"Letters?"
Lin Changheng's eyes flickered slightly.
As for friends, it was not as though he had had none over the past dozen or so years. He had once kept in touch with the three people who had sought immortality alongside him in mortal towns, but as Lin Changheng grew increasingly gloomy and anxious, their correspondence gradually dwindled.
Besides that, there were also several immortal seedlings within the Xu Family whom he got along with and had befriended, and they often kept in contact.
Who could it be?
"Alchemist Lin, the letters are with Guest Elder Mo. The guest elder asked me to come inform you..."
As he spoke, the clerk discreetly pointed upward.
"Understood."
Lin Changheng smiled knowingly and headed upstairs.
Master Mo was sitting in the reception hall. The moment he spotted him, he hurriedly beckoned him over. "Changheng, Zhaoli has sent a letter."
Zhaoli?
The image of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl immediately surfaced in Lin Changheng's mind.
Graceful and slender, with brows painted in ink and eyes like lacquer dots, two dimples rippling forth whenever she smiled.
A beauty in the making, through and through.
Mo Zhaoli, Master Mo's granddaughter and his only remaining relative.
He wondered what she looked like now that she had grown up.
"It arrived."
His thoughts drifting as though reminiscing, Lin Changheng approached with a smile. "Master Mo, the last time Zhaoli wrote was before the New Year, wasn't it?"
"Yes!"
At his words, Master Mo's thoughts drifted afar as well. The joy on his wrinkled old face quietly smoothed away some of its creases, though his words remained stubborn.
"That little lass truly has been outrageous. If she hadn't sincerely admitted her mistake this time and explained everything in detail, saying she had not forgotten this grandfather of hers but that the sect had suddenly arranged cultivation competitions and there had been a reason for it, I would never have forgiven her!"
"Zhaoli has always been well-behaved, and her talent is outstanding. Since the great sect values her and is focusing on nurturing her, it is perfectly normal that she temporarily had no time to send letters."
How could Lin Changheng not understand what the old man was thinking? Thus, he said so.
Sure enough, Master Mo burst into hearty laughter. With a ripple of spiritual power, he sent a sealed letter floating down before Lin Changheng, then said with feigned jealousy, "Whenever that little lass sends me a letter, there is always one for you as well. Tsk, tsk. It seems your place in her heart is no less than mine."
"Not at all! I entered Master Mo's tutelage as an apprentice eleven years ago, and I have known Zhaoli for five or six years. Now that Zhaoli has joined a great sect, she still remembers an old friend. With such a disposition, her future is boundless."
Lin Changheng caught the letter in his hand and smiled.
After the two spoke a few more words, Xu Liucai came to ask Lin Changheng to perform the pill incantation. After paying his respects, Lin Changheng took his leave directly.
Once he had finished performing the pill incantation on the furnace, Lin Changheng opened the letter from Mo Zhaoli, whom he had not seen in more than five years.
The small handwriting inside was elegant and delicate.
First, she congratulated Lin Changheng, saying that he had finally fulfilled his wish of becoming a ranked alchemist.
Apparently, Master Mo had mentioned this when writing to her, which was how she knew.
Next, she also introduced her recent circumstances in the Purple Extreme Sect, her words light and easy.
Yet Lin Changheng could sense that, even with a Mid-grade Spirit Root, she was under enormous pressure within the Purple Extreme Sect.
Though her Mid-grade Spirit Root possessed a full fifty strands of spiritual resonance and was incomparably close to a Superior Spirit Root, separated by only a single strand, she was still considerably slower in cultivation.
She had to work hard to catch up.
Fortunately, Heaven did not disappoint those with determination. Within the time stipulated by the sect, she finally broke through to the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm.
She had also received a substantial reward of cultivation resources.
If she continued to maintain this pace, she would have a chance to enter the inner sect and become the disciple of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
At that time, everything would be different.
After reading this section, Lin Changheng felt his scalp tingle. The competition was too fierce.
Rogue Cultivators with ordinary Spirit Roots competed among themselves; those with better Spirit Roots had their own way of competing even harder!
