Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 107 - 98: Pioneer

Lu Chang’sheng laughed.

Hong Yuan laughed along with him.

He knew about the flaw in Lu Chang’sheng’s cultivation—the Five Treasures True Skill and the Divine Power Stake didn’t mesh together, causing the flow of True Qi to be somewhat obstructed, leaving a faint sense of instability. So, previously, in the True Qi Realm, his True Qi couldn’t last as long as that of others at the same stage. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But now, that problem was completely resolved. You could say it saved him years of effort.

"There’ll be a Seeking Immortality Ritual at dawn tomorrow. Make sure to observe it well!" said Hong Yuan.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded, his heart full of anticipation for this Seeking Immortality Ritual.

······

The Vermilion Fruit was remarkably effective, especially for those with decent Root Bone.

By dusk, Lu Chang’sheng learned that the others had all entered the True Qi Realm, and Xu Zhuqing had even reached the mid-stage True Qi Realm, with her True Qi significantly strengthened.

"Natural talent is one thing, but personal constitution is just as important."

Lu Chang’sheng mused inwardly.

He was well-versed in pharmacology and understood the reasons. By rights, he himself had the best natural talent and Root Bone among them, so it made sense that he’d absorb the most energy from the Vermilion Fruit. However, no one knew that Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t directly converting the Vermilion Fruit’s energy into True Qi, but rather using his True Qi to patch up his foundations.

If not for this, he’d be at mid-stage True Qi Realm by now, outclassing Xu Zhuqing by a wide margin.

"The foundation is actually extremely important too. The more solid it is, the easier it is to cultivate True Qi Martial Arts!"

With his Light Curtain Panel, Lu Chang’sheng could clearly see the differences here.

Without fixing his foundation, reaching Minor Achievement in the Five Treasures True Skill would have taken a full 3.5 years. But now—

"Five Treasures True Skill: (Technique)"

"Entry required: 0.2 years (Entry achieved)"

"Minor Achievement required: 2 years (Minor Achievement)"

"Great Success required: 4 years (Great Success)"

Cutting out the half-year that’s already passed, he’d only need a little over a year to reach Minor Achievement.

Lu Chang’sheng even faintly sensed that practicing the other Pile Skills could also broaden his foundation.

Thinking this, he recalled the methods of the Immovable Stake, and began practicing inside his room.

At his current stage, getting started with the Immovable Stake was no big deal.

Besides, he’d already spent some time on it before, so by the next dawn, he had achieved entry in Immovable Stake.

"Immovable Stake: (Technique)"

"Entry required: 5 days (Entry achieved)"

"Minor Achievement required: 28 days (Minor Achievement)"

"Great Success required: 49 days (Great Success)"

Ordinary Pile Skills were now measured in days rather than years.

It was simply—

Brutal!

Looking again at the Light Curtain Panel, he couldn’t see the exact timing, but Lu Chang’sheng realized that the time required for Minor Achievement had definitely decreased somewhat.

Though not by much, so it wasn’t immediately obvious.

That night, the White Ape seemed to have vented enough of its anger. The White Ape was intelligent, and knew that even if it found Lu Chang’sheng and the others, there was nothing it could do. So it quieted down.

For Lu Chang’sheng and the others, it didn’t matter much anyway.

The next day, they gathered at an open clearing. The ground was piled with stone slabs, their surfaces carved with strange runic grooves, all filled with unusual fluids.

Having thoroughly studied the Immortal Worship Formula that Hong Yuan had left behind, Lu Chang’sheng easily identified the substance: it was Immortal Worship Incense.

This stuff wasn’t like ordinary candles or incense—it was a greenish-black liquid, flammable, and when lit would form a smoky image like incense. That’s why it was called Immortal Worship Incense.

There were several empty slots in the array’s runes for placement of special items.

"This is a pretty large array, looks like the items this time around are rather extraordinary," Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

Soon, everyone took their places and laid out the collected rare items: Immortal Music Spring, Golden Bull Horn, Xiang Girl Shell, the River and Luo Map, and Rainbow Robe.

With all five items placed, Elder Gu personally lit the Immortal Worship Incense.

They watched as the burning incense smoke drifted over the array, seemingly coalescing into something unseen.

