What a masterful open conspiracy.
An open conspiracy that none of the cultivators could refuse, one they would swallow as gladly as honey.
Lin Changheng gained a little more insight into the upper echelons of this cultivation world.
They were certainly no mediocre fools.
After chatting a while longer, Lin Changheng stopped disturbing Xu Fugui's rest. They agreed to drink their fill once he recovered, and Lin Changheng took his leave.
As for the Spirit Stones spent on purchasing essence blood, Lin Changheng brought them up once, but Xu Fugui reacted as though struck by lightning. He adamantly refused to accept them, speaking with righteous conviction and even elevating the matter to "sacrificing one's life for righteousness." Lin Changheng was left dumbfounded and could only drop it.
Before he left, Xu Fugui also mysteriously revealed another possibility. "If that Chen Family old man at the sixth layer of Qi Refining turns out to be crippled for good, the family will award another share of contribution credit and rewards."
He also declared that when the time came, Brother Lin would receive a share of the rewards!
He was saying so in advance, and no refusal would be accepted.
Hurrying back to his courtyard,
Lin Changheng looked at the empty bottles in the chest before him, quite satisfied.
At the mouth of the cauldron in his sea of consciousness, the emerald treasure seed trembled faintly.
[Rockmountain Tortoise Treasure Seed: Spirit-seizing transformation in progress] [Spirit seizure: 54/100]
Less than two days later,
Lin Changheng received a letter.
It came from the Upper Sect, the Purple Pole Sect, and the name signed on it was none other than Mo Zhaoli.
Master Mo's darling granddaughter.
Over the past few years, Lin Changheng had received several letters from her almost every year, describing her current circumstances and sharing her experiences, information, and the like.
Lin Changheng also replied promptly, maintaining their relationship.
This time, when Lin Changheng opened the letter, he saw Mo Zhaoli's joyful news-she had finally broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining!
Finally?!
Lin Changheng was somewhat speechless.
It had only been three years, hadn't it? A little less, if anything, and she had already broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining? A middle-grade spiritual root with fifty wisps of spirit resonance was terrifying indeed!
But on second thought, Mo Zhaoli had the full support of her grandfather, Master Mo, a Mid-Grade Pill Master, in her cultivation, as well as the resources she had fought to obtain within the Purple Pole Sect...
Viewed that way, breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining in under three years was quite reasonable.
"Mo Zhaoli is only about twenty-three now, isn't she? Tsk, tsk. Already at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Her future truly looks promising."
In this cultivation world, it was generally believed that anyone who could break through to Late Qi Refining before forty had a fair chance of reaching Foundation Establishment later.
If they managed it before thirty, their chances of reaching Foundation Establishment were considered quite high.
They would have enough time to patiently wear down the bottleneck, build up what they needed to break through, and even seek out a Foundation Establishment Pill.
With every preparation made, their chances naturally rose.
If someone still had not reached the Foundation Establishment bottleneck by their fifties, however, they were essentially out of luck.
Even setting aside the lack of time to prepare for Foundation Establishment, declining blood vitality and a deteriorating body were enormous tigers barring the road, obstacles difficult to surmount.
After that, Mo Zhaoli made a request.
She asked Lin Changheng to visit Master Mo for her from time to time.
She explained that her grandfather had been somewhat dispirited lately because a friend in the family had recently passed away. She could glean as much from his letters to her.
Presumably, the loss had dealt him quite a blow.
Worried and unable to stay by her grandfather's side herself, Mo Zhaoli had made this particular request.
"A friend in the family recently passed away?"
Naturally, Lin Changheng would not refuse. Whether out of affection, reason, or duty, he ought to go.
But he truly had not noticed anything. He had run into Master Mo several times outside the pill room, and on the surface, Master Mo had seemed perfectly normal.
There had been no way to tell.
At the end of the letter,
Mo Zhaoli mentioned an important piece of information closely related to the Xu Family.
