ALL NOVEL Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om
Chapter 61: The Successor of an Old Friend
Transitioning from the seventh to the eighth layer of Qi-Refining isn't considered a major breakthrough.
From the seventh to the ninth layer belonged to the late stage of Qi-Refining. Each layer increases one's power by no more than twenty to thirty percent.
However, transitioning from the early to the middle stage or from the middle to the late stage of Qi-Refining results in a significant power increase, almost doubling it.
The same was true for the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Two days later, once his power stabilized, Lan Chang'an exited the secret chamber.
The Profound Water Turtle, sensing the lingering aura on him, clumsily followed with its limbs flailing in a somewhat silly manner.
Currently, the Profound Water Turtle had been hatched for over a decade and had firmly entered the ranks of first-rank early stage spirit beast.
In terms of physique, it lagged behind its true cultivation level.
The Profound Water Turtle was adept at concealing its aura, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to discern its true nature unless they were a highly skilled spirit beast tamer.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The Earth Burrowing Rat eagerly brought a letter, darting in from the courtyard.
Lan Chang'an took the letter, it was from Li Erqing.
In the letter, Li Erqing expressed his longing and mentioned that if not for his wife and children, he would have visited Huanglong Immortal City.
About a year ago, Li Erqing's cultivation had reached the eighth layer of Qi-Refining.
Without any bottlenecks in the minor stages and with his mind at ease, coupled with the family rewards of medicinal resources, Li Erqing's cultivation progressed steadily.
It wasn't that Li Erqing's cultivation speed was exceptionally fast, but rather that Lan Chang'an's Evergreen Technique was slow and limited by the passing of years.
Li Erqing also mentioned Mu Xiuyun in his letter.
Five years ago, after failing to achieve Foundation Establishment, Mu Xiuyun had been managing the shop in Bamboo Leaf Mountain, and her dealings with the family became less and less.
It's not hard to imagine that failing to achieve Foundation Establishment had a significant impact on Mu Xiuyun's state of mind.
In previous years, Lan Chang'an had sent two letters to the shop in Bamboo Leaf Mountain, inquiring about Mu Xiuyun's situation with the intention of comforting and guiding her.
However, there was no response from Mu Xiuyun's side.
...
Lan Chang'an had just finished reading the letter.
A deep male voice came from outside the courtyard gate:
"Is this Water Moon Residence? Is it where Fellow Daoist Lan resides?"
Lan Chang'an sensed a wave of spiritual sense emanating outside.
The visitor was clearly a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
"Ah, it's Fellow Daoist Zhang. Please come in!" Lan Chang'an opened the formation and greeted them at the entrance of the courtyard.
Two people arrived, one of whom was a slightly dark-skinned, stern-faced young cultivator, Zhang Tieshan.
After seven or eight years, Zhang Tieshan had already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it looked like he had made a breakthrough in recent years.
"Uncle Lan."
Behind Zhang Tieshan was a disheveled young man whose former handsome features could still be faintly seen.
"Lin Lu, you are here too." Lan Chang'an responded coldly. 𝖋𝔯𝔢𝔢𝖜𝖊𝖇𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖊𝔩.𝖈𝖔𝖒
Regarding Lin Lu's situation, Zhao Siyao had mentioned it in her letters some years ago.
The last time he saw Lin Lu was ten years ago in front of his father Lin Yi's tombstone; now, this young man was about thirty years old.
It was hard to associate the disheveled young man before him with the rather arrogant young man from the sect a decade or so ago.
"In the past ten years, Lin Lu has squandered almost all the inheritance left by his father, Lin Yi." Lan Chang'an recalled what Zhao Siyao had mentioned in her letter.
...
In the first year or two after Lin Yi's death, Lin Lu was relatively well-behaved. But in the following seven or eight years, it was a different story.
Initially, Lin Lu made many dubious friends, some of whom were wandering cultivators, and there were also outer sect disciples.
With ample financial resources, Lin Lu was flattered and indulged in their company.
He hosted banquets, visited pleasure houses, changed dual cultivation partners twice, and competed with sect disciples.
During this period, he lavishly squandered the inheritance left by his father.
A few years ago, after a stern reprimand from Zhang Tieshan, Lin Lu severed ties with those dubious friends, corrected his habits, and intended to make a fresh start.
However, at this time, a pure and lovely inner sect female disciple entered his life.
This pure female cultivator, innocent and romantic, was different from his previous companions and didn't covet his wealth.
When they first met, the pure female disciple often gave him gifts, which were even more valuable than the gifts Lin Yi had given her.
Lin Yi thought he had found true love.
Two years ago, this pure female disciple was vying for a core disciple position and asked him to lend her a considerable amount of spirit stones.
The female disciple's qualifications and prospects were good.
Lin Lu thought of how Lan Chang'an and others had invested in Zhao Siyao back then and gained the connections and friendships of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
He and the pure female disciple were genuinely in love, and their relationship was extraordinary, so it was entirely possible to follow suit.
He dreamed of having a Foundation Establishment female daoist partner in the future, a more successful investment than Lan Chang'an's in Zhao Siyao.
Lin Lu sold off his assets and gave her several hundred remaining spirit stones.
But the result was that after becoming a core disciple, the pure female disciple turned her back on him.
Not only that, she also fell for a disciple with a good background within the sect.
As for the several hundred spirit stones Lin Lu had lent her? There were no written records.
Moreover, to appear generous, Lin Lu had claimed they were gifts.
...
The haggard Lin Lu before him had his cultivation stagnated at the sixth layer of Qi-Refining, lost both his wealth and love, and his spirit was broken, his Dao heart unstable.
Despite his father Lin Yi sacrificing his life to leave him a good hand, he ended up in such a sorry state.
Lin Lu's only remaining bottom line was not squandering the spiritual land of the Hidden Immortal Pavilion, where his father Lin Yi was buried.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please come in and have a seat." Lan Chang'an politely invited Zhang Tieshan in.
Half a year ago, Zhao Siyao had informed Lan Chang'an in a letter about Zhang Tieshan's visit.
Zhang Tieshan, who had been close friends with Lin Yi, naturally didn't want Lin Yi's only cultivator son to fall into ruin.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, I want Lin Lu to change his environment and temper himself in Huanglong Immortal City for a few years. I hope you can look after him." Zhang Tieshan explained his intention.
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Lan. He won't disturb your cultivation. I have rented him a room in the inner city and arranged a job for him."
"I was friends with Lin Yi for over twenty years, so it's only right to look after his son." Lan Chang'an didn't refuse.
What he meant by looking after him was doing what he could within his limits, without affecting his own cultivation and safety.
"Thank you very much." Zhang Tieshan had actually prepared a breakthrough pill for Lin Lu.
However, he wanted to temper Lin Lu's character first before giving it to him.
This way, they would not owe each other anything and could treat Lin Lu as an ordinary disciple in the future.
...
After explaining Lin Lu's situation, Zhang Tieshan took out a storage pouch.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, this is something Senior Sister Zhao asked me to bring you."
Inside the storage pouch were materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill that Zhao Siyao had collected for Lan Chang'an over the years.
Lan Chang'an glanced at it, feeling delighted.
Zhao Siyao had collected one main ingredient and five or six auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Lan Chang'an estimated that these materials were worth at least several hundred spirit stones.
He was about to take out spirit stones to commission Zhang Tieshan to bring back to Jinyun Valley.
"Senior Sister Zhao said you helped her a lot with her Foundation Establishment, so there's no need to pay for these materials." Zhang Tieshan stopped him.
Lan Chang'an sighed softly and didn't insist.
Zhao Siyao was repaying his favor.
Once this favor was exhausted, if there was still a significant gap in their realms, their relationship would inevitably become distant and alienated.
...
"Fellow Daoist Zhang came to Huanglong Immortal City this time to eliminate the 'Evil-faced Flying Eagle'?" During their conversation, Lan Chang'an learned about one of Zhang Tieshan's objectives for this trip.
"The Evil-faced Flying Eagle has been missing for years. Based on some indications, he might be lurking around Huanglong Immortal City." Zhang Tieshan analyzed.
"After all, he has been at the ninth layer of Qi-Refining for many years. In a chaotic place like Huanglong Immortal City, he has a better chance of establishing a foundation."
Lan Chang'an agreed, "If this villain establishes a foundation, the harm will be tenfold. With Fellow Daoist Zhang's Foundation Establishment cultivation, I'm sure you'll succeed this time."
"It's not that easy. This villain is good at disguising and being cautious. Moreover, he has been low-key and dormant in recent years." Zhang Tieshan shook his head and sighed.
After chatting for a while, Zhang Tieshan left with Lin Lu.
When leaving the courtyard, Zhang Tieshan glanced at the Profound Water Turtle in the corner, seemingly lost in thought.
Back then, at the auction in Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market, Lan Chang'an had contended for the Life Extension Pill with a centenarian and purchased the Profound Water Turtle.
Afterward, the reputation of the Turtle Talisman Master became a topic of amusement among the surrounding cultivators and was a hot topic for a while.
Lan Chang'an deliberately let the Profound Water Turtle show its face once in a while.
If it was always hidden at home, suddenly bringing out a big turtle one day would seem abrupt and unusual.
...
Lan Chang'an escorted Zhang Tieshan out of the courtyard.
A visit from a Foundation Establishment cultivator drew the attention of the surrounding neighbors, dispelling any doubts about Lan Chang'an's background.
Soon after.
Master Guan learned of this and enthusiastically hosted a banquet, inviting Lan Chang'an to his home.
Lan Chang'an had been in Huanglong Immortal City for seven or eight years, maintaining a talisman-for-materials exchange relationship with Master Guan and his disciple, with frequent interactions.
In the evening, Lan Chang'an arrived at Master Guan's house.
"Senior Brother Lan, you're here!" A sweet girl’s voice called.
Now, Guan Qiaozhi had blossomed into a young woman, dressed in an embroidered blouse and skirt, with a light figure and graceful curves.
Though not of stunning beauty, she was charming and lovely.
After greeting, Guan Qiaozhi went to the kitchen to help.
Lan Chang'an and Master Guan drank and chatted as usual.
"Ah, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to enjoy this girl's delicious food." This time, Master Guan looked even older, having passed the age of eighty.
Lan Chang'an had a keen sense of longevity and could tell that Master Guan had less than ten years to live.
The theoretical lifespan for Qi-Refining cultivators could reach 120 years.
However, battles, injuries, energy loss, great joys and sorrows, and minor flaws in cultivation methods—all these factors would affect the lifespan.
Generally, Qi-Refining cultivators who lived to about a hundred years were considered to have died of old age.
Master Guan had suffered serious injuries back in the day, making it difficult for him to live long.