Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 322 - 200: Root Bone Rises Again!

This was still him being careful with his use. Most days, he relied on the Jade Scroll of Alchemy Dao, drawing inferences to shorten the time spent cultivating the Barrier-Breaking Pill formula, only bringing out materials to refine when reaching a critical point.

Even so, with the superior Barrier-Breaking Pill formula, his cultivation only reached close to Minor Achievement.

Before hitting Minor Achievement, refining the Barrier-Breaking Pill was essentially a guarantee for failure, and Lu Chang’sheng didn’t dare to recklessly attempt it.

He placed the final main medicinal ingredient into the pill furnace. After a long while, he exhaled a cloud of turbid air and lit the fire beneath the furnace.

One day later, an unusual, fragrant aroma suddenly wafted out from the furnace, jolting Lu Chang’sheng’s heart.

"Barrier-Breaking Pill, it’s a success!"

At the same time, his mastery over this pill formula officially stepped into the realm of Minor Achievement.

"Faster than I thought!"

Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t expected that with just one attempt, he would push his mastery to Minor Achievement.

This luck was honestly a bit too good.

Success in pill refinement increased one’s variable much more than failure ever could.

He held the scorching hot pill in his palm; its exquisite, translucent hue was absolutely captivating.

"A superior pill!"

Lu Chang’sheng’s heart leapt with joy.

Then, taking advantage of his positive mindset, he continued with the refinements.

This time, Fang Yuan had sent ten portions of medicinal ingredients; it took Lu Chang’sheng half a month, and he succeeded three times. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"The success rate at Minor Achievement is still too low."

But it was only because he’d just advanced and was in peak condition—normally, to succeed twice out of ten attempts would already be decent.

Successfully refining a Barrier-Breaking Pill had removed a minor psychological burden for Lu Chang’sheng.

He stepped out of the alchemy room, walking along the corridors of Baiyun Pharmacy toward the outside.

He suddenly ran into a middle-aged alchemist. The other man, seeing Lu Chang’sheng in such light spirits, couldn’t help but ask, "Alchemist Lu, did you make a breakthrough?"

"Just a minor breakthrough." Lu Chang’sheng smiled.

In Baiyun Pharmacy, there were quite a few neutral folks, but honestly, only two ever stood in the spotlight. First, of course, was Lu Chang’sheng. The second was none other than Zhong Ming, the grade B alchemist.

Five years ago, Zhong Ming had come from behind and become a grade B alchemist, getting plenty of looks from the crowd.

Both the Thunder Cauldron faction and Huo Zun’s camp had tried to recruit him, but unfortunately, Zhong Ming spurned both offers.

Lu Chang’sheng thought Zhong Ming had ulterior motives, but after a few encounters he learned that Zhong Ming simply didn’t want it affecting his cultivation.

From Lu Chang’sheng’s point of view, he was just a cultivation fanatic, nothing more.

In over seven years, Lu Chang’sheng had lived here for close to three, and while he visited now and then, he’d run into Zhong Ming only a handful of times.

Whenever they did meet, it was either on his way to the storeroom or headed back from it.

Zhong Ming never seemed interested in anything—except for cultivation.

Of course, he looked like a middle-aged man, but in reality, he was only in his early forties.

Among cultivators, that absolutely makes him look old.

While Lu Chang’sheng was already seventy, he still looked young and robust.

"If it’s not inconvenient, care to share?" Zhong Ming frowned.

Lu Chang’sheng just shook his head, so Zhong Ming didn’t push it—he nodded and left.

Only when he reached a deserted spot did his locked brow ease, and he fell deep into thought.

"Bang!"

He accidentally bumped into a decorative rock. Looking up, he saw the rock split open.

A cultivator’s physical strength was nothing a common stone could stand against.

He glanced back toward where Lu Chang’sheng had disappeared and sighed deeply.

"If he says it’s a breakthrough, it’s absolutely more than a minor success..."

Zhong Ming felt a little let down, suddenly realizing the gap between them was starting to wear on him.

Still, it wasn’t long before he shook off the feeling.

After all, he was still young.

As long as it’s not a breakthrough into a great realm, the gap actually isn’t that steep at all.

Zhong Ming comforted himself, his Dao heart solid as a mountain.