Yet it concerned not the Xu Family, but the Chen Family!
The letter said that the Chen Family had been seeking patrons throughout the Purple Pole Sect, bringing lavish gifts and pleading for support.
Most likely, they wanted to deal with the Xu Family and gain an advantage in the valley in the Savage Wastes.
But no one within the Purple Pole Sect had responded.
It was not that they did not want the gifts. Rather, the sect had issued stern orders, emphasizing repeatedly that its disciples were to coordinate and manage frontier reclamation, not intervene and become part of the chain of interests, constrained by greed and swept along by profit.
They first had to plant themselves on the right side of the fence to stamp such things out!
"Now, unwilling to give up, the Chen Family seems to have turned to an aristocratic clan. I don't know how that has gone. The Xu Family should make preparations to respond early."
"I have also told Grandfather about this."
Reading the graceful, delicate handwriting on the letter, Lin Changheng knew that she felt little attachment to the Xu Family. She merely extended her affection for her grandfather to those around him.
Thus, it would not be easy for the Xu Family to ask her to handle anything for them.
Besides, Mo Zhaoli was still growing and might not have much influence within the sect.
He picked up his brush to reply.
He not only agreed to visit Master Mo but also described his own recent circumstances.
He mentioned that he could now occasionally refine Premium Pills, that he had made progress in the Pill Dao, and that his cultivation had also broken through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
He also stated plainly that the Xu Family was currently mired in war, while he was no good at magical combat and would rather focus on pill refining in peace.
The implication was that he wanted Mo Zhaoli to keep the latter matter confidential.
Lin Changheng had carefully considered these deliberate disclosures.
His aim was to give himself more weight.
Being able to refine Premium Pills meant he had the potential to become a first-tier middle-grade Pill Master.
And it had been nearly four years since he became a ranked Pill Master, so he could afford to reveal a little.
It would not be earth-shattering, merely a sign of some talent.
Soon, he would also sell a few Premium Pills to the Hundred Treasures Hall for the first time, gaining greater importance within the Xu Family.
Only then would he have a chance to lay his hands on the Xu Family's secret middle-grade Pill Dao teachings.
After that, all he could do was wait for circumstances to change.
That was beyond his control.
Lin Changheng's progress in both the Pill Dao and his cultivation also kept the gulf between his standing and Mo Zhaoli's from widening further.
Without contact, their old friendship alone was not enough.
For now, adding the "benefit" of his promising future could ease the situation.
As the gulf in standing widened, the person below lost their voice and received less consideration. It was an inevitable consequence of complex human nature.
Although Mo Zhaoli had broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining this time, the gap was actually narrowing.
Lin Changheng did not want to become someone valued merely for old times' sake. He needed to be treated as an equal and gain access to shared information, so it was necessary to flex his muscles a little.
Only this way could he continue receiving information from the Purple Pole Sect. After all, it was a Core Formation sect, the overlord of an entire region. Through it, he could glimpse the broader situation and its currents, and make plans early.
That afternoon,
After finishing his pill refining, Lin Changheng went straight to the Hundred Treasures Hall.
"Pill Master Lin, here to sell pills again?"
Steward Xu Xuyang's eyes immediately lit up. His mustache quivered as he hurried out to greet him. This was a major customer.
Whether he was selling pills or buying magic artifacts and formations, it was always the same.
He never even blinked at the expense.
"Senior, take a look at these pills."
Without confirming or denying it, Lin Changheng pushed a box of pills forward.
"Please wait a moment."
Xu Xuyang took out an Appraisal Artifact resembling a bronze mirror and shone it over the pills one by one.
It distinguished them by differences in their medicinal aura.
Lin Changheng watched with a smile.
Yellow light kept flashing across the bronze mirror's surface, proving that these were Standard Pills.
Just as the appraisal was about to end, the bronze mirror suddenly trembled, and a thread of golden light flashed across it.
"Hm? This is?"