I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

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Two hours later.

In a mountain ravine within the Black Fog Mountain Range.

"The suspect is there, and so is the evil murderer. Now, they can't possibly suspect me, a harmless old man focused on cultivating peacefully."

Lan Chang'an, seeming like a piece of dead wood, leaned against a stone wall, reflecting on this operation to check for any oversights.

Xiang Jinglong had previously clashed with Alchemist Hua and attempted to kill and rob him of his treasures, only to be frightened away by the talismanic treasure.

Xiang Jinglong had every motive to kill, making him a prime suspect.

Although Alchemist Hua had a talismanic treasure, Xiang Jinglong wasn't an ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivator. So long as the ambush was well-executed, it would leave the dead man no chance to activate their talismanic treasure.

Having just one suspect made Lan Chang'an uneasy. Perhaps Xiang Jinglong could provide an alibi or various defenses. Therefore, he dragged Liang Shaotian's faction into the mix.

Liang Shaotian's eldest disciple, Li Hai, had caused quite a ruckus in the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm, something that had happened just recently in full view of everyone.

For this type of evil cultivators to kill and loot in the secret realm, and slaughtering a fat alchemist outside in passing, there was no need to look for any logic or motive.

The means of the murder pointed to an evil cultivator, and the suspect was the notorious Xiang Jinglong. The situation was chaotic and hard to untangle.

"Alchemist Hua was ultimately just a loose cultivator who curried favor with the upper echelons, and is not from the direct lineage of Huanglong Mountain." Lan Chang'an mused.

Alchemist Hua's murder had suspects and scapegoats, and it was unlikely that the bigwigs would bother to investigate deeply for him, an outsider.

Whether it was Alchemist Hua or Huanglong Mountain, both had plenty of potential enemies.

The direct lineage of Huanglong Mountain consisted of only three Immortals, managing a vast immortal city while facing various challenges and adversaries. They had no time to spare.

Huanglong Immortal City has been on a decline in recent years.

This time, the secret realm opening cost the Huanglong Immortal three mid-to-late Foundation Establishment elites, adding to the woes.

Lan Chang'an had sensed earlier that Huanglong Immortal had only about ninety years of lifespan left, and was already past his prime, with his strength in a stage of decline.

Against this backdrop, striking Alchemist Hua now was more opportune than twenty years ago.

...

"A talismanic treasure... a main ingredient for Youth Retaining Pill... a special demon core..."

Lan Chang'an counted the items in Alchemist Hua's storage pouch, his eyes bright with delight.

The spoils from killing Alchemist Hua gave him a big surprise.

The talismanic treasure was a deadly weapon at the Foundation Establishment Realm, and it could likely be activated twice more.

The main ingredient for the Youth Retaining Pill and the special demon core seemed to have been sold to Alchemist Hua by Xiang Jinglong, who then set his eyes on the former after the deal.

These two items were key ingredients for the Youth Retaining Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even after buying these two items, Alchemist Hua's storage pouch still contained two to three thousand spirit stones.

Two supreme-grade magical weapons, one for attack and one for defense.

Two second-rank pill furnaces, one of which was top superior-grade.

A large batch of medicinal herbs for alchemy.

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The most valuable items were those numerous bottles and jars.

Lan Chang'an roughly estimated that there were twenty to thirty bottles of second-rank pills.

Among them, two bottles were particularly valuable.

"Two Jade Clear Pills, aids in breaking through the bottleneck to advance to the mid stage of Foundation Establishment."

"Three Blood Yang Pills, they can significantly enhance a Foundation Establishment cultivator's mana for a short period. The side effect is the loss of vital energy, the body will be weak for a while, but with timely recuperation, it won't harm the foundation."

Jade Clear Pills were considered breakthrough pills for mid-stage Foundation Establishment, highly sought after by many cultivators, such as Mu Renlong back in the day.

However, these pills meant little to Lan Chang'an.

Based on his Qi-Refining stage experience, with his foundation of the Evergreen Technique, this kind of minor bottlenecks would be easily overcome in due time.

The Blood Yang Pills, which boosted mana, were somewhat useful to Lan Chang'an.

"In Xiang Jinglong's hands, there is still the main ingredient for the second-rank Life Extension Pill. Alchemist Hua didn't buy it, so he should have taken a second-rank Life Extension Pill before." Lan Chang'an speculated.

