Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 558

Chapter 558: Chapter 339: Pill Origin_2

“Please!”

True Person Ziyang smiled, took his seat, and occupied the third seat on the left, while Peony Fairy took the first seat on the right, allowing Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat to sit at the secondary and last seats respectively.

In this manner, the seven Mahayana had all taken their seats.

Outside the hall, the voices of the ritual singers had also reached their end, and a crowd of cultivators entered like a stream of fish and dragons, each taking their place to sit down.

Although there were hundreds of people, it wasn’t crowded, nor did it feel distant, because the Formation’s wonderful use made space mysterious; everyone felt as if they were in the center, directly below the seats of the Mahayana.

Xu Yang also stood up, faced everyone, and said with a loud laugh, “Honored Daoist friends, your presence brings glory to our Wuzhuang Temple. Today we open the Pill Origin Gathering, to partake in the laws of the Great Dao, with the breeze and the bright moon, to lay the banquet!”

“Yes!”

Cleansing Breeze and Bright Moon bowed and left, after which a procession of disciples, Taoist children, and maids entered in a single file, coming between the seats to present melons, fruits, wines, dishes, tea snacks, vegetarian meals, and such, all brimming with spiritual essence and wafting with fragrance.

“Hmm!”

Cloth Sack Arhat glanced at the Spiritual Objects, seeing that most were Third Rank and Fourth Rank; although they were precious, they were far from meeting the standard of a “grand gathering.”

What is a grand gathering?

Not to mention the Flat Peach Meeting in Heavenly Court or Buddhism’s Ullambana Meeting, even an ordinary Mahayana gathering had to have Fifth Rank Spiritual Objects on display, and even Sixth Rank items to anchor the event. Only then would it be worthy of the name “grand gathering.”

Now this Pill Origin Gathering could be considered…

“Superior Grade Pills.”

Xu Yang smiled again and issued another command; a group of Taoist children and maids weaved through the banquet, placing jade boxes before everyone on the table.

“What is this…”

The people looked at the jade boxes, eyes filled with anticipation, yet did not feel good about opening them themselves; they could only look towards the main seat at the head of the hall, waiting for Xu Yang to speak.

Xu Yang smiled and did not keep them in suspense: “This poor Daoist has some understanding of the art of Alchemy Cauldron, and luckily the Tree of Longevity in the back garden has flowered and borne fruits. Therefore, I knocked them down and gathered the essences of hundreds of grasses, thousands of flowers, and myriad trees, along with the quintessence of heaven and earth, and the brilliance of sun and moon, to refine in fire for forty-nine days. Eventually, I obtained a pill, which I named Grass Return Elixir!”

“Grass Return Elixir?”

True Person Ziyang stroked his long beard: “Essence of myriad trees, Grass Return Elixir, marvelous, indeed marvelous!”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes brightened even more, gazing at the jade boxes on the tables, all filled with expectant expressions.

The Tree of Longevity was the Sixth Rank Spiritual Root mentioned earlier, taken from the Great Roc King for refining Yuan to make medicine.

Just refining Yuan Qi into a pill would yield a Sixth Rank cherished pill capable of treating injuries of a Mahayana. The spirit fruits formed from flowers, combined with the essences of hundreds of grasses, thousands of flowers, and myriad trees, and the refined essence of sun and moon into Grass Return Elixir…

Xu Yang smiled and continued, “This time, the Tree of Longevity bore thirty fruits, all of which I’ve taken down. Together with the essence of hundreds of grasses, thousands of flowers, and myriad trees, I refined it nine times over in the furnace, obtaining nine furnaces worth of pills. Therefore, I specially opened this Pill Origin Gathering to invite my fellow Daoist friends to join in grading them.”

“This…”

As these words were spoken, Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat immediately furrowed their brows.

The rest of the crowd, on the other hand, had their eyes light up, gazing at the jade boxes on their tables, unable to hide their eager anticipation.

“Beneath a well-known name, indeed there is no false reputation!”

“Elder Zhen Yuan is still as magnanimous and generous as ever!”

“Now in South Observance, who doesn’t know, who isn’t aware that Great Immortal Zhen Yuan of Wuzhuang Temple on Mount Longevity, not only detests evil like an enemy, always ready to eliminate it without tolerance, but is also so generous, loving, kind, eager to help, and respectful. With anyone he interacts, there’s simply no losing out.”

“Nine furnaces of Grass Return Elixir, a feast with a gathering of immortals, today’s Pill Origin Gathering will surely be the talk of South Observance!”

“No wonder our master has been working tirelessly, traveling far and wide lately, insisting on finding a Fifth Rank Spiritual Root as a congratulatory gift. Given Great Immortal Zhen Yuan’s skills, these Grass Return Elixirs must undoubtedly be of exceptional fortune. Without a gift of equal chaos, how could one have the face to sit down to eat and drink?”

