Chapter 10: Even the Scent of Alchemy Cauldron Peak is Sweet

Bid d farewell to Zhou Lulu, Lu Yang made his way to Danding Peak. As he reached the foot of the mountain, a dense fragrance of medicinal herbs greeted his senses.

"Worthy of the name Danding Peak, even the very air is thick with aroma. The legendary grotto-heavens and celestial islands of immortals could hardly surpass this."

Lu Yang could not help but inhale deeply a couple of times. He felt his body grow light and buoyant, as though he were about to ascend to immortality.

"Junior brother over there, do not breathe it in!"

Shouts and cries echoed from not far away. Seeing that Lu Yang had taken another two deep breaths, the voice's owner grew exceedingly anxious.

"Junior brother, quickly use the Tortoise Breathing Technique! Wait, you seem to be a mortal. Quickly cover your nose then! This scent comes from a failed batch of medicine I was refining—it is the aroma of poison dispersing..."

This was the last sentence Lu Yang heard before he blacked out.

"What kind of ghost place is this, where even the scent is poisonous..." Lu Yang murmured. Unsteady on his feet, he felt the entire world spin before his eyes turned dark, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

As it turned out, whether a scent was fragrant had no necessary correlation with whether it was toxic.

When Lu Yang woke up again, he saw a large face looming right in front of him, giving him such a fright that he jolted awake, instantly sobered.

The man gave a bashful, sheepish chuckle. "Junior Brother Lu, you are awake? It does not hurt anymore, does it?"

The jade pendant clearly indicated Lu Yang's identity.

Lu Yang blinked his eyes, feeling an ache all over his body, as if he had been kneaded into a ball and then flattened out with a rolling pin.

This was an alchemy chamber. The herbal fragrance was thick, and the temperature was much higher than outside. A massive alchemy furnace stood in the center of the room, surrounded by shelves stacked with bundles of herbs and white porcelain vials, which presumably contained successfully refined pills.

On the ground lay piles of sketches illustrating pill-refining methods and cages filled with white mice. Someone unfamiliar with the place would find it hard to even choose a spot to step.

The alchemy chamber had only one bed, the very one Lu Yang was lying on.

"I am Wu Ming. My apologies, Junior Brother. While refining pills, your senior brother got distracted by a thought, failed to control the heat properly, and turned the pills into poison."

"But you need not worry. Though I frequently fail and refine poison, I have not yet poisoned anyone to death even once," Wu Ming said with immense pride.

...Hearing you say that only makes me worry more.

Lu Yang struggled to sit up, shifting his rear to lean against the corner where the bed met the wall, which made him feel a bit better.

Lu Yang's head felt quite itchy. He touched the back of his head and, after a moment of silence, asked, "Since I only inhaled toxic gas, why is the back of my head wrapped in gauze?"

Wu Ming explained awkwardly, "When I was carrying you, I accidentally lost my focus for a moment, and your head bumped against the ground. You do not need to worry too much either. As long as a person is alive, they can be cured here at my Danding Peak!"

"The medicinal potency of the pills I have on hand is too fierce and not suitable for you to consume. Look, while you were unconscious, I specially refined these pills for you, which even mortals can take." Wu Ming presented them like a treasured offering, urging Lu Yang to take a couple.

The pills were golden in color, with three circular rings overlaying them. Lu Yang knew these were pill veins, representing a level of refinement that approached near-perfection.

Yet Lu Yang still dared not eat them.

He had merely come to Danding Peak to ask for a few Inedia Pills. Before he could even do anything, he was already lying in bed with his head wrapped in gauze.

If he were to eat anything more now, he feared even the King of Hell would praise him for courting death.

"It is not poisonous, truly," Wu Ming guaranteed repeatedly.

Seeing that Lu Yang did not believe him, Wu Ming found a white mouse to demonstrate.

The little mouse seemed to know its doom was at hand, squeaking wildly as Wu Ming picked it up, as if bidding farewell to its wife and children.

