Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 342 - 210: Guiyuan Pill

He needed to wait and see, to observe how both sides would respond.

Right now, Huo Zun and the others had basically split with the White Cloud Cave Mansion, and he still had no idea what Liu Jiu’s attitude towards their faction would be.

If he were to join either side rashly, he could be sucked into the vortex without realizing it.

Moreover, setting up the White Cloud Pavilion wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight—territory, rules, personnel, everything needed to be arranged.

"Alright then. Fellow Daoist, if you make up your mind, come find us at Qingfeng Building. We’ll be stationed there for now."

Huo Zun said.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

As he watched them leave, Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Huo Zun used to be pretty assertive, but this time seeing him again, his attitude was noticeably better. He touched on things only lightly, clearly holding back a lot.

This was the result of the Lu Mansion’s increased influence these days.

"Even in the Spirit Realm, you can’t escape from name and strength."

······

For now, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t want to mess with Liu Jiu and his group, but what he hadn’t expected was that they would be the first to make a move against him.

On the third day after the internal crisis ended, Lu Chang’sheng returned to White Cloud Pharmacy.

He hadn’t picked up his alchemy assignment for the month yet, so he decided to do so and get it over with.

Now that the turmoil had settled, he could also return to the Mountain Gate to cultivate. The Spiritual Qi in the White Cloud Mountain Range was far denser than in most places, which was a huge advantage for cultivation.

"Alchemist Lu, these are the latest assignments." The one who brought him the task list wasn’t Steward Yang this time, but a new steward with a face like a blank slate.

"Where’s Steward Yang?"

"Steward Yang isn’t working at the pharmacy anymore."

The man said blandly, not a hint of respect in his tone.

Then again, not outright disrespect, either.

Lu Chang’sheng sighed quietly, already having thoughts of leaving. But leaving a faction wasn’t that simple—when he first joined, he’d signed an Immortal Contract, and he’d need to get that back.

Of course, that was just an idea for now.

However, when he looked down at the list, he couldn’t help but frown, asking, "Why are there so many alchemy assignments?"

The list stated clearly: he was assigned three pill-refining tasks for the month.

And from now on, it would be once a month.

"This was decided by the Mountain Gate. I’m not sure about the details. If you have an issue, you can ask them yourself."

The new steward seemed unfazed. Currently, the Thunder Cauldron Alchemist faction ran the Mountain Gate, and they had little love for Lu Chang’sheng and his group.

"Please understand, Alchemist Lu. I don’t have the authority to make these decisions." Seeing Lu Chang’sheng’s gaze, the guy’s heart skipped a beat, and his expression softened a bit.

No matter what, Lu Chang’sheng was still a mid-stage Qi Cultivation, Grade B Alchemist—and the clan leader of a late-stage Qi Cultivation family. Once the steward regained his composure, he knew he had to show some basic respect.

"Also, one more thing—you’ll need to prepare for a change. Since there’s been such a big shake-up at the Mountain Gate, all the previously assigned areas have to be reorganized, so your residence is being reclaimed temporarily. Once it’s settled, you’ll be assigned a new place depending on the situation."

His tone was much more polite now, but Lu Chang’sheng’s eyes went cold.

At this point, he understood—Liu Jiu and company had started making moves against him.

But since they didn’t have any real dirt on him, they could only use these roundabout methods to force his hand.

Either he’d be forced to leave, or he’d be slowly squeezed out of whatever space he still had at White Cloud Pharmacy.

"Walking away would mean quite a price—at the very least, the art learning fee isn’t a small sum."

Lu Chang’sheng had already made up his mind.

He slashed a few lines through the top tasks on the page. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Seeing this, Luo Ming let out a sigh of relief, took back the list, and left.

"How’d it go with Lu Chang’sheng?" A moment later, he saw Steward Yang.

Steward Yang was the first to speak.

"He was a bit unhappy but accepted the alchemy assignments anyway."

Luo Ming replied, his eyes flickering with a hint of envy as he took in Steward Yang’s new attire.

Now that Steward Yang had left his post and become a steward at the Mountain Gate, it was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—a total transformation.

The Mountain Gate stewards were on a whole other level compared to the pharmacy stewards. Most disciples treated them with real respect.

Their monthly pay was much more generous, too.

