the emperor at last called a meeting of his courtiers and asked them all if they could not find for him the " elixir of life " of which he had so often read and heard . one old courtier , jofuku by name , said that far away across the seas there was a country called horaizan . certain hermits lived there who possessed the secret of the " elixir of life . " whoever drank of this wonderful draught lived forever . now sentaro determined to set out to find the hermits , and if he could , to become one , so that he might obtain the water of perpetual life . he remembered that as a child he had been told that not only did these hermits live on mount fuji , but that they were said to inhabit all the very high peaks . so he left his old home to the care of his relatives , and started out on his quest . he traveled through all the mountainous regions of the land , climbing to the tops of the highest peaks , but never a hermit did he find . 
" elixir of life " .
what was the water of perpetual life ?
what was the water of perpetual life ?