“Then there’s Buddhism, prestigious Mahayana, two Arhats, only presenting a treasure of Fifth Rank, Low-Grade Immortal Artifact. It’s embarrassing; with thick skin, they still sit at the head table. If it were me, I would have left with my face covered long ago.”

“…”

The crowd exchanged their thoughts telepathically, with sounds of admiration, making the faces of Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat on the Mahayana seats feel blazing hot.

Though they hadn’t used their Heart Communication Technique, they could guess what people were discussing in private at that moment.

It was the same old saying, many things are fine until they’re compared. Once a comparison is made, the stark disparity becomes a sting that’s hard to accept.

Now was the same, the Grass Return Elixir—if you were going to bring that out, you should have said so earlier, making it so awkward now. How to resolve this, how to step down?

Helpless, the two could only turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

Xu Yang, however, was not ready to let it go and continued speaking, “In this place, forging the furnace yielded three thousand pills, which can be divided into superior, middle, and inferior grades. Those of the superior grade are of the Great Rejuvenation, ranked sixth tier, those of the middle grade are of the Grass Return, ranked fifth tier, and those of the inferior grade are of the Small Return, ranked fourth tier. They are further divided into the Five Elements, and cultivators can use them accordingly. They have effects such as extending life, enhancing mana, raising Taoist cultivation, and purifying the Spiritual Root.”

“Extending life?”

“Enhancing mana?”

“Raising Taoist cultivation?”

“Purifying the Spiritual Root?”

Upon hearing this, the crowd was once again startled, showing expressions of astonishment.

The first three effects were still acceptable. In the Earth Immortal Realm, such pill formulas existed.

But the last, to purify the Spiritual Root…

The Spiritual Root is a profound secret of the human body, the mysterious pass where Unity of Heaven and Man is achieved. Even in the Earth Immortal Realm, there are only a handful of mana points that can enhance it, and they are exceedingly sparse, unable to be widely used or promoted.

Thus, this Great Immortal Zhen Yuan had actually concocted a Grass Return Elixir capable of purifying the Spiritual Root.

This…

Faces full of astonishment, the crowd found it hard to digest for a moment.

The Cloth Sack Arhat and the Pagoda-carrying Arhat furrowed their brows even deeper, feeling as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

Xu Yang, however, did not concern himself with their discomfort and continued, “Although there are three thousand pills, the high-grade ones are limited, and moreover, their medicinal power requires cultivation to refine. Therefore, they can only be distributed thusly: Integration cultivators will receive the superior grade Great Rejuvenation, Returning to Void cultivators will receive the middle grade Grass Return, and Deity Transformation cultivators will receive the inferior grade Small Return. In this way, all can share in the Pill Origin.”

Having said that, he cast his gaze downwards, looking at the people below: “Do any of my fellow Daoists feel this is inappropriate?”

“Your magnanimity, Predecessor, is astonishing, resonating through the ages!”

“Great Immortal’s breadth of spirit is unmatched by anyone!”

“Brother Zhen Yuan…”

The audience below, including those who had achieved Integration, were deeply moved upon hearing this.

A fifth tier Spiritual Root presented as a gift, and in exchange, entertained with a sixth tier pill—it seemed like a break-even deal.

But this wasn’t the right way to calculate it. Who among today’s attendees didn’t have a household to support? Every Integration cultivator usually had several Returning to Void and Deity Transformation disciples behind them. Now, they too would receive a portion, and adding the value of this Grass Return Elixir…

Without claiming a massive profit, the least that could be said was that Wuzhuang Temple’s returns far exceeded their investments and contributions.

Indeed, as the rumors about Great Immortal Zhen Yuan said, for every inch he was given, he returned a yard.

For the next Pill Origin Gathering, one must come bearing substantial gifts and certainly not be like those two bald donkeys, who, despite their Mahayana stature and the respect of Arhats, only brought a Low-Grade Immortal Artifact, so shamelessly and despicably…

With his generosity and spirit, he won everyone’s hearts, leading to a shift in stance, with the leaning becoming increasingly clear.

Despite being acutely aware of this change in people’s sentiment, the Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat sitting above were powerless and could do nothing about it.

This was no Pill Origin Gathering; it was clearly a “Convention for Buying People’s Hearts,” and they were still unaware, having fallen into this trap after listening to that old man True Person Ziyang’s treacherous suggestion, enduring such agony.

If they had known it would be like this, they wouldn’t have come no matter what.

No, no, no, if they could have foreseen this, they would have turned down this dreadful task!

Now look at them, before even bringing up the matter of the Purple-Gold Bell, they were already in an embarrassing position, both inside and out, attracting a heap of scorn, and they allowed that man to win over everyone’s hearts. How could the southward spread of Buddhism proceed after this?