Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

Among the Immortal Sect, the temple priest—Gong Yun—was the foremost.

He was also referred to as the "temple god."

However, because the temple priests were not of the human race, they encountered considerable restriction while moving about within the Immortal Sect.

Gong Yun, being the temple god, did enjoy a bit more freedom, yet to set foot inside the court of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there were many things he had to take into account.

"It's all problems left over by history."

Temple priests, back in ancient times, had joined in fierce battles of the human Dao lineage; if it were only that, it wouldn't be so bad. Yet during those conflicts, they resorted to every means possible and even allied themselves with demons in the end, turning against the human cultivators.

This sort of conduct wasn't an isolated incident—so, when the humans grew dominant, they treated the temple priest tribe quite harshly.

The only reason they were kept around was their unique ability to gather mortal incense offerings.

Lu Chang'sheng tapped open his Treasure Vault Immortal Insect and sure enough, he spotted some incense money inside.

Incense money contained the accumulated power of mortal faith; for cultivators, it had some uses, such as refining certain special merit magical artifacts.

Lu Chang'sheng checked them over, and, seeing nothing was amiss, tucked those incense coins into his own Treasure Vault Immortal Insect.

After a while, he'd be able to sell them off.

A single incense coin was as valuable as a superior-grade spirit stone—and he was desperately short on spirit stones right now.

"Refining Concentration Pills takes money. So does cultivation."

Upon reaching Foundation Establishment, cultivating with first-grade pills wouldn't cut it anymore—though Perfect Pills were still decent, they were simply no match for second-grade pills.

If you tried to buy pills directly from the Immortal Sect, that wouldn't work either; the supply of second-grade pills couldn't keep up. Every Foundation Establishment cultivator was issued a fixed quota of pills per month, at most two True Essence Pills, and for more, you'd have to pay out-of-pocket to hire an alchemist.

At that point, the price was up for negotiation.

When it came down to it, Lu Chang'sheng figured he might as well refine them himself. That way, he could save costs—and at the same time, boost his alchemy experience.

Cultivation, in the end, all came down to a single word: money!

Before worrying about that, though, he first needed to cultivate the Foundation Establishment magic techniques of his sect.

Right now, the only proper technique he had was Puppetry Technique.

Plus, Spirit Needle Technique.

But he'd only just begun to practice Spirit Needle Technique; he hadn't even reached entry level yet.

For once, Lu Chang'sheng genuinely felt the embarrassment of having empty pockets again.

"The higher your cultivation, the poorer you get. No wonder so many cultivators pick up side hustles."

Lu Chang'sheng thought to himself, it was lucky he had some talent for alchemy—his side business was thriving.

Even at the Foundation Establishment stage, he could scrape by.

"Was that the temple god Gong Yun just now?" Nangua walked over; earlier, she'd been chatting with Gu Chan on the other side.

The news of Lu Chang'sheng's Foundation Establishment had gotten around; by today, the third day, far fewer people were left—most had gone off to Purple Ice Lake.

Those who hadn't reached the late Qi Cultivation stage didn't have the guts or standing to pay a visit to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

So, the entire Lu Mansion had finally gotten a bit of breathing room.

"Yeah."

"Best not get too involved with the temple priests," Nangua said.

"I know. I only ran into him for a moment, that's all." Lu Chang'sheng replied.

The temple priests were generally disliked—no matter which Immortal Sect you were in.

······

Gong Yun deliberately chose the most remote paths; his face never lost that harmless gentle smile, until a certain temple appeared ahead, and his expression suddenly turned dark and cold.

Glancing around and seeing no one, he stepped inside the temple.

What was unsettling was that inside the temple, there were several other temple priests.

The temple priests were mostly barely three feet tall, looking no different from dwarves as they stood.

Very few people knew that such gatherings of temple priests were actually forbidden under sect rules.

But at this time, with most Foundation Establishment cultivators gone from the sect, the temple priests dared drop their caution a little.

"Didn't expect another Foundation Establishment to appear in the sect." Gong Yun strode up to the main seat, face twisted and fierce—completely different from his appearance outside.

A heavy silence filled the room: the temple priests present were the most powerful in the Good Beast Sect—yet even so, none had managed to reach Foundation Establishment.

Throughout Good Beast Sect, only Gong Yun had reached Foundation Establishment.

The Immortal Sect wasn't stupid; their willingness to look down on the temple priest tribe meant they possessed overwhelming strength.

Originally, they'd assumed that the incident at Purple Ice Lake would be their chance—but to their surprise, Lu Chang'sheng had suddenly appeared.

"Keep calm." After a long while, Gong Yun's beady little eyes spun, "A newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator can still be handled. I'll go out in a few days."

The other temple priests instantly breathed a sigh of relief, anxiety draining from their faces.

Seeing this, Gong Yun couldn't help feeling helpless—the temple priest tribe had been suppressed by the Immortal Sect for so long that reverence and fear had seeped deep into their bones.

That was precisely why he'd agreed to take part in this operation.

"What a feat this is. If we really pull it off… in times to come, the Spirit Realm will be shaken to its core."

Once the others had left, Gong Yun's eyes burned with a touch of madness and longing.

The temple priests' tribe, in ages past, had been one of the mightiest houses in the Spirit Realm. Too bad—later, they suffered devastating losses in the struggle for power, giving human cultivators the opening they'd needed.

It was a wound deep in the hearts of countless temple gods.

Gong Yun mourned the glory of his ancestors for a moment, but soon realized this was no time for nostalgia; with someone in charge of tracking the movements of the temple priests, he'd have to plan his exit from the sect with utmost care.

······

Throughout Lu Mansion, many of direct bloodlines had received Lu Chang'sheng's summons.

With everyone here, and thanks to Nangua's reminder, Lu Chang'sheng hosted a family banquet.