Green bricks and green tiles, pavilions, towers and flower terraces are dotted with lush and verdant herbs, exuding a bright and poetic atmosphere everywhere.

In the courtyard, there was an old figure with a calm look in his eyes. There was a dead silence, and there was no sign of him being affected by the environment.

Zhou Lie knew his teacher's intention and wanted to help him get out of his sadness through the interaction between man and nature. However, after learning that Zhou Huang's grudge had been settled, he became even less interested.

"It's empty and void, and life is just a moving shell."

When Mr. Chen saw this scene, he felt very upset. Zhou Lie had aged not only physically but also spiritually. There was no hope, only grayness. Naturally, he had lost his vitality.

He may enter this state one day in the future. When everything is gone, immortality will become a disease.

"Teacher, I'm sorry to have worked so hard for you."

Chen Sheng's arrival brought a touch of color to Zhou Lie's empty eyes. Looking at this figure, he felt a sense of guilt in his heart.

Throughout his life, he was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and was a useless person. After he had Zhou Huang, he thought he could share some of the burden with his teacher, but he failed again.

As a disciple, he really failed.

"I have never asked for anything from you, nor do I ask you to amaze the world. As long as you live your life peacefully, I will be satisfied."

Mr. Chen is an immortal who has already satisfied his greatest desire. He does not care much about things that ordinary people are obsessed with.

He did not ask Zhou Lie to be invincible and spread his fame, nor did he ask Zhou Lie to collect cultivation resources for him and work like a slave for him.

He has raised this apprentice since childhood and plays the role of both a teacher and a father to him, hoping that the child will live a healthy life.

Even in the current situation, he still has this thought. As long as Zhou Lie is healthy and happy, that's all.

"Disciple, I will work hard."

Zhou Lie nodded. Even though he felt that this request was very difficult, since the teacher wanted him to be happy, he would work hard to be happy.

"If you feel bored, ask your mistress to make you a good meal. When you were a child, didn't you always like the food she cooked?"

Mr. Chen knew Zhou Lie's situation. He was the respected ancestor of the family and had many respected descendants, but there was no one to whom he could vent his sorrow.

There is only Yaolu left. He and Luzhu are the only ones Zhou Lie can rely on.

"When I was a kid, I remember it. I've always remembered it."

A hint of nostalgia emerged in Zhou Lie's eyes. That was truly a very happy time when he didn't have to worry about anything.

Now he has many things, including power in the medicine house, which makes countless people envy him, but he still finds it difficult to be happy.

“Rediscover that joy and don’t be pessimistic.”

Mr. Chen patted Zhou Lie's shoulder with some force, as if he wanted to pass on this determination to this disciple who had a rough second half of his life.

He could give Zhou Lie authority, cultivation resources, and offensive weapons, but he had no means to make the other party escape.

After all, this life is your own. Others cannot interfere. Only when you feel comfortable, can you truly understand your thoughts.

After coming out from Zhou Lie, Chen Sheng thought for a while, walked into the book collection place in the medicine house, flipped through the books on alchemy, chose a recipe for "Small Holy Grass Pill", and asked his men to prepare the spiritual herbs.

Afterwards, he entered the secret room, intending to break through to the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Over the years, he has devoted himself to the practice of alchemy. Due to his responsibilities, he has also been devoted to research and has delayed his practice.

Now that the progress in alchemy has stagnated, the magic power has naturally overflowed, and it is time to break through.

"The best one is the one that suits you."

Up to now, Mr. Chen has been practicing the Health Preservation Sutra. This method of refining Qi has a very solid foundation. The magical power he cultivates is moderate and peaceful, condensed and pure, which is very good.

Of course, it is not without its shortcomings, but for more than a hundred years, he has been experimenting on his body and has modified this health-preserving sutra countless times, and it has been tampered with beyond recognition.

It cannot be said that the health-preserving sutra that is being practiced now is the highest method, but it is definitely the most suitable and appropriate for him.

With a slight movement of his hand, the route of the Health Preserving Sutra started instantly, absorbing endless spiritual energy from the heaven and earth from the outside world.

“Boom…”

In the secret room, Chen Sheng's body was glowing with brilliance, and the spiritual energy that gathered from all around him drifted away like smoke, making him look as sacred as the sky, ethereal and majestic.

The surging spiritual energy of heaven and earth penetrated into his mouth, nose, and ears, went through a circle of martial arts, transformed into condensed magic power, and fell into his dantian.

There was mist in his dantian, and a small lake had accumulated underneath. Magic power kept dripping out from it like raindrops.

With the endless magic power added, the edge of the small lake gradually expanded.

