Zhang Yang gritted his teeth fiercely, wiping the tears from his eyes. What the Golden Three-Eyed Beast said was absolutely true: once one reached Great Perfection, consuming the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach would lift all physical limitations, granting a body of unparalleled strength. However, the Old Master’s body was failing rapidly; feeding him the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach directly would inevitably lead to disaster, as he couldn't withstand the immense medicinal potency. Refining it into a pill was the safest route!

Yet, the Medical Saint Zhang Family's utmost skill in refining spiritual medicine only ever produced Spirit Pills. The Golden Three-Eyed Beast, however, spoke of refining an Immortal Pill. Tears welled in Zhang Yang’s eyes as he looked towards the crystal-clear peach held in Master Shi Ming’s hand.

In Master Shi Ming’s palm, the utterly transparent peach seemed to possess a life of its own, trembling slightly. Could it be that this peach could be refined into an Immortal Pill?

“Yangyang, don’t, don’t waste it…”

The Old Master weakly shook his head. He did not wish to squander this hard-won peach on himself. Under severe injury, he had forcibly channeled the energy of heaven and earth; his body was collapsing because it could no longer sustain the backlash of that energy. It was certain death within three months.

“Old Master, you don't need to say another word. I will return to the Long Family immediately to refine the peach!”

Zhang Yang instantly stopped the Old Master from continuing. He had already made up his mind: the peach would be used for alchemy.

“Donor Zhang is a heaven-gifted genius; you will surely succeed in refining an Immortal Pill from this Ten-Thousand-Year Peach. Layman Zhang, you must not overexert yourself.”

Master Shi Ming approached, handing the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach to Zhang Yang, then turned to address Zhang Pinglu.

“Master Shi Ming, accept this bow from Zhang Yang.”

Taking the peach, Zhang Yang bent deeply, performing a full kowtow to Master Shi Ming.

Master Shi Ming was the only Great Perfection expert present who bore no injuries. If he had harbored selfish intent and refused to hand over the peach to swallow it whole, no one could have faulted him. Yet, Master Shi Ming had produced the peach with startling decisiveness, showing not a shred of reluctance.

This bow was deserved, both in propriety and sentiment, for the service rendered by Master Shi Ming.

“Donor Zhang, you must not!”

Master Shi Ming was taken aback by Zhang Yang’s action and hurried forward to steady him. “Layman Zhang is gravely injured. Donor Zhang should return quickly to refine this Immortal Pill and save a life. I will ensure Layman Long and Layman Zhang are safely returned to the Long Family Palace. Please rest assured, Donor Zhang.”

“Zhui Feng!”

Zhang Yang nodded without further hesitation and immediately mounted Zhui Feng, rushing ahead to return to the Long Family Palace.

Emerging from the underground, back onto the Long Family Plain, Zhang Yang saw Long Feng and Qiao Yihong leading the Long Family disciples in an orderly search for heavenly materials and earthly treasures across the plain.

Even his maternal grandfather, Zhang Daofeng, and his maternal uncle, Zhang Yunan, couldn't resist leaving the palace to join the search for treasures scattered across the Long Family Plain.

“Brother Zhang!”

Long Feng’s face broke into a wide smile upon seeing Zhang Yang return on Zhui Feng. But then he noticed Zhang Yang was alone.

“Long Feng, quickly dispatch men to that grove to retrieve the Old Master and the others.”

Zhang Yang’s face was etched with anxiety. He spoke briefly before commanding Long Feng, “Prepare an absolutely quiet, secluded chamber immediately. I need to concoct medicine. No one must disturb me.”

Long Feng paused. He rarely saw Zhang Yang this anxious, instantly realizing something monumental had occurred. He nodded and replied, “The place where our Long Family Great Perfection experts used to cultivate in seclusion is absolutely quiet and undisturbed. Brother Zhang, follow me!”

“Yangyang, have you brought the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach back?”

As Long Feng was leading Zhang Yang back towards the Long Family Palace, they ran right into Grandfather Zhang Daofeng and Uncle Zhang Yunan, who were returning laden with spoils.

Only seeing Zhang Yang and Zhui Feng, Grandfather Zhang Daofeng paused before continuing, “Where is the Old Master and the others?”

“Saintess Flower, Thousand-Year Snake Tendon Grass… And look, the Six-Thousand-Year Tricolor Fruit!”

Zhang Yang had no time to answer Zhang Daofeng, but upon seeing the heavenly materials held by Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yunan, he suddenly became excited.

The Saintess Flower and the Thousand-Year Snake Tendon Grass were extremely rare spiritual medicinal ingredients. It was questionable whether the Long Family’s pharmacy even stocked these two items. Furthermore, these herbs were rich in spiritual energy, their medicinal properties several times stronger than those usually found elsewhere.

As for the Six-Thousand-Year Tricolor Fruit, it was even rarer. This was not the kind of Tricolor Fruit Zhang Yang had previously obtained which only bore fruit once. This one had matured four times, reaching an age of six thousand years. If this fruit were given three more chances to mature, it would become a Seven-Color Immortal Fruit, comparable to the Peach itself, with an age exceeding ten thousand years.

Truly, being descendants of the Medical Saint Zhang Family, they had managed to recover only prime-grade spiritual medicines!

“Excellent! Grandfather, Uncle, these spiritual medicines are precisely what I need to compound with the Peach.”

Seeing these precious herbs, the gloom lifted slightly from Zhang Yang’s heart. With such invaluable ingredients as supporting agents, the chance of successfully refining the Peach would surely increase.

