Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1643 - 1642 - Eternal Slumber Elixir

Lind quickly saw why his time limit was 50 years. The recipes were not simple but compared to the ingredients, they were a dream.

He had not heard of a single one of the herbs or beast cores ever!

As such, he had to first pick a recipe and then examine the ingredients. He reviewed the very long list of the so-called low Mystery Grade elixirs.

They were organized by category but beyond that, some of them seemed awfully specific.

There was an elixir to sharpen fingernails like blades on the list and he could not fathom why a Divine Realm cultivator would need that ever. Their own control over their body should far surpass what an elixir could give them.

It was only as he saw some elixirs with similar effects to ones he had created in the past that a horrifying thought passed through his mind.

He applied his Mysteries to his Dao Eyes and instantly saw hidden information! It was far worse than he imagined!

Not only was there a timing and extraction process that was more complex than he was used to, ingredients that were totally unfamiliar to him, but now he found that he had to pick elixirs he had mastered layers for as well!

Each elixir required specific mixing of Mystery energy!

His attempt back in the maze was a child playing with toys compared to the delicate task ahead of him.

He quickly checked for any failure limit but none was listed anywhere. Still, he assumed running out of ingredients would expel him.

Based on his new understanding of his elements and Mysteries, he was better able to parse the list from there at least.

He suddenly realized that an Apprentice Tier attempting to make Mystery Grade elixirs was a very tall order.

Nearly 90% of the list was eliminated due to the requirements of high tier Mysteries he had not yet condensed.

The most common was actually Earth Mysteries for some reason but he had no idea why that would be.

It also explained why many of the recipes simply eluded his understanding.

He was too weak.

With the smaller list he still had several issues. At least a third of the list needed a completely formed Samsara layer. Partial would not cut it as there were warnings included about that for any of the requirements.

Some did fine with partial layers, but warned it could leave them unconscious whether the elixir master succeeded or not.

He appreciated the warnings as it saved time but he noted some of them for later as he was not going to waste time experimenting as much as he could.

After a few days of meditation, he narrowed down his 3 elixirs. The first would be the Eternal Slumber Elixir.

It was an interesting pill. Rather than healing or even cursing its host, the elixir completely suspended life and death based on the quality of the elixir. Below the Divine Realm, it would be immensely effective regardless but it was meant for Divine Realm cultivators.

The point of the elixir was to be a possible last ditch effort to preserve the last flicker of life. It was even listed as being effective against fading! It made sense. Rather than giving up, maybe a long sleep, the break gave a new perspective that allowed a Divine Realm cultivator to endure a bit longer.

It would last forever below the Divine Realm hence its name. It also isolated lower realms from the pressure of ascension tunnels made by higher realm beings.

Some cultivators stuck in lower realms could easily advance in the higher worlds but could not survive the journey. The Eternal Slumber Elixir essentially put them in a state that isolated them from Heaven and Earth.

There was, of course, a price to pay at the lower realms. If used as a true lifesaving effect, it was quite minor. The cultivator would have to suffer a minor fall by maybe a minor realm or simply consolidate their foundation for a few decades before being able to advance.

Heaven and Earth were fair. There was nothing wrong with someone trying to live from fatal conditions but there were exceptions.

If used to extend a life spent, a tribulation would be called if they found a way to survive. The method did not seem to matter but obviously a natural method would invoke a lesser tribulation compared to a vile one.

The elixir had been used to preserve someone attacked by Fiends but not fully consumed. They also had to face a tribulation but not to the extent of the previous examples. It seemed reclaiming your soul was not enough to avoid it.

If, however, an external party used it on someone, that was taken into account and they would face the punishment instead. He was not sure how that worked but he bet it all the Mysteries had a hand in it.

At the Divine Realm, the price was varied. If it was used to avoid fading, it seemed Heaven and Earth was silent on the matter. Fading was a choice in essence, so choosing a method to avoid or delay it did not seem to matter.