······

Lu Mansion.

Lu Ziyou wasn’t sitting in the courtyard cultivating, nor did he have extra time to study his Gou Dao tomes.

That’s because the family had welcomed a new child.

A chubby little brat was practicing Pile Skill, every motion precise and earnest on the surface.

But Lu Ziyou knew it was all an act.

Give it just a moment when he looked away and the brat would collapse.

"No moving until I tell you. Understand?"

Lu Ziyou kept his face stern, though inwardly, he cried bitter tears.

If the kid didn’t look so much like him, he might have given up on the whole thing.

He really should’ve stuck to his principles in front of father and mother and never agreed to having children.

"A weakness! This is definitely a weakness!"

As a Gou Dao disciple, Lu Ziyou understood all too well—this child was absolutely his Achilles’ heel.

Why? Because the kid was way too energetic and could easily get into trouble out there someday.

Helpless, Lu Ziyou could only spare some effort to make the child as cautious as he was.

’To raise without teaching is the father’s fault!’

He refused to believe he couldn’t fix the child’s temperament.

A household servant walked in, saw Lu Ziyou’s stern face, and couldn’t help but chuckle inside.

Only a very select few had access to the Lu mansion’s inner quarters, most of them having come along with Mrs. Lu from Great Yuan years ago.

Many had grown up by now.

Lu Chang’an treated them well, letting them serve the Lu Mansion for ten years. After that, whether they left or stayed was up to them.

They also knew that without roots in the Spirit Realm, survival was tough. So, nobody left.

Having worked in the Lu Mansion for years, they knew full well what kind of person Lu Ziyou was. In fact, the master always had an air of indifference about him—only in these recent years had situations like this even occurred.

"What is it, Bao?"

The servants all knew he hated being interrupted in the courtyard during cultivation hours.

The servant said, "Patriarch asked me to call you."

"Father’s back?"

Lu Ziyou perked up, and in that split second, the child straightened up again.

He shot the kid a stern glance, then followed the servant out.

On the way, he ran into Lu Chang’an, freshly back from the market square.

"Big brother’s here too?"

"Yep. Father sent for me. No idea what it’s about."

Seeing Lu Ziyou, Lu Chang’an got a bad feeling.

Thankfully, when they reached the main hall, Daoist Ruyi and Li Nangua weren’t there—otherwise, he’d have been truly rattled.

If so many people were summoned, there was definitely something up.

"How are things at the shop lately?"

Lu Chang’sheng looked at Lu Chang’an.

This son of his had matured a lot. Though resources weren’t lacking, with age, some signs of aging had begun to show.

The average person couldn’t notice, but with Lu Chang’sheng at fifth-level Qi Cultivation, he picked up on it easily enough.

Lu Chang’an didn’t think much of it and reported on the store’s recent situation.

Nothing major, really.

The Lu Family’s pill shop was called Yun’an Square, named after Yun’an, meaning ’peaceful as clouds.’

Much of the pill stock Lu Chang’sheng had refined over the years was sold here, fetching prices twenty to thirty percent higher than selling directly to Baiyun Pharmacy.

Given the local unrest, cultivator skirmishes had become frequent, pill consumption was up, and prices rose accordingly.

In short, the Lu Family was making nice money.

Besides that, they’d opened a sundry store. Unlike the high-end Yun’an Square, this one catered to lower-tier cultivators. Profits weren’t huge, but it was decent.

Lu Chang’an did have a knack for business.

Nowadays, everything outside the Lu Mansion was managed by him.

"But there is one issue—lately, some competitors look to be trying to squeeze us out," Lu Chang’an finally said.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded, knowing exactly why.

It was just that certain alchemists at White Cloud Cave Mansion were unhappy with him.

As for which side, that remained unclear.

"The pill store turns a tidy profit, but we have a glaring weakness in strength, so it’s only natural we’re targeted."

Lu Chang’sheng remarked.

"But don’t worry; this problem should be sorted out soon." He smiled.

Both Lu Chang’an and Lu Ziyou looked at him, puzzled.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t beat around the bush; he took out the pills and placed them on the table.

"What’s this—?" Lu Chang’an asked, baffled.

"Barrier-Breaking Pills!"

As soon as he said it, both brothers lit up, thrilled.