Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

“Junior brother! Don’t breathe it in!” came a shout from nearby. The person, seeing Lu Yang inhale more deeply, grew even more anxious.

“Junior Brother, use the Turtle Breathing Technique, oh wait, you’re a mortal, then just cover your nose! This smell is from my failed attempt at concocting medicine, releasing toxic fumes…”

These were the last words Lu Yang heard before passing out.

“What kind of place is this, even the air is poisonous…” he muttered, feeling unsteady, as the world seemed to spin around him before he collapsed.

It was a hard lesson that the pleasantness of a smell doesn’t affect whether it is poisonous or not.

When Lu Yang woke up, he was startled by a large face looming over him, instantly snapping back to alertness.

“Junior Brother Lu, you’re awake. Does it hurt anymore?” the person, identified as Wu Ming by the name on Lu Yang’s jade badge, asked with an apologetic smile.

Lu Yang blinked, feeling sore all over as if he’d been rolled into a ball and then flattened with a rolling pin.

He found himself in a pill-concocting room, filled with a strong medicinal scent and much warmer than outside. The room was crowded with shelves of herbs and white porcelain bottles, likely containing successfully concocted pills, and cages of lab mice on the floor.

Wu Ming explained, “I’m Wu Ming. Sorry, Junior Brother, I got lost in thought while concocting and accidentally turned the pills into poison. But don’t worry, I’ve never poisoned anyone to death.” Wu Ming seemed oddly proud of this fact.

Lu Yang, now even more worried, struggled to sit up. He touched the bandage on his head and asked, “If I just inhaled toxic fumes, why is there a bandage on my head?”

Wu Ming sheepishly admitted, “I got distracted carrying you and accidentally dropped you. But don’t worry, as long as you’re alive, you can be healed here on Pellet Cauldron Peak!”

“My potions are too strong for you, so I specially concocted pills suitable for mortals while you were unconscious.” Wu Ming offered two golden pills with three circular patterns, indicating their near-perfect quality.

Lu Yang hesitated to take them. He’d just wanted a few Fasting Pills from Pellet Cauldron Peak and hadn’t done anything yet, but now he was already bandaged and lying in bed.

Seeing Lu Yang’s disbelief, Wu Ming fetched a lab mouse to demonstrate.

The mouse, as if sensing its impending doom, squeaked wildly as Wu Ming picked it up, as if bidding farewell to its family.

After consuming the pill, the mouse collapsed on the ground, lifeless. Its family wailed miserably, foreseeing his fate.

Lu Yang: “……”

Wu Ming: “……”

“It was an accident, all accidents. The mouse is small, so a little poison killed it. It’ll be different for humans. I know where I went wrong. Just wait, I’ll concoct another batch for you.”

Lu Yang quickly shifted Wu Ming’s attention: “Senior Brother, you said you were lost in thought, causing the distraction. What were you thinking about?”

Wu Ming, indeed distracted, pondered and said, “Pills, pills, the focus is on the word ‘medicine.’ Pills are naturally meant to cure diseases and save lives, but Fasting Pills aren’t for the sick, so why are they also considered pills?”

“If Fasting Pills are considered medicine, then pills are not just for healing but also serve as food.”

“If Fasting Pills are not considered medicine, then what are they?”

Lu Yang thought one would have to bake their brain in a pill furnace for three days and nights to come up with such a question.

“Speaking of Fasting Pills, the only thing here safe for mortals is these pills. We have strawberry, apple, watermelon flavors and more. Do you want some? They’re not poisonous.” Wu Ming offered a handful of colorful jelly beans.

Thinking of the eager anticipation of the King of Hell, Lu Yang declined Wu Ming’s offer. Many people on Pellet Cauldron Peak were practicing concocting Fasting Pills, and any of them would be safer than Wu Ming.

“Junior Brother, remember to come to me for pill concoction, it’s free!” Wu Ming said enthusiastically as Lu Yang left.

Lu Yang hastened his limping steps as he departed.

The next day, the Seventh Elder of Pellet Cauldron Peak heard about Lu Yang’s ordeal and sent him proper healing pills and a gourd of Fasting Pills, leading to his full recovery.

…

Over the following month, Lu Yang led a fulfilling life, moving between the Scripture Pavilion, Yanchuan Peak, and his cave dwelling. He eagerly absorbed the cultivation knowledge he had never encountered before, like a traveler in a desert discovering a spring, thirsty for every drop.

A month later, everyone, as they had hoped, became disciples under various elders. Meng Jingzhou became a disciple of the Third Elder, Barbarian Bone of the Fourth Elder, Li Haoran with the Fire Spirit Root under the Fifth Elder, and Peach Blossom Leaf with the Feathery Immortal Body under the Sixth Elder…

This puzzled Lu Yang. He had thought Barbarian Bone, like Meng Jingzhou, would become a disciple of the Third Elder, a famous physical cultivator in the cultivation world, feared for his combat prowess. Given Barbarian Bone’s ancient barbarian lineage, he seemed best suited to be taught by the Third Elder.

On the other hand, the Fourth Elder was a Confucian cultivator, known for his profound knowledge rather than physical strength. Lu Yang wondered why Barbarian Bone chose him as a master.

The Fifth Elder specialized in weapon forging, making him a suitable choice for Li Haoran with his Fire Spirit Root.

As for the Sixth Elder, whom Lu Yang had never met, he heard she was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a physique similar to Peach Blossom Leaf’s.

However, what stood out the most was not Barbarian Bone’s choice but Lu Yang himself, who became a disciple of the mysterious Sect Leader.

Rumor had it that the Sect Leader hadn’t taken a disciple in over a hundred years, living a carefree life. The disciples were abuzz with speculation, wondering why the Sect Leader, still in seclusion, had accepted Lu Yang as a disciple.

Under the envious gaze of the others, Lu Yang was led by Senior Sister Yun Zhi to Heaven’s Gate Peak, the abode of the Sect Leader.