My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1373: The Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture

'To think it possesses concealment methods similar to the Fishing Pond. Sun Piaomiao's strength and foundation may be even greater than I imagined.'

As Li Fan silently pondered this, the stone pill in his hand suddenly underwent a transformation.

Formations and alchemy shared the same origin.

Li Fan's attainment in the Dao of formations had already reached the absolute peak, even touching the realm of the Immortal. Through drawing inferences from one field to another, although he had never formally studied the Dao of alchemy, he still far surpassed ordinary alchemists of the world.

Moreover, medicine and alchemy were inseparable. Li Fan had also inherited the true teachings of the Heavenly Doctor.

With Ruan Tianxiao's reminder, Li Fan seemed to transform into an alchemist.

Heaven and earth became the pill furnace. The round stone in his hand truly transformed into a crystal clear medicinal pill.

In an instant, the faint medicinal fragrance multiplied thousands of times over.

His mouth involuntarily filled with saliva. Li Fan swallowed instinctively as the thought of immediately consuming the pill arose in his mind.

The thought flashed through Li Fan's mind.

Yet instead of consuming it, he tossed the pill to Ruan Tianxiao.

"Then you should try this medicine."

His tone was calm, as though he had not been tempted by the stone pill at all.

Ruan Tianxiao trembled uncontrollably with excitement. Afraid Li Fan might change his mind, he immediately swallowed the stone pill.

The members of the Medicine King Sect had gradually recovered their senses. Regret immediately filled their eyes.

After swallowing the stone pill, however, Ruan Tianxiao's bearing and temperament changed instantly, as though he had become a completely different person.

Standing with his hands behind his back, his indifferent gaze swept across everyone present. His face was filled with remembrance and nostalgia.

Though he clearly stood before them, it felt as if he existed in a different time and space altogether.

Detached from the mortal world, he resembled an immortal banished from the heavens.

Such an obvious transformation naturally did not escape Li Fan and the others.

However, the guess forming in their hearts was simply too unbelievable. None of them dared voice it aloud.

"Sun. Piaomiao."

It was Li Fan who slowly uttered those three words.

At the same time, the phantom of the Wooden Sword had already been prepared in secret, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Ruan Tianxiao, whose very essence had been transformed by the stone pill, as though possessed by the Medicine King Sect's founding ancestor Sun Piaomiao, remained silent in remembrance for a brief moment before sitting cross-legged in midair.

Then he began to preach.

"Alchemy is the transformation of the Great Dao of heaven and earth. Medicine is that which heals the afflictions of all living beings. The Great Dao is formless. It stands alone and never changes. It circulates endlessly without exhaustion. Through alchemy it is united. Through medicine it is manifested. Heaven and earth themselves are but a single pill formula."

Just the opening sentence completely captivated everyone present.

Including Li Fan.

His vigilance did not lessen in the slightest. Frowning, Li Fan engraved every word Sun Piaomiao spoke firmly into his memory.

"The Dao also has birth. The Dao also has death. The Dao is born, the Dao dies. The Dao manifests, the Dao fades. Just as a pill is born. Just as a pill is completed."

"The instant a pill is completed, it appears to be born, yet in truth it has died. It becomes the shadow of the Great Dao. It becomes the corpse of the Great Dao."

...

Ruan Tianxiao spoke at an unhurried pace.

Before him, the phantom of a pill furnace appeared.

Within the furnace, suns rose and moons set. Seas of stars drifted and sank.

All living things experienced life and death.

Heaven and earth themselves came into being and perished.

As the radiance continuously dimmed and reignited, the cycles accelerated faster and faster.

Until everything finally converged into a single point.

It seemed to be utter darkness born of extinction.

Yet it also seemed incomparably brilliant.

Or perhaps it possessed both qualities simultaneously.

"Life and death are one."

"United with the Dao, one attains truth."

"Beyond all worldly things."

"My pill is complete."

As those final words fell, the phantom pill furnace shattered apart.

A scorching storm swept outward.

Though it was merely light and shadow, it blew Li Fan's hair and robes into the air.

Everyone present witnessed within it the birth and destruction of the sea of stars and the Great Dao itself.

Like magnificent fireworks, they vanished in an instant.

The ethereal and transcendent aura surrounding Ruan Tianxiao also faded away together with the disappearing light.

"Ugh..."

Ruan Tianxiao awoke as if from a dream and let out a painful groan.

Clutching his forehead, he seemed to be enduring unbearable agony.

Blood poured from all seven of his facial orifices.

Li Fan also observed that Ruan Tianxiao's soul appeared to have been violently stuffed and ravaged by something.

It was covered in countless cracks.

Fortunately, the mysterious energy absorbed from the stone pill was nourishing and repairing it.

Otherwise, with only Dao Integration cultivation, Ruan Tianxiao's soul would have long since been completely destroyed.

Seeing this, the members of the Medicine King Sect immediately stepped forward to treat him.

Li Fan's thoughts, however, remained fixed upon the profound scripture that Sun Piaomiao had just expounded through Ruan Tianxiao's body.