If using it to simply avoid living, however, Heaven and Earth became harsh. Loss of entire Mysteries and even deviation was likely! An effective but terrifying elixir.

Mystery Grade did not mess around as many of them had such dire consequences tied to misuse or simply bad karmic choices.

Lind had done the easy part. He had selected his elixirs, now he had to do the very difficult part. Find the ingredients.

While the recipes were detailed on process and alternative techniques, they were limited in one facet. There was no description of the ingredients, only names! There was a good reason for it too.

Mystery Grade materials were not fixed in nature. One may not be equal to the other so he now had to discern from the shelves of items, which were correct.

He immediately started with the easiest. Elemental crystals and Divine Qi stones were not difficult. The Eternal Slumber Elixir required shadow, light, and water elemental power for its foundation. A strange combination but it was the rest of it that would be irritating.

"I need 3 beast cores. The Silent Flood Dragon Core, the Broken Mountain Turtle, and the Star Winged Raven." The first would be fairly easy for him being a dragon. Indeed, after a quick scan of the shelves lined with perfectly preserved cores, he found a section for dragons.

They were the fewest but only 2 met even remotely the criteria. A silver orb laced with black lightning and a murky core that seemed to have living smoke inside it. Between the 2, the latter was his target.

The instant he grabbed it, he felt the faint spirit confirm he was correct. The other 2 were much harder. The sections were labeled by a rough race categorization but not one he was familiar with.

The dragon section had a few like it where they were all gathered together. He confirmed they were phoenix, black shelled tortoise, and white tiger cores.

Aside from those primordial races, the rest were labeled with something called [Life Heavy Cores] or [Samsara Resonate Cores].

"Mystery alignment?" He pondered aloud as enlightenment came to him. He used his Mysteries to test the flood dragon core and confirmed it was leaning more towards death than life.

A turtle was often a symbol of life or endurance but would that hold true in real life?

Just as he had tested the dragon core, he now began testing the others. Unfortunately, he encountered a wide swathe of cores he had no context for.

He sighed as he realized it was not going to be that easy but he began testing right there.

Nearly 5 years passed before he mastered the beast cores. He understood the categorization was not just random. Some cores were a balancing act between the various Mysteries while others only had similar sensations to them.

A lack of Mystery energy meant the beast had died a Divine Realm but before its first Mystery could be condensed.

He also felt some had more spirit than others but strangely some felt more like animals than sentient beasts as they should be.

Lower quality bloodlines could still reach the Divine Realm? That fascinated him but had no time to study them.

Five years lost and he had the much higher hurdle to surmount. He now had a dark tan core laced with golden light and a night sky swirling inside another to add to with his dragon core.

The Broken Mountain Turtle was a living tank. It had vitality to rival even the black shelled tortoise! It actually took on the form of a mountain but if the exterior was broken, the core would drive the vitality to new heights since its protection was pierce.

The Star Winged Raven was a contradiction. It was a deadly beast able to strike from shadows like a demon but using starlight full of vital energy to find the weakness of its prey.

It took 5 years not to find the last 2 cores but to truly grasp the entirety of the section. As a dragon, himself, he had an advantage but also his rich experience with other races allowed him to deduce many from lower realm versions of their bloodlines.

The turtle had been fairly easy given its name, an earth heavy beast eliminated a lot of them but the Star Winged Raven was damned hard! A lot of cores had strange dichotomies like it did!

It was the Mysteries that finally helped him find it.

Yet, despite the success, Lind felt no joy. He turned slowly to the massive wall of rows and rows of herbs he had never seen before. The Eternal Slumber Elixir was powerful and complex in concoction but it only needed 4 herbs.

Even a quick glance showed hundreds to choose from in a single shelf. There were at least 10 shelves in the entire room with who knew if the drawers beneath were holding more.

"Here we go." He had no time to waste just glancing at them as he started the much harder hunt for herbs.