Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age

When it comes to taking credit, Dai Chun definitely has something to say.

He was the one who leaked all this to Yan Yu and the others in the first place. Otherwise, with only the two of them—both Foundation Establishment cultivators—in the know, Dai Chun could've hidden the truth and kept all the credit for himself, and Lu Chang'sheng wouldn't have been able to do a thing about it.

Of course, Lu Chang'sheng trusted that as long as Dai Chun hadn't lost his mind, he wouldn't pull something like that.

He was bound to take up the mantle of the Alchemy Institute sooner or later—even if he didn't become the Dean, he'd at least become one of the most important alchemists there. There was no point making an enemy out of him over something so trivial.

By Foundation Establishment, cultivators weren't that dumb anymore—they had a clear sense of priorities.

The conversation grew lively. Yan Yu immediately brought out top-quality spirit tea and spirit wine for everyone to enjoy.

Ning He raised his White Jade Cup, inhaled the spirits' aroma, and sighed, "Now that's the stuff. The Yan Family's famous Moonlight Wine—you rarely ever get to see this. All these years in the sect, I've only had it twice, and only a few sips each time."

"All thanks to Fellow Daoist Lu here."

"This is wild—after fighting for the Good Beast Sect for so many years, we still need to thank Alchemist Lu just to get a taste of Moonlight Wine."

Zhong Mountain thumped his chest and legs, using magical power to squeeze out a few pitiful tears, making the others burst out laughing.

Yan Yu shot him a glare and brought out another bottle of spirit wine.

"Alright, alright, here's another bottle for you greedy lot. Do you even know how hard it is to brew this Moonlight Wine?"

If he weren't the Patriarch, there's no way he'd have gotten so much. Even then, these two bottles were just about all he'd managed to stash away over decades.

And, honestly, it was thanks to Lu Chang'sheng.

Cultivators didn't drink and serve tea like mortals—with them, it was all about slowly savoring each sip.

They drank and chatted for half a day. Noticing Yan Yu had something to discuss, the others made up excuses to leave, until only Huang Yun, Yan Yu, and Lu Chang'sheng remained.

"So, Fellow Daoist Lu, how do you feel about the Alchemy Institute?" Yan Yu asked.

Huang Yun quietly sipped his spirit tea, staying silent.

But since the two of them stayed behind, they'd obviously talked it through beforehand.

Lu Chang'sheng knew exactly what was going on.

"Not bad. The brothers at the Alchemy Institute are devoted to cultivation. The atmosphere is great," Lu Chang'sheng replied.

There's bound to be competition wherever there are people, but he'd already outgrown that. So what he saw was a scene entirely different from others' perspectives.

"That's good, then. Fellow Daoist Huang Yun told me your alchemy skills are top-notch—only a notch below his. Right now, even though we have plenty of cultivators from other domains passing through, we suspect they won't be staying for long. Once they leave, our Good Beast Sect is out of the woods."

Lu Chang'sheng nodded.

Now that he knew the temple priest clan was involved in the Guangnan Domain turmoil, the situation was becoming clear.

If it was just one Immortal Sect's temple priests stirring things up, fine. But now all Three Immortals of Guangnan Domain had temple priests in the mix, and the same might be happening elsewhere.

Even if not, the Immortal Sects would definitely start reconsidering the temple priest clans in their ranks—this was no small issue.

The temple priest clan was quite a major force in the Spirit Realm—they even had some seriously powerful figures among them.

"Fellow Daoist Huang Yun doesn't have much time left—he's thinking of heading to the Great Domain to seek his fortune."

Yan Yu glanced at Huang Yun, who nodded in agreement, before speaking slowly.

"With your skill, Fellow Daoist Huang Yun, you'll do just fine over there!" Lu Chang'sheng said with a smile.

Huang Yun put down his spirit tea and shook his head. "If it were that easy, would I really have stayed in the Good Beast Sect all these years?"

Lu Chang'sheng raised his brows. "Mind sharing the details?"

What Lu Chang'sheng knew of the Great Domain was mostly from books and letters sent by Fang Yuan and a few late-stage Qi Cultivation friends.

