Chu Weiyang propped up on his toes, almost half of his body leaning on the purple toad pill furnace, exerting a slight force, causing dust to rub off all over him.
With such effort, he managed to slightly push open a crack in the lid of the purple toad pill furnace.
In an instant, the heavy dust and smoke swirled around as if caught in a gust of wind, about to engulf him.
Mentally prepared, Chu Weiyang held his breath and dodged the gust of wind by tilting his head.
At the same time, the white jade venomous snake on his wrist buzzed happily.
Looking into the basket, the steward Ma was also in a state of chaos, his face contorted, eyes and nose unrecognizable.
With a loose grip on the edge, he let himself awkwardly fall into the basket before the poisonous wind swept over, avoiding it carefully.
After nearly ten breaths of time, even the ashes and dust stirred up in the corner of the underground palace slowly settled.
Chu Weiyang then leaned over and looked inside the purple toad pill furnace through the crack.
Behind Chu Weiyang, Steward Ma once again propped up the edge of the basket and leaned out.
Judging by his expression, he seemed even more impatient than Chu Weiyang.
"How is it? What's inside the pill furnace?" Steward Ma inquired eagerly.
In response to Steward Ma, Chu Weiyang fell into a brief silence.
Then, Chu Weiyang drew the long sword from his waist, using the sword edge as a spoon to probe into the purple toad pill furnace.
Subsequently, with just a slight scrape, when his hand withdrew, the sword edge was covered with a clump of dark mud.
Upon closer inspection, the clump of mud was dry and loose, yet due to its original quality as a precious material, even in this form, it still possessed good stickiness, blending together seamlessly.
The jet-black color was particularly chilling, especially in the dim underground palace, as if it wanted to devour the only hint of light.
Only by sniffing lightly could one sense the colorless and odorless poisonous aura emanating from it.
In the past, perhaps it was an unimaginable essence pill, a poison path, or the pinnacle of a certain path.
The round precious pill should have a brilliant color like lapis lazuli, with deep textures resembling beautiful cloud and thunder patterns.
But now, nothing could be seen.
The once colorful patterns had dissipated, everything returning to dust and soil.
The precious pill, brewed over the years, had decayed into a clump of dark medicinal mud, exuding an intense toxicity that ordinary people could not bear.
At least at this moment, Steward Ma, leaning on the edge of the basket, was quite dissatisfied.
Fine, he admitted, from the very beginning, Steward Ma had looked down on the poison path technique.
Now, this clump of mud probably seemed like trash in his eyes, and it should not appear in the legacy treasure of a Golden Core cultivator.
It was almost like a sacrilege related to personal preferences.
However, at this moment, Chu Weiyang had already disregarded such trivial matters with Steward Ma.
He carefully took out an empty porcelain bottle from his Qiankun pouch and scraped the mud from the sword edge into the bottle, sealing it meticulously.
Leaving only a small fingernail-sized piece of mud on the bottle rim, he then fed it bit by bit to the white jade venomous snake.
Even with just this small piece, as the jade snake joyfully consumed it, not even halfway through, it seemed to grow drowsy, lazily spitting out snake letters, with a hint of languor even in its buzzing, curling up on Chu Weiyang's wrist.
Yet, as each breath passed, with the skin on his wrist tightly against the jade-like scales, Chu Weiyang could clearly feel the gradual increase in the snake's aura.
A subtle change, but stable and clear.
Therefore, Chu Weiyang smiled contentedly and once again plunged the sword deep into the purple toad pill furnace, carefully scraping the mud accumulated on the furnace walls and floor.
This meticulous task consumed a lot of time.
After a long while, Chu Weiyang had filled eight large bottles, almost exhausting the empty bottles he had on hand, before completely cleaning out the mud from the pill furnace.
Originally, this was the ultimate goal of this trip.
However, as Chu Weiyang stepped back a few steps, stood next to Steward Ma, and examined the massive outline of the purple toad pill furnace with him, the young man's thoughts couldn't help but stir.
But as if guessing what was on Chu Weiyang's mind, before he could speak, Steward Ma shook his head directly.
"Don't bother!"
"Why do you think the three of them didn't make a move just now?"