Alchemist Hua likely bought the main ingredient for the Youth Retaining Pill to curry favor with higher-ups and climb up the hierarchy.

...

After counting the loot and destroying unidentifiable items, Lan Chang'an took a slight detour around the outskirts of the Black Fog Mountain Range and reached the valley passageway on the west side, the same route he had originally come by.

Then, Lan Chang'an used a second-rank acceleration talisman, returning to Wuqi Mountain within normal travel time.

Whoosh!

From within Wuqi Mountain flew a dignified woman dressed in pale moonlight robes.

"Fairy Shi."

Lan Chang'an gave a greeting.

"Talisman Master Lan." Shi Manrong nodded, pausing for a brief chat.

Their relationship was now akin to ordinary Daoist friends, with an additional hint of subtle indescribable nuance.

This stemmed from two years ago, when Shi Manrong mentioned the will she'd drafted before losing consciousness.

At the time, Lan Chang'an felt surprised but only believed about sixty to seventy percent of her account, so he pretended not to know anything and brushed it aside as inconsequential.

Fortunately, Shi Manrong didn't pursue the matter further, choosing instead to look forward rather than dwell on the past.

"Fairy Shi, where are you headed?" Lan Chang'an casually asked.

"Huanglong Immortal City." Shi Manrong didn't hide it and flew off.

Shi Manrong, who had lost part of her memory, hadn't changed much overall. She remained dignified and graceful, with a plain yet noble demeanor.

The difference was that she no longer displayed any enchanting or ambiguous behavior towards Lan Chang'an.

Additionally, she had become more optimistic and career-driven and often went out to set up formations.

...

Back at Little Turtle Peak, Lan Chang'an took a comfortable bath.

This trip to the secret realm yielded third-rank spirit wood, third-rank black iron crystal, and black inkstone, slightly exceeding expectations.

Encountering Alchemist Hua, successfully taking revenge, and gaining the amazing harvest was an unexpected blessing.

Killing Alchemist Hua, the revenge for obstructing his dao path was considered half-solved.

A few days later.

Lan Chang'an asked Guan Qiaozhi to assist him in creating talisman embryos for treasure talismans from the mid third-rank "Purple Radiant Spirit Wood."

Both Guan Qiaozhi and Mu Bingyun were skilled enough to assist with this task. However, Lan Chang'an trusted Guan Qiaozhi more.

After removing the dead skin and non-spiritual parts, the remaining Purple Radiant Spirit Wood could produce seven or eight talisman embryos of treasure talismans.

"A third-rank mid-grade base material would be a waste with my current level of cultivation and talisman art."

Lan Chang'an mentally prepared himself to craft a talisman embryo and draw a treasure talisman first. This kind of base talisman paper made from high-quality materials, could be used to draw third-rank talismans.

Due to being limited by his cultivation, Lan Chang'an could only "downgrade" his drawing, and aim to be as close to third rank as possible.

In the end, the first treasure talisman he drew reached quasi third-rank level, with power comparable to an entry-level talismanic treasure.

Each time he drew talismans, Lan Chang'an summoned the soul imprint of his first life, this process was repeated every two months.

"It's a bit of a waste, but it can be continuously nurtured, so there's great potential for growth." Lan Chang'an decided to stop here.

He planned to draw only three such downgraded quasi third-rank treasure talismans.

The remaining "Purple Radiant Spirit Wood" would be sealed and periodically nourished with the Evergreen Technique to maintain its vitality and spirituality.

When his cultivation reached the late Foundation Establishment, he would attempt to draw a genuine third-rank treasure talisman.

...

Three months later, Alchemist Lin Ye from Little Pill Peak paid him a visit.

Lan Chang'an knew why he had come.

Lin Ye had more silver strands in his hair, and his slightly withered face showed reddish blotches.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, have you heard of Hua Heng's death?" Having just taken his seat, he uttered the good news with an expression that looked complicated.

There was a sense of satisfaction and relief, but after that, from the depths of his eyes came a trace of emptiness and desolation.

"Alchemist Hua is dead?"

Lan Chang'an's expression was slightly shaken, the water in his teacup rippling.

Alchemist Hua had died near the entrance to the Black Blood Road, where Lan Chang'an had left him with half a stump of his body at that time.

Several months passed before word finally settled, as Lan Chang'an had expected.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, how did Alchemist Hua die?" Lan Chang'an asked in disbelief.

