Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1309: Chapter 848: Illusion God Pill, Turtle Breath Pill (2)

“Haha, by then Elder Yang must not find this old man troublesome!”

“Of course not!” Yang Zhenshan laughed.

Afterwards, the two chatted a bit more leisurely, and only then did Yue Ming say his goodbyes, with Yang Zhenshan seeing him out of the courtyard.

As Yue Ming left Yang Zhenshan’s place, just as he was about to return to his own residence, he unexpectedly ran into Master Jing Shui.

“Greetings, True Man!” Ming Yue quickly cupped his hands in salute.

Master Jing Shui nodded slightly, about to leave, but then suddenly paused, “Have you finished refining the Illusion God Pill?”

The matter of Yue Ming wanting to refine the Illusion God Pill wasn’t a secret—after all, he had prepared for decades, and collecting those twenty batches of herbs alone had taken a lot of effort and time.

Previously, Yue Ming had also sought out Master Jing Shui, but unfortunately, Master Jing Shui was not an alchemist, nor did he have friends adept in alchemy.

“It’s done!” Yue Ming smiled.

Seeing him so delighted, Master Jing Shui then understood that he must have obtained quite a number of Illusion God Pills.

“Is Elder Yang’s alchemical skill very formidable?”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure, but Elder Yang gave me twenty-five Illusion God Pills!” Yue Ming did not hide it and said directly.

“Twenty batches of herbs?”

“That’s right!”

“Half for each?”

“Elder Yang gave me one more!”

Master Jing Shui gasped, “Doesn’t that mean a pill formation rate of over twenty percent?”

Yue Ming said nothing; although he had always understood the alchemy of Immortal Cultivators, he had directly come into contact with the alchemy of Yang Zhenshan, this one Immortal Cultivator.

As a Martial Artist, he always kept a respectful distance from unfamiliar Immortal Cultivators; he had no choice, as the gap between a Martial God and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was too vast, and very few Martial Gods could contend with Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Master Jing Shui was quite shocked, facing completely unfamiliar elixirs, yet being able to have a pill formation rate of over twenty percent. In the beginning, for sure, many would have been wasted, so the later pill formation rate must be even higher?

“You should go back first!”

With that said, he ignored Yue Ming and headed towards Yang Zhenshan’s cliffside retreat.

Inside the retreat, Yang Zhenshan was just about to return to Spirit Source Land when, unexpectedly, Master Jing Shui came again.

“Senior looking for me for something?”

He welcomed Master Jing Shui into the retreat and asked.

“Yes, how is your alchemy?” Master Jing Shui did not bother with formalities and asked directly.

He knew Yang Zhenshan could do alchemy; Yang Zhenshan had previously given him some Gathering Spirit Pills, though he thought Yang Zhenshan’s alchemy level was just reaching Second-Order, given Yang Zhenshan hadn’t been in Foundation Establishment for long.

“Fairly decent!” Yang Zhenshan modestly replied.

“Can you refine Foundation Establishment Pills?” Master Jing Shui suddenly recalled the transaction between the Illusion Moon Sect and Spirit Source Land involving Foundation Establishment Pills.

“Yes, I can refine them!” Yang Zhenshan nodded.

Master Jing Shui’s eyes lit up, “I have an elixir I need you to refine!”

“What elixir?”

“Second-Order Turtle Breath Pill!”

Yang Zhenshan looked puzzled; he hadn’t heard of such an elixir before.

Master Jing Shui took out a jade scroll, a complex expression on his face: “I had already given up, but since your alchemy level is so high, it wouldn’t hurt to let you try!”

Yang Zhenshan took the jade scroll and began inspecting its contents.

The Turtle Breath Pill, a Second-Order Pill, its effects allow a cultivator to enter a state of turtle breath for ten years, slowing the consumption of lifespan, and can slowly increase cultivation.

Reading the description and elixir recipe of the Turtle Breath Pill in the jade scroll, Yang Zhenshan’s expression slightly paused.

Though the Turtle Breath Pill could not extend lifespan, it allows one to enter a turtle breath state, which is akin to a deathlike state, sleeping for ten years while lifespan consumed only accounts for one year.

