652: Chapter 652 is gone.

The essence of taisui is poisonous!

This is common knowledge, but everyone subconsciously ignores this point, or rather, when they decide to consume it, they have already decided to bear its inherent toxicity.

Extending one's Lifespan by fifty percent—if something capable of such miraculous effects had absolutely no side effects, it wouldn't be at its current price.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, please do not joke. This old man does not have much Lifespan left, and I am only able to continue lingering on thanks to being valued by Great Sage Taisui."

Demon Saint Xuanyu's expression tightened, and he said indifferently: "I will pretend I never heard that last remark. Do not make things difficult for me!"

Speaking to the end, the old man's tone was somewhat serious, carrying a hint of a warning.

Demon Saint Xuanyu only felt tempted for a fleeting moment before dismissing the idea of believing Liu Xuan.

He certainly did not believe it! Great Sage Taisui is a top-tier expert of the Yao Race in the current world, at the Late Stage or even Peak of Soul Transformation, and in terms of Lifespan, he has lived for over twenty thousand years, making him a living fossil of the Cultivation World.

If the toxicity contained in the essence of taisui could be solved, why would the Dao Court list it as a forbidden item?

Taking a step back, even if Liu Xuan could truly eliminate the toxicity of the essence of taisui, the life-extension effect and the toxicity are intertwined and coexistent. If Liu Xuan were to neutralize the poison while also neutralizing the life-extension effect, how many more years could he live?

Demon Saint Xuanyu dared not gamble. As long as he follows Great Sage Taisui faithfully and consumes enough essence of taisui, he can live for nearly another five thousand years at most.

Even if Liu Xuan truly had a method to detoxify, if he were to be loathed by Great Sage Taisui because of it, not only would he have few years left to live, but there would also be no place for him in the entire Southern Border.

"Do not be in such a hurry to refuse. Let me show you something." Liu Xuan had anticipated Demon Saint Xuanyu's reaction. He took out a strange Medicinal Pill, half black and half white, and handed it over.

"This is the Black-White Life-Death Pill. It has two effects: soul-extinguishing and life-extending, existing only in a single thought. It can harmlessly destroy the vitality hidden within your Divine Soul by the essence of taisui."

A flash of brilliance passed through Demon Saint Xuanyu's pupils. Liu Xuan had not consumed the essence of taisui, yet he knew about the vitality hidden in his Divine Soul. While this didn't prove much, it at least showed that Liu Xuan wasn't just trying to swindle him without any knowledge.

Seeing him holding the Medicinal Pill but not daring to consume it, Liu Xuan smiled and said: "I can understand your fear of gambling; after all, you only have one life."

"Consider this pill a gift. When you one day feel that you can no longer get by under Great Sage Taisui, it will not be too late to try it."

"Rest assured, this pill is only of the third grade. Even if it were poisonous, it wouldn't be fatal, and if it aroused the suspicion of Great Sage Taisui, you could easily find an excuse to brush it off. It is equivalent to having an extra choice from now on; no matter how you calculate it, you won't be at a loss!"

After hearing Liu Xuan's explanation, Demon Saint Xuanyu did not consume the Black-White Life-Death Pill, nor was he in a hurry to put it away. Instead, he frowned and asked: "Why are you helping me, and what do you want to get from me?"

Demon Saint Xuanyu considered himself to have no friendship with Liu Xuan, and there was even some enmity back then because of the Peach Blossom Demon Saint.

If the Black-White Life-Death Pill could truly remove the toxicity of the essence of taisui, he did not believe Liu Xuan would help him for no reason.

"Just a spare move. It's not really helping you, nor is there any specific goal!"

Liu Xuan said casually: "I don't need you to do anything for the time being. If there are any major changes on Great Sage Taisui's side, just let me know in advance."

Currently, turning Demon Saint Xuanyu against him was of little significance. If Great Sage Taisui were to notice, it might even have the opposite effect and bring about greater trouble.

Liu Xuan had carefully studied the essence of taisui. It contained the Law of Divine Soul and the Law of Life; this thing was essentially alive!