The mouse swallowed the pill and collapsed to the ground, its breath gone. Seeing this, its wife and children wept miserably and mournfully, as though seeing their own future.

Lu Yang: "..."

Wu Ming: "..."

"An accident, all an accident. White mice are small, so a tiny bit of poison kills them. It will certainly be different for a human. I know where the problem lies. Wait a moment, I will refine another cauldron for you."

Lu Yang quickly diverted his senior brother's attention. "Senior Brother, you said you were distracted because you kept pondering a question. What question were you pondering?"

Sure enough, Wu Ming's attention was successfully diverted. He gathered his words and said, "Pills and medicines—the emphasis lies on the word 'medicine'. Pills are naturally meant to treat illnesses and save lives. Yet Inedia Pills are not meant for the sick. Why are they also counted as pills?"

"If Inedia Pills are considered pills, then pills are not just for treating illnesses and saving lives; they also serve the function of being eaten as meals."

"If Inedia Pills are not considered pills, then what should they be classified as?"

Lu Yang felt that without taking one's brain out and roasting it in an alchemy furnace for three days and three nights, one could not possibly come up with such a question.

"Speaking of Inedia Pills, the only thing here at your senior brother's place that a mortal can eat is the Inedia Pill. I have strawberry, apple, and watermelon flavors. Do you want some? They are not poisonous." Wu Ming pulled out a handful of colorful jellybean-like sweets.

Thinking of the King of Hell's eager expectations of him, Lu Yang chose not to accept Wu Ming's gift. Many people at Danding Peak practiced refining Inedia Pills; no matter who it was, they would be safer than Senior Brother Wu Ming.

"Junior brother, remember to look for me if you need pills refined. It is free of charge," Wu Ming called out warmly as he saw Lu Yang off.

Lu Yang limped away, quickening his pace.

The next day, the Seventh Elder of Danding Peak learned of Lu Yang's miserable plight and sent him pills that could truly heal a mortal, along with a gourd of Inedia Pills.

Lu Yang fully recovered.

...

Over the following month, Lu Yang lived a very fulfilling life, rotating among the Library Pavilion, the Lecture Peak, and his cave dwelling. He greedily learned and absorbed the knowledge of immortal cultivation that he had never encountered before, like a traveler in the desert encountering a clear spring, thirsting and hungering for it.

A month later, everyone's wishes were fulfilled as they were accepted as disciples under the various elders. Meng Jingzhou went under the Third Elder, Mangu under the Fourth Elder, the Fire Spiritual Root Li Haoran under the Five Elder, and the Ascending Immortal Body Tao Yaoye under the Sixth Elder...

This struck Lu Yang as rather strange. He had thought Mangu would join the Third Elder just like Meng Jingzhou. The Third Elder was a famously renowned body cultivator in the cultivation world whom no one dared to engage in hand-to-hand combat. As a descendant of the ancient barbarian lineage, Mangu was best suited to be taught by the Third Elder.

In contrast, the Fourth Elder was a Confucian cultivator, immensely knowledgeable but not famous for physical strength. It was a mystery why Mangu had chosen the Fourth Elder as his master.

The Fifth Elder excelled in artifact forging, so Li Haoran possessing a Fire Spiritual Root was fitting enough.

Lu Yang had never seen the Sixth Elder, but he heard she was a woman of breathtaking beauty who possessed a celestial body similar to Tao Yaoye's.

Mangu's apprenticeship to the Fourth Elder was not the most conspicuous event; the most conspicuous was Lu Yang himself, who was accepted under the mysterious Sect Master.

It was said the Sect Master had not taken a disciple for over a century, living a carefree and unfettered life. The disciples gossiped fervently, unable to comprehend why the Sect Master, who was still in secluded meditation, would take Lu Yang as a disciple.

Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Lu Yang was led by Eldest Senior Sister Yun Zhi toward Tianmen Peak, the dwelling place of the Sect Master.