Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

"I’ll head over right now." After replying to Gu Feng, Lu Chang’sheng turned his gaze to the Mountain Nether Puppet Beast. Under his Spiritual Sense, he could faintly make out countless hidden threads of spiritual power connecting it with Mountain Nether.

The Mountain Nether stood over twenty feet tall, its surface covered by a layer of armor-like keratin. Once refined, this keratin and bone could resonate with Lu Chang’sheng’s magical power, unleashing the original strength of a Nether Beast.

After spending some time getting familiar with Mountain Nether, Lu Chang’sheng dismantled it and stored it within the Treasure Vault Immortal Insect.

"The Treasure Vault Immortal Insect is just too small—what a hassle. Next chance I get, I’ll have to find a bigger one."

That way, there’d be no need to tear apart such hulking puppet beasts anymore.

Before leaving, Lu Chang’sheng sought out Lu Chang’an. Only after learning that the family members had already taken shelter in the basement did he leave with peace of mind.

In times when it’s impossible to leave Immortal City, building a basement hideout is an exceptionally wise choice.

Lu Chang’sheng drew his Magical Sword, preparing to depart by Sword Control, but at that moment, he received a message through the Sound Transmission Shell.

The message came from Wang Futian. When Wang Futian got Lu Chang’sheng’s reply, Lu Chang’sheng could hear his obvious sigh of relief, then he mentioned new progress regarding Lu Chang’sheng’s admission to the Supreme Profound Sect.

"For some reason, the Gu Family sent me word—they’re considering offering support to help you with your entry."

Lu Chang’sheng felt a mix of gratitude and helplessness. "Is joining the Supreme Profound Sect really this difficult?"

He pondered whether he should reveal his advancement to second-grade alchemist, but before he could decide, Wang Futian replied, "Not at all. Your case is a bit unusual. If you’d had an elder’s backing from the start, with your evaluation results, you’d have sailed right in—no problem at all. The trouble is, too many stewards got involved."

Lu Chang’sheng held back the words forming on his lips.

"A whole group of stewards threw their weight around. Now that they want to let you in, of course it’s much harder."

Listening to Wang Futian, Lu Chang’sheng started to piece things together in his mind.

No use crying over spilled milk.

Once you shoot, there’s no taking the arrow back.

For those stewards who’d stepped forward before, the situation was clear—letting Lu Chang’sheng enter the sect a second time would utterly embarrass them.

And besides, their actions had already offended Lu Chang’sheng. No one could guarantee that, after entering the sect, Lu Chang’sheng wouldn’t hold a grudge.

With things as they were, it was safer to stick with their original stance. This way, at least they could curry favor with the faction backing Zhu Qing.

"Still, Chang’sheng, don’t worry. With the Gu Family’s Patriarch personally stepping in, I doubt it will be a real problem."

Wang Futian’s tone was full of conviction.

"There’s no need, my friend. It seems the Supreme Profound Sect and I just aren’t fated to cross paths."

Lu Chang’sheng replied.

"Given my status and skills as a second-grade alchemist, there’s no reason for me to fixate on just the Supreme Profound Sect."

Lu Chang’sheng had already made up his mind.

On the other end, Wang Futian stared blankly at Lu Chang’sheng’s reply for a long while, finally shaking his head with a sigh.

"How is it? Chang’sheng’s alright for now, isn’t he?" Yu Hai asked.

The two of them—one too weak in cultivation to follow the earlier group into Purple Ice Lake, the other busy dealing with Lu Chang’sheng’s affairs.

"So far as I can tell, there shouldn’t be any real issues, except—" Wang Futian hesitated before sharing that Lu Chang’sheng had declined to join Supreme Profound Sect.

"Heh, well, you can’t blame Chang’sheng for that. If you ask me, it’s the Supreme Profound Sect fools who can’t recognize a jade when they see one. They’ll regret it one day!"

Previously, Lu Chang’sheng had drawn interest from Heaven-Burning Valley, which had left some higher-ups in the Supreme Profound Sect quietly regretting their actions. But when they looked deeper and found that Master Baiyun was involved, their regrets were eased considerably.

Heaven-Burning Valley was a major Golden Core sect. Only those of extraordinary talent could enter, and achieving Foundation Establishment was almost a given for their disciples.

The entry requirements were famously high, though there were exceptions. Specifically, for the Red Cloud Lineage, the bar for disciples was set lower—especially for those who came in through connections.

Master Baiyun’s ties to Heaven-Burning Valley’s orthodox line ran deep; it was hardly surprising anyone from White Cloud Cave Mansion would manage to leverage that relationship.

Wang Futian could only let out a bitter smile.

He hoped Yu Hai was just venting—if not, his Supreme Profound Sect would be the laughingstock of the entire neighboring domain.

He’d grown up in the Supreme Profound Sect; his feelings for it ran deep.

······

"The Good Beast Sect isn’t a bad option either—it just lacks the youthful energy you find in Supreme Profound Sect."

The Good Beast Sect focused on spirit beast husbandry. It was one of the more established immortal sects in the Guangnan Domain, but in recent years, its reputation had faded. The rising star Supreme Profound Sect had overshadowed them.

This had a lot to do with the generational gap among Good Beast Sect’s cultivators; elders kept passing on, leaving the new generation unable to fill the void, which let Supreme Profound Sect take the lead.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to Good Beast Sect afterward and see what comes of it.

Lu Chang’sheng thought quietly. Setting aside Heaven-Burning Valley, Supreme Profound Sect really should have been his first choice. Right now, the Supreme Profound Sect was shining bright—destined to outpace Good Beast Sect. Plus, Platinum Immortal City was originally their territory; if he’d joined Supreme Profound Sect, the Lu Mansion’s business ventures would reap huge benefits.

That way, even future Foundation Establishment would be easier with the Lu Mansion’s support. But if he ended up joining Good Beast Sect, most of the connections he’d built here would be close to useless.

"What a shame—"

Even lumps of clay have some fire in them—how could he be any different?

Lu Chang’sheng planned to reach out to someone from the Good Beast Sect once all this was settled. But as soon as he arrived at the South Gate Imperial Garden, that thought immediately became reality.