Chapter 1526: Taiyi Elixir (Part 1)

Chapter 1526: Chapter 1526: Taiyi Elixir (Part 1)

After two months of relentless effort by Wang in the underground palace, the result... not even one-tenth of the Luban lock was solved.

Yes, it is that complex.

Lin Tian placed the partially unlocked Luban lock on the table, scrutinized it back and forth with his penetrating vision multiple times, and still found it exasperating.

This thing is far too complex; unlocking it is not a matter of a day or two. He sat for an entire day and managed to unlock only some fragmented small components.

"Master, what exactly is the medicine inside this Luban lock?"

Lin Tian sat in the chair dejectedly, almost wanting to give up.

"Legend says it’s the Elixir of Immortality."

"Elixir of Immortality? That’s nonsense," Lin Tian replied in exasperation.

"Haha, it may very well be. Before you encountered cultivators, could you believe everything you see now?"

"..." Lin Tian was silent for a few seconds, ultimately unable to come to a conclusion.

Yu Yang said calmly, "This world exists in many layers. Even though you’re now a master at the middle stage of the Golden Elixir, for some people, you’re just a mayfly in the grand scheme. Eternal life is absolutely impossible, but the pill inside the Luban lock might extend someone’s life by many years; that remains unknown."

Upon hearing Yu Yang’s words, Lin Tian immediately became interested, holding the Luban lock again, examining it while murmuring, "No wonder the Wang Family values it so highly. Wang Xingkong’s life is about to burn out, so they want to use this to extend his life."

Yu Yang continued, "The talk of the Elixir of Immortality, I heard about it approximately two or three hundred years ago. At that time, my soul was quietly resting within the body of a master cultivator. Speaking of this Luban lock, it truly caused storms of blood and chaos; countless people died fighting over it. I believe this thing is an ominous artifact. No good comes to those who possess it in the end. First, look at the gaming arena in Tianya Haijiao City, then the Wang Family."

"This world is so wondrous, as if everything ultimately gets replayed. The next unlucky person might be you." Yu Yang said, his tone as if he was entirely detached, indifferent to anything.

Lin Tian was speechless for several seconds, then threw the Luban lock onto the table in frustration, saying, "Why did you have me bring it back? This broken lock hasn’t been unlocked in hundreds of years; I doubt I can do it either. Is this not just asking for trouble?"

Yu Yang seemed to enjoy seeing Lin Tian annoyed. He instantly laughed and said, "Others can’t unlock it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. There are rumors in the jianghu that this is an ominous artifact, but I don’t believe such things. Even if there’s a bad omen, so what? Living muddle-headedly for nearly a thousand years, I’ve already seen through life and death; at worst, it’s a soul scattered like light fading when a person dies."

Lin Tian’s face changed, and he jumped up, angrily yelling, "Master, you’re being too inconsiderate! You’ve seen through life and death, but I haven’t! I want to live as long as you, a thousand or eight hundred years."

Yu Yang’s tone remained indifferent, "Living a thousand or eight hundred years isn’t good."

"Why?"

"A thousand-year turtle, ten-thousand-year tortoise."

"..." Why does his resentment even target himself?

Staring again at the Luban lock on the table, Lin Tian calmed down after a long time, asking, "Earlier, did you say you can unlock this lock?"

"I believe I can."

"Why didn’t you say this earlier when I sat here the whole day?"

"You didn’t ask me. I thought you liked tinkering."

"..."

Lin Tian was temporarily speechless, wanting to bang his head against the wall. If he died then, Yu Yang would also be gone, with no energy left to find another disciple.

"Enough, I was joking with you earlier. Actually, while you were scrutinizing it with your penetrating vision, I also observed and gained new insights you can try out."

This finally soothed the agitated Lin Tian.

The master and disciple locked themselves in the room again for the night. By dawn, the table and floor in front of Lin Tian were covered in hundreds of small parts, densely packed. The smallest ones were as thin as hair, and the largest ones were just about the size of a fingertip.

At this moment, the Luban lock was only the size of a fist, yet it was the most dangerous step. The outer layer was wrapped with a thin membrane of unknown material, filled with poisonous liquid and fine steel needles. Any mistake in triggering would turn Lin Tian into a pin cushion.

Just now, Yu Yang estimated that even with Lin Tian’s current robust physique, the needles were armor-piercing! Wearing bomb suits might help a bit, but they were cumbersome, risking losing everything with a careless move.

Finally, the thin membrane was lifted, and the fine steel needles were extracted from the slots, leaving only a small mahogany box. Holding it, it felt light, yet Lin Tian was sweating profusely. It was terrifying.

Now he just had to open the mahogany box gently to see the Elixir of Immortality sealed for centuries, for which thousands have died over the years. This final step felt inexplicably heavy to Lin Tian, as though about to witness history.

In the end, the Elixir of Immortality might only be legend. Perhaps inside, there’s merely a poison?

Looking again at the scattered components on the table, Lin Tian broke into a sweat anew. Such a complex thing, even modern craftsmanship would take generations to create something like this. After all, things are made by people.

"Master, what if the medicine is poisonous?" Lin Tian asked.

"You can scrape some powder with a knife, mix it in water, and feed it to pigs and dogs. If there’s poison, I’ll be able to tell."

Lin Tian nodded, then sat upright and ceremoniously opened the mahogany box. As seen previously with penetrating vision, there was a pill the size of a thumb segment, reddish, without pill halo or pill pattern, its surface pitted and uneven, looking as shabby as can be.

Could such a shoddy thing be the Elixir of Immortality?

"Smell it, does it have any scent?" Yu Yang asked.

Only then did Lin Tian bring his nose close, inhaling deeply, catching a strange smell.

How to describe it? Bitter with a hint of fishiness, fishy and slightly stinky, stink with a touch of spice, irritating Lin Tian’s nose with a tiny itchiness.

"Smells nothing like something good," Lin Tian muttered.

Yet Yu Yang couldn’t suppress his excitement, exclaiming, "This isn’t a poison! It is the Taiyi Elixir!"