Chapter 410 - 263: Spirit Monster Blood, A Mortal Bond Concluded
Chapter 410: Chapter 263: Spirit Monster Blood, A Mortal Bond Concluded
"Alright."
An Escape Light flared, and the two of them flew straight into the clan’s territory.
In a place where no one could see, a White Porcelain Bottle slipped quietly from between his fingers, falling into the mountain range to be forever buried within a ravine.
Silent and traceless, never to be seen again.
...
Standing atop the clouds, the Immortal City was within sight.
Lin Changheng noticed that the number of Escape Lights, Dharma Ships, and people traveling to and from the Floating Immortal City had increased significantly.
Elder Kong’s breakthrough to Tier Three Pill Master shouldn’t have had such an immediate effect, yet it clearly had.
He was quite surprised. Upon entering the Immortal City, he didn’t even need to ask around. He simply extended his Divine Sense and captured the conversations of the crowd.
"So that’s how it is."
Soon, Lin Changheng caught the key phrase.
Special Auction.
It was a supplementary event for the celebration of the new Tier Three Pill Master, to be held in the Immortal City.
But the next piece of information made Lin Changheng’s expression shift slightly.
"The Auction will be held on the same day as the celebration, at the same time, with the aim of letting all cultivators celebrate together."
’I can’t be in two places at once.’ The thought made Lin Changheng immediately abandon any plans to attend.
This also suggested that the special Auction wasn’t aimed at them, and it was unlikely anything he needed would be up for sale.
He deduced this immediately, so there was nothing to regret.
...
Lin Changheng didn’t go directly to the reception area set up on Fusheng Lake. Anyone with an invitation could enter, but with several days still to go, it would be pointless for him to just wait around there.
Instead, he decided to look up some old friends to catch up and pass the time.
As it turned out, he heard a piece of news from Talisman Master Chu.
The Steward from the Bixiao Sect had been exposed for embezzling Sect resources for his own profit. After an investigation, he was sanctioned by the Sect.
Back when Lin Changheng was trying to acquire the East Wheel Willow Wood, that Steward had been in contact with multiple Cultivators and thought he could hold out for the highest bidder.
So he deliberately inflated the price, figuring he might as well make a huge profit. After all, with so many potential buyers, he didn’t care if one deal fell through.
"How was he sanctioned?"
Lin Changheng asked.
"They recovered the illicit funds, ordered him into closed-door reflection, and stripped him of his duties."
Talisman Master Chu answered succinctly.
"That’s it?"
Lin Changheng was taken aback. Such a punishment was extremely light.
"What else could they do?" Talisman Master Chu took a sip of wine, his face flushed, and glanced at Lin Changheng, shaking his head. "After all, a Sect’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators don’t just grow on trees. The Sect invested a lot of resources to train him. Besides, I heard his older brother is a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator who holds an important position in the Sect. If it weren’t for his brother’s enemies making a move, this probably wouldn’t have even made a ripple."
"Forget it. These are all people with powerful backing. How can Loose Cultivators like us even compare?"
Lin Changheng took a sip of wine, appearing nonchalant.
"Mr. Lin, you’re mistaken..."
"How so?" Lin Changheng asked.
Talisman Master Chu chuckled. "Who doesn’t know that you and Elder Kong of the Immortal City have a close relationship? Now he’s even broken through to become a Tier Three Alchemy Master. The fact that you received an invitation to the ceremony just proves how close you are. Isn’t that a prime example of powerful backing?"
His words were tinged with a thick envy.
Lin Changheng just smiled and shook his head, with no intention of explaining or responding.
"Let’s drink, let’s drink."
Lin Changheng raised his cup directly.
Talisman Master Chu had been hoping to hear some truths and details to satisfy his curiosity, but Lin Changheng extinguished that hope, leaving him with no choice but to raise his cup as well.
...
In the following days, besides visiting some old friends like Lü Tong and Artifact Master Guo, Lin Changheng also made a trip to the Hundred Herbs Shop in the Inner City.
It was opened by Ink Master’s friend, Alchemist Cheng. Back then, because Lin Changheng had endorsed it with his reputation, its business had grown larger and larger.
They had acquired three adjacent storefronts, merging them into the Hundred Herbs Shop.
For the next decade, its prominence was unrivaled.
Now, returning after more than thirty years, he found that the Hundred Herbs Shop had shrunk again.
It was down to the size of just two storefronts.
In truth, Lin Changheng had only moved away from the Immortal City a little over ten years ago; he had been around before that. So why hadn’t he come?
The main reason was that Elder Cheng had passed away at the end of his Lifespan.
His connection to the Hundred Herbs Shop was primarily through Ink Master, which had extended to Elder Cheng.
Once he passed away, Lin Changheng no longer had a reason to visit.
But now that Ink Master was gone, the memory of him occasionally prompted Lin Changheng to come and take a look.
