Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 219 The Pill of No Thought

The woman was taken aback upon hearing this, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

After carefully observing Song Yan for a moment, he suddenly smiled, his eyes revealing a hint of admiration and gratitude.

She turned and called softly towards the backyard, "Ah Feng, come quickly."

The faint sound of pruning flowers and plants could be heard from the backyard. Hearing the woman's call, a man dressed in a coarse cloth robe lifted the curtain and came out.

It was Liang Feng.

Compared to their meeting at Beiya Mountain a few years ago, the gloom between his brows had dissipated considerably. His cultivation level remained at the sixth level of Qi Refining, but his complexion had improved a lot.

"Fellow Daoist Song!" Liang Feng's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw Song Yan. He quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting: "It's been many years since we last met. You are still as charming as ever."

Song Yan smiled slightly: "You look good. It seems that Lanxi Cave is a good place to live."

"This is Xiao Ju, my companion," he introduced, turning to the side.

Liang Feng nodded to Xiao Ju, then lowered his voice and said, "It's not convenient to talk about this here. Please come with me."

He turned to his wife and said softly, "Ah Qing, I'm taking the guests to the valley. I'll be back later."

The woman understood and took out a jade talisman from under the counter and handed it to Liang Feng: "Be careful on the road." She then smiled apologetically at Song Yan and the other man: "My humble abode is simple and my hospitality is lacking. Please forgive me."

The group turned and left. Xiao Ju glanced back at the woman, her expression filled with curiosity.

Sensing the girl's gaze, the woman in plain clothes smiled gently at her.

After leaving the flower shop, Liang Feng led the two through the market and turned into a secluded mountain path.

"I remember back in Linghua Valley, you told me you'd found a secluded and quiet place, far from any human presence. How did it become this place?"

As Song Yan walked, he asked, "This place can hardly be described as deserted."

Liang Feng chuckled self-deprecatingly: "The people from Linghua Valley have found me. I'm worried about A-Qing's safety."

"I changed places quite a few times in the middle... In the end, I had no choice but to join Lanxi Cave."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

This is a matter between him and Linghua Valley, and frankly, as an outsider, he has no right to meddle.

Back then, during the incident at Beiya Mountain, he had already preserved the original spiritual seed of Linghua Valley and directly helped Liang Feng revive his wife.

He didn't need to bother resolving these unresolved issues between the two parties.

Song Yan came here with only one purpose: to obtain as many Tuoyue Lotus Seeds as possible.

However, after his wife recovered, Liang Feng seemed easily satisfied. There was no blame or resentment on his face, only the happiness of living with his wife.

Speaking of her current life, she has no complaints: "It's good here. Although I have to deal with a lot of people, as long as I pay my spiritual tax on time, it's relatively safe."

"This Lanxi Cave Heaven has only been established for eight or nine years. In fact, there are not many people. Including the small families that have moved here, there are only about a thousand people who live here permanently."

More than a thousand people.

Lanxi Cave covers a wide area. These deep mountains in the north of Chu are basically uninhabited, with only a little over a thousand people living there, which is indeed not many.

The various independent cultivators, family abodes, and mountain peaks that reside in Lanxi Cave all radiate outwards from a special mountain peak.

There is a tidal stream on this mountain peak.

It is said that the Foundation Establishment cultivator who established this place initially only built a cave here to cultivate in seclusion. Later, when he went down the mountain to travel, he saw fellow cultivators being bullied and persecuted, and he often stepped in to save them.

As a result, more and more people spontaneously came here and built their own cave dwellings in the surrounding mountains and fields.

On the one hand, they want to follow this person or become his disciple, but on the other hand, they don't want to disturb his quiet cultivation.

Over time, more and more independent cultivators gathered in the area.

Until one day, the disciple of that Foundation Establishment cultivator received his instruction to establish rules and regulations, and officially established the Lanxi Cave.

As Liang Feng explained the situation of the place, he led the two to a cave.

This is where Liang Feng and his wife usually live, quite a distance from the market town.

It feels like we're already at the edge of the Lanxi Cave area.

In the courtyard of the cave dwelling, there were several spiritual fields, some planted with spiritual flowers and herbs, and others planted with common spiritual medicines.

There is also a small white dog in the yard.

Upon seeing Liang Feng bring strangers to his home, the little dog showed no hostility whatsoever; instead, it barked happily as it came to greet them.

It circled around Song Yan and Xiao Ju's feet, occasionally licking its nose, which was quite adorable.

Xiao He peeked out from Song Yan's clothes and looked at the puppy curiously.

The puppy was startled and froze on the spot.

"No wonder you look so radiant now; such leisure and elegance are truly enviable."

