Refusing the Inheritance
In the present-day cultivation world, the Dao of Alchemy was in decline. Alchemy cultivators had once stood shoulder to shoulder with talisman cultivators and medical cultivators, but a calamity had claimed many Alchemists and Pill Formulas. The Pill Formulas that survived today amounted to less than thirty percent of those from its former glory.
Under such difficult circumstances, alchemy cultivators had grown even scarcer.
Moreover, knowing how to refine pills did not automatically make someone an Alchemist.
Pills were divided into ten grades: the first three were low-grade, the middle three were mid-grade, and the upper four were high-grade. Tenth-grade pills, however, were the stuff of legend; Sang Ying had never seen one in all her life. If Immortal Lord Fusheng had not spoken of them himself today, she would have thought they did not exist at all.
Such a formidable Alchemist stood before her, and she was about to receive his inheritance. Sang Ying was excited for a brief moment, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Senior, though this junior's knowledge is shallow and I have never heard your great name, the fact that you can refine tenth-grade pills shows that your abilities are extraordinary. I am fortunate to have earned your favor. But I am a cultivator with an Ice Spirit Root. Even if I received your inheritance, I fear I would be unable to carry it forward..."
"Perhaps, senior, you should wait a little longer and find a truly suitable successor!"
Having said her piece, Sang Ying lowered her head and waited for him to make his decision.
After a moment of silence, Immortal Lord Fusheng asked, "From what you're saying, you don't want this inheritance of mine?"
A hint of anger seemed to color his voice, and Sang Ying immediately grew nervous. Even if he was only a wisp of a remnant soul, he had ascended long ago, and his methods and abilities were beyond anything she could withstand.
She could only explain carefully, "It isn't that I don't want it, senior. To tell the truth, with the Dao of Alchemy in decline, if others learned of an inheritance like this, I'm afraid they would break their heads fighting over it. I'm an ordinary cultivator, so naturally I'm tempted to claim it for myself too. If my Spirit Root were not incompatible with it, I would never give up such a heaven-sent fortuitous opportunity."
Sang Ying sighed. "It's just that I'm not suited to refining pills. Even if I received your inheritance, I couldn't make use of its value. That would benefit neither of us. It would be better to give it to someone with a talent for alchemy. Then someone could carry your life's work forward, the cultivation world would have another Alchemist, and it would be easier for me to buy pills if I needed them."
Most of this was what Sang Ying truly thought. If she did not have an Ice Spirit Root, she would never have given up such an inheritance. Still, she had already taken up the sword, so she would not regret it on that account.
In this world, one had to give something up to gain something else. One person could hardly have all the good things to themselves.
After Sang Ying finished speaking, Immortal Lord Fusheng gave no answer for a long time. Her head remained slightly bowed, and sweat was slowly beading on her palms.
Just as Sang Ying thought she had angered Immortal Lord Fusheng, she heard him chuckle softly above her.
"You're a rare, honest child. I saw earlier that you entered my herb garden but dug up only a few herbs. You didn't even take that Dao Enlightenment Tea Tree, so I thought you must be of good character. Now you aren't greedy for my inheritance either. You see things more clearly than some who ascended long ago." Contrary to what Sang Ying had imagined, Immortal Lord Fusheng was smiling at her, with even more appreciation in his eyes than before.
Hearing this, Sang Ying let out a great sigh of relief.
She had already been thinking about how to escape the great hall. Fortunately, Immortal Lord Fusheng had not held it against her. But today's events had also reminded her that she needed to be more careful and think things through before acting.
Following his words, Sang Ying asked, "Then, senior, do you agree to my suggestion?"
Immortal Lord Fusheng smiled and shook his head. "That won't do. I still have to entrust this inheritance to you."
Sang Ying frowned, but wisely refrained from asking more.
"This wisp of my remnant soul is about to dissipate. If I don't entrust the inheritance to you, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for the next fated person." Immortal Lord Fusheng was still smiling, but there was sorrow in his smile now. "Don't be so quick to refuse. I know your circumstances, and I won't force you to refine pills. Take my inheritance with you, and when you meet a suitable person someday, pass it on to him!"
For a moment, Sang Ying's feelings were complicated.
She had known Immortal Lord Fusheng for only a short while, yet he was willing to entrust his inheritance to her and let her choose a successor for him. Sang Ying did not know how to respond to such trust.
Especially after hearing that he was about to disappear, Sang Ying could not help feeling a little sad.
"Senior, aren't you afraid of entrusting such a great responsibility to the wrong person?" Sang Ying could not help asking.
Immortal Lord Fusheng laughed. "If you had ill intentions, I would have driven you out of the room long ago. Now that I've fallen to this state, I don't ask you to find me an exceptionally outstanding successor. It will be enough if they have talent, do no evil, and are upright in character."
As though afraid Sang Ying would refuse, Immortal Lord Fusheng hurriedly added, "Naturally, I won't ask you to do this for nothing. I can see your Ice Spirit Root is only a little short of being whole. I imagine that's why you came here looking for ice lotuses. But using them directly isn't very effective. Among my Pill Formulas is one for a Frost Return Pill, which can bring out twice the effect of an ice lotus. It will surely make your Spirit Root whole."
Immortal Lord Fusheng reached out and grasped at the air. When he turned his wrist over, a small, transparent pearl appeared in his hand. The next moment, he tossed it into Sang Ying's arms, nearly striking the Gale Hound awake.
Immortal Lord Fusheng explained, "I've sealed that pool of ice lotuses inside this Realm Pearl. Besides the lotuses, there are some ice-attribute spirit crystals at the bottom of the pool that you can use for cultivation. These things may be a little meager, but I can only ask you to take on the trouble."
He had put himself in a very humble position. For a dignified Immortal Lord to speak of troubling a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator like Sang Ying was already exceedingly rare in the cultivation world, where the strong preyed on the weak.
Sang Ying understood that Immortal Lord Fusheng had entrusted this matter to her because he truly had no other choice.
Under the circumstances, Sang Ying naturally had no reason to refuse. "I scarcely deserve to receive so much. Thank you for the medicine, senior. I will certainly find you a suitable successor!"
Words alone were no guarantee, so Sang Ying immediately swore a Heart Demon Oath before Immortal Lord Fusheng.
With that assurance, Immortal Lord Fusheng had nothing more to worry about.
His figure turned transparent inch by inch, vanishing little by little before Sang Ying.
Before his remnant soul dissipated completely, Immortal Lord Fusheng did not forget to remind her, "Oh, there's one more thing. My successor must never have any ties to that old ghost Lan Ji. You must remember that, child!"
"I'll remember, senior!" Sang Ying promised him before he disappeared.
Meanwhile, a large crowd had gathered at the main entrance to the great hall. They were young cultivators from various sects and schools who had come upon this place of inheritance by chance. They were waiting to enter the hall and seek their own fortuitous opportunities.
As expected, Su Fuyun was among them.
Unlike the others, she knew exactly whose inheritance had been left here, and the medicinal canon inside the hall was the very purpose of her journey!