Chapter 414 - 260: Status
Zhao Shen wasn’t without experience; the Glazed Glass Trading House did business in more than a dozen small domains and several mid-sized domains, so he naturally knew how hard it was to become a second-grade alchemist.
Let alone a remote place like Platinum Immortal City—even among many Immortal Sects, second-grade is a hurdle even top-tier alchemists struggle to overcome.
Zhao Shen waved his hand, signaling the alchemy boy to leave, so he wouldn’t disrupt his mood.
For a fleeting moment, he considered having Lu Chang’sheng kicked out. Now that he was in charge of the trading house, he could give the word and it would certainly be done.
But when it came to a top-tier alchemist, Zhao Shen still felt some hesitation.
As for currying favor with Lu Chang’sheng, Zhao Shen couldn’t bring himself to do it. When he first arrived in Platinum Immortal City and learned that Lu Chang’sheng was close with Liu Yun—and that Liu Yun had paid a steep price to bring him in as an alchemist—he felt a knot of discomfort inside.
That was why Zhao Shen had never warmed up to Lu Chang’sheng.
"Second-grade? A loose cultivator?"
Zhao Shen let out a mocking laugh. He pulled a female cultivator to his side and slid his hand into her thick robes.
But a moment later, his brows knitted in annoyance, and he pulled his hand away.
Platinum Immortal City had its perks—no one cared what he did—but this damned weather made even the simplest things inconvenient.
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"Where have you been?"
The alchemy boy had just returned to the alchemy room when his heart skipped a beat. He saw Wu Yun standing by the door, his face wearing a frosty look.
He hurriedly answered, "Master Wu, I just went to relieve myself!"
"Relieve yourself?" Wu Yun wasn’t so easily fooled. His eyes flashed like lightning, making the alchemy boy tremble in fear.
The boy lasted two breaths, but finally couldn’t take it any longer. He fell to his knees and gave another excuse to cover up that he was an informant.
Wu Yun snorted coldly, but didn’t say anything more.
The alchemy boy breathed a sigh of relief at that, feeling lucky he hadn’t stayed out too long. He couldn’t be blamed—Wu Yun and Lu Chang’sheng usually spent quite a while in the alchemy room.
Wu Yun had been stuck at the top-tier alchemist level for years, always striving for a breakthrough, so he cherished every opportunity to refine pills with Lu Chang’sheng.
Who would have thought it’d be so quick this time?
Could it be related to refining those second-grade pills with Alchemist Lu?
Remembering what Zhao Shen had said, the boy felt less curious, but Wu Yun was different. He stared into the alchemy room, full of longing.
The line between second-grade and first-grade alchemists was stark—they weren’t even on the same level, and forging a connection was exceedingly difficult.
He’d tried many times to meet at White Cloud Cave Mansion, hoping to apprentice under Master Baiyun, but hadn’t succeeded.
"Although White Cloud Cave Mansion said it was openly recruiting disciples, in reality, getting the second-grade inheritance from Master Baiyun was nearly impossible."
People at that level demanded much from their apprentices. Without enough talent, you’d only get scraps.
If you wanted access to the real secrets, you could only wait and grind it out over time.
That was one reason he’d never apprenticed under Master Baiyun.
"I wonder if I’ll get what I want this time?" Hope surged in Wu Yun’s heart.
If Lu Chang’sheng succeeded, he’d have a connection with a second-grade alchemist—which would be invaluable for his future.
But right then, Zhao Shen’s arrival threw Wu Yun off balance.
When he saw Zhao Shen, Wu Yun felt a twinge of irritation. Zhao Shen acted polite on the surface, but the details made it clear he never truly respected Wu Yun.
Socially, Zhao Shen was naive for his age.
If it weren’t for Zhao Shen’s connections, Wu Yun wouldn’t have bothered to be civil.
And Wu Yun’s frustration with Zhao Shen didn’t end there—more crucially, Zhao Shen had mishandled relations with Lu Chang’sheng.
Wu Yun was already like-minded with Lu Chang’sheng, and now he knew Lu Chang’sheng was aiming for the second-grade threshold.
So his tolerance for someone like Zhao Shen, who clashed with Lu Chang’sheng, was wearing thin.
Still, when he saw the panic on Zhao Shen’s face, Wu Yun sensed something was off.
"Outside—the city’s sealed!"
Soon, Wu Yun got word from other friends through the Sound Transmission Shell. Not long ago, the Gu Family had spared no expense in activating Platinum Immortal City’s spirit array, sealing all four gates of the city tight.
This was huge—after all, it’d been a thousand years since the city was last sealed.
Wu Yun had only lived about a hundred years himself—he’d never seen anything like it. His heart raced in response.
"We should go find out what’s happening."
Seeing Zhao Shen flustered, Wu Yun snapped.
Pathetic. If Liu Yun were here, it’d never get to this point.
"Go get some information," Zhao Shen told the alchemy boy.
Wu Yun frowned. Seeing the boy leave without hesitation, his eyes went cold.
Half an hour later, someone from Lu Mansion arrived and found Wu Yun. Upon hearing Lu Chang’sheng was in seclusion, they turned and left.
After another half day, things only got worse.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, there’s a meeting at Gu Mansion tonight."
When Wu Yun heard that from an old friend on the Sound Transmission Shell, his heart sank.
"Do you know what’s going on?"
"Word is, there’s a demon calamity by Purple Ice Lake!"
"Demon calamity again?"
It hadn’t been long since the last one.
Two or three decades was hardly enough for cultivators with lifespans approaching two hundred years.
Most importantly, this time the demon calamity was serious enough that the Supreme Profound Sect and the Gu Family had both pulled out all the stops and activated the spirit array.