Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 366 - 224: The Red Cloud Calamity (Part 2)
"Don’t worry, Father, it’s already being taken care of."
Lu Chang’an replied.
He’s been running the business for years, his instincts razor sharp, and it’s clear Lu Chang’an couldn’t hope to compare.
Plus, he keeps in touch with the other families all the time. It’s impossible he wouldn’t know about these things.
Lu Chang’sheng could only marvel at how grown his child had become.
The Lu Family’s business was mostly within Platinum Immortal City; if it weren’t for needing to buy alchemy materials, Lu Chang’an definitely wouldn’t be in such a rush this time.
"A Red Cloud Daoist in the late Qi Cultivation stage, not even Foundation level, and yet he managed to shake an entire Immortal City."
Thinking back to when Fang Yuan and others besieged the Red Cloud Daoist, Lu Chang’sheng suddenly felt the differences were a bit too stark.
"Or maybe that guy wasn’t really Red Cloud Daoist, or perhaps he was injured at the time?"
After all, the Red Cloud Daoist snatched the item from the Wang Family.
"And that Golden Core-level treasure... I wonder if it’s been used yet."
Lu Chang’sheng felt a slight urge for a Golden Core treasure too, but he knew: tempting as it was, he’d never actually make a move for it.
Whether it was the Wang Family’s Foundation ancestor or Red Cloud Daoist himself, neither were opponents he could handle. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
······
For two days straight, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t see Xiao Feng in person.
For someone like Xiao Feng, disappearing for a day or two was no big deal.
Still, he ended up seeing two others.
Yu Hai and Wang Futian.
"What brings them here?" Once he got word from the manor, Lu Chang’sheng hurried over from White Cloud Pavilion.
Seeing Lu Chang’sheng, Yu Hai still looked a little upset about last time.
Lu Chang’sheng knew he’d mentioned it to some stewards afterwards, which warmed his heart a bit.
The bits of resentment left from before finally faded away completely.
Lu Chang’sheng understood he couldn’t blame Yu Hai; back at the Zhu Family, Yu Hai had to consider the Zhu Family’s reputation. Even if not for him, he had Guan Hongxiu and his new-born brother to think about.
If he were in Yu Hai’s shoes, he’d probably have done no better.
Now, seeing Yu Hai let bygones be bygones and reconcile, it was certainly a good thing.
The three chatted for a long while, until finally Yu Hai and Wang Futian explained why they’d come.
Turns out, they weren’t here for Lu Chang’sheng—they were here for Red Cloud Daoist.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, do you think someone like Red Cloud Daoist would care if small fries like us showed up?"
Wang Futian grinned.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, your cultivation isn’t far off from Red Cloud Daoist’s, so it makes sense you’d be involved. What I’m more curious about is Yu Hai, though."
Lu Chang’sheng looked at Yu Hai.
Yu Hai immediately rolled his eyes. "You underestimate me, Chang’sheng. I’m just a mid-stage Qi Cultivator now, but my teacher gave me a magical artifact. Even against Red Cloud Daoist, I’ve got a shot at protecting myself."
Wang Futian shook his head. "Brother Yu, don’t get cocky. No matter how strong a magical artifact is, if the user isn’t up to par, it won’t unleash its true power."
Yu Hai gave a sheepish grin.
Wang Futian knew Yu Hai’s background well enough to see through the bluff.
He’d just wanted to impress Lu Chang’sheng, score some face, but Wang Futian exposed him.
"Hey, can’t a guy brag a little? Senior brother, you seriously couldn’t give me a bit of face!" Yu Hai chuckled to cover his embarrassment.
Lu Chang’sheng smiled, "Don’t blame Fellow Daoist Wang. It’s better not to reveal your magical artifact openly like that. And if I don’t know your real strength and accidentally attract powerful enemies, aren’t you asking for trouble?"
"Chang’sheng’s right," Yu Hai agreed.
Lu Chang’sheng saw the skeptical glint in Yu Hai’s eyes but just shook his head inside.
He’d said his piece—whether Yu Hai listened or not was up to him.
People can change their country, not their nature.
Yu Hai was always a bit rebellious, handling hardship fine, but once he had something to rely on, his true colors showed.
