Chapter 294: Elixir of Life
Chapter 294: Elixir of Life
"Elixir of Life?"
Mo Hua heard this term for the first time and asked, "Can it prolong one's life?"
Zhang Lan contemplated, "You could say it prolongs life, but it's not exactly life extension."
Elder Yu and the others exchanged glances, all looking perplexed.
Mo Hua urged, "Uncle Zhang, don't keep us in suspense."
Zhang Lan was taken aback, then after a moment's thought, he asked Mo Hua, "What's the most important thing for a cultivator?"
"Cultivation base?" Mo Hua replied after some thought.
"No," Zhang Lan shook his head. "While cultivation base is fundamental for cultivators, what's even more important is their lifespan. Only with a long lifespan can one pursue cultivation and strive for longevity."
"This so-called longevity is, in essence, an ultimate and eternal lifespan."
Mo Hua understood, "In simpler terms, no matter what a person does, they must first be alive. If they lose their life, everything else becomes meaningless."
"That's a good way to think about it," Zhang Lan said. "Even the most powerful cultivators must first ensure their survival. Without a lifespan, they cannot continue to live. No matter how profound their cultivation may be, they will eventually perish."
Mo Hua said, "So cultivators will go to great lengths to prolong their lives?"
Zhang Lan nodded, "The phrase 'prolonging life' is actually misleading. The heavens have their laws, and cultivators have their fates. When one's time is up, their lifespan will be exhausted, and death is inevitable."
"But aren't there pills or cultivation techniques that can prolong life?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
While Mo Hua had never seen such pills or techniques himself, they were often mentioned in cultivation records, so it wasn't entirely new information.
"That's why I said that these so-called 'life-prolonging' methods are not truly 'prolonging life'," Zhang Lan explained.
Mo Hua listened intently, waiting for Zhang Lan to continue.
Zhang Lan's expression turned solemn as he said, "When a cultivator's time is up, there is no way to extend their life. This is a limitation set by the heavens. The life extension sought by cultivators usually falls into two categories."
"One is to use cultivation techniques or pills to regulate the physical body and meridians, removing impurities and curing illnesses, thus prolonging life."
"However, in this case, the cultivator's lifespan has not yet reached its limit, and their life force is not exhausted. This kind of life extension merely prolongs the cultivator's original lifespan, so it cannot be considered as extending life."
"When a cultivator truly reaches their limit, death is certain according to the laws of heaven. If they wish to defy death, they must resort to the path of demons and heretics, practicing forbidden techniques and refining forbidden pills."
"The Elixir of Life is one such forbidden pill."
A chill ran down Mo Hua's spine as he asked, "Does refining the Elixir of Life require killing a lot of people?"
Zhang Lan nodded, "Refining the Elixir of Life is difficult and requires taking the lives of many people."
"Refining a human pill to prolong life is akin to borrowing life force from others. But this act of defying the heavens is extremely challenging and may require a great deal of effort. One can only borrow a small amount of life force from each person, so a large number of people must be sacrificed to accumulate enough life force..."
Mo Hua's heart trembled as he gradually understood:
"The way of man is to take from those who have less to give to those who have more. It's a form of exploitation, benefiting oneself at the expense of others..."
"Families and aristocratic families grow by exploiting spiritual stones; the dominance of the Dao Court exploits power; the demons and heretics are even more cruel, with blood drinkers exploiting blood, and spirit absorbers exploiting spiritual power. As for refining the Elixir of Life, it directly takes away people's lives..."
Zhang Lan was startled by these words and asked, "Who told you this?"
Mo Hua scratched his head, "Isn't that how it is?"
Zhang Lan wanted to say no, but he vaguely felt that there was some truth to it, and for a moment, he couldn't organize his thoughts.
Elder Yu was also surprised and glanced at Mo Shan.
Mo Shan shook his head, indicating that he hadn't taught Mo Hua this, and he had no idea where Mo Hua had come up with these ideas.
After a moment of thought, Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan, "If it's truly a human pill, is it being refined for the Great Master?"
