I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals
chapter-180

At Little Turtle Peak.

After sending off Alchemist Lin Ye, Lan Chang'an fell into brief contemplation, making some minor adjustments to his future plans.

"Nearly ten years have passed since the battle at Huanglong Mountain. The once most prominent loose cultivator of Liang Kingdom, 'Huanglong Immortal,' has at most seven or eight years of lifespan left."

"The favor that Fu Xuemei promised back then, it's time to find an opportunity to cash it in."

Even though Huanglong Immortal is old, his influence and connections are not to be underestimated.

Once he passes away, the structure of Huanglong Immortal City might change, and the prestige of the Huanglong Mountain lineage will likely hit a low point.

Fu Xuemei, despite having an earth spiritual root, her core's quality is among the lowest of the True Dans. It will be nearly impossible for her to advance to the mid-Core Formation stage within the next hundred years.

If Lan Chang'an's core formation goes well, it's highly likely that he and Fu Xuemei will be in the same minor realm in the future.

Lan Chang'an is currently one hundred and twenty-nine years old, and estimates it will take another decade or so to reach the late Foundation Establishment stage.

With this decision in mind, Lan Chang'an penned a letter and sent it to Huanglong Mountain.

On the surface, the recipient was Fu Dong.

In the letter, Lan Chang'an straightforwardly requested that the promise made years ago be fulfilled, asking Huanglong Mountain to help him purchase some alchemy materials.

Among these were the main ingredients for the Xuanwu Pill, the Blood Yang Pill, and the Seven Fiend Pill.

The Xuanwu Pill is a pill used for breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

By refining this pill, Lan Chang'an’s future advancement to the late Foundation Establishment stage would seem more reasonable.

The Blood Yang Pill and the Seven Fiend Pill are temporary power-boosting pills.

Lan Chang'an had taken the Blood Yang Pill before, and its side effects were relatively mild.

The Seven Fiend Pill, however, is much more potent. When taken by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it can double their magical power and significantly boost their overall strength by a small realm.

However, the side effects are severe. After its effects wear off, the user will suffer a drastic loss of vitality, extreme weakness, and a shortening of their lifespan.

In truth, Lan Chang'an wasn’t short of spirit stones to buy these materials.

But some of the rare ingredients, especially the primary ones for breakthrough pills, are difficult for ordinary cultivators to acquire.

Essentially, Lan Chang'an was leveraging Huanglong Mountain’s connections and influence to obtain these materials, saving himself a great deal of effort.

"With the cultivation world entering a state of war and an uncertain future, it’s better to use this favor now to strengthen myself. Otherwise, I might not get another chance later."

Lan Chang'an didn’t aim to maximize the benefit of this favor, such as having a Core Formation cultivator to take action on his behalf.

He cultivated quietly, avoided making enemies, and didn’t actively seek trouble, so he rarely needed such opportunities.

Moreover, in a real emergency, there wouldn’t be time to call for help.

Another advantage of cashing in this favor was that Fu Xuemei and Huanglong Mountain would be more at ease with him.

...

Rare materials were entrusted to Huanglong Mountain.

As for other common and less valuable materials, Lan Chang'an had the affiliated cultivators of Wuqi Mountain run errands, which wasn’t difficult to arrange.

Ye Fei, being a pharmacist, also had access to relevant channels.

Purchasing materials and refining pills yourself is far more cost-effective than buying finished pills directly since whenever a pill furnace is opened, it usually produces several pills of the same type at once.

Half a month later.

Alchemist Lin’s health was fully restored, and at Lan Chang'an’s invitation, he came to Little Turtle Peak’s cave mansion to help refine pills.

Officially, they were refining cultivation pills, but in reality, they were secretly refining the Youth Retaining Pill.

"These materials are well-preserved, with strong spiritual energy," Alchemist Lin commented after his routine inspection of the ingredients for the Youth Retaining Pill, nodding in approval.

Naturally, Lan Chang'an didn’t mention that these materials had been more than just sealed. He had occasionally infused them with Evergreen mana to maintain their vitality.

Of course, not all alchemical materials fit together.

The Youth Retaining Pill was biased towards the health-nourishing category, and its ingredients harmonized well with the Evergreen mana.

Lan Chang'an himself was also a second-rank alchemist, with all the necessary tools like a pill furnace, spirit fire array, and alchemy room.

