A nimble and playful girl in a floral dress sat on the back of a black water turtle, touching the simple texture on the turtle shell with her bare hands, looking reluctant to leave.
"Tan'er, if you don't go back and delay your practice, your master may blame you."
Lu Changan said with a straight face.
The last time I left Feiyue Lake to leave, I didn't expect that this niece, who was in the foundation-building stage, would take the initiative to beg to come over and see the Xuan Water Turtle.
More than ten years ago, Zhao Tan'er planned to build a foundation and came here with his master Zhao Siyao, and fell in love with the cute Xuan Shui Turtle.
"Uncle Lu, my master is going to attend the lantern festival in Bauhinia Fairy City next month. Are you really going to go there and give her a surprise?"
Zhao Tan'er jumped down from the turtle shell, looking at Lu Changan's expression with her bright eyes.
"At this lantern festival, my master was arranged by a master of Jiedan to meet with his junior. If you don't take action, Uncle Lu, you may be wrong for life."
In the past few days since coming to Xiaogui Peak, Zhao Tan'er had more than once brought Lu Changan and Zhao Siyao together, either explicitly or covertly.
Lu Changan was dubious about what this woman said.
Zhao Siyao was a high-quality single female foundation-building monk in Jinyun Valley, and it was not uncommon for her to be matched by her elders.
If Zhao Siyao was willing to cling to or accept the unspoken rules, he would have given in as early as the ninth level of Qi Refining and would not have waited until today.
"You don't understand the things between elders."
Lu Changan shook his head and said.
"Uncle Lu, just go once, okay?"
Zhao Tan'er's teeth were like shells, she slightly pursed her lips and begged.
"Uncle Lu, your aura has recently exploded. He wants to overcome the problem of talismans and hit the second level high-grade. He just doesn't have time. You must go next time."
Lu Changan was too lazy to argue anymore, so he entered the cave, opened the restriction, and isolated Zhao Tan'er.
"Humph, you are as cowardly as a turtle, why can't you take the initiative once?"
Zhao Tan'er was angry and helpless.
"Xiaoqing, see you next time."
Zhao Tan'er stretched out a green finger, trying to hook the Xuan Shui Turtle's head.
See her approaching fingers.
The black water turtle instinctively showed signs of pain and immediately retracted into its shell in fear.
Zhao Tan'er is not a gentle girl. She has a special way of loving her. These days, the Xuan Shui Turtle is scared.
"Humph! You are the same, you are a coward!"
Zhao Tan'er was dissatisfied and flew away from Little Turtle Peak in boredom.
Plop!
After confirming that the woman had left, Xuan Shui Turtle excitedly reveled in the lotus pond.
"Finally gone."
Inside the cave, Lu Changan breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't come out immediately.
Go to the alchemy room in the cave and pick up the alchemy that has been abandoned for a while.
Many years ago, Lu Changan's alchemy skills reached the threshold of a second-level alchemist.
But in order to fully become a second-level alchemist, this step has not yet been achieved.
He paid the price and occasionally managed to refine second-level elixirs, but he absolutely lost all his money and the quality of the finished elixirs was very unstable.
Faced with this big bottleneck, Lu Changan chose to take a break from time to time, revisit alchemy, and seek a breakthrough.
"Um?"
This time when he was refining the elixir, Lu Changan felt that his technique was smooth, his fire control was precise, and his state of mind was comfortable and comfortable.
A few days later, he refined a second-level cultivation elixir.
There are six Yuan Ning Dan and two Cheng Dan. There are no obvious flaws in their quality.
Lu Changxin was overjoyed. This rate of elixir formation reached the standard of a second-level alchemist.
After a few days of rest.
He opened the furnace again to refine the second-level elixir, but the finished elixir dropped to 20%, and the quality dropped significantly.
The previous time, it seemed that he was just performing beyond his normal capabilities.
However, Lu Changan was determined that his alchemy skills had improved, and it was only a matter of time to break through this level.
In the following years, he slightly increased his investment and practice in alchemy.
…
Three years later.