Zhang Lan's brow was still furrowed as he considered Mo Hua's words. Then he remembered the most important issue at hand—the Black Mountain Fortress. He speculated,
"The Great Master is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Foundation Establishment cultivators in the early stages have a lifespan of only three hundred years, and even in the middle and later stages, it's not more than four hundred years. Judging from this, the Great Master's lifespan is probably coming to an end, which is why he established the fortress deep in the Great Black Mountain, gathering evil cultivators, killing and plundering, and refining pills to prolong his life..."
"These actions are prohibited by the Dao Laws, aren't they?"
Zhang Lan sighed, but his expression eased slightly. "Refining human pills is a heinous act that invites divine wrath and public resentment. Once reported, the Dao Court will surely attach great importance to it and dispatch Dao soldiers to annihilate this group of evil cultivators!"
Elder Yu and the others heaved a sigh of relief.
If that were the case, eradicating Black Mountain Fortress wouldn't be as challenging.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and asked, "Is the reason for this group of evil cultivators' low-key behavior also because they fear that such actions will be exposed, alerting the Dao Court and leading to a crackdown by the Dao soldiers?"
Zhang Lan pondered briefly before nodding, "That's highly possible, but..."
Then, Zhang Lan thought of another question and turned to Mo Hua, "Refining human pills is top-secret, and the pill refining chamber is even more restricted. These are things that must be kept from outsiders. How did you manage to sneak in there?"
Elder Yu and the others looked at Mo Hua curiously.
"It's not that big of a deal. I just sneaked in while the third master was out," Mo Hua said nonchalantly.
"And then?" Zhang Lan asked, knowing that there was more to the story.
"Then I got delayed and was discovered by the third master..." Mo Hua trailed off.
The expressions of the crowd changed drastically, and Mo Shan's heart sank as worry crept into his eyes.
"You were discovered by a Foundation Establishment evil cultivator and yet you're still alive? How did you get out?" Zhang Lan asked, astonished.
"The third master sent me out," Mo Hua replied.
Zhang Lan scoffed, "Nonsense."
"It's true," Mo Hua insisted.
"Then he must have lost his mind," Zhang Lan said.
"His mind is fine, but he might have misunderstood something," Mo Hua explained.
"Misunderstood what?"
"He misunderstood me for an old demon who had seized a new body," Mo Hua said.
"Seized a new body?" Zhang Lan was taken aback and asked, "Why would he think that?"
Mo Hua tried to sound modest, but he couldn't help feeling proud as he said, "Maybe because my spiritual sense is strong."
Zhang Lan paused, "I know your spiritual sense is strong, but it shouldn't be to that extent..."
As he spoke, Zhang Lan's spiritual sense stirred, and his expression changed abruptly as disbelief filled his eyes. "Your spiritual sense..."
Upon hearing this, Elder Yu also released his spiritual sense. A moment later, he widened his eyes and abruptly stood up.
He hadn't realized it until now, when the topic of spiritual sense was brought up, prompting him to release his spiritual sense to observe Mo Hua.
However, he only managed to do so for a brief moment before he became agitated.
Through his spiritual sense, Elder Yu perceived Mo Hua's body as hazy and his aura vague, making it impossible to discern the truth or gauge his strength.
The stronger one's spiritual sense was, the more elusive it became.
This meant that Mo Hua's spiritual sense had grown so powerful that it could rival or even hinder Elder Yu's perception! But how was that possible? Zhang Lan was at the Foundation Establishment stage, while Mo Hua was merely at the Qi Refining stage! This defied everything he knew about cultivation...
Elder Yu's expression turned astonished as he stammered, "Your spiritual sense..."
Mo Hua scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed as he explained, "My cultivation is still at the Qi Refining stage, but my spiritual sense has already reached the Foundation Establishment level..."
Everyone in the room inhaled sharply, and the room fell into a dead silence.
At the same time, deep in the mountains.
The third master muttered to himself, "Qi Refining cultivation, Foundation Establishment spiritual sense... How is that possible..."
He realized that something was amiss.
(End of Chapter)
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