After the old man said that, he continued to concentrate on refining the elixir.
"It's okay, fellow Taoist, just do what you want, don't worry about me." Seeing this man say a few polite words and then start busying himself, Zhou Yang was a little dumbfounded, but didn't care, he sat down on the futon not far from the alchemy furnace, and quietly Watching the old man refining elixir quietly.
He had already used his spiritual consciousness to explore the old man's cultivation, and he was even more surprised. Because the opponent's spiritual power fluctuates in and out, it is very similar to when he first met Fan Yuan, but there are some differences.
At that time, although Fan Yuan's aura was vaguely visible, his state could not be seen at all. Although the old man's spiritual power in front of him comes and goes, and judging from its fluctuations, he seems to be similar to the practitioners in the early Kaiyuan period.
However, given the precedent of Fan Yuan and the fact that this person's spiritual consciousness was extraordinary, it was still possible that it was caused by the Tianyuan cultivator constricting his aura.
The old man was concentrating on refining the elixir and didn't seem to pay attention to Zhou Yang.
However, Zhou Yang did not dare to relax and was still on guard.
After half an hour of this, the old man's eyes suddenly widened, his light bursting out, and he quickly closed several fire outlets under the cauldron, leaving only a small half.
After a while, he took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and relaxed.
Zhou Yang saw clearly that the white-bearded old man was very skillful in refining alchemy. The entire refining process was no different from that of a cultivating alchemist. The only difference was that he did not use spiritual power or yuan power.
But he actually used earth fire to make alchemy!
In the secular world, there are many people who use earth fire to make elixirs, but those who can bring earth fire into the house to make elixirs have never been heard of in the mortal world. It is estimated that the old man in this temple is the first person.
The white-bearded old man rested for a while, then stood up, saluted Zhou Yang, and then said: "I didn't entertain you well and kept my fellow Taoist waiting for a long time."
"You're welcome, fellow Taoist." Zhou Yang also stood up and returned the salute.
From the moment he entered until now, the old man's behavior was polite and nothing out of the ordinary, and he didn't see any malice in his eyes. Zhou Yang was relieved a little.
"Fellow Taoist, please sit down. You can have a taste of Jin Chengguo's fragrant tea later." The old man gave up his seat, turned around and walked towards a large table. After a few breaths, he returned, holding two bamboo teacups in his hands. , I smell the fragrance of tea overflowing, refreshing.
"Fellow Taoist, please."
"Thank you!" Zhou Yang took the tea cup, glanced at it, but did not drink it.
"This tea is not comparable to Yunxia Mountain Lingcha. It is just an ordinary product. However, it is mellow and delicious and has a long aftertaste. It can be regarded as the best in the world." The old man sat down and took a sip.
"This old man is really interesting. The uninvited guest here is indeed leisurely and contented, without any warning. Is it because of his transcendent strength or just his nature?" Zhou Yang couldn't help but murmured in his heart when he saw this.
"Fellow Taoist, my surname is great. I wonder what I can teach you here?" After taking a sip of tea, the white-bearded old man asked.
"Zhou passed by Jin Chengguo and accidentally heard that there was an immortal master stopping in the palace. As far as I know, Jin Cheng is a vassal state of Dingbei Zhou Tianzong, and cultivators outside the sect are never allowed to interfere in state affairs, let alone enter the palace. Therefore, he was very upset after hearing this. Out of curiosity, I came here to visit today." Zhou Yang said with a smile.
"It turns out it's fellow Taoist Zhou. I'm so polite. I think that fellow Taoist is not very old, but his cultivation is unfathomable. He is really a genius. Dare I ask where your immortal hometown is?" The white-bearded old man put down his tea cup and hugged him. Baoquando.
Instead of answering Zhou Yang's questions, he asked about his origins.
"Fellow Taoist, you are so complimentary. I am staying in Dingbeicheng."
"Oh. With all due respect, has Zhou Daoyou joined the Zhou Tian Sect or an outside force?"
"Fellow Taoist is really wise, I admire you. Yes, Zhou is now working for Tianxing Sect." Since this person dared to stop in Jinchengguo Palace, he probably had some connection with Zhou Tianzong, so Zhou Yang told the truth.
"I'm disrespectful."
"Fellow Taoist, you're welcome. Apart from the above doubts, I still have one thing that I don't understand. I hope you can enlighten me." Seeing that the old man still didn't answer, Zhou Yang asked directly.
"Haha, please speak." The old man said, stroking his white beard.
"My fellow Taoist has extraordinary strength and is proficient in alchemy. If he were placed in any sect in Dingbei City, he would be highly valued. But why did my fellow Taoist abandon the city of cultivation and go to a small secular country? In this way, wouldn't it be an insult to my fellow Taoist? ?”
"Haha, I can answer all the questions that fellow Taoist Zhou has that I am confused about. To be honest, if my fellow Taoist had not had some connection with Zhou Tianzong, I would not have told you."
The white-bearded old man chuckled, as if he had known that Zhou Yang would ask this question, so he did not answer his questions first, and pointed out the reason. It was because you had some connection with Zhou Tianzong that you told the truth.
"Thank you." Zhou Yang was even more confused. Could this person also be related to Zhou Tianzong?
"As fellow Taoist said, Zhou Tianzong does not allow outsiders to enter Jin Chengguo, let alone set foot in the palace. But speaking of this, I can be regarded as half a disciple of Zhou Tianzong."
"Half a disciple of Zhou Tian Sect?" Zhou Yang was even more confused.
