Chapter 603: Ancient and Modern Mountains and Rivers Change

The Longevity Valley was a secret realm stumbled upon by the Medicine King Sect. It was named for the abundance of raw materials essential for refining the Longevity Pill found within the valley. As its name suggests, the Longevity Pill is an elixir that can extend a cultivator's lifespan. It was a closely guarded secret of the Medicine King Sect and the key to their immense wealth and influence.

The amount of lifespan extended varied according to the quality of the pill. The highest-grade Longevity Pill could even surpass the Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Pill, extending a cultivator's life by a thousand years.

Refining the Longevity Pill not only demanded extremely high-quality medicinal ingredients but also required the Medicine King True Cauldron as the core and eighty-one smaller Medicine King Cauldrons as aids, forming the Great Array of Life-Saving Longevity. During the alchemy process, the Verdant Longevity Energy had to be continuously integrated. Only after forty-nine days could a batch of finished pills be produced. Although the process was somewhat complex, it was absolutely worth the effort.

Compared to other lifespan-extending treasures, the Longevity Pill's greatest characteristic was that it could be taken repeatedly. Although each subsequent pill would be significantly less effective than the last, eventually losing all potency, it was still far superior to other lifespan-extending wonders that became completely ineffective after a single consumption.

The Sea of Void was vast and boundless, and traversing it naturally required immense courage. The Longevity Pill and the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Array, which could put all sect cultivators into a dormant state, were the two main pillars of the Medicine King Sect.

“This Longevity Pill is indeed a treasure. Unfortunately, before the Medicine King Sect departed, most of them were sold off and converted into reserve resources,” Li Fan muttered. “The remaining ones are also in the hands of the elders.” Li Fan checked the Medicine King Cauldron’s inventory list and, finding no Longevity Pills, couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. However, he then remembered that most of the Medicine King Sect’s cultivators were now in his hands, and there were plenty of ways to make them refine pills for him. Li Fan felt a sense of relief.

“First, I should check the current state of Longevity Valley,” he decided. “If it remains undiscovered, that would be ideal. After several millennia, it’s hard to imagine what the herbs inside might have grown into. If it has already been discovered and developed by the Myriad Immortals Alliance, that wouldn’t matter.” Li Fan checked the materials required for refining the Longevity Pill and found that all of them could be purchased in the current Heavenly Profound Mirror. Although the price was a bit steep, buying them, refining them into Longevity Pills, and then selling them would definitely yield a profit. Moreover, Li Fan was not short on contribution points at the moment.

“Nanzhou Prefecture, Jiarong Territory...” Li Fan mused. “What kind of place is this?” However, when he tried to follow the location from Ling Huchang’s memory to reach Longevity Valley, he encountered a problem. This was because the location simply did not exist within the current territory of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

“Could it be within the territory of the Council of Five Elders?” A bad premonition instantly arose in Li Fan’s heart. “Not necessarily. So many years have passed, and with the severance of lineage, perhaps it’s just been renamed,” Li Fan thought, changing his perspective. He narrowed his eyes, comparing the terrain around Longevity Valley from the memory with the current geography within the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s borders, hoping to pinpoint the exact location of Longevity Valley.

After a great deal of effort, he finally had no choice but to give up.

“Though I know the Xuanhuang World’s mountains and rivers are prone to change, I never expected it to be so absurd,” Li Fan inwardly gasped. Near the Longevity Valley in Ling Huchang’s memory, there was a Wormtail Mountain Range. But now, there were many Wormtail Mountains within the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s territory. Compared to thousands of years ago, the Wormtail Mountain Range seemed to have been cut into more than a dozen sections, then haphazardly scattered across various locations. This was just for the parts whose names hadn't changed, let alone those that no longer had any names. Trying to find the exact location of Longevity Valley with his own power was like searching for a needle in a haystack. If he were to test each location one by one, spending a vast amount of time, he could indeed find it eventually. But there was no need. Li Fan’s time was extremely valuable.

After long deliberation, he decided to leave it to the professionals. Storing the Medicine King True Cauldron within his own Cave Heaven Dharma Domain, Li Fan quietly returned to the Cloud Sea. Then, after some research in the Heavenly Profound Mirror, he finally contacted Ximen Yu, a cultivator specializing in ancient and modern topographical changes. Ximen Yu’s treatise, "A Study of Ancient and Modern Rivers and Mountains," was widely circulated. Based on the ruins of several ancient great sects as reference points, he performed calculations for directional shifts. The results he listed in his book, derived from his calculations, had been verified by numerous cultivators with minimal error. Of course, the Xuanhuang World was vast. The examples in "A Study of Ancient and Modern Rivers and Mountains" merely served to prove Ximen Yu’s capability in this area. "Want to pinpoint the current exact location of a place recorded in ancient texts? Spend some contribution points, and it will be resolved for you immediately!" Ximen Yu’s intention was clear: to earn contribution points with his unique skill. Li Fan also appreciated people who got things done for money.

To conceal his true objective, he immediately listed over fifty locations from his memory, scattered across different regions in ancient times, for Ximen Yu to calculate. Receiving such a large order for the first time, Ximen Yu was overjoyed, repeatedly offering Li Fan a discount. Li Fan merely waved his hand, refusing the offer, only urging him to speed up the process. Having received the deposit, Ximen Yu naturally agreed without hesitation, promptly ending the communication to rush off and begin his calculations. The extra contribution points meant nothing to Li Fan; to him, it was merely a drop in the ocean. As long as it could prevent potential trouble, it was worth it.

Recalculating over fifty locations was a major undertaking, and it would take some time to receive the results.

While waiting, Li Fan quietly made his way to Transformed Body Island. It had already been seven full years since the people from the Separated Realm were brought here. Ye Feipeng, Xiao Heng, Sun Erlang, and the others had all grown into handsome young men. However, because Li Fan had set the rule that they could only leave the island if they "defeated the Heavenly Sun Puppet," they had been stuck on Transformed Body Island all this time, never taking a single step off. Being hot-blooded young men, they were almost driven crazy by confinement. Yet, they dared not trouble Heavenly Sun; instead, they simply sparred with each other daily, venting their energy.

Li Fan smiled, his gaze sweeping over them. Unnoticed by them, he then entered a secret chamber within the island. This chamber was protected by arrays Li Fan had set up, and only Heavenly Sun had permission to enter. Inside, jar after jar of fresh, red essence blood were arrayed, from which faint, angry roars could be heard. These were all extracted by Heavenly Sun from Ye Feipeng at regular intervals, on Li Fan’s command. As Li Fan hadn’t visited in a long time, a considerable amount had accumulated. Even with the Kunpeng bloodline, how could he possibly gain weight with such frequent blood extractions? Thus, in this life, Ye Feipeng was not stout like in his previous life. Instead, he appeared somewhat lean. Calling him a handsome young gentleman was truly no exaggeration.