"For countless years, the erosion of the legacy treasure by the Dao remnants has not been able to erode it. Just relying on people like you and me? Even if you exhaust all your energy and spirit, even if you scrape off a layer of paint, it's still unreasonable."
"For cultivators below the Golden Core realm, this thing is an unusable treasure. No matter how good it looks, it can't be used at all."
"And for Golden Core cultivators at the same realm, unless they walk the same path, otherwise, it's no different from poison!"
"The orderly overlap of various treasures, the unique interweaving and resonance, all deeply conceal the essence of a great cultivator, containing the lingering charm of the Dao fruit!"
"I have never heard of anyone purely imitating another person and successfully cultivating into a Golden Core cultivator!"
"As for refining this pill furnace, refining it into the purest treasure and the alchemy equivalent to several mountains, without the peak ability of the Golden Core realm, attempting it would just be asking for trouble."
"Chasing shadows and exhausting oneself, forget about this, while causality is still present, while your spirit and energy are still sufficient, focus on cultivating the mind, achieve sitting in oblivion, that is the proper way!"
At these words, Chu Weiyang nodded.
He was never one to be too stubborn.
Therefore, Chu Weiyang settled his mind in place, and as he looked at the massive outline of the purple toad pill furnace like a giant in the underground palace, in his vast sea of consciousness, it was as if the sun was rising in the land of Fusang, suspended in the world!
The character "Purple" soared into the sky, illuminating the realm of his consciousness!
In the next moment, the winding and rugged outline of the purple toad was fully reflected in the colorful world under the high sun.
Ancient seal characters flowed into Chu Weiyang's consciousness.
After a while, Chu Weiyang slowly opened his eyes.
"Excerpts from the Secret of the Supreme Principles of the Sovereign and Minister of the Ten Thousand Spirits"
Under Steward Ma's gaze, he suddenly smiled.
"Hey, this... is interesting!"
"A bit interesting!"
-
After a while.
The underground palace had a somewhat dim and timeless sense of day and night, cold and heat.
Under the dim light, Steward Ma was alone in the basket, appearing to be dozing off while propping up the edge of the basket.
However, the hand that hung down, tucked into his sleeve, remained in a sword-finger position, with the fingers, covered in mud stains, seemingly filled with a strong sword intent, like a dormant beast waiting for a decisive strike!
In the long silence, footsteps, neither light nor heavy, echoed from the corridor, followed by the dragging sound drawing closer.
Fine dust on the ground rose high with the incoming wind, and in the hazy mist, the figure emerging from the darkness behind the trees gradually became clear.
Chu Weiyang glanced at Steward Ma, who seemed inexplicably tense, but he did not inquire.
Because Chu Weiyang felt that Steward Ma's reaction, although somewhat strange, was probably normal for someone long tormented by pain.
Compared to these, what Chu Weiyang wanted to resolve was a hunger that was as pervasive as the pain, if not more so.
In a certain context, these two feelings were even intertwined.
Taking down a torch, Chu Weiyang lit some dry branches, set up a campfire, and then took out a clean long sword, burning off the water stains on the blade in the flames.
Then, Chu Weiyang first placed a square stone pot he had carved from a rock on the fire, then lifted a flat stone slab and laid half a wild buffalo on it.
Chu Weiyang seemed to be preparing for another hearty meal.
But just by looking at the setup, it seemed much more refined than the previous raw and brutal feasting.
Drawing the sword, cutting the meat.
Perhaps due to his eagerness, Chu Weiyang even infused some sword intent into his strikes.
Upon closer inspection, the continuous sword strikes seemed like a dense interweaving of thunder, like a continuous spring rain.
The changes in the sword intent inside were most clearly seen by Steward Ma.
Seeing the six distinct sword intents being treated in such a manner, Steward Ma gritted his teeth several times, seemingly wanting to speak but hesitated.
However, even as the meat piled up into a small mountain, Steward Ma only sneered, sulking to himself, but said nothing more.
The meat was sliced into half.
Chu Weiyang first threw a few large bones into the stone pot.
As the bone broth boiled vigorously under the flames, a peculiar aroma began to waft, a unique blend of the bone broth's fragrance and the elegant scent of certain herbs.
