Chapter 82: Something Happened to the Zhou Clan's Second Bull
Inside the private room, Lin Chang'an's earlier shock had already turned into calm. Watching the departing figure, he sneered, "Idiot."
There had indeed been shock, but most of it was performed for the other party’s benefit. Otherwise, who knew what that person would have done.
"However, what Huang Shaohai said probably wasn’t fabricated."
Lin Chang'an frowned inwardly. After all, he was merely a rogue cultivator, and his greatest backing now was the protection of Tianxuan City.
"If Master Lu was truly injured, then Su Miaoyin's Golden Core wouldn't be smooth sailing."
The title of the number one rogue cultivator was earned through struggle. It was impossible for him to have no enemies. Not to mention, there were already rumors in the world of cultivation that Master Lu of the Blackwater Turtle had obtained an ancient opportunity— a secret method capable of cleansing spiritual roots and enhancing aptitude.
Moreover, such a secret method would even make the three great sects covetous and greedy.
If Master Lu was still at his peak, coupled with a late-stage third-rank Blackwater Turtle, ordinary Golden Core cultivators naturally wouldn’t dare provoke him.
But now, if he were truly seriously injured, and still planning for someone else’s Golden Core, who with power wouldn’t want to take a bite?
"A secret method to cleanse spiritual roots, and an ancient opportunity—truly tempting."
Lin Chang'an furrowed his brow. If so, wouldn’t this backing in Tianxuan City become unstable?
"Still, Huang Shaohai’s character is truly vile. I’d better not catch him slipping one day."
Lin Chang'an silently engraved this matter in his heart. If given the chance in the future, he wouldn’t mind playing the role of Ghost Three Blades.
"It seems the relationship between the Palace of Blazing Fire and this Master Lu might not be as good as it appears on the surface. Otherwise, how would Huang Shaohai have learned this information?"
Lin Chang'an even secretly speculated that perhaps the benefits of Tianxuan City were too tempting. A Golden Core cultivator with less than a hundred years of lifespan—they could afford to wait. But a newly advanced Golden Core cultivator? They couldn't wait.
"After all, this Master Lu's lifespan is limited, but the Blackwater Turtle can be inherited."
At this thought, Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but feel envious. Compared to Huang Shaohai and Su Miaoyin, the difference was stark.
Now that was a true second-generation immortal.
Someone had already paved the way for their Golden Core, and there was even a late-stage third-rank spirit beast waiting to be inherited. That was winning right from the starting line.
Unlike him, a rogue cultivator who even had to earn every grain of spirit rice with his own hands.
"Still, this piece of information holds considerable value for me."
Lin Chang'an appeared calm, but his gaze carried a heavy look. It seemed he needed to raise his strength in the shortest time possible.
Cultivation level couldn’t rise overnight, but a cultivator’s strength wasn’t just about cultivation level—there were also magical tools and spirit pets. Those too counted as part of one’s power.
……
Time passed day by day. Ever since that encounter at the Gathering Immortals Tower, Lin Chang'an had been cultivating even more diligently in secret.
After all, things could go south in Tianxuan City at any time. He had to be prepared in advance.
Ever since that day with Huang Shaohai, Lin Chang'an had been paying close attention to the rumors circulating outside.
Sure enough, five months later, news began spreading wildly in Tianxuan City that Master Lu of the Blackwater Turtle had been injured while hunting two third-rank demon beasts in the Sea Abyss of Beasts.
At that moment, within his cave abode, Lin Chang'an's face was illuminated by the firelight. He stared solemnly at the pill furnace.
"This hundred-spirit fruit isn’t yet one hundred twenty years old. It can’t be added too early, or it’ll affect the efficacy of the pill..."
As Lin Chang'an analyzed silently, under his meticulous control, the true flame indeed refined the medicinal properties of the spirit herbs and spirit fruits inside the furnace.
Then, following a specific sequence, the ingredients began fusing. Even the fusion timing was something Lin Chang'an had standardized through countless failures.
"Boom!"
As a flare of fire flashed, Lin Chang'an remained calm, watching the gradually forming pills inside the furnace.
"Success!"
【First-rank Alchemist +15 (Proficiency 78/1000)】
As the furnace opened, eighteen pills emitting residual warmth slowly appeared.
In just half a year, his progress in pill refinement had advanced rapidly, all thanks to his current strength.
Now that he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, whether it was in terms of pill refining consumption or control, he was far beyond what a Qi Refinement cultivator could achieve. More importantly, his social circle had also changed.
