I Tame Beasts by Feeding

A silent wind blew, sweeping gently past Elder Wei’s eyes—eyes clouded with age and worldly weariness. It was an endless wind, one that seemed to have blown since before the dawn of history, carrying the weight of ages as it softly lifted a few strands of his graying hair.

Elder Wei’s aged voice joined the whisper of the wind. It carried the faint aura of his twilight years, yet also a profound fearlessness. He spoke softly, letting the wind carry his words where it may.

"What does it matter? As you said, a hundred years is but a fleeting moment of brilliance. This world belongs to the younger generation. As for the future... one must accept the decree of fate. Who can say for certain what it holds...?"

The Profound Turtle focused its gaze, staring intently at Elder Wei. As if sensing its stare, Elder Wei turned his head slightly. A peculiar look and a smile appeared on his ruddy face as he continued to speak:

"The years are so long. No matter what happens later, for now at least, my Dao is not a lonely one. That’s enough. I can accompany Changsheng a little further on his path and still be of some use. That is enough.

Once he reaches the Golden Core realm... there’s still a ways to go after that. I can help him for a part of it. The rest of the journey, through blizzards and blazing sun, he’ll have to brave on his own."

The Profound Turtle was surprised to hear this. It gave Elder Wei a deep look and, after a moment of silence, asked again:

"Are you saying..."

"Yes." Elder Wei nodded gently and let out a long breath, a smile returning to his face. "In my younger years out in the world, I met quite a few people. Among them were some from those lofty Holy Lands..."

"Later, after Changsheng forges his Heavenly Dao Golden Core, if he’s willing..."

At this, Elder Wei shook his head and didn’t continue. The Profound Turtle remained silent, its beastly eyes flickering. After a long while, it sighed and said:

"Since someone from a Holy Land owes you a favor, if you could swallow your pride, it wouldn’t be impossible to ask for a Holy Medicine to extend your life. Why give this opportunity to your disciple instead?"

Elder Wei just smiled at its words, his expression unchanging. He said softly, "The Wanxiang Sect is too small. As his master, I must always think ahead for him..."

"Fine." The Profound Turtle said no more. They had known each other for so long; it could only respect Elder Wei’s decision.

"Indeed." Elder Wei clearly didn’t want to linger on the topic. He turned his head, his gaze distant as he looked toward the far-off sky. Clasping his hands behind his back, his expression suddenly tensed, and he said abruptly:

"Tell me... do you think my first disciple, the one with such overflowing talent... could he also have survived...?"

The Profound Turtle was stunned... speechless for a long, long time...

After quite a while, a voice drifted on the wind.

"Who knows..."

"Perhaps it doesn’t even matter anymore..."

...

Yu Changsheng knew nothing of the conversation that followed between the Profound Turtle and Elder Wei. After leaving the Beast Garden, he went straight to Yang Tianyi’s residence.

He made his way there without issue and saw Yang Tianyi in the middle of his Alchemy. Yu Changsheng didn’t disturb him, watching quietly from the side. Only after Yang Tianyi finished did he respectfully approach and gently wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"You’re back? From now on, tell me before you go anywhere. It’s for the best that nothing unexpected happened on this trip to Huishui Mountain. If anything had gone wrong, an Alchemy Dao genius would have been lost, and I would have been heartbroken."

Yang Tianyi put away the Elixir, turned to Yu Changsheng, and smiled faintly. His tone was teasing, but the concern within it was genuine.

Yu Changsheng’s heart warmed at his words. He chuckled and nodded. "Okay. Thank you for your concern, Elder. I’ll be more careful from now on."

"It’s not that I’m against you going out to train. It’s just that next time something like this comes up, tell me beforehand. I can’t do much else, but I do have some life-saving Elixirs. They might just save you in a critical moment."

Yang Tianyi nodded in satisfaction, chuckled, and clapped Yu Changsheng on the shoulder. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he said with a smile:

"But it looks like you gained quite a lot from this trip to Huishui Mountain. Your Cultivation isn’t far from the Golden Core realm, and even I can’t see through the state of your Divine Soul and physical body anymore."

"There were some complications, but I also had a fortuitous encounter." Yu Changsheng gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head.

"As long as you have it under control, that’s what matters." Although Yang Tianyi was curious about the details, he didn’t press for them, merely suppressing his surprise as he spoke.

"Mhm. Actually, after returning from Huishui Mountain this time, there’s something I need to ask of you... I might have to trouble you, Elder."

Yu Changsheng nodded obediently, a slightly awkward look on his face.

"You want me to refine the Solidification Pill for Zhang Tianwen, don’t you?" Yang Tianyi said before Yu Changsheng could even speak, looking at him with a knowing smile.

Apparently, Yang Tianyi had already learned from others what had happened to Zhang Tianwen’s group at Huishui Mountain.

"As expected, nothing gets past you, Elder." Yu Changsheng chuckled, no longer embarrassed, and nodded.

"Fine. Even if you hadn’t asked, I would have done it anyway. In the end, the only reason I haven’t refined it before is because the main ingredient, the Nascent Building Grass, is simply too rare, and I didn’t have any. Now that you’ve found it, I have no reason to refuse."

Yang Tianyi said slowly, letting out a soft breath.

"Even if you hadn’t brought it up, Peak Master Mo would have come knocking to ask me. So there’s really no reason to refuse. In fact, over the years, Mo Pengchen has had me refine far too many Elixirs for that disciple of his."

Pausing for a moment, Yang Tianyi let out a soft sigh.

"Hopefully, this Solidification Pill can help him fully restore his Eighth-Layer Spirit Platform. If not, his only other choice will be to undergo Core Formation with a Seventh-Layer Spirit Platform. His future achievements would be limited by that."