Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 294 - 186: The Alchemy Dao Insights of the Profound Turtle Alchemist

Chapter 294: Chapter 186: The Alchemy Dao Insights of the Profound Turtle Alchemist

"Father broke through again?" Lu Ziyou said in surprise.

"Yes, another breakthrough."

"As expected of Father, but it’s still best to keep a low profile." Lu Ziyou said.

Right now he couldn’t stand it when his own family acted high-profile—even thinking about it made his heart uneasy.

"Showing off just brings trouble. As they say, the tallest tree catches the wind—"

Lu Chang’sheng waved his hand and returned to the cultivation chamber.

"Once the aftermath of this passes, I can head to Fuyun Mountain. Hope everything goes smoothly."

Nangua’s former master was a Foundation Establishment expert, so Lu Chang’sheng had no certainty he could actually bring her back.

But he couldn’t let Nangua and Chang’an stay over there for decades.

Next, he took out the Turtle Shell Map, silently feeling relieved that he’d left early that day—otherwise, he really could have been caught up in the fighting.

"The Wang Family has two Foundation Establishment cultivators on duty year-round. With Red Cloud Daoist’s strength, how did he manage to snatch those two items from the Wang Family?"

This doubt had always lingered in Lu Chang’sheng’s heart. There was obviously more to the story, though it didn’t seem to be tied to him.

For now, all he needed was to wait for Qu Guang and Fang Yuan to return, arrange what was left on his plate, then set out for Fuyun Mountain to bring back Nangua and Chang’an.

"Thunder Merchant House was probably looking for me at first, and there’s no past grievance between us, so most likely it’s because I flashed too much wealth at the auction."

"Or—maybe this Turtle Shell Map is more than meets the eye."

Lu Chang’sheng focused his heart and mind on the Turtle Shell Map.

It looked pretty ordinary—a turtle shell about the size of a washbasin, its surface covered in a thick layer of sludge as though it’d been buried underwater for ages.

But Lu Chang’sheng knew well: this was actually a spirit array concealing the characters engraved on the turtle’s back.

The Profound Turtle Alchemist had kept a journal on it, and perhaps considering it private, used this unique array as a cover.

Fortunately, over long years, this kind of spirit array had been decrypted. Even though Lu Chang’sheng didn’t know how, the auction house provided the method.

After spending some time learning the deciphering technique, Lu Chang’sheng set to work; a few days later, a faint spiritual light exploded in the cultivation chamber, and right after, characters started appearing on the muddy turtle shell.

"So that’s it—what’s recorded on the Turtle Shell Map is actually a relatively complete account of alchemy knowledge."

Lu Chang’sheng was thrilled but quickly grew doubtful again.

Alchemy expertise was certainly worth a fortune, but how did the Zhu Family or Thunder Commerce Association know about it?

Even the Wang Family couldn’t bypass the spirit array on the Turtle Shell Map to see what’s inside, let alone a few late-stage Qi Cultivators.

"Maybe they obtained some secret technique to discern something special about the Turtle Shell Map."

In the end, Lu Chang’sheng could only conclude thus.

Once the array faded from the turtle’s back, if the words weren’t recorded fast enough, they’d vanish. So he didn’t linger, and devoted himself to copying it.

A day later, there was a new notebook in front of Lu Chang’sheng, filled with hurried scrawl.

It was the very alchemy records of the Profound Turtle Alchemist he’d transcribed.

As a seasoned second-rank alchemist and honored guest of Golden Core cultivators, the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s knowledge was truly extraordinary—and even if this was just a fragment, it was enough for Lu Chang’sheng to feel he’d gained immensely.

Just a few days of reading had already made Lu Chang’sheng feel as though enlightenment washed over him.

Of course, this was thanks to his deep foundation; otherwise, even if he had this alchemy record before him, he might not have understood it.

"In cultivation, the worst mistake is building lofty towers on weak ground. Without everything I’ve learned at White Cloud Pharmacy, I wouldn’t understand it at all, nor master this variable."

"Perhaps, this artifact will be the chance for me to cross the first-rank threshold and step into the second."

A month later, as he looked at the notebook, Lu Chang’sheng was overjoyed.

Originally, his skill in refining the Qi Storage Pill had reached perfection, and he’d hit a wall—but with the Profound Turtle Alchemist’s knowledge, he sensed that barrier loosening.

