Chapter 294 169: The So-called Elixir of Immortality! The Sacrificial Ritual! Clues from the Flesh

The Elixir of Immortality...

What is the Elixir of Immortality?

As the name suggests, it's a medicine for eternal youth. This is a fundamental pursuit that has arisen from the collective consciousness of all humanity.

The most obvious evidence of this is that nearly every culture's mythology contains descriptions of it.

A drop of Holy Water, for instance, or some other artifact that can grant people this seemingly useless thing.

Does it exist in the real world?

It does, but its effects are far inferior to those mythological items.

"The Elixir of Immortality?"

"What is that stuff?"

Li Jianye's brow furrowed.

"A concoction extracted from human children through hellish methods."

Xu Huo's heart sank, and his hands clenched unconsciously.

Can a medicine be made from a person?

To be honest, many people have probably never considered whether a human being can be used as a medicinal ingredient in the traditional medicine of the Eastern Country.

In fact, they can.

Not only can they be used, but in the past, it was a practice people fanatically flocked to!

Recalling history might not bring anything specific to mind, but if one were to mention...

'Human blood buns?'

Nowadays, the phrase has evolved into a metaphor for profiting from someone else's suffering.

But you must understand, those words... in ancient times, they were a literal description.

A description, not a metaphor!

Those people believed that a person's blood contained their life essence. They thought that if you consumed the blood of someone who died before their natural time, you could absorb their remaining lifespan.

At some execution grounds, when a prisoner was beheaded, there would be people in the crowd below trying to collect the blood.

Some would bribe the executioner to sell them the blood, or even organs.

So, in the eyes of people like that, person equals medicine.

And a very useful, highly effective medicine at that!

"You can get blood from the dead, and the blood of the young is said to contain their lifespan."

"So, what about children?"

Xu Huo asked, as if in a trance.

Before the other could respond, he spoke first:

"Adrenochrome... No, you can't really call it adrenochrome. That's just a code name, a placeholder."

"Let's just call it adrenochrome for now."

Adrenaline is a wondrous thing. If you're pushed to your absolute limit, it might just help you turn the tables and survive.

This substance can be seen as an oxidized form of adrenaline. By itself, it has no strange effects.

It can even be synthesized artificially, and the price is quite low.

Looking at it this way, and ignoring the hype from clickbait articles, this stuff is nothing special.

It has nothing to do with an Elixir of Immortality.

But!

But, the young *can* indeed stave off aging in the old.

In 1970, a team in the Western Country conducted an experiment.

They connected the circulatory systems of old and young lab mice. The results showed that the old mice became healthier, stronger, and smarter!

The experiment was halted, and no one knows why. Although the technicians involved claimed to know everything, they probably didn't know much at all.

In short, it's an extremely vague combination of factors. When mixed together and subjected to a specific refinement process, it acquires this bizarre youth-preserving property.

It's just like the ancient Alchemists who randomly mixed ingredients and ended up inventing things like gunpowder.

The so-called adrenochrome is the same kind of thing.

By itself, it has no miraculous properties; it's just a product of adrenaline oxidation.

But, influenced by a chain of certain factors and combined with other substances, it acquires these properties.

And the vessel capable of carrying these factors is... a child.

"Captain Li, about the Sun Jian processing plant case."

"Did you find anything at the hospital?"

Xu Huo looked at Li Jianye.

Li Jianye paused. His pupils contracted as if he'd recalled something terrible.

"Stillborn fetuses and placentas..."

He muttered.

Xu Huo nodded.

Stillborn infants and placentas from miscarriages aren't legally considered people and have no rights. They are generally classified as 'medical waste.'

And since it's waste, its disposal is naturally handled casually.

Unless the family has strong objections, the regulations for managing it aren't very strict.

And precisely because the regulations aren't strict, some people will collaborate with unscrupulous individuals in hospitals—people who will do anything for money—to purchase these items on a long-term basis.

What's the use in buying stillborn fetuses?

First, you have to look at the different types of buyers.

One type is cosmetics companies.

Some will try to use placentas or stillborn fetuses from miscarriages to make products. The effects are said to be astonishingly good, making the skin as delicate and flawless as a baby's.

The second type is...

Let's put it this way.

What do you eat for the New Year?

Dumplings.

What's the filling in the dumplings?

Just take a wild guess what kind of filling it is.

The goal of these people is also their physical appearance.

So, here's the question.

The two groups act differently, but their ultimate goal is the same, and their target is also the same.

That is... children.

"If you're making a drug like the so-called 'adrenochrome,' you need a lot of people. An absurdly large number."

"In this situation, a person isn't treated as a person, but as a consumable. After all, the amount that can be extracted from each individual is finite. Eventually, they'll be completely used up. And under this kind of harvesting, a person's life naturally won't last long."

Xu Huo spoke slowly.

As his words fell, the people around him fell into a dead silence.

In fact, this isn't just a modern phenomenon. It was the same even in ancient times.

Take the Ginseng Fruit Tree, for example. The fruit that grants immortality and eternal youth is shaped like a child.

Or the Ginseng Spirit. A single bite is said to be immensely nourishing, and when it gains sentience, it also takes the form of a doll-like child.

Then there's the vampire culture prevalent in the West. Their targets are also young people.