******
Lin Yao, beaming with joy, followed Yi Fei and the others to pick up the goods at the airport. Yi Yang's air express had delivered some good stuff.
Many modern scientists and researchers have offered explanations, stating that "Tai Sui" is a type of myxobacterium that exists between protozoa and bacteria, representing a fourth form of life in nature that is neither plant, animal, nor fungus.
However, the scientific community has many controversies regarding the explanation of "Tai Sui," with many contradictory conclusions. Therefore, it can only be considered that "Tai Sui" is an unidentified organism existing on Earth.
In ancient China, "Tai Sui" was regarded as a magical and mysterious object, and there were even corresponding deities. Because there are many kinds, any viscous, odorless living thing that can automatically repair itself after being cut is called Tai Sui.
A piece of Tai Sui was discovered somewhere on the Sino-Russian border. This Tai Sui was enormous, weighing over a ton. Its shape was different from that of common Tai Sui. Although it was still somewhat sticky, it was relatively hard, as chewy as a Wangzai QQ candy, and it was difficult to cut.
At this moment, Lin Yao was picking up this "Tai Sui" that Yi Potian had decisively bought for a huge sum of 2 million yuan.
"Sir, does this Tai Sui really work? I tried it when I was with the leader before, and it didn't taste like much, and I didn't have any special reaction after eating it." Seeing the longing in Lin Yao's eyes, Yi Fei couldn't help but pour cold water on his enthusiasm, worried that Lin Yao would be too disappointed.
After receiving Yi Yang's call, Lin Yao stopped all alchemy and stored up his alchemical fire to prepare for refining the Tai Sui.
Yi Fei wasn't particularly interested in whether Tai Sui was effective; having experienced it firsthand, he didn't hold out much hope. But Lin Yao's refusal to refine pills was a serious matter.
The elixir was of unparalleled importance to the Yi family members, and that was his real purpose in pouring cold water on their hopes.
“Yi Fei, the head of the Fan family has already verified it through a special method, saying that this piece of Tai Sui has medicinal properties. I trust his judgment, which is why I am so eager to see it as soon as possible.” Lin Yao still addressed Yi Fei by his name, and was not used to calling him Elder. “Tai Sui is very magical. Many places where it appears do not have much medicinal property. It’s not that those are fakes, but if they are not old enough, they cannot accumulate enough usable medicinal energy. Therefore, there are more and more legends, and the truth cannot be seen.”
Lin Yao did not explain in detail, but the "Complete Collection of Traditional Chinese Medicine" mentions Tai Sui and also notes that only Tai Sui that is more than 3,333 years old can truly possess the medicinal properties of reviving the dead; others are inferior products.
"Is it really that amazing?" Yi Fei still hadn't given up on dissuading his master. More and more members of the Yi family were advancing in their cultivation levels, all thanks to Lin Yao's pills and his personal acupuncture treatments.
There are still many Yi family members who are on the verge of advancing, but the master has stopped refining pills, which makes him anxious and excited.
"The Compendium of Materia Medica states that Tai Sui is a kind of fleshy Ganoderma lucidum, which has the characteristic of absorbing the essence of heaven and earth and growing on its own. It has special curative effects on some difficult diseases, and it is specifically stated that 'long-term consumption will make one light-body, ageless, and live to the age of an immortal.' It's impossible that it has no effect." After explaining, Lin Yao thought that although the age of Tai Sui is not directly proportional to its weight, this Tai Sui, which was about to weigh more than a ton, must be at least three thousand years old.
The Tai Sui, specially packed and air-freighted, was towed to Yinlinju by Lin Yao and others by a hired vehicle. The 1,075 kilograms of the item, plus its outer packaging, was easily carried by Yi Fei and Yi Zuojun to Lin Yao's alchemy room.
Opening the two-cubic-meter box and removing the shockproof protective material, a dark, oval-shaped object came into view.
Huge and unassuming—that was Lin Yao's first impression.
"Yi Fei, let's lift the Tai Sui together and place it on top of the small cauldron." Lin Yao placed the alchemy furnace in the center of the room, his expression very serious.
After Yi Fei and Yi Zuojun left the room, Lin Yao carefully examined the enormous object.
"Yaoyao, this stuff is good. It has a kind of 'vitality' inside." Xiaocao's voice rang out at the right time. She was also stunned when she saw Tai Sui. She was stunned by the surprise. "I can grow leaves now, but I can only sprout the second leaf."
"That's great!" Lin Yao exclaimed in surprise. The growth of grass is not easy, not easy at all. It has been so long, and it is still just a bare leaf axis. "It can no longer be a bare commander."
"It's still a bare stem. I need to use this 'vitality' to encourage the growth of a second leaf. The first one only needs a leaf axis; using it would be a waste." The little grass's tone was a mix of joy and regret. "If only there were a few more of these Tai Sui."
Lin Yao rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Save your breath. It's hard to find even small pieces of Tai Sui. After it was confirmed to be 'real' Tai Sui, it actually sold for 40,000 yuan per kilogram. The piece in front of me was only acquired for 2 million yuan because it was too hard and different from the Tai Sui usually described. But I never expected to get a priceless treasure."