Xiaogui Peak, inside the alchemy room.
A strong medicinal fragrance exudes.
The brass alchemy furnace, which is about ten feet tall, is flashing with light and the lid of the cauldron is trembling slightly.
Lu Changan did not hesitate, he made secrets in his hands and skillfully performed the furnace-opening method.
A ray of spiritual energy burst open the lid of the cauldron, and steaming heat swept across it.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
Six pills flew into the palm of Lu Changan's hand.
Three of them are as black as carbon and are waste elixirs.
There is an elixir with most of the fourth path pattern on its surface missing, which is somewhere between a useless elixir and an inferior elixir.
The other two pills are full and crystal clear, like green tea.
The total quantity of finished elixirs is related to the total weight of materials.
"Yes, the quality of the elixir and the rate of elixir production have stabilized. In the future, when you refine familiar second-level low-grade elixirs, at least you won't lose money."
Lu Changan smiled and nodded, putting away the pills and the pill furnace.
About half a year ago, his alchemy skills stabilized at the second level of low-grade.
It took decades of cultivation, the blessing of spiritual consciousness, and so many years of investment to reach the second level of alchemy skills.
It is enough to prove that Lu Changan's talent in alchemy is indeed a bit poor.
In comparison, the puppetry skills he trained later were almost second-level high-grade.
If it weren't for the rareness of second-level high-level puppet materials and the limited opportunities to practice, Lu Changan might have become a second-level high-level puppet master in the next few years.
"It will take another year for me to reach the fifth level of foundation building."
"At that time, you can go to the 'Liaoyuan Fairy City' to purchase second-level high-quality puppet materials, and look for third-level spiritual bamboos, second-level life-extending pills, knotted elixir auxiliary medicines, etc."
Lu Changan thought.
He is now 113 years old and is expected to build the fifth floor when he is 114 years old.
One of the reasons why we considered the farther away "Liaoyuan Fairy City" instead of Huanglong Fairy City is that the latter has obviously declined in recent years.
Liaoyuan Fairy City is the first fairy city in Liang Kingdom, located on the east side of Lihuo Palace.
The actual controller behind this fairy city is the Lihuo Palace of Nascent Soul level forces.
Back then, Lu Changan was planning to build a foundation and chose to go to Huanglong Fairy City because it was a holy land for casual cultivators, with a down-to-earth atmosphere and cheap talisman materials, making it suitable for casual cultivators with no background.
The prairie fire fairy city is often visited by the real person Jiedan. The scale and grade are higher. The house prices, rents and prices in the city will naturally increase.
When his cultivation was weak, Lu Changan avoided meeting real people, even just entering their sensory range.
Now in the middle stage of foundation building, the ability of Evergreen Gong to gather Qi and hide it has greatly increased. Ordinary real people can't tell the truth from the truth, so there is no need to be too taboo.
…
Lu Changan walked out of the cave and received the two letters presented by the Earth Rock Rat.
One of the letters was from Guan Qiaozhi.
All in all, it has been five or six years since Guan Qiaozhi left.
In the past few years, she settled in the area around Hengshui Mansion and adopted some orphans.
Some are abandoned babies and don't even have names.
Guan Qiaozhi took it upon herself to give the baby boy the surname Lu and the baby girl the surname Guan.
It seems that he wants to use this alternative method to help Lu Changan continue his heirs and make up for his shortcomings.
In this letter.
Guan Qiaozhi focused on the spiritual-rooted boy "Chifeng".
Qi Feng is the descendant of Lu Changan's adoptive father "Qi Jingyun" several generations apart.
A few years ago, Qi Feng was discovered by Guan Qiaozhi to have mana fluctuations in his body, and she was officially introduced to the path of immortality.
"Being from a Jianghu gang, he is experienced, smart and steady in his actions, has a low-grade spiritual root, and is determined to be on the high road..."
Guan Qiaozhi described in the letter that Qifeng was similar to Lu Changan in many aspects.
Therefore, as an immortal, she took some care of Qi Feng and provided some guidance, but she did not give many resources.
