Chapter 799: The Flaws of the Hourai Elixir

"Kaguya, have you finished today's homework?"

Looking at Kaguya, who had curled herself into a ball inside her quilt, Lingyun couldn't help but slap his own face.

In his impression, Kaguya hadn't been like this before, but it seemed that after arriving here, the shut-in nature that had existed in the dark within her had flared up. In this Bamboo House of his, Kaguya's favorite thing to do was to nest in the small den Eirin had prepared for her and read the bamboo slips Lingyun had placed in the Bamboo House.

"Of course I finished it, look."

Hearing Lingyun's words, a flash of guilt couldn't help but cross Kaguya's eyes, and then she pulled a stack of paper out from her quilt. The paper was densely covered with writing; it was clearly the homework Lingyun had left behind.

The moment Kaguya's hand reached into the quilt, Lingyun felt a fluctuation in time; it was clear that Kaguya had activated her Manipulation of Eternity and the Instant ability to stretch out a single instant and complete the homework she had been assigned.

While checking the homework he had left for Kaguya, Lingyun pondered some information he had recently collected. Through his search, he had managed to find the Saigyouji Clan, and since he had nothing else to do right now, he decided to go over and check on the situation of that undead Princess.

"Lingyun, is the content recorded on these bamboo slips you left behind all true?" Kaguya asked, reaching out to tug on Lingyun's sleeve.

"As for that, of course it's true!" Lingyun smiled and set down the papers in his hand.

"But this is too incredible; are there really so many special places in this world?" Kaguya asked with a look of interest on her face.

"The world is vast and full of wonders; just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean these things don't exist," Lingyun said with a smile.

"If there's a chance in the future, I really must go and see them!" A trace of longing appeared in Kaguya's heart.

One had to know that when she was in the Moon Capital, she had been driven nearly mad by that boring, unchanging life, which was why she had conspired with Yagokoro Eirin to create the forbidden existence known as the Hourai Elixir. She just hadn't expected that the commotion caused by creating the Hourai Elixir would be so great, resulting in the matter being exposed; even as a Princess of the Moon Capital, she had still been punished.

However, Kaguya, having consumed the Hourai Elixir, had become an almost immortal existence; it could be said that almost no one could destroy her on a physical level. Moreover, Kaguya still shouldered the future of the Moon Capital, so even if they could thoroughly kill her, the leaders of the Moon Capital would absolutely not do so.

Therefore, in the end, the punishment meted out by the Moon Capital was to exile Kaguya to the surface, which they viewed as a gathering place for filth. For the people of the Moon Capital, this kind of punishment was absolutely the most terrifying; in the eyes of the people of the Moon Capital, who had abandoned all desires, if one's body were to be stained with filth, it would be a fate worse than death.

And at the very beginning, Kaguya had indeed held such thoughts. But after meeting Lingyun here, Kaguya suddenly felt that this surface, which the Moon Capital viewed as filth, possessed a vitality that the Moon Capital lacked, and this was what she yearned for most.

"By the way, Kaguya, I am going to leave here for a while," Lingyun suddenly said to Kaguya.

"You are leaving for a while?" Hearing Lingyun say this, Kaguya crawled straight out of her quilt, her eyes fixed on Lingyun.

"That's right, I have some business to attend to," Lingyun said. "However, before I leave, I have some things I want to teach you."

"You have things to teach me?" Kaguya scrambled up from the bed.

"That's right." Lingyun nodded, then looked at Kaguya. "Kaguya, you say that Hourai People who have consumed the Hourai Elixir are truly immortal?"

"You..." Hearing Lingyun's words, Kaguya couldn't help but widen her eyes.

She had always been curious as to why Lingyun had so easily taken her on as a student; she didn't think Zhuweng would have that much influence. Now it seemed the other party's goal was the Hourai Elixir; after all, something like immortality was indeed an irresistible temptation for humans with short lifespans.

"Are you wondering why I know about the Hourai Elixir?" Watching Kaguya, whose body had retreated slightly, Lingyun couldn't help but laugh. "Or are you thinking that I am after the Hourai Elixir?"

"Since you know about the Hourai Elixir, then you must know its effects; it is something that can make people immortal, aren't you tempted?" Kaguya said calmly, while her right hand dropped down.

Hidden in her sleeve was a rune that could notify Yagokoro Eirin. This item had been left for her specifically by Eirin; as long as she crushed this rune, Eirin would be able to appear before her in the shortest possible time.

"Immortal? Do you truly believe the Hourai Elixir can achieve immortality?" Lingyun raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it?" Kaguya asked.

"Although the Hourai Elixir is powerful, its power has limitations; it only achieves immortality in the sense of the physical body. So, what if I were to attack your soul directly?" Lingyun said with a smile.

"Attack the soul..." Kaguya couldn't help but pause.

"That's right, if the soul is extinguished, then even if your physical body remains, you are nothing more than a walking corpse," Lingyun said. "There is one more point; haven't you noticed? The Hourai Elixir has another flaw. How long has it been since you noticed any progress in your strength?"

"It seems that after consuming the Hourai Elixir, there has been no progress at all..." Kaguya hesitated for a moment before saying this with some difficulty.

"That's right, this is the other flaw of the Hourai Elixir. The effect of the Hourai Elixir is to fix your time at a certain point. And since time is fixed, what meaning is there in your subsequent accumulation?"

"In other words, the Hourai Elixir invented by Eirin is completely meaningless?" Kaguya's complexion turned somewhat ashen.

"No, I don't think so. Immortality—what a yearning thing that is; how many people throughout history have fallen because of this. But Yagokoro Eirin achieved this with just a single Hourai Elixir; this is something others cannot hope to reach," Lingyun waved his hand and said. "It can be said that she is one of the most outstanding pharmacists I have ever seen, but this Hourai Elixir still has some defects; there may not be no possibility of improvement in the future."

"Oh." Kaguya nodded, appearing to understand but not quite.

"Alright, let's first talk about what I want to teach you." Lingyun pointed casually, and a book on the bookshelf suddenly flew up and landed in Lingyun's hand. "This is what you are going to learn."

Kaguya took the book and discovered that it contained methods for training the soul.

"Since one of the flaws of the Hourai Elixir is the soul, then we will start with the soul. As long as your soul is strong enough, then the means of attacking the soul that I mentioned earlier will naturally be ineffective."

"Teacher, this book must be very precious, right?" Kaguya asked in a low voice.

"I wrote this book; it is nothing precious. Study it well; when Teacher returns, I will be testing you." Lingyun reached out and patted Kaguya's head, then took a Token from his robes and placed it in Kaguya's hand. "This Token is an Access Token for entering and leaving this place; you must keep it safe, otherwise, even if Eirin comes, it will not be an easy task for her to break through the barrier surrounding the Bamboo House."

Kaguya took the Token and looked at Lingyun with a puzzled expression.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving now; you must take care of yourself. If anyone dares to lay a hand on you, activate the contingency I placed on the Token directly; after all, it is not convenient for Eirin to intervene, you know." Lingyun rubbed Kaguya's head once more, and then his figure vanished from the Bamboo House.