A month later, at last, something manifested in midair above the array—a translucent image of a four-legged table.

An altar, an incense burner, incense, candles.

And then—the worship of immortals!

"It’s worked! It’s worked!"

As the ripples around them grew stronger, it felt as if the sky itself shimmered. Distant music descended from on high, and faintly, one could make out sculpted railings, jade palaces, towering pavilions, and fairies in rainbow robes.

It was Lu Chang’sheng’s first time witnessing such a sight—he was utterly awed.

There really are immortals in this world!

In the past, he’d always harbored some doubts—but faced with these marvels, he thought, if there aren’t immortals, how else could such things be explained?

He glanced around and saw that even Hong Yuan and the others were wild with excitement.

Could it be—they really could meet immortals this time?

Amid their hopeful gazes, the ripples in the air grew stronger, and it seemed as if a vertical eye opened in the heavens.

But suddenly, the sound of shattering filled the air. Everything—the visions, the palaces, the music—dissolved like a dream, turning to smoke and dust, swirling upward in an enormous column.

A strange fragrance assailed them, nearly identical to what they’d experienced back at Xu Mansion.

But the shock this time was much greater. Even though Lu Chang’sheng was now in the True Qi Realm, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over his mind.

There were thudding sounds as Gu Shan, Xu Zhuqing, Yu Hai, and the others passed out, unable to endure it.

It was said that Immortal Worship Incense was a thing used by immortals to calm their minds. Ordinary people would sleep deeply upon inhaling it, gaining health and longevity and warding off illness.

But in excess, it could put one to sleep, seemingly never to wake. Thankfully, all here were robust, so unlike ordinary folk, they weren’t so easily felled.

It failed!

Steadying himself, Lu Chang’sheng looked at the devastated elders before him, a wave of sorrow swelling in his heart.

Elder Gu’s face was gray, her body trembling and barely able to stay upright.

"Elder Gu is getting on, and her hopes for this Seeking Immortality Ritual were so high—now that it’s failed, the disappointment must have drained her spirit entirely!"

Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

He had achieved Medical Mastery, and at a glance saw Elder Gu was beyond saving—she had only a few days left to live.

Sure enough, Hong Yuan, who’d planned to leave after just a few days, kept postponing his departure again and again.

On the seventh day, suddenly, Gu Shan’s anguished voice rang out.

Elder Gu has passed!

Practicing Pile Skill in his room, Lu Chang’sheng was taken aback, and ran outside—only to see Gu Shan kneeling on the ground in front of the wooden wheelchair he’d made for Elder Gu.

Elder Gu sat in her chair, gazing into the distance, her frozen expression filled with regret and unwillingness.

······

On the way back to Fufeng Town, Hong Yuan, silent all the way, suddenly looked at Lu Chang’sheng and asked, "Why do you think Elder Gu sought immortality?"

"For longevity, I suppose."

Lu Chang’sheng replied without hesitation.

Hong Yuan paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Longevity is certainly desirable, but for us mortals, it’s not something everyone truly wants."

"All these years, I’ve read plenty about how people talk of longevity. To live longer—then what?"

"Keep cultivating? Keep climbing? If that’s all, then how are we any different from ordinary people?"

"A nobody, struggling upward to become well-off, then climbing to become a noble, and climbing even further... but so long as we’re still human, there will come a day when we tire. And when we look back, the thing that lingers in our memory isn’t the hardship we endured, but the people who walked alongside us through that hardship. That—right there—is the brilliance in our journey."

"We seek immortality—maybe at first, it’s for longevity. But now—it’s only so our hearts may be at ease."

"Take Elder Gu. All these years, she hardly spoke of longevity anymore. More often, she’d speak of her husband, her family. The other day she said to us: if she had to choose between longevity and her loved ones, she’d choose her loved ones. So she wanted to do something for those who come afterward—to at least give them that choice."

Lu Chang’sheng was deeply moved.

Thinking of Elder Gu’s kind, gentle face, a single word sprang to mind—"Pioneer!"

And he thought, if Nangua and his parents were gone—what would he do?

At this, a faint sense of dread rose unbidden in his heart.

In the end, he too was only mortal.

And being mortal, there was no escaping this fate!

Unless—his family could attain longevity too!