A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

So he left the Spirit Puppet behind.

With a Spirit Puppet at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment guarding the estate, Lintao Pavilion would be much safer.

Outside was a bustling market street.

Changchun Immortal City was a place where immortals and mortals coexisted. The inner city was mainly inhabited by cultivators from Changchun Valley, along with their families and clans. In contrast, the Port City was primarily home to outside cultivators and their descendants. Perhaps it was this very distinction between insiders and outsiders that created the vast difference in public order between the two districts.

The street bustled with people, both cultivators and mortals.

When they saw Lü Zhong emerge from his residence clad in a Dharma Robe, attended by a beautiful maid, and step onto a costly Beast Vehicle, everyone wore expressions of envy, wishing they could take his place.

It was just a passing thought, however. Few dared to dream of becoming a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

Although Changchun Immortal City boasted a million cultivators, the vast majority were low-level Loose Cultivators. There were only about three thousand Foundation Establishment True Cultivators like the Master of Lintao Pavilion in the entire city. This showed just how difficult it was to reach Foundation Establishment anywhere. As such, True Cultivators were all respected figures, their power second only to the dozen or so Golden Core Masters.

It was only natural that they commanded such prestige.

Just then, a Law Enforcement Team patrolling the port district approached. Seeing the Beast Vehicle begin to move, they halted and waited for it to pass before resuming their patrol.

After driving over a neatly paved obsidian road, the vehicle soon arrived before a pavilion overlooking the sea.

Dongbu House

The master of this medicinal house was also a Golden Core Master.

His name was Dongbu Yu, though outsiders respectfully called him Master Dongbu. His cultivation was at the Early-stage Core Formation. Rumor had it that he had a profound background in Changchun Valley, which allowed him to open a medicinal house in the Port City’s Central District. He taught the Alchemy Technique to the public, earning a mountain of Spirit Stones every year.

’No wonder everyone says a high cultivation is a good thing.’

’When you can hold the most profitable ventures in your grasp, how could it not be good?’

The decor of Dongbu House was understated and elegant; it was clear that every detail had been meticulously arranged. While not as magnificent as the Golden Core Studio, it possessed a unique charm upon closer inspection.

Upon hearing Lü Zhong was there for a trial class, an attendant led him to a large hall.

The style inside was similar to the exterior, but the walls were adorned with numerous Spirit Medicine Atlases, all clearly the work of famous artists. The hall itself was shaped like a tiered amphitheater, descending in a fan shape. Cattail cushions were placed at intervals on each tier, with enough space to accommodate a thousand people.

At the far end of the hall stood a Pill Furnace.

The Pill Furnace was not large, only about ten feet high.

It had the most common design—three legs and six ”ears”—with an ancient, simple style. Its entire surface was covered in floral and plant motifs.

Several Alchemy Boys of varying ages were currently working together to tend the furnace. Some were clearing ash or adding fuel, while those of higher status stood to the side, forming hand seals to control the Pill Furnace.

According to the attendant, this was all in preparation for the upcoming lecture.

Alchemy required preheating the furnace; otherwise, you could waste any amount of Spirit Medicine and get no results.

The attendant led Lü Zhong to a seat in the front row before smiling and clasping his hands. ”Please, Senior, have a seat here for now. If you require anything, feel free to summon one of the hall’s maids. The Master will begin his lecture at noon.”

”Thank you,” Lü Zhong replied, clasping his hands in return.

He had just sat down when a maid approached with tea.

He didn’t stand on ceremony, simply picking up a cup and taking a slow sip.

The Spirit Tea in his cup was the color of vermilion and gave off a delicate, elegant fragrance. It had the sweet aftertaste characteristic of Spirit Tea, but also a faint hint of salt, which made Lü Zhong quite curious.

”What kind of Spirit Tea is this?”

The maid, a cultivator at the Qi Refining First Layer, bowed slightly before answering in a clear voice:

”In response to Senior, this is Vermilion Eyebrow Jade, from the East Sea. It is essentially a type of seaweed. After being specially prepared by our Pavilion Master, it becomes an exceptionally high-quality Spirit Tea. In addition to containing dense Spiritual Qi, long-term consumption also has the effect of purifying Pill Poison from the body...”

”Is it really that miraculous?”

It was the first time Lü Zhong had ever heard of a Spirit Tea that could purify Pill Poison just by drinking it.

Hearing this, the maid’s face filled with apology. ”Please forgive me, Senior,” she said softly. ”It is I, Hai Yi, who failed to explain clearly. The effect of Vermilion Eyebrow Jade on purifying Pill Poison is far less significant than Senior might imagine. As I said, one must drink it for a very long time to see even a minuscule effect.”

