"Melons picked by force won't be sweet, and allies with divided hearts won't stand together," He Lingchuan said with a chuckle. "Even though they've massed a hundred thousand troops on the western edge of the Panlong Plateau, I'd guess that now that General Red has led the Panlong Army back, those hundred thousand won't attack rashly."
"Why?" Sun Fuling blinked. "They came all this way. How could they simply return empty-handed?"
"Those two kingdoms have coveted the Panlong Wasteland for years. In truth, they probably never wanted to stop us from returning east, did they? After all, once Commander Zhong marched away with the soldiers and civilians, this land would most likely fall into their hands." He paused briefly. "For decades they fought tooth and nail, and all they wanted was this patch of earth. Now that they had a chance to get it for free, they should have been thrilled."
"Then why did they not only show up, but join forces as well?"
"Under pressure, perhaps?" He Lingchuan had already finished gnawing on his pear. "They've always backed those small states like Xiji. It wouldn't look good to wash their hands of them entirely, would it?"
Sun Fuling smiled. "What would be bad about that? Tiny, insignificant states—they never cared about them either."
"Then the pressure came from elsewhere. For instance... Beijia?" He Lingchuan stood up and drew some water to rinse his hands. "Beijia has consistently wanted us to return home through the Jinxi Corridor. They offered to dispatch troops to suppress the rebellion inside Xiluo, and they persuaded Baling to open the Jinxi Corridor. Why would they be so generous?"
"You think they wanted to destroy us along the way?"
"Without a doubt," He Lingchuan sneered. "At the very least, they intended to grind our strength to pieces. But when we refused to take the Jinxi Corridor and tried to blaze a different trail, Beijia wasn't having it."
"That's why I figure the allied forces of Baling and Xianyou are merely deployed for show. At most they'll fight a few small skirmishes, and before long they'll pack up their banners, withdraw their troops, and go home," he deduced. "Their excuse for pulling back will be simple enough: they successfully prevented the Panlong Army from advancing east, which gives them an answer for everyone involved."
Without realizing it, he had begun analyzing the military situation, laying it out in a remarkably lucid, compelling manner.
Sun Fuling's eyes flickered, and she tilted her head to look at him. "Let's hope things turn out just as you predict. By the way, you've been away for so long—did you practice your flute and xun properly?"
Almost at the same moment, He Lingchuan spoke up: "Right, there's another matter I wanted to ask about."
The atmosphere between them had softened, and dimples appeared once more in Sun Fuling's smile. "Go ahead. No need to be so polite."
"Have you ever heard of the 'elixir of immortality'? It's also called the elixir of longevity."
Sun Fuling asked curiously, "Where did you hear about that?"
He Lingchuan scratched his head. "I came across it once while browsing books in Wenxuan Pavilion."
"Which book?"
"Uh, I can't remember." It had only been an excuse anyway. "Sounds like you've heard of it?"
"It's a legend from the Beijia Kingdom. A'luo's master is a grand pharmacist, so he might know more." Sun Fuling stood up and walked over to feed the fish by the water vat. "Why don't you go ask him?"
"Now?" He Lingchuan glanced outside. "It's a bit late."
"He went over to A'luo's house today. I ran into him just a moment ago."
A'luo's place was close by; after all, they all lived in wood-grade houses. He Lingchuan stood up immediately.
"Are you coming along?"
Sun Fuling smiled and shook her head. "I still have homework to grade. People have been anxious and unsettled over this past half-month, and even the little ones have been slacking on their schoolwork. I simply must straighten them out!"
He Lingchuan detected a flash of murderous intent in her smile, couldn't help shuddering, and quickly beat a retreat out the door.
…
A little over a quarter of an hour later, he knocked on A'luo's door.
The master and disciple had just finished eating, and A'luo had been doing the dishes. When he opened the door, his hands were dripping wet.
"What brings you here?"
"To consult your master on a few questions." With that, He Lingchuan squeezed inside and bowed to Helian Chen, who sat by the table. "Master Helian, it's been a while."
Helian Chen was wearing a pair of crystal spectacles, reading a book. Hearing the greeting, he took off the glasses. "Little He? Yes, it's been a long time."
He Lingchuan drew several medicinal formulas from his sleeve and handed them over. "Last time, I benefited immensely from the two formulas for Emperor's Flowing Dew you prescribed. While in Yuheng City, I gathered a few formulas and several jars of medicinal wine as a modest token of my gratitude."
He then retrieved several jars of wine from his storage ring, which A'luo stepped forward to take.
The wine genuinely came from Yuheng City, but the formulas did not.
They came from Zhitian Township in the waking world.
As a primary herbal cultivation region in the Chiyan Kingdom, Zhitian Township naturally possessed numerous distinctive medicinal concoctions, and the core recipes weren't hard to acquire. Naturally, individual apothecary shops made slight adjustments to their proportions as supposed secret formulas.
The formula the grand pharmacist had specially prescribed for him last time had helped him maximize his gains from the second descent of Emperor's Flowing Dew. That favor had to be repaid.
Helian Chen took the formulas and examined them one by one, soon nodding in approval.
"Not bad, not bad at all. Baize Pills, Xiaolin Pellets... What interesting names."
With his expertise, he naturally grasped the essence at a glance, and his smile grew noticeably warmer. "This Xiaolin Pellet seems to be a specialty of central Beijia. How did you happen to find it in Yuheng City?"
He Lingchuan broke into a cold sweat. The old man's knowledge of the pharmacological arts was so vast that he was truly difficult to fool. He could only say vaguely, "Perhaps it spread over from Beijia? Merchants travel far and wide, trading goods between north and south."
