Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 222 - 153: Five Wood Immortal Technique

Counting the two hundred-plus from before, now there were over fourteen hundred in total.

"That’s a huge pile of cash, but it’s a shame—I still can’t get word to Nangua."

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t necessarily want Nangua to know everything, but rather wanted to use her status as a Fuyun Mountain disciple to get Master Lu at Bamboo Elegance Garden to turn the girls over.

"Forget it. If there’s nothing I can do, at least I can say I tried my best."

Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

As for the two women, he just wanted to help if he could.

Reaching out to Nangua was also to let her know he, Chang’an, and Ziyou had already arrived in the Spirit Realm.

A family should only be together to really feel whole.

The next day, Lu Chang’sheng stuffed his spirit stones in his pocket and headed to the market to buy a cultivation technique.

The most basic Immortal Technique cost five hundred low-grade spirit stones and only let you cultivate up to the third stage of Qi Cultivation.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t hesitate—he bought a technique fairly compatible with his Five Elements True Body Skill, called the Five Wood Immortal Technique.

Cultivation methods were also evolved out of Martial Arts; the more it matched your Root Source Technique, the faster the early progress.

"With this cash, we can just stay in this building and wait for any word from the Zhu Family."

As for Qin Wan and Xu Zhuqing, for now, they’d just have to fend for themselves.

Thankfully, Zhu Er had told him that Master Lu had already done all he could—forcing the issue would be bad for both reputations, and the Gu Family wouldn’t be happy either.

Zhu Er comforted him, "Hey, maybe after seven or eight years, that True Man will lose interest in the two girls, you never know."

Lu Chang’sheng could only smile politely, saying nothing, though he felt even more stifled inside.

······

That night, Lu Chang’sheng sat in his room, preparing to cultivate the Five Wood Immortal Technique.

The purchased technique came with pictures and text, written in tadpole script, appearing in a jade scroll. All you had to do was press the scroll to your forehead, and after some time, a Closed Spirit Array would activate automatically, allowing you to see inside.

But the key to triggering the Closed Spirit Array turned out to be a Daoist Oath!

The oath swore you wouldn’t allow or pass on the technique to anyone else—or die a miserable death.

In the Spirit Realm, oaths actually had some force to them, and besides, if you wanted to teach it to someone else, you needed to have fully mastered it or you’d mess them up easily.

And to perfect it, you needed the whole Immortal Technique.

"This technique is different from the Elemental Break Technique; it has nine levels, each matching one Qi Cultivation layer."

The Elemental Break Technique was designed by a Martial Artist, so its levels were based on Martial Arts concepts.

But the Five Wood Immortal Technique was pure cultivation through and through!

After swearing his Daoist Oath, he was about to start cultivating when a fit of giggles came from outside, instantly dissolving the focus he’d just built up.

Lu Chang’sheng’s brow furrowed.

Luckily, after a while, the noise stopped.

But after a moment, the sound came again.

It wasn’t super loud—probably didn’t bother the neighbors—but it broke his concentration all right.

No choice, he took out a spirit stone and set it in the Sound Insulation Array Plate.

Soon, a faint barrier spread out, wrapping the room, shutting out all outside noise.

By the time he snapped out of cultivation, it was already dawn the next day.

He glanced at the Sound Insulation Spirit Array—the stone had crumbled to dust.

Lu Chang’sheng frowned. This expense alone was thirty stones per month, and with rent, added up to fifty.

And that wasn’t counting other costs—if he wanted to use any aides for cultivation, it would just go up from there.

Before he knew it, a month had gone by, and finally, he understood everything in the jade scroll.

Right then, the Closed Spirit Array activated; the jade scroll sealed up, the magical power inside dispersing in a flash, and all the pictures and text faded away.

"Damn anti-theft measures!"

Otherwise, he could’ve just let Lu Chang’an and Lu Ziyou read it too—would’ve saved a lot of spirit stones.

For now, he’d just have them wait a bit longer.

Now that he was adjusting to the technique, Lu Chang’sheng sensed the bottleneck in his cultivation starting to loosen a bit.

Before, his progress was completely stalled, but now it was finally giving way.

"The Five Wood Immortal Technique and the Five Elements True Body Skill need a bridge—to join the two. Once I build that bridge, I’ll finally step into the first stage of Five Wood Immortal Technique."

"Still, I need more income."

A thousand or so spirit stones really didn’t last long.

