Deep Reserves, Explosive Breakthrough

Lan Chang'an's words before the tombstone were like a dawning ray that lit the darkness, making the cultivators present feel their hearts brighten.

"Daoist Lu is right. The dead are gone, but the living must carry on. May we encourage one another, and may the Immortal Path Evergreen."

Beside Zhao Siyao, a resolute young man with slightly dark skin spoke in praise.

Looking at this Qi Refining Ninth Layer young man,

Lan Chang'an found him familiar and soon recalled, "You are Zhang Tieshan, Daoist Zhang?"

"Twenty years have passed, yet Daoist Lu still remembers Zhang."

Zhang Tieshan nodded.

His face was clouded with sorrow as he sighed. "When we met in Hengshui Prefecture, Daoist Lu should have persuaded Daoist Lin not to follow Zhang to the Haunted House to exterminate ghosts."

Hearing this, Lan Chang'an's heart stirred.

There was a trace of guilt in Zhang Tieshan's tone.

After speaking further, Lan Chang'an learned that Lin Yi's death was somewhat connected to Zhang Tieshan.

"Twenty years ago, Lin Yi followed Zhang Tieshan to the Haunted House to exterminate ghosts and gained a modest harvest. From then on, the two became acquainted and kept in contact."

Zhang Tieshan's aptitude was ordinary, but his will was formidable. He was skilled in actual combat and possessed considerable talent in magical duels. He often accepted sect missions to kill Evil Cultivators wanted by the sect.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi's Hidden Immortal Pavilion provided Zhang Tieshan with intelligence and assistance.

As time went on, other sect disciples also began seeking Lin Yi's help and offering compensation.

"Twenty years later, Lin Yi led Hidden Immortal Pavilion cultivators to assist Golden Cloud Valley disciples in encircling a wanted criminal. They fell into an ambush, and he died from severe injuries."

Looking back over those twenty years, Lan Chang'an could not help but sigh.

Back then, when Lin Yi chose to follow Zhang Tieshan to the Haunted House to exterminate ghosts, the tracks of fate seemed to have already laid the groundwork for today's ending.

"Daoist Zhang need not blame yourself. Brother Lin surely would not have regretted his decision back then."

Lan Chang'an thought to himself that if Lin Yi had not met Zhang Tieshan, he would not have enjoyed the glory that came later,

creating Hidden Immortal Pavilion with his own hands, recruiting rogue cultivators, amassing resources, and allowing his son to enter Golden Cloud Valley smoothly.

With Lin Yi's aptitude, if he had remained in the mortal world managing an enterprise, it would have been impossible for him to reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.

Even if he had not fallen today, he would merely have lived a few more decades.

"Lin Lu, your father left behind quite a substantial estate for you. From now on, cultivate diligently and take each step firmly, one footprint at a time."

Zhang Tieshan offered his earnest encouragement.

"Yes, Uncle Zhang."

Lin Lu lowered his head in shame, his tone respectful.

He remembered how he had fought over a beautiful female cultivator in the sect, and how Zhang Tieshan had once warned him over the matter.

Before Lin Yi's grave, nearly all the cultivators who had been close to him in life had gathered.

Some burned incense in tribute, while others poured wine before the tombstone.

Led by Zhao Siyao and Zhang Tieshan, they proposed offering Lin Yi's son some support.

Beyond the care he would receive within the sect,

the spiritual land belonging to Hidden Immortal Pavilion ought to be preserved if possible.

Lin Lu was now twenty years old and at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. As a sect disciple, his strength was no weaker than his father's.

So long as the cultivators present spoke up, no other cultivators would dare covet Lin Lu's inheritance or this spiritual land.

As for whether Hidden Immortal Pavilion would continue to exist, that would be Lin Lu's own decision.

Seven days after Lin Yi was buried,

cultivators such as Zhang Tieshan took their leave one after another.

"Lin Lu, what became of Xia Feilun, whom your father caught refining pills in the Underground Palace back then?"

Lan Chang'an asked privately.

Lin Lu's expression turned slightly unnatural as he answered, "Following my father's will, he was made to take poison and end his own life."

Lan Chang'an offered no comment. He merely wanted to know the outcome.

If Xia Feilun were still alive, he would surely hate Lin Yi and his son, perhaps even implicating Lan Chang'an and the others in his hatred.

"Before Father died, he told me that I should learn from you, Uncle Lu. Only then could I survive for long in the Cultivation World."

Lin Lu spoke softly.

Lan Chang'an paused, not expecting Lin Yi's final instructions to contain such praise for him.

At this meeting, several traces of Lin Lu's arrogance had faded.

Before the tombstone, only Zhao Siyao, Lan Chang'an, and Li Ergou remained among the visiting cultivators.

After making a few more arrangements, the three took their leave.

After flying out of the valley of Hidden Immortal Pavilion,

Lan Chang'an chatted with Zhao Siyao for a while, mainly about her progress toward Foundation Establishment.

"I have gathered enough contribution points and applied to exchange them with the sect. Among the next batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, one will belong to me."

When Zhao Siyao mentioned this, joy filled her voice.

"That is wonderful. Congratulations in advance, Daoist Zhao, on reaching Foundation Establishment soon."

Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou offered their congratulations early.

"There is something for which I have yet to thank Daoist Lu."

Before they parted, Zhao Siyao carried herself with dignified grace and gave Lan Chang'an a poised salute.

"A few years ago, the two fine talismans Daoist Lu gave me provided crucial aid in the Black Mist Mountain Range."

"Given the friendship between us, two High-Grade Talismans are not worth mentioning."

Lan Chang'an spoke generously, saying all the right things.

Once Zhao Siyao reached Foundation Establishment, what would two First-Order Talismans amount to?

