Chapter 64: Frolicking Forward on the Poison Path

When it came to Dan Ding Peak, what interested Li Changshou the most were two things: the new dan furnace he was about to acquire, and the renowned expert in refining poisons, Wan Linjun.

Most of Li Changshou's theoretical knowledge on refining poisons and nearly half of his poison formulas had come from several poison scriptures written by Wan Linjun.

Wan Linjun was an elder in the sect and a Tianxian on Dan Ding Peak, one who enjoyed refining poisons. His strength could not be judged simply by his cultivation or treasures.

The time his junior sister went to the East Sea to poison the shrimp demons, Li Changshou had one motive: to use the poison powder she scattered to catch this expert's attention.

This elder was a master in the sect, and although he had taken the poison powder Li Changshou refined from Ling E's hands, there had been no further developments afterward.

Li Changshou didn't dare to be too proactive.

If a sect disciple actively sought out the elder with the highest skill in refining poisons for guidance, it would obviously raise suspicions that this disciple had a cold and ruthless temperament and might be planning to poison some enemy.

But if it was the other way around—an elder in the sect who enjoyed refining poisons taking the initiative to teach a disciple, it would make Li Changshou's image seem much more "neutral."

The subtle difference between being active and passive was clear at a glance.

As Jiu Wu rode the clouds toward Dan Ding Peak, Li Changshou was already pondering in his heart: This was a rare opportunity to visit Dan Ding Peak, so should he arrange a "chance encounter" with this poison expert?

It couldn't be too deliberate, nor too casual.

If he could get some poison dans and poison scriptures from Elder Wan Lin, that would be ideal, even if it meant attracting a bit of attention—it would be worth it.

After passing over two mountain peaks, Jiu Wu stood with his hands behind his back and smiled.

"Look, that's Dan Ding Peak."

Li Changshou smiled and nodded, gazing at the mountain peak shaped like a wine pot, his eyes showing a hint of anticipation.

"Let's see if I can meet Senior Wan Linjun this time. Forcing it wouldn't be ideal."

On Dan Ding Peak, there were two main branches: one for forging artifacts and one for refining dans.

The number of qi refiners here wasn't large, only about a hundred or so, including three Tianxian elders, over thirty Zhenxian and Yuanxian, and a dozen disciples, with the rest being miscellaneous servants.

When Li Changshou and Jiu Wu landed at the guest courtyard halfway up the mountain, a miscellaneous disciple led them in and served tea.

Soon, a male Zhenxian in a deep blue robe and an eight trigrams dao crown arrived to meet them. This man had a slightly round build, a plump face, and looked like someone suffering from the side effects of overeating dans.

"Jiu Wu, my junior brother, why have you come here so infrequently these past few years?"

Jiu Wu sighed.

"Ah, I'm always being sent out on errands, never getting a moment's peace."

"That's just because the sect trusts you, my junior brother!"

The round-faced immortal said with a smile, glancing at Li Changshou and gesturing for them to follow.

"The Bai Fan Hall has already issued the order. There are a few idle dan furnaces available. I'll take you to pick one."

Li Changshou stood behind Jiu Wu, tall as he was, yet he seemed almost invisible.

Jiu Wu introduced him, and this round-faced immortal was named Liu Feixian, also a sect officer like Jiu Wu, usually handling miscellaneous affairs on Dan Ding Peak.

Li Changshou bowed and addressed him as "Senior Uncle." Liu Feixian smiled and offered a few words of encouragement, then had no further conversation with him.

The three of them rode the clouds from the courtyard, drifting leisurely toward a secluded valley.

Liu Feixian and Jiu Wu chatted along the way, while Li Changshou followed behind, keeping his eyes forward and ears alert, not paying much attention to the scenery around them.

The valley was surrounded by a large array that blocked external immortal senses and provided some defensive effects.

Once inside the array, the scent of flowers and the sound of birds filled the air, with immortal light shimmering everywhere.

Scattered woods dotted dozens of small buildings and thatched huts, most of which had their outer arrays activated—the immortals and disciples inside were likely cultivating.

Winding paths led through the quiet woods, accompanied by laughter.

Compared to his own Xiao Qiong Peak, this place certainly looked a bit more prosperous.

Following the two Zhenxian, they arrived at a large building shrouded by an array.

Liu Feixian quickly deactivated the array and opened the door, revealing dust-covered areas inside, with several zhang-high dan furnaces placed in the corners, along with some cushions and miscellaneous items.

