novelraw Chapter 582: Refining the Longevity Potion
Chapter 582: Refining the Longevity Potion
Chapter 582: Refining the Longevity Potion
Fifty years later.
Jie Ming set down the “Principles of Soul Solidification” in his hands and rubbed his temples.
The complexity of the Longevity Potion was even higher than he had anticipated.
The bodily aspect was manageable; he already had foundations in cytology, histology, and organology.
But the soul aspect was difficult.
Soul solidification, spiritual sea stabilization, the connection between consciousness and body…
Each of these branches of knowledge was enough for an ordinary person to study for an entire lifetime.
“However, I have now grasped these fundamentals preliminarily. Next, I can try using an Entropy Brain.”
Jie Ming picked up a pale blue crystal from the side, examined it for a few seconds, then pressed it against the center of his brow. Points of light surged in.
The knowledge he had absorbed but not yet fully digested began to automatically sort and file itself.
Half an hour later, Jie Ming opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.
Various pieces of knowledge formed connections with one another, and even linked with the knowledge he had previously obtained from the Information Plane. This allowed him to quickly grasp the overall structure and veins of the entire knowledge system.
This thing was truly a cheating artifact.
“It’s about time to attempt actual practice…”
Jie Ming stretched, then sent a message to the Black Giant priests below through the magic network terminal.
A few minutes later, Jie Ming stood before the experimental bench. On the metal platform in front of him were seventy-three types of materials neatly arranged.
“Are they all ready?”
He asked without turning his head.
A Black Giant priest behind him bowed and replied, “Everything has been prepared according to the list you provided. Each material has undergone three verifications, and the purity meets the standards.”
Jie Ming nodded, his gaze sweeping over the materials.
Dried petals of the Longevity Flower, pale gold in color, emitting faint soul fluctuations.
The rootstalk of the Soul Condensing Grass, which had to be cut with a wooden knife to preserve its activity.
Powder of Solidification Crystal, ground to the nanometer level, used to stabilize structures.
And extracts from the glands of seventeen different creatures, each representing a specific biological function—metabolism, division, energy conversion, information transmission…
Jie Ming took a deep breath.
He had prepared for this day for a full fifty years.
Although the first phase of the Dao Soldier System project was not yet complete, he felt that his knowledge reserves were sufficient.
He knew the refining method for the Longevity Potion by heart.
The theories regarding body, soul, and elemental balance were already deeply ingrained in his mind.
It was time to take action.
“Withdraw. No one is allowed to disturb me.”
The Black Giant priest retreated outside the door, and the heavy metal door closed silently.
Only Jie Ming remained inside the laboratory.
He raised his hand and drew a line in the air. A pale golden light shield enveloped the entire laboratory, isolating sound, blocking energy fluctuations, and preventing any accidental explosions from harming the outside.
Then, he walked to the experimental bench and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his eyes were filled with clarity.
“Begin.”
He raised his right hand, and his index finger gently touched the petals of the Longevity Flower.
Spiritual power probed inward.
The petals slowly floated into the air.
Jie Ming’s spiritual power formed a precise net that enveloped all the petals, then rearranged their internal structures according to a specific sequence.
“The essence of living beings is the aggregation of matter and energy.”
He murmured to himself, his voice echoing in the empty laboratory.
“And the carrier of matter and energy is the element.”
His left hand rose, and the rootstalk of the Soul Condensing Grass also slowly floated up.
After being permeated by spiritual power, its internal structure was laid bare.
Under Jie Ming’s control, the floating petals and rootstalk began to “fuse.”
But fusion was not simple mixing.
Jie Ming’s spiritual power acted like an invisible carving knife, inscribing specific runes onto every cell of these plants.
Those runes controlled the way the cells connected, controlled what kind of structure they would form after combining, and ultimately what kind of effect they would produce.
Essentially, he was treating the two materials in the same way one would refine a wizard artifact.
The Longevity Flower provided the characteristic of “longevity”—the limit of cell division was extended indefinitely, and DNA replication would not produce errors. The Soul Condensing Grass provided the characteristic of “stability”—the soul would not decay, and consciousness would not fall into chaos.
The two characteristics had to combine perfectly to form the foundational framework of the Longevity Potion.
Fine beads of sweat seeped out on Jie Ming’s forehead.
This level of operation consumed an astonishing amount of spiritual power and computational power.
If not for the assistance of the Fate Subsystem, he would not have been able to last even three minutes.
Golden light flickered at the center of his brow as the Fate Subsystem operated at full capacity.
Massive computational tasks were diverted, processed, and optimized.
The connection methods between those points of light underwent tens of thousands of micro-adjustments every second.
Time passed minute by minute.
When the two masses of material completely fused into a single ball of pale golden light, Jie Ming finally let out a breath of relief.
The first step was complete.
He did not rest, immediately beginning the second step.
The seventeen types of glandular extracts rose into the air at the same time, floating around the ball of pale golden light.
These extracts came from different creatures: some from a lizard capable of limb regeneration, some from a turtle species with a lifespan exceeding a thousand years, and some from a microorganism that could resist extreme environments.
Each extract represented a “biological function.”
Jie Ming’s spiritual power split into seventeen strands, probing into each extract simultaneously.
“The essence of the Longevity Potion is not a magic potion, but a wizard artifact that can continuously exert its effect after combining with the human body.”
Jie Ming recalled the definition of the Longevity Potion in his mind: “Therefore, although it is called a ‘potion,’ it does not belong to potionology but to alchemy. After a user consumes the Longevity Potion, it is equivalent to undergoing a biochemical modification, allowing the consuming organism to gain the functions of these materials.”
His spirit carried a trace of fatigue, but his hands did not stop moving.
