fifth form

Chapter 3322 Elixir of Immortality and Elixir of Longevity
Dragons possess some of the characteristics of powerful medicines.

The fact that even a saint like Yang Jian could treasure the dragon oil speaks volumes about its quality.

To be honest, if the dragon oil works well, Zhang Xuezhou would really like to try some of these rare things.

When Yang Jian invited him, Zhang Xuezhou didn't stand on ceremony and reached into the boiling water to scoop up a fish.

The scales, which had turned grayish-white from being boiled in water, became shimmering gold after being coated with dragon oil. The dragon oil even allowed the cooked fish to wriggle its body and transformed the fishy smell into a fragrant aroma.

Yang Jian's method of cooking fish is a bit unorthodox, but the high-quality ingredients make up for it all.

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the group of people cautiously gnawing on the fish, and then picked up a piece to eat.

Before he could even taste the fish, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if he had eaten a giant popping candy, with the fish meat bouncing around in his mouth.

After a few rolls, the piece of fish fell into the esophagus on its own.

"Mudskipper?"

The thought had just crossed Zhang Xuezhou's mind when he heard Li Tianwang, looking quite engrossed, mention that this fish needed to be savored carefully; one had to tear open a slit and slowly suck the flesh with one's mouth to truly appreciate its wonders.

"suck?"

Sucking is the act of drawing out the contents of the lips. Some fruits, like dried persimmons, can be eaten this way, but Zhang Xuezhou never imagined that fish could be sucked out like this.

Of course, this wasn't a big problem; once the jumping fish meat entered his stomach, it could no longer jump.

Zhang Xuezhou isn't a professional when it comes to eating, but he is a professional when it comes to digestion.

After his incorrect taste test, Zhang Xuezhou took a breath and then gently sucked at the opening where he had bitten the fish.

He felt the fish meat go down his throat like jelly, and the rich aroma of dragon oil rushed in instantly. The aroma was so strong that it became pungent and greasy.

With a simple adjustment of his nasal cavity to prevent the fish meat from spitting out of his nostrils, Zhang Xuezhou expressionlessly sucked on the fish meat.

The fish was shriveled and withered; its once plump body had become thin, and even its bones were beginning to show.

At the same time, Zhang Xuezhou felt his body gain more vitality and strength. His muscle fibers became stronger, his bones became denser, his meridians became more resilient, and his physical strength was slowly increasing. Many of his evasion techniques and physical techniques seemed to become smoother, and Zhang Xuezhou vaguely sensed a harmonious unity.

This effect was achieved almost simultaneously with the refining of the fish meat within his body. A thunderous roar echoed through his abdomen, drawing Yang Jian's attention and causing him to stare intently at Zhang Xuezhou's facial expression.

"How is it?" Yang Jian asked.

“Good fish!”

Zhang Xuezhou put down the withered, meatless, and dull fish skin and bones in his hand. He stretched out his right hand and felt that his rounded five fingers had become sharper, as if they had taken on the rudimentary form of a five-clawed golden dragon grasping.

But what shocked Zhang Xuezhou even more was the harmony between the avoidance techniques brought about by eating and the physical techniques.

At Zhang Xuezhou's level of cultivation, very few elixirs can promote his practice, let alone food.

If I'm not mistaken, Yang Jian's dietary combination might be related to the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

“Dragon oil and spirit tea are a wonderful combination. Why doesn’t the True Lord use this as a prize?” Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"Although this item has some uses, it cannot compare to the Creation Pill, which can save lives," Yang Jian said, shaking his head.

"It's one thing if you take three or five Creation Pills, but who can withstand fifty Creation Pills? There aren't many people in the Three Realms who would play this kind of game with you," White Dog Howling Sky said indignantly. "When you take out top-grade pills as a prize, even Laozi will have to run back to the Tushita Palace to get medicine!"

"Immortal Shuo is very generous. We came to Guanjiangkou to take medicine. My father, elder brother, and I took a total of nine Creation Pills," Muzha said.

"Shuo Xian's wealth is extraordinary; we are indeed inferior to him!"

Yang Jian glanced at Mu Zha.

It's hard to tell at a glance whether someone is a true tycoon or a fake one. Yang Jian doesn't rule out the possibility that some cultivators accumulate resources and then show off.

However, a cultivator who can use Creation Pills to travel is definitely very wealthy. If they were to provide pills to others, their wealth would be beyond human arrogance.

Yang Jian had previously suspected that Zhang Xuezhou might be the illegitimate son of Laozi and others, and now he was even more suspicious that Zhang Xuezhou's origins were very likely linked to the Three Pure Ones.

There's not much to say about spoiled brats, but spoiled brats with strong cultivation and talent are different.

These people relied on resources and made reasonable use of them, thus securing a place for themselves in the Three Realms.

In the past, cultivators skilled in creating magical artifacts were highly sought after; now, those skilled in alchemy have an absolute advantage.