Li Changshou immediately spotted one of the dan furnaces.

Its material wasn't as good as the repaired Zijing Great Furnace he had, but it was a brand-new treasure with all the necessary restrictions intact, and its overall power was slightly better than the one that had exploded.

This was decent enough, after all, as a Hui Xu realm disciple on the surface, he didn't need anything too advanced.

Beside him, Jiu Wu showed a hint of amusement and jokingly scolded,

"Liu, my senior brother, aren't you being a bit stingy with these dan furnaces?

My nephew Li Changshou has made quite a contribution this time, and the sect's reward is for him to choose a furnace himself from Dan Ding Peak.

On the way here, I've put my reputation on the line, so don't think you can brush us off this easily!"

Liu Feixian looked a bit embarrassed and quickly said,

"If you'd mentioned it earlier, my junior brother, that's fine. Come, let's go to another place."

Li Changshou silently thanked Jiu Wu in his heart. Just as he was about to say that the furnaces here were sufficient, he suddenly heard a soft exclamation from outside the door.

"Changshou?

Is that you, the disciple from Xiao Qiong Peak, Changshou?"

Jiu Wu was startled, and Liu Feixian was taken aback, but Li Changshou felt a surge of joy in his heart.

A gentle breeze blew in, and an emaciated old man appeared at the door, leaning on a staff wrapped in copper.

The old man's wrinkled face was somewhat stern, but his eyes were sharp and lively, his gray-white hair stirring without wind, and his dao robe emitting a faint, pungent odor.

It was Elder Wan Linjun!

Liu Feixian and Jiu Wu hurriedly stepped forward to bow.

Jiu Wu quickly sent a voice transmission to Li Changshou:

"This is an elder from Dan Ding Peak! Just address him as 'Grand Senior Uncle.'"

"Disciple Li Changshou from Xiao Qiong Peak pays respects to Grand Senior Uncle."

The old man nodded in response, his mouth twitching as he forced out a smile that looked extremely chilling.

Liu Feixian and Jiu Wu both shuddered involuntarily, instinctively stepping back.

What had they done to provoke this poison immortal, who rarely ventured out?

But Wan Linjun skipped any pleasantries and directly pointed at Li Changshou, asking,

"How is Hu Xin Dan refined?"

Finally, the setup from a few years ago had paid off!

Li Changshou pondered for a moment, keeping his head bowed in a dao salute, his voice clear but with a hint of nervousness,

"According to the proportions of the ingredients, take three parts of the tip of a spirit fox's heart blood, one part Mu Mu Cao, two parts Mi Wu Duanhun Cao, one part Hong Yu Cao, and a little Shu Zhai water and Wu Gu powder.

Refine it with cold fire for six hours to obtain Hu Xin Dan."

Elder Wan Linjun slowly nodded, his smile becoming even more terrifying.

"If you add two parts Shi Lan powder and change to Yin fire for twelve hours, what do you get?"

Li Changshou replied,

"Ming Hu San Xin Dan."

"If you remove Mi Wu Duanhun Cao and add three parts Dan Yang Lian powder and two parts Piao Shuang Sha, refining with Bai Ming fire for twenty-four hours, what do you get?"

Li Changshou pondered for a bit longer this time.

Jiu Wu grew anxious and kept signaling to Liu Feixian with his eyes.

But Liu Feixian just shook his head slightly, indicating that Jiu Wu should not speak.

After all, this elder could poison them both with just a speck of his nasal mucus!

At the door, Elder Wan Linjun's smile grew even colder, his eyes narrowing slightly with a sharp glint.

Jiu Wu carefully considered his words—he didn't know this elder well, but from his expression, it looked like he might melt Li Changshou on the spot!

Yet, Li Changshou answered,

"A useless dan."

Jiu Wu's mouth twitched, and he was about to step forward to beg for mercy.

But Elder Wan Linjun's smile faded, and he asked seriously,

"Why is it useless?"

"The medicinal properties have neutralized," Li Changshou frowned. "Bai Ming fire is inherently mild and neutral, and in this dan formula, the cold and heat properties balance out, with the ingredients' effects canceling each other.

Though it can form a dan, it's useless."

"Oh?" Wan Linjun stepped forward half a pace with his staff.

Jiu Wu quickly bowed and said,

"Elder, this young junior is highly regarded by my master. If he has offended you, please consider my master's face and show some leniency!"

