Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1644 - 1643 - Profound Herbs

Lind lost another 15 years just studying the herbs. If not for his vast foundational knowledge, recent progress in using his Mysteries, and even his improvement to elemental origin, he would have lost all the remaining 45 years after the beast cores.

Mystery grade herbs were far more complex than their counterparts in any other grade.

Even compared to beast cores, they were far more difficult to parse even with categories labeled on each shelf.

The shelf labeled [Fire Life Herbs] seemed straight forward but even a cursory glance showed him massive variances from one plant to the next.

Ferns were generally considered a simpler plant that nurtured herbs but here there was an entire fern as an herb ingredient! It also had a mix of Life Mystery energy with a kind of fire Daos and Laws that were not simple!

He simply started at one end of the shelves and worked his way down. He exhausted himself every day and cultivated every night to start again. It became almost monotonous if not for the subject of his study drastically changing each time.

About 7 years in, he had a breakthrough.

The previous research suddenly became clear in his mind and he was able to decipher the new herbs via parallel comparison and some simple testing going forward but he still had the majority of them to go.

Finally, after 15 long years of study, he had grasped the essentials of identifying the herbs. At the Divine Realm, such time was trivial but requiring it for just herbs showed how terrifyingly profound the plants were.

For the Eternal Slumber Elixir, he just needed 4 but to find them took him all those 15 years as well as it was the final shelf for the last ingredient!

He had the 3 beast cores, elemental crystals, Divine Qi stones, and now 4 herbs on the dark wooden table next to the concoction cauldron.

The herbs in question were not the most difficult but unlike the cores and crystals, their elements varied.

Fire Blossom Mue was a flower with extremely dark stems that brought out the nearly blinding petals on them. Even plucked, they flickered like a flame to his senses, not just his eyes.

Yet, despite seeming alive, the Death Mystery energy was laced in it deeply.

The next was a putrid green mushroom but it had the name of Piercing Wind Shitake. It was an edible herb that looked horrible but did wonders for circulation or digestion like its common counterpart, but it also greatly enhanced Life Mystery energy combined with flying or Air Arts.

Why it looked like death warmed over, he had no idea but the contrast of death with beauty and life with ugliness might not be coincidence.

The third herb looked almost like wheat but was far from edible. It was a Gravity Eater Stalk. It actually consumed gravity like a sponge if unsealed from a ribbon seal placed on it. Just what kind of environment allowed it to exist?

It was a mix of Life and Samsara Mysteries partially. Such a unique herb was one of the first he identified correctly. Still, it was part of a shelf of extreme herbs like itself.

The final one was the most annoying to find. It was a set of grass herbs but there were a lot that looked alike!

It was the Shallow Light Blades. The odd name made him struggle as what did shallow mean in regards to light? It was only when he finally found it that it made sense. The dark green grass blades refracted light just inside the surface.

They then siphoned the power and broke down the light Qi via Death and Samsara Mysteries!

He actually felt a sense of disquiet just holding them in his hands unlike the other 3. Even the Gravity Eater Stalk did not disturb him as much as those 4 grass blades.

Just realizing he had 30 years left made him contemplate the cost of failure. He had a far better grasp for the next elixirs yet it might still take over a year to confirm each one as he had not identified them that specifically without deeper testing.

Lind sighed and infused his aura into the tools. They would help carry the load of his powers so he would do far better than in the maze where he did it all with his Mysteries and other energies alone.

The hearth lit with a profound flame but it felt inferior to his Origin Flame. He frowned and doused it. Fire was not that taxing.

He conjured the Origin Water to fill the cauldron and began the process. The first steps were normal as he extracted the essence and aspects of the elemental crystals and Divine Qi stones.

The charged liquid shimmered before he began the first hurdle. Unlike before where he did the Mystery energy at the end, he had to infuse it at the beginning following clear steps. Life, Death, and Samsara energy faintly flowed into the water and changed it drastically.

He was amazed to see the initial liquid he had always made transform into a pseudo-elixir unto itself. The cauldron was also clearly far superior to even the jar he had created as it was hardly fussed by the powerful liquid inside it.