"Life and death are one. United with the Dao, one attains truth. Beyond all worldly things. My pill is complete."

Li Fan continuously repeated the final sentence.

An emotion that rarely appeared within him surged forth.

Excitement.

"Marvelous. Truly beyond words."

"This scripture of Sun Piaomiao far surpasses even the Heavenly Doctor's teachings."

"This..."

Li Fan frowned.

Just as he was about to give this scripture a name, a phrase naturally emerged within his mind.

It was as though every living being who heard these words would instinctively arrive at the same answer.

The Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

As he carefully savored those five words, his expression became incomparably solemn.

"This Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture is clearly Sun Piaomiao's true fundamental inheritance."

"Compared to it, that so-called World-Saving Longevity Scripture is little more than a child's primer. Crude beyond compare."

"It is not merely a cultivation technique, but a philosophy that points directly toward the source of the Great Dao."

"Just like the Mending Heaven Record, although it contains no specific cultivation methods whatsoever, anyone with sufficient comprehension can derive techniques and divine abilities perfectly suited to themselves."

Given Li Fan's current experience and accumulated knowledge, inspiration continued pouring into his mind endlessly as he contemplated the Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture.

The profundity and brilliance of this scripture were evident.

It was as though a storm of thought had erupted within his mind.

Only after three days and three nights did the storm gradually subside.

Even then, sparks of inspiration still flashed from time to time.

Li Fan carefully recorded every idea that had arisen.

Only then did he have the leisure to review everything that had just occurred.

Countless questions inevitably emerged in his mind.

'Is Sun Piaomiao still alive?'

Ruan Tianxiao's possession had seemed to originate from the inheritance Sun Piaomiao left behind within the stone pill countless ages ago.

Yet for some reason, Li Fan could not shake the feeling that, in that brief instant, Sun Piaomiao had truly descended from some unknowable distant place by borrowing Ruan Tianxiao's body.

'Throughout the Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture, there is not a single mention of Immortal Ascension.'

'Yet it still describes a level of power beyond the mortal world.'

'I would rather believe this is a newly created scripture, composed by the present-day Sun Piaomiao after ten thousand years of accumulation, than believe he had already comprehended it back then...'

While Li Fan remained lost in thought, the members of the Medicine King Sect, who were helping Ruan Tianxiao recover, enthusiastically discussed the Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture among themselves.

"Refining the Dao. Refining heaven and earth just as one refines a pill. My previous understanding of the Dao of alchemy was simply too shallow."

"Who could have imagined that the true inheritance of our Medicine King Sect was so extraordinary? Yet we allowed it to remain buried for ten thousand years. What a sin. Truly a great sin."

...

The discussion grew increasingly lively.

Liu Ruchen quietly approached Li Fan.

"Senior, I think I understand why deploying the Immortal Domain Go piece failed before."

"If that process is compared to alchemy, then it was like controlling the pill flame too fiercely. Too hurried. Too impatient. It should instead be nurtured over a gentle flame and refined gradually."

Having gained new insight, Liu Ruchen spoke with complete confidence.

Li Fan did not expose him and merely nodded slightly.

"There is no need to rush."

"The Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture that Sun Piaomiao left behind is vast and profound. Even I have benefited greatly from it."

"You should all take this opportunity to comprehend and digest it properly."

Liu Ruchen cupped his fists in salute before returning to discuss the Medicine King Scripture with the other elders.

Before leaving, Liu Ruchen hesitated, then quietly asked, "Senior, is Ancestor Piaomiao... still alive?"

It seemed that Li Fan had not been the only one who had sensed something strange earlier.

Li Fan did not answer directly. Instead, he merely gave Liu Ruchen a meaningful smile.

Afterward, the members of the Medicine King Sect exchanged their insights while digging through every inch of the sect's former grounds.

They hoped to find other relics left behind by Sun Piaomiao.

Unfortunately, that stone pill appeared to be Sun Piaomiao's only legacy.

After ultimately finding nothing else, Li Fan led the Dao Integration elders of the Medicine King Sect back to the Great Qi Small World.

Some entered secluded cultivation, while others immediately began refining pills.

All of them were eager to transform their newfound insights into tangible gains.

"Alchemy Dao..."

Those few Dao Integration elders had all gained so much. There was no need to mention Li Fan.

He gazed toward the Xuanhuang Realm. The inspiration he had previously suppressed and carefully recorded now erupted all at once.

"The process I originally planned in this life, elevating the Xuanhuang Realm into a immortal realm, can, in a certain sense, also be regarded as pill refinement."

"It likewise requires adding materials, tempering them with external forces, and finally completing the pill."

A brilliant light flashed through Li Fan's eyes as an unprecedented understanding surged through his mind like a rising tide.

"It is just that my original choice was to achieve Dao Integration with the Spirit of Heaven and Earth of the Xuanhuang Immortal Domain after it was complete. That would be like buying the jewel case while throwing away the pearl."

"Discarding the most precious immortal pill after it has been successfully refined instead of consuming it."

