Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 245 - 164: Choose One of Two

"Even though he cut off our path, since he has Upper Grade C potential, he’s still worth befriending."

After a long silence, Zhu Zhen let out a heavy breath and said.

"Besides, as long as this opening remains, we may slowly conquer it in the future."

People can change.

They could start with Lu Chang’sheng’s family members, and when the opportunity came, raise the issue again—then Lu Chang’sheng would find it hard to refuse.

"What the Clan Leader said is true, but I’ve heard a rumor that Lu Chang’sheng seems to be in conflict with that Alchemist Lei."

Zhu Ding suddenly spoke up.

He then shared the information he’d dug up.

Upon hearing this, all the Zhu Family elders fell silent.

Alchemist Lei was a veteran Grade One Alchemist, also rated C. Of course, for them, this kind of Grade C was basically at its limit—his chances of becoming a Grade Two Alchemist were extremely slim.

If it was only Alchemist Lei, they wouldn’t have much to fear. But behind Alchemist Lei stood Alchemist Zhou—Zhou Lin.

That new Alchemist who earned a Lower Grade B rating, with a vast future ahead—Master Baiyun had even said: barring any accidents, he’s certain to become a Grade Two Foundation Establishment Alchemist.

The Zhu Family had gone through great lengths to build this relationship, and they absolutely couldn’t throw it away because of Lu Chang’sheng.

"In that case, let it be."

Zhu Zhen was decisive. He immediately called Niu Xi in and withdrew the gift meant for Lu Chang’sheng.

Even the post of Bai Ze Medicine Garden’s steward was rescinded.

······

Lu Chang’sheng knew nothing of this. A few days after meeting with Niu Xi, he received Lu Chang’an and Lu Ziyou, the two brothers.

"Now that Father has money, he sold those things off cheap to other Fellow Daoists at the Little Cold Valley market."

The two brothers hadn’t brought much with them.

With dozens of miles to travel and no Qi Cultivator like Lu Chang’sheng to help, trying to haul heavy items like a Pill Furnace would be exhausting and slow their travel considerably.

So, Lu Chang’an took it upon himself to sell off those heavier items.

Aside from the two brothers, some neighbors from Little Cold Valley came along too.

And also—the owner of Little Cold Valley, a late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator.

"I am Beiming of Little Cold Valley. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Lu."

"So it’s Fellow Daoist Beiming—an honor, an honor," Lu Chang’sheng said hastily.

This place was not far from the White Cloud Pharmacy, so he wasn’t worried about Beiming making a move against him. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

If it was inside Little Cold Valley, that would be a different story.

Both were wearing shoes, but Beiming’s soles were clearly thicker than Lu Chang’sheng’s—there’s no way he’d risk offending the White Cloud Cave Mansion just for someone who’d just passed his assessment.

"Haha, I never thought my Little Cold Valley would produce a cultivator like you, Daoist. If you ever need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to ask."

Lu Chang’sheng readily agreed.

The other clearly spoke out of courtesy, so he didn’t need to take it seriously.

Sure enough, after Beiming led his group away, Lu Chang’an shared that Beiming had come along for some other important matter.

Exactly what, he didn’t know.

"Seems like a lot of late-stage Qi Cultivators have been rushing to this area lately," Lu Chang’an said.

He was shrewd; on the way, he’d picked up plenty of news that Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t heard before.

"I’ll check with my teacher about this. For now, return with me to White Cloud Pharmacy so you can settle in."

"We’ll do whatever Father says."

Lu Ziyou and Lu Chang’an replied.

The three of them returned to White Cloud Pharmacy. Lu Chang’sheng asked if the two had any plans of their own, and shared some of his own intentions with them.

"Father!" Lu Chang’an spoke up after hearing this, "I’d rather not stay at Yun’an Institute."

"Why?"

"With your limitless future in the Alchemy Dao, Father will need someone to help manage things. Plus, while the White Cloud Cave Mansion does buy surplus pills made by alchemists, their prices are not great."

"So, if you want to build up resources quickly, you can’t put all your hopes in the White Cloud Pharmacy."

"Also, if something goes wrong at White Cloud Cave Mansion, you’d be at a big disadvantage."

Lu Chang’sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly—he was starting to find his eldest son quite intriguing.

"You mean the Supreme Profound Sect?" He activated a sound insulation spirit array in the courtyard, and spoke calmly.

"Two tigers can’t share one mountain—that’s the way of the wild. I’ve been paying attention lately, and there’s a lot of family disputes around Platinum Immortal City. I’d say Supreme Profound Sect is behind much of it."

White Cloud Cave Mansion certainly couldn’t compare to the Supreme Profound Sect, but Master Baiyun was backed by Heaven-Burning Valley.

That’s bound to make the Supreme Profound Sect wary. If they ever lose patience, White Cloud Cave Mansion will be hit hard.

"Of course, that’s just speculation; might not be true. White Cloud Cave Mansion has been here for many years and has gotten along with the Gu Family, so there probably won’t be any major trouble," Lu Chang’an added quickly.

Lu Chang’sheng laughed, "Better safe than sorry. Your reasoning is not wrong. But at the moment our relationship with White Cloud Cave Mansion is symbiotic, so we do need to keep that in mind."

No one could predict the future, but Lu Chang’sheng knew he definitely didn’t want to be under someone else’s thumb.

Letting Lu Chang’an establish a separate base outside was indeed necessary.

"I understand, Father."

"But you can’t neglect your cultivation—if you want to set up elsewhere, you’ll at least need to reach the Qi Cultivation realm."

That’s the bare minimum.

With that level of cultivation, you could use many magical artifacts—like a treasure vault immortal insect, defensive magical artifacts, talisman papers, and so on. Security would be vastly improved.