Lin Changheng knew why Xu Xuzhong was so eager to arrange a match for him: he wanted to bind Lin Changheng to the Xu Family's great ship with the ties of home and affection.
And Xu Xuzhong had good reason. Lin Changheng was nearly forty; it was time he found a cultivation partner and started a family.
What Xu Xuzhong could hardly say aloud was that Lin Changheng had mixed Spirit Roots and had struggled just to reach the fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm. His chances of achieving Foundation Establishment in this lifetime were almost nonexistent. The end of his immortal path was already in sight, so he ought to plan for what came after.
A mid-grade alchemist could accumulate astonishing wealth and resources. He needed descendants to inherit them.
But Xu Xuzhong would never imagine that everything they saw was only what Lin Changheng wanted them to see.
His progress in alchemy, his cultivation and strength—even his Spirit Roots—had undergone earth-shaking changes.
Lin Changheng casually cast the Spirit Inspection Technique on himself.
At once, the state of his five Spirit Roots appeared in his perception.
His Fire Spirit Root held sixteen strands of spiritual essence.
His Wood Spirit Root held fourteen.
His Earth Spirit Root had risen to nine.
His Water and Metal Spirit Roots remained at five each.
Resting his chin on his hand, Lin Changheng considered that perhaps he should focus all his efforts on raising his Fire Spirit Root to a Mid-grade Spirit Root first.
Otherwise, he might reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer only to be trapped at the bottleneck before the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm, unable to live or die.
A Mid-grade Spirit Root could ease that bottleneck to some extent.
It would also help him achieve Foundation Establishment