Chapter 1364: Medicine King Stone Pill Secret

"Moreover, it's highly probable that the Dao Inscription Immortal made a move! After all, each True Immortal Inscription corresponds to a celestial law. And to be able to effortlessly superimpose and fuse countless characters within it..."

Li Fan's expression grew serious as he levitated the Immortal Domain Chess Piece towards him.

All the sacred aura that had been present vanished with the cessation of its unfolding. The chess piece now seemed like an ordinary object, resting quietly in Li Fan's hand.

He attempted to activate it again, but the Immortal Domain Chess Piece showed no reaction to external stimuli.

"Indeed, it still requires the Longevity Green Power of the Medicine King Sect."

"Furthermore, the Immortal Domain Chess Piece's own unfolding requires the consumption of some energy. Since the unfolding process just failed, it will need time to accumulate power again."

Li Fan toyed with the smooth, cold chess piece, pondering to himself.

In the distance, at the center of the Star Sea. The sea of black mist, stirred by the aura emanating from the Immortal Domain, did not calm down despite the Immortal Domain's failed unfolding.

Instead, as if an acceleration button had been pressed, the surging black mist irreversibly continued to spread outwards.

It seemed intent on engulfing the entire Star Sea in one fell swoop.

Li Fan frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and then used the Grand Armament Divine Art at this location.

Due to frequent use near the Profound Immortal Boat, the Star Sea consciousness had lost interest in responding to Li Fan's communication.

But from the limited perception he had...

The fundamental true essence of the Star Sea was utterly oblivious to the black mist tide that had already become rampant in its center!

Such a blind display sent a chill down Li Fan's spine.

It was as if countless black worms were gnawing at a body, yet the body's owner remained completely unaware.

Such a bizarre scene could only mean that the essence of the black mist far surpassed the fundamental true essence of the Star Sea!

And what Li Fan witnessed as 'black mist' was by no means its true essence. It was merely an external manifestation.

"A premonition of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation..."

"I'm afraid I don't have much time left."

A trace of apprehension flashed in Li Fan's eyes. He brought the Medicine King Sect members, who were shielded by the illusory wooden sword at the edge of the black mist sea, back to the Profound Yellow Realm.

"Senior, just now..." Medicine King Sect Master Liu Ruchen hesitated, on the verge of speaking.

Enveloped in the illusion of the illusory wooden sword throughout, the Medicine King Sect members had no idea that they had, in a short span of time, journeyed to the center of the Star Sea.

From their perspective, there had merely been an unforeseen change during the immortal chess piece's fusion process, and the piece had ultimately torn through the sky and vanished.

Li Fan's expression was calm: "No need to worry, I intercepted and retrieved the Immortal Domain Chess Piece..."

Hearing this, Liu Ruchen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Fan sighed softly: "We were a bit too naive. The Immortal Domain Chess Piece left by Sun Piaomiao is not so easily brought back into the world. The backlash from the recent failure nearly cost us our lives on the spot. Fortunately, I managed to block it."

Although Liu Ruchen and the others couldn't see the surging sea of black mist, they all felt a sense of impending doom, like a towering edifice about to collapse.

They all nodded in agreement: "Thank you, Senior, for saving us."

Li Fan waved his hand: "It was nothing! The important thing is how to successfully unfold the Immortal Domain Chess Piece. Sun Piaomiao must have secretly left clues back then."

"It's just a pity that later generations didn't value them, leading to the loss of crucial information."

All the members of the Medicine King Sect wore expressions of shame.

Since learning of their Ancestor's profound divine feat, they had continuously unearthed any previously overlooked information about Sun Piaomiao.

They attempted to find other valuable clues from it.

However, too much time had passed. Aside from that travelogue, the Medicine King Sect's Ancestor only existed in their oral teachings. They had found no effective gains.

"Senior, I believe that if there truly is any other hidden information we haven't discovered, it should be within the Medicine King Sect's main compound!" Liu Ruchen suddenly spoke.

"Back then, we left in a hurry. To avoid detection by the Ten Sects, I only took useful items from the sect. As for other things, they were just left behind..."

Liu Ruchen's suggestion received agreement from the other members of the Medicine King Sect.

"The old site of the Medicine King Sect, then..." Li Fan mused for a moment, then instantly brought the few Medicine King Dao Integration cultivators to their destination.

On the desolate land, a pile of scattered rocks lay haphazardly. Weeds grew profusely, making it impossible to tell that this had been the site of the renowned Medicine King Sect ten thousand years ago.

Li Fan, however, had previously obtained the exact location of the Medicine King Sect from Jiao Xiuyuan.

"This is the Sect's Main Hall... the Alchemy Workshop, the Forging Mountain..."

After several attempts at identification, the Medicine King Sect members finally found traces of the past among the surviving structures. Their voices were filled with nostalgia and lament.

"Although there isn't a single statue of the Ancestor in the entire Medicine King Sect, I remember my master once mentioned a place within the sect related to the Ancestor..." Liu Ruchen frowned, deep in thought.

She looked around, trying to recall childhood memories.

Li Fan had once soul-searched Liu Ruchen, and with a moment's thought, he knew what she was referring to: "Are you talking about the place where Sun Piaomiao once refined medicine?"

"Ah, yes, exactly!" Liu Ruchen exclaimed, nodding quickly in realization.