Descriptions of the Great Domain always made it sound tough.

But nobody ever got into specifics.

After all, whether it was Fang Yuan or Dai Chun, their skills only got them so far—they just didn't know that much.

But Huang Yun was different. As a second-rank alchemist, if he'd spent time in the Great Domain, his status must've been way beyond the other two.

"You probably already know—the Great Domain is as prosperous as they say, the place every Small Domain cultivator dreams of. The competition's fierce, though. As a second-rank alchemist, I could just barely get by over there—but it's not like I'd be better off than I am now."

Huang Yun laid it all out.

Back then, before he met Yan Yu, he'd just crossed the threshold into second-rank alchemy and was crafting pills for a trading house. But that trading house already had several second-rank alchemists—one of whom was nearly top-tier, almost third-rank.

Then, out of nowhere, he got dragged into some internal struggle—and ended up losing.

As an alchemist, he wouldn't be thrown out. But when it came to hidden resources, he got squeezed out.

The trading house was huge, so why would they care what a first-rank alchemist thought?

On top of that, he'd signed a Spirit Contract, so he couldn't even leave.

"In the end, it was Fellow Daoist Yan Yu who pulled me out—paid a steep price to free me from that contract."

"At first, I didn't want to go back to the Small Domains, so I drifted around the Great Domain for decades, but finally had to return and beg for work at Yan Yu's place."

"Luckily, Daoist Yan Yu never held it against me that I went back on my word so many times."

Huang Yun sounded wistful.

"You're too modest, Fellow Daoist. With your skills, you'd be a guest of honor in any Small Domain Immortal Sect—how could I ever look down on you? I should thank you for even remembering us," Yan Yu chuckled, shaking his head.

This story was kind of famous—at that time, the Good Beast Sect's alchemists were in really short supply, to the point where they didn't even have anyone who could make a Foundation Establishment Pill. With no other choice, Yan Yu had to try his luck in the Great Domain.

The Great Domain was a gathering place for talent—but people always went where the grass was greener. Hearing he was from a Small Domain, nobody wanted much to do with him.

Thankfully, he ran into the down-on-his-luck Huang Yun.

Figuring it was worth a shot, he ransomed Huang Yun, and, as fate would have it, the Good Beast Sect gained a second-rank alchemist.

Huang Yun soon realized that Small Domain Immortal Sects weren't as hopeless as he'd thought, so he stayed.

Now that the end of his years was approaching, he was planning to try his luck back in the Great Domain.

"Second-rank alchemists aren't exactly everywhere in the Great Domain, but they're not rare either. In those smaller sects, I could scrape by in the middle tier. But those small sects just barely survive amid Golden Core-level powers—it's tough to get anything good."

"I thought I might go back once I got promoted to mid-second rank in alchemy, but…well…"

Lu Chang'sheng glanced at Yan Yu, who obviously didn't mind Huang Yun being so direct—he must've been expecting this.

Cultivators were always seeking longevity—if Yan Yu blocked his Foundation Establishment cultivators from advancing, the Good Beast Sect wouldn't have survived this long.

In fact, as a real Immortal Sect Leader, he wanted someone to make it in the Great Domain. That would give Good Beast Sect a foothold—and powerful connections there. The whole sect would benefit.

"If you ever want to head to the Great Domain, I won't hold you back. If you make it to Golden Core like someone from Fuyun Mountain, maybe our disciples won't be looked down on when they go."

Yan Yu looked at Lu Chang'sheng as he spoke.

"The Sect Leader is truly magnanimous!" Lu Chang'sheng felt a surge of respect. Having a leader like this really wasn't bad at all.

"If you want to head to the Great Domain, you'd best at least get the Foundation Establishment Pill formula up to Minor Achievement. That way, you'll actually have a leg to stand on," Huang Yun advised.

Lu Chang'sheng nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

"You two can chat more about the Great Domain later. There's some time still—but as for the position of Dean of the Alchemy Institute, we do need to sort that out ahead of time." Yan Yu looked at Lu Chang'sheng with a grin. "So, are you interested in taking over as Dean?"