I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Li Zelei nodded slowly, his tone firm: "The benefits I can find in the Li Huo Cave are no longer sufficient for my current cultivation level. If I want to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible, I must go to the You Gu."

Xu Zhou frowned but did not back down: "Senior Brother Li, one should not be too hasty in improving one's cultivation. Even if you do not go to the Hidden Valley, based on what you gained in the Fire Cave, you will only need to cultivate diligently for two or three years at most to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. But if you go to the Hidden Valley now, it will be extremely dangerous."

He shook his head repeatedly, not optimistic about the trip to Yougu.

Li Zelei was worried that he wouldn't give him the miasma-avoiding pill, so he couldn't help but feel a little anxious: "Junior Brother Xu, please rest assured, I plan to go to the secluded valley, and I am naturally very confident."

He continued to recount his story, but Xu Zhou remained unmoved, clearly not believing him.

Seeing this, Li Zelei suddenly became serious, took a few steps closer and said, "Junior brother, since we've come this far, I'll tell you frankly."

He turned his head to look around, making sure no one was there, before whispering, "During my trip down to the Fire Cave, I found a Fire Marrow Extreme Crystal inside."

Xu Zhou's pupils dilated slightly, his heart filled with surprise.

Is this really true?

Li Zelei carefully patted the storage bag, which emitted a trace of pure Yang fire energy that Xu Zhou could clearly feel. Only then did he say, "With this treasure protecting me, Junior Brother shouldn't try to persuade me not to go anymore, right?"

Xu Zhou was at a loss.

With the Fire Marrow Crystal protecting him, the danger of going to the secluded valley was greatly reduced.

Even so, Li Zelei's current cultivation level still carries considerable risk, but there's an 80-90% chance he'll return safely. This level of danger is something Xu Zhou would absolutely not want to face, but for Li Zelei, it's a risk worth taking.

Thinking of this, he sighed inwardly, took out a porcelain bottle from his storage bag, and handed it over.

Li Zelei opened the bottle, smelled the refreshing fragrance of the miasma-avoiding pill, and immediately beamed with joy: "Junior brother, don't worry, if we come out of the secluded valley this time, your share of the reward will be calculated at 15%, you definitely won't be at a disadvantage!"

He then sighed, "It's a pity, junior brother, your cultivation level is too low. Otherwise, you could come with me to the secluded valley and directly share half or even more of the benefits, which would be better for your cultivation."

Xu Zhou coughed twice: "Senior brother, we agreed not to talk about these things."

"Right, right, I forgot."

Li Zelei looked apologetic, knowing that the other party was completely devoted to alchemy and didn't care about improving his cultivation. Bringing this up had touched a nerve.

He immediately changed the subject, talking about the dangers and interesting things in the Fire Cave, and then explaining in detail his understanding of the Valley after his investigation, mainly to reassure Xu Zhou.

After finishing his conversation, he took his leave.

Xu Zhou watched him leave, and could only offer his blessings.

Although the two had a good relationship, their paths were different. He didn't want Li Zelei to persuade him to be radical, so naturally he wouldn't advise the other to settle down.

I just hope that Li Zelei will have good fortune and be able to cultivate safely all the way.

...

In the months that followed, Xu Zhou gradually began to feel something was amiss.

Senior Brother Ke seems to have suddenly become very busy. He spends less and less time in the alchemy room during the day, and even the number of times he refines pills has decreased significantly. When asked where he has been, no reason could be obtained.

Although somewhat curious, Xu Zhou was happy that the other person wasn't there.

With his senior brother Ke not around, he could focus more on practicing his skills in processing medicinal herbs and was more likely to enter a state of concentration.

After several attempts, he gradually mastered this state of focus, which was different from when he was reading.

In this state, the degree to which lifespan is slowed down is not as great as when he was studying; it can only be slowed down by about 30% to 50%. But even so, it can still greatly ensure that his lifespan is not reduced.

Since mastering the skill, Xu Zhou no longer cared where Senior Brother Ke went; in fact, he wished the other would stay longer.

someday.

Just as Xu Zhou was concentrating on processing the medicinal herbs, the door to the alchemy room was suddenly opened.

Ke Yanfeng walked in, followed by a petite figure. Xu Zhou took a closer look and realized it was an unfamiliar girl, who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old.

Let me introduce myself.

Ke Yanfeng walked over, pointed to the girl behind him, and said to Xu Zhou, "She is my new apprentice, named Song Rou. She will be working with you in the alchemy room from now on."

The young girl, Song Rou, was a little nervous and nodded to Xu Zhou in acknowledgment.

Afterwards, Ke Yanfeng instructed Song Rou, "This is Xu Zhou. You follow this senior brother and familiarize yourself with the alchemy room. I have some business to attend to with Steward Zhang. We'll talk when I get back."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

With Ke Yanfeng gone, Song Rou's expression immediately softened.

She approached Xu Zhou and asked softly, "Xu Zhou...Senior Brother, were you also taught by Senior Brother Ke?"

Xu Zhou looked quite young, seemingly the same age as her, and there was no strong aura emanating from him, which made Song Rou hesitate.

Xu Zhou smiled in response: "Just call me Senior Brother Xu. I have indeed received a lot of guidance from Senior Brother Ke."

Hearing him say that, Song Rou couldn't help but smile brightly, as if she had found a companion.

