Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 304 - 191: Personally Escorting!

"Liuyun Immortal City doesn’t have it either!"

"What? You mean our main base, Thundercloud Immortal City? Sorry, we’ve got our own tasks, and we’re not leaving until the mission’s done."

The commerce manager was adamant about not leaving Fuyun Mountain, even though just yesterday they’d been making arrangements to get the hell out.

Anyone jumping into this mess must have a nail in their brain.

Seeing the other side growing impatient, Lu Chang’sheng finally got up to say goodbye.

He was here to spread word, not to make enemies.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth curl up—barely three days had passed, and he’d already heard folks on Fuyun Mountain grumbling about Fairy Yunxia’s actions.

If Fairy Yunxia weren’t a mid-stage Foundation Establishment powerhouse, someone probably would’ve dealt with her by now.

Of course, Lu Chang’sheng was well aware he couldn’t go too far, or else things could easily backfire.

So every day, he just dropped by a couple merchant guilds—basically giving Fuyun Mountain and Cloud Mist Cave Mansion some time to react.

"A few more rounds and that should be enough."

Just as this crossed his mind, the next moment, Lu Chang’sheng saw someone appear before him.

"Do you need something, sir?"

A few covert glances came from all around. Usually, Ziyun would find this very flattering, but right now, it just felt like needles poking her back.

"Fell... Fellow Daoist, can I have a word?"

After she finally spat out "Fellow Daoist," Ziyun seemed to let her guard down entirely, relaxing a lot. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Of course, after you, Daoist." Lu Chang’sheng smiled. He hadn’t met Ziyun before, but had his suspicions, thinking, She’s ahead of schedule—looks like Fuyun Mountain really cares about their reputation.

And sure enough, as the two of them sat down at a teahouse, Ziyun got straight to the point.

She couldn’t quite bring herself to drop all pretense, so she spoke to Lu Chang’sheng as just another Fuyun Mountain manager.

"Do you realize, Fellow Daoist, that what you’re doing is making Fuyun Mountain lose face?"

As she spoke, there was a faint threat on Ziyun’s face.

"Fuyun Mountain prides itself on its tolerance, but when it comes to ill-intentioned folks, we will handle things by force if necessary."

She took a sip of tea, her eyes turning cold.

Looks like that self-important attitude still hasn’t changed.

Lu Chang’sheng was a bit annoyed inside, but he knew he had zero leverage against a Foundation Establishment manager—so he just put on a helpless face.

"Trust me, I know full well, but I just can’t afford to leave. Look, those major guilds aren’t willing to take me with them... My own cultivation and my family’s is weak, how would we dare go out on our own?"

Ziyun said, "Don’t worry. The ’master’ isn’t concerned with you at all. She won’t move against you."

Watching Lu Chang’sheng’s awkward forced smile, Ziyun suddenly felt speechless.

"Well—I’d rather stick around and check out a few more guilds here. Who knows, maybe in three or five years, some guild will accept us."

BANG!

The teacup in Ziyun’s hand suddenly shattered, tea splashing everywhere, before she used spiritual power to steam it away in an instant.

In just a few days, the higher-ups had already made themselves heard. You wanna drag this out for years?

Forget years—even three or five months from now, she’d probably be torn to pieces by the bosses.

But Ziyun had to admit, Lu Chang’sheng was making a solid point.

Given her current status and authority, nothing she said would carry any real weight.

"Cloud Mist Cave Mansion truly has no interest in you."

Ziyun took a deep breath and spoke.

She was starting to hate Fuyun Mountain’s rules—why the hell did they care so much about maintaining stability? Otherwise, she could just slap this guy out of existence.

But Lu Chang’sheng acted like he didn’t see a thing, still shaking his head and forcing a bitter smile. "Doesn’t feel safe, Daoist. Cultivation is tough enough for us, we can’t just believe one-sided claims. Let me talk to a few more merchant guilds, ask around, exchange some info—"

Ziyun felt she was about to explode.

"We can’t drag this out. As for your concerns, I’ll take care of it for you."

"But—are you sure that’s all right? Daoist, what weight do you carry, that you can change Cloud Mist Cave Mansion’s opinion?" said Lu Chang’sheng.

"Don’t worry about that. Cloud Mist Cave Mansion will explain everything to the guilds when the time comes."

Ziyun didn’t even want the tea anymore.

