Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

"It’s good that you have this intention, but don’t neglect your teacher’s side—this is key to you securing the position of Dean," He Qing reminded.

Twenty years ago, the Dean of the Alchemy Institute, Huang Yun, sensed his end approaching, so he began to plan handing over the dean’s position.

Now, only a handful of people at the Alchemy Institute are qualified to take the role, and Lu Chang’sheng counts as one of them.

To serve as Dean, one must be at least a Grade Two Alchemist, and must also have reached Foundation Establishment stage in cultivation.

Originally, Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t eligible, but who told him to have the support of the main branch Ning Family?

Although the Ning Family is a bit weaker compared to other main branches, it is still one of the three primary clans, so pushing Lu Chang’sheng up isn’t all that difficult.

First off, Lu Chang’sheng’s talent in the Alchemy Dao is stronger than the others—there’s no doubt about that. As for cultivation, although he’s only in the late-stage Qi Cultivation, with his mastery of perfected-level Puppetry Technique, he can just about manage Foundation Establishment combat power.

Now, twenty years have passed, and he’s only become more outstanding.

He’s a formidable rival.

Compared to the others, He Feng can only be said to have a more well-rounded potential.

Neither his alchemy nor his personal cultivation matches up to the rest.

Fortunately, he has the support of the He Family, and he’s also Huang Yun’s disciple.

"I will,"

He Feng said.

"The Fire Cloud Beast can offer you a great deal of support in alchemy. I thought the newly born Fire Cloud Beast would have to be raised to adulthood before it would be useful—who would’ve thought it would be a variant? That’s quite the pleasant surprise."

He Qing’s face was all smiles.

"There’s also more good news—just recently, I heard the exploration at Purple Ice Lake has made some headway. Based on their analysis, this time it’s likely not just a fake cave estate."

"Before long, word will get out. When your teacher acts, you should go along as well. Perhaps you can take advantage of the legacy left behind in this cave estate and step into a new realm."

He Feng nodded, then asked about Zhou Lin and Xiao Yan.

As a prominent disciple in the sect, it’s inevitable for people to compare him with Xiao Yan and Zhou Lin from Supreme Profound Sect.

"Zhou Lin, nothing major recently. Both of them have set their sights on the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s cave estate, so he probably hasn’t progressed much. Xiao Yan, on the other hand—I heard he already broke into the ranks of Grade Two Alchemists. But I think that’s just a rumor."

He Qing shared his analysis.

Unlike loose cultivators, the Immortal Sects are cautious in their actions. So, if a disciple achieves Grade Two status, they usually don’t keep it a secret.

"Still, even if it’s just a glimpse, he’s probably getting very close."

He Feng nodded solemnly.

······

Lu Chang’sheng was in good spirits as he returned home. Lu Chang’an and Lu Ziyou weren’t around; over the years, they had been busy with their own affairs, mainly running things in a nearby Immortal City—Good Beast Immortal City.

Lu Ziyou originally didn’t want to leave, but seeing the rising expenses at home, he took the initiative to help his oldest brother, Lu Chang’sheng.

As Lu Chang’sheng advanced to late-stage Qi Cultivation, their spending only grew more outrageous.

Each year, alchemy alone devoured huge sums of spirit stones. Fortunately, Lu Chang’sheng was selective about when he performed alchemy, and didn’t use all of Lu Mansion’s profits to refine Grade Two pills. Otherwise, the losses could have been catastrophic.

Meanwhile, the third-generation children had gradually started to leave Lu Mansion and seek their fortunes outside.

This was a decision made after discussions between Li Nangua and Lu Chang’sheng.

"They can’t stay here in the mansion forever, leeching off you—it’d just be wasting resources." Li Nangua had insisted during their talks.

She knew her man could be a bit indecisive with family matters, so she instituted a new family rule.

If Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t looking to tie himself to the clan, let the descendants strike out on their own.

"You should start thinking about Foundation Establishment now." That night, Li Nangua told Lu Chang’sheng.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded, asking about how many spirit stones he could access.

Thanks to Lu Chang’an’s management, Lu Mansion had finally achieved a bare minimum of self-sufficiency over the years. Pills refined by Lu Chang’sheng were sold directly by him.

With the annual dividends from the sect included, Lu Chang’sheng now had nearly one thousand mid-grade spirit stones to his name.

One mid-grade spirit stone equals 1,000 low-grade ones—meaning he had about a million low-grade spirit stones on hand.

And that’s after deducting all other expenses.

"Lu Mansion can spare five hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones," Li Nangua said.

She had devoted herself to family matters in recent years only because she still hadn’t reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation; she was barely at the eighth level.

Her spiritual body had dissipated over twenty years ago—a big reason Fuyun Mountain abandoned Nangua in the first place.

See, Nangua’s spiritual body was unique. Although it seemed like it only elevated her Immortal Dao Spirit Root to Lower Grade C, it had an impressive trait: a temporary boost to cultivating progress at certain times.

All in all, it could rival a Grade C Intermediate, or even Upper Grade C, Immortal Dao Spirit Root. Not impossible at all.

"If you’d managed to get to the Spirit Realm earlier, you’d probably have built your foundation by now."

Lu Chang’sheng stroked her smooth back, sighing in regret.

"Such is fate. Without you, Chang’sheng, I might still just be a village farm girl." Li Nangua’s eyes brimmed with longing.

She was content. Even if she never reached Foundation Establishment, with late-stage Qi Cultivation, she could still expect to live about a hundred and fifty years.

She hadn’t even taken a Longevity Pill yet, so living another ten or twenty years was no problem.

She was closing in on a hundred now, but compared to mortals, it was like being just past fifty. The best part was that cultivators, unless death is imminent, don’t look much different from when they’re young.

"Oh by the way, Chan told me recently that there’s new word from the Great Yuan territory."

Lu Chang’sheng looked a bit surprised, and asked nervously, "Is that true?"

"Yes, it’s almost certain. Supreme Profound Sect has already confirmed it, but because of the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s cave estate business, it hasn’t drawn much attention yet."

Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t quite sit still.

Back when the Zhu Family incident happened, he’d asked the Fang Family and others to help escort people out of Great Yuan. But due to his own limited cultivation, he couldn’t go in himself. When he wanted to return, the boundaries between realms in Great Yuan had shifted again, blocking passage between the two worlds.

Luckily, that kind of change is pretty standard and usually doesn’t last long.

But in the blink of an eye, decades had passed.

"I wonder how big brother and little sister are doing these days?"

Lu Chang’sheng’s eyes grew dazed as fragmented memories grew clear in his mind.

Li Nangua comforted him, "Don’t worry—the Fang Family still keeps people there. With their help, little sister and big brother won’t be so easily lost."

To make future reunions easier, the Fang Family had left two cultivators over there. With their abilities, making sure big brother and the others survived past a hundred years wouldn’t be difficult.

"Nothing’s been finalized yet—there’s no point getting anxious. But what about Chan—what are you thinking there?" Li Nangua asked, eyes narrowing.

"It’s been twenty years. It’s about time for a proper answer." This time, Li Nangua wasn’t about to let Lu Chang’sheng brush past the issue.

Lu Chang’sheng forced a wry smile. "What answer can I give? If you don’t mind, then let it be."

His heart warmed and felt a little awkward—what kind of woman pushes her own husband into another woman’s arms?

But Nangua seemed to enjoy it!