Song Yan joked.

However, he had no intention of entering the cave, because the Moon Lotus he wanted to see was not among these spiritual fields.

It's unlikely that someone as meticulous as Liang Feng would so casually plant such a thing in front of his house.

"Just getting by," Liang Feng said with a smile, but his tone was full of happiness.

He only petted the puppy along the way before bypassing the cave.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he arrived at a desolate foothills. He flicked his fingertips, and the jade talisman glowed faintly.

A narrow path entwined with vines suddenly appeared out of thin air on the rock face ahead.

Song Yan looked somewhat familiar.

“This ‘Green Vine Barrier’ is a formation I set up in imitation of the Linghua Valley.”

Liang Feng parted the vines, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. "Although it can't compare to the grand schemes of a sect, it's enough to fool ordinary Qi Refining cultivators."

The three filed in, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

The valley is only a hundred feet in circumference, but it is surrounded by green peaks and cliffs on all sides, forming a world of its own.

A waterfall cascades down in the southeast, a clear stream meanders through the valley, and several fields of fine rice are scattered on both banks.

The three of them walked into the valley.

“Fellow Daoist Song, you lent me lotus seeds and saved A-Qing’s life. It’s like giving her a second chance, both for her and for me.”

Liang Feng said, "This valley is secluded and has abundant spiritual energy, so it was specially opened up for the cultivation of ancient lotuses."

There is a small pond right next to the bamboo house by the stream.

A three-foot-tall ancient lotus stands gracefully, with a lotus seed on its seedpod gleaming with a moonlit glow.

However, this lotus seed, in terms of both spiritual power and vitality, is far inferior to the one that Song Yan had given to Liang Feng before.

Moreover, there is only one lotus seedpod; the other four positions on the seedpod are empty.

It seems to have been picked by someone.

Before he could even ask a question, Liang Feng had already spoken.

"My cultivation level is low. With only a little knowledge of spiritual plants, I created this method for cultivating ancient lotus. Naturally, it cannot compare to those high-level spiritual plant masters."

"The vitality of the Ancient Lotus of Kotomo is truly overwhelming; such is its nature."

“If the mature lotus seeds are left here, they will attract many mountain spirits and monsters, so I have already put away the rest of the lotus seeds.”

Liang Feng took a container resembling a pill bottle out of his Qiankun bag and handed it to Song Yan.

“These are four mature lotus seeds.” Song Yan raised an eyebrow, surprised.

There really are four?
The preciousness of lotus seeds is beyond question.

A truly plump and mature lotus seed can even be used as a foundational spiritual vein to establish a settlement for independent cultivators.

These lotus seeds of mine were all born from withered seeds, which were inherently extremely deficient. In addition, due to the limitations of the spiritual plant master's methods and cultivation, the spiritual power in them was pitifully small.

However, the vitality it contained remained unaffected; in fact, because of its new life, it was even more powerful than the one in Linghua Valley.

This Liang Feng does indeed have some skill.

Liang Feng didn't know what Song Yan thought, but continued to explain: "Fellow Daoist Song, the ancient lotus you gave me was lacking in spiritual power. Therefore, I suspect that every time the ancient lotus matures in the future, one or two of them will have problems. The one left on the lotus pod is one of them."

He looked somewhat apologetic: "My strength is meager, and my methods are limited. I don't know how to solve this problem yet."

To be honest, this result was completely beyond Song Yan's expectations.

How to solve?

If they could really solve this problem, the two of them could work together to build a gathering place for independent cultivators.

"It's alright, this is fine."

Song Yan shook his head: "Back then, our deal was just that you would give me more lotus seeds. I never asked you to restore it to its ancient form."

Upon hearing this, Liang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Song is easy to talk to.

Liang Feng was simply content with the status quo, not stupid. Because of the existence of the Mother-Child Heart Worm, his life was still in Song Yan's hands.

Now that Ah Qing is gradually recovering, he doesn't want to die.

After carefully inspecting the lotus seeds and confirming that they were correct, Song Yan took out a small bottle from his Qiankun bag.

Inside the small bottle was a pale yellow worm, curled up in a corner; it was the mother worm of the mother-child worm.

Using his spiritual power, he guided the small bottle and tossed it over.

Liang Feng reached out and caught it, a look of delight appearing on his face.

He originally thought that he would have to let the lotus seeds grow for several cycles before the other party would give him the mother worm.

But for me, this is of course the best thing.

It's not a pleasant feeling to have your life in someone else's hands at any time.

"Take it." Song Yan observed the ancient lotus in the pond and said casually, "Our deal is over."