Alchemist Lin allowed him to observe closely during the refining process, actively explaining each step.

The difficulty of refining the Youth Retaining Pill was not high.

A few days later, Alchemist Lin successfully opened the furnace, producing four Youth Retaining Pills.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Lan. All four pills are genuine, standard quality," Alchemist Lin said, his face glowing with pride. This success rate exceeded his expectations.

"Alchemist Lin, your skills have indeed improved significantly, almost on par with a quasi-third-rank alchemist," Lan Chang'an was delighted, offering praise.

The materials he provided could yield at most four pills, and he would have been satisfied with three.

While the Youth Retaining Pill isn’t highly valued in small regions, being just slightly more valuable than half a Foundation Establishment Pill, in areas where the cultivation culture was more developed, the Youth Retaining Pill was worth much more.

In some cultivation regions, due to material restrictions, its value might not be much lower than that of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, the quality of the materials you provided was the key factor. And refining the Youth Retaining Pill doesn’t require particularly high cultivation," Alchemist Lin said modestly, though his expression dimmed as he recalled something.

During the twenty-plus years of being forced to refine pills in captivity, Alchemist Lin’s alchemy skills had indeed improved.

But those years were something he wished to forget, and he preferred not to dwell on those memories.

After successfully refining the Youth Retaining Pill, Lan Chang'an immediately paid Alchemist Lin with a supreme-grade magical weapon as compensation for the pill refining.

The next phase of pill refining would wait until Huanglong Mountain had gathered the necessary materials.

...

That evening.

In his secret room, Lan Chang'an swallowed a Youth Retaining Pill and closed his eyes to experience its effects.

The medicinal power of the pill contained a mysterious life energy, full of youthful vitality.

Additionally, there was a faint aura of the passage of time, though much weaker than that of a Life Extension Pill.

Moments later, Lan Chang'an opened his eyes, revealing a hint of disappointment.

"Taking the Youth Retaining Pill has almost no effect on increasing my Evergreen mana."

"The pill’s ability to preserve youth mainly affects the external appearance of the physical body, altering only certain characteristics of the internal organs. It doesn’t add anything to the foundation of cultivation or the essence of life."

The higher a cultivator’s realm, the less they value such external appearances. Of course, there are still many cultivators who care about their looks, especially female cultivators.

In some mythical records, even true female immortals are depicted as being extremely concerned with their beauty.

"Those top-tier geniuses who progress rapidly in their cultivation don’t rely much on the Youth Retaining Pill. For them, the speed of their aging appearance basically matches their realm advancements and lifespan enhancements."

By taking a Youth Retaining Pill, Lan Chang'an merely added an extra layer of outward appearance. Compared to the genuine longevity and youthfulness provided by his Evergreen Technique, this pill fell short.

"As for the remaining three Youth Retaining Pills..."

Lan Chang'an pondered for a moment.

When spirit stones weren’t an issue, there was no need to sell these pills.

Back then, Alchemist Hua wanted to refine this pill to establish connections with higher-ups. By holding onto this rare resource, Lan Chang'an might find an opportunity to use it in the future. After all, this pill was very popular with female cultivators.

...

Another half month passed.

Lan Chang'an received a letter from Huanglong Mountain.

To his surprise, the letter was from Fu Xuemei.

This was the first time in Lan Chang'an’s life that he had received a letter from a True-Dan cultivator. Moreover, it was from a female True-Dan cultivator of exceptional beauty.

This meant that Lan Chang'an's social circle had made a qualitative breakthrough!

From starting as a mere first-layer Qi-Refining cultivator and cultivating diligently for over a century, reaching this point was no easy feat.

One must understand that the vast majority of cultivators never have the privilege of corresponding with a True-Dan Immortal in their lifetime.

"Her handwriting is as elegant as she is..."

Lan Chang'an opened the letter and couldn’t help but admire Fu Xuemei’s beautiful handwriting, which had a sense of solitary elegance and pride, like a winter plum blossom.

However, the contents of the letter made Lan Chang'an’s eyelids twitch.

Fu Xuemei mentioned two things:

First, the materials Lan Chang'an requested would soon be acquired with the help of Huanglong Mountain.

Second, she asked when Lan Chang'an would come to Huanglong Immortal City to collect the materials.

Fu Xuemei intended to personally meet him and hand over the materials.

