Chapter 55: Planning For Foundation Establishment
Lan Chang'an never expected to encounter his guide to the path of immortality in Huanglong Immortal City.
Before the awakening of his memories in this life, Lan Chang'an met a destitute and injured wandering cultivator, Taoist Master Guan, on the territory of the Angry River Gang.
With his guidance, he embarked on the path of immortality and later went to participate in the assessment at Jin Yun Valley.
Back then when Lan Chang'an returned to the Angry River Gang to see his adoptive father and inquired about Taoist Guan's whereabouts, he learned that two months after the sect's assessment, Master Guan had left without saying goodbye.
Since then, he had lost all contact.
"Lan Chang'an, is it really you?" Master Guan's tone was excited, his white beard slightly trembling as he approached.
Nearly thirty years had passed, and Master Guan had aged considerably, now nearing eighty and at the sixth layer of Qi-Refining.
Behind Master Guan stood a delicate girl, around thirteen or fourteen, with timid eyes that curiously studied Lan Chang'an.
"This is the poor Taoist's adopted disciple in Huanglong Immortal City, named Guan Qiaozhi." When looking at the girl, Master Guan's gaze became much gentler.
"Good day, Brother Lan." Guan Qiaozhi greeted obediently.
Hearing his disciple's address, Master Guan stroked his beard and laughed:
"Qiaozhi, don't be deceived by Lan Chang'an's youthful appearance; his actual age is probably older than your biological father's."
"Ah!" Guan Qiaozhi covered her mouth in surprise, her cheeks flushing red.
Lan Chang'an secretly thought: Taoist Master Guan doesn't trust me; he's exposing me to his disciple as soon as we meet.
Of course, what Taoist Master Guan said was true. Lan Chang'an had advanced to the seventh layer of Qi-Refining at the age of forty-five and would be forty-six in six months.
"You can call me Senior Brother Lan."
Faced with the somewhat "shocked" young girl, Lan Chang'an kindly suggested.
"Senior Brother Lan." Guan Qiaozhi said crisply, bowing slightly.
Seeing this, Taoist Master Guan looked at Lan Chang'an with relief, his words becoming a bit closer.
In the world of cultivation, there is a saying:
The guide to the path of immortality is as significant as a master or a father to a cultivator.
How important is an opportunity of immortality?
From mortal to immortal, transforming oneself is a debt of rebirth, often involving karma. Therefore, cultivators usually respect their guides to immortality.
Of course, some cultivators are cold-hearted and indifferent, ignoring their guides once they achieve success in their cultivation.
There are even cases where grievances lead to killing one's guide.
At this moment, Lan Chang'an and Guan Qiaozhi treated each other as brother and sister, acknowledging the grace of Master Guan as their immortal guide.
...
In Huanglong Immortal City, at Qinxiang Pavilion.
Lan Chang'an treated Master Guan and his disciple to a feast of spiritual food, eating and chatting in a private room.
"Chang'an, there's no need to be so extravagant. Even though you're a top-notch talisman master, you shouldn't waste resources. Save some spirit stones for future needs."
The wrinkles on Master Guan's old face seemed to smooth out slightly, and he was happy from the bottom of his heart to receive Lan Chang'an's recognition and hospitality.
Through their conversation, Master Guan learned about Lan Chang'an's experiences over the years and was filled with emotion.
Master Guan had been somewhat disappointed when Lan Chang'an didn't get into Jin Yun Valley.
Fortunately, Lan Chang'an was doing well now.
At the seventh layer of Qi-Refining and a superior-grade talisman master, with a little effort, he could live a good life in the vast Huanglong Immortal City.
Lan Chang'an learned about Master Guan's experiences over the years.
Master Guan had been hunted and injured, escaping to the Angry River Gang's territory.
After recovering, he found out that Lan Chang'an hadn't passed the sect's assessment, so to avoid his enemies, he went to the northern part of Liang State.
Twenty years ago, he arrived in Huanglong Immortal City, the holy land for wandering cultivators.
At that time, Master Guan was in his fifties, hoping to make one last effort on the path to immortality.
When he arrived in Huanglong Immortal City, he realized the harsh competition among the bottom level wandering cultivators.
Without outstanding cultivation or skills, he spent the first ten years struggling in the outer city with little success, his cultivation stuck at the sixth layer of Qi-Refining, and his future bleak.
...
Guan Qiaozhi was an orphan adopted by Master Guan, whose biological parents had passed away. Fortunately, she possessed a spiritual root.
With no hope of immortality and not much time left, Master Guan had the idea of finding a successor. Although he called her his disciple, he actually treated Guan Qiaozhi as a daughter or granddaughter.
Guan Qiaozhi had a low-grade spiritual root, and very ordinary qualifications, but was skillful and talented in handling animal hides and making talisman paper.
Master Guan was adept at making vermillion ink, and with Guan Qiaozhi's talisman paper, they sold materials for drawing talismans.
A small business, earning a living with their craft.
"Taoist Master Guan, I remember you have some knowledge of talismans. Why didn't you pursue the path of a talisman master?" Lan Chang'an asked curiously.
