Lu Chang’sheng smiled and said, "No need to worry, I just want Elder Xiao Feng to identify the pill."
As he spoke, he took out a jade bottle, placed it on the table, and said, "A few days ago, I refined a batch of pills. Everything went smoothly, and I thought I would yield a full batch. But when I opened the furnace, I found there was only one pill inside."
After finishing, he pointed at the jade bottle with his finger, and said, "This is the pill!"
"Only one pill from a whole batch? I’ve never heard such a thing." The sowhat distracted Xiao Feng snapped back to attention.
With alchemy, if you don’t succeed, the furnace is filled with nothing but residue. Otherwise, at minimum you get three pills per batch.
One pill? He’d never heard of it.
However, as curiosity got the better of him and he peered into the jade bottle, he suddenly recalled sothing he’d almost overlooked.
Instantly, his eyes flew wide open.
"This pill—could it be—"
······
anwhile, atop the White Cloud Pavilion, it was Elder Li’s turn on duty again.
The registrar had already delivered the ledger to his seat, and when Elder Li saw him, he noticed an absent-minded look on his face.
"Is this because of Alchemist Lu?"
Elder Li hesitated for a mont but decided to ask.
The registrar was on sowhat friendly terms with him, and clearly had sothing on his mind. So Elder Li couldn’t just pretend not to notice.
Previously, the three of them approached Xiao Feng, persuading him to remove Lu Chang’sheng’s contribution ranking from the list.
This matter was bound to have left so impact on the registrar.
Elder Li assud this was the reason, and considered offering a few words of comfort, perhaps explaining their difficult position.
But the registrar shook his head, and didn’t bring up the previous matter. Instead, he said, "It’s indeed about Alchemist Lu, but it’s unrelated to what happened before—"
As he spoke, he took out the ledger and skillfully turned to Lu Chang’sheng’s page.
"Elder Li, please look at this. I can’t shake the feeling sothing’s off here." The registrar pointed at the page, a troubled look on his face.
He had recorded the entry several days ago.
Unfortunately, the elders weren’t present in the Pavilion every day to take their shifts, so the matter had sat until now.
Elder Li glanced at the page, at first not caring much. For him, as long as Lu Chang’sheng didn’t tear things up openly, everything else was within acceptable bounds.
But when he saw the information logged, an uneasy feeling crept up on him.
"The task should’ve required delivering twenty Guiyuan Pills, but Alchemist Lu only submitted one?"
Elder Li’s heart grew heavy, suspecting that Alchemist Lu was retaliating for what they’d done before.
This irked him, and made things feel all the more tricky.
"I’ll discuss this with the other elders."
Elder Li said with a grave voice.
This was no minor issue. Alchemist Lu was a top alchemist in the White Cloud Pavilion—not just strong himself, but also well-connected with peers of equal rank. If he beca their adversary, the Pavilion’s situation could easily beco precarious.
Earlier, they had agreed with Xiao Feng to designate Lu Chang’sheng as a True Seed, qualifying him for the exchange to obtain Master Baiyun’s legacy—partly as a way of placating him.
So this move from Lu Chang’sheng really left him feeling sour.
As Elder Li turned to go, the registrar hurriedly said, "No, Elder Li, that’s not it. You really ought to take a closer look at the details on the next two pages."
Elder Li followed his suggestion and looked.
At the bottom of the page, he saw the remarks Lu Chang’sheng made when delivering the task.
"He claid the pill was extraordinary, and should be sufficient for the task?"
Annoyance flashed in Elder Li’s heart. He felt Lu Chang’sheng was being too sharp-edged, nothing like soone who’d lived for decades.
"This anger feels like it’s about to smack in the face."
He brushed his sleeve as he left, and with a frosty expression ordered the registrar and the cultivator standing by to notify the other elders and convene a eting.
Soon, elders ca rushing over. Seeing Elder Li’s cold expression, they couldn’t help but ask what had happened.
Elder Li didn’t conceal anything, handing over the ledger.
"This Lu Chang’sheng, for all our talk of inviting him to be the fifth elder of the White Cloud Pavilion, just look at him. If he beca an elder with this kind of mindset, what would happen?"
