Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

The yellow dog followed Lin Shuang all the way back to Danling Hall in the east of the city before sunset, and entered the courtyard through the back door without noticing the dog following behind.

Gou An controlled his clone, the yellow dog, to circle around the courtyard of Danling Hall and observed that the place looked like a legitimate shop selling pills, but when he smelled the pills inside, there were no really good ones.

Most of them tasted like low-grade pills, which didn't seem like the kind of foundation that the Danling Sect, one of the so-called twelve Dao Sects, should have.

Finally, Gou An discovered a dog hole leading into the yard in an inconspicuous spot. He then controlled his clone, the yellow dog, to crawl inside and, under the cover of night, carefully and silently sniffed around the yard.

It was already dark outside, and the city was quiet, devoid of the daytime hustle and bustle.

In the courtyard of Danling Hall, only one room still had its lights on.

Gou An controlled the yellow dog and quietly crept up. At this moment, he heard people talking inside. Gou An found a window and pricked up his ears to listen.

Inside the room, Lin Shuang was talking to another person, who sounded like an old man.

"The drug trial is tomorrow. Have you recruited a hundred people yet?" The old man's voice was hoarse and slightly weak.

Lin Shuang replied, "Reporting to Master, with the ten people recruited today, we now have exactly one hundred people."

"Excellent!" the old man coughed twice, then asked, "How many spirit stones have you collected?"

"The spirit stones add up to a total of over 64,000, and there are also eight magic treasures, which can add up to several thousand more," Lin Shuang reported. "In total, it should be around 70,000."

"Enough!" the old man's voice rang out again. "The pills are ready, and we're just waiting to test them tomorrow."

"Then Master, you should rest early!" Lin Shuang said, "I'll take my leave now."

Then footsteps were heard, and Lin Shuang pushed open the door of her room and went into another room next door, obviously to rest.

Listening to their conversation, Gou An felt increasingly strange.

Are we really going to test the drug tomorrow?

Isn't he a scammer?

But it sounds like they're not going to return the tens of thousands of spirit stones they collected; they must be scammers.

What kind of medicine will we be testing tomorrow?

There were still two days until the meeting with Shen Yu, and I was feeling a bit bored in the city, so I figured I might as well see what they were up to.

Early the next morning.

Gou An arrived at the entrance of Danling Hall's courtyard.

At this time, there were also many other senior cultivators who came with them.

Gou An glanced around and saw that almost everyone there was at the Qi Refining stage; there wasn't a single old cultivator at the Core Formation stage.

Most of these old cultivators were in the Meridian Opening or Qi Sea stages. They were all of average talent, but they had slowly accumulated their cultivation through decades or even hundreds of years of arduous training.

It is precisely because of their mediocre talent that their cultivation speed is very slow, and they are unlikely to complete the Core Formation in their entire lives.

Soon the doors of the Spirit Pill Hall opened, and there stood Lin Shuang.

She cleared her throat and said to the crowd, "Fellow Daoists, please use your jade tokens as proof to enter the courtyard one by one to try the medicine."

Many veteran cultivators breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lin Shuang.

Many people thought they might have been scammed, but when they saw that the drug trial was about to begin, they all got excited.

So everyone immediately lined up and entered the courtyard one by one with their jade tokens, eventually stopping at the entrance of an alchemy room.

At this time, there were already quite a few disciples dressed in the sect's uniform maintaining order in the courtyard.

Upon seeing their attire, someone immediately remarked to those around them, "They are indeed wearing the disciple robes of the Danling Sect. It seems this drug trial is genuine."

"I never thought I'd actually get to eat pills from the Danling Sect in my lifetime! It's one of the twelve Dao Sects!"

"Let alone extending my life by fifty years, if I could just extend my life by another twenty years, I could gather my Qi Sea into a nascent core."

"Me too. Give me another ten or twenty years, and I'll have a chance to reach the Core Formation stage."

"After condensing the nascent elixir, one's lifespan can be increased by more than a hundred years."

The group of old cultivators gathered together and discussed excitedly, all looking forward to the upcoming drug trials.

Gou An mingled in the crowd, not speaking to anyone else, but instead sniffing the alchemy room, where the aroma of medicinal pills wafted out.

It smelled very good, but based on Gou An's poor sense of smell, it didn't smell like a so-called longevity elixir.

Soon the door to the alchemy room opened, and an old man dressed in a gray Taoist robe walked out.

With a full head of white hair and beard, he was old but had a calm and composed demeanor.

Gou An could sense that this person's cultivation level was at the Core Formation stage, roughly at the Yuan Dan stage, and had not yet condensed a Golden Core.

Lin Shuang walked to the side and introduced to everyone, "Please be patient, everyone. The drug trial will begin soon. Master has something to say."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately shut their mouths and looked at the old man who had reached the Core Formation stage.

The old man cleared his throat and slowly began to speak: "Fellow Daoists, I am an elder of the Danling Sect, one of the twelve Daoist sects, and my Daoist title is Lingxi Zhenren."

"We have been ordered by the sect to select one hundred cultivators whose lifespans are nearing their end to test the efficacy of the newly developed longevity pill."

