I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Chapter 141 Years of Hard Work Finally Bear Fruit

For someone at the Foundation Establishment stage, ten years is nothing more than a few periods of seclusion.

Xu Zhou lived a secluded life in Red Maple Valley, rarely interacting with outsiders, immersing himself solely in studying classical texts and deducing techniques.

Through extensive reading and practice, he has now mastered a total of four second-tier skills!

Alchemy, Array Formation, Medicine, and Spiritual Plants.

Among them, alchemy and array formation are particularly prominent.

With the complete second-tier inheritance "Miscellaneous Pill Chapter", Xu Zhou is now able to reliably refine most of the common cultivation pills on the market.

He was well-versed in the techniques required for refining second-tier pills. Even if he encountered a pill formula he had never seen before, he was confident that he could master it in a very short time.

Even when it comes to refining rare, high-grade second-tier items, he is confident he can succeed; it will just take a little longer.

By this standard, he can already be considered a skilled mid-grade second-tier alchemist.

Although he is still far from reaching the pinnacle of true second-order alchemy, he is already considered one of the top alchemy masters in the Mu Kingdom.

However, in terms of array formations, they are slightly inferior.

Although he also possessed a complete second-tier inheritance, it ultimately had some flaws.

Even with the addition of many insights gained from exchanges, there is still a lack of a clear core path for growth.

However, over the course of ten years, he also built many array foundations in Red Maple Valley and the surrounding mountains, gradually gaining a deeper understanding of the earth's veins and accumulating a lot of experience.

Although he has not yet definitively entered the second-tier mid-grade array path, he is not far off.

Over the past decade, Xu Zhou has had little contact with the outside world.

Most of the information was obtained through the Red Maple Pavilion.

Today's Red Maple Tower is quite different from what it was ten years ago.

With Xu Zhou as their backer, Red Maple Tower's development didn't encounter any obstacles. The surrounding Foundation Establishment families, independent cultivators, and even the Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce were all willing to give them face.

At least in the market, the Red Maple Pavilion is now a significant force.

Their business encompasses a variety of items, including alchemy, formations, talismans, magical artifacts, restaurants, and shops, competing fairly with various forces and sometimes even cooperating with them.

The Red Maple Pavilion is no longer home only to the remaining members of the Hu family.

Hu Yuanshan is a man who appears rough on the surface but is actually meticulous. He knows that Xu Zhou took them in because he values ​​each of their abilities.

Although the Red Maple Pavilion was entrusted to his management, he dared not abuse his power for personal gain. Instead, he focused on curbing the power of the Hu family members and worked hard to cultivate newly joined independent cultivators.

Under his deliberate control, only one-third of the internal operations of Red Maple Tower relied on the Hu family members, while the rest were managed by new members trained over the past ten years.

With the support of the Red Maple Pavilion, Xu Zhou's storage bag accumulated more and more spiritual materials.

With the abundant supply of medicinal pills and the ten years that had passed, his cultivation level finally made another leap forward.

One early morning, the Longevity Technique started operating on its own, beginning to vibrate the surrounding spiritual energy.

Xu Zhou immediately put down the books and carefully moved the Zhou Tian.

A moment later, he shuddered, as if he had broken through a shackle.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment!

Feeling the increasingly abundant magical power in his dantian and his increasingly keen divine sense, Xu Zhou could clearly feel that he had taken another step forward on the path to immortality.

Even his lifespan has subtly increased, approaching the age of 50.

Overjoyed, Xu Zhou quickly composed himself.

"My true reliance is on skill rather than cultivation. To outsiders, the difference brought about by changes in my cultivation level is not significant, and I still need to cultivate steadily."

He continued to maintain his original cultivation rhythm as before, without making any changes despite the breakthrough in his cultivation level.

However, there were still some things that required him to come out of seclusion.

One day, a letter arrived from afar.

Gu Huayin from the Hundred Herbs Hall of the sect makes an invitation.

Xu Zhou was not surprised to receive the letter.

After he sent back his insights on alchemy last time, Senior Brother Gu's letters became more frequent. It wasn't until last year that the frequency of their correspondence suddenly dropped sharply.

