like a new lease on life."

Liang Feng said: "This valley is hidden, and the Spiritual Qi is quite abundant, so I specially opened it up to Cultivate the ancient lotus."

Among them was a small pond, right by the bamboo house next to the stream.

A three-foot-tall ancient lotus stood gracefully, and a lotus seed on its pod glowed with a clear light like moonlight.

However, this lotus seed, in terms of both Spiritual Power and vitality, was far inferior to the one Song Yan had given Liang Feng before.

And there was only one; the other four positions on the lotus pod were empty.

It seemed they had been harvested.

Before he could ask, Liang Feng already spoke.

"My Cultivation is low, and relying on some knowledge of Spiritual Plants, I created this method for cultivating the ancient lotus. Naturally, it’s not comparable to those high-level Spiritual Plant Masters."

"But the vitality of the moon-bearing ancient lotus is simply too immense, and its nature is such."

"If mature lotus seeds were left here, they would attract many small mountain Spirit Monsters and Spirit Monsters, so I have already collected the other lotus seeds."

Liang Feng took out a Medicine Pill bottle-shaped container from his qiankun bag and handed it to Song Yan.

"These are the mature lotus seeds, a total of four."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow, surprised in his heart.

There were actually four?

The preciousness of moon-bearing lotus seeds goes without saying.

A truly full and mature lotus seed could even be used as a Foundation Spiritual Vein to establish a Loose Cultivator settlement.

His own lotus seeds were all derived from withered seeds, inherently extremely deficient, and further limited by the methods and Cultivation of the Spiritual Plant Master, the Spiritual Power within them was pitifully small.

However, the vitality contained within was unaffected, and even, due to being newly born, was superior to the one in the Linghua Valley Spiritual Pearl.

This Liang Feng indeed had some skill.

Liang Feng didn’t know what Song Yan was thinking, only continued to explain: "Daoist Song, the ancient lotus you gave me was inherently lacking in Spiritual Power, so I suspect that each time the ancient lotus matures in the future, one or two will have problems. The one remaining on the lotus pod is such an example."

His expression was somewhat apologetic: "My strength is low, and my methods are very limited. I don’t yet know how to solve it."

To be honest, this result completely exceeded Song Yan’s expectations.

How to solve it?

If they could really solve it, the two of them could team up to build a Loose Cultivator gathering place.

"No problem, this is good enough."

Song Yan shook his head: "Our transaction back then was only for you to give me more lotus seeds. I didn’t ask you to restore it to its ancient state."

Liang Feng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Fortunately, Daoist Song was easy to talk to.

Liang Feng was merely content with the status quo, not stupid. Due to the existence of the Mother-Child Heart-Linking Worm, his life was still in Song Yan’s hands.

Now that A Qing was gradually recovering, he didn’t want to die.

Song Yan carefully inspected the lotus seeds, confirmed they were correct, and then took out a small bottle from his qiankun bag.

In the small bottle was a pale yellow, small worm, curled up in the corner, which was the Mother Worm of the Mother-Child Heart-Linking Worm.

He guided the small bottle with Spiritual Power and threw it over.

Liang Feng reached out and caught it, a look of joyful surprise appearing on his face.

He had originally thought he would have to wait for the lotus seeds to grow for several cycles before the other party would give him the Mother Worm.

But for him, this was, of course, the best possible outcome.

The feeling of having one’s life constantly in someone else’s hands was not pleasant.

"Take it," Song Yan said casually, observing the ancient lotus in the pond. "Our transaction is over."

Seeing it again, the lotus flower of the moon-bearing ancient lotus was still very beautiful.

As bright as the moon.

Liang Feng put away the worm bottle but did not leave immediately: "Daoist Song, your great kindness to me and A Qing is something I can never repay in a lifetime. I will continue to Cultivate the moon-bearing ancient lotus."

"This valley was prepared for you in advance. You can come and go as you please."

He pointed to the flying waterfall behind the bamboo house, in the southeast of the valley: "Behind that waterfall, there is a hidden Immortal Cave, suitable for your secluded Cultivation."

"If you have any Spiritual Plant seeds you wish to plant, you can also entrust them to me, and I will take care of them all."