"When I first refined medicine back then, I became complacent because I succeeded on my first try and even produced a high-grade pill. However, my master reprimanded me, saying that when Ancestor Piaomiao successfully refined medicine in the past, auspicious phenomena descended from the heavens, and the pill's fragrance wafted for thousands of miles. Just a single whiff could grant a slight medicinal effect. There were even legends of pills gaining sentience and developing their own consciousness. The gap between me and the Ancestor could not be measured. Hearing this, my pride instantly vanished..."

"The Ancestor refined countless pills, but not a single one was kept. They were all distributed to those in need in the world, embodying the spirit of healing the world and benefiting all living beings."

"However, out of respect for the Ancestor, we, the later generations, never occupied or used the place where the Ancestor refined medicine for many years, even after he disappeared. This custom became an unwritten rule. So much time passed that disciples of the sect forgot the origin of the rule, only knowing it as a forbidden area within the sect..."

Liu Ruchen explained to the others while searching for the target.

"Ah, I found it, it's here." Liu Ruchen's aura surged, and she uncovered the architectural ruins deeply buried underground.

Even though more than ten thousand years had passed, Li Fan could still vaguely discern the building's former appearance.

It was, astonishingly, a massive square stone.

"It's said that when the Ancestor refined medicine, he didn't need an alchemy furnace. He used spiritual energy as fire and heaven and earth as his furnace. He simply liked to sit cross-legged on this large stone when making pills."

"Over time, this stone retained an enduring pill fragrance. Later, our Medicine King Sect built structures around this stone to protect it."

"However, successive generations of ancestors had inspected it and confirmed that this stone was indeed just an ordinary, hard rock."

Liu Ruchen sniffed with her nose, her face brightening with joy: "Smell this, even after ten thousand years, you can still detect that faint, clear fragrance."

Li Fan's divine sense enveloped the massive square stone, carefully inspecting it.

He also smelled the faint, ethereal fragrance.

But this stone was not a miraculous object hidden by inscrutable means, unlike Sun Piaomiao's other relics.

It was, in fact, nothing more than a very ordinary stone.

Of course, the method of verification was simple.

A sword light ignited at his fingertip, striking the massive square stone.

In an instant, the stone turned into countless particles of dust.

Liu Ruchen, who had been speaking volubly, abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

But facing Li Fan's indifferent expression, she dared not say more.

He watched the stone powder scatter in the air and then settle on the ground.

Li Fan, always cautious, carefully checked again. They were indeed just ordinary fragmented dust particles.

The faint fragrance also originated from these fragments themselves.

And there was truly no unusual sensation whatsoever.

"You guessed wrong," Li Fan said blandly. "This stone is nothing special. Think of something else."

Liu Ruchen nodded reluctantly.

The other elders also showed a hint of awkwardness in their eyes, and once again searched for other possible clues at the old Medicine King Sect site.

Except for one person.

This person's attention, far from being diverted from the scattered stone dust by Li Fan's conclusion, remained fixed.

Instead, the curiosity in his eyes intensified.

"Senior..." he began.

Li Fan looked at the man with interest, and relevant information about him surfaced.

One of the Medicine King Sect's Dao Integration cultivators, Ruan Tianxiao.

Unlike other elders who used spiritual plants in their medicine, Ruan Tianxiao was accustomed to using animal, demonic beast, and even human body tissues for his concoctions.

While his medicines were indeed extraordinarily effective, they carried a strong aura of blood and slaughter, and were quite shocking to the world.

Therefore, Ruan Tianxiao's 'flesh pills' were not generally accepted by the public.

"Speak freely," Li Fan encouraged.

"After the Ancestor's square stone shattered, it instead resembled a medicinal pill."

"In its stone form, it was still undergoing the alchemy process. Only by crushing the stone would the pill truly be refined, in that fleeting moment..." Ruan Tianxiao mused aloud.

"Elder Ruan, how can you speak such nonsense in front of Senior?"

"Exactly, by your logic, why did the pill fragrance weaken after the stone shattered?"

"Where is the pill?" The other Dao Integration cultivators of the Medicine King Sect, after observing for a while, all voiced their objections.

Ruan Tianxiao didn't defend himself, but simply smiled faintly: "To verify whether these fragments are truly medicinal pills..."

"One only needs to consume them!"

"Senior, I am willing to test the medicine myself!"

The members of the Medicine King Sect fell silent instantly.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Ruan Tianxiao. He extended his right hand, and an invisible whirlwind swept through.

It swept up all the stone powder, gathering it together.

Forming a stone sphere.

He tossed it in his hand, then sensed it one last time: "It's still a stone."

"Are you sure this is a medicinal pill?"

Ruan Tianxiao stared intently at the stone pill in Li Fan's hand, nodding: "I have tested medicines on myself for many years; over time, my body develops an inexplicable resonance with beneficial pills."

"In my eyes, the fragrant aura of this stone pill surpasses any medicine I have ever encountered by a thousandfold!"

Ruan Tianxiao declared unequivocally.

Li Fan, however, looked pensive.

He suddenly thought of Mo Rubing, who, despite countless attempts, had been unable to discover the secrets of the fishing pond.

Without a fisherman's perspective, one could not perceive the fishing pond.

Similarly, without an alchemist's perspective, one could not uncover the secret of this stone pill.

"Interesting."