"And merely licking the pill patterns on its surface while swallowing only the scraps..."

Li Fan fell silent.

As this thought arose, an overwhelming ambition emerged within him.

He wanted to swallow the future Xuanhuang Immortal Domain whole as though it were a single immortal pill.

Once that desire appeared, it became impossible to suppress.

His heart filled with excitement, urging him to act immediately.

Li Fan instantly became alert.

Closing his eyes, he forcefully suppressed the restless impulse within.

"The line of thought itself is correct."

"The unfortunate part is..."

"Not just anyone possesses the ability to consume the Xuanhuang Immortal Pill."

"Even if I used every trump card I possess now, I still could not accomplish it."

Li Fan was not blinded by the enormous temptation.

He still had a clear understanding of his own strength.

"Even if I swallowed the immortal pill, I would only fail to digest it and ultimately explode to my death."

"Hmph. How could I possibly be so foolish?"

The contents of the Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture once again flowed through Li Fan's mind.

"Sun Piaomiao deserves to be counted among the greatest alchemists in the world."

"But even his limit was merely refining pills within a single lifetime."

"As for me..."

The words of the Medicine King Scripture instantly transformed into countless stars that swirled around Li Fan before being absorbed into him.

"With the aid of [Truth], I can refine the same pill across a second life, a third life, and beyond."

"From that perspective, I possess an advantage that no one else in the world can possibly match."

"I was born to stand at the very pinnacle of alchemy."

His gaze once again settled upon the Xuanhuang Realm as countless thoughts raced through his mind.

"Even if I am destined to be unable to directly consume the Xuanhuang Immortal Pill in this life..."

"I can still use the methods of alchemy to make the process of elevating the Xuanhuang Realm far smoother and more harmonious. The methods I originally planned would certainly work, but now they seem far too crude."

"And..."

"The experience accumulated in this life can be applied to the next life, and even the lives after that."

"Alchemists throughout the world exhaust themselves to refine a single furnace of perfect pills. Once refinement begins, there is no turning back. There are only two possible outcomes. Success or failure."

"But I..."

"I can continue refining the same furnace of pills over and over until it reaches the theoretical limit of perfection."

Within Li Fan's vision, an enormous purple-gold pill furnace suddenly appeared, vast enough to envelop heaven and earth.

The immense Xuanhuang world, along with every living being within it, all resided inside that purple-gold furnace, slowly refining into a single pill.

"Now all that remains is to decide when to light the fire."

Sensing that the number of living beings covered by the Equal Heaven Ritual within the Small World had already reached the requirement of the Xuan Immortal Ark, Li Fan shot toward the edge of the star sea like a bolt of lightning.

Not long afterward, he returned to the vicinity of the Xuan Immortal Ark, deliberately releasing his own aura.

"Hm? The aura around you..."

"It seems you've gained new insights again?"

Perhaps because they had all participated together in the Equal Heaven Ritual, Zhong Daogong and the other elders of the Immortal Ark immediately noticed the subtle changes in Li Fan.

Unlike before, Li Fan no longer revealed everything without reservation.

He merely smiled.

"The required number of living beings for the Equal Heaven Ritual has already been reached. It can be activated at any time."

"When shall we draw upon the power of the Star Sea?"

"I've waited long enough. I'm already becoming impatient."

Without requesting permission to board the Immortal Ark, Li Fan spoke directly.

After a brief silence, the elders gave their answer.

"We... still need to make a few preparations."

"Seven days from now. Right here outside the Immortal Ark."

"Fellow Daoist, why not come inside and rest for the time being?"

Li Fan shook his head and politely declined.

"No need. I'll wait here."

"Recently, while communicating with the Star Sea, I've gained some new insights. Remaining inside the Immortal Ark would instead be inconvenient."

The elders did not insist.

For a time, an unusual silence settled over the surroundings.

Meanwhile, Li Fan stood motionless within the starry sky with his eyes closed.

As though he were genuinely contemplating something profound.

Seven days later, the elders emerged one after another.

After nodding toward Li Fan, they began arranging the ritual within the void outside the Immortal Ark.

One white paper banner after another was planted according to an extraordinarily intricate sequence.

Li Fan saw clearly that each banner was inscribed with an overlay of more than ten different True Immortal seal script characters.

Every one of those True Immortal seal script characters was familiar to him.

Yet when they were combined and layered together in this manner, they seemed to acquire an entirely different meaning.

"Hm?"

Li Fan's heart stirred as he suddenly recalled the Immortal Domain Go piece that remained sealed within the Great Xuan.

It likewise consisted of overlapping True Immortal seal script characters.

However, the arrangement upon the Immortal Ark's banners was vastly more primitive.

"But it should still be sufficient to support the ritual."

In Li Fan's eyes, those banners resembled sharp needles.

Standing proudly within the void, they pierced deeply into the Star Sea.

"Alas!"

Once the ritual had been fully arranged, all the elders returned to their designated positions.

Zhong Daogong, standing at the forefront, flew into the center of the ritual.

He raised his head toward the heavens and let out a loud shout.