From the detailed description, Ding Yun knew that the counterfeit Life Treasure Bottle was useful to her, especially since the Water of Life contained within could certainly help her prolong her life.
However, she had never used the genuine Treasure Bottle before.
Therefore, she wasn't entirely sure how effective the Water of Life in the counterfeit bottle would be. To be on the safe side, Ding Yun specifically used her mental power to firmly protect her skin, ensuring its outward appearance wouldn't change.
If the item's effect wasn't good, it would be inconsequential. But if it was so potent that it instantly reversed her age, that would clearly be highly inconvenient.
Only then did she begin to consume the Water of Life.
She didn't dare to take too much, starting with one drop at a time.
As soon as one drop went down, a dense aura of life instantly filled Ding Yun's internal organs. Every cell in her body, like parched land from years of drought, ravenously absorbed the life aura, creating a sense of all things burgeoning to life. Even her bone marrow and blood were revitalized. For instance, the mostly yellow bone marrow within her body quickly turned red under the nourishment of the Water of Life.
It became the most vibrant red bone marrow.
Generally speaking, only infants had red bone marrow throughout their bodies; in the elderly, most of it had turned yellow.
It had lost its ability to produce blood and had become yellow fat.
With such a noticeable change in her bone marrow, the other changes were even more imaginable. It was fortunate that Ding Yun had protected her skin beforehand, preventing the life aura from affecting its surface. Otherwise, she might have already completely reverted to youth. Even if not to eighteen or nineteen years old, regaining the appearance of her thirties or forties would have been absolutely no problem.
And this was after just one drop of Water of Life!
Finally, Ding Yun used her mental power to forcibly refine the remaining life force into her heart and bone marrow, making the bone marrow glow with a bright purplish-red hue and her heart surge with vitality. The blood flowing through her heart became significantly purer and more translucent. Only then was the single drop of Water of Life fully consumed. Even so, she still dared not remove the mental barrier surrounding her skin. The Great Wind Novel Network.
Because the changes within her body were so immense, if she removed the protection now, although her skin wouldn't instantly revert to youth, after two or three skin cell turnover cycles, the abundant vital energy and surging life force within her would inevitably lead to her gradual rejuvenation.
For example, her skin would gradually become delicate and smooth, her hair would darken, and her teeth would regrow. Before she had decided whether she wanted to appear youthful again, Ding Yun could only isolate her external skin from her internal state, preventing it from being nourished by the abundant life force.
After completing these preparations, Ding Yun habitually wanted to create a plan to gain influence. However, after writing a few words, she realized that she was currently working normally, not completing a cosmic exploration mission. She didn't need influence; she only needed to fulfill the original owner's dying wish and test out her new golden finger.
She didn't even need to rush for time; staying here for a hundred years or so would be perfectly fine.
There was truly no pressure at all.
Therefore, she immediately went back to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up according to the original owner's daily routine, accepting the service of the palace maids, washing up, and eating breakfast. After that, there was nothing else.
That's right, the original owner's life was quite boring.
Except for the first and fifteenth of each month when the imperial concubines would come to pay their respects, she basically had no visitors. Emperor Jin'an had visited more frequently when he first ascended the throne, coming every few days. Later, due to his busy schedule and the fact that the original owner's role in stabilizing the populace and confirming her legitimate position had been fulfilled, there was no longer a need to feign attentiveness. His visits became increasingly infrequent. In recent times, he had only subtly inquired if the original owner possessed any methods for achieving longevity.
Since the Emperor rarely visited, the imperial concubines naturally became lazy about trying to curry favor. Aside from the mandatory visits on the first and fifteenth of the month, they wouldn't come at other times.
Sometimes, when they were tired or the weather was bad.
Some would be absent even on the first and fifteenth.
However, besides paying respects, they had no other topics of conversation. So, whether they came or not, the original owner was indifferent. It was even more peaceful when they didn't.
Apart from the concubines' visits, the original owner had no children.
She also had no connections to understand the situations inside and outside the palace.
Calling her idle and lonely was not an exaggeration.
The original owner had lived such a life in the harem for more than half her life and had long become accustomed to it. However, Ding Yun genuinely found it difficult to endure. After all, she could stay home all day in her original life because she had movies, TV shows, games, and novels to pass the time. If there was a power outage and no internet, with no entertainment at all, very few people could endure it for long!
To pass the time, Ding Yun could only send people to buy storybooks from outside the palace and borrow some books from the Langya Pavilion. She also sent people to the Imperial Garden manager to request some flowerpots and seeds, as well as grass and tree seeds. If she had nothing to do, she couldn't just lie around, so she had to find something for herself.
Her daily treatment as a Grand Consort might not be comparable to that of a genuine Empress Dowager or Grand Empress Dowager, but it wasn't much worse. At the very least, the eunuchs and palace maids would definitely not dare to be too negligent. Making excessive demands might be difficult, but asking for books, flowerpots, and grass seeds—what difficulty could there be? Within a few hours, the items Ding Yun requested were successively delivered.
Ding Yun didn't rush to read the books.
She planned to use them to pass the time in the evening.
As for the flowerpots and seeds, she used them immediately.
From moving the flowerpots, digging soil, sifting it, to planting—Ding Yun wouldn't let anyone else touch anything; she did it all herself. After finishing, she moved the items into her own sleeping quarters. After all, if eunuchs and palace maids did everything, how would she pass the time?
Besides, her engaging in these activities, apart from passing the time, had another important purpose: to test the counterfeit Life Treasure Bottle. If she didn't do it herself,
how could she guarantee its secrecy?
After sending away the palace maids, Ding Yun sat cross-legged beside a pile of flowerpots, took out the counterfeit Life Treasure Bottle, and poured out the Seeds of All Things and the Water of Life.
She poured them into empty teacups.
The Seeds of All Things were about the size of rice grains, each similar in size and color, appearing crystal clear and green. At first glance, they looked like dyed grains of rice. The Water of Life was also green, but it wasn't as thin as water; rather, it was slightly viscous like oil. Although it had no fragrance, it was exceptionally refreshing, as if both body and mind could relax, becoming serene and yielding, like a babe.
To prevent the life aura from leaking out, Ding Yun quickly used her mental power to create an isolation shield. Then, she reached out, picked up a Seed of All Things, and, as described in the tutorial, began to imagine what she wanted this Seed of All Things to become.
In a short while, the Seed of All Things changed from crystal green to glittering gold, and its size began to increase, from the size of a rice grain to the size of a broad bean. After its size changed, its exterior transformed from the shape of a rice grain to that of a peach pit, a bright golden peach pit the size of a broad bean.
"It really works. At first, I wanted to turn this into the pit of a purple-patterned peach, but it didn't succeed. It's probably because the purple-patterned peach has surpassed the immortal-god level. Later, I lowered my standards and changed it to the pit of a golden-threaded dwarf spirit-patterned peach.
It succeeded instantly.
This kind of spirit peach is perfect for planting in a flowerpot."
With a clear understanding of the situation, Ding Yun soon planted the peach pit in her hand into the nearby flowerpot.
Then, of course, she began to drip the Water of Life.