Chapter Thirty-Nine: Golden Stone Elixir

Early the next morning.

In the courtyard of the manor, Li Yang laid out the medicinal ingredients he had prepared in advance, arranging them neatly one by one.

“Li Yang, all the cinnabar you needed has been prepared for you. When do you plan to use it?”

“Thank you, Sister Jinling! Just set it aside for now.” Li Yang smiled softly at the girl holding the vivid red cinnabar, gesturing toward a corner next to the alchemy furnace.

“Ah... These treasures of yours truly behave like ancestors. The gold and silver poured into them over the years could build a golden palace. Who knows how much more will be needed?” Jinling looked with a troubled expression toward the three exotic beasts basking in the sun on the platform.

“That’s only natural. These beasts born of heaven and earth possess long lifespans. To reach maturity, they must absorb the world’s energy over many years. Now that the world has changed, the environment no longer suits their growth. To adapt, their survival instincts evolve with the times, their bloodline buried deep within their genes, and they themselves become almost ordinary.”

“What I need to do now is gradually awaken their innate bloodline potential, restore them to their primal origins, and revive the fierce might of the ancient era. To activate the dormant ancient genes in their bodies, I need vast amounts of energy.”

“But fortunately, the Six-Winged Golden Centipede is nearly mature now. The rest can be nurtured slowly, there’s no need to rush.” Li Yang smiled, offering a casual explanation.

Truthfully, he was quite troubled. Over the past three years, half of the He family’s assets had ended up in the bellies of these three exotic beasts. The harvests from Bottle Mountain had been exchanged by Chen Yulou and others for all sorts of cultivation resources and medicinal ingredients. In essence, there was no money left.

Shaking his head, Li Yang cast these worries aside, crouched down, and lit the firewood beneath the furnace.

“Gua!”

“Huff, huff...”

The Golden Toad suddenly leapt from the platform, spraying a powerful stream of air. The firewood beneath the furnace flared up instantly, and within moments the entire furnace was glowing red-hot.

Clang!

At Li Yang’s command, the Golden Centipede on the stone table sprang into the air, its shell shining with a luxurious golden sheen under the morning sun. After circling the sky a few times, it flicked its tail, sending the furnace lid flying, then caught it neatly in its mouth.

“Show-off...” Li Yang couldn’t help but laugh and curse as he watched the blue smoke rising gently from the furnace and the Golden Centipede swimming in it.

Since the centipede’s bloodline matured, its intelligence had advanced greatly. It could now communicate on a basic level, not much less clever than a human.

He placed the rare ores and an assortment of strange metals into the furnace one by one. The Golden Centipede replaced the lid and flew down to lie at Li Yang’s feet.

Li Yang exhaled slowly, his mind carefully attuned to the furnace’s state. A golden-hued smoke wafted up, filling the air with an exotic fragrance.

This elixir of metal and stone was different from the gentle medicinal pills made from herbs—it was fiercely energetic. If the furnace’s quality was lacking or a mistake was made, it could explode, making it extremely dangerous.

Herbal elixirs focus on nurturing and gestation, but metallic elixirs are all about “refining.”

Much like the Daoist pursuit of the Golden Elixir, only through prolonged refining could the hidden trace elements in these special metals be released, fusing under high temperature and pressure to form new elements with even greater energy.

As the saying goes: Medicine achieves form through energy, the Dao finds nature in the mysterious, the furnace contains the cosmos, and from the tides of time arises the Golden Elixir.

...

“Hmm, what is that smell? It’s so fragrant!”

In a nearby mortuary not far from the manor, three people—one middle-aged man and two youths—sat around a wooden table, drinking rice porridge. The man at the head wore a stern expression, his brows straight, his hair graying, exuding a commanding aura and righteous presence.

The two seated below him were a gloomy-faced man with a bowl-cut and short, drooping brows, and a clever-looking youth whose lively gaze betrayed intelligence.

