I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

About two weeks later, Xu Zhou and the others returned to the sect.

After Song Wubai's matter was reported, the elder in charge of the matter was overjoyed and immediately gave him a generous reward.

The sect provided compensation to the family of the white-bearded cultivator who died in the incident. Following this, rewards were given to the green-robed cultivator and Xu Zhou.

The rewards the green-robed cultivator received were nothing more than magical artifacts and talismans, but their rank of near-second grade was indeed quite extraordinary.

When it was Xu Zhou's turn, he thought for a moment and proposed to study the alchemical techniques of Baicaotang.

He naturally remembered that when he applied for this skill before, he only received one copy of the "Hundred Refinements to Elixir Manual." Deacon Yuan's words made him give up the idea of ​​applying again.

But now and then.

At that time, he was just over fifty years old and only a mid-grade alchemist, so it was normal for the sect to be unwilling to invest resources in him.

But now, in his seventies, he is a highly skilled alchemist.

If one acquires alchemy skills and becomes a second-tier alchemist, it would be beneficial and harmless to the sect.

After the deacon in charge of the exchange submitted the application, he smiled and said to him, "Master Xu, there's no need to worry. The elders will remember your contributions to the sect over the years."

"I imagine this application will be approved within a few days."

a few days later.

Things turned out exactly as Xu Zhou had predicted.

The Daoist alchemy manual, "The Chapter on Cleansing Dust with the Spiritual Spring," was finally delivered to his cave dwelling.

This lineage primarily teaches water-based alchemy, specializing in the production of various spiritual liquids and elixirs, and also provides significant assistance to ordinary alchemy.

Inside the cave, looking at the alchemy inheritance before him, Xu Zhou couldn't help but sigh.

Back then, he painstakingly saved up spirit stones for several years in order to inherit a Daoist alchemy technique, but to no avail.

And now, the sect has finally brought it to him.

Although this inheritance no longer fills him with the same ecstasy as it did back then, it is still something he once longed for but could not obtain.

For a long time afterward, Xu Zhou spent his time either learning the new inheritance or refining pills in seclusion.

He took out the Moonlit Vine he had harvested in this secret realm, refined them into pills and tested their medicinal properties one by one, and finally discovered with a pleasant surprise that most of the Moonlit Vine had the effect of improving aptitude.

This really surprised him.

After all, the secret realm is actually quite vast, and even if the Moonlit Vine mutates, it shouldn't affect all its kind.

Now it seems that those mutated Moonlit Vine must have all come from the dense forest that Ouyang Ming picked.

Xu Zhou wanted to go harvesting again, but he had used up too much of his savings before, and he probably wouldn't be able to organize another expedition for several years. He would have to wait until later.

Anyway, there are still plenty of Moonlit Vine in front of us, enough for our needs.

Xu Zhou spent a long time slowly refining these Moon-Moon Vine into medicine.

In the end, dozens of jade bottles filled the stone shelves in the mansion.

Even his storage bag was filled with a large number of pill bottles covered with talismans.

After that, he would take a fake Heaven-Mending Pill every day to improve his aptitude.

Each fake Heaven-Mending Pill provides only a small improvement to one's aptitude, and its effectiveness decreases with each subsequent use.

Although the total amount consumed was enormous, a rough estimate suggests that it would only raise his aptitude to a level comparable to that of a mid-grade spiritual root.

...

The moon's shadow swayed.

The next moment, the perception was interrupted, and the screen went dark.

Xu Zhou opened his eyes.

"It's happening again."

He thought to himself, and then began to summarize the results of his insights.

Xu Zhou has not emerged from seclusion for three years since his last exploration of the secret realm.

Towards the end of his second year of focused cultivation, when he was not studying or refining pills, blurry images would occasionally appear before his eyes as his thoughts wandered.

At first, he thought it was just old age and the so-called "aging barrier".

But then I realized: although he was old, he spent most of his time immersed in his studies and had never been involved in worldly affairs, so where did the age barrier come from?

After calming down, Xu Zhou tried to understand these scenes.

Aside from some moonlit scenes, there wasn't much else to see.

He tried to record the moon's shadow, but every time he picked up a pen, the image in his mind would quickly blur.

On one occasion, he had already written most of it, but when he looked down, he found only a mess of ink marks on the paper.

He was puzzled and uncertain about this, but he didn't want to ask around, so he collected some rumors from the cultivation world, hoping to find an explanation.

After searching through these rumors, Xu Zhou finally found something.

A rumor has it that after a Nascent Soul cultivator dies, their belongings may retain a lingering spirit. Spending time with these belongings may lead to enlightenment, thus opening up the path to the Great Dao and bringing hope of achieving Nascent Soul status!

He scoffed at the idea.