The harmonious fusion of these two scents stirred a thunderous hunger in Chu Weiyang's stomach like a thunderbolt.
Grabbing a twig whittled into chopsticks, Chu Weiyang, seizing the moment when the stone pot was at its peak boil, fished out the large bones and discarded them, then threw all the meat slices into the pot like a small mountain.
After waiting for a moment, Chu Weiyang moved the stone pot away from the campfire, holding the chopsticks and smiling at Steward Ma beside him.
He seemed quite happy.
"How is it?" Chu Weiyang asked.
Steward Ma seemed not to fully understand, raising an eyebrow and asking in return.
"How is what?"
Chu Weiyang pointed to the pot full of meat slices and herb-infused broth.
"I'm asking, how is this pot of soup?"
"The 'Excerpts from the Secret of the Supreme Principles of the Sovereign and Minister of the Ten Thousand Spirits' I just visualized from the remnants of the Dao fruit resonance, um... it's not a cultivation technique, not even an auxiliary secret method... how should I put it, it's more like a kind of alchemical inheritance."
"Well... a very special alchemical inheritance!"
"This method emphasizes—using all living beings and various treasures in the world as medicinal ingredients, matching them with the principles of the sovereign and minister, but these sovereign and minister medicinal herbs are not condensed by alchemical techniques, but only take the principles of alchemy, using them to refine the secret art of the ancient witch's medicinal soup, creating a pot that can be consumed as a witch's soup or swallowed as a precious pill!"
"To be honest, since obtaining the 'Green Bamboo Pill Scripture,' I have also carefully practiced it, studying the pharmacology and properties of herbs, distinguishing between medicinal plants and herbs, all of which are no problem for me."
"Roughly speaking, I can understand the basic principles of the sovereign and minister."
"But in general, my talent and aptitude end there. Perhaps with deep cultivation in this path and exhausting all my efforts, I might achieve some success in the future..."
"However, what I lack most now is the time to exhaust all my efforts."
"Even the slightly biased 'Green Bamboo Pill Scripture' is like this, so if I were to cultivate in orthodox alchemy, it would probably be even more unbearable."
"As you mentioned earlier, this seems to be a kind of causal connection that is not too mysterious. So, what I thought led to what I gained, and it has brought me this method. I'm just making a superficial attempt now, but it resonates deeply with me!"
"So, Steward, how is this pot of soup?"
When he asked this, Chu Weiyang looked down at the stone pot, and in the depths of his dark and profound eyes, there was an indescribable sense of nostalgia.
In response to Chu Weiyang's profound emotion, Steward Ma let out a scoff.
"Thanks for explaining."
"Otherwise, looking at this pot of rotten leaves and meat, I would have thought you were reminiscing about life in the Demon-sealing Cave."
"The rank of a technique has always been secondary. What matters most is whether it suits oneself. If you find it suitable, then it is the highest alchemical technique for you."
"What benefit is there in asking me? Do you want me, a person with half a broken body, to taste it for you?"
"I am now just like you... a mythical beast!"
At these words, Chu Weiyang didn't say anything at all, just rolled his eyes and ignored Steward Ma, focusing on the meat soup.
-
In the Lingqiu Mountains, amidst the lush forest, Liu Dao Ren and his two companions were traveling in a staggered formation.
Looking at the three figures, the scattered fragments around their waists and wrists were much fewer.
Presumably, they had already cashed in on the gains from the underground palace.
Upon closer inspection, the relaxed expression on Liu Dao Ren's face was filled with smiles.
Suddenly, Liu Dao Ren at the front abruptly stopped.
As he reached behind with his right hand, Zhang and Wang, the two companions, also halted, standing beside and behind Liu Dao Ren.
For a moment, the breath of the three seemed to converge, twisting into a whirlwind that was about to sweep towards the lush forest ahead.
Before the wind arrived, a hearty laughter echoed from the shadows behind the trees, and a voice reached them first.
"Great skills! Excellent skills!"
"Three Dao friends, I mean no harm! I am Yan Jianming, a direct disciple under the seat of the Danxia Old Mother of Tingchang Mountain. Meeting fellow cultivators on the path, I just want to ask for directions from the three of you. I wonder... if it's convenient?"
Remember, many books are hard to find now, so cherish what you have.