He didn’t even go inside. He just swept the area with his Divine Sense and found that the Junior Brother Cheng of old was also nowhere to be seen.
"Where is the proprietor of this establishment named Cheng?"
Lin Changheng slowly stepped inside, his faint voice echoing in the Hundred Herbs Shop.
A middle-aged Cultivator was tending to some Medicinal Materials. Hearing the voice, he turned and looked up to see a formidable figure in a green robe standing there silently.
He didn’t even know when the man had entered, nor did he have any impression of him arriving.
He hurriedly put down his work and jogged over to greet him.
The closer he got, the less he could sense any aura from Lin Changheng. His attitude became extremely respectful, tinged with a bit of apprehension.
"Re... Replying to Elder, are you asking for my grandfather, or my great-grandfather?"
"Grandfather, great-grandfather?"
Lin Changheng was surprised. Only then did he carefully study the man’s face and notice a slight resemblance.
"You are Junior Brother Cheng’s grandson?"
"Junior Brother Cheng?" The middle-aged Cultivator froze for a moment, then seemed to remember something and looked at Lin Changheng in disbelief. "You... you are Elder Lin?"
The astonishment in his voice was impossible to hide. After all, this Elder Lin before him was far too young—he even looked more than a decade younger than himself.
’So this is the benefit of successful Cultivation...’
"Correct. It seems your grandfather told you about me."
Lin Changheng nodded, then asked again, "Where is your grandfather?"
"He..."
A sorrowful expression immediately appeared on the middle-aged Cultivator’s face, and his voice grew heavy. "My grandfather... he passed away in meditation five years ago."
He looked up at Lin Changheng, his eyes filled with a complex, indescribable emotion—a mix of sorrow and nostalgia for the past. "When my grandfather was alive, he often spoke of you, Elder. He said you were a heaven-sent genius whose Skills in the Alchemy Dao were transcendent, and that your guidance had benefited him for his entire life. He... he was always grateful for your kindness."
Hearing this, Lin Changheng fell silent for a moment.
’Things are the same, but the people are not.’
He knew Junior Brother Cheng’s aptitude. It was already a feat for him to have reached Late Stage Qi Cultivation. He was also slightly older than Lin Changheng, so it was expected that his Lifespan would run out. Still, hearing with his own ears that an old acquaintance had withered away, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion.
"Passed away in meditation... That’s for the best. He is free from the world’s troubles."
Lin Changheng sighed softly, his tone calm and betraying little emotion. "What is your name? Are you the one managing this shop now?"
Seeing the legendary elder’s gentle demeanor, the middle-aged Cultivator relaxed slightly and answered respectfully, "This junior is Cheng Zhiyuan. The Hundred Herbs Shop... since my grandfather passed, this junior has been barely keeping it afloat. My father also met an unfortunate end while working outside the city."
His words carried a hint of barely perceptible hardship.
Lin Changheng’s gaze swept over Cheng Zhiyuan’s somewhat coarse hands and the medicine-stained clothes he wore. He then glanced around the shop, which, though tidy, was clearly lacking in customers. He understood everything.
Cheng Zhiyuan’s Cultivation was only at the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation. Running a shop in this Immortal City must be quite difficult for him.
Actively reducing the storefront’s size was, in a way, a sound strategy.
He pondered for a moment before taking two Jade Bottles from his Storage Bag and handing them to Cheng Zhiyuan. "This is a Realm-Breaking Pill and a bottle of Nourishing Essence Pills. If you feel that breaking through is hopeless, you can take them. They should be of some use for breaking into the Late Stage and advancing your Cultivation, respectively. Since you are the descendant of an old friend, just take them."
Cheng Zhiyuan was stunned at first. When he felt the pure Medicinal Power emanating from the Jade Bottles, he became so flustered he didn’t know what to do, waving his hands repeatedly. "This... this is too precious! This junior dare not accept such a generous gift from an Elder!"
"Take them." Lin Changheng pressed the Jade Bottles into his hand, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "Manage the shop well. Don’t tarnish the reputation of your great-grandfather and grandfather. If you run into trouble..."
He paused and glanced around. "Just focus on stabilizing the original foundation your great-grandfather built."
"This junior understands. I won’t aim too high."
Cheng Zhiyuan’s face was resolute as he bowed seriously.
Lin Changheng felt no great stirrings in his heart over this, only a faint sense of melancholy.
’The path of cultivation is long. Meetings and partings are just the way of things.’
His gaze swept over the familiar yet strange shop one last time, with no lingering attachment.
It was also a good way to close a Chapter on a worldly connection.
He turned, and with a single step, his figure vanished from the entrance of the Hundred Herbs Shop as if he had never been there at all.
Clutching the two bottles of Elixirs that were incomparably precious to him now, Cheng Zhiyuan watched Lin Changheng’s disappearing back, his eyes reddening. He bowed deeply until his head nearly touched the ground. "This junior, Cheng Zhiyuan, thanks Elder Lin for his immense kindness!"
...