"Good." Song Yan nodded: "For the Spiritual Plant harvest, including the ancient lotus, you can take two-tenths as your remuneration."

Liang Feng wanted to refuse, but Song Yan stopped him with the reason of cultivation costs, and he finally no longer declined.

Liang Feng was meticulous and thorough in his actions. Entrusting these matters to him saved Song Yan some worry.

And Liang Feng was even more grateful.

He originally had a bit of selfishness, which was for his and A Qing’s safety.

He probably had no hope of Foundation Establishment in this life. Lanxi Cave was relatively safe, but for a rainy day, it was hard to guarantee that there wouldn’t be a day when the tree fell and the monkeys scattered.

However, anyone, even a fool, could see that Song Yan had boundless prospects in the Immortal Dao.

If he were to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment or even higher Realms in the future, remembering his hard work, he might receive some patronage.

He hadn’t expected the other party to even offer him some benefits.

Liang Feng composed himself and continued: "However, if the moon-bearing ancient lotus continues to grow, some Spiritual Plants that also rely on the Earth Vein’s vitality for growth will not be able to survive normally."

He generally explained to Song Yan the types of some Spiritual Plants and detailed some rules that needed to be followed within Lanxi Cave.

Finally, he bowed respectfully and then took his leave.

Song Yan observed the lotus flower for a while but couldn’t figure out anything in particular.

Xiao He had already swum far away. Without asking, she loved places like this the most.

Looking around the nameless valley, he casually said: "This place is quite secluded, and the Spiritual Qi is still abundant. How about we stay here for a few days?"

Xiao Ju nodded; she naturally had no objections.

For Song Yan, this place was indeed very convenient right now.

Even the Immortal Cave behind the waterfall hardly needed any tending; Liang Feng had completely taken care of everything.

Song Yan merely found a stone chamber to place the Dao Pill Furnace he had obtained from the outskirts of the Sword Sect ruins, and then there was nothing else to do.

The reason he was so determined to come to Longquan Prefecture to find Liang Feng and obtain the lotus seeds was mainly to suppress the Heart Demon that might erupt at some unknown time during his future Foundation Establishment.

However, in small places like Chu, most shops did not sell Talismans or Medicinal Pills related to Heart Demons.

Because Heart Demons originally only appeared at Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core and above.

Situations where they appeared during the Qi Refinement Stage were simply too rare.

And to place hope on auction houses and exchange meetings meant leaving it entirely to luck.

The lotus petals of the moon-bearing ancient lotus could be used to make Pure Moon Talismans. Learning to be a Talisman Maker at this point was obviously impossible.

At that time, he would probably still need to find a Talisman Maker to commission the refining of this Talisman.

What Song Yan was going to do next was to refine a Medicinal Pill that could also suppress Heart Demons, with the moon-bearing lotus seed as the main ingredient.

The "Wu Xiang Pill."

If circumstances allowed, Song Yan would, of course, want to go straight to refining the improved Foundation Establishment Pill.

After all, with the Pure Moon Talisman, suppressing Heart Demons would be almost enough.

However, inquiries at Wuyou Market generally made him understand how difficult it was to obtain the medicinal Materials for this improved Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even if he eventually gathered all the Materials, he could fully imagine that the opportunities left for him to try would be extremely few.

Thus, Song Yan had no choice but to weigh his success rate.

Therefore, he then set his sights on another relatively high-level Medicinal Pill in the Qian Dan Yi Fang, the Wu Xiang Pill.

In fact, the main ingredient of the Wu Xiang Pill was not the moon-bearing lotus seed, but another Spirit Medicine.

The characteristics of this Spirit Medicine were similar to those of the moon-bearing lotus seed, but it had less vitality and more Spiritual Power.

At the end of the Pill Formula, one could indeed find the name of the moon-bearing lotus seed in the records of material substitutions for similar types.

It only required adjusting a few peripheral auxiliary medicines to adapt the medicinal power, and then it could be refined.

Refining the Wu Xiang Pill a few more times, if it formed into a Pill, it could be taken during Foundation Establishment.

The most crucial steps in the refining techniques of the two Medicinal Pills were similar, and if it failed, it would just be considered accumulating experience for the improved Foundation Establishment Pill.