Chapter 1350

The reeds sprouted, their slender green leaves gradually unfurling, thickening and flattening; by the time May arrived, the weather gradually warmed, and along both banks of the river, a green wall had closed in.

"Next month I won't be coming back—just have Heposuo send someone to wrap up the loose ends. What do I have to do? I've already exceeded the task quota, alright? Once I'm done with the June rush, I'll only be a little behind schedule!" Liang Qu pinched his thumb and forefinger.

Sounan withdrew his gaze, calmly recording: "Understood, Lord Huai may depart with peace of mind."

"Excellent, truly excellent—no wonder you're Heposuo's capable aide! I knew you could handle this. On my way back, I'll bring you a specialty from Pingyang. Come, Chishan, let's return to Pingyang."

Crimson clouds filled the sky, then vanished without a trace.

"Huuu————"

Watching Lord Huai depart, Sounan drew a deep breath, holding it for a long while before finally releasing it.

Capital City, Pill Workshop.

The alchemists gathered in a cluster, sweat drenching their backs.

They had assembled here, utterly exhausted, the fierce heat as if the sun had fallen to earth; as the heat slowly dissipated, all eyes turned to the central master alchemist.

"Master Fu————"

Fu Shuo sat cross-legged, regulating his breath; hearing the voice, he opened his eyes, bloodshot, and after a long moment returned to awareness, giving a slight nod.

"That's enough—open the cauldron. I, old man, am truly exhausted, likely lacking the strength to lift the lid; I don't know who would be willing to take over."

"Who will open it?"

The crowd exchanged glances, all eager to try.

"I'll open it!"

"I'll do it."

Likewise, Tu Song, eager as everyone else, couldn't wait; before anyone could react, he had already rushed forward, pressed his hand against the pill cauldron's lid—the intense heat scorched a layer of skin off his hand, yet he paid it no mind, swung his arms, exerted full force, intending to lift the lid, but unexpectedly hit a barrier here and failed to open it.

The onlookers were not surprised; rather, they were pleased.

"Fine pill!"

"This pill has strength. It's a fine pill! Even Master Tu couldn't pry it open—impressive."

"Remarkable, remarkable!"

"What are they doing? Why did it suddenly start blowing up? It's just a pill cauldron lid, isn't it? Sure, it's heavy, but not that exaggerated, right? I feel even the boat captain could lift it." Long Pinghe, waiting at the door to collect the pill, crossed his arms, bewildered.

Long Pingjiang shook his head and called over a nearby medicine boy to inquire.

The medicine boy, hearing this, chuckled: "Lord Long, you don't know—different pill cauldrons have different effects, different herbs have different refining methods, and even the same pill can have different techniques. Have you ever heard of the Haihai Xuanjing Pill? That's the famed transmission from Master Fu's own teacher, the Living Spirit Method."

Long Pingjiang had some impression of that pill; long ago, when he came to the capital with the elders to participate in an auction, facing a thunder-attribute long qi, a martial saint had bid on this very pill: "I've heard of it. But I don't know if there's any discrepancy—please, little brother, enlighten me."

"The Haihai Xuanjing Pill is refined from a great demon Xuanjing whale of the sea; its refinement method is extremely complex, requiring at least one martial saint to oversee the process, a grandmaster-level alchemist to personally wield the flame divine art, using heaven and earth as the furnace, at the moment the Xuanjing whale's fresh life is preserved, combined with numerous auxiliary herbs, refining the whole beast, locking in all medicinal efficacy and essence! Ultimately achieving one pill per whale, and even with multiple auxiliary herbs enhancing it, under their support, it becomes stronger than a single whale!" The little medicine boy's eyes sparkled.

"Little brother, are you going off-topic? What does what you're saying have to do with what I asked? I asked you why you can't lift the lid." Long Pinghe puzzled.