"I see. Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother Xu."

"Senior Brother Ke is really strict in teaching. Everyone who was with me couldn't take it and quit. I thought no one else could do it except me."

"Senior Brother, you must have been a disciple for quite some time now. To have stayed by Senior Brother Ke's side for so long, your skill in alchemy must be quite outstanding, right?"

After listening to her talk for a long time, Xu Zhou finally understood what had happened.

It turns out that Brother Ke had been frequently missing for the past few months because he had gone to teach a group of apprentices.

This group of apprentices includes Song Rou, who joined the school two years ago. She should have been assigned to various alchemists by now, but Ke Yanfeng intercepted her, saying he would personally teach her for a period of time.

After all, Senior Brother Ke is a young mid-grade alchemist, and the impact of his previous mistake has gradually faded. Now that he has suddenly made such a request, Steward Zhang cannot refuse.

In the end, Ke Yanfeng taught these apprentices for several months.

Just as Song Rou said, apart from her, no one else persevered.

Xu Zhou knew Ke Yanfeng's personality quite well, and it was hard to imagine that this senior brother would actually take the initiative to ask to teach apprentices. Even more unexpected was that someone could actually stick under his tutelage until now.

This made him a little more curious about Song Rou.

As the conversation progressed, he steered the topic to the tools in the alchemy room and the craftsmanship of medicine making, subtly probing Song Rou's skill level.

Unexpectedly, Song Rou was able to keep up with his train of thought most of the time.

This surprised Xu Zhou.

He has been studying medicine for nearly seven years, spending most of that time tirelessly researching medicinal classics and practicing identifying and preparing herbs. His understanding of the fundamentals of alchemy is extremely solid and profound. Even Ke Yanfeng is now somewhat inferior to him in these areas.

Song Rou had only been in the hall for a little over two years, yet she was able to have a lively and engaging conversation with him.

He immediately asked, "Junior Sister Song entered the hall two years ago. Did you study the art of alchemy elsewhere before that?"

Upon hearing this, Song Rou's face darkened, and she said in a low voice, "I... to be honest, Senior Brother, I come from the outer sect. Before coming up the mountain, I was just an ordinary person, and I had never studied before."

Xu Zhou smiled and said, "Junior sister, you don't need to worry. Actually, I am also an outer disciple. We all come from similar backgrounds."

I was just curious; my junior sister seemed to have a good understanding of alchemy, and I assumed you had studied it before.

Song Rou's eyes immediately lit up: "So Senior Brother is also an outer disciple! That's really amazing! The entrance exam for Hundred Herbs Hall is very difficult, I didn't expect Senior Brother to pass it successfully."

Xu Zhou felt ashamed.

Although he tried his best back then, he still failed the assessment. It was only because Deacon Zhang made an exception and brought him in as a fellow student and apprentice that he was allowed to join. Otherwise, who knows where he would be living now.

In contrast, Song Rou actually passed the assessment, and might even have taken away a spot as an inner disciple. This means that her talent is so high that the deacons in the hall cannot ignore her.

It's just unknown just how good Song Rou's talent is.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhou picked up the tools on the medicine table and said with a smile, "Since Junior Sister is going to work in the alchemy room, she should familiarize herself with these tools. Try this one first."

Upon seeing so many tools, Song Rou showed no fear; instead, she was eager to try them out: "Senior brother, how do we use these?"

"I'll teach you. Come, try this mortar and pestle."

...

In less than an hour, Xu Zhou had already shown Song Rou all the tools in the alchemy room.

During this process, he also gained a better understanding of Song Rou's talent.

He's simply a born genius in alchemy!

He didn't hold back when introducing the tools, explaining all the basic usage methods, related taboos, and the pitfalls he had encountered in detail.

But Song Rou went a step further, not only mastering the skill quickly but also achieving near-perfect results on her first attempt. She only needed a few simple hints to meet the requirements.

Her understanding of the classics of medicine is still not as good as Xu Zhou's, but it seems that they are not far off.

What's even more frightening is that she can even ask Xu Zhou questions in reverse, and even point out some of the "redundant steps" in his habits.

Xu Zhou was taken aback.

He hadn't thought much about these steps before; he just did them so often that they became second nature.

Song Rou, being a newcomer, immediately noticed it. Even though the other party hadn't been influenced beforehand, her insight was still remarkable.

Realizing this, Xu Zhou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He knew that his talent in alchemy was only above average. The reason he seemed intelligent was because he had spent a lot of time abandoning cultivation and studying day and night to reach his current level.

However, compared to someone like Ke Yanfeng, he has few advantages.

Compared to Song Rou, they are worlds apart.

He remained silent for a moment, and the mortar and pestle in his hands stopped working at some point.

After seven years of arduous study, he was almost on par with Song Rou, who had only studied for two years. It seems that his talent in alchemy is truly mediocre.

After a moment of silence, Xu Zhou continued his work.

unimportant.

He had predicted this situation long ago, but he never expected to encounter it suddenly today.

He never intended to spend his life on alchemy; it was merely a means to an end, a path he chose to prolong his life.

It's normal that he can't compare to others, because his goal is not limited to this.

Having figured this out, his smile became much more natural, and he sincerely said to Song Rou:

"Junior sister has exceptional talent; in the future, few in the hall will be able to match her."