This situation lasted for a day and a half, and finally reached a limit.

The magic power in Dantian suddenly became active, like a dormant volcano revived and changed.

"boom"

The energy in Chen Sheng's body was also rising. It reached a limit but was stopped.

That is the hurdle in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

His mind was calm, and he focused on practicing the health-preserving sutras, allowing the magic power he had accumulated to be dissipated in the process of attacking the pass.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a loud bang, and the barrier of the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm was broken. His mind and spirit leaped into a new world.

"It's difficult to practice, it's difficult to build a foundation, it's difficult to pass each level."

After Chen Sheng broke through to the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he felt a little happy inside and then returned to normal.

He could feel the limitation of his qualifications. It was too difficult for a cultivator without talent to embark on the path of immortality.

Fortunately, he came to this place where the world was thick and the supernatural powers were added to him, so he avoided turning into a pile of bones when he was in the Qi Refining Stage.

He stood up and walked out of the secret room. Although he had restrained his breath, there were still traces of his breakthrough.

"Middle stage of foundation building, the same as me."

Lu Zhu had nothing to do and was waiting outside the secret room bored. When she saw Chen Sheng break through the barrier, her eyebrows suddenly curved up and she looked smiling, like a willow in the spring breeze, giving people a soft and harmonious feeling.

"You are a little more talented than me, so you can spend more time practicing."

A smile unconsciously reappeared on Chen Sheng's face, but because of Zhou Lie's matter, his feelings about the separation of life and death suddenly deepened, and he couldn't help but say something.

"I don't have a firm determination to seek the truth. My aptitude is just above average. I am already very satisfied to be able to cultivate to the foundation-building stage. It is not good to force too much."

Lu Zhu knew her own limitations. She knew that she was able to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage thanks to some luck and the blessing of God. She did not have too many obsessions with the path of cultivation.

In this life, she felt that being able to stay by Mr. Chen's side, safe and sound, was good enough.

"It's up to you..."

Mr. Chen didn't know whether he should be relieved or smile bitterly. Luzhu had a good attitude, but her obsession with practicing Taoism and achieving immortality was not strong.

I think it's because I know that immortality is too ethereal, so it's better to live in the present and be free and easy.

He said no more, this kind of life was actually pretty good.

…

"Elder, the spiritual herbs you asked us to prepare have been gathered."

No one dared to slack off on the things that Mr. Chen had instructed before he went into seclusion, and they have now been found.

The visitor had an extremely respectful attitude, and held a storage bag in his hand, which contained the spiritual herbs needed to refine the Lesser Holy Herb Pill.

"good."

Mr. Chen accepted the things and went to the alchemy room, intending to refine a furnace of small holy grass pills.

He seldom refines first-grade pills, but this time he is preparing it for Zhou Lie, so he cannot be careless and takes it very seriously.

This Little Holy Grass Pill was a life-extending elixir, a top-grade first-grade elixir. It was complicated to refine and required many ingredients, but it was very effective and could extend the life of a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm by ten years.

“Buzz…”

Chen Sheng opened the storage bag and threw various spiritual herbs into the alchemy furnace one after another. They were licked by the flames and the excess impurities were burned away.

The world inside the furnace was like a nine-story pagoda, with layers of flames. All kinds of spiritual herbs were burned away, losing their shapes and turning into clear appearances.

A rough count revealed that there were hundreds of them, all glowing with a radiant brilliance, like amber and glass, untainted by dust.

In the light of the fire, Mr. Chen's cheeks were as red as jade, and he looked as radiant as a god. His every move exuded a sense of calmness and ease.

His Eight Fire Controlling Techniques had already been cultivated to an extremely high level. He had no problem refining second-level elixirs, let alone first-level Little Holy Grass Pills.

He refined every spiritual herb to its most extreme and pure state, which was perfect from the perspective of a second-level alchemist.

"It's OK. We can now carry out the pharmacological integration."

Chen Sheng was extremely attentive in refining this batch of Small Holy Herb Pills, making sure that there was not a trace of impurities in the spiritual herbs. He confirmed it again and again before moving on to the next step.

“Buzz…”

As soon as he had a thought, all kinds of spiritual herbs began to blend together, and strands of mysterious energy emerged, with thousands of possibilities.

What the alchemist needs to do is to prevent the pharmacology from being overwhelmed and move towards the best direction.

Time passed by little by little.

In the furnace fire, hundreds of kinds of pharmacology intertwined into a prototype of a pill. It was a bit heavy, like a gold or stone object, and it was glowing with precious light.

Chen Sheng observed the world inside the furnace calmly. Slowly, he controlled the fire to burn the prototype of the elixir, allowing the many mysteries inside to condense into one.