Upon noticing this change, Xu Zhou realized that the other party had almost reached the final step.

Sure enough, the letter was about this very matter.

To Junior Brother Xu:

In the past, I was fortunate to receive help from my junior brother in passing on the tradition. Now, after decades of hard work, I have finally lived up to everyone's expectations and have integrated the various lineages.

Therefore, I am writing this letter to invite my fellow disciple to return to the sect for a visit. Firstly, to express my gratitude in person, and secondly, to hand over the revised copy of the lineage to everyone.

Fellow disciples. In addition, the sect has prepared some rewards to reward you for your hard work over the years.

Respectfully submitted by Gu Huayin.

Looking at the letter, Xu Zhou couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Thirty-three years have passed since he took over "Miscellaneous Writings" from Gu Huayin.

He studied the "Miscellaneous Elixir Manual" diligently, and whenever he had free time, he would try to deduce its contents. He spent a lot of time and energy, as well as a large amount of spirit stones, to purchase spirit herbs for research.

By saving time by not cultivating, he was able to thoroughly comprehend the "Miscellaneous Elixir Chapter" in just thirty years.

Now, the time has finally come for the results to be released.

"I wonder what level Senior Brother Gu has reached in his new inheritance?"

The day after receiving the letter, Xu Zhou entrusted Red Maple Valley to others for safekeeping and rushed back to his sect.

They traveled in silence and soon returned to the Golden Flame Sect.

Several days later, Senior Brother Gu hosted a banquet inside the gate to entertain everyone.

Besides Xu Zhou, there were six other alchemists present at the banquet, including Song Rouhe and Senior Sister Feng, who had refined Foundation Establishment Pills for him.

Song Rou sat eagerly beside Xu Zhou, but she didn't get very close to Senior Sister Feng. She only occasionally glanced at her, her eyes filled with observation and scrutiny.

During the meal, Senior Brother Gu raised his glass and sighed, "This integration and inheritance was originally conceived more than fifty years ago."

At that time, I had just taken over Baicaotang. The senior brother who had previously been in charge was still alive. He mentioned it to me when we were discussing alchemy one day, which gave me the idea of ​​integrating and passing on the tradition.

Now, the lineage has been completed, but my senior brother has already passed away and cannot witness it.

His tone carried a hint of sadness, and although Xu Zhou and the others did not know who his senior brother was, they immediately felt the same way.

Then, Senior Brother Gu continued, "This inheritance was also hard-won."

Actually, you may not know this, but I wanted to give up ten years ago.

Everyone was stunned.

Senior Brother Gu continued, "These different schools of alchemy have different origins and conflict with each other in many ways. The initial deductions were relatively simple, but the further one goes, the more difficult it becomes to continue."

During that period, I felt annoyed whenever I saw any alchemical texts. For an entire year, I didn't write a single word of any alchemical texts.

He paused for a moment, then smiled with relief.

"Until one day, I happened to see a reflection sent by one of the people in the room, and a certain annotation in it was quite unique, which made me find my direction again."

After that, I will slowly pick up the torch again, make up for the shortfall, and only then can I perfect it now.

Gu Huayin sighed and raised her cup high.

"I intend to name this lineage 'The Eight Gates of Herbs and Elixir Classic'."

This lineage was finally able to come to fruition thanks to the help of my fellow disciples.

Therefore, the alchemical text will not be signed solely by me, but by all of you. Each and every one of you here is an author of this alchemical text and may freely pass it on to your disciples!

At this moment, everyone's expression changed slightly.

The "Hundred Herbs and Eight Gates Elixir Classic" is destined to be included in the sect's secret classics and may even be regarded as a treasure passed down by the Hundred Herbs Hall.

Before they came, they only hoped to read the entire text of the alchemical text, which would have been enough to satisfy them.

Unexpectedly, Gu Huayin not only included everyone's names in the list, allowing them to be remembered for eternity, but also allowed them to spread the word.

Although it is limited to disciples of this sect, it is still a considerable amount of power and a symbol of the sect's status.

Gu Huayin simply smiled at this.

He then took out the seven storage bags he had prepared beforehand and personally handed them to the alchemists.