Wan Linjun glanced at the short daoist but said nothing, continuing to look at Li Changshou as he asked,

"You just mentioned 'medicinal properties,' but these are clearly poisons."

Li Changshou showed a touch of nervousness but bowed his head and said,

"Poison is a category of medicine,

Just as cooking has the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, so does medicine."

The room fell silent. Liu Feixian turned and glared at Li Changshou with a hint of urgency.

What nonsense was this?

How could poison and medicine be lumped together!

Jiu Wu felt a gaze fall on him from above. The short daoist looked up and saw Wan Linjun's narrow eyes and that stiff, cold smile.

The old man said,

"May I borrow him for a few days?"

"You... please go ahead."

"Hmm," Wan Linjun nodded and said to Li Changshou, "You, come with me."

Li Changshou replied softly, bowed to Jiu Wu and Liu Feixian, and then slowly followed the old man out.

After just a few steps, Wan Linjun turned back and asked,

"How is Yu Ming Dan refined?"

"Disciple only knows the incomplete formula. The main ingredients are three parts You Ming Wangchuan water and two cores from Ying Chou Lan that are at least a thousand years old but no more than three thousand years."

"Why must Ying Chou Lan be between a thousand and three thousand years old?"

"Its properties won't clash or cancel, but they could still influence each other. If it's too old, the properties become too strong and could easily disrupt the dan's balance.

I read in a scripture that when refining dans, older isn't always better—suitability is key."

"Where did you read that scripture?"

"In the outer hall of Dao Cang Hall, there are several shelves with many texts on dan refining. I've read them carefully and pondered them a lot.

Could those poison scriptures be written by you, sir?"

"Heh, correct."

As the wind carried their voices away, the figures of the old man and the young disciple disappeared down a secluded path.

"Whew..."

Jiu Wu let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

That Tianxian elder hadn't shown any of his Tianxian aura, but the words "has poisoned a Tianxian to death" were enough to make one's hair stand on end.

The slightly plump immortal leaned over and whispered,

"This young one... what's his background? I've never seen our grand senior uncle be so affable!"

"You call that affable?"

Jiu Wu glared at Liu Feixian, about to respond, but then thought better of it and shook his head. "Don't ask me. I can't say anything."

Liu Feixian tilted his head, his brows furrowing deeply.

...

Half a month later, in the evening,

Li Changshou rode a white cloud and calmly left Dan Ding Peak, heading back to his own Xiao Qiong Peak.

The journey was uneventful. When he returned, Qin Xuan Ya was already gone.

Back in his dan room, he took out a two-zhang-high black dan furnace from his storage treasure, his expression unchanged.

After activating the various arrays around him and using the Liang Zhu technique to have paper figures guard the place, he slipped into his underground chamber through a small hidden opening and sat at his desk with a straight face.

With a wave of his left hand over the desk, jade plaques and jade bottles filled the surface.

Li Changshou smiled slightly, feeling a mix of emotions in his heart.

Finally, he had squeezed every drop from that elder's poison scriptures!

He had also received a large batch of poison dans and spirit dans from Elder Wan Linjun!

But this meant he owed a big favor, which he would have to repay someday to resolve the karma.

These poison scriptures were incredibly important to Li Changshou.

And the poison dans that Elder Wan Linjun had given him as "samples and references" were even more crucial!

Because they solved a major problem for Li Changshou—how to explain to the sect where those poison dans capable of killing a Tianxian might come from in the future.

He could just say they were granted by Elder Wan Linjun.

In this world, there are no free opportunities; they're all the result of calculations spanning years or even decades.

As for that poison immortal elder...

The image of the elder's signature stiff smile flashed in Li Changshou's mind, making his own smile even warmer.

His personality was actually quite endearing—he was devoted to the paths of dan and poison, without many ulterior motives.

Suddenly, Li Changshou felt a slight itch between his legs—similar to the tickling sensation that had been appearing in his armpits lately.

Hiss...

What was that?

Li Changshou tilted his head, quickly dispelling the image of the poison elder from his mind and carefully checking his condition, confirming that his preferences were unchanged.

It had given him a scare—he thought maybe looking at those old illustrations of beautiful women had sparked some odd habit.

Then, he frowned.

What was wrong with him? His body had been having these unexplained reactions lately.

He really needed to consolidate his immortal foundation properly after becoming an immortal.

...

A moment earlier...

In the Heavenly Court, at the Yue Lao Hall.