At this point, he added, "Although this is a trial, please rest assured that even if this pill does not prolong life, it will not be poisonous, nor will it endanger your life."

"We have tried this elsewhere before, and more than 30 out of 50 people successfully extended their lives by 10 to 50 years."

"The pills I'm having you try this time are an improved version of the last one, and their effects will only be stronger."

Hearing Master Gao Lingxi's words, the group of old cultivators became even more excited.

"In addition, after the drug trial, you will all need to stay in the courtyard for twelve hours so we can record your condition after taking the pill!" Master Lingxi continued, "This is also why we are collecting a deposit from everyone, in case you leave after taking the pill and we can't observe the changes."

"Once everyone has taken the medicine, we will return the deposits you have paid in twelve hours."

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled and became even more eager for the upcoming drug trial to alleviate their symptoms.

"Alright, enough of the small talk. Come forward and collect your pills!" Master Lingxi said, then took out a porcelain bottle.

As soon as he finished speaking, Master Lingxi raised his hand and opened the seal of the porcelain bottle, and one by one, round and plump pills rolled into his palm.

The pill was a warm golden color, with a rich and mellow fragrance that drifted in the wind, instantly filling the entire courtyard. The aroma alone made one's blood and qi feel slightly warm.

At first glance, it does indeed look like a high-quality elixir.

The old cultivators' eyes lit up as they watched, their remaining doubts completely vanished, and they suppressed their excitement as they stepped forward in an orderly fashion to receive the pills.

One pill for each person, no more, no less, and everyone received the exact same Warm Gold Pill.

Some people are impatient. Upon seeing such a pill, they swallowed it without hesitation, tilting their heads back.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a warm current flowed down the throat and into the dantian, circulating throughout the body's meridians.

"It really works! My blood and energy feel much better!"

"It truly is a life-extending elixir! It was worth betting my entire fortune!"

The first few elderly cultivators who took the medicine showed visible changes; the wrinkles on their faces, which had resembled the bark of an old tree, were significantly reduced.

Some cultivators who were originally weak in qi and blood also became much stronger after taking the pills.

Having witnessed the miraculous effects firsthand, the cultivators who had initially been cautious and planned to take the medicine later could no longer restrain themselves and eagerly put the pills into their mouths.

In an instant, gasps of amazement rose and fell throughout the courtyard. Every cultivator who had swallowed the pill felt changes in their body and was extremely excited, believing that their lifespan had been extended.

Gou An mingled in the crowd, his fingertips clutching a warm pill.

His expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with vigilance.

Instead of swallowing the pill, he carefully smelled the tip of the pen several times, confirming his suspicions.

This elixir appears to be brimming with spiritual energy and possesses miraculous effects, yet it completely lacks the gentle, nourishing, and soul-strengthening properties of traditional longevity elixirs.

Instead, it carried a very faint trace of toxicity, which was extremely strange.

In a short while, all the hundred old cultivators in the courtyard had taken the pills. Everyone felt warm all over and their blood was surging. Without exception, they were all immersed in the joy of successfully prolonging their lives and expressed their gratitude to True Person Lingxi and Danling Sect.

"There is no need for any commotion!" Master Lingxi said calmly, his tone composed. "Quickly sit down cross-legged and meditate for twelve hours to stabilize the effects of the elixir."

"Circulate the medicinal power throughout the body's meridians to enhance absorption; the more you absorb, the longer your lifespan will be extended."

"As soon as the twelve hours are up, all deposits will be refunded in full immediately, without any delay."

Without hesitation, the group of old cultivators sat down cross-legged, closed their eyes and regulated their breathing, focusing all their efforts on stabilizing the surging medicinal power within their bodies, all hoping to increase their lifespan.

The courtyard fell silent instantly, with only the soft rustling of the breeze through the treetops.

Gou An did not make a fuss, but sat down cross-legged, seemingly closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, but secretly observing the situation.

At first, everything was normal, but after more than an hour, strange changes quietly began to occur.

The old cultivator, whose aura had been steadily rising, suddenly experienced a rapid decline in his spiritual power without warning, and his surging blood and qi quickly subsided and withered.

Some people noticed something was wrong and tried to open their eyes and move, but found their bodies stiff and heavy, their limbs as if bound by invisible shackles, unable to move even their fingertips.

The entire courtyard, with its hundreds of cultivators, had all been reduced to motionless humanoid stone statues, a deathly silence that sent chills down one's spine.

At that moment, the gentle and composed demeanor on the face of the Lingxi Zhenren, who had been standing calmly, completely vanished, replaced by a cold and smug smile.

He slowly stepped forward and gently kicked the nearest old monk.

With a muffled thud, the cultivator's body stiffened, and he was kicked to the ground, but he remained seated cross-legged, completely still.

Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.

"The medicinal effects have completely dissipated." Master Lingxi chuckled, quite satisfied.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, a simple, ancient flying boat the size of a palm appeared in his hand.

He tossed it into the courtyard, and the flying boat grew larger in the wind, instantly transforming into a flying boat several meters long.

Master Lingxi turned to look at the disciples waiting on the side and ordered in a deep voice, "Load them all onto the flying boat and take them all away as soon as it gets dark."

"Yes!" The disciples immediately clasped their hands in agreement.