She didn’t want to see Lu Chang’sheng’s face at all right now.

He looked passive and pitiful—but somehow that just made her feel even worse.

"No need to trouble you, Daoist. It probably won’t help much. Even if the guilds believed it, who knows if Cloud Mist Cave Mansion will say one thing to your face and another behind your back? If anything goes wrong, the guilds would fear trouble too."

"This—you really don’t need to worry about."

Ziyun rushed off, afraid if she stayed any longer she wouldn’t be able to resist slapping Lu Chang’sheng dead right there.

Leaning on Fairy Yunxia’s authority, she was usually unbeatable in public. Who would have thought she’d be led around by the nose by a little alchemist today?

Her mood couldn’t possibly be worse.

······

Soon after, Lu Chang’sheng learned Ziyun’s true identity from Li Nangua, and couldn’t help but smile to himself.

He’d given her a not-so-small dilemma, and was genuinely curious how she’d handle it.

After all, it wasn’t just about getting him to leave—the question was whether Fairy Yunxia would be displeased over this.

When Lu Chang’sheng told Li Nangua how his day had gone, she couldn’t help but look at him with eyes full of admiration.

She was sharp enough to pick out the crux of the matter.

As long as Fuyun Mountain still cared about its reputation, and Lu Chang’sheng refused to leave its borders, he’d be unshakable.

Unless Fairy Yunxia stopped caring or went scorched earth, hurting herself in the process—otherwise, compromise was the only way forward.

"It’s a shame Fellow Daoist Fang Yuan and the others didn’t get to see this," Li Nangua laughed.

Intelligence always inspires confidence in others.

She knew that in the future, Lu Chang’sheng would be working with Fang Yuan and the others for a long time. With enough prestige, they’d rally behind him all the more.

"No problem. As long as I keep making progress in alchemy, they won’t think twice."

Lu Chang’an nodded too.

Looking at his father, a wave of confidence welled up inside him.

It felt like as long as this man was around, no difficulty could keep him down.

······,

The very next day, someone paid a visit—none other than the Qi Tai Commerce Association, the first group Lu Chang’sheng had approached.

The manager looked at Lu Chang’sheng and broke into a surprised, emotional smile.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, you really surprised me—solving a problem like that so easily."

These days, the stronger merchant guilds were all watching things unfold. Most had pegged Lu Chang’sheng as doomed to hit a dead end fast.

No single Immortal Sect is a soft touch. Tarnishing Fuyun Mountain’s name like this would surely get you crushed by backlash.

Just needed one more spark and Fuyun Mountain would be forced to act.

When the sect’s heavyweights struck, the local rules would never keep Lu Chang’sheng safe.

No one expected that in just a couple days, the whole situation would flip on its head.

"This guy really knows how to ride the tides. If his natural talent wasn’t holding him back, he’d definitely be a major player someday."

All the merchant guild folks sighed in admiration.

Soon, the Qi Tai Commerce Association, which had close ties with Cloud Mist Cave Mansion, got a message from Ziyun.

So, they showed up.

Lu Chang’sheng gave another wry smile. "Daoist, you’re flattering me. I don’t have any such skills—it’s just the Fuyun Mountain bigwigs decided not to take this personally."

The manager’s face twitched a little. Thought to himself: "So you know that much, huh."

"In a few days, our guild’s heading out. Along the way, we’ll be passing through Platinum Immortal City. Would you like to travel with us, Fellow Daoist?"

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t push his luck with Cloud Mist Cave Mansion, nodded: "With the Qi Tai Commerce Association along, I’m perfectly at ease. But, about Cloud Mist Cave Mansion—"

"Cloud Mist Cave Mansion wants to invite you over for a visit."

The manager smiled.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded.

At this point, Cloud Mist Cave Mansion definitely didn’t want more drama. Inviting him over was just about making a show for everyone else, making it clear their relationship wasn’t at all like the rumors.

The next morning, Lu Chang’sheng paid a visit to Cloud Mist Cave Mansion. And just as he predicted, it was all a formality. He was served spirit tea all day, never even got to see Fairy Yunxia herself—not even a manager like Ziyun showed her face.

He shook his head in private, and when the servants politely hinted it was time to go, he returned home. The next day, Lu Chang’sheng packed his jade scrolls on alchemy and left Fuyun Mountain with the merchant caravan from Qi Tai Commerce Association.

Soon, they passed by the temples on the outskirts.