"In the storage bag, besides the 'Eight Gates of Herbs' alchemy classic, there are also the rewards for everyone's hard work over the past decades."

Everyone stood up and thanked each other.

After that, there was a joyful and relaxing banquet.

The banquet lasted until late at night before Xu Zhou finally found a chance to leave.

Among those present, several cared about the status and reputation that came with the inheritance, but he cared more about the inheritance itself.

Back at his residence, Xu Zhou opened the storage bag.

The first thing that catches the eye is a carefully placed letter.

Among them was Gu Huayin's gratitude to Xu Zhou.

Junior Brother Xu:

Gu has read through the notes sent by his former junior brother many times.

Among them, the theory that "there are thousands of alchemical paths, but they all lead to the same goal" was not my junior brother's original idea, but it just happened to enlighten me, making me realize that among the various traditions, it is not necessary to forcibly choose which is superior or inferior, but rather they can verify each other and complement each other.

That's why I was able to pick up the idea of ​​deduction again and gradually improve the remaining parts.

My junior brother deserves a great deal of credit for the publication of the "Hundred Herbs and Eight Gates Elixir Classic".

I am not good with words, but I have prepared a small gift. I hope my junior brother will not refuse it.

If I gain anything in the future, I will discuss the Dao of Alchemy with my junior brother.

Gu Huayin.

Xu Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I never imagined that the insights Senior Brother Gu shared with him, the ones that pointed him out, actually came from my own hand?"

After a brief recollection, he remembered the origin of this idea of ​​"the myriad paths of alchemy"—it was the original text of "Miscellaneous Chapters on Alchemy".

He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"I was wondering who had such insight that they could enlighten Senior Brother Gu with just a few words."

"It turns out, I was just lucky to be studying the 'Miscellaneous Elixir Chapter'. If it were someone else in my position, they could have given Senior Brother a clear idea as well."

"In the end, it was my senior brother himself who truly perfected the alchemical texts."

Xu Zhou looked at the storage bag. Besides the inheritance jade slip, there were also a lot of spirit stones and materials.

These spiritual materials are quite valuable, but for him, who is managing his influence outside, they are just average.

What he cares about most is, in the end, the inheritance.

"Finally, I can see for myself what kind of profound mysteries of alchemy this alchemical text, which integrates eight traditions, records."

Xu Zhou took out the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense.

In just a moment, his eyes showed surprise.

The language used in this alchemical text is delicate and direct, making it simple and easy to understand.

However, the alchemical techniques contained within are extremely mysterious, ancient, and profound.

With just a glance, he memorized many alchemy secrets he had never thought of before, and for a moment he couldn't wait to find an alchemy furnace to try them out.

Suppressing his inner turmoil for the time being, Xu Zhou continued reading the main text.

The alchemical text is quite long, being a culmination of eight different lineages. Yet, every passage is extraordinary, captivating and enchanting to read.

Even the "Miscellaneous Elixir Chapter" section, which Xu Zhou had already comprehended, upon rereading, surprisingly revealed some points of similarity.

After a long while, Xu Zhou turned to the end.

The last chapter of the scripture does not discuss the method of alchemy, but rather the prototype of a secret technique.

The Secret Techniques of Fake Elixir

Brother Gu wrote here: "Having read through countless alchemical texts and come to this point, I feel the profound mystery of alchemy even more."

I suddenly had a brilliant idea: if we could gather a massive amount of spiritual resources, forcibly compress them in a pill furnace, and refine a fake golden pill for people to swallow and refine, wouldn't that be comparable to forming a golden pill?

However, despite several attempts, while there were ideas, there were insufficient resources to make them feasible. Even if success were achieved as envisioned, it would still be far from reaching the level of a true Core Formation cultivator.

If future generations have the opportunity, they may try it once or twice. They must remember that this method can only reach the Core Formation stage; never rashly engage with a Core Formation cultivator, lest you ruin your own path to enlightenment. Remember this well!

Xu Zhou was startled when he saw this.

He looked up at the window, and for a moment he found it difficult to organize his thoughts.

"Fake pills?"

"Senior Brother Gu is really good at thinking."