The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 711 - 400: An Aging Elder is Like a Treasure
After the plague outbreak, he was invited by Fengtian Prefecture to join other Pill Masters in studying the antidote when the work was in full swing. Suddenly, he received a message from Miluo stating that a Pill Master in the West had developed an antidote, and after experimentation, the efficacy was confirmed! This great news was a bolt from the blue for the Pill Masters; so many people had gathered to put their heads together, yet they couldn’t match the brilliance of a lone mind! Miluo knew that Xu Nongyou and Ning Xiaoxian had met a few times before, so he didn’t keep him in the dark. Hearing that it was this young lady’s masterpiece, Xu Nongyou was first astonished, then he could only sincerely lament that indeed one generation surpasses the previous one, and the predecessors are about to die on the beach.
The news spread like a stone causing a thousand ripples, and in just two short months, it spread throughout the continent. Of course, what followed was a widespread joint effort by various immortal sects and demon sects to manage the epidemic, and the plague was soon under control. By the time Xu Nongyou left, the plagues in the Central and Southern parts had been largely eliminated.
Tracing it back to the source, it was still Ning Xiaoxian who contributed the Elixir recipe which was truly the right cure. Coupled with Ning Yu’s intentional or unintentional dispatch of many people to travel all over the continent, promoting the true origin of the antidote, although most people did not know that the antidote was developed by a girl named Ning Xiaoxian, everyone knew there was a genius Pill Master in the West who contributed the recipe, saving countless lives. Some people even worshiped her as the Medicine God, erected a living temple, and offered tributes daily.
However, Ning Xiaoxian understood that the real heroes behind the antidote were Changtian and Qiongqi of the God Demon Prison, so she ducked this grand gesture, repeatedly waving her hands and saying, "It was just a fluke, purely a matter of luck. Oh, how could Senior Xu appear in the Ba Snake Mountain Range?"
The Hidden Stream is notoriously unwelcoming to outsiders, especially to humans, so how could Xu Nongyou, a man of pure human bloodline, show up here so boldly?
As it turned out, his words probably scratched the old man’s proud spot, and his old face immediately smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum: "Tomorrow is the day when the Dragon Elephant Fruit ripens. The Jiumo Sect Leader of the Hidden Stream has specially invited me to appreciate it. Such Miracle Medicine stopped growing thousands of years ago, and I, Xu, am truly honored to have a chance to see it in my lifetime."
After listening to his story, Ning Xiaoxian learned that rules, indeed, are tailor-made for individuals. Even though the Hidden Stream put on airs of being aloof from humans, they still hold great respect for an Alchemy Dao expert like Xu Nongyou. It was impossible for the Hidden Stream, which had guarded a deep mountain Treasure Vault for thirty thousand years without interruption, not to have cultivated a few Pill Masters with profound power. Previously, Ning Xiaoxian always thought Xu Nongyou was famous in the world for refining the Transformation Pill, which helps cultivators break through to the Mahayana Realm. Only today did she realize that this man’s greatest skill was actually modifying Elixir recipes!
Since ancient times, the Alchemy Dao has not only not declined but has become more prosperous, and a large part of this can be attributed to the contributions of human cultivators, among which Xu Nongyou stands out. He is completely devoted to the path of pills, almost to the point of neglecting sleep and food, and he truly is a genius in this regard. With a new Elixir recipe in hand, he has a three to four in ten chance of modifying it successfully, either by changing the components without altering the effect or even reducing the cost while enhancing the efficacy. Like the Clearing Void Pill recipe he once casually gave to Ning Xiaoxian, it is a typical example.
You should know that, like many ancient crafts, after surviving two catastrophic wars, many rare medicinal ingredients can no longer withstand the ravages of war, permanently disappearing from the annals of history. Some sects, despite holding wondrous recipes, are unable to refine the end product due to the lack of ingredients. As a large Demon Sect that has maintained its lineage for thirty thousand years, the Hidden Stream has countless ancient Elixir recipes. At this point, the precious role of Xu Nongyou was revealed. According to the old man himself, he has modified more than twenty Elixir recipes for the Hidden Stream, and a total of thirty-five ancient medicines have been brought back to the light of day.
Her eyes sparkled as she listened. Having reached her level of proficiency in the Alchemy Dao, Ning Xiaoxian knew that there were two necessary conditions for modifying recipes: first, Xu Nongyou’s understanding of the fundamental principles behind Elixir preparation had to be crystal clear; there was absolutely no room for knowing the effects but not the reasons. Just this point alone, most Pill Masters could not achieve, just like cars are commonplace nowadays, but how many car owners know their engine models, the names of individual car parts, and how to repair them? It would be good if even one out of ten had a general understanding.
The second condition requires Pill Masters to have a rich knowledge of pharmacology and imagination to continue with such modifications, and they must also possess an unwavering perseverance to succeed. A single successful modification is usually founded on hundreds or thousands of failures. The saying goes that failure is the mother of success. At least Ning Xiaoxian admits that she lacks both the craftsman spirit and the perseverance for such meticulous work.