"Mm, that's possible!" Whether Helian Chen saw through it or not, he nodded anyway. "This formula differs somewhat from the one I know. It's incorporated quite a few improvements."
*This boy is quite sincere. Good, very good—not rigid like A'luo.*
He Lingchuan gave an awkward chuckle. After all, the formula he brought was from more than a hundred years in the future—how could it not have improvements?
Seeing Helian Chen beaming, he struck while the iron was hot:
"By the way, I wished to ask Master Helian—have you ever heard of the 'elixir of immortality'?"
Helian Chen reacted just as Sun Fuling had, asking where he had heard of it. After He Lingchuan gave a perfunctory excuse, the old master stroked his beard and said,
"It truly has been a long time since I last heard anyone mention that."
Hearing that, He Lingchuan knew there was hope. "So you do know of it?"
"Mm. It's the so-called 'divine medicine' circulating in Beijia. It can prolong the consumer's lifespan, and if someone is frail or sickly to begin with, taking it will quickly strengthen their body and revitalize their health," Helian Chen recalled. "In my younger years, while traveling for study in Beijia, I happened to witness the Jeweled Tree King bestow an elixir of immortality upon an official in his service. The official consumed it right on the spot. Yes, with this sort of medicine, they always required immediate consumption; taking it home was strictly forbidden."
"How many years of life does taking a single pill extend?"
"There's no fixed amount. After all, everyone's constitution varies, and demons and humans differ even more." Helian Chen pondered. "From what I've heard, it's at least ten years or more, and at most several decades?"
"Only ten years, and they dare call it a divine medicine?"
"You truly are a youth who knows nothing of an old man's sorrows." Helian Chen burst out laughing. "When a person reaches the point where their oil is spent and the lamp is dying, let alone ten years, they'd part with their entire fortune just to live ten more days! Besides, this medicine also strengthens the physique and nurtures health. If you're a cultivator, it can even prevent your cultivation base from regressing."
Cultivation, like age and strength, would ultimately decline in the end.
He Lingchuan promptly asked, "Who produces this medicine?"
"The recipe is held in the hands of a select few in Lingxu City; not even the demon kings of the tributary vassal states know it," Helian Chen said, shaking his head. "As for who specifically controls it, I don't know either. I heard the formula leaked once in the past, so Beijia presumably keeps an even tighter rein on it now."
He Lingchuan asked the crucial question: "Do you know of pulp beads? Supposedly, they are one of the ingredients used to refine the elixir of immortality."
"That, I haven't heard of." Helian Chen pondered. "However, a close friend from my youth hailed from an influential clan in Lingxu City. Once over drinks, he mentioned that his father had taken an elixir of immortality, and he said the most crucial medicinal catalyst was bestowed by the gods. Without this catalyst, the elixir of immortality cannot be made at all. That is why in the entire world, only Lingxu City produces the divine medicine."
"Bestowed only by the gods?" He Lingchuan thought of Mr. Mai hunting demons to harvest their beads.
If what Wan Song said was true, these pulp beads were ultimately to be tossed into the crucible to refine the elixir of immortality. That meant however many pulp beads were collected had to be matched with a corresponding amount of the catalyst.
Had the Beijia Kingdom been covertly hunting its own subjects' lives to refine divine medicine?
This felt rather bizarre.
It wasn't that the state was incapable of doing such a thing, but rather... it could easily have done so out in the open. At most, it would only take dangling a few lofty justifications, and people would willingly sacrifice their lives. Why go about it sneakily in secret?
Could someone be brewing the medicine illicitly on their own?
Yet the catalyst was bestowed by the gods. Without the catalyst, what could they possibly make?
Neither explanation made sense.
He thought for a moment. "I can understand humans craving the elixir of immortality, but demons as well?"
"The direct consequence of waning spiritual energy is the shortening of living beings' lifespans. Whether demon or human, as long as one dwells beneath these heavens, one cannot escape that truth." A'luo offered warm water, and Helian Chen took a sip. "Demons are generally longer-lived than humans, but they, too, have their end."
He Lingchuan's mind stirred. "Is a ba like that as well? It's transformed from a corpse in the first place—does it have a lifespan too?"
"A ba?" Helian Chen was somewhat surprised to hear the name. "Such things still exist? I heard none have been seen since Middle Antiquity."
"Yes, in Beijia." *Right, at this time the Chiyan Kingdom hasn't been established yet, and Fu Shan'yue's father is only just rising to prominence.*
"In a place like Beijia, nothing would be surprising." Helian Chen shook his head. "Though a ba is born of turbid yin, it relies on yang energy to survive just like any other living being. Otherwise, why would it drink essence-blood? As time passes and the ba ages, the turbid energy inside its body increases while its vital force thins. In that regard, it's no different from a human; it simply has a longer lifespan, returning to dust after three or four hundred years."
He Lingchuan thought it over and asked again, "Then what about the great demon Zhu Erniang in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest? She's a demon immortal who has lived from ancient times to this day. How did she break free from the shackles of life and death?"
"That great demon is fascinating!" The moment Zhu Erniang was mentioned, Helian Chen perked up with excitement, tossing his book right onto the table. "Panlong City was its neighbor for so many years without ever getting a chance to study it. Fortunately, after the battle in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest, General Red brought back a tip of the spider demon's claw, giving us the opportunity to examine it thoroughly!"
Seeing the gleam in the old man's eyes, He Lingchuan reflexively rubbed the goosebumps rising on his arm. "Did you reach a conclusion?"
"No, how could it be that fast? Ancient demon immortals harbor far too many secrets! Just figuring out how demonic power circulates through its body could take years of study. But—" Helian Chen's eyebrows practically danced with excitement, "this demon immortal commands at least two great abilities: first, dormancy; second, molting!"
Chapter 473