What can be seen is that the prototype of the pill is becoming more and more round. At a glance, the word "perfect" immediately comes to mind.

At this point, the Little Holy Grass Pill has been refined.

"call……"

Rich elixir energy rushed up into the sky, along with rich vitality, pouring out from the furnace mouth. The flame inside had been extinguished, but the furnace wall was still burning red, with a glow of red-gold rays of light.

At the very bottom, nine emerald green pills were quietly placed. They had restrained medicinal properties and were full of vitality. They were treasures among the first-level pills.

If such a longevity elixir appeared at an auction, it would definitely make an old Qi Refining Realm cultivator give up all his wealth.

…

Five years passed in a flash.

This is not a long period of time, but for those who are old and dead in spirit, it is enough to consume the last bit of their energy and vitality.

Compared with the lush greenery of the withered flowers in the courtyard, Zhou Lie looked like a rotten old tree, whose roots had been worn away by time.

His body was very thin, his eyes were empty, and he no longer cared about life or death.

clatter.

There were footsteps.

Zhou Lie looked over and saw that it was his teacher. He looked exactly the same as he remembered, without any change. He was still a teenager, with an upright figure, gentle eyes, and was wearing luxurious robes. He looked like a celestial being.

He looked at himself again, he was as rotten as a dead tree, his face was old and decayed, he could not help but lower his head, not wanting to face the enemy.

Cultivation resources.

The secret technique of martial arts.

Elixir and magical tools.

He had all of these, and his conditions were much better than his teacher's when he was a young monk. However, he ended up in this situation. It can only be said that he had wasted his life.

"This is the Little Holy Grass Pill, it can extend your life by ten years."

Chen Sheng came to Zhou Lie and took out the Little Holy Grass Pill. Given Zhou Lie’s current condition, he had to use the pill to prolong his life in order to survive.

"Teacher, when was it refined?"

Zhou Lie was a top-notch first-class alchemist. He could tell at a glance that the quality of the Lesser Sacred Grass Pill was incredibly high and was definitely not the work of a first-class alchemist.

Then, it could only be that the teacher, a second-level alchemist, made it specially for him.

"Five years ago."

Mr. Chen said calmly.

He had thought of this day five years ago.

Zhou Lie was extremely sad, both physically and mentally. As an alchemist, he was the best at transferring his body, so it was easy for him to live to be 120 years old.

Now he is 105 years old and is about to die. The only thing he can do to prolong his life is to take elixirs.

"Disciple, I have always been a troublesome person, always making the teacher worry."

Zhou Lie looked at the Little Holy Grass Pill and did not take it, but he was very grateful for Chen Sheng's kindness and thought a lot of things.

When he was very young, he became a disciple of a teacher.

Got...too much care.

At the age of seven, he was fed by his teacher and had a carefree childhood.

When he was young, he was confused, but during the outer sect competition, he was enlightened by his teacher. He threw away his burdens and traveled around the world of immortals.

When he was young, he willfully married and had children, disregarding his teacher's arrangements, and missed the age for building the foundation.

He lost his wife in middle age and sought comfort from his teacher. He lost his son in old age and it was his teacher who led the crowd to destroy the Fu Shui generals and the monsters and avenged them.

Throughout his life, he has always lived under the wings of his teacher, but has not been able to give anything in return. It is really... a failure.

"You are very good. I have no regrets accepting you as my disciple."

Mr. Chen didn't think so. Zhou Lie had been a very well-behaved person since he was a child.

He respected his teacher and never did anything that would damage his dignity.

Not fighting for power and profit is because we are afraid that it will make things difficult for him.

In the face of fairness and personal authority in Yaolu, Zhou Lie made concessions many times, allowing many people to ascend to high positions.

Therefore, when the rain was raging on that night, many people chose to believe in and support Zhou Lie, so that he could do his best according to his own wishes.

That was the credit he had accumulated over many years of upholding the rules.

"Very good……"

Hearing what Chen Sheng said, Zhou Lie's eyes lit up, and then he stammered, "Disciple wants to be willful again and not take... the Little Saint Grass Pill."

He said it with great difficulty, not because he was afraid of death, but because he rejected Chen Sheng's feelings.

This made him feel very guilty.

"Have you decided?"

Mr. Chen was silent.

"Yes……"

Zhou Lie knew that he was being willful again, and it was extremely excessive and cruel to let his teacher watch him die.

But he was...really tired.

"good."

Mr. Chen and Zhou Lie looked at each other and saw emotions such as shame, relief, pleading, and sadness. His heart softened and he closed his eyes and nodded.

(End of this chapter)