Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

Unexpectedly, Chan showed no discomfort at all and said quietly, "Nangua told me about this; she comes from a poor background, without the orthodox wife’s airs. If I ever join the Lu Family, she’ll treat me as an equal."

Her words left the other three speechless, all feeling their little sister was selling herself short; her attitude was so humble, and yet that Alchemist Lu still hadn’t made anything clear.

"Honestly, this is too much. Should I go urge him?"

Gu Fei scowled as she spoke.

"Don’t!" Chan said in a rush.

Though her nature was gentle, she still didn’t want to use the Gu Family’s influence to bother Lu Chang’sheng.

"You’re a real innocent, kid. If you ask me, just seal the deal and then cook it slowly after—the hassle’d be long gone!" Only Gu Fei could spit out such a bold remark.

"Watch your mouth! You’re being indecent," Gu Yuan shot her an annoyed glare.

Chan then brought up the matter Lu Chang’sheng had requested, which actually made Gu Shuang and the others change their view a little. The Chen Mansion was seen as untouchable by everyone in Platinum Immortal City these days; getting close to them was bound to cause trouble, but it also reflected Lu Chang’sheng’s character.

"He’s not the cold-hearted type." Gu Yuan said.

Seeing the others nod in agreement, Gu Shuang felt a strange sensation well up; she remembered that Senior Brother Xiao Yan had faced a similar dilemma, but unlike Alchemist Lu, he chose self-preservation and kept his distance.

"The Spirit Realm is full of crises. If Senior Brother Xiao Yan acted like that, it wasn’t really wrong either."

Chan wondered aloud if this would be easy to handle?

Gu Yuan smiled: "It’s just a Chen Family. Besides, I heard their late-stage Qi Cultivation Patriarch wasn’t caught before, so sparing the clan is actually more beneficial."

"Exactly, Chan, don’t fret. If Alchemist Lu hadn’t spoken up, we’d have no reason to let Chen Family off. But since he did, we can do him a favor—and the Gu Family sheds an enemy," Gu Fei giggled behind her hand.

Chan immediately stood to take her leave, firing off a message to Gu Long while the others teased her.

Not long after, Gu Long’s reply came, agreeing to handle the task.

Chan walked toward the courtyard, face lit with joy. She thought if her sisters saw her like this, they’d definitely poke fun, so she did her best to hide her feelings, sent Lu Chang’sheng a message, then returned inside.

But it only took two sentences before her smile broke out uncontrollably, Gu Fei’s teasing had her grinning ear to ear, giving away the secret. The courtyard burst into crisp, cheerful laughter.

Chan blushed furiously and quickly switched the topic.

"Where’s Second Sis?"

Suddenly, everyone turned to look.

Gu Fei’s face was nearly overflowing with envy.

Because, of the four of them, when it came to Dao partners, Gu Yuan clearly had the brightest prospects—her partner was a disciple of the Good Beast Sect, with deep connections to their main lineage.

It was actually considered a family secret within Gu; after all, most of Gu Family now relied heavily on Supreme Profound Sect, and those two sects were rivals.

If the Supreme Profound Sect found out about this, it’d weaken the Gu Family’s position with them.

The Supreme Profound Sect was wary about this kind of thing because, way back, they rose to power with precisely these methods: forging alliances through marriage with Immortal Sects, then at the right moment, breaking through and ousting a rival who had once controlled Platinum Immortal City.

The Good Beast Sect’s power was concentrated in the main lineage; Gu Yuan’s partner had direct access to the Good Beast Sect’s Foundation Establishment elders, causing great envy among the other three.

But unexpectedly, Gu Yuan just shook her head. "Not as good as you think."

Gu Fei and the others wore confused looks—was something else going on?

At this moment, Gu Yuan suddenly spoke, "I heard Uncle is considering having the Ancestor support Alchemist Lu’s entry into the sect. Any news?"