Moreover, in the turtle breath state, one can absorb nature’s spiritual energy; although the absorption efficiency is not as high as meditation cultivation, if ten years are counted as one, it amounts to two years of meditation cultivation.

Simply put, exchanging one year of lifespan for ten years of turtle breath is akin to seclusion cultivation for two years.

And this is just the effect of a low-grade Turtle Breath Pill; a mid-grade Turtle Breath Pill equates to four years of secluded cultivation, a high-grade one can enter a turtle breath state for twenty years at once, while a top-grade one can enter it for fifty years at once, with only two years of lifespan consumption and equivalent to ten years of secluded cultivation.

This means that with enough Turtle Breath Pills, it would not be a problem for Master Jing Shui to live for another two hundred years.

Of course, being always in a turtle breath state bears no meaning; the key is that one can also improve cultivation in the turtle breath state.

If Master Jing Shui could use the Turtle Breath Pill to elevate his cultivation to the late-stage Foundation Establishment, he might even extend his lifespan by several decades.

Yang Zhenshan found the effects of the Turtle Breath Pill quite miraculous, but after finishing the elixir recipe, felt a bit troubled.

The Turtle Breath Pill is more difficult to refine than the Foundation Establishment Pill, and many herbs in it were ones he had never heard of.

The unknown herbs meant he did not understand their medicinal properties and couldn’t accurately handle the parts of the refinement process that required special treatment.

If he were to refine this Turtle Breath Pill, he would likely need to start from scratch, much like when he first refined the Foundation Establishment Pill.

He would have to dissect the recipe bit by bit, studying it meticulously a countless number of times.

“Senior, this elixir is more difficult to refine than the Foundation Establishment Pill!” Yang Zhenshan spoke truthfully.

Master Jing Shui laughed, “I know, I’ve asked a few Pill Masters before, none of whom felt confident in refining the Turtle Breath Pill!”

Helping others refine pills is quite a profitable activity for alchemists, but when facing elixirs they aren’t confident in, most alchemists wouldn’t take it up because a failure in refining could potentially affect their reputation.

If one’s reputation is damaged, then in the future, no one would come to them for alchemy, hence most alchemists wouldn’t pretend to be more capable than they are.

“I only have three sets of materials, at most you can refine nine pills!”

“Consider it practice, don’t be too fixated on it!”

Master Jing Shui seemed to have come to terms with it: “Lucky if gained, resigned if lost!”

Losing one’s lifespan is a very helpless matter for cultivators.

Master Jing Shui had thought of defying fate, but unfortunately, despite decades of busy efforts, he never found a way to extend lifespan.

It’s not that no methods exist; rather, many methods he simply couldn’t achieve.

For example, Third-tier Elixir Lifespan Extension Pill, or using some evil skills to extend one’s life, like the Lian family’s ancestor who turned into a blood corpse puppet or directly transitioning to being a Ghost Cultivator.

In short, there are many methods, but they’re either hard to achieve or too wicked, with lots of side effects.

Master Jing Shui handed the three sets of materials he had collected to Yang Zhenshan, who hesitated a bit but eventually received them.

“I will do my best!”

Yang Zhenshan still had considerable respect for Master Jing Shui, this senior had helped him a lot, and if he could, he wanted to repay him in some way.

However, the Turtle Breath Pill is incredibly challenging to refine, and with only three sets of herbs, he really wasn’t confident.

“No worries, just do your best, don’t feel burdened. I have actually come to terms with it!”

Master Jing Shui laughed freely.

“Birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural for humans; although we practice the Immortal Path, we’re ultimately still within the boundaries of being human!”

“Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality, how long is the Immortal Path!”

Yang Zhenshan looked at the deliberately carefree Master Jing Shui, and his mind wandered.

What exactly is the Immortal Path?

Is it the supreme way? Or the path of longevity?

It seems like both, but also seems like neither!

The Immortal Path is just a journey of cultivation, not the supreme or eternal life, just a path full of the unknown.

The path is long and far, and I will seek my way high and low.