Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 152 - 120: Alchemy Dao Exchange, Truly Terrifying!

Chapter 152: Chapter 120: Alchemy Dao Exchange, Truly Terrifying!

This is the standing of the Innate Martial Artists.

Afterward, he personally entered the imperial palace and met with the Empress.

The Empress was now past forty, a few years younger than Lu Chang’sheng, but what surprised Lu Chang’sheng was that she looked so young—barely thirty.

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng’s confusion, Empress Zhu Qing smiled and said, "Our royal family once contacted Immortals and obtained some Beauty Pills. Later, the palace Alchemists figured out how to refine them. If all the materials are gathered, we can produce some ourselves."

The Empress was much more magnanimous than Lu Chang’sheng had imagined.

Soon after, Lu Chang’sheng received the Empress’s personal token and headed for the Alchemy Department at the Saint Institute.

But after he left, the Empress turned behind her and asked, "Well?"

"I checked—he shouldn’t have a Spirit Root."

An old crone stepped forward, a faint layer of white mist swirling between her brows.

"What a pity. I’ve possessed the Spiritual Eye Technique for years now, but still haven’t fully mastered it. Otherwise, I’d be able to help you find more Immortal Roots!"

The Spiritual Eye Technique condenses Spiritual Qi into spirit vision, allowing one to see a person’s Spirit Root aura.

As for the ’Immortal Root’ she spoke of, she meant a person possessing a Spirit Root.

"So he really doesn’t have a Spirit Root?"

Zhu Qing looked disappointed.

Lu Chang’sheng progressed in the Martial Dao so quickly—she’d thought he must possess a Spirit Root.

The old crone said, "Rapid improvement in Martial Dao doesn’t always mean possessing a Spirit Root; some people’s roots aren’t apparent and only the Spiritual Eye Technique can reveal them."

"I expected too much."

"Still, he has Innate Martial Dao cultivation—maybe when the Celestial Gate opens in the future, he might be of use to Great Yuan."

"When the Celestial Gate opens and the worlds merge, we’re sure to encounter those with ill intent. Innate cultivation may be able to resist some."

The old crone paused, then added, "I don’t mean to dampen your spirits, Miss, but from my research on Immortal Techniques, Innate Martial Artists, no matter how strong, are insignificant before any Immortal."

"Then what can we do?" Zhu Qing’s face darkened.

She’d hate for Great Yuan to be destroyed by malicious Immortals.

"Wait and see. As long as luck isn’t too bad, we probably won’t run into such Immortals. Besides, with Old Huang and the others’ strength—if even they can’t hold out, adding one Lu Chang’sheng won’t make any difference."

said the old crone.

The royal family has a tradition of Tributor-level Martial experts, and this ’Old Huang’ she mentioned is one of them—also possessing Innate Martial Dao cultivation.

However, these people always keep a low profile. Aside from certain key figures in the royal line, nobody else even knows they exist.

With these people around, the old crone felt that Zhu Qing was being too courteous to Lu Chang’sheng.

When word reached them that Lu Chang’sheng was coming to Jinghua Prefecture, she even appointed Xu Yuan, who had old ties with him, to lead a group of officials to welcome him.

Now, not only had she met him in person, she’d allowed him into the Saint Institute.

Back when they were treated as Innate seeds, even the late Emperor didn’t grant them such privileges.

Zhu Qing was well aware of the old crone’s thoughts. She consoled, "Don’t take it to heart, teacher. More people means more options. Lu Chang’sheng is Innate, too—you never know when we might need his help."

The old crone shook her head. "If he’d agreed to support you from the start, that’d be fine, but look at what he did! That Slash against the Rainstorm—gave it away! If Old Jin hears of it, he’ll surely make a trip to Black Mountain Prefecture and show him what it means to be outclassed."

Old Jin was another Innate, with a fiery temper, especially intolerant of Zhu Qing being slighted.

But back then, knowing his temperament, Zhu Qing didn’t tell him of the matter.

The others, though, understood the difficulty of slashing a hundred meters of rainstorm, so they tacitly approved of Zhu Qing’s actions.

Even so, they could not help feeling a little uneasy about it inside.

"The way you handled things this time isn’t like you at all," sighed the old crone.

Zhu Qing, when fighting for the throne, was decisive and ruthless, her nature carrying a hint of dominance, much like Great Yuan’s founding ancestor.

That was the main reason those Innate Tributors supported her.

Yet now, things were somewhat different.

At least, in her dealings with Lu Chang’sheng, she wasn’t the same.

Zhu Qing said, "Teacher, times have changed. The Celestial Gate is about to open; making an enemy of another Innate Martial Artist now is unwise. Since he left me some dignity, what harm is there in returning the favor?"

Back when Zhou Dingyuan came back and told her about the Slash against the Rainstorm, she’d already had a plan in mind.

Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t done it before a crowd; only Zhou Dingyuan’s soldiers and Hong Yuan’s group saw it.

He’d left this matter some room to maneuver.

On an ordinary day, with her temperament, she’d have responded with something of her own, but now was different.

With the worlds soon to merge, if she played all her cards over a trivial matter, she’d surely suffer losses that would affect future events.

······

"Hello, I am Lu Chang’sheng—and I’ve come especially to visit Master Yan." With the Empress’s token, Lu Chang’sheng quickly passed layer after layer of guards and entered the Saint Institute.

After checking in with the guards, deep within the Institute he met Yan Yun.

Yan Yun’s long hair and beard were white, his complexion ruddy—it was obvious his cultivation was profound.

Even with all his strength, Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t sense Yan Yun’s full aura—he knew this man was an Innate Martial Artist.

Were he not Innate, Lu Chang’sheng would’ve picked up his energy easily.

Anyone beneath Innate, Lu Chang’sheng could sense their full aura and deduce their cultivation, but not with Innate Martial Artists.

Their aura runs deep, held tight within. Even with his own late-Innate strength, he couldn’t get a full read.