The Missing Ingredient
Hearing this, Fei Denan slowly turned around, his brows furrowed, and immediately warned, "Don't act recklessly. Lan Bingxue is always by Grandma Ma Jiu's side; she's not someone you can afford to offend. I've heard about what you've been doing lately. Although you have that domineering fire technique, you're still only at the Core Formation stage. The terror of the late Tribulation Transcendence stage is beyond your imagination. Compared to someone like me at the early Tribulation stage, it's like heaven and earth. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about Furong."
"Wow! You're starting to sound like a father-in-law." Yue Qianchou chuckled, "I understand, I understand." As he spoke, he was secretly calculating when his chance would come.
"And another thing," Fei Denan said solemnly, "I don't know how you got into Fu Xian Island, but I advise you not to wander around the island. Once you're discovered, it will be difficult for you to leave."
Yue Qianchou agreed repeatedly, but after listening to a long string of ramblings, he couldn't bear to listen anymore and made an excuse to run off to Furong's place.
After bidding farewell to Furong, he returned to Utopia and spoke with Bai Suzhen about some matters. The two then went together to the Spirit Herb Garden. The garden was filled with Rare Flowers and Exotic Herbs and Yue Qianchou had collected. Now, the Spirit Herb Garden was managed by a group of women under Bai Suzhen's command. Because of the presence of the Purple Chaos, even the most time-consuming and labor-intensive herbs were easy to cultivate.
The two arrived at a field ridge and looked at the hundreds of "Seven Star Blood Orchid". Yue Qianchou touched his nose and chuckled. He walked to a row of Blood Orchids that had just grown and were not yet mature, and had two plants dug up. They were then placed in wooden basins filled with soil and held in his hands, examining them with great interest.
Bai Suzhen watched his every move and suddenly said, "Don't you have the Pill Formula for the 'Seven Orifices Exquisite Pill'? Why don't you refine some to help your parents live longer?"
Yue Qianchou shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Do you think I don't want to? I've read the formula several times already, and I know it better than you, Pill Formula. This 'Seven Orifices Exquisite Pill' has the power to seize the creation of heaven and earth. After taking it, one can compete with heaven and earth for longevity. It's truly extraordinary. To refine it, three main ingredients are needed. Although we now have the Seven Star Blood Orchid and the Youtan Poluo Flower, we are still missing one extremely rare spiritual herb called the 'Soul Returning Grass'. The Udumbara Flower guards the spirit, resurrects and continues the soul, and the Seven Stars Flower strengthens the body. If any one of these three ingredients is missing, this heaven-defying spiritual pill simply cannot be refined. But these three spiritual herbs are rare treasures of heaven and earth that can only be encountered by chance. To be honest, I'm already lucky to have obtained the first two. I really don't know if I have the fortune to have all three."
"Mortals can extend their lives by fifty years, and cultivators by one hundred and fifty years. They can rival the longevity of heaven and earth. Such elixirs are truly heaven-defying." Even Bai Suzhen herself found it somewhat unbelievable.
"If a 'Seven Orifices Exquisite Pill' were to truly fall into the Cultivation World, it would likely unleash a bloodbath throughout the entire Cultivation World. Especially for those cultivators at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage, although they have lived for hundreds of years, how many are willing to relinquish hundreds of years of arduous cultivation and return to dust? The temptation to live another 150 years is immense, and it might even attract Old Demon at the Spirit Transformation stage. This is truly not something that ordinary people can enjoy."
Yue Qianchou laughed as he spoke, wondering how he could resist the temptation of gaining 150 years of lifespan. If he knew who had it, the Black Society would probably swarm out to rob it.
"Where does this 'Soul Returning Grass' grow? The Pill Formula seems to describe the characteristics of each herb?" Bai Suzhen asked. She had seen it before when she lifted the restrictions on the Pill Formula.
