Chapter 296: Chapter 295 How Rumors Are Born_1

There are many strange and bizarre buildings in the Imperial City. Some are created whimsically by the Great Powers, some are the works of those lacking in artistic sense, and others exist as certain symbols.

A bronze ding stands tall in a corner of the Imperial City, towering like a small mountain. Its surface is smooth as a mirror, filled with various intricate details. From a distance, one can appreciate its rustic beauty.

This is the most bustling region of the Imperial City, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. Hence, the cost of placing such a bronze ding here in Spirit Stones would be astronomical.

Beyond the few notable forces like the Land Money Trade Association, no one could afford such an outlay.

Many old men with white hair and robes exuding the fragrance of Elixirs walked nonchalantly into the bronze ding, unfazed by anything else.

The passersby who passed by the bronze ding would look at these old men entering the bronze ding with expressions filled with awe and envy.

These people were all famous masters who had made a name for themselves in the path of elixir-making, and many of them had pioneered new techniques in refining pills.

This is the Alchemy Union, representing the highest authority and pinnacle of pill refining. Each year, countless pill formulas are announced to the public to declare their impressive achievements. Apart from the Pill Refiner’s Peak of the Seek Dao Sect, it is a sacred place in the minds of all pill masters.

Inside the bronze ding, silent pill masters sat around an exquisite stone table, their faces devoid of any expression.

A figure arrived fashionably late, signaling the start of the meeting.

He was Qingyun Zi, the Chief Pill Master of the Alchemy Union. His superior skills easily made him the undeniable strongest pill master.

All those sitting there were old veterans from the world of pill refining, each possessing unique techniques, but they all recognized Qingyun Zi’s status.

Even the usually haughty Seventh Elder admitted that Qingyun Zi was the pill master second only to him.

Qingyun Zi smiled faintly, appearing calm and composed: “As per usual, the purpose of this meeting is to share insights on refining pills, feel free to speak your mind.”

“Can we really say anything?” A pill master raised his hand and asked.

“Yes.”

The complexion of this pill master changed immediately, he slammed the table and yelled angrily: “Qingyun Zi, you arrived late and are pretending here. We have been sitting here for half a day, just waiting for you!”

It seemed that acknowledging Qingyun Zi’s status as a pill master did not mean they could tolerate his tardiness.

“I’m so sorry, I was researching a pill formula just now, and made a major breakthrough. I was so excited that I lost track of time.”

“What elixir were you so engrossed in researching?”

Qingyun Zi gave a mysterious smile: “An ancient pill formula, the Procreation Elixir.”

“Have you finished refining it?!” Everyone was startled. They all had the formula for the Procreation Elixir, but no matter how they refined it, it could only beautify and rejuvenate the consumers.

Recently, a lot of elixirs for beautifying and rejuvenating have been circulating in the black market. These were the spoilt elixirs they had refined, which were useless except for making the consumers look better.

“Well, not yet. However, I have a clue now. According to my research, the owner of the Procreation Elixir formula is called Qinghe. She seems to have a close connection with an Immortal. Perhaps, the Procreation Elixir is also related to this Immortal!”

“Indeed, if there’s a connection with an Immortal, it makes sense.” Everyone was initially shocked, then they understood. Presumably, there was an Immortal Fruit among the elixir ingredients, which is why they could not restore it.

“Hmph, I thought there was some major breakthrough. So it was just this?” The Seventh Elder sneered at Qingyun Zi’s so-called research after hearing it.

“Who could it be? Turns out it’s Wuji Zi from Pill Refining Peak. Do you have any better insights?” As soon as Qingyun Zi saw it was the Seventh Elder, he abandoned his indifferent demeanor, and his words were filled with provocation.

Qingyun Zi and the Seventh Elder locked gazes, their rivalry palpable.

Seeing this, the rest of the people didn’t know what to say. Everyone knew the history between these two.

