Elder Yang

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yang Rusong 56
Alias(es)	Elder Yang (杨老) 49 56
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Pine Roost Sect 49
Occupation/Role	Sect elder, alchemist, medicinal researcher, and Chen Chong’s alchemy mentor 49 53 66
Status	Alive; exhausted after completing the Marrow Cleansing Pills 72
First Appearance	Chapter 49, “Elder Yang” 49

Background / History

Recognizing Chen Chong

Elder Yang was an old friend and alchemical rival of Elder Qin, who had left Pine Roost Sect for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. When Qin recommended Chen Chong as an alchemist, Yang tested him with common, unsorted herbs, providing neither measurements nor a formula 49.

Chen produced a nearly perfect pill. After learning that he was nineteen and verifying his bone age, Yang acknowledged that he had little more to teach him in alchemy. He instead issued a black “Inner” token and recommended Chen for sect admission, urging him to develop his martial strength. The token secured access to the sect’s inner grounds for further evaluation; Chen was subsequently registered as an outer disciple under Luo Yu 49 50 51.

Alchemical Guidance and Sect Duties

Chen began visiting Yang’s courtyard daily to refine medicines. Yang allowed him to sell pills through his channels in exchange for assisting with other preparations—an arrangement Chen regarded as instruction rather than a fee 53 55.

Before Chen’s delivery mission to Anyang Commandery, Yang recommended the Alchemist Alliance certification examination and supplied its address. Chen returned as a Bronze-Badge Alchemist, an achievement Yang received with little surprise 55 56 57.

When Yang’s turn came to dispatch a disciple for the annual medicinal-mountain allocation contest, he selected Chen. He treated the event as routine sect business and remained indifferent to its potential resource reward 60 61.

Sharing Formulas and Refining the Rare Fruit

Yang later gave Chen his improved Pine-Nourishing True Essence Pill formula and a pine-patterned lingzhi. He rejected Chen’s interpretation of the gift as a tournament reward, explaining that talented alchemists should receive better formulas rather than have knowledge withheld from them 66 67.

After the Blackwater Ravine expedition, Chen brought him a Marrow-Cleansing Fruit on Luo Yu’s advice. Visibly moved by the rare ingredient, Yang supplied medicines from his private reserves and agreed to refine it for a fee of one finished pill. Three days later, he had produced three Marrow Cleansing Pills, retaining one and giving Chen the other two. The work left him asleep over a desk covered with research notes 71 72.

Appearance

• Hair: Completely white, pinned up with a wooden hairpin 49.
• Face: Lean, with slightly high cheekbones and a thin white beard hanging from his chin 49.
• Build: Thin forearms and bony fingers 49 53.
• Clothing: A gray Pine Roost Sect robe, usually with its sleeves rolled up; later described as dusty and old 49 53.

Personality

Yang is blunt, impatient, and sparing with praise. He often dismisses Chen with a gesture or a terse instruction, yet his practical help includes professional advice, access to sales channels, valuable formulas, and rare ingredients. His approval commonly takes the form of a quiet inspection and a nod rather than enthusiastic encouragement 53 55 71.

Medicinal research absorbs his attention: he compares ingredients, rearranges them with a twig, and mutters through problems. Although he advises Chen that martial strength matters more than alchemy for worldly prospects, his own conduct shows deep commitment to improving medicines. He objects to inflated medicinal value and believes discoveries should be shared to advance the craft 49 57 66.

Abilities & Skills

Pill Refinement and Formula Development

Yang can improve valuable formulas and devise preparations around rare ingredients that Chen cannot handle independently 66 71 72.

Preparation	Yang’s Contribution	Properties / Results
Pine-Nourishing True Essence Pill	Improved the formula and gave it to Chen with a pine-patterned lingzhi 66 67.	Fortifies foundations, replenishes vitality, and nourishes true essence. Chen’s first successful batch produced three high-grade pills on his third attempt 66 67.
Marrow Cleansing Pill	Devised a formula using Chen’s Marrow-Cleansing Fruit and completed three pills 71 72.	Draws accumulated injuries and impurities out of the marrow. Chen’s treatment removed old scars and improved the flow of his strength 72.

Alchemical Assessment and Instruction

• Tests understanding rather than memorization: His initial examination required Chen to select a workable combination from seven unmeasured herbs without a recipe 49.
• Evaluates finished pills: Checks their appearance and scent before approving them 53.
• Teaches through varied work: Involves Chen in refining different medicines instead of relying solely on verbal lessons 53.
• Checks bone age: Examined Chen’s wrist, forearm, shoulder blades, and collarbones to confirm his stated age 49.

Medicinal Knowledge and Resources

• Tends medicinal plants with enough precision to loosen soil around roots without damaging them 49.
• Knows the three guiding ingredients required for the Marrow-Cleansing Fruit: profound marrow, goji bark over a hundred years old, and a third ingredient whose name he withholds from outsiders 71.
• Explains that those ingredients are held in private stores and cannot simply be bought on the market 71.
• Supplies his own reserves for the refinement, including two taels of profound marrow and an ingredient he had kept for thirty years 71.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Alchemy courtyard: A secluded residence spanning several acres, filled with medicinal plants and furnaces of different sizes, shapes, and materials 49 53.
• Demon-beast fire-control device: Used by Chen in Yang’s workshop; produces a dense, high-temperature blue flame with finely adjustable heat 53 55.
• Black “Inner” token: Engraved with a pine tree and the character for “inner”; given to Chen to convey Yang’s admission recommendation 49 50.
• Palm-leaf fan: Used while reclining in a bamboo chair; its faded writing retains the character for “pine” 55 66.
• Research tools: Uses a small trowel to tend plants and a dry twig to sort and examine medicinal ingredients 49 57.

Relationships

• Chen Chong — Alchemy student and regular collaborator. Yang recognizes his talent, supports his professional standing, and encourages martial development without becoming his martial master 49 53 55 66.
• Elder Qin — Old friend and longstanding alchemical rival. Qin’s recommendation prompts Yang’s first test of Chen 49.
• Zhu Gaoyu — Old friend who recognizes Yang’s name during Chen’s certification examination. Hearing about Zhu later draws Yang into a reflective criticism of rising medicinal value 56 57.

Notable Quotes

“There's little more I can teach you about the path of alchemy. In this world, martial strength is what matters most.” 49

“An elixir is medicine. A pity some people insist on driving its value ever higher.” 57

“If everyone hoards their knowledge, how can the art of pill refinement advance? You have talent. You should receive more formulas, and better ones.” 66