Even someone of Mo Zhaoli's aptitude had to struggle so desperately that she did not even have time to reply to her own grandfather's letters. Tsk, tsk...
Sure enough, unless they spoke of it, it was difficult for others to see the suffering beneath another person's splendor.
At the end of the letter, Mo Zhaoli revealed a piece of insider news.
She told Lin Changheng that he absolutely had to protect himself and be mindful of his safety. The "Great Reclamation" led by the Purple Extreme Sect this time would last a long while and might be extraordinarily dangerous. One indication was that the sect seemed likely to produce five Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards for the meritorious forces involved in the Land Reclamation!
This news was spreading like wildfire throughout the sect, yet it had not been suppressed.
It seemed they were deliberately allowing it.
There was a considerable chance it was true!
She had also told her grandfather this news. Presumably, the Xu Family would quietly learn of it and react accordingly.
The attraction of Foundation Establishment Pills to Qi Refining Realm families was incomparably enormous!
This was not merely one cultivator achieving Foundation Establishment. It was also an opportunity for an entire Lineage to soar, to overturn its fortunes, step down from the dining table, and straighten its back at the gambling table!
"Once the news spreads, every major force will surely go mad! I must be careful!"
Lin Changheng's heart tightened.
Then he returned to his room, picked up his brush, and wrote a reply to Mo Zhaoli.
First, he expressed his gratitude for her congratulations and congratulated her on her progress.
At the same time, he spoke of some of his own recent circumstances and recalled several past events between them, expressing his sentiments.
Finally, he hoped their relationship would remain unchanged and their friendship evergreen.
Lin Changheng's final inspired stroke was intended to maintain their relationship, to make the fading of their bond proceed as slowly as possible.
Distance had grown between them, and the gap in their standing had widened. Estrangement was inevitable. Lin Changheng could not stop it; he could only delay it as much as possible.
After all, the cultivation world was not merely about fighting and killing. There were also human feelings and worldly dealings.
Having a friend within a sect carried many benefits. Information alone came through broader channels, at higher levels, and reached one earlier than others.
Moreover, Master Mo had been so tolerant of him before his awakening. It was difficult to say that Mo Zhaoli had not been a factor in that influence.
Four months later.
At dusk.
Su Shuangjiang once again knocked on Lin Changheng's door, carrying a dense stench of blood.
"Please, come in quickly."
Lin Changheng invited her inside and served a cup of fragrant tea along with a plate of spiritual melons and exotic fruits.
This was the female cultivator's second visit in four months.
Every time she returned from outside, before she even had time to wash away the blood stench covering her body, she came to find Lin Changheng.
Sensing the anticipation and eagerness in her neighbor's gaze, Su Shuangjiang smiled faintly. "Take a look."
As she spoke, her fair palm swept across the table, and a row of glass vials containing essence blood appeared.
Lin Changheng made a rough count. There were twenty-two bottles in all.
"Of these, sixteen bottles contain mature Fire Crow essence blood, and six contain juvenile essence blood."
Su Shuangjiang's red lips parted slightly. "The quantity is about the same as last time. Unfortunately, Fire Crows are difficult to kill. Few Rogue Cultivators specifically hunt them; usually, they only try their hand if they happen to encounter one. Besides, the outside world has been somewhat turbulent lately. For safety, Rogue Cultivators all travel in groups to hunt large prey, and basically do not target Fire Crows... so this is all there is."
"No matter. We purchase according to quantity anyway; however much there is, we will take it."
Lin Changheng smiled freely, his mindset calm.
Last time, puzzled by the fact that Fire Crows were difficult to hunt while essence blood continued to be supplied without interruption, he had indirectly sounded out Manager Xu Qianyou. It turned out that some beast-raising Lineages had learned of the market and were specifically raising Fire Crows, supplying essence blood exclusively to several Lineages involved in alchemy, talisman crafting, and spiritual cuisine. Demand exceeded supply.
"Does Brother Lin still have any [Crimson Flame Pills]? Because of the unrest, the demand for pills outside has grown even higher. Brother Lin can raise the price by another ten percent."
Su Shuangjiang brought up another matter.
Before you continue