Elder Li launched the first salvo.
At that mont, the other elders had also arrived. As they received the ledger in turn, each viewed Lu Chang’sheng’s actions as a warning, just as Elder Li had.
"Alchemist Lu is indeed going a bit too far."
The elders weren’t people to hold back their tempers.
Following Elder Li’s lead, the matter was instantly spun as Lu Chang’sheng issuing a warning.
Needless to say, none of them were pleased.
Their support for other candidates was threatened by Lu Chang’sheng’s presence, so they’d always felt so resistance toward him.
This was why, when they removed Lu Chang’sheng from the contribution ranking, they hadn’t bothered to notify him in advance.
Yet they told themselves they were acting fairly; even Lu Chang’sheng’s guide, Xiao Feng, had tacitly approved.
Now, with Lu Chang’sheng delivering a warning, things had definitely taken a turn for the worse.
"Enough. We’ll bring this up when Fellow Daoist Xiao arrives."
Elder Guo said.
Everyone nodded, none objecting.
On one hand, Lu Chang’sheng’s status and strength ant that, even if they disliked him, they couldn’t openly break with him—it’d only make trouble for themselves.
On the other hand, when Lu Chang’sheng first joined the White Cloud Pavilion, they’d made plenty of jokes at Liu Jiu’s expense.
If things turned ugly now, it’d only add to the gossip for their rivals.
"Elder Guo is right. Still, let’s establish our stance now: whatever happens, we can’t allow Alchemist Lu to participate." Elder Li stated calmly.
Lu Chang’sheng’s ’warning’ was open to interpretation, but there was no way they’d let it escalate to outright hostility.
Luckily, they’d long prepared for this, and withheld the truth behind the True Seed title from Lu Chang’ssheng. As long as they got Xiao Feng on board, they’d have total control over the result.
No one hesitated; all nodded in agreent.
Master Baiyun’s Heaven-Burning Valley connections held many unknown possibilities. Even if they couldn’t compete with Zhou Lin’s side for a place to visit Heaven-Burning Valley, just getting acquainted could pay serious dividends down the line.
Sending Lu Chang’sheng was the last thing they wanted.
With the baseline set, they quickly shifted the topic. Since the Heaven-Burning Valley envoys would be arriving soon, even with Lu Chang’sheng out of the running, they’d need to choose two out of three candidates.
"On sheer contribution, Fan Shou is top of the list now—he’s refined two kinds of supre-grade pill. In my view, his talent is definitely among the top two," Elder Li said, playing it safe by citing top two, not absolute first.
After all, they were sending two people to et the Heaven-Burning Valley envoys.
Top two was enough—they could even bring one more along to ease pressure.
Yet Elder Guo and Elder He were no fools. They easily saw the angle and laughed to themselves, praising the talents of their own favorites.
Whatever happened, none would ever admit that their candidate was the weakest of the three.
You say top contributor? I say contribution is only one tric. Just because soone refines more pills doesn’t an they’ve got more talent, right?
Sure, my alchemy speed is slower than yours, but I’m younger. Youth is potential—who’d dare underestimate that?
The three seed already to have anticipated such a clash, exchanging glances and feeling a headache coming on.
All three candidates had their own advantages; looking at it overall, it was impossible to call who was best. Whover they picked, they could justify it.
Which was why, after all these years, they’d still failed to settle on a main candidate for nurturing.
No way around it. It’s tough.
Elder Li proposed an alchemy contest.
The other two elders disagreed.
Fan Shou was the oldest, most experienced; he’d naturally have the upper hand in a pill refining showdown.
As they brooded over the dilemma, Xiao Feng finally arrived.
When he saw their troubled faces, he instantly understood, took a deep breath, and said, "Fellow Daoists, there’s no need to worry. The most suitable candidate has already appeared."
At these words, the other three elders revealed traces of surprise.
"Elder Xiao, did you find so genius? Where is this person?"
Anyone who could make Xiao Feng so certain had to be soone with a clear edge over Fan Shou and the others.
So the three couldn’t hide their excitent, rising to inquire.
Sure enough, Xiao Feng nodded. "It’s true! This person—possesses exceptional talent!"
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