"Little grass, what is 'vitality'? Is it different from spiritual energy?" Lin Yao asked, as he had never heard of the term "vitality" before.
“Spiritual energy nourishes all things, and vitality gives birth to all things. If there is enough vitality, I don’t need spirit stones anymore.” Little Grass was still very happy. “Yaoyao, I don’t need you to get spirit stones anymore. Just get a few more pieces of Tai Sui, of this quality.”
Lin Yao gave an "oh" and began to mobilize the internal fire according to the method for refining snow lotus, preparing to start refining the pill.
Xiao Cao had said before that as long as the materials were suitable, the method for refining snow lotus was the highest method he could use at his current level. The raw materials for "Mending Heaven Pill" were of too low quality, so they had to be adjusted slightly. Otherwise, if wild ginseng was used instead of cultivated ginseng for refining pills, the highest method could be used directly.
This giant Tai Sui, which has grown for countless years, can of course be directly treated with the highest level of cultivation techniques.
After nearly half a month of gathering fire and energy, the pseudo-elixir fire burst forth, piercing through the thick fleshy wall of the Tai Sui and directly entering the sensed alchemy furnace. This caused the inner wall of the furnace to generate a suction force, automatically drawing the Tai Sui above into the furnace, where it was refined by the pseudo-elixir fire.
Refine, replenish, refine again, replenish again.
After an unknown amount of time, the entire one-ton Tai Sui disappeared, leaving only a pool of viscous liquid in the bright alchemy furnace on the floor. The liquid was about half the volume of the furnace, and its color had turned a bright green, as dazzling as the once lush green leaves of grass, which made Lin Yao believe in the "vitality" contained in this Tai Sui.
As he continuously cast hand seals, the accumulated pseudo-elixir fire and healing true energy were rapidly depleted, causing Lin Yao great concern. He didn't know what would happen if he ran out of strength, or if he would waste this rare Tai Sui and, incidentally, delay the growth of the little grass.
After countless cycles of hand seals, just as Lin Yao was beginning to feel his strength waning, the alchemy furnace suddenly began to vibrate violently, emitting a faint rumbling sound, much like the majestic presence of thunder in the clouds before spring.
"Quickly collect the pill, hurry up, or it will be too late!" Little Grass shouted anxiously. "Don't wait for the pill liquid to continue purifying; you don't have the ability to endure that long. Quickly cast the pill-collecting seal!"
Without saying a word, Lin Yao forced all his true energy into his hands, changed his hand seal into the Pill Gathering Seal, and threw it at the pool of bright red liquid.
With a loud bang, the emerald green pills exploded, shooting out in all directions from the furnace opening.
Keep going! Stop now!
Lin Yao used all his true energy to cast the final hand seal, and countless pills flew towards his chest. Fortunately, the little grass quickly extended its dense tentacles and wove them into a fine net, gathering all the pills into it and pulling them into Lin Yao's chest.
Finally, he succeeded! Lin Yao was secretly overjoyed. He collapsed to the ground, looking up at the ceiling. At this moment, he didn't want to move a single finger.
"Yaoyao, not bad! You've reached the highest level of this set of hand seals and mental techniques. You've refined a total of 999 pills. I'm rich now!" Xiaocao was very happy, and the joy in her tone made Lin Yao feel very comfortable, as if his physical fatigue had been relieved.
"It's good that it's useful. So when are you going into seclusion?" Lin Yao asked with concern. Apart from his parents, nothing was more important than the growth of the little grass. He should go into seclusion immediately after obtaining the pill, just like last time.
"This..." Little Grass hesitated for a while before saying, "Let's wait a while. Anyway, I've already hung these pills on the leaves. Even if we don't eat them, it's nice to look at them. They're quite pleasing to the eye."
"Why? Hurry up and go into seclusion, grow new leaves so I can see them. I want to see them." Lin Yao found it strange. He was eager for the grass to grow quickly, but this time the grass wasn't in a hurry.
"What if bad guys come and attack you while I'm in seclusion? You're still weak; you can't even beat Yi Fei." Xiao Cao's words left Lin Yao speechless but also touched. So that was the reason.
"That's alright, Xiaocao. This isn't the era of Shennong anymore. There aren't many experts in the world now. With Yifei's protection, you'll be absolutely safe." Lin Yao began to comfort Xiaocao, hoping to see the second leaf soon. "Yifei has already reached the edge of the Earth-level peak. With his abilities, as long as it's not a Heaven-level expert, I estimate that no Earth-level peak expert from other families can beat him."
"Go into seclusion. No Heavenly Realm expert would come all the way to Chengdu just for someone like me. There are only a handful of Heavenly Realm experts in the world. I'll be perfectly safe," Lin Yao continued to persuade him.
The two went back and forth like this, until finally, tempted by the pills, Xiaocao gave in.
"Alright, I'll leave you nineteen, knowing you're going to give them to your uncle and aunt." The little grass conceded. "Am I being generous?"