Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

The news kept snowballing. Lu Chang’sheng’s performance during the Demon Calamity was nothing short of astonishing; for the past couple of days, some folks in the market even started putting him on par with Red Cloud Daoist.

They called him the number one under Foundation Establishment.

Lu Chang’sheng was still debating whether he should take a page from Fang Yuan’s book and teach those spreading this nonsense a lesson they’d never forget—make it clear what’s fine to say and what’s not.

A perfectly decent cultivator like him, being compared to Red Cloud Daoist and getting crowned with a title like "number one under Foundation Establishment"—wasn’t that just a big fat joke for people to laugh at?

Duan Ming saw Lu Chang’sheng keeping silent. His face looked a bit emotional, tinged with sympathy. He thought—even Red Cloud Daoist had a tough time after offending two Foundation Establishment cultivators, let alone Alchemist Lu.

Despite all the market gossip equating Alchemist Lu with Red Cloud Daoist, most people actually thought there was still quite a gap between them.

Red Cloud Daoist always had a bag of tricks, many strong enough to match Foundation Establishment experts. As for Alchemist Lu—he just had the one puppet beast. His methods for dealing with Foundation Establishment cultivators were way too limited.

But—

"As long as Alchemist Lu doesn’t leave the Immortal City, those two will be wary of the Supreme Profound Sect’s face. I don’t think they’ll dare make a move so easily. You should be able to get through it safely."

Lu Chang’sheng shook his head and smiled at Duan Ming’s words, "Don’t trouble yourself over this. I’ve got it covered."

Duan Ming thinking for him at a time like this actually made Lu Chang’sheng feel a little better inside.

He wasn’t planning on hiding much either. News from the South Gate Imperial Garden should get out sooner or later.

By then, it would probably stir up another wave of heated discussion.

"The real reason I came by was to let you know something. Consider it a little thank you to the White Cloud Pavilion."

As Lu Chang’sheng laid out the situation with joining the Good Beast Sect, Duan Ming’s eyes practically lit up with excitement.

"I’ll just be taking the Immortal Contracts for White Cloud Pavilion with me for now."

Lu Chang’sheng said.

Duan Ming’s body trembled a little—he’d caught the hint in Lu Chang’sheng’s words.

Take the Immortal Contracts, not end them. Two very different things.

The former meant you were still with White Cloud Pavilion; the latter meant, at best, a social connection—nothing more.

As for taking the contracts away, it was perfectly reasonable. Right now, Lu Chang’sheng was clearly the pillar of White Cloud Pavilion, and before Xiao Feng and the others left, they were already prepared to die at Purple Ice Lake—putting everything in Lu Chang’sheng’s hands.

Even if they had to disband White Cloud Pavilion, that would have been fine. Compared to that, taking the contracts was really no big deal at all.

And with Lu Chang’sheng still around, White Cloud Pavilion wouldn’t be losing its backbone.

"But since I’ve joined the Good Beast Sect—and this is Platinum Immortal City’s turf—the relationship between Good Beast Sect and Supreme Profound Sect is anything but rosy. The best scenario is for you guys to come with me."

Lu Chang’sheng suggested.

Not because he was feeling particularly generous—truth be told, everyone left in White Cloud Pavilion had good character and strong skills in Alchemy Dao. Once he got over there, he wouldn’t want to rely on Good Beast Sect people for everything, so having Duan Ming and the rest come along was win-win anyway.

Duan Ming thought it over, then shook his head. "Let’s wait till Elder Xiao and the others return before deciding."

Lu Chang’sheng nodded. He understood the hopes Duan Ming and Xiao Feng had—they still wanted to reclaim the rightful place of White Cloud Mountain Range if possible.

So, as Lu Chang’sheng got up to leave, Duan Ming asked him just what had earned him the Good Beast Sect’s attention—so he could hype it up later for publicity.

"Second Grade!"

Lu Chang’sheng said with a grin.

It really wasn’t a secret anymore.

"Second Grade... just like that, you’re Second Grade now!" Duan Ming stared blankly at Lu Chang’sheng’s departing back. After a long while, he finally snapped out of it and hurried after him, wanting to see him off. But unfortunately, by the time he got to the door, Lu Chang’sheng was already gone.

"Sorry, my bad, but—"

Duan Ming muttered. This really came out of nowhere. No wonder Alchemist Lu wasn’t the least bit bothered about those two Foundation Establishment antagonists.

With status as a disciple of an Immortal Sect, and a Second Grade Alchemist at that, those two Loose Cultivator True Men wouldn’t dare lay a finger on Lu Chang’sheng if you gave them ten extra lives.

"Second Grade Alchemist—ha! Even Zhou Lin isn’t at Second Grade yet!" Duan Ming already knew just how to spread the word—it would be White Cloud Pavilion’s brightest moment ever.

Soon enough, the message spread from White Cloud Pavilion, sending shockwaves through the whole Platinum Immortal City market. Countless cultivators were left dumbfounded.

"Alchemist Lu joins the Good Beast Sect—promoted to Second Grade Alchemist!"

"At eighty years of age, he’s overtaken his peers—a late bloomer!"

"The story behind Platinum Immortal City’s Number One Alchemy Daoist!"

······

The news flew through the city in no time. The market’s portrait artists all buried themselves in refreshing Lu Chang’sheng’s image; within half a day, all the previous fan-made portraits, which had often looked warped and ugly, vanished like smoke. You’d only find them in some shady corners now, if at all.

In their place were beautifully crafted, painstakingly detailed portraits—these artists had poured their skill into the work, turning plain pictures into works of art.

But anyway, that’s another story.

After leaving White Cloud Pavilion, Lu Chang’sheng went to the Gu Family next.

Gu Chan had helped him a great deal. He couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.

"Ms. Gu Chan, Ms. Gu Shuang!"

Gu Chan wasn’t alone—Gu Shuang was with her as well.

Hearing Lu Chang’sheng had come to visit, Gu Chan got a little nervous and excited, and eagerly took Lu Chang’sheng around the family’s various courtyards for a stroll. Seeing how happy she was, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t have the heart to refuse.