"Yes, the old man's surname is Ye Zhongshan, and he was originally the deacon of Zhou Tianzong's Alchemy Room." The white-bearded old man said something shocking!
"Deacon Zhou Tianzong!" Zhou Yang's expression changed, he almost stood up in shock, and even had the urge to run away.
Although he had various guesses, he never expected that this person would have such a big background.
All the deacons of the major sects are at least in the early stage of Tianyuan, and there are many masters in the middle and late stages.
From this point of view, the person in front of him is also an old monster who has lived for one or two hundred years, and must have hidden his cultivation.
However, if the old man was really a master of Tianyuan, given the distance between the two, Zhou Yang would be too late to run away. He could only suppress his fear and sit still.
"Alas, the so-called deacon is just a passing cloud!" Ye Chongshan sighed, full of loneliness.
"Senior, how do you say this?" Since Ye Chongshan was once a deacon of Zhou Tianzong, it was obviously inappropriate to argue with his peers, so Zhou Yang immediately changed his tune and his attitude became much more humble.
"I wonder how much you know about alchemy?" Ye Chongshan changed the subject and asked.
"Oh, I don't know much." If Zhou Yangji hadn't changed into a different person, he really couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the old man's speech.
Of course, he would never reveal that he also knew the art of alchemy.
"Not to mention low-level elixirs, for mid-to-high-level elixirs and above, the higher the grade, the lower the elixir yield rate. Some high-grade elixirs have an appallingly low success rate.
Many factors will affect the success rate of high-grade elixirs, such as the quality of the materials, the temperature of the flame, the proficiency in controlling the fire, the strength and cultivation of the alchemist's consciousness, etc. If there is a slight deviation, the success will fall short.
Moreover, although some elixirs have been formed, if the ratio of materials is slightly different, the efficacy of the elixirs after they are completed will be very different. "The old man said slowly.
Zhou Yang nodded. These are all words of experience, and he has a deep understanding of them. But the last point made him feel a little aftertaste.
Even if there is a deviation in the ratio of materials, the elixir can be made, but the efficacy will be different. These words suddenly reminded him of the Fire Spirit elixir he had refined.
Originally, he wanted to refine the Yellow Spirit Pill, but because he was short of rock grass, he had to use the fire rock grass from the hot spring peak instead. By chance, he actually refined the Fire Spirit Pill. Its efficacy is extremely different, and its quality is much higher than that of Huang Ling Dan.
"It is precisely because the refining efficiency of high-grade elixirs is too low, so although the elixirs are known to have slightly different effects after they are formed, in most cases the difference is not big, so they are not discarded. But what exactly is there? The difference, and how much, can only be known by an alchemist who has tried it."
"The alchemist personally tested the medicine?" Zhou Yang was a little surprised.
Alchemists have a high status in the sect, so they are actually allowed to do things like testing medicines. This is not only overkill, but also extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, accidents will happen.
Can those sects let go of the alchemists they finally trained?
"Yes, although it is possible for others to test the medicine for you, the properties and effects of the medicine cannot be tested by ordinary people, and the higher the level of the elixir, the more high-level alchemists are needed to test it." The old man continued.
After hearing this, Zhou Yang had some vague guesses.
"Although accidents are very rare, they still happen. Unfortunately for me, an accident happened when I was testing the medicine. The pill was supposed to be used for healing, but after I took it, my meridians were severed and my cultivation was completely ruined. Fortunately, the elders in the sect took action and the old man saved his life.
Later, after being treated by a skilled doctor and taking a large amount of rare elixirs, his old meridians were restored, and he barely maintained his cultivation level in the early Kaiyuan period.
It's just that this kind of cultivation comes and goes, is very unstable, and is equivalent to being half useless. Fortunately, the damage to the old man's spiritual consciousness was not too great, and it was still equivalent to the level at the peak of Lingtai. "
"Ah! I got it wrong again. This colleague turned out to be in the early Kaiyuan period!" Zhou Yang smiled bitterly to himself. This was because he was frightened by Fan Yuan and fell into trouble.
At the same time, he was also filled with fear. After he accidentally refined the Fire Spirit Pill, he swallowed it without hesitation. If an accident like Ye Chongshan happened and he was in desperate situation, the result could be imagined.
"My cultivation level is almost half-finished, and no matter how refined my alchemy skills are, it's all in vain. I can't even make the lowest level of elixirs, so I'm a useless person if I stay in the sect, and I have no face to serve as the deacon of the alchemy room.
Frustrated, the old man stayed away from Dingbei and returned to his hometown, Chengtian County, Jincheng State, to live in seclusion. Later, His Majesty the Emperor learned of Lao Chan's whereabouts from the Zhou Tian Sect disciples who were on inspection, and sent someone to ask Lao Chan to come out and refine elixirs for the royal family.
However, the old man has no intention of pursuing the path of alchemy, and his life is short. He just wants to bury his bones in his hometown, so he naturally rejected His Majesty's kind intention. Seeing that his mission was fruitless, His Majesty went to Chengtian County to invite him in person.
Originally, the old man still didn't agree, but his majesty said that the earth fire was found in the palace, and the quality was not low. The old man felt itchy for a while, so he came out and followed his majesty into the palace, and was respected as an immortal master.
But the old man is still an immortal master, he is just slightly stronger than a mortal. Therefore, the old man has made an explanation before and cannot be compared to the immortal master. Unexpectedly, it was later spread that he became the so-called sub-immortal master, which really made the old man extremely helpless. "
"So that's it, then this palace..." Zhou Yang suddenly asked again.
