Changbai Immortal Mountain, forever covered in snow, bitterly cold skies and frozen earth. Such a place should, by all rights, be seldom trodden by human feet.
Yet, due to the continent's most renowned Eternal Life Pill Master residing atop these mountains, practicing Alchemy, powerful figures from across the land come to seek his Elixirs. Thus, the mountain bustles with activity.
The Longevity Pill Pavilion is a forbidden area of the mountain, off-limits to outsiders.
A large dark red Pill Furnace stands on the ground, with vigorous Earth fire drawn from beneath, crackling and forging the immense Pill Furnace.
The kindly old man with a face like an ancient moon tirelessly manipulates the Earth fire, and alternately adds different medicinal herbs to the Pill Furnace. He looks extremely meticulous, sweat beads the size of beans forming on his forehead, but he pays them no heed.
A breathtaking woman in a snow-white dress appears to be in her twenties, quite young.
Her delicate hands hold a silk handkerchief, carefully wiping the sweat from the old man's face.
That such a young and ravishing woman would be willing to wait upon this old man is truly the envy of others.
As the Alchemy process nears its end, a five-colored auspicious cloud rises above the Pill Furnace, and a dense fragrance wafts out. One breath of it makes one feel light and refreshed, as if rejuvenated by more than a decade.
The five-colored auspicious cloud above the Pill Furnace astonishingly transforms into two birds of colorful plumage—a phoenix and a fenghuang—chasing and frolicking with each other. They circle unceasingly above the Pill Furnace.
"Screech~!"
"Caw~!"
They emit distinct melodious cries, and following this, the old man bites the tip of his tongue, spraying three mouthfuls of Essence blood into the Pill Furnace.
Humming~!
The Pill Furnace begins to vibrate at a high frequency, the young woman's face full of anticipation, smiling with joy.
The old man ceaselessly channels pure Primordial Qi into the Pill Furnace, spewing mouthful after mouthful of Essence blood.
"I'm about to successfully refine the Ninth Grade Longevity Elixirs, and when that happens, all my spent Essence blood and Primordial Qi will be replenished. I will even rejuvenate and gain eternal life!"
The old man is the Eternal Life Pill Master, who has devoted his life to refining these two Ninth Grade Longevity Elixirs.
Originally, if he had refined just one, it would have been much easier.
And he could have done so a hundred years ago.
Refining two simultaneously, one male and one female, the Phoenix Elixir for men, and the Fenghuang Elixir for women, both sexes can achieve immortality, eternal youth, undying.
"Open!"
With his remaining strength, the old man utters a single word, extinguishing the Earth fire, and the Pill Furnace opens.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two Ninth Grade Longevity Elixirs, each the size of a fist, fly out from the furnace. One green and one red, the green is the Phoenix Elixir, the red is the Fenghuang Elixir.
A relieved and joyful smile spreads across the old man's face.
"Chang'e, at last we can attain eternal life together, to live forever side by side, until the end of time!"
"My promise to you, I've fulfilled it! I've done it!"
"This red Fenghuang Elixir is the token of my proposal to you—consume it, and you'll stay forever young and beautiful, just as you are now!"
The old man spoke passionately to the young beauty in the white dress. Pride and self-satisfaction colored his face.
In all the world, there are at least ten Alchemy Venerates, but he is the only one to have successfully refined a Longevity Pill.
The woman smiles radiantly, like a peony blossom unfurling, revealing an otherworldly allure that leaves the old man utterly infatuated.
It is at this moment that a shocking twist occurs.
A figure took advantage of the old man's weakness following the freshly concocted Longevity Pill, darting into the Elixir Pavilion in a flash.
With a stretch of his hand, he snatched the Longevity Pill that the old man had exhausted his life to refine.
"Who are you? I placed deadly restrictions around this Elixir Pavilion; outsiders cannot enter it. How did you get in?" the old man asked, feeling extremely enraged.
"It was I who helped him come in! Chang'e pays homage to Panlong Crown Prince!" said the white-dressed lady, bowing gracefully to the entering young man.
"Haha, no need for formalities! This prince offers up a borrowed offering to Buddha; this Longevity Pill is a reward for you! From now on, you are this prince's woman!" The young man was clad in a Panlong Brocade Robe, his strength unfathomably terrifying.
The old man was both shocked and angry, pointing at the stunning woman with trembling hands, "Chang'e, you whore, why did you betray me?"
"Because she is a maid of this prince!" With that, the young man swallowed the Longevity Pill in a single gulp. "Tsk tsk, having consumed this pill, this prince has finally attained eternity! Delightful, indeed!"
Chang'e also hurriedly swallowed the Longevity Pill.
The old man's body shuddered violently, his eyes widening with realization, "Does this mean, the rescue of that girl from a village years ago, after the massacre of those bandits, was all a trap you set in advance?"
"Haha, how laughable! I, the Eternal Life Pill Master, duped by two lowlifes like you. And for a good several decades at that!"
"However... Panlong Crown Prince, don't be too pleased with yourself too soon. The Longevity Pill I've poured my life into refining is not so easily consumed; though you've gained eternity, you will become a eunuch!"
A sly smile crossed the old man's face.
At his words, the Panlong Crown Prince's face twisted with horror, clutching at his privates, as he felt them shrink steadily like Sun Wukong's Jingu Bang, coupled with waves of excruciating pain.
"To obtain eternity, one must first be castrated!"
"Haha, you're destined to never be a man in your life, just a lifeless neuter eunuch!"
After laughing, the old man coughed violently, spitting out blood crimson as fresh meat.
"This prince will kill you!" The Panlong Crown Prince, driven to the apex of his rage, flicked his fingers at the old man repeatedly. Swords Qi crisscrossed in the air, slicing the old man into a mess of flesh, killing him on the spot.
...
"This new body originally belonged to the Third Prince of the Sword King Mansion, named Chu Feng. Due to excessive Yang Fire within his body and suffering a shock, he perished abruptly."
The residual soul of the Eternal Life Pill Master remained undestroyed, finally resurrecting by borrowing this corpse.
He carefully examined his newly acquired body.
"The Yang Fire within me is indeed bizarre, but just because those quacks couldn't cure it, doesn't mean this Pill Master has no way!"
"In my previous life, until death, I never obtained Abnormal Fire, not out of want, but fear."
Abnormal Fire is extremely rare and ferocious; countless Pill Masters tried to tame it, only for ten out of ten to be incinerated by its wrath.
"With such vigorous Yang Fire inside of me, I can surely turn waste into treasure, refine it using a Secret Technique, and transform it into my own Source Abnormal Fire. I can make up for the regrets of my past life. With Abnormal Fire, my journey on the Alchemy Dao in this life will undoubtedly take me even further!"
The Yang Fire within was already integrated with his body and soul, recognizing each other as one. Taming it would be much easier compared to a wild Abnormal Fire.
Chu Feng was thrilled at the thought; obtaining Abnormal Fire was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.
Fortune and disaster go hand in hand, and while he perished at the hands of Chang'e and Panlong Crown Prince, losing all his cultivation, it also gave him a chance to break free from his cocoon and emerge stronger.
His face then revealed a thick sense of hatred.
"Chang'e, Panlong Crown Prince, clean your necks and wait for me. One day, I shall make you pay your bloody debts in full!"
"With aspirations to ascend the heavens in this life, I shall tread the skies underfoot! I, the Eternal Life Pill Master, have returned!"