"No, I'm not off-topic." The little medicine boy said confidently: "Pills refined with the Living Spirit Method are full of spirit; when opening the cauldron, they manifest as the cauldron being the body and the pill the soul—a peculiar display, no different from a living being. That's why it won't open: the cauldron has spirit and doesn't want people to take the pill, so it generates resistance."

Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe suddenly understood.

Long Pingjiang asked: "But the Sea Horse King is already dead—it's not a living thing, so can it still be refined successfully?"

The little medicine boy proudly replied: "Because the Living Spirit Method is the school founded by Master Fu's teacher; it's not Master Fu himself, but by the time it reached Master Fu, it had already advanced a step further, flourished and expanded, evolving into the Spiritless Method—one that can successfully refine pills without living beings, as long as the dead haven't been too long dead. This was already flourished and expanded by Master Fu at the age of fifty-six, a long time ago."

As Long Pingjiang and Long Pinghe marveled, inside the room, with a bang—a loud sound—the pill cauldron lid burst open.

No blinding light, just crimson-gold flames spewing straight from the cauldron's mouth, transforming into countless fire dragons that crawled along the ceiling.

Seeing the precious pill about to burn the room to ashes, yet those present were not only alchemists but also the Tianwei Guard, who had prepared early, acted in unison, suppressing the crimson-gold flames; several grandmasters actually held their ground against a single pill!

"Gululu."

Long Pinghe swallowed his saliva—he was a Tiger-Hunting Great Martial Master, yet facing a single pill, he felt a strong threat, his blood surged.

This pill truly has strength!

The stalemate lasted a small half-hour; in the end, the pill was still a pill, gradually losing momentum. Fu Shuo, having rested well, unleashed his prepared gourd, activated the spiritual artifact, and swept it all in at once.

The alchemists crowded together, leaning in.

"What pure, genuine yang purity—actually materialized into flames! Not even a martial saint can approach, let alone consume it."

"The sea horse is naturally nourishing, and Master Fu added so many mutually enhancing great medicinal herbs—swallow this pill, what will a person become scorched into? A pure yang golden pill."

"I once observed Lord Huai, suspecting he possesses primordial yang within him—if he were to take this————"

"What? Lord Huai has primordial yang? Really or not? Isn't he married?"

"Then I wouldn't know, anyway, every time I look, I feel as if he does—perhaps he cultivated some special method, I might have misjudged? After all, Lord Huai has a consort————"

"Could it be that Lord Huai has some unspoken difficulty? Or does he not follow the ordinary path? I've heard————"

"Cough, cough."

Long Pingjiang overheard a bit outside, but dared not let the alchemists speak recklessly and tarnish the elder's reputation—the elder is fiercely strong, so he immediately stepped forward, entered, and spoke up to interrupt.

The scattered thoughts evaporated cleanly; the alchemists' focus returned to the pill.

Receiving the pill, the Tianwei Guard escorted it, all the way to Pingyang.

Pingyang Mountain Peak, black mist shrouded, the March temporary palace had only foundations; by April, it already had an outline; by May, it had truly taken on a rough form.

"Is this the pill?" Liang Qu exclaimed in surprise.

Inside the crimson little gourd, through its mouth, a golden little dragon swam incessantly, radiant and brilliant, profoundly mysterious, utterly unlike the impression of a pill—like the infant spirit of something.

—

Or perhaps it's actually just a small Sea Horse King, transformed from a colossal demon king into thumb-sized, the same size as a normal sea horse—the Sea Horse King Pill.

"Yes, that's what the Pill Workshop people said—just refined, it resembles a living thing, swallowing it carries danger, but the gains are greater; after ten days or half a month, it will gradually solidify into the normal pill appearance; Master Fu said, if you feel thirsty while taking the medicine, you absolutely must not drink water, for that would counteract the medicinal properties and diminish the effect."

Having said this, Liang Qu dared not delay, flashed his body and vanished, leaving Long Pingjiang to thank the Tianwei Guard for their escort; Long Eying also flickered and vanished, taking a seat nearby to assist in guarding the law.

Quiet chamber.

"Hu!"