Recently, Qi Feng has reached the fourth level of Qi Refining and will officially enter the world of immortality.
When Guan Qiaozhi discovered Qi Feng, Qi Feng had been practicing the "Open Source Sutra" for many years and had a solid foundation in the second level of Qi refining.
"Chiffon? That's fine."
Guan Qiaozhi taking care of his adoptive father's spiritual descendants is actually in line with Lu Changan's wishes.
He can understand Guan Qiaozhi's above behavior of "relying on emotions".
As long as Little Guifeng is not used as an orphanage, he has no objection.
As a caring person, Guan Qiaozhi understands his temperament and will not do such a burdensome thing.
…
The second letter is from Li Erqing.
The content of the letter was completely within Lu Changan's expectations.
With the three major foundations of the Mu family, the number of clan members increased greatly during the Qi Refining Period, and the spiritual vein land of Feiyue Lake was no longer enough.
In the past two years, Feiyue Lake Mujia considered expanding to surrounding areas.
As a result, the plan failed.
The main reason is that there are no suitable goals and opportunities.
The foundation-building family on the north side of Feiyue Lake is far away from each other, so it is difficult to provoke conflicts. Moreover, this force has a good relationship with the beast-controlling Zhou family, and is almost like a half vassal.
On the south side of Feiyue Lake is Maple Leaf Huang Family, and on the east side is Zhuye Shanfang City, the place where immortals are cultivated.
They are all the territory of the Huang family.
Not only did the Huang family have the protection of the late Foundation Establishment, but they also took a breather in the past two years and gave birth to a young Foundation Establishment monk.
The foundation-building and immortal-cultivating family on the southwest side is relatively close to Jinyun Valley. The ancestor of this family had a fake alchemy master decades ago, and they still have connections with Jinyun Valley.
In the end, the Mu family, which had three foundations in one family, only annexed one or two small surrounding families in the Qi refining period, slightly expanding the family's industry and sphere of influence.
However, the fundamental problem has not been solved.
If it cannot expand outward.
The internal conflicts within the family have further intensified, the old and new lineages are in conflict, and resources and spiritual lines are limited, which can only squeeze the middle and lower class members.
Li Erqing was worried about the Mu family's difficulties and hidden dangers, and expressed a vague request for advice in the letter.
…
A few days after this letter was sent.
Li Erqing rushed to Xiaogui Peak in person and talked with Lu Changan until late at night.
"The younger brother suddenly realized the profound meaning of the third suggestion made by the elder brother when Ren Longbo died."
Li Erqing looked complicated and sighed.
At that time, Huang Tankong plotted against the Mu family, leaving only Li Erqing with a foreign surname to build the foundation.
In order to prevent the Mu family from splitting, Lu Changan made three suggestions.
The first two are to resolve conflicts from within.
They were to let Li Erqing delegate power and cultivate new foundation-building monks in the Mu family's old lineage.
The only third suggestion is to transfer conflicts from the outside.
"If one day, the situation in Feiyue Lake is stable and cannot meet the training needs of your lineage. You can take your direct lineage and go outside to establish your own family."
Recalling what Lu Changan said back then, Li Erqing had to admire his far-reaching vision.
As long as Li Erqing is still around, the interest demands generated by his huge clan descendants will continue the confrontation between the old and the new for a long time.
"Erqing, are you ready to start your own business?"
Lu Changan said with a smile.
If Li Erqing takes this step, it is in line with human nature.
Building the foundation in this life is the end, and the road is hopeless.
If you create a family of immortal cultivators with your own surname, and the bloodline of your descendants continues to multiply, a powerful person may be born in future generations.
This way of continuation of bloodline can be regarded as the pursuit of immortality in a certain sense.
"Haha! How can I, Li Erqing, let my elder brother look down on me so easily?"
Li Erqing shook his head and grinned.
"I hereby swear that as my adopted son-in-law, I will be a member of the Mu family for the rest of my life and protect Feiyue Lake until the last moment."
Looking at Lu Changan who was moved and surprised, Li Erqing felt an inexplicable sense of joy and pride.