"These scenes did indeed appear after I started taking the pills, and among the ingredients of the pills, there was indeed the Moon-Moon Vine from a secret realm left behind by a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"But to say that one can achieve the Nascent Soul stage by having a clear path to enlightenment is simply laughable."

In addition, there are some rumors about the methods of possession by high-level cultivators.

This is even more absurd. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not possess another body by relying on a few images. It is obviously fabricated by someone to exaggerate the danger.

Ultimately, Xu Zhou found the answer in the "Dream-Eating Heart Sutra".

This "Dream Devouring Heart Sutra" seems to be a significant spiritual cultivation method of the Yin Soul Sect of Liang Kingdom, with an extremely detailed understanding of spiritual consciousness, far surpassing the "Cold Sleep Visualization Method".

The explanation for Xu Zhou's situation is that the will left behind by a high-level cultivator after his death can occasionally be perceived by those with keen divine sense.

However, even the Dream Devouring Heart Sutra is somewhat vague in its description of this aspect.

This is merely speculation. Perhaps cultivators can gain some valuable insights from it and comprehend some secret techniques, but this matter is only theoretical.

As for the idea of ​​a smooth and unobstructed road, Xu Zhou felt it was nothing but a ridiculous fantasy.

After confirming the matter, Xu Zhou pondered for a long time.

Ultimately, he continued taking the medication, hoping to gain some deeper insights.

However, after continuing to take the medication for a year, all he has seen is that the moon's shadow in the image becomes clearer, and nothing more.

"Perhaps my level is not high enough, and I am still lacking something."

As the saying goes, it is my fortune to gain it, and my fate to lose it.

It was an experience like a rootless duckweed, and although he didn't gain much, Xu Zhou didn't care.

In contrast, he has other important matters to attend to today.

Three years have passed. Xu Zhou has been living a secluded life, focusing on refining medicine. He has accumulated a sum of spirit stones, enough to hire another group of peak Qi Refining experts to help him explore the secret realm once more.

I've been thinking of reconnecting with old friends these past few days to see if we can set a date.

However, after several attempts to contact him, he encountered some obstacles.

The people who had originally agreed to accompany him hesitated or declined. Some said they had other important matters to attend to, while others said their cultivation was not progressing well and they needed to rest for a while, only promising to help after some time.

His words were sincere, and there were no flaws in his statements.

Xu Zhou almost believed what the people said until he went to Ouyang Ming's residence. After thinking for a long time, the other party told him the truth.

"Master Xu has been in seclusion for a long time and is probably unaware of the recent developments."

Ouyang Ming sighed softly and said, "This matter is most likely caused by that alchemist Zhang from Baicaotang."

"Master Zhang Dan?" Xu Zhou murmured, "Could it be Zhang Wufeng?"

He had heard of the other person before. This person was also an alchemist, but was about ten years younger than him and had entered the hall a few years later.

To be honest, Xu Zhou had met him a few times. Back when he was managing the pharmacy, he had even taught this man how to identify medicines.

However, after many years of separation and subsequent seclusion, I paid little attention to those around me and knew nothing about them.

He couldn't help but wonder, "How is this related to Zhang Wufeng?"

Ouyang Ming said, "It seems that Alchemist Xu is unaware of this. Alchemist Zhang shares the same idea as you, and also wants to explore the Sunset Valley Secret Realm in search of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit."

Xu Zhou was taken aback: "He wants to too?"

"That's right."

Ouyang Ming nodded and said, "For this reason, he also plans to invite a group of people to explore the secret realm, and has already approached us. The reward he is offering is also quite generous."

And the time he chose was also the closest one.

Xu Zhou frowned slightly: "What promises did he make to you?"

"Spirit stones are secondary."

Ouyang Ming only said, "But he stated frankly that if one could obtain the Heavenly Spirit Fruit and refine it into a Foundation Establishment Pill, everyone could ask him to do one thing after they have achieved Foundation Establishment."

Xu Zhou fell silent for a moment.

Zhang Wufeng was a little younger than him, but he was already at the peak of Qi Refining, so his chances of Foundation Establishment were definitely higher than his.

If this person has truly reached the Foundation Establishment stage, then the opportunity he promised to make a move is indeed more valuable than the spirit stones Xu Zhou gave him.

No wonder those who had made appointments with me before are now all talking about other things.

After a long pause, Xu Zhou asked again, "Who have agreed to his request?"

"I've agreed to almost everyone I know."

"What about you, senior brother?"

"I..."

Ouyang Ming shook his head: "Master Zhang's conditions are indeed generous, and I am actually somewhat tempted."

After a long silence, he continued, "However, I have other important matters to attend to recently and am truly unable to spare the time. I'm afraid I cannot be of any help to either Master Zhang or Master Xu."