“Direct transplantation of these glands would trigger rejection. They must be transformed into actual rune structures that can continuously exert their effects.”
The seventeen extracts simultaneously turned into points of light. Under the influence of spiritual power, each point had its original biological imprint stripped away, leaving only the core “functional elemental structure.”
Then, Jie Ming began integrating the rune structures converted from these core elemental constructs into the pale golden foundational framework.
This fusion was several times more difficult than the first step.
Each function had its own unique frequency and specific mode of operation.
After entering the foundational framework, they had to find suitable positions, had to coexist harmoniously with their neighbors, and could not conflict with or interfere with one another.
Jie Ming felt as if he were building an extremely precise block castle.
Every block had to be placed in the correct position, and every layer of structure had to align perfectly.
If even the slightest misalignment occurred, the entire castle would collapse.
The load rate of the Fate Subsystem rose sharply.
71.7%… 78%… 85%…
Time seemed to freeze.
After an unknown period, when the final functional point of light merged into the framework, the ball of pale golden light suddenly began to tremble violently.
Jie Ming’s heart jolted.
Not good!
He reacted instantly—the balance between the functions had been broken.
The function that had been integrated last had conflicted with one of the earlier functions, causing the entire structure to begin collapsing.
“Damn it!”
Jie Ming unhesitatingly pushed the Fate Subsystem to its maximum power.
At the same time, spiritual power surged wildly, forcibly isolating the two conflicting functions.
This was an extremely crude method that would waste a large amount of materials, but at this moment, it was the only solution.
The massive influx of spiritual power temporarily stabilized the ball of light.
Jie Ming seized this precious instant. His spiritual power transformed into countless fine threads, weaving isolation layers between the two conflicting functions. Those isolation layers were composed of pure spiritual power and could temporarily block their mutual influence.
Then, he began fine-tuning.
The frequencies of the two functions were repeatedly adjusted until they no longer interfered with each other and instead began to produce faint resonance.
When the resonance reached a certain critical point…
Boom!
The ball of light suddenly expanded violently, then contracted sharply.
Jie Ming widened his eyes.
Success?
The light dissipated, and a pill the size of a dragon’s eye floated in the air.
It was pale gold all over, with faint flowing light patterns on its surface. Vaguely visible inside were countless intricate structures slowly operating.
Longevity Potion.
Jie Ming reached out and caught it, feeling the warm sensation in his palm. The corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.
“It’s done…”
Although this thing could be considered a defective product—because a large amount of material had been wasted during the refining process, its effect could only last for three hundred years—it had, in the end, been completed.
Fifty years of study had finally borne fruit in this moment.
But before he could rejoice for long, a violent tremor suddenly came from deep within his spiritual sea.
Jie Ming’s expression changed. He immediately looked inward.
Inside his spiritual sea, the Ring of Truth was operating frantically.
The three models representing the core spells—the All-Purpose Eye, Alchemy Technique, and Extraction Technique—were all trembling violently.
Among them, the model representing Alchemy Technique suddenly began to disintegrate.
Jie Ming’s pupils contracted slightly.
No, it was not disintegrating—it was “reorganizing.”
The runes that formed the model peeled off one by one, wandering throughout the Ring of Truth.
They collided and fused with other runes in the Ring of Truth, then returned to their original positions, recombining into new structures.
The entire process lasted a full quarter of an hour.
When everything returned to calm, Jie Ming discovered that his Alchemy Technique model had completely changed.
It had become more complex, more precise, and more agile.
What had once been a fixed sequence of runes now resembled a living entity, slowly breathing within the Ring of Truth. With every breath, it exhaled and inhaled massive amounts of spiritual power.
“This is…”
A wave of enlightenment surged in Jie Ming’s heart.
His Alchemy Technique had advanced.
From ordinary Alchemy Technique to true “Life Creation Art.”
“It succeeded just like that?”
Jie Ming couldn’t wait to test his new ability.
His gaze swept across the laboratory and finally landed on a metal ingot in the corner.
It was ordinary metal material used for daily experiments.
Jie Ming pointed with his finger.
Spiritual power surged out, and the iron ingot was instantly enveloped in a ball of light.
Under the effect of spiritual power, the iron ingot began to deform.
Its atomic structure was forcibly altered, basic elements were rearranged, and various organic compounds were created.
Proteins, fats, sugars, cell membranes…
A few seconds later, the light dissipated.
The iron ingot had disappeared, replaced by a fist-sized lump of flesh.
Red muscle tissue, white fat marbling, and even a faint bloody scent.
Jie Ming leaned in for a closer look, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
But before he could feel happy for long, the lump of flesh began to collapse.
The muscle tissue lost its elasticity at a visible rate, the fat began to liquefy, and the entire lump rapidly sank into a pool of turbid liquid as if doused with concentrated sulfuric acid.
Jie Ming was stunned for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.
“Alright, although the Alchemy Technique has evolved, my own skill level is still a bit lacking…”
The reason for the flesh collapse was simple: structural instability.
Those cells had not formed complete tissue architecture, and those tissues had not formed complete organ systems.
They had merely been crudely piled together and possessed no vitality at all.
“But the direction is correct.”
Jie Ming looked at the pool of liquid, excitement instead flashing in his eyes.
The new Alchemy Technique could indeed create living matter.
He was simply not yet proficient, and his knowledge still had gaps.
But as long as he continued studying and researching, one day he would be able to truly create life.
Real life.
Jie Ming withdrew his gaze and looked down at the Longevity Potion in his hand.
The pale golden pill lay quietly in his palm, warm and steady.
He smiled, stored the pill in a container, and turned to walk out of the laboratory.