"A dignified True-Dan Immortal, the current leader of Huanglong Mountain, why would you lower yourself to personally meet a mid-Foundation Establishment loose cultivator? Where has your pride gone?" Lan Chang'an felt a bit frustrated and caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Fu Xuemei to be so "enthusiastic."

If it weren’t necessary, he didn’t want to meet with a True-Dan cultivator in person, even if past grievances were set aside.

"If I don’t go to Huanglong Mountain, it might make me seem like I am hiding something."

Lan Chang'an knew that if he went to meet Fu Xuemei openly and without any ulterior motives, there would be almost no risk. He might even earn the appreciation of a Core Formation cultivator.

Fu Xuemei had been a Core Formation cultivator for nearly ten years. If she had intended to harm him, she wouldn’t have waited until now. Nor would she have bothered inviting him so courteously.

If there was truly a knot in her heart, she wouldn’t have been able to successfully form her Core back then.

"Heh! My persona is that of someone who is cautious and prudent. It’s only natural that I wouldn’t dare meet with a True-Dan cultivator," Lan Chang'an thought with a light laugh after careful consideration, making up his mind.

In his reply, Lan Chang'an politely expressed that the world outside was currently in turmoil, with robbers running rampant, and he didn’t dare travel alone to Huanglong Immortal City.

He suggested that Huanglong Mountain be kind enough to deliver the materials to Wuqi Mountain, offering to pay an additional ten percent as a delivery fee.

After sending the reply, Lan Chang'an was puzzled as to why Fu Xuemei wanted to meet him personally.

What was even more thought-provoking was that she had mentioned in her letter that she was giving him a heads-up, allowing him to mentally prepare.

"Could it be that if I don’t go to Huanglong Mountain, this woman will come to Wuqi Mountain herself?" Lan Chang'an considered the worst-case scenario, realizing that he had to be on guard.

Although with Fu Xuemei's temperament, she wouldn't do such a thing as putting a hot face on a cold ass.[1]

He mulled over the matter further.

Lan Chang'an felt the powerful aura of the Nine Seal Stele from his second life as a peak Core Formation cultivator, and remembered the set of treasure talismans in his hands that had been nurtured for years, his heart was greatly determined.

He assured himself that if he had to face someone like Fu Xuemei, who was in the early stages of Core Formation and lacked deep foundations, he could at least escape if he was well-prepared.

...

Over the next period, Lan Chang'an concealed his presence and cultivated underground at Little Turtle Peak.

With the mountain and rocks providing cover, combined with the Evergreen Technique’s aura-concealing abilities, even a Core Formation cultivator wouldn’t be able to detect him immediately.

A month later.

A high-level cultivator from Huanglong Mountain arrived to deliver the materials in person.

The unexpected did not happen; Fu Xuemei, as the leader of Huanglong Mountain, did not come to Wuqi Mountain herself.

Instead, the visitor was an elegant, white-robed elderly man.

"Ji Yifeng, Huanglong Immortal’s eldest disciple," Lan Chang'an recognized the visitor after probing secretly.

When Fu Xuemei formed her Core, Ji Yifeng had arrived at a critical moment. Lan Chang'an, disguised as Junior Brother Cheng, had once crossed paths with him.

Ji Yifeng, with a smile on his face, waited outside Little Turtle Peak, asking his maid to announce his arrival.

As a Fake-Dan Immortal, he was warm and courteous, not using his spiritual sense to casually probe around.

Lan Chang'an quickly returned to the cave mansion at Little Turtle Peak via an underground tunnel.

Just in time, he met Lan Rou, the maid, who had hurried over to report.

"Master! An Immortal from Huanglong Mountain, Senior Ji, is visiting in person…"

"No need to be nervous. Huanglong Mountain and I have a good relationship," Lan Chang'an reassured her with a smile.

He walked out of the cave mansion to greet the first ever Immortal to visit Little Turtle Peak.

"Loose cultivator Lan Chang'an of Wuqi Mountain greets Senior Ji," Lan Chang'an said, cupping his hands in salute.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, there's no need to be polite. I’ve heard of your reputation, and seeing you today, you really do have an extraordinary temperament and elegance," Ji Yifeng said, stroking his beard with a smile, his gaze showing admiration as he sized up the gentle and serene white-robed man before him.

(End of chapter)

[1] Basically means a situation where someone would go out of their way to be friendly or attentive to someone who wouldn't reciprocate or appreciate it. Kept the literal version because funny :)