Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

Li Nangua seemed as if she hadn’t caught Lu Chang’sheng’s underlying meaning, a faint smile appearing on her face.

As for Gu Chan, she was very satisfied: on one hand, her temperament wasn’t overbearing and she shared a close friendship with herself; on the other, she was beautiful—an oval face, willow-leaf brows, and a figure with a hint of fullness, reminiscent of Li Nangua’s own former elegance.

There was another point Li Nangua valued: Gu Chan’s Immortal Dao Spirit Root. Though it hadn’t reached C-grade, it was still upper D-grade. At that level, with enough resources, there was still a chance to step into Foundation Establishment.

Li Nangua knew she herself had little hope left; her Spiritual Body seemed to have unleashed all its potential in the earlier decades, and now, her cultivation progressed even more slowly than most at her spirit root level.

"Once I’m gone, Chang’sheng will have something new to hold on to." She said to herself in her heart.

Lu Chang’sheng, unaware of her thoughts, shifted the topic. "But you’ll have to wait a while."

Li Nangua didn’t think Lu Chang’sheng was merely making excuses to delay, and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Because of what happened last time, Supreme Profound Sect already holds quite a grudge against the Gu Family. I heard that many in the Sect’s upper ranks have targeted the Gu Family because of it. If I take Gu Chan as a concubine now, it might not actually be in the family’s best interest."

"At the very least, we should wait until the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s cave dwelling matter passes."

Li Nangua nodded in agreement.

······

The next day, Lu Chang’sheng received a message from Ning Zhao.

The exploration of Purple Ice Lake had made a new breakthrough.

"This was speculated a few years ago. Before, when they explored those other cave dwellings, almost nothing was found—this time’s different. Judging from the relics of the Profound Turtle Alchemist unearthed over the past twenty years, there have been dozens—unprecedented compared to before."

"So, this time, it’s likely to truly be the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s cave dwelling—if not, at least something just one tier lower."

Ning Zhao declared with conviction.

The so-called next-best tier was judged based on the relics of the Profound Turtle Alchemist found inside the cave.

The Profound Turtle Alchemist was said to have set up thousands of cave dwellings, but everyone knew that number wasn’t possible.

Each one required considerable time, effort, and resources to arrange; unless the Profound Turtle Alchemist spent his whole life doing nothing else, there was no way.

Past experiences exploring those dwellings showed that the Profound Turtle Alchemist always left some relics behind, though the number varied.

"That many relics, but only a handful are actually useful," Lu Chang’sheng replied.

The dozens of relics Ning Zhao described included Turtle Shell Maps, Magical Artifacts, and pills.

But apart from the Turtle Shell Maps—which were protected by seals and hadn’t completely worn away with age—the rest had lost nearly all spiritual energy and were essentially worthless.

And the content within the Turtle Shell Maps was all nonsense—not only was there no alchemy insight, there weren’t even any erotic paintings. It was just a bunch of random scribbles.

Supposedly, in his later years, the Profound Turtle Alchemist fell in love with the four mundane arts: zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

But his talent was mediocre. After studying for decades, he was still just average, and eventually he simply started doodling whatever came to mind.

The turtle shells on the Profound Turtles’ backs became his canvas.

"Hahaha, but that’s not the point! The point is, this is very likely the real thing. Do you want to come take a look? You know, this inheritance is about the Profound Turtle Alchemist. If you can gain any insights there, it’ll be something that benefits you for life."

"Let’s talk about it later."

Lu Chang’sheng was somewhat tempted. The Profound Turtle Alchemist had tremendous attainments in Alchemy Dao—he was only half a step from breaking through the second rank’s bottleneck and reaching the third rank.

Even Golden Core experts respected his alchemy. Yet, recalling the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s Le Ziren personality, Lu Chang’sheng decided against it.

Ning Zhao grew anxious and said, "Alchemist Lu, won’t you reconsider? This news won’t stay secret for long. By then, cultivators from other regions will arrive. The Profound Turtle Alchemist was close to breaking into third-rank—any legacy he left behind would definitely stir up huge waves."

"You’re right, I’ll think it over carefully," Lu Chang’sheng replied once more.

His own path was already pretty much secure; he had no real need to take the risk.

"Now that I’m a hundred, I have decades left to live. In fifty more years, my Root Bone aptitude will definitely rise another rank—by then, it’ll be upper D-grade."

"And that’s just being conservative."

Gaining one Spirit Root Point every five years—fifty years meant leveling up an entire grade. And that was just thanks to the Golden Finger, not counting additional boosts from the Cyan Spirit Technique.

Counting the Cyan Spirit Technique, in the next fifty years, breaking into C-grade shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

"But once I’m a hundred and fifty, attempting Foundation Establishment will be much riskier."

So Lu Chang’sheng had some concerns; he’d never actually wait till then to attempt Foundation Establishment.

At this moment, Nangua came over and led him next door to another courtyard.

The entire courtyard was adorned with rare flowers. A young woman in a green dress was inside, harvesting Spirit Bee Honey.

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng and Li Nangua, Gu Chan greeted them with a smile. "Lu, Nangua—just give me a moment."

"It’s fine, take your time."

Li Nangua replied with a smile.

Spirit Bee Honey had beautifying and nourishing qualities, and was a specialty of the Good Beast Sect. Over the years, Gu Chan had collected some for personal use, but each harvest she would always send a portion to Li Nangua.