Pill refining manuals that were once extremely rare during the Qi Refinement stage could now be easily bought in stores.
Not to mention he had Zhou Bingyun, someone nurtured by a cultivation family since childhood. Her insights in this field were like a walking pill manual.
"I can now refine mid-grade first-rank pills. This is already very fast progress."
The calm joy on Lin Chang'an's face was unmistakable. After five months of dedicated study, if he still hadn’t figured things out, then wouldn’t his talent be wasted?
“Indeed, my talent and hard work are paying off.”
Lin Chang'an's face was full of smiles. Over the past half year, he had studied pharmacology daily, especially the spirit herbs related to pill recipes—he had researched them countless times.
Heaven rewards diligence. At last, he had a good beginning.
……
In the courtyard of the Daoist venue.
Water splashed in all directions, accompanied by a girl's cheerful laughter. Zhou Bingyun, smiling brightly, had rolled up her pant legs. Her fair, lotus-root-like jade feet splashed in the pond as she played with the Azure-Horned Bull.
The Azure-Horned Bull let out a lazy "moo", seemingly languid but clearly fond of this human cultivator who always groomed its fur.
At the very least, this weak human cultivator always brought tasty spirit fruits and spirit herbs whenever she came.
“You big water bull.”
The splashing water glimmered under the sunlight, reflecting Zhou Bingyun's smile.
Just then, the formation of the cave abode's pavilion dispersed. As Lin Chang'an walked out, he happened to see this scene.
“Brother Lin.”
Looking at the smiling Zhou Bingyun, Lin Chang'an, whose mood was quite good due to his recent progress in pill refinement, also smiled and nodded.
“Miss Zhou, you've really put a lot of effort into looking after this Azure-Horned Bull.”
From calling her “Young Friend Zhou” to now addressing her as “Miss Zhou,” Lin Chang'an had never grown overly close. His intentions were already very clear—he wasn't considering settling down at the moment.
After all, he was carrying an immense fortune of opportunity, and the road ahead was long. Even if he were to find a cultivation partner, it had to be someone who could walk that path with him.
Not someone who would halt halfway, adding yet another sorrowful shadow to the lonely immortal path.
“Brother Lin, I'm here on a family mission.”
Zhou Bingyun's sincere smile showed she understood perfectly well, but she wasn’t the type to shamelessly push things.
She merely wanted to take advantage of Lin Chang'an a little, to befriend a Foundation Establishment cultivator so her family wouldn’t easily marry her off.
That way, she would have more time to cultivate. One day, if her cultivation reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement, even if she wanted to marry out, the clan wouldn’t easily let her go.
“Mission?”
“That's right. Brother Lin, aren’t you a second-rank talisman master? My clan sent me to buy a few talismans from you.”
With a slight tone of playful coquettishness, Zhou Bingyun spoke with a full smile, and with her jade arms, she didn’t forget to pull out a spirit fruit from her storage pouch and feed it directly to the Azure-Horned Bull.
At once, the Azure-Horned Bull began chewing happily with a "moo", a scene that made Zhou Bingyun laugh joyfully.
“As for second-rank talismans, I don’t have many. After all, I still have to submit some to Tianxuan City each month.”
Lin Chang'an shook his head with a smile. Thirty years of loans—though not overwhelming for him—still added pressure every time he thought about them.
He swore that if he ever had the choice again, he’d never take a loan lightly.
“Who doesn’t know Brother Lin’s talent in the Dao of Talismans?”
Zhou Bingyun pouted proudly, sweet words flowing with ease. Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but chuckle.
“In that case, for the sake of you taking care of the Azure-Horned Bull lately, I’ll sell you a few.”
Zhou Bingyun truly lived up to being the current family head’s daughter—she directly pulled out over a dozen mid-grade spirit stones from her storage pouch, causing Lin Chang'an’s eye to twitch slightly, mixed with a trace of envy.
Back when he was that age, let alone mid-grade spirit stones—he had never even touched a low-grade one.
At that time, when he had just entered the world of cultivation, he used spirit crystals—also known as shattered crystals.
However, just as Zhou Bingyun, representing the Zhou Clan, was conducting a talisman transaction with Lin Chang'an, a panicked voice suddenly came from outside the cave abode.
“Miss, something’s wrong! There’s trouble in the clan—and Senior Lin, Brother Second Bull is in trouble too!”