"The exact location of the Valley of Longevity remains unclear for now, but I have already purchased a batch of the raw ingredients needed to refine Longevity Pills from the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
With that, Li Fan waved his hand, and a storage ring instantly materialized in midair.
"Elder Liu, please take a look at the quality and see if they meet the requirements for pill refinement," Li Fan asked.
Liu San took the ring, inspected its contents, and wore an astonished expression. "Superb quality. Most of them are spiritual herbs that have grown for well over a century. Young Master, did you handpick these yourself?"
Li Fan shook his head. "They are merely ordinary spiritual plants sold through the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
Hearing this, Liu San could not help sighing with emotion. "Now that the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association have unified the cultivation world and consolidated the world's resources, they truly are extraordinarily wealthy.
"In our day, even the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao would likely have struggled to supply high-grade spiritual herbs in such massive quantities."
Li Fan smiled and concurred. "Perhaps that is also because more than half the cultivators in the world have perished. The current scale of the cultivation world is far smaller than in our time. If nothing else, our Medicine King Sect's few thousand disciples were merely considered a mid-sized sect in ancient times. In a single province, there were countless sects like ours.
"Yet now..."
Li Fan paused. "If all of us were to suddenly emerge, it would undoubtedly cause a global uproar and draw the attention of experts in the Longevity realm."
Liu San was startled and frowned slightly. "When I flew across several provinces earlier, I noticed this as well. Compared to back then, the cultivation world is far too desolate. The land is vast and sparsely populated; aside from established immortal cities, cultivators are rarely seen out in the wilderness. In our era, any mountain or river blessed with a spiritual vein would have been claimed by cultivators.
"As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. Today's Longevity realm experts defy the principles of Heaven and Earth, making them noticeably stronger than the sect elders of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao back then. If word leaks that our Medicine King Sect has crossed time from antiquity into the present, it will inevitably provoke greed in others.
"Young Master, your decision is spot on. Breaking into smaller groups and covertly blending into the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is our best course to rebuild our strength as quickly as possible without drawing undue attention." Liu San looked at Li Fan, a flicker of gratification in his eyes.
"Nowadays in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, all cultivation resources revolve around contribution points. We already owe Fellow Daoist Zhou a fair amount. Although he hasn't complained, if he fails to see any returns from us soon, trouble will inevitably brew. Tying him into a shared community of interests is our safest path," Li Fan explained. "The human heart cannot be trusted lightly; only mutual profit endures. Therefore, we must begin steadily producing Longevity Pills as quickly as possible. I will have to trouble you with this, Elder Liu!"
Liu San put on a solemn look. "Restoring the glory of the Medicine King Sect is my bounden duty. You may set your mind at ease, Young Master!"
Leading a group of disciples into the pill refinement chamber at the center of the Medicine King Cauldron, Liu San said in a deep voice, "Young Master, please grant me authorization so that I may operate the Medicine King Cauldron."
With a thought, Li Fan temporarily transferred access to the chamber. An illusory silhouette of a medicine cauldron materialized in the center of the room.
Liu San tapped the empty air, and the phantom condensed into a solid form, hitting the floor with a resonant thud.
"Take your positions!" Liu San swept his gaze over the surrounding disciples and barked in a low voice.
A total of ninety-nine elite Foundation Establishment disciples who had been carefully chosen each summoned their own Small Medicine King Cauldrons. Following designated positions from the inside out, with the true Medicine King Cauldron as the core, they arranged themselves in formation.
An azure radiance emanated from the true Medicine King Cauldron, connecting through the surrounding small cauldrons as nodes. In an instant, the energies intertwined seamlessly, tracing the complete pattern of a grand array across the floor.
*The World-Saving Longevity Array, is it...* Li Fan thought to himself as he observed the scene from the side.
Liu San circulated the Longevity Scripture with all his might. A strand of pure Azure Longevity Force surged out from the central Medicine King Cauldron, coursed through the outer circle, and, tempered and enhanced by the array, grew several degrees more vibrant before returning to the true cauldron.
Once the Azure Longevity Force had accumulated like standing water, filling more than half the cauldron, Liu San began placing the required medicinal ingredients into it one by one.
*Pfft...*
As the spiritual herbs entered the cauldron, the Azure Longevity Force seemed to boil, churning violently and continuously.
The spiritual herbs melted in an instant, vanishing into the cauldron. The evaporated vapors condensed rather than dispersed, forming a transparent barrier at the very top of the cauldron that kept the Azure Longevity Force from spilling outward.
With a grave expression, Liu San carefully timed the addition of each ingredient according to the state within the cauldron.
Meanwhile, the ninety-nine disciples around him exerted themselves to manipulate their Small Medicine King Cauldrons in support, seizing this rare opportunity to watch Liu San's pill-refining process with rapt attention.
Minutes and seconds ticked away.
With the addition of numerous medicinal herbs, the Azure Longevity Force grew increasingly thick, almost turning tangible.
At the most crucial juncture, Liu San bellowed, "Congeal!"
As he spoke, he pointed a finger across the air toward the central cauldron.
In an instant, the cauldron blurred once more, then contracted violently toward the center.
Under this split-second compression, the Azure Longevity Force, which was already dense to the extreme, underwent a qualitative change, shifting from liquid to solid.
The phantom of the Medicine King Cauldron vanished, leaving a revolving azure pill hovering in midair, exuding rich vitality.
A potent herbal fragrance wafted from it.
The moment they caught the scent, all the cultivators present, including Liu San, subconsciously betrayed a hint of greed in their eyes.
Yet Liu San was a Dao Integration cultivator after all, and he swiftly recovered his senses.
His expression shifted abruptly, and he shouted, "Not good!"
He thrust out his hand, forming a massive palm that clamped down over the newly refined Longevity Pill.
"Hm?"
Just as everyone looked on in confusion, a tremendous explosion boomed from Liu San's palm.
Liu San's body trembled slightly. Although he quickly drew back his hand with apparent composure, he could hardly conceal the embarrassment on his face.
"Did... did the refinement fail?"
Li Fan and the disciples of the Medicine King Sect all turned strange looks upon Liu San.
"Ahem..."
Liu San cleared his throat and explained in a muted voice, "I forgot about the upheaval of Heaven and Earth and still used my past techniques to refine the pill, hence..."
"However, it is no great issue. It merely requires a few minor adjustments."
"Next time. The next attempt will definitely succeed," Liu San vowed solemnly.
Li Fan nodded without saying much.
Thus, Liu San conjured the phantom of the Medicine King Cauldron once more and began refining another Longevity Pill.
While there was no explosion this time, the finished product...
Li Fan looked at the half-azure, half-purple pill in his hand, his cheek twitching.
Liu San could no longer save face and roared furiously, "Again!"
With the elder losing his temper, the disciples were chilled into silence and had no choice but to keep cooperating.
On the third attempt, a proper Longevity Pill was finally refined successfully.
Only then did Liu San let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Chapter 617