"Were all these pills refined by Shuo Xian himself?" Yang Jian couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, I’ve refined a few batches when I was bored, and they’ve all turned out well,” Zhang Xuezhou nodded. “If you, True Lord, want to refine pills, feel free to ask me for help. As long as you like my skills, I’ll help you for free!” As a pill refiner who always leaves some residue behind, Zhang Xuezhou was now recommending himself without reservation.

He always hoped that some sucker would hire him to refine pills, because the more pills he refined, the richer he would become.

As for the pill formulas and other ingredients obtained along the way, they were additional gains. Zhang Xuezhou almost patted his chest and said that as long as he had the pill formulas, he could refine any kind of pill.

He mentioned rather subtly that his skills were passable and that Yang Jian was welcome to have him refine elixirs.

"Can you concoct an elixir of immortality?" Yang Jian asked curiously.

"I only know about the elixir of immortality," Zhang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment before replying, "What is the formula for this elixir of immortality?"

"Do you know about the elixir of youth?"

Yang Jian's eyelids twitched.

There is a difference between the elixir of immortality and the elixir of eternal life, but both are extremely rare and are considered rare spiritual pills in the Three Realms.

What the great cultivators of the Three Realms crave is not some elixir to enhance their strength, but rather the extension of their lifespan and immortality.

Among these, the elixir of immortality, which prolongs life, is the most precious, followed by the elixir of youth, which maintains the body's youthfulness.

Only by combining the two can one achieve immortality.

If one can only have one of these two options, one's lifespan may be prolonged, but one's body will be weak and fatigued, leaving one to suffer in bed, or one's youth may be maintained but it will be difficult to live a long life, and one will suddenly grow old and die at a certain age.

Yang Jian didn't expect that his casual question would lead to such an unexpected topic.

He attained physical immortality and possessed an exceptionally long lifespan, but those around him did not.

If Yang Jian hadn't been a second-generation god who had participated in the great struggle of heaven and earth and gained immense wealth, his Guanjiang Estuary would have long since become a desolate wasteland over the centuries.

Even so, brothers like Kang Taiwei did indeed have a difficult time.

If he could obtain immortality, Yang Jian would naturally want to strive for it.

For a time, he couldn't help but become a little closer to Zhang Xuezhou, and he no longer had the previous thought of trying to outdo each other when they met.

“The process of refining the elixir of immortality is not difficult; the difficulty lies in the fact that the ingredients require thousand-year-old blood essence, Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonatum sibiricum, bitter apricot, thousand-year-old ginseng, drunken peach, and silver fruit,” Zhang Xuezhou said solemnly. “If any of these medicinal materials are of slightly lower quality, it will be difficult to successfully refine them. So what kind of formula is this elixir of immortality?”

"The elixir of immortality is made from spiritual fruits of heaven and earth, while the elixir of eternal life is made from spiritual beasts of heaven and earth," Yang Jian said in a low voice. "Including the Taotie, Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, Yinglong and other demons, whose essence and flesh were extracted to make the elixir of eternal life!"

"If we have the formula and the ingredients, alchemy is easy; for us, it's just a matter of combining them a few times!"

Zhang Xuezhou's heart skipped a beat.

The Life-Creating Pill and the Longevity Pill had already given them quite a hard time, and Zhang Xuezhou and others still haven't been able to perfectly replicate them.

The dragon demon materials involved in the Longevity Elixir became a major obstacle, not to mention the elixir formula for immortality in the secret realm of Shanglin Garden.

Upon hearing Yang Jian mention the elixir of immortality, Zhang Xuezhou realized that creating such top-tier elixirs would be extremely difficult.

However, he didn't lose face, only mentioning that pills were nothing more than repeated refining after sufficient materials were available. This statement greatly excited Yang Jian.

"The elixir of immortality is extremely difficult to refine. In recent years, Laozi has only been able to refine the longevity pill!"

Li Tianwang was also extremely envious of this and quietly joined the conversation.

"The Longevity Elixir is so ineffective, even a dog wouldn't eat it," Zhang Xuezhou complained.

"Woof~, I'll eat it, I'll eat that stuff!"

"Go away, go eat this piece of junk!"

To show off his status as a top-tier alchemist, Zhang Xuezhou spared no expense.

He took a longevity pill from his small Qiankun bag and tossed it to the white dog, causing the dog to roll and jump around for a while, even dropping the fish it was holding.

"This isn't a piece of junk!"

Not to mention Li Tianwang feeling the pinch, Yang Jian also felt a bit of pain.

Even the worst longevity elixir can extend one's lifespan by twenty years. As long as one does not take this elixir when near death and avoids the period of drug resistance, long-term use of the longevity elixir can bring an extremely long lifespan.

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou casually toss out a longevity pill, many people felt that their long-held pursuit was insignificant in Zhang Xuezhou's eyes.

Let alone the elixir of immortality, which can last for hundreds of years with a single pill, even a sufficient quantity of longevity pills would be considered pseudo-immortality.