Chapter 405 - 254: Severed Friendship
Returning to the clan, Gu Long already had a plan in mind.
Soon, he found a courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with a faint fragrance, with a sea of plum blossoms stretching across, and several female cultivators were sweeping the snow under the trees.
"Is Gu Chan here?"
"Miss Gu Chan is cultivating in the training room."
The female cultivators replied, their gazes lingering on Gu Long with a touch of reverence and curiosity.
They were puzzled as to what had brought the Patriarch himself to visit Miss Gu Chan.
Normally, Gu Long would simply have someone summon her.
Of course, Gu Long wasn’t about to tell them he was here to ask for a favor.
After dismissing the female cultivators, Gu Long soon met with Gu Chan. She wore a pale green palace robe and had a gentle, rounded face.
"Uncle, is there something important you need?" Gu Chan, unlike the other girls, was perceptive and saw right through Gu Long’s intentions.
Gu Long didn’t beat around the bush and immediately brought up the matter of Lu Chang’sheng.
"It’s all up to you, Uncle." Gu Chan replied after hearing him out.
Gu Long nodded, quite satisfied with Gu Chan’s understanding and sensibility.
Of course, this was just an initial heads-up. If Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t willing on his end, there was nothing to be done.
······
Lu Chang’sheng never expected that the Gu Family Patriarch was already picking out a marriage match for him.
That was, in some sense, an acknowledgment of his talent.
After parting ways with Gu Long, he finally got some rest and went to his cultivation room to study the Cyan Spirit Technique.
After most of the day, the Cyan Spirit Technique was finally recorded on the light curtain panel.
"Magic: Cyan Spirit Technique (Grade One, Superior):
Time required to reach Entry: 5 years.
Time required to reach Minor Achievement: 20 years.
Time required to reach Great Success: 100 years.
Time required to reach Perfection: 300 years.
"The time it takes is actually this long!"
Seeing the amount of time needed for each stage, Lu Chang’sheng was taken aback; at this moment, he finally understood just how important his Innate Immortal Dao Root Bone was.
Trying to improve his Root Bone with a Spirit Body Cultivation Technique was an unusually difficult task.
"For rank-and-file cultivators, even learning three to five spells is already the limit. Broad knowledge is no match for true mastery."
A single Great Success magic, skillfully wielded, is absolutely stronger and far smoother than several Minor Achievement spells combined.
Just seeing how much time the Cyan Spirit Technique consumed—even unoptimized—was a wake-up call for Lu Chang’sheng.
One can’t learn too many techniques, or else your focus won’t keep up.
"I wonder how much I can shorten the required time with my own magical comprehension?" Lu Chang’sheng took a deep breath.
Now that he had the Spirit Body Cultivation Technique in hand, the weight on his mind finally eased.
With this method, he was confident he could reach later-stage Qi Cultivation in a short time.
"For now, I need to get the Cyan Spirit Technique to Entry as soon as possible. Only then can I stimulate the spirit body and gain cultivation bonuses."
Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.
He had reached Qi Cultivation Level Six years ago, with magical power at sixty stocks.
But to break through from Lu Sixtieth Stock to sixty-one, progress was sluggish, as if a huge mountain blocked the way forward.
If reaching sixty stocks was like using a handcart to push spiritual qi along a rugged mountain path, then from sixty on, he had to open the road himself while still pushing the cart.
At least before, there was a path; as long as there were enough people, progress was steady enough.
But now, progress was many, many times slower. Sure, he could still move forward bit by bit with time, but the resources and time consumed were extreme.
If he were only aiming for late-stage Qi Cultivation, he wouldn’t need the Spirit Body Cultivation Technique, but if he wanted to reach Foundation Establishment before his lifespan ran out, this technique was a much safer bet.
Several days later, Lu Chang’sheng checked the light curtain panel—the Entry stage of the Cyan Spirit Technique already required much less time now.
The time for Entry had dropped from five years to just over two years.
"With plenty of cultivation time, this is all the time I can save."
Naturally, Lu Chang’sheng was not satisfied.
From experience, there were a few main ways to shorten cultivation time for a spell.
The most common was simply to increase daily training to an optimal level.
Apart from that, there was guidance from others.
However—
"In Platinum Immortal City today, the only one who could teach me about the Cyan Spirit Technique is probably Zuo Lin."
Lu Chang’sheng furrowed his brow. Given Zuo Lin’s pride, it was already a favor to grant him the Spirit Body Cultivation Technique—there was no way he could expect Zuo Lin to teach him personal experience.
Still, with a hint of hope, Lu Chang’sheng went to White Cloud Pharmacy, only to return disappointed.
He hadn’t even managed to see Zuo Lin.
In the last few days, Zuo Lin and Cao Wei had left White Cloud Pharmacy— apparently, they’d gone to Purple Ice Lake.
On his way back, Lu Chang’sheng spotted a dozen or so streaks of light flashing across the sky.
With his eyesight, he could clearly make out that those people each had one or more spirit beasts with them.
"Those are people from Good Beast Sect."
Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.
The Good Beast Sect specializes in raising and commanding spirit beasts. Their strength is even a notch above the Supreme Profound Sect— the top Immortal Sect in the Guangnan Domain’s Three Immortals.
"No wonder they dare to fly through Platinum Immortal City."
Lu Chang’sheng sighed, feeling his desire to head to Purple Ice Lake diminish even further.
"Now that I’ve got the Spirit Body Cultivation Method, there’s really no need to take that risk," he said.
Back at his manor, he resumed his usual routine—alchemy and cultivation.