Yue Qianchou chuckled and said, "The recipe is recorded in the Pill Formula Register of Elixir Formulas. It was passed down from High Antiquity times and did not originate from the Pill Sect. No one in later generations has ever successfully refined it. High Antiquity records of the 'Soul Returning Grass' describe it as originating from the Nine Nether Land."
Bai Suzhen frowned and pondered, "What place in this world is called the Nine Nether Land?"
Yue Qianchou shook his head and said, "The pill formulas aren't recorded in detail in the Pill Formula Register; they're just mentioned casually. I didn't know that before either. But..." His expression changed, and he chuckled, "But when Wu Sihai, the head of the Wu family, saw my Ghost King Token last time, he mentioned a place, which immediately made me realize that if I'm not mistaken, the Nine Nether Land is probably the place he was talking about. Sister, have you ever heard of the Nine Nether Cave?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Suzhen was taken aback and asked, "You mean the Nether Cave, which is divided into nine levels?" Yue Qianchou nodded and said, "That's right! Wu Sihai was talking about that place. I reckon that the Nine Nether Land refers to the Nine Nether Cave."
Bai Suzhen paused for a moment and said, "If the 'Soul Returning Grass' really grows in the Nine Nether Cave, then who in the world can still pick it? Legend has it that the Nine Nether Cave is connected to the Netherworld, which is on par with the Immortal Realm. Even ghost cultivators at the late Ghost King stage cultivation dare not enter, and even Spirit Transformation stage cultivators can only go in shallowly. How can ordinary cultivators pick that 'Soul Returning Grass'?"
"This is just my guess." Yue Qianchou frowned. "I'm going to the Demon Ghost Domain to find Ghost General Meng Yan, and then I can find out more."
Bai Suzhen frowned slightly, her lips moved, but she still stared at the blood orchid in his hand, and changed the subject, asking, "Are you giving these two blood orchids away as gifts?"
Yue Qianchou was astonished and said, "Give it away? How is that possible? A single one can sell for tens of millions of high-grade Spirit Stones! I'm taking it to sell."
"Sell?" Bai Suzhen was taken aback. She was in charge of all the Spirit Stone in Utopia, and it seemed that Utopia had no shortage of Spirit Stone!
Yue Qianchou looked at the Blood Orchid in his hand, a smile appearing on his lips, and said, "I heard that Qingguang Sect was robbed of 100 million high-grade Spirit Stones in its inventory last time. I suppose those big sects are even more wealthy. Anyway, we can't use up all of our Blood Orchids, so it's not bad to exchange some Spirit Stone from them."
He had his own plans for doing this. Spirit Stone were the foundation for the operation of each sect, and their immense wealth made him uneasy. To weaken the Cultivation World, he needed to coordinate with an economic offensive. He had already decided to periodically release some valuable items, such as the 'Seven Star Blood Orchid,' which would be very attractive and would definitely make each sect spend a fortune. However, he didn't want the Blood Orchid to actually fulfill its intended purpose, so he deliberately selected two pots of Blood Orchids that were not yet fully grown. Even if the sects bought them, they wouldn't be able to mature for decades unless each sect possessed a treasure like 'Wood Spirit Liquid,' which could accelerate the Blood Orchid's growth.
Inside the "Serene Guest Hall" annex where the Wu family entertained guests, Wu Lixue often lingered there after Yue Qianchou left. In the room where Yue Qianchou had stayed, Wu Lixue stared blankly at the so-called Vermilion Bird Egg, the scene of Yue Qianchou telling everyone at "Gurgling Residence" that she was his woman resurfacing in her mind.
She finally managed to clear her mind of those thoughts, but in the blink of an eye, that mischievous face reappeared. Wu Lixue shook her head and sighed softly. "I'm hopeless," she thought, "Why do I keep thinking about him?"
Unfortunately, no matter how much she shook her head, the illusory image remained in front of her. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she saw the bad guy wave at her and say, "Beautiful lady, why are you shaking your head like that?"
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