Looking at it again, the lotus flowers of Tuoyue Ancient Lotus are still very beautiful.

Bright and clear like the moon.

Liang Feng put away the insect bottle, but did not leave immediately: "Fellow Daoist Song, your great kindness to me and A Qing can never be repaid in a lifetime. I will continue to cultivate the Moon Lotus."

"This valley was prepared for you in advance; you may come and go as you please."

He pointed to the waterfall in the southeast of the valley behind the bamboo house: "Behind that waterfall, there is a hidden cave where you can cultivate in seclusion."

"If you have any spiritual plant seeds that you would like to plant, you can give them to me, and I will take care of them."

“Okay.” Song Yan nodded: “You can take 20% of the harvest of spiritual plants, including the ancient lotus, as compensation.”

Liang Feng wanted to refuse, but Song Yan stopped him by citing the cost of cultivation, and in the end he stopped making excuses.

Liang Feng is meticulous and thorough, so entrusting these matters to him makes things easier for Song Yan.

Liang Feng was even more grateful.

He did have a selfish motive, which was his and A-Qing's safety.

I probably have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. Lanxi Cave is relatively safe, but if we plan ahead, there's no guarantee that we won't be scattered when the tree falls.

However, even a fool could see that Song Yan had a bright future ahead of him in the immortal realm.

If one breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage or even higher realms in the future, and remembers the hard work and effort one has put in, perhaps one can offer some remedies.

Unexpectedly, the other party promised him some benefits.

Liang Feng composed himself and continued, "However, if the Moon Lotus continues to grow, some spiritual plants that also rely on the earth's veins for growth will not be able to survive normally."

He explained to Song Yan the types of some of the spiritual plants and outlined some rules to be followed inside Lanxi Cave.

Finally, he bowed respectfully and left first.

Song Yan observed the lotus for a while but couldn't figure it out.

Xiaohe had already swum quite a distance away; without a doubt, this was her favorite place.

Looking around at the nameless valley, he casually remarked, "This place is quite secluded, and the spiritual energy is still plentiful. Why don't we stay here for a while?"

Xiao Ju nodded; she naturally had no objections.

For Song Yan, this place is indeed very convenient right now.

Even the cave behind the waterfall required almost no maintenance, as Liang Feng had already taken care of everything.

Song Yan simply found a stone chamber to house the sword alchemy furnace he had obtained from the outskirts of the Sword Sect, and that was all he had to do.

The reason he came to Longquan Prefecture with such a clear purpose—to find Liang Feng and obtain the lotus seeds—was mainly to suppress the inner demons that might erupt at any time when he was building his foundation.

However, in a small place like Chu, most shops do not sell talismans or elixirs related to inner demons.

Because inner demons only appear at the Foundation Establishment stage or even above the Golden Core stage.

Such occurrences during the Qi Refining stage are extremely rare.

Placing one's hopes on auction houses and barter fairs means leaving everything to luck.

The petals of the Moon-Holding Lotus can be used to make the Moon-Cleansing Talisman, so it's obviously impossible to learn how to make talismans at this time.

At that time, we will probably need to find a talisman maker to commission the crafting of this talisman.

What Song Yan needs to do next is to refine a pill that uses Tuoyue Lotus Seed as the main ingredient, which can also suppress inner demons.

"The Pill of No Thought".

If circumstances allowed, Song Yan would naturally want to get straight to the point and begin refining the improved Foundation Establishment Pill.

After all, with the Pure Moon Talisman, it's almost enough to suppress inner demons.

However, his inquiry at Wuyou Market gave him a general idea of ​​just how difficult it was to obtain the ingredients for this improved Foundation Building Pill.

Even if you eventually manage to gather all the materials, you can easily imagine that you'll have very few opportunities to actually try them out.

As a result, Song Yan had to carefully consider his chances of success.

Therefore, he set his sights on another higher-level pill in the Thousand Pills Formula, the "Thoughtless Pill".

Actually, the main ingredient of Wuxiang Pill is not Tuoyue Lotus Seed, but another kind of spiritual medicine.

This medicinal herb has similar properties to the Moon-Supporting Lotus Seed, but it has less vitality and more spiritual power.

Indeed, the name of Tuoyue Lianzi (托月莲子) could be found in the record of similar substitutions of medicinal materials at the end of the prescription.

It can be refined by simply adjusting a few peripheral auxiliary ingredients to match the medicinal power.

Refine the Wuxiang Pill several times; once it's successfully formed, it can be taken during the Foundation Establishment stage.

The most crucial steps in refining the two types of pills are similar; failure can be considered as accumulating experience for the improved Foundation Building Pill.

(End of this chapter)