Similar to the Puppet Gu that Liu Xuan possessed, once a Cultivator consumes the essence of taisui, they will coexist with the heterogeneous Divine Soul within it. The difference is that Great Sage Taisui cannot control those who consume the essence of taisui like Puppets; he can only control their life and death.

Lifespan and Divine Soul are highly unified. The half of the Lifespan extended by consuming the essence of taisui is not actually their own; it is something Great Sage Taisui has bestowed upon their Divine Soul.

This bestowal comes with two serious costs. First, the Divine Soul will be slowly eroded, gradually losing its sense of self. Second, something many people do not know is that their path to the Dao is locked; to break through, one must not only have talent but also consume enough essence of taisui.

Many Cultivators nearing the end of their Lifespan attempt to use this extended Lifespan to impact the Bottleneck of a major Realm, not knowing that this path is not as simple as they imagine.

The essence of taisui contains the fused Great Dao Laws of Divine Soul and Life, which is almost unsolvable. After the consumer dies, the essence of taisui contained in their body returns to Great Sage Taisui, which is equivalent to him being able to control a large number of loyal subordinates without any loss.

Unsolvable to others, it is actually very simple for Liu Xuan. He had tried it: by drawing out a trace of Wither-Prosper Life-Death Qi, he could easily destroy the heterogeneous 'vitality' in the Divine Soul of a Cultivator who had consumed the essence of taisui without harming their Divine Soul itself. It could be said to be a perfect counter.

However, Liu Xuan would not do this for the time being. Great Sage Taisui is not his enemy, at least not yet. Doing such a thing would be asking for trouble.

The Black-White Life-Death Pill that Liu Xuan gave to Demon Saint Xuanyu contained a trace of Wither-Prosper Life-Death Qi, but it could only let Demon Saint Xuanyu know that he did indeed have the ability to detoxify, yet it could not completely detoxify him—after all, he had consumed too much essence of taisui.

If Demon Saint Xuanyu were to take the pill directly to Great Sage Taisui to show his loyalty, Liu Xuan could say that there was only one pill, or that the pill was given by the Dao Court or Lady Yaoguang. In short, there could be countless excuses to brush it off.

Demon Saint Xuanyu stared at Liu Xuan seriously for a while, then silently tucked the Black-White Life-Death Pill into his sleeve, neither agreeing to Liu Xuan nor refusing, as if nothing had happened.

"Since Fellow Daoist Liu is unwilling to consume the essence of taisui, this Black Mountain Holy Land cannot be given to you; it must be filled with the countless lives of the Dao Court, the Beast Taming Sect, and the Southern Border Yao Race." Demon Saint Xuanyu's old, furrowed face peered through the demon mist to look down at the group of Black Snake Yao Race members below. There was no pity in his eyes, only a faint sense of emotion.

Liu Xuan looked down the mountain at the crowd of Yao along with his gaze, then extended his line of sight north towards the horizon, and said slowly: "Such is the general trend; such are the rules of the Heavenly Dao!"

After sighing for three seconds, Liu Xuan waved to the distance of the main hall, called Miss Mo Rao back to his side, and instructed: "Little Rao, give a copy of the Cultivation Technique I gave you to your ancestor to study."

Miss Mo Rao was stunned for a moment, then scrambled to take a thick Secret Manual and a Jade Slip from her spatial ring and held them in her hands. "Is... is it this?"

This young lady was under immense pressure in front of Demon Saint Xuanyu, her own ancestor, and could not even speak clearly.

Demon Saint Xuanyu did not understand what Liu Xuan was doing, thinking that Liu Xuan wanted him to help this junior, so he took this so-called Cultivation Technique.

"True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture..."

He read the name of the technique softly, then looked at the general outline of the technique in front.

'A rather bold claim; I just wonder how much real substance there is!' he thought to himself.

A moment later, when he had scanned the Secret Manual and the Jade Slip with his Divine Sense, the old guy suddenly grabbed Liu Xuan's shoulder and asked eagerly: "What about the rest? Does this technique have a follow-up?"

Liu Xuan shook off his palm, reached out to lightly flick his shoulder, and said indifferently:

"There is no more!"