"It’s just alchemy costs so much."

During that month, he’d talked to Zhang Hua—the owner he’d dealt with before, who worked for the Zhang Family.

The Zhang Family wasn’t even much of a clan around here—just a few mid-stage Qi Cultivators.

Of course, to Lu Chang’sheng, they were still intimidatingly powerful.

Zhang Hua told him that alchemy ate up spirit stones at a ridiculous rate—early on you spend coin by the bundle, and if you wanted to make first-grade pills, you’d go from a few thousand straight into the tens of thousands.

Even just Pill Formulas cost a fortune.

······

"You really want to buy a Pill Formula?" One day, Lu Chang’sheng walked into Zhang Hua’s shop. As soon as he asked, Zhang Hua frowned.

"Lu, I’m telling you—Alchemy might be the best way to make money, but it’s also the fastest way to burn it. Don’t let spirit stones go to your head."

Zhang Hua was genuinely trying to help.

"I’m just giving it a try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll swap right away."

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng had decided, Zhang Hua didn’t say more and handed him a Pill Formula.

Same as with Immortal Techniques, to copy a Pill Formula, you still had to swear a Daoist Oath.

Once he got what he wanted, Lu Chang’sheng thanked Zhang Hua and left.

"The guy really thinks too much of himself!"

Zhang Hua watched Lu Chang’sheng’s back disappear, shaking his head in disbelief.

Over the past month, he’d figured out most of Lu Chang’sheng’s background—just a rookie cultivator, so he had to say something.

At night, Niu Xi saw Lu Chang’sheng hauling out a Pill Furnace, and his sleepy eyes went wide.

"Is that...a Pill Furnace?"

Niu Xi reeked of booze—obviously he’d had too much.

The booze here was nothing like the mortal kind—it’s only good stuff if it actually makes a cultivator tipsy.

Still, Niu Xi clearly couldn’t afford the real Immortal Wine.

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng carry the furnace in, he could barely believe it.

Lu Chang’sheng nodded.

Niu Xi blurted, "So you’re picking Alchemy after all?"

"Yep, Fellow Daoist. I think I’ve got a little talent for it, honestly."

Pill Furnaces are bulky—no way they’d fit in a low-tier Treasure Vault Immortal Insect, so you had to carry it yourself.

"Man, my Treasure Vault Immortal Insect is way too basic. Gotta get a better one when I have cash."

He answered Niu Xi while mulling that over in his head.

"Haha—well, then here’s hoping you make it to the top grades soon, Fellow Daoist!"

After waking up a bit, Niu Xi pulled himself together and gave a polite laugh, not wanting to dash Lu Chang’sheng’s hopes.

Talent, huh?

"If he was really gifted, would he still not be at grade level by now?"

Niu Xi had no idea Lu Chang’sheng was from Mayfly World, so he just took him as an ordinary Spirit Realm native.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t mind—he just kept fiddling with his Pill Furnace.

To do Alchemy, you need Pill Fire, and Pill Fire required the right technique.

If you wanted to make good pills, controlling fire was absolutely key.

So, once the room was set up, he went out and bought a technique for controlling flames.

"Come to think of it, back then when Zhao Xing showed up, and some of those evil cultivators after him, they just chucked fireballs directly. They probably learned that to do Alchemy in the first place."

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Niu, do you know when the White Cloud Cave Mansion’s entrance assessment starts?"

He found Niu Xi one day to ask about it.

Lately, Zhu Bei from the third floor kept bringing people over, supposedly some fellow cultivators preparing for the White Cloud Cave Mansion assessment with him.

That got Lu Chang’sheng interested in joining as well.

"If I can get into the White Cloud Cave Mansion, and get Master Baiyun’s support, then matters like Qin Wan, Xu Zhuqing, even decrypting the Sound Transmission Shell, could all be solved."

That thought suddenly made him eager.

"Heh, not just anyone gets to take the White Cloud Cave Mansion assessment."

Before Niu Xi could answer, a figure strolled over.

It was Zhu Bei from the third floor.

"Hey, this is my floor. What are you doing here?"

Niu Xi looked displeased.

He’d never gotten along with Zhu Bei, though luckily each floor had its own stairs, or their feud probably would’ve exploded by now.

"I have my own business, obviously." Zhu Bei glanced at Lu Chang’sheng. "The Zhu Family has important guests coming by in a few days. Fellow Daoist, I hope you can make some room."