Lind continued fusing his Mysteries for the next week solid per the instruction before a final change came to the liquid. It was always mostly blue before but now it became a murky black with flashes of gold and silver.

It was a success but he had been most confident on that step. The next one was the start of his headaches.

While now simmering the cauldron, he had to begin to prepare the 3 beast cores. Rather than simply extract them, he had to apply his Mysteries to charge each core for the recipe.

The Silent Flood Dragon Core was the easiest once more. He had to infuse his Samsara Mysteries into it and the murky cloud inside now actually seemed similar to his cauldron.

The other 2 each got Life and Death Mysteries applied in a similar fashion. Sweat was starting to form heavily on his body but it was the precision more than the energy expenditure than anything else.

Now that the cores were charged with his Mystery energy, he carefully hovered them over the open cauldron and dropped them together into it. A violent reaction followed but he had expected it.

Unlike other beast cores, Divine Realm beasts lingered their final moments on their cores. Only a Divine Realm cultivator could contain their power.

The extraction process was like moving mountains! The shells resisted his attempts to shatter them but the cauldron liquid came to his aid. Internally and externally, his Mystery energies resonated and the cores shattered in the end.

He felt immense relief as many warnings came if all 3 did not extract near the same time. The pressure on his dantian lessened as the remainder of the process was easier and familiar.

Still, he saw the changes in the essence and aspects. Even the Daos and Laws were not as he expected and he realized his Mysteries had changed them to be more compatible with the elixir recipe.

He took an elixir to help him recover, his newly made one in fact, and felt power flood his body quickly. He glanced up and discovered a whole year had passed!

That worried him as relatively speaking, the beast cores were the easier step once more compared to the next 4.

Unlike the cores, the herbs had to be done one at a time.

They also had their own preparation steps too. Initially similar, he began to charge them with his Mysteries but unlike the cores, he had to adjust for each herb individually.

Fire Blossom Mue did not get his Death Mysteries but his Samsara Mysteries. It shifted the stem from pure black to a dark gray. The petals actually became even more vibrant.

The extraction was far easier at the start but separating the aspects, Laws, and Daos were like he was a fumbling child. He kept feeling like the pieces wanted to slip away in the liquid entirely before he could correctly prepare them.

Eventually he succeeded but another 5 months had passed! The recipe had no time frame but a feeling of risk entered him. His instincts warned him he was running out of time!

The other 3 herbs were a bit easier after the first experience save 1 part. The Shallow Light Blade grass resisted his energies! It was the final herb and refused to take in anything it did not want!

He was supposed to add Life Mystery energy but it was like pushing a marble through a straw! His energy was too thick to pierce the filter!

It took nearly a year to succeed and he felt like the concoction was about to be ruined!

He quickly added the grass and the vibrant power returned as he extracted the blades. Time passed and the liquid took on a strange feeling.

He felt like his soul was slowing down just looking at it and a desire to close his eyes was so strong that only when his emerald harmony suddenly encased his body did he snap out of it!

He nearly faltered at the last step and the final warning came back to him. [Do not keep aura in the mixture and judge only by eyesight when completed.]

Lind had been so used to examining his elixirs that instinct took over after going for so long and nearly messed up if not for his harmony reacting to an invasion of his body. The elixir nearly put him out without entering his body!

The color shifted to mostly dark with streams of gold and silver dancing between azure, tan, and light Qi swirling in profound patterns.

The cauldron finally began to strain as the elixir condensed and Lind felt it complete with a thud. He quickly arranged 6 provided crystal vials.

He drained the cauldron and then sealed the vials with corks and activated their inscribed formations.

It was only then that he dared relax. He placed the set into a pedestal near the back of the room and waited.

He evaluated and realized he was at the halfway point. He had spent 25 years to make a single elixir! He hoped he could speed it up, obviously but it would be close.

A green light made him look up at the results.

{Eternal Slumber Elixir Success!}

{Quality: low mid Divine Grade}

{Process: Acceptable}

The 3 lines were unexpected but while the first 2 pleased him, the final one made him go cold. He had not been wrong. Time was a danger.

He sighed and prepared for the next elixir. He had a long way to go!