Liang Qu pinched the gourd, adjusted his qi mechanism.

In the third month, the Sage Emperor toured the south, proclaiming it to the world; in the fourth month the Sage Emperor set out, following the Jinglan Canal downstream, stopping and starting along the way. Now it is mid-May — three months' time — and through the concerted efforts of the alchemists of the Elixir Workshop, a single Great Elixir has finally been obtained!

The crystallization of the battle gains from the East Sea's southern frontier.

Time is tight, the task heavy; eating one early means one more step of stability.

"There's still a bit more than half a month — the timing is just right."

He poured a few times; seemingly sensing danger, the little dragon turtle shrank into the gourd and would not come out.

Liang Qu gripped hard, directly crushing the red gourd, seized the little crimson-gold dragon, pinched its tail, tilted his head back, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Sensing danger, the little crimson-gold dragon thrashed its tail desperately, but to no avail.

Even a living Little Horse King could be kneaded and shaped at will by Liang Qu, let alone a dead one.

Mouth shut, the little crimson-gold dragon kept ramming inside.

Liang Qu felt as if he had swallowed a fireball; his mouth was full of blisters from the heat, his tongue numb as if he had drunk boiling water. He forced it up with his tongue, pushing the little dragon to his throat, convulsed his esophagus, and forcibly pressed this rolling little fireball down.

The little dragon fell into stomach acid, triggering pungent white smoke. Liang Qu first felt scorching heat, then bloating — as if a mass of Qi was rapidly expanding, comparable to a cosmic explosion.

Faint wails seemed to ring by his ears.

Boom!

Blazing fire rose from within his abdominal cavity!

In his Lower Dantian, the lush peach tree seemed to have absorbed moisture; its branches shot up, its trunk grew taller.

Close on its heels —

Thirst.

Violent thirst!

Just then, the Ze Ding trembled.

【Water Marsh Essence +5412009】

【Water Marsh Essence: 39,650,000】

Liang Qu's eyes were tightly shut, his brows deeply furrowed.

How — could it be so little?

Five million Water Marsh Essence, an unprecedentedly huge number, yet —

The Horse King's shell released for a while, plus the need to coordinate with other Creation Great Medicines, the refining time was long; loss was inevitable. But the Horse King Elixir itself contained several portions of water-attribute Creation; originally he thought, no matter what, it would surely reach tens of millions —

In the Sea Horse clan territory, sea horses shuttled back and forth, replanting waterweed.

In the past the Bai Yuan caused a great disturbance; the royal palace was in ruins. The Great Horse King wanted to take the opportunity to migrate the clan grounds, but was stopped by the Third Brother, reasoning that the Bai Yuan already knew — moving or not made no difference. The palace's ruin did not equal damage to the prosperous territory. The palace was originally the optimal position chosen by many parties — earth veins, orientation, resources, all optimal.

Migrating because of ruin would instead arouse other Demon Kings' suspicion, and could show a degree of compromise to the Bai Yuan, demonstrating no heart for resistance, lowering his vigilance. So the Great and Little Horse Kings dropped it and repaired the palace anew.

Underground nest.

Flesh and blood connected, the Little Horse King's entire body of white scales had completely sloughed off, stark naked, like a blood corpse. On the foundation of Third Brother's flesh and blood, it wriggled and regrew, striving to return to the Fifth Rank as soon as possible.

"Hm?"

The Little Horse King's eyes snapped open, its body trembling involuntarily. For no reason, no cause, a strong chill arose — as if — it had been eaten by something.

"Second Brother, what's wrong?"

"Nothing —"

The Little Horse King endured the chill; soon the feeling vanished without a trace.

Third Brother did not ask again. He had never died, could not understand Second Brother's state of mind. As the saying goes, between life and death there is great terror. Even though three months had passed, Second Brother still had nightmares; perhaps just now Second Brother recalled the moment of death again —

"Hah—"

Steaming mist carried a mix of fishy-sweet scent and plant essence. It sounded as if the water plants and reeds by the Water Marsh were full of dampness, but within this dampness there pervaded a desert-like aridity.