“What on earth happened?”

Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yunan exchanged puzzled glances.

“Grandfather, Uncle, please guard me while I work. I will explain everything later!”

Seeing so many rare medicinal herbs, Zhang Yang felt a surge of confidence in refining the Peach; he could hardly wait.

“Alright.”

Grandfather Zhang Daofeng and Uncle Zhang Yunan sensed the gravity of the situation and said no more. They followed Zhang Yang immediately to the quiet chamber where Old Ghost Long had previously cultivated.

After Long Feng led Zhang Yang and the others to the quiet room, he followed Zhang Yang’s instructions to go retrieve the Old Master and the others from below. The Golden Three-Eyed Spirit Beast, having taken the Fetal Protection Elixir, could also leave the underground; Long Feng needed to arrange transport for all of them. Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yunan remained outside the chamber to guard Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang walked into the chamber alone, taking a deep breath to calm the anxiety that had plagued him.

This was the place where Old Ghost Long had meditated in seclusion; no one dared to enter without his permission. Zhang Yang chose this place, and with Zhang Daofeng and Zhang Yunan personally standing guard outside, no one would dare approach.

Opening the box, Zhang Yang gazed at the crystal-clear peach inside, forcing himself to remain calm.

There was no existing prescription in either the Long Family or the Zhang Family archives for compounding the spiritual medicine from the Peach. A peach that required ten thousand years to mature was simply too rare; the only recorded instance involved direct consumption, with no precedent for medicinal refinement.

Without a formula, relying entirely on self-discovery to compound the medicine from the Peach was a gamble, but it was a risk he had to take. Therefore, Zhang Yang needed to maintain a clear, calm state of mind to maximize his chances of success.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang’s comprehension of the Way of Nature was profoundly deep. He quickly reached a state of self-forgetfulness, his eyes seeing only the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach.

Taking another deep breath, Zhang Yang hesitated no longer, carefully lifting the peach. This peach, having matured over ten millennia, seemed to pulse and tremble like a tiny spirit, suddenly giving Zhang Yang a pang of reluctance.

Could this Peach have also attained sentience?

The thought flashed through Zhang Yang’s mind, but he immediately shook his head. Spiritual objects achieving consciousness belonged only to myth; it had never occurred in reality.

Holding the peach, Zhang Yang glanced at the nearby medicine furnace and the pile of supporting herbs.

Without a prescription, not knowing how to add the auxiliary ingredients meant this entire compounding process relied solely on Zhang Yang’s intuition. This carried immense risk. If he were not a man who had lived two lives, possessing profound knowledge of the Zhang Family's compounding arts, he would never dare take such a chance.

Kindle the fire, warm the furnace.

Yellow flames instantly materialized within the medicine furnace. This furnace had been given to Zhang Yang by Zhang Pinglu; it was an ancestral treasure of the Zhang Family, forged from refined Golden Tungsten Steel and extraterrestrial meteorite ore. The ancestors of the Zhang Family had specifically commissioned the Tang Family to undertake the forging.

This furnace was not ranked among the Divine Armaments, but its toughness was certainly on par with many higher-ranked divine weapons.

The flame slowly intensified, and Zhang Yang cast aside all extraneous thoughts. His focus was solely on the furnace before him. A single moment of distraction during the compounding process could lead to failure—let alone attempting a refinement without a formula, on a medicine never before processed.

“The heat is right!”

Sensing the temperature, Zhang Yang’s eyes flashed brightly. He tossed the peach into the furnace without the slightest hesitation.

As the peach entered the crucible, Zhang Yang condensed all his consciousness onto that small medicine furnace.

“Fuling, Huang Song!”

Two minutes later, two words escaped Zhang Yang’s lips, and simultaneously, his right hand darted out, grabbing and tossing two auxiliary herbs directly into the furnace.

The various medicinal formulas of the Zhang Family ancestors were all derived through their own continuous observation of the spiritual medicine’s changes during compounding, supplemented by other agents.

This process of change was immensely complex, involving not just minute fluctuations in temperature and potency, but also the constant interaction of the five elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—in cycles of generation and restraint. Any single error would render all previous effort moot.

It was for this very reason that the Zhang Family’s prescriptions were so precious and rare.

Though Zhang Yang had not fully recovered his strength, his understanding of medicinal properties and his compounding experience already surpassed any of his Zhang Family ancestors. Most importantly, his mastery over the Way of Nature was supreme. Since the Peach was a spiritual treasure imbued with potent natural laws, having him compound it was the most suitable choice.

As the two supporting herbs entered, the furnace immediately underwent a change.

The turbulence and searing heat generated by the flames, which had been assaulting the peach, instantly softened.

Zhang Yang breathed a small sigh of relief. This meant his choice of auxiliary ingredients was correct, the dosage was appropriate, and his compounding steps thus far were sound.

The quiet chamber held only Zhang Yang. If anyone else had been present, they would likely have winced at the quality of the supporting herbs he was discarding.

The Fuling Zhang Yang threw in was Thousand-Year Jade Fuling, and the Huang Song was also a heavenly treasure grown for over two thousand years. The Peach truly lived up to its name; even its supporting ingredients for compounding were heavenly treasures exceeding a millennium in age.

These were gathered from the combined stockpiles of the Zhang and Long Families, augmented by the heavenly materials scattered across the Long Family Plain when the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach matured. Only then did Zhang Yang possess enough high-grade supporting agents to compound the Peach elixir. (To be continued) No Pop-up Novel Network