Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 252 - 167: Ruthlessness

To make this ’investment’ more convincing, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t just sit around and do nothing.

He divided the ’investment’ into three phases.

The first phase, with a maximum duration of two years.

The second phase, with a maximum duration of twenty years.

The third phase, with a maximum duration of twenty-five years.

He needed to make sure the other side could see some results in each phase.

And he would make a Daoist Oath.

Only then would the other four families be willing to invest their resources without worry.

Of course, there were also more subtle constraints, like if Lu Chang’sheng wanted to leave Platinum Immortal City, he’d have to inform someone from the five families. Otherwise, it would be considered breach of contract, and the five families could take measures accordingly.

This agreement would be recorded with a Memory Stone. If Lu Chang’sheng broke it, he might even be branded an Evil Cultivator.

"If you want to gain something, you have to pay the price."

Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t about to leave Platinum Immortal City easily anyway, so he agreed to these terms.

As for Nangua, things were tough over there but not life-threatening. As long as he could send them some Spirit Stones so they wouldn’t go broke, there wasn’t much else to worry about for now.

"Right now, I still need to improve my Alchemy Dao, so I can handle whatever comes."

······

Qu Family.

A manor sprawling over dozens of acres stood here.

Wan Yu returned from Qingfeng Building, went into her residence, and immediately saw several family members standing in front, looking serious.

"Do we really have to go through with this?"

One of the family members couldn’t help but speak up.

The Wan Family was just a small clan—with barely over ten people. Plus, Wan Yu was the old ancestor’s favorite, so she managed to house her whole family in the Qu Family’s gardens.

Just as Lu Chang’sheng expected, this investor was less Qu Family’s ancestor and more Wan Family, with Wan Yu as their face.

"That’s right, Yu, it wasn’t easy for us to earn these Spirit Stones. Isn’t handing them all over to outsiders a bit—"

A woman murmured in a low voice.

In the Wan Family, Wan Yu was the strongest, not just because her Spirit Root Talent was off the charts, but also because she was the old ancestor’s concubine. Everyone else had to mind her mood.

"Actually, we could cut back just a little. That way, even if something happens to Alchemist Lu, it’s not a big loss."

Their words, between the lines, were all about not wanting to cooperate with Lu Chang’sheng, or at least wanting to dial it back.

"While you were out, news somehow reached Qingyi Garden, and those women laid into us with all kinds of sarcastic crap."

The woman speaking kept her eyes on Wan Yu as she talked.

Qingyi Garden and Wanfeng Garden didn’t get along at all. The mistress running Qingyi Garden had always clashed with Wan Yu.

So Wan Yu cared a lot about what that woman thought.

The woman knew it too—she was trying to use Qingyi Garden to shake Wan Yu’s resolve. But Wan Yu just turned cold and stared her down.

"I’m wondering if you tipped off that bitch on purpose."

The woman quickly bowed her head and said, "Of course not! I swear to the heavens, I’d never do such a thing."

Wan Yu eased up, her tone calm: "Good. You know those bitches have been showing off a lot lately—trying to catch the ancestor’s eye when he comes out of secluded cultivation. Qu Family’s got some heritage, sure, but it’s not that appealing to alchemists. Don’t screw this up for me."

Once everyone left, Wan Yu’s face grew gloomy.

What she hadn’t told those family members was that another late-stage Qi Cultivator of the Qu Family was nearing his end. And even though their old ancestor was a bit younger, he wasn’t far off either.

From what she knew, both ancestors had taken plenty of Longevity Pills. If they wanted to live longer, they’d need a new kind of Longevity Pill.

"With this connection to Lu Chang’sheng, when the time comes, it’ll be easy to ask those alchemists backing him for help. That’ll earn me face before the ancestor."

Just like with the Zhu Family, Wan Yu didn’t care much for Lu Chang’sheng himself—she was focused on the connections he brought.

But she was smarter than the Zhu Family, and had more leverage too.

······

Lu Chang’sheng knew all this, but chose not to call it out.

The next day, resources from each family arrived one after another, mostly Spirit Stones, but also some alchemy supplies.

"So many Spirit Stones... Even a B-rank alchemist doesn’t get this much."

The pile of Spirit Stones was like a small mountain, easily tens of thousands.

Lu Chang’sheng was free to use them as he pleased.

He kept some Spirit Stones in reserve, and planned to spend the rest.

A moment later, Lu Chang’sheng had someone fetch Steward Mo.

"What kind of auxiliary magical artifacts for alchemy do we have in the pharmacy’s storeroom?"

Steward Mo, who’d distinguished himself among the many servants in the C & D courts, naturally had a knack for this.

He immediately produced a Jade Scroll.

"There are three categories of auxiliary magical artifacts for alchemy: one replenishes Magical Power, one restores Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and one boosts Fire Control."

"Between those, we’ve got twenty-eight types of artifacts."

At this, Steward Mo paused and said, "Of all these, the sandalwood prayer beads and the Fire Suppression Magical Artifact are the top picks."

At the same moment, Lu Chang’sheng spotted those two artifacts in the Jade Scroll.

Sandalwood prayer beads were Spirit Calming Magical Artifacts; Fire Suppression Magical Artifact was, well, for Fire Control.

As for the ones for Magical Power recovery, those were a lot rarer.

A bit of digging, and it turned out that alchemists usually relied on pills for Magical Power recovery—it was a lot more cost-effective.

"Sure, I’m flush with Spirit Stones now, but no matter how much money you have, you’ve gotta spend it where it counts."