Now, while waiting for Qu Guang and Fang Yuan to return, he could focus fully on his alchemical cultivation.

"The first rank of alchemy is really all about building a foundation. Once that’s firm and the cultivation requirement is met, you become a true second-rank alchemist."

Half a year later, Lu Chang’sheng’s feeling of clarity grew ever stronger, so he deliberately started taking tasks to refine all kinds of pills, catching Steward Yang of the B-rank institute off-guard.

For a new B-rank alchemist like Lu Chang’sheng, he had to pay extra attention, lest any taboos were violated down the line.

Different from the C and D-rank alchemists, B-rank alchemists could freely choose which pill-refining tasks they accepted.

The steward only needed to list out all tasks and deliver them to the B-rank alchemists so they could pick what they wanted.

Steward Yang thought for sure Lu Chang’sheng would choose to refine the Qi Storage Pills—but instead, he immediately checked off another pill entirely: the Vajra Pill.

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng’s choice, Steward Yang almost thought he’d read wrong. He hesitated, but didn’t ask about it.

He turned and left.

After he left, Lu Chang’sheng’s brow furrowed slightly.

Though Steward Yang hid it well, Lu Chang’sheng still noticed a few clues.

Compared to C-rank’s Steward Mo, Yang was a seasoned operator, but still influenced by the other alchemists.

As B-rank alchemists, they were tasked with at least first-grade high-level pills. And the Qi Storage Pill, being so common, was one most alchemists were best at making.

So, in picking tasks, everyone generally chose the Qi Storage Pill.

The White Cloud Cave Mansion didn’t assign tasks randomly—the tasks matched outside demand. If other B-rank alchemists had already taken all the Qi Storage Pill assignments, others had to select other types of pill-making tasks.

"Usually, there are more than a dozen types to pick from for each round of task assignment. But just now, I was only offered four choices."

Clearly, before coming to Yun’an Institute, Steward Yang had first visited the other alchemists to let them choose their pill-refining tasks in advance.

"Looks like I’ve been underestimated." Lu Chang’ssheng shook his head but didn’t dwell on it. For a few B-rank alchemists, there’d naturally be a pecking order—maybe Steward Yang was just sticking to seniority by putting him down the line.

He’d keep watching how it played out a few more times.

Lu Chang’ssheng thought to himself.

Besides, picking a less common pill-making task suited him just fine.

"The more kinds of pills I refine, the better for advancing my alchemy Dao."

He bowed his head and began preparing to refine the Vajra Pill.

This pill was for strengthening the body; once it was done, he’d acquire a new body-refining technique, adding another method for self-defense.

Last time he was escaping, he’d nearly been ambushed by a beast skilled at hiding—if not for its low cultivation and his protective magical artifact, he would’ve been gutted.

Two months later, Lu Chang’ssheng handed a batch of top-grade Vajra Pills to Steward Yang.

Even though he’d prepared himself mentally, Steward Yang couldn’t help feeling surprise.

From task pick-up to completion, it hadn’t been three months—Alchemist Lu had finished the refining faster than expected.

The speed was outstanding.

As far as Yang knew, Lu Chang’ssheng had never refined the Vajra Pill before—meaning, Lu changedsheng took less than three months to reach minor achievement with the Vajra Pill formula.

After all, it’s only at minor achievement that you have a shot at crafting top-grade pills.

Thinking this, Steward Yang couldn’t help but feel hesitant again.

"Alchemist Lu, there’s a banquet for alchemists in the Inner Sect tonight. Don’t forget to attend."

Lu Chang’ssheng had wanted to decline, but when Yang said the True Man himself had ordered the banquet, it was better not to be absent.

"Why is the True Man holding this banquet?"

"No idea. I heard it’s because Alchemist Zhou Lin recently made a breakthrough."

Lu Chang’ssheng nodded, understanding immediately.

Zhou Lin was one of the few fresh arrivals at White Cloud Cave Mansion to be rated as a B-rank talent—the fact that Master Baiyun valued him was perfectly reasonable.

Seeing Lu Chang’ssheng quiet, Steward Yang offered consolation: "Alchemist Zhou Lin really is a rare talent; maybe one day he’ll succeed the True Man and become the White Cloud Cave Mansion’s face."

Lu Chang’ssheng smiled and said nothing.