"Sigh, the threshold for talisman masters is low. In Huanglong Immortal City, it's hard for a low-grade talisman master to make a living, barely earning any spirit stones. Even mid-grade talisman masters don't fare much better. Only superior-grade ones, being fewer, can earn a stable income."
Master Guan sighed.
He had indeed studied talismans, but due to his limited talent, he was only a low-grade talisman master, making less money than a craftsman.
"Huanglong Immortal City, as a holy land for wandering cultivators, is indeed competitive." Lan Chang'an sighed inwardly, gaining a deeper understanding of the harsh conditions for low-level cultivators in this city, more intense than the competition he faced in his first life as a wandering cultivator.
As they talked.
Guan Qiaozhi's bright eyes fixed on the spiritual delicacies on the table. She was a bit restrained, taking small bites, but never stopping.
Unknowingly.
A pile of leftovers accumulated in front of her. When she realized it, her face turned red with embarrassment, her bright eyes turning, quietly glancing at Lan Chang'an.
"Please excuse us. Qiaozhi and I only moved to the inner city in recent years. This is our first time at a high-class spiritual restaurant like Qinxiang Pavilion." Master Guan was quite frank.
This spiritual feast cost dozens of spirit stones, with ingredients from demonic beasts and spiritual plants.
Eating such a meal provided some benefits to both the physical body and cultivation.
Lan Chang'an smiled and said, "Being able to live in the inner city is already not easy. I haven't been to such a high-class restaurant many times either."
...
Knowing that Master Guan lived in the inner city, Lan Chang'an inquired about the real estate market and rental situation.
"Chang'an, are you looking to rent a house in the inner city?"
After understanding Lan Chang'an's needs, Master Guan pondered:
"There is a house with a courtyard for rent in our Jinxiu Lane, which meets your requirements, but it's a bit pricey."
"Oh?"
Lan Chang'an was somewhat interested and asked about the house.
Jinxiu Lane was one of the sixteen residential areas in the inner city, ranking mid-level.
The spiritual energy environment was between first-grade mid and high spiritual veins.
This aspect was slightly lacking for Lan Chang'an, but his cultivation speed was mainly limited by time, so it didn't matter much.
The house had two aspects that satisfied Lan Chang'an.
One was that it was a standalone house with a courtyard, offering good privacy.
The other was its stability; the house was not privately owned but belonged to Huanglong Immortal City. Once the lease contract was signed, he could stay there long-term.
...
Not in a hurry, Lan Chang'an decided to visit Jinxiu Lane with Master Guan and his disciple.
Entering a somewhat secluded street.
Lan Chang'an first visited Master Guan's residence.
Master Guan's rented house was relatively small, just over a hundred square meters, privately owned, and reasonably priced.
The downside was it had no courtyard and shared walls with other houses. Essentially, it was a part of a large mansion that was divided into several rental units.
The house Master Guan mentioned was diagonally opposite, about twenty or thirty meters away.
It was a quiet, unoccupied courtyard house, covering about half an acre, quite good for Huanglong Inner City.
"Who lives in the adjacent courtyard?"
Lan Chang'an noticed a larger courtyard house to the left of the one he was considering, with grand buildings and two first-rank superior-grade formations, occasionally visited by cultivators.
When renting a house, understanding the neighbors' situation is important.
"That is Alchemist Du Wei's mansion!"
"Du Wei is a first-rank superior-grade alchemist, studying under the renowned 'Alchemist Hua' of the city. If it weren't for his many wives and children needing a larger space as accommodation, he would likely live in a better spiritual environment." Master Guan looked at the grand house with a serious and respectful tone.
"The cultivators visiting him are either seeking alchemy services or trying to connect with his master, Alchemist Hua."
"Oh, what rank of alchemist is Alchemist Hua?" Lan Chang'an's interest was piqued.
"A second-rank middle-grade alchemist."
"A skilled teacher indeed, no wonder he lives in such a large mansion!" Lan Chang'an praised.
He had already decided to rent the courtyard opposite, even if it was a bit expensive. There was a chance to form connections with a second-rank mid-grade alchemist, and naturally, Lan Chang'an wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.
His main purpose in coming to Huanglong Immortal City was to plan for foundation establishment. Foundation Establishment Pills, apart from being available at large auctions, were rarely seen. Such strategic resources were typically not sold by cultivation sects and families.
At auctions, competing for a Foundation Establishment Pill involved contending with major forces, making it hard to win. Even if lucky enough to win, it could easily make enemies and attract trouble, being too conspicuous for an individual cultivator.
Aside from auctions, privately contacting second-rank or higher alchemists theoretically allowed for the crafting of Foundation Establishment Pills.
The biggest challenge was that the primary ingredient and several auxiliary herbs for the Foundation Establishment Pill were rare and monopolized by major forces, making them hard to obtain.
Even so, this was still a viable path to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Since it was a private request, it was much more discreet than competing at an auction.
"Unfortunately, my talent in alchemy is mediocre. Over the years, I've only reached the threshold of a first-rank superior-grade alchemist."
(End of chapