"Alright!"
Li Nangua spoke softly.
She turned toward the study, took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began grinding ink for Lu Chang’sheng.
The ink used in the Spirit Realm was naturally not of the ordinary kind; unless sothing unusual happened, any words left in such ink could endure for over a thousand years.
If kept well, even several thousand or tens of thousands of years were possible.
Lu Chang’sheng took up the brush, thoughts swirling in his mind.
With Red Cloud Daoist causing havoc and Zhu Qing’s interference, business at the Pill Shop in Yun’an Square had been affected to a considerable degree.
Supplying the Lu Mansion’s cultivation had nearly reached its limit.
If he waited until he reached the late Qi Cultivation stage, he feared the family would slip into a state of deficit.
So regarding the family, he’d already begun thinking of letting go.
Every child and grandchild has their own fortune to live by.
He could not possibly lift up the entire Lu Family by himself.
It’s manageable with few mbers, but in another hundred years, with more people and as their cultivation grows, it would definitely start to seriously hinder his own cultivation.
Thus, he was intent on gradually letting go, aiming for the Lu Family to beco a clan that could support itself independently.
At the very least, they could not drag him down.
As for giving back, that was not sothing he expected.
This, too, was what he hoped for as an elder for his juniors.
"Cultivation is like rowing a boat upstream—if you’re not advancing, you’re drifting backward. The Lu Family must rise on its own. In this way, if we can avoid the flaws of old and decaying houses, we must do so whenever possible."
Gathering his focus, he put brush to paper and wrote the words: "Do not forget your original aspiration; family blood above all."
Soon, the family precepts written by Lu Chang’sheng reached every mber of the Lu Family.
"Do not forget your original aspiration? Family blood above all!"
In a secluded courtyard, Lu Fan sat cross-legged, staring at those words, a trace of gratitude in his eyes, feeling a new sense of warmth toward his grandfather.
"Knock knock knock!"
At that mont, a burst of knocking sounded at the door.
After Lu Fan replied, Lu Ziyou pushed open the door and entered, Lin Yin with her hair pinned up trailing behind.
The two were Lu Fan’s parents, though due to various reasons, they’d been rather indifferent to him.
Seeing him sitting on the floor, his surroundings sowhat cold and desolate, a tinge of guilt appeared on Lu Ziyou’s face.
It hadn’t been his idea to have a child in the first place—just youth and carelessness at that age; his union with Lin Yin had a clear air of arranged marriage. According to clan tradition, at the very least, they were expected to produce an heir before things were considered settled.
Thus, Lu Fan ca to be.
But with a child born, troubles followed. Gou Dao emphasized detachnt—parents, elder brothers, those things one can’t choose, but whether or not to have a child, that was sothing he could control.
So, naturally, regret filled his heart, and as a result, he cared little for Lu Fan.
At first, with his parents occasionally supervising him, Lu Fan could just about manage to stay focused, but as he grew older and was found to have extrely poor talent, their interest disappeared entirely.
In the end, Lu Fan had little presence in the Lu Mansion.
Now, with Lu Chang’sheng writing out the family precepts, guilt weighed on his mind, so he ca with Lin Yin. Seeing that Lu Fan’s living quarters weren’t even as good as those of his eldest brother’s son, his guilt worsened.
The two checked on Lu Fan with words of concern and comfort. Though there were still so barriers between them, it wouldn’t take long for their relationship to improve sowhat.
Much credit was owed to the Lu Family’s upright household traditions. Although Lu Ziyou and Lin Yin felt considerable disappointnt in Lu Fan, everything a Lu clansman should have, they still did.
After the two left, Lu Fan’s gaze grew just a bit gentler, his eyes settling on an object within the room.
Soon, his expression grew resolute.
It was a cultivation technique—Elental Break Technique!
Not even Lu Chang’sheng knew this: although Lu Fan had no talent for the Immortal Dao, when it ca to Martial Dao, he had so natural aptitude.
······
Just as Lu Fan thought and said, Lu Chang’sheng also felt compelled to act. Normally, with the strength of Qi Cultivation fourth layer, he wouldn’t have needed to intervene personally, but for the sake of secrecy and to be prudent, he chose not to entrust this to anyone else.
Of course, he wouldn’t presu too much; with Nangua by his side, even if the opposition had so tricks up their sleeve, he didn’t worry for his own safety.
That night, Lu Chang’sheng and Li Nangua quietly slipped out, heading toward the housing cluster.
Both were expertly disguised. Even with Immortal City riddled with surveillance spirit arrays, they had no fear of being discovered.
Of course, it was a different story for outsiders. Foreigners who hadn’t spent enough ti in the Immortal City had to leave a bit of their own blood behind; if they acted within the city, the surveillance arrays would imdiately pick up on it.
This was why, when Lu Chang’sheng had first arrived and entered the housing cluster, he’d had to provide a blood sample to the local administrator.
Moreover, Lu Chang’sheng knew the housing cluster’s surveillance arrays weren’t active all the ti; otherwise, the spirit stones needed to fuel them would drain even the Gu Family dry.
Only certain places and special tis saw the surveillance arrays run constantly.
Thus, Lu Chang’sheng was ninety-nine percent sure of his plan’s success.
"Why do high-level cultivators command fear among those below? This is exactly why."
If there was true equality between high and low-level cultivators in Immortal City, why would anyone weaker fear the strong?
Soon, the two slipped into the cluster and reached the residence of the skinny cultivator from earlier that day.
Lu Chang’sheng released his spiritual sense, instantly enveloping the nearby dwelling.
Because he cultivated the Cyan Essence Immortal Technique, his spiritual sense was much stronger than his peers’. Lu Chang’sheng estimated his perception rivaled soone at the seventh stage of Qi Cultivation, especially those who’d cultivated for years.
He glanced back to see Nangua showing no sign of alarm and knew there was no problem. Only then did he make his move.
A subtle light flickered. Before him, a shadow nearly two ters long erged—a segnted form, limbs growing out as magical power flowed into it, legs slowly moving.
Over the years, Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t just refined the Black Water Profound Snake; he’d also created several other types of puppet beasts, rarely showing them to others.
The puppet beast before him was like a giant centipede—dubbed Sand Centipede—with powerful stealth abilities and impressive resistance to ordinary spirit arrays.
Moving his fingers rapidly, the Sand Centipede vanished into the darkness.
······
Inside, lanterns blazed brightly.
Two figures sat on the second floor, conversing idly.
A sound insulation spirit array had been set up around them.
At that mont, the female cultivator was trying to persuade the male cultivator across from her.
The two were quite close, having once hunted demons together and shared hardship. They even shared their rented ho, cohabiting in the sa dwelling.
They knew each other well—one opportunity away from becoming Dao companions.
Yet the female cultivator, for now at least, felt she needed to observe him a bit longer.
After all, Dao companions were vital on the path of cultivation: you had to be honest. The wrong choice of companion could beco a major obstacle to one’s progress.
"Fellow Daoist, do you truly an to get involved with Fellow Daoist Wang from that floor?"
She asked.
"Fellow Daoist Wang excels at Alchemy. In the future, he’ll surely be soone of importance. What’s the harm in forging a good relationship with him?" The man frowned, eyes betraying faint impatience and incomprehension.
The woman was plain-looking, her cheeks scattered with faint acne scars; if not for her skills in Talisman Making, why would he even pay attention to her?
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