But a pharmacy steward was still just staff—still stuck in the servant role.

"He can really endure." Steward Yang was a bit surprised, but considering Lu Chang’sheng’s temperament over the years, it made sense to him.

He wanted to push Lu Chang’sheng into quitting the White Cloud Cave Mansion on his own—that way, the Mountain Gate got to pocket a tidy sum in Spirit Stones.

With the skills Lu Chang’sheng had learned, demanding tens of thousands wouldn’t be out of line.

But with Lu Chang’sheng holding out like this, he couldn’t go through with his plan.

White Cloud Cave Mansion wasn’t one of those petty factions. Basic rules still had to be followed.

"Let’s see how long he can stand it."

"Keep assigning him more new pill formula tasks going forward."

Steward Yang said, feeling a vicious satisfaction in his heart.

He had never been able to push around a Grade B Alchemist like this before—this was a first.

"But... Alchemist Lu still has some connections outside. Isn’t it a bit much for us to force him like this?" Luo Ming did have some concerns about Lu Chang’sheng’s background and network.

"Those old ancestors from the other families don’t have that kind of nerve. As for connections, does Lu Chang’sheng alone really match up to our entire White Cloud Cave Mansion?"

Steward Yang reassured him.

Sure, there were a fair number of late-stage Qi Cultivators, but against White Cloud Cave Mansion, they didn’t amount to much. Even with Xiao Feng and some others leaving with their late-stage cultivators, the Cave Mansion still had plenty left—no reason to fear Lu Chang’sheng and the couple of families behind him.

"Besides, this is White Cloud Cave Mansion’s internal affair—no outsiders allowed to meddle."

······

"New pill formulas—just what I needed right now."

Lu Chang’sheng looked at the three alchemy tasks.

For Grade B Alchemists like them, assignments were never for low-grade pills—at a minimum, they were mid-grade, sometimes high-grade as well.

And whenever you got a new alchemy job, you’d also be given the matching pill formula. Otherwise, how could you even start?

In this batch, there was one formula that Lu Chang’sheng cared about quite a lot.

Top-grade, first-rank pill formula—Guiyuan Pill.

This was a pill for cultivation, and could substitute for the Spirit Recovery Pill, which people were building resistance to.

At this thought, he felt much more at ease, and the annoyance Liu Jiu’s team had caused him faded a bit.

As if nothing had happened, he had the herbs prepared and began alchemy.

Steward Yang found this hard to take; he wanted to pile on yet more tasks for Lu Chang’sheng, but considering the current climate, he held back.

Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t the only one staying neutral. In fact, White Cloud Pharmacy—and even the Mountain Gate—had plenty of people who’d kept neutral during the recent power struggle.

If he pushed things too far and it got out, White Cloud Cave Mansion’s reputation would take a real hit, and even the neutral cultivators would become uneasy.

"Forget it. I’ve got plenty of time—let’s play it slow!" Steward Yang thought to himself. He headed back to the Mountain Gate, but he’d regularly return to White Cloud Pharmacy to check up on Lu Chang’sheng.

"Really pitiful." With Steward Yang coming after him like this, even Luo Ming thought it was going too far. But since he was now on the same side as Steward Yang, he kept his mouth shut.

Time slipped quietly by.

Steward Yang came to check in for two months straight, and each time, Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t yet finished the previous month’s assignments—which pleased him greatly.

"Should I bring him this month’s assignment too?"

At the start of the second month, Luo Ming carried the list and asked Steward Yang.

Normally, if an alchemist was behind on their assignments, no new tasks would be issued—they’d just be kept with the steward until the alchemist came for them.

But Steward Yang clearly didn’t care about protocol.

"You know exactly what I’m after—I want to force him out. So, what do you think you should do?" Steward Yang said coolly.

Luo Ming nodded and took the task list to Yun’an Institute.

The Yun’an Institute’s door was tightly shut. He knocked a few times, but got no response; knowing Lu Chang’sheng was probably busy, he decided to wait at the door.

It wasn’t until dusk that Lu Chang’sheng, smelling faintly of incense and herbs, finally opened the door.

"Alchemist Lu, this month’s assignments."

"Thanks."

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t say much, just took the task list and glanced through it.

As expected, there were still three tasks—three new pill formulas.