Chapter 295: How Rumors Are Born

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

In the imperial city, there are many bizarre and oddly shaped buildings. Some were whimsically created by powerful beings, some lack artistic sensibility, while others serve as symbolic structures.

A bronze cauldron stands in a corner of the imperial city, towering like a small mountain. Its surface is smooth as a mirror, covered with intricate details, exuding an ancient beauty even from a distance.

This is the most bustling area of the imperial city, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. The cost of placing such a bronze cauldron here is astronomical.

Aside from a few major powers like the Land of Gold Commerce, no one could afford such an expense.

Numerous elderly men with white hair and white robes, exuding the fragrance of elixirs, walked into the bronze cauldron with their hands behind their backs, paying no attention to anyone else.

Passersby would gaze at the elderly men entering the bronze cauldron with looks of admiration and envy.

These were all renowned masters in the field of alchemy, many of whom were pioneers of certain alchemical methods.

This is the Alchemy Alliance, representing the authority and pinnacle of alchemy. Each year, countless alchemical recipes are released to the world from here, showcasing their remarkable achievements. This place is considered a holy land for all alchemists, second only to Pellet Cauldron Peak of the Dao Seeking Sect.

Inside the bronze cauldron, silent alchemists sat around an exquisite stone table, their faces expressionless.

A figure finally arrived, announcing the start of the meeting.

He was Azure Cloud Daoist, the chief alchemist of the Alchemy Alliance. His skill was unparalleled, making him the undisputed strongest alchemist.

Seated around him were venerable elders of the alchemy world, all highly skilled but acknowledging Azure Cloud Daoist’s position.

Even the usually arrogant Seventh Elder admitted that Azure Cloud Daoist was an alchemist second only to himself.

Azure Cloud Daoist smiled faintly, unhurried and composed. “This regular meeting is as usual, aimed at exchanging alchemical insights. Everyone is free to speak their mind.”

“Really free to say anything?” An alchemist master raised his hand and asked.

“Yes.”

The alchemist’s face changed, and he slammed the table angrily. “Azure Cloud Daoist, why are you acting cool here after being late? We’ve been waiting for you for half a day!”

Clearly, acknowledging Azure Cloud Daoist’s alchemical prowess didn’t mean tolerating his tardiness.

“Apologies, apologies. I was just researching a new prescription and made a significant breakthrough. I was so excited I lost track of time.”

“What kind of prescription were you researching that had you so engrossed?”

Azure Cloud Daoist smiled mysteriously. “An ancient prescription, the Child-Conceiving Pill.”

“You’ve refined it?!” The crowd was shocked. They all had prescriptions for the Child-Conceiving Pill, but no matter how they refined it, it could only enhance the beauty of their partners.

Recently, many beauty-enhancing pills had circulated in the black market, they were all Child-Conceiving Pills they had refined. Aside from making the user more attractive, they were useless.

“Not yet, but I’ve made some progress. According to my research, the original creator of the Child-Conceiving Pill was named Qinghe. She was possibly closely associated with a certain immortal. The pill might also be connected to this immortal!”

“Related to an immortal? That makes sense.” The crowd was initially surprised but then understood. It must be that one of the ingredients was an immortal fruit, making it hard to replicate.

“Hah, I thought it was some major breakthrough. Turns out it’s just this?” Seventh Elder sneered at Azure Cloud Daoist’s so-called research.

“I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s Wuji Zi from the Alchemy Peak. Do you have any insightful comments?” Azure Cloud Daoist’s calm demeanor changed upon seeing Seventh Elder, his words now charged with hostility.

Azure Cloud Daoist and Seventh Elder locked eyes, sparks flying.

The crowd wisely kept silent, aware of the history between these two.

In their youth, both had fallen for the same girl. After a series of conflicts, mostly involving Seventh Elder beating Azure Cloud Daoist into the ground, the girl ultimately chose the talented Seventh Elder.

Thus, their enmity was born.

Since Seventh Elder frequently crafted unusual pills, it was hard to gauge his alchemical skills.

But one thing was certain, in combat, none of the alchemists present were a match for Seventh Elder.

Seventh Elder slowly said, “According to my research, the key to the prescription is not in the elixir itself, but in the method of consumption.”

“Have you noticed that the prescription begins with the method of consumption: ‘Take with river water to conceive’?”

“Why specifically mention ‘river water’? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just say ‘water’?”

“With this question in mind, I combed through ancient texts and consulted a young scholar knowledgeable about ancient times. Eventually, I found the answer.”

“The river water mentioned in the prescription is not ordinary river water but the water of the Mother-Child River, refined by an immortal in ancient times!”

“Drinking the water from the Mother-Child River will result in conception!”

As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked. “What?!”

“Mother-Child River?”

“Is there really such a miraculous river?!”

Although the elixirs Seventh Elder refined were often strange, he had never joked about such matters.

“Which immortal is it?” Azure Cloud Daoist couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked eagerly.

He had searched through ancient texts and even borrowed rare volumes from the palace but couldn’t find the name of that immortal, as if it was deliberately hidden!

Seventh Elder nodded calmly and revealed a secret, “It’s Ying Tian Immortal.”

Azure Cloud Daoist suddenly understood, “So it was him? Now everything makes sense.”

“How so?” The others didn’t understand why Azure Cloud Daoist said that. They had never heard of Ying Tian Immortal refining the Mother-Child River.

Azure Cloud Daoist said mysteriously, “I found an ancient book in a relic called ‘The Complete Book of Cooking’ Although I haven’t fully deciphered it, I am certain of one thing: this book, which seems to teach cooking, actually hides a deeper secret.”

The crowd was puzzled. The book’s name suggested an ancient recipe collection, didn’t it?

“At first, I thought like you that it was an ancient recipe book. But when I randomly made a few dishes, I discovered that anyone who ate them ended up at least unconscious!”

“This is not a cookbook but a poison manual!”

Everyone gasped. An ancient poison manual sounded terrifying.

“And the author of this poison manual is Ying Tian Immortal!”

“Alchemy and poison are intertwined. If Ying Tian Immortal could write this poison manual, he must also be very knowledgeable about elixirs!”

“I’ve heard an ancient saying: the strongest alchemist doesn’t just find medicinal ingredients but invents them!”

“The Mother-Child River should be a medicinal ingredient created by Ying Tian Immortal!”

“No, maybe the water of the Mother-Child River isn’t a medicinal ingredient but a poison!”

“Imagine using the water of the Mother-Child River to poison an opponent in battle. If they get pregnant, they can’t fight!” Azure Cloud Daoist’s eyes brightened as he spoke, feeling his analysis was perfectly logical, as if he had uncovered a layer of ancient mystery!

“How many women conceived because of Ying Tian Immortal’s Mother-Child River?” The crowd marveled at Ying Tian Immortal’s power.

As expected of an immortal, able to create such a wondrous thing.

After the servant finished pouring water for everyone, he quietly left. These were all master alchemists discussing immortals, and he was too terrified to stay any longer.

As soon as he stepped outside, his companions surrounded him.

“How was it? What did they say?”

This was the top-tier alchemist meeting, representing the cutting-edge of alchemy knowledge. Hearing even a bit was enough for them to brag about.

The servant hesitated. He had been too scared to listen carefully.

He tried to recall the conversation of the alchemy masters, somewhat uncertain:

“It seemed they were saying that the ancient immortal Ying Tian Immortal made countless women pregnant?”

His companions gasped.

This was an ancient secret.

(End of the chapter)