Catching the scent in the air, the youth looked up in confusion.

“Yes, Master, do you smell it? It’s really fragrant. Whose cooking is so good?” The gloomy man glanced at his rice porridge, suddenly finding it less appetizing.

“You two useless boys, all you think about is eating. You’ll poison yourselves!” The middle-aged man’s straight brows twitched as he discreetly glanced toward the manor, scolding them angrily.

“What’s that supposed to mean! Always making us drink rice porridge and still being so fierce.” The gloomy man shot an unhappy look at their master, muttering under his breath.

“Senior Brother! How can you speak to Master like that? Master must have his reasons for everything he does.” The clever youth immediately rebuked him.

Hearing the youth’s words, the middle-aged man nodded in gratification. At least one disciple understood his painstaking efforts.

But before he could express his satisfaction, the youth changed his tone and continued, “Though Master is stingy, ill-tempered, vain, and makes us suffer, always beating and scolding us, forcing us to work every day, he’s still our master. We can’t speak about him like that.”

“You two little rascals, I should never have taken you as disciples!” Even the patient master couldn’t help but grimace at this, standing up and scanning the room as if searching for something handy to discipline these two traitorous apprentices.

“Master! Please, don’t... We’re still eating! We were only joking with you. Please calm down, don’t get angry and hurt yourself!” Seeing their master’s fury, the two quickly stood up and begged for mercy with ingratiating smiles.

“Ah... It’s the misfortune of the sect, accepting you two as disciples.” The middle-aged man sighed, finally sitting back down, defeated.

These three were, of course, Master Lin Jiu and his apprentices from Ren Family Town.

“But speaking of which, Master, why do you keep glancing over there?” At this moment, Qiusheng’s eyes darted about curiously.

“What else could it be? Ever since the owner of that manor invited Master over for tea last year, he’s been visiting regularly, staying for an entire day each time.” Wen Cai grumbled, then added, “He must be eating something delicious—he always comes back glowing with health.”

“Wow... Master, you’re eating alone!” Qiusheng cried out, pointing accusingly at Uncle Nine.

Uncle Nine’s face reddened for once, protesting, “What eating alone? He only invited me, not you two. Should I shamelessly drag you along?”

“But really, who is the owner of that manor? What a grand setup! Even Master Ren’s mansion, the richest in town, can’t compare.”

“Last time I passed by, I saw a rooster—good heavens, it was over half a meter tall! I happened to glance at its drumsticks and swallowed a few times, and it pecked my head full of bumps.” Qiusheng rubbed his head, recalling the encounter with lingering fear.

“You brought it on yourself. That’s no ordinary chicken. It’s a spirit breed born of heaven and earth—a Phoenix-blooded Angry Rooster. You looked at it with greedy eyes. If it hadn’t spared you for the manor owner’s sake, you’d have suffered much worse.” Uncle Nine rolled his eyes and glared at Qiusheng in annoyance.

“Phoenix-blooded, huh? Still just a chicken. If not for its owner, I wouldn’t have let it off so easily—I’d have plucked it bald!” Qiusheng grumbled.

“Ah... Such ignorance...” Uncle Nine shook his head, walking out without further rebuke, merely reflecting that sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

“Hey, Senior Brother, have you ever met the manor’s owner? Who is he, really?” Qiusheng turned to Wen Cai.

“I don’t know exactly. His name’s Li Yang. Last year, when he came to invite Master, I saw him once—a young man, very handsome!” Wen Cai pondered for a while, then summed it up simply.

“What? A handsome young man? Is he more handsome than me?” Qiusheng preened, not impressed.

Even Wen Cai couldn’t stand it, rolling his droopy eyes. “Compared to you? That’s like a chicken and a phoenix—not even. You’re not even a chicken, just a vain little sparrow!”

“Hmph~ I don’t believe it...” Qiusheng turned his head away, unconvinced.