Not a trace of moist vapor could be inhaled through the nasal cavity; lips cracked.

Every breath, scorching nasal breath like fire seared past, making blood vessels and mucosa unbearably uncomfortable, almost turning into dead skin peeling off.

Liang Qu was bare-chested; not a drop of sweat on his wheat-colored skin — sweat evaporated dry before it could gather and flow.

His arms and thighs withered, skin folding into wrinkles like tree bark. The originally robust and tall Liang Qu became like a withered little old man.

"Ha."

A scorched smell wafted from his mouth and nose.

Liang Qu firmly remembered Long Pingjiang's words not to drink water, rapidly digesting the medicinal power.

745 times the Root Sea, in just one hour directly surged to 795, nearing 800 times!

Directly equivalent to eleven portions of Inferior Creation Great Medicines, and they must be perfectly absorbed.

The peach tree rooted in the yellow earth, surrounded by three Immortal Islands, its entire trunk volume rapidly swelled, as if sucking all of Liang Qu's moisture into itself. In the center of the canopy, that Flat Peach likewise grew larger and larger, bending the branches down.

Sea horses are inherently aphrodisiac; the Sea Horse King is the king among kings.

It's been a long time since he experienced such a potent elixir.

The last time it was this exaggerated was during the Blood Exchange — three surges, three condensations, the man turned into a burst-scaled pine cone.

Strange to say, the Demon Kings Liang Qu ate, one by one, all produced the same effect.

Aside from the Water Marsh Essence being unexpectedly less, there were basically no major problems.

Until —

Crackle.

Liang Qu thought he had dried into a piece of firewood; some bone had crisply snapped. Then he felt it impossible.

A dignified Wu Sheng, dehydration is normal — how could a single elixir force him to this step? Searching carefully, he discovered the source was not the flesh body, but the Lower Dantian.

Consuming Yellow Mud Mother, the Cloud Sea turned into fertile soil; the peach tree rooted on that fertile soil.

At this very moment, the fertile soil seemed to have suffered drought for months; the entire land cracked inch by inch, edges curling up, turning into dense tortoise-shell patterns, completely losing moisture. The originally radiant Dharma Sarira likewise dimmed, lusterless.

The peach tree rooted in fertile soil, rapidly swelling, stopped growing; yet the Flat Peach on the tree kept growing still — the peach tree drained the fertile soil, the Flat Peach drained the peach tree.

The peach tree went from unremarkable to reaching the height of the Xiandao, like a fourth building, then to now exceeding the Xiandao, only to wither and shrink again, its crown and leaves turning yellow.

"Not good!"

Liang Qu felt a vague sense of dread rise in his heart; he tried to activate his divine ability, but upon discovering the fertile soil had cracked, his divine ability became completely unusable, as if his root sea had been stripped away!

Without divine ability, what is a Wu Sheng who has lost the art of creation?

The art is a protective Dao art; without it, combat power could be said to plummet cliff-like.

However, Liang Qu was tense, not panicked.

The root sea is now dried and cracked, not gone.

The problem is not serious.

He stared at that extraordinarily large flat peach, the source and key of everything; back when he died and was reborn, by a fortunate coincidence, he regained his primordial yang, and later obtained the method of stabilization from the Great Peace Immortal; up to today, it has long since become a strange blossom.

Crimson gold patterns grew on the peach's body, as if a crimson gold dragon were swimming through it.

Finally, when the flat peach grew to a certain critical point, the peach tree could no longer support it.

"Crack!"

June first.

The plum rain season is again oppressive and hot, with only six days left until the River God Festival.

The hearts of all the people in Pingyang Prefecture began to stir early, seemingly rising in tandem with the weather after the onset of summer.

Su Gu Mountain waited left and right.

"Where is Liang Xiaozi? Your Majesty's fleet has already arrived at Lan Prefecture—why haven't you gone to meet it?"

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