"No word yet. Uncle mentioned it once before, but it seems Ancestor hasn’t replied."

"Still, Uncle seems very invested in this," Chan said.

She also hoped Lu Chang’sheng could enter the Immortal Sect; only people on their level truly grasped how important it was.

So she paid close attention too, often messaging Uncle Gu Long for updates.

"Is that so? That’s not bad then." Gu Yuan’s gaze showed some disappointment and struggle, but after looking at their faces, she just sighed and let the topic drop.

······

Lu Chang’sheng received Chan’s message, feeling a heaviness settle on him. It felt like he was getting sucked in deeper and deeper.

"For now, it’s best to get the Mountain Nether Puppet Beast refined as soon as possible."

Back home, he had someone send a message to the Chen Family, then turned and entered the cultivation chamber.

Staring at the Light Curtain Panel, his Puppetry Technique was only a day away from Great Success.

This step-by-step cultivation lost some of the thrill, but it kept his heart steady.

"I should’ve reached completion days ago, but the demon calamity got in the way. So a stable environment for cultivation is a huge variable for me."

He mused silently, then pulled out puppet materials and began refining and prepping them.

Refining puppets was good for advancing puppet technique experience; he just couldn’t usually bear to use up resources for it.

After all, his cultivation already ate up tons of resources; opening another resource channel for puppetry would seriously impact his Foundation Establishment path.

He fetched the materials he’d prepared and started refining.

Half a day later, Lu Chang’sheng felt pressure swelling in his head, his Spiritual Sense rapidly increasing.

Time passed—

"At this level, my spiritual sense might be rivaling an average Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Of course, Immortal Sect cultivators didn’t count.

Foundation Establishment big shots in Immortal Sects had superior methods that boosted spiritual sense; training Puppetry Technique to completion was impressive, but compared to Immortal Sect cultivators, he still fell short.

He spent the rest of the day adapting, then began refining Mountain Nether.

Materials laid out across the metal bench, he melted them down with Catalytic Treasure Liquid—each drop rolled onto Nether Beast Remains, producing odd sounds.

The hard remains dissolved at lightning speed; Lu Chang’sheng had to actively control his spiritual sense and the catalysis, balancing speed and direction, otherwise the remains might dissolve entirely, ruining the process.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. With Puppetry Technique perfected, Lu Chang’sheng moved through the refinement of Mountain Nether like a fish in water.

By the third night, a terrifying noise echoed out, and a giant silhouette suddenly rose in the chamber, reeking of all kinds of molten materials.

Nether Beasts were famous for their defense among monsters, but their build was slender for their kind—others relied on bulky muscle for protection, while Nether Beasts focused on bone and armor plating.

During smelting, Lu Chang’sheng saw that their armor rivaled a mid-grade magical artifact, and their bones a top-grade one.

The Mountain Nether refined from these, naturally, could fight Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Whew—" Lu Chang’sheng let out a long breath. With Mountain Nether, he finally had a card to play against Foundation Establishment experts; now he could consider publicizing his rank as a Second Grade Alchemist.

The demon calamity had put real pressure on him. If he could announce his attainment as a Second Grade Alchemist, perhaps it would change things for him and Nangua—they wouldn’t have to face the demon disaster out in the open.

"No...that won’t work!" He suddenly thought, suppressing the impulse.

"When demon calamity runs rampant, chaos is everywhere. If I declare my status as a Second Grade Alchemist now, unexpected trouble might crop up. At the very least, I should wait for the right moment."

The jealous, Heaven-Burning Valley’s Cao Wei, Supreme Profound Sect’s Zhu Qing—

No one could guarantee that after hearing he’d leveled up, someone wouldn’t stop at anything to make trouble.

"Gotta wait for the right opening!"

Lu Chang’sheng told himself.

Just then, Gu Feng’s message came in.

"Emergency at the city wall—Daoist Yang demands everyone assemble, we need to repel the monster counterattack!"