"Since our friendship runs so deep, if Siyao is fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment next time, I hope Daoist Lu will not stand on ceremony and change the way you address me again."

Zhao Siyao smiled charmingly and waved goodbye.

"Change the way he addresses her?"

Li Ergou froze for a moment before suddenly understanding. "According to the rules of the Cultivation World, if Daoist Zhao reaches Foundation Establishment, we would have to address her as Senior."

Such was the Cultivation World: cultivation and attainment came first.

Unless they were direct blood relatives or master and disciple, seniority was generally judged by cultivation.

She still remembers so clearly how I changed my form of address at the Gathering Immortal Pavilion back then. It must have left a thorn in her heart!

Lan Chang'an smiled bitterly inwardly.

However, Zhao Siyao's words today—telling Lan Chang'an not to call her "Senior" in the future—showed that she truly acknowledged their friendship. She was not a cold and ungrateful person.

In the Cultivation World, there was no shortage of people who forgot kindness and betrayed righteousness.

For instance, in Lan Chang'an's family in his Previous Life, there had once been an Immortal Seedling with an exceptionally fine Earth Spiritual Root. The family sent him to a sect and spared no cost in supplying him with resources.

That Earth Spiritual Root Immortal Seedling took everything as his due.

Later, after the Immortal Seedling successfully reached the Golden Core Realm, he deliberately distanced himself from the family and turned a deaf ear when the family faced peril.

If even family bloodlines could be like this, how much less dependable were friends outside the family?

Several days later,

Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou returned to Jade Moon Mountain Villa.

Lan Chang'an needed to return Mu Xiuyun's Flying Boat, so he made a trip to Moon Heart Island.

Moon Heart Island was where the family's upper echelon cultivated. This was Lan Chang'an's first visit to the place.

He sent out a Sound Transmission Talisman.

Before long, Mu Xiuyun, dressed in a plain skirt, flew out from a Cave Abode on the island.

Having taken a Youth Preserving Pill, Mu Xiuyun looked to be in her twenties. Her beauty was radiant, her skin smooth as congealed cream, with scarcely a wrinkle to be seen.

After returning the Flying Boat,

Lan Chang'an proposed resigning from his position as the "chief talisman master" of the Marketplace Spirit Talisman Shop.

He estimated that he would advance to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer within two years, after which he would leave the Jade Moon Lake Mu Family.

"The Spirit Talisman Shop lacks an experienced talisman master. Stay on for a few more years, and I will apply for a Jade Azure Pill for you. How about it?"

She pressed her red lips together, a trace of expectation shining in her starry eyes.

"There is no need. Mu Ershun and Mu Shan are more or less capable of shouldering the responsibility now, and the Spirit Talisman Shop's reserves of uncommon talismans are sufficient for several more years."

Lan Chang'an cupped his hands in farewell.

Watching the white-robed figure recede into the distance,

Mu Xiuyun realized something. A despondent look appeared on her gentle, graceful face as she stood there for a long while.

Jade Moon Mountain Villa.

Lan Chang'an returned to the long-unvisited Lakeside Courtyard.

After activating the formation Restriction, he immediately began secluded cultivation.

Though it was called seclusion, he only needed to cultivate for one or two hours each day, making it slightly less effective than at Bamboo Leaf Mountain.

One or two years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, a powerful wave of mana surged from the Lakeside Courtyard, resonating with heaven and earth.

Ordinary formations could not conceal it.

"Qi Refining Seventh Layer?"

The nearby family cultivators could not help sensing it.

"Who has newly advanced to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer?"

"It seems to be Talismans Master Lu!"

"Lan Chang'an? It was actually him?"

Quite a few cultivators turned their attention toward Lan Chang'an's courtyard.

The Qi Refining Seventh Layer was insignificant in a sect, but within a Foundation Establishment Family, it counted as middle to upper rank.

With a little more seniority, once one reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, one could be ranked among the elders of the Mu Family.

The older Mu Family cultivators were not surprised by Lan Chang'an's advancement to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

After all, Lan Chang'an's aptitude was not poor. He cultivated diligently year-round and received the resource support earned through his work as a talisman master.

His advancement to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer was a thick accumulation finally bursting forth.

"Forty-five years old, Qi Refining Seventh Layer!"

Inside the courtyard house, Lan Chang'an felt the substantial increase in Evergreen Mana within his body, and excitement welled up in his heart.

"In this Third Life, I have finally passed through the most vulnerable stage."

Feeling unrestrained joy, he could not help letting out a long cry.

The Qi Refining Seventh Layer marked entry into the Qi Refining Late-Stage.

It was not merely a vast increase in mana.

Combined with the advantages accumulated from Lan Chang'an's first two lives, the strength of the methods he could wield had more than doubled.

To say nothing else, Lan Chang'an's divine sense now nearly rivaled that of someone at Foundation Establishment Early Stage and could extend outward for twenty zhang.

This came from the Nine Imprint Tablet's nourishing reinforcement of his soul.

His current strength—

with trump cards such as the Body Refinement Art, a First-Order Peak Spirit Pet, and powerful talismans—gave him the ability to preserve his life even against an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator.

This was why Lan Chang'an had planned to cultivate within the Mu Family until reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Layer before preparing to depart.

Apart from planning for an opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment,

he now possessed some initial strength, enough to travel through limited areas of the Cultivation World's lower levels.

He no longer needed to rely so heavily on a family Spiritual Vein.

A Qi Refining Late-Stage, First-Order High-Grade talisman master

could live quite comfortably in any of Liang Kingdom's major marketplaces.

The major Foundation Establishment Families would all be willing to hire him as an honored guest.

His status was slightly lower than Ge Alchemist's had been, but his strength surpassed it by an unknown number of levels.