Lin Ye watched his expression closely throughout this process.

"There is no definitive conclusion yet. Rumor has it that the culprit might be from Liang Shaotian's lineage.

"Additionally, the notorious wandering cultivator Xiang Jinglong, known for his heinous acts, is also suspected. He had clashed with Hua Heng beforehand."

"Has Huanglong Immortal City not pursued or issued a warrant for Xiang Jinglong?" Lan Chang'an regained his composure and asked rationally.

"No."

Lin Ye's face flushed with a touch of mockery as he laughed coldly, "After my junior's death, his wives, concubines, children, as well as his disciples, were all busy fighting over his inheritance."

Hearing this, Lan Chang'an was silent for a moment.

Alchemist Hua's death, with even his family and disciples not keen on investigating or avenging him, how could they expect outsiders to help wholeheartedly?

Even if there was some kindness, Alchemist Hua likely fell to Liang Shaotian's lineage, how would they go about seeking revenge?

The suspect, Xiang Jinglong, was also a vicious man whose strength exceeds the ordinary late Foundation Establishment and he might even be a Fake-Dan cultivator.

The Huanglong Immortal City had long since fallen from its former glory days. If there was no need, they wouldn't want to provoke such a ruthless and unattached rogue cultivator.

Lan Chang'an felt relieved.

The matter of Alchemist Hua's death had come to an end.

Even in the worst-case scenario, where Fu Xuemei remained paranoid and still had a trace of suspicion towards Lan Chang'an, as long as the two big mountains, Liang Shaotian's faction and Xiang Jinglong, were set at the front, she wouldn't be able to make any reasonable claims against Lan Chang'an to sway the Immortals of the Huanglong Mountain lineage.

An earth spirit root genius who had not grown up would indeed be valued by the Huanglong Immortal, but they did not hold as much influence as imagined.

Lan Chang'an had heard that back then, Fu Xuemei had displeased the Huanglong Immortal by helping her brother without regard for consequences, so her supply of resources was cut off for a period of time.

As for Fu Xuemei seeking revenge personally? Lan Chang'an wasn't worried in the slightest.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, Hua Heng was killed on the route between the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm and the Black Fog Mountain Range. Didn't you go to the secret realm as well? Did you not see him there?" Lin Ye inquired.

His instincts told him something was strange about his junior's death, and he was filled with a desire to uncover the truth.

"In the vicinity of the secret realm, I never encountered Alchemist Hua, nor had I heard anyone mention that he had come," Lan Chang'an replied, shaking his head.

At that time, Alchemist Hua had disguised his identity, and on the surface, he had indeed never seen him.

"Oh? No one saw him?" Lin Ye mused, speculating that his junior might have been hiding his identity while collecting materials outside the secret realm.

Looking at the superior-grade second-rank alchemist before him, Lan Chang'an remembered the main ingredient for the Youth Retaining Pill and the special demon core he had obtained from Alchemist Hua's loot.

For the former, he only needed to take out the main ingredient and find someone to collaborate in refining the Youth Retaining Pill.

For the latter, he just needed a few more rare auxiliary ingredients to complete the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill and make a considerable profit.

"However, these two main ingredients are stolen goods. The special demon core is already suspicious, but the main ingredient for the Youth Retaining Pill is even rarer."

Lan Chang'an was cautious about revealing these items too soon, especially since they were linked to Xiang Jinglong.

These two ingredients were sold to Alchemist Hua by Xiang Jinglong, and some knew about this transaction. So at least for now, these two items couldn't be taken out at the same time.

Unless he finds a trustworthy alchemist who would keep their mouth shut tight to refine these pills discreetly.

Alchemist Lin was obviously not suitable, this person had a desire to probe into the process of his junior brother's death.

...

Half a year later.

A year had passed since the opening of the secret realm.

The matter of Alchemist Hua's death was left unsettled, even within Huanglong Immortal City, not many people discussed it.

Unnoticed by time, Lan Chang'an turned ninety-seven years old.

One day, the Earth Burrowing Rat brought a letter, which was sent by Li Erqing.

Li Erqing asked when Lan Chang'an was going to organize his hundredth birthday and stated that he would come to offer congratulations at the time, bringing his children along as well to honor him.

If it was too much trouble, the Mu Family was willing to help him organize the event.