”I see.” Lü Zhong downed the cup in one go and had the maid refill it.

Time trickled by, and more and more cultivators arrived for the lecture. Their seating was determined by their cultivation level. The Foundation Establishment True Cultivators occupied the frontmost rows, which were closest to the Pill Furnace. With no one to block their line of sight, they had an unobstructed view for the lesson.

By 7:00 AM, the hall was full. Latecomers could only stand at the entrance to listen in.

Fifteen minutes later, the hall doors were shut.

Many latecomers were barred from entry. No matter how much they pleaded, they were not allowed inside.

Throughout this, Lü Zhong kept his eyes closed, resting his spirit.

Soon, it was noon.

Accompanied by a powerful Spiritual Pressure, Master Dongbu finally appeared. His hair and beard were completely white, his face was covered in age spots, and he had the appearance of a disheveled old Daoist master.

After a brief introduction, he began his lecture.

After a lecture that was both profound and easy to follow, hitting all the key points, Lü Zhong finally had a proper understanding of the Alchemy Dao.

He had originally thought it was similar to the traditional medicine of his past life.

In reality, however, it was more like pharmaceutical chemistry.

The Medicinal Spiritual Qi within a Spirit Medicine could be seen as its various active ingredients, each possessing different potencies. So-called alchemy was the process of using complex alchemy techniques to handle the intricate Medicinal Spiritual Qi within spiritual materials. Through processes like dissolution and transformation, the goal was to maximize the content of the target Medicinal Spiritual Qi.

The final product was known as a ”Pill.”

The principle was simple, but putting it into practice was not.

The main purpose of Master Dongbu’s lecture was to outline the learning path for cultivators aspiring to enter the Alchemy Dao. He explained each process and concept of alchemy step-by-step to clarify the direction and milestones of study.

He covered everything from the basic concepts of the medicinal properties and effects of spiritual materials, to the identification and analysis of various types of Medicinal Spiritual Qi, to the mastery and use of alchemy tools, and finally, a demonstration of the basic alchemy process, culminating in the refinement of a furnace of Qi Replenishing Pills.

The Qi Replenishing Pill was a Pill that assisted with introducing Qi into the body.

This Pill was considered untiered. Some cultivators called it a ”Qi-Replenishing Pill,” and it was often used for practice when first starting on the Alchemy Dao.

After listening to the entire lecture, Lü Zhong finally understood the meaning of the two words: ”completely lost.”

’Alright,’ he had to admit.

’Even if I used my scene-revisiting ability afterward, I doubt I could refine even the simplest Qi Replenishing Pill on my own without a proper alchemy inheritance.’

’Part of the reason, of course, was that Master Dongbu had held back, intentionally concealing many crucial details in his lecture.’

’But the biggest problem was that I truly know nothing about alchemy.’

「Three days later.」

Lü Zhong attended a lecture by the master of Medicine Flower Hall, but it was largely the same.

After careful consideration, he ultimately chose Dongbu House.

The reason was simple: for the same amount of Spirit Stones, he could learn more.

Lü Zhong was confident that with his Gray Mist Space, his learning progress would be near the top. He believed that over the course of ten or twenty terms, he could fully master the Tier Three Alchemy inheritance that Dongbu House possessed.

The tuition was one thousand Spirit Stones per term—truly expensive, he had to admit.

However, short of unexpectedly acquiring an alchemy inheritance, this was the easiest way to learn.

’Want to learn alchemy without a powerful background or a stroke of fated luck?’

’Then you have no choice but to burn through Spirit Stones.’

...

For the next two months, Lü Zhong spent his days buried in books.

Once he paid the fee, he gained access to the collection of books at Dongbu House. They contained explanations of common spiritual materials and detailed analyses of the properties of various types of Medicinal Spiritual Qi. All of this was essential knowledge required before one could even begin alchemy.

Memorizing this content was the equivalent of first needing a hand that could hold a brush before one could learn to write.

Secondly, the Pill Furnace and its accompanying spiritual materials had to be acquired in advance.

These tools were the equivalent of the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—also essential for learning to write.

As for the specific alchemy techniques—how to process spiritual materials with different properties, and how to guide the Medicinal Spiritual Qi to transform in the desired direction during refinement—this was analogous to learning the proper way to hold a brush and the different strokes required for writing.

Lü Zhong had to memorize all of this before Master Dongbu’s official classes began at the start of the new year.

And if he didn’t?

Then he could just expect the class to sound like complete gibberish!