Still, considering Yu Hai’s current backer, Lu Chang’sheng figured it was fine.
"Heard Red Cloud Daoist’s hanging around here because of a monster, so the sect wants to intervene before things get really out of hand," Wang Futian explained.
Lu Chang’sheng asked a few questions, but Wang Futian and Yu Hai weren’t clear on the details either; they’re just following elders from the sect, not core figures in this incident, so they’d only heard general stories.
"Chang’sheng, do you still remember the Great Yuan region?"
As they were about to leave, Yu Hai said.
"Of course I do."
"Our sect pretty much figured out when the Great Yuan region is going to merge with the Spirit Realm. It should be in the next few years."
"Even the Immortal Sect cares about this?" Lu Chang’sheng was curious.
You had to be Foundation level or higher to join the Immortal Sect; that’s high-end power for a world like the Mayfly World.
"There are inspectors in the Immortal Sect. When something from outside shows up, they’re watched for a while. If it’s judged safe, they withdraw surveillance."
Wang Futian added, "In top-tier Immortal Sects across the great domains, inspectors operate across multiple realms. That’s why they’re called Realm Envoys. Some Realm Envoys can even leave the Spirit Realm’s earth, traveling between realms."
"Of course, that’s way beyond regular cultivators. I’m guessing you have to be a Nascent Soul True Monarch at least."
The Immortal Sect just knew way more than the average force.
Lu Chang’sheng suddenly remembered the Dao Pill he’d just refined.
So he took it out to ask.
To his surprise, Wang Futian’s face flashed with shock, eyes glued to the nearly flawless pill.
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face. "Honestly, I’ve collected quite a few Spirit Pattern pills, but all of them pale in comparison to this one. If I’m not mistaken, this is a Perfect Pill."
"What’s a Perfect Pill, anyway? It means, at a certain level, the pill’s already at a kind of perfection—even the best alchemist couldn’t possibly make a better one."
He turned to Lu Chang’sheng, a hint of inquiry on his face. "Where’d you get this pill?"
"Refined it a few days ago," Lu Chang’sheng replied.
Wang Futian’s hands shook, nearly dropping the jade vial. His mouth worked as if about to say something but, finally, he just sighed.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, your future’s limitless."
He couldn’t help himself: "Do you think you could make one for me?"
Wang Futian loved collecting Spirit Pattern pills; there was no way he’d miss out on a Perfect Pill.
"I wouldn’t ask for it for free. Materials are on me. As for payment, just name your price. If I can do it, I will—or I can pay in Spirit Stones."
Lu Chang’sheng agreed.
But he gave Wang Futian fair warning: Dao Pills have an extremely low success rate and require lots of materials.
Wang Futian didn’t mind. "I can get my hands on a few dozen sets of materials; worst case, just takes a little longer, I can wait."
Yu Hai clicked his tongue at this.
It was the first time he’d seen Wang Futian so serious over a single pill—almost like when he’d asked a sect elder to refine a Foundation Pill.
"Once the Red Cloud Daoist episode wraps up, I’ll find you," Wang Futian said, taking Yu Hai with him as they departed.
Lu Chang’sheng saw them to the door, glanced down at the Dao Pill in his hand, and exhaled a heavy breath.
"So—Dao Pill really is the Perfect Pill."
He laughed freely.
He turned away from the yard and headed for White Cloud Pavilion.
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The streets buzzed with people.
Shops on either side were lively; Red Cloud Daoist’s rampage affected some scattered little markets, causing chaos.
For safety, plenty of cultivators living in those small markets forked over what little savings they had to move into Platinum Immortal City, making things even busier.
But Wang Futian’s heart was far from settled.
"Junior Yu, you think—if we asked Fellow Daoist Lu to join Supreme Profound Sect now, would he agree?"
Yu Hai chuckled, "Senior Brother Wang, you really thinking about this now?"
He couldn’t help but feel quite pleased about it.
Though Wang Futian had helped him run around quite a bit before, Yu Hai knew he’d actually held back some; with his connections, getting Lu Chang’sheng into the sect shouldn’t have been hard at all.
