Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

Inside the grand hall, Huang Ling glanced at Ancestor Ning Yun, then at the jade bottle on the floor. As the minutes ticked by and Ning Yun showed no reaction, she finally said, "Ancestor Ning Yun, why don’t I put it away first, then later take it to the Little Fire Cloud Beast?"

Getting no response from Ning Yun, Huang Ling let out a sigh of relief and reached out toward the jade bottle. But unexpectedly, Ning Yun suddenly opened its mouth wide and, in an instant, sucked the jade bottle into its belly.

Huang Ling stared at it in confusion for a long while. Then, a faint ripple stirred within the spiritual sense of Ning Yun, the Fire Cloud Beast.

Surprised, Huang Ling wondered to herself what exactly was inside that jade bottle, to make Ancestor Ning Yun, who always abided by principle, break the rules.

"Go call him over for me, and don’t tell anyone else about this."

Huang Ling quickly agreed.

"Elder Zhong."

Huang Ling hurried her pace, catching up with Lu Chang’sheng and Zhong Mountain, who were slowly descending the hill.

Zhong Mountain had just been talking behind Huang Ling’s back, but when he heard her voice, he instantly changed his tune, "Ah, little ancestor, are you looking for me because that Little Fire Cloud Beast changed its mind?"

Because in the Beast Institute, Foundation Establishment cultivators restrain their spiritual sense out of respect for the Fire Cloud Beast’s pride, Zhong Mountain didn’t notice Huang Ling creeping up behind him until she was almost there.

Not wanting to look at him, Huang Ling said, "I’m here for Steward Lu."

"What business do you have with Steward Lu?"

Huang Ling shot a glance at the curious Zhong Mountain, then looked at Lu Chang’sheng. "I’d like to purchase some pills from Alchemist Lu. If possible, may I go up and discuss this with you?"

Zhong Mountain relaxed inwardly—it was just about buying pills, not anything else.

Thinking this, he said his goodbyes to Lu Chang’sheng in advance.

"This is Ancestor Ning Yun’s intention; it doesn’t want more people to know." Lu Chang’sheng explained as he followed Huang Ling toward the grand hall.

Afterward, Huang Ling asked Lu Chang’sheng what he had given to Ancestor Ning Yun to make its attitude soften.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded, thinking that Ancestor Ning Yun also felt it was best not to make such matters public. He was a bit pleased—if so, the issue with the Little Fire Cloud Beast seemed to be heading towards a resolution.

"It’s nothing, just some regular pills." Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t trying to be mysterious; rather, since this was Ancestor Ning Yun’s domain, and Huang Ling was essentially one of its people, it wouldn’t be right for him to overstep without consent.

Huang Ling clearly didn’t believe him, but since Lu Chang’sheng wouldn’t say more, she couldn’t press him further.

Soon, they arrived inside the grand hall and greeted Ancestor Ning Yun.

"Ancestor asks, was that bottle of pills freshly refined?" Huang Ling sensed the ripple of Ancestor Ning Yun’s spiritual sense and relayed the question.

"Yes," Lu Chang’sheng nodded and replied.

"How old are the pills?" Huang Ling asked again.

Lu Chang’sheng sensed Ancestor Ning Yun’s spiritual intent and realized that this was Ning Yun’s way of verifying things.

The Fire Cloud Beast was a spirit beast of the fire attribute, so it was extremely sensitive to pills refined by pill fire.

From the pill fire residual within the pills, one could estimate how old the pills were.

If the pills hadn’t actually been refined by him, he would likely slip up when asked about their age.

Pill age refers to the length of time since a pill was refined. Ning Yun’s question was simply a way to confirm whether the pills in that bottle had truly been refined by Lu Chang’sheng.

"The pill age is eighteen hours..."

Lu Chang’sheng gave the exact time without the slightest hint of panic, just as it truly was.

He even specified the exact moment down to the minute.

"The sect’s found itself a real Alchemy Dao talent." Huang Ling relayed the next comment, her gaze turning odd, almost as though she was a little unconvinced.

Still, she didn’t protest. Ancestor Ning Yun was one of the oldest figures in the sect—even the Sect Leader had to address him as ancestor.

She only got to be by Ning Yun’s side so often thanks to her unique talent.

In her experience, Ancestor Ning Yun had never spoken like this about anyone from the sect, not even the Sect Leader.

"So he’s saying talent is something special, huh." Huang Ling mumbled to herself, her lively eyes stealing glances at Lu Chang’sheng, unable to figure out what criterion Ancestor Ning Yun was using.

What pill was it?

Huang Ling was curious, but unfortunately, Ancestor Ning Yun didn’t intend to mention it, and Lu Chang’sheng would never tell, leaving her rather frustrated.

"Ancestor Ning Yun praises you."

Spirit beasts like the Fire Cloud Beast have longer lifespans than the average cultivator, which means they’ve experienced far more people and events.

Fire Cloud Beast Ning Yun is nearly five hundred years old; rumor has it he’s been to the Great Domain, so naturally he’s seen a lot. Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t expected to be complimented by someone with such high standards.

Of course, whether it was because of the Little Fire Cloud Beast wasn’t clear. The pills he’d given Ancestor Ning Yun were perfect pills he’d refined in recent days, and there weren’t many. Even for him now, it took some luck to produce a perfect pill.

But the very ability to refine them meant Lu Chang’sheng could supply a steady flow of perfect pills, which would be a tremendous boon to the Little Fire Cloud Beast’s growth.

That was why Fire Cloud Beast Ning Yun had chosen to break some of his usual sect rules.

Of course, the reason also had to do with the Little Fire Cloud Beast itself—without its exceptional talent, Ning Yun wouldn’t bother.

Having been through all that, Lu Chang’sheng could keenly sense this opportunity, while people like Zhong Mountain couldn’t.

Fire Cloud Beast Ning Yun was satisfied with Lu Chang’sheng’s answers but didn’t immediately agree to take part in the Little Fire Cloud Beast’s spirit contract signing.

All because—

"Steward Lu’s Immortal Dao Spirit Root is a bit too low!"

That was why Ning Yun hadn’t made up his mind yet.