Both of them fell for the same girl when they were young. After a struggle, mainly involving the Seventh Elder pinning Qingyun Zi to the ground and beating him, the girl eventually chose the immensely talented Seventh Elder.

The grudge between the two was thus established.

Since the Seventh Elder often concocts strange elixirs, no one can quite judge his pill refining skills.

However, one thing’s for sure. In terms of combat, among those present, not one was a match for the Seventh Elder.

The Seventh Elder casually said, “According to my research, the key to the elixir recipe is not the elixir itself, but the method of consumption.”

“Didn’t you notice? The method of consumption has been stated at the beginning of the pill formula ‘infused with river water, leads to pregnancy’.”

“Why specifically mention ‘river water’? Isn’t using ‘water’ fine?”

“With this question in mind, I scoured ancient books, queried young scholars who are knowledgeable about the ancient times, and finally found the answer.”

“The river water mentioned in the pill formula is not ordinary river water, it is the water of the Mother-child River refined by the Immortal from ancient times!”

“By consuming the water of the Mother-child River, one can become pregnant!”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked: “What?!”

“Mother-child River?”

“There’s such a miraculous river water?!”

Although the elixirs refined by the Seventh Elder are strange, he has never joked about such matters!

“Which Immortal was it?” Qingyun Zi quickly asked, not caring about his feud with the Seventh Elder.

He had checked all the ancient books, even borrowing a treasured edition from the palace, but he was unable to find the name of that Immortal, as if it was deliberately hidden!

The Seventh Elder nodded solemnly, revealing a secret: “It was Yingtian Immortal.”

Qingyun Zi suddenly realized: “So it was him? That explains everything.”

“What do you mean?” The others didn’t understand why Qingyun Zi said that, they had never heard that Yingtian Immortal had refined Mother-child River!

Qingyun Zi cryptically said: “I found an ancient book at an archaeological site, called the “Culinary Bible”. Although I haven’t completely deciphered it, I can confirm that this seemingly ordinary cookbook is actually filled with hidden secrets.”

The crowd was confused, the title sounded like an ancient cookbook, wasn’t it?

“At first glance, like you all, I also thought it was an ancient cookbook, but when I made a few dishes from it, I found out that anyone who ate these dishes ended up in a coma at the very least!”

“This is not a cookbook, but a toxicology book!”

Everyone drew a sharp breath. A toxicology book from ancient times sounded terrifying.

“And the author of this toxicology book is none other than Yingtian Immortal!”

“Pills and poison belong to the same source. If Yingtian Immortal can write this toxicology book, he must be well-versed in the principles of elixirs!”

“I’ve heard an ancient saying, the strongest master refiner does not seek out medicinal herbs, instead he invents them!”

“The Mother-child River must have been a medicinal ingredient created by Yingtian Immortal!”

“No, maybe the water of the Mother-child River is not a medicinal ingredient at all, but poison!”

“Using the water from the Mother-child River to poison your opponent during a battle. If your opponent becomes pregnant, wouldn’t they be unable to fight?” The more Qingyun Zi spoke, the brighter his eyes became. He believed he had unravelled a layer of ancient mystery!

“How many women became pregnant as a result of the water from the Mother-child River refined by Yingtian Immortal?” Everyone marveled at Yingtian Immortal’s power.

No wonder he is an Immortal, capable of creating such miraculous things.

After the boy finished pouring water for everyone, he quietly left. With all the master refiners present, they were discussing Immortals, this frightened him and he dared not linger.

As soon as he came out, he was surrounded by his companions.

“How are things, what did they say inside?”

This was a top-tier meeting of master refiners, representing the frontier knowledge of the elixir refining world, even hearing a bit was enough for them to show off about.

The boy was somewhat unsure, as he had been too scared to listen closely.

He tried hard to recall the discussion of the master refiners, hesitantly saying:

“It seems like they were saying that the ancient immortal Yingtian Immortal made countless women pregnant?”

His companions took a sharp breath.

This was an ancient secret.