"Oh, then how are you going to solve the hidden danger?"
Lu Changan was indeed a little surprised.
Li Erqing's doing this can be regarded as a model of repaying kindness.
After all, without the support and cultivation of the Mu family, Li Erqing would not have had the prosperity of having children.
"Congren learned of my thoughts and voluntarily went to remote areas to expand and took away most of my direct descendants."
"In this way, there will be no opposition between the old and the new lines within Feiyue Lake."
Li Erqing talked about future countermeasures.
"This kid Congren is very responsible."
Lu Changan praised.
No wonder Li Erqing was full of praise for his grandson Mu Congren a few years ago.
At the same time, Lu Changan understood the deeper meaning of doing this.
Li Erqing will protect the Mu family all his life and will not start his own family.
However, his grandson brought his direct bloodline to expand abroad, and when the time came, he had the capital to establish his own family.
Li Erqing discussed a lot with Lu Changan about Mu Congren leading his tribe to expand abroad.
In the area near the border of Liang Kingdom, there are cheap second-level spiritual veins for rent and sale.
Because of its remote geographical location, trade was not prosperous and conditions were difficult.
Moreover, being located on the edge of the sect's influence, the public security environment is also quite poor.
"My little brother is here this time, and I would like to ask Congren for some means to protect his path and save his life."
Li Erqing said.
When Lu Changan heard this, his heart moved.
He happens to have a lot of reserves of second-level talismans and puppets on hand.
Especially second-level, middle- and low-level puppets that are practiced by hand, because they do not reveal their identity as second-level puppet masters, they cannot be sold openly.
"This set of talismans is a little thought from my eldest brother. The rest of the protection means are sold at the purchase price of the store."
Lu Changan first handed over a talisman box, which contained several second-level low-grade talismans.
Then, he took out a box of second-grade talismans, mainly low-grade, medium-grade, and a small amount of high-grade.
He also took out two or three top-quality magic weapons and several second-level puppets.
"this……"
Li Erqing couldn't help but froze, his eyes stared straight, and his throat squirmed when he swallowed.
Li Erqing struggled for a long time, took a deep breath, and looked away with difficulty.
Looking at Lu Changan, he seemed to want to get to know each other again.
He came here this time, fully prepared, and raised a lot of spiritual stones, but at this moment he felt that it was a drop in the bucket.
The above-mentioned war necessities can only be regarded as Lu Changan's regular methods. He doesn't mind showing a little bit to people he knows and trusts.
In the end, Li Erqing drained all his life savings, including the support of the Mu family elders, and still owed Lu Changan two thousand spiritual stones.
Purchase a top-quality magic weapon, two second-level puppets, and more than ten second-level and high-quality talismans.
The next day, Lu Changan sent away Li Erqing, who had an empty expression and hinted of physical pain.
Li Erqing has never spent so many spiritual stones in his life.
It was indeed the war necessities provided by Lu Changan. They were of high quality and low price, and the temptation was too great.
The two thousand spirit stones owed by Li Erqing.
Lu Changan is not worried, since he has many descendants and there is no shortage of people to repay his debts.
…
one year later.
Little Turtle Peak, inside the secret room.
"One hundred and fourteen years old, five levels of foundation building. The cultivation progress in the middle stage of foundation building has reached two-thirds."
Lu Changan slowly finished his work, the lake of spiritual energy in his Dantian expanded a bit, and Changqing's magic power became stronger and deeper.
With this kind of small level advancement, the quality of mana does not change much.
However, the total amount of mana has been increased by about 30%, which is helpful for drawing charms and protracted battles.
Huchi! Hulu!
The black water turtle was in front of Lu Changan, sucking in the breath greedily and making some kind of excited and rapid screams.
"Oh? Have you already reached the limit of the late first level?"
Lu Changan investigated the situation of Xuan Shui Turtle, and found that the magic power in its body was brewing to its peak, and it only lacked an opportunity for a qualitative change.
The Xuan Shui Turtle stuck out its tongue restlessly and rubbed his clothes enthusiastically and cheerfully, looking impatient.
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