Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

After Granny Lin examined the Elixir, she handed it to Zhou Fuqiu.

Zhou Fuqiu looked at his still-sleeping younger sister and shook his head. ”I’ll take it later.”

...

”Old Ancestor, Hai Bo requests an audience!”

In a deathly silent grand hall, Zhou Haibo, who had been all smiles earlier, now wore a slightly grim expression as he stood respectfully outside, waiting for instructions.

Creak...

The great doors slowly opened a crack, and Zhou Haibo walked inside.

”What is it?” An incomparably aged voice came from within the pitch-black hall.

Zhou Haibo bowed his head respectfully and recounted what had happened in meticulous detail.

That aged voice asked calmly, ”It was merely the wrong medicine being used. Why come seeking me in such a rush?”

Zhou Haibo swallowed. ”But that decoction, though it appears to bolster the spirit, in truth damages it. Any Cultivator below the Golden Core Period simply cannot detect the problem. If I did not possess Mastery in Healing technique, I fear I would not have discovered it either.”

The aged voice asked, ”You mean to say someone within the Clan is secretly harming their own kin?”

Zhou Haibo did not dare answer.

The hall fell into silence.

After a long while, a wisp of candle flame suddenly flared to life, revealing an exceedingly aged face.

It was Zhou Yunshen.

His expression was heavy and gloomy as he sighed. ”We’ve only just settled down for a few short years, and the Clan has finally taken a step upward—how is it that someone has already begun to harbor such petty thoughts?”

Zhou Haibo said in a low voice, ”Perhaps it’s because little Fu You is too dazzling. He’s only five, yet has already revealed heaven-defying talent. And on top of that, when he was born, you, Old Ancestor, bestowed upon him an incomparably precious Water Lotus Seed. That alone was enough to make some people’s eyes go red.”

”I’m not dead yet!” Zhou Yunshen snorted coldly.

Zhou Haibo cautiously asked, ”Then how should we arrange things for Zhou Fuqiu next? His parents are away on a mission. At home, there’s only a Qi Refinement Stage maidservant looking after them.”

”Nothing can happen to him!” Zhou Yunshen first declared, firm as iron, then spoke again, somewhat conflicted. ”But we also cannot interfere too much in his growth.”

Zhou Haibo did not understand. Fu You was only a small child; even if he was a bit clever, how could he be worthy of such attention from the Old Ancestor?

The Old Ancestor had even secretly instructed him, the one most skilled in Healing technique, to check the boy’s health on a regular basis.

And now, why did the Old Ancestor explicitly say they must not intervene too much in Zhou Fuqiu’s growth?

A long time passed.

Only then did Zhou Yunshen’s voice slowly reach his ears.

”It’s inconvenient for me to show myself. Have Junxiao secretly look after Fuqiu in my stead.”

The Zhou Family currently had five Golden Core Cultivators.

The strongest was naturally Zhou Cang, but he bore the weighty task of striving for the Nascent Soul Stage.

Next was the second-generation of the Xiao Generation, vigorous and in their prime—Zhou Junxiao!

For the Old Ancestor to have Zhou Junxiao personally step in at this moment showed how much importance he placed on Zhou Fuqiu.

Yet in his words, there was still that ”secretly” — the contradiction was hard to untangle.

Zhou Haibo’s heart was full of doubts, but in the end he still accepted the order.

...

Back in the clinic from before, just before daybreak, Zhou Fuqiu swallowed that Elixir.

At first nothing happened, but before long—

”Urgh!”

A mouthful of black blood spattered onto the ground.

Zhou Fuqiu stared blankly at the sight.

Though young, he was exceptionally quick-witted. The moment he saw that black blood, he instantly understood what that decoction had been.

”Poison!”

Thinking back to the Hai Bo Clan Elder, who had seemed gentle yet repeatedly pressed him with questions...

”Seventh Uncle’s family wants to harm me?”

Murmuring to himself, the boy was almost unable to believe it.

At his side, the little girl stirred, curling into herself as if she were very cold.

Zhou Fuqiu wrapped a thick quilt around her. Looking at his sister’s brow slowly smoothing out, he felt both warmth and chill in his heart.

Warmth that his sister was unharmed; chill at why Seventh Uncle’s family, with whom they had always been close, would want to harm him.

The Hai Bo Clan Elder had clearly already sensed something amiss, so why hadn’t he spoken plainly?

And Father and Mother—when would they come back?

Zhou Fuqiu unconsciously clenched his fists. Gazing at the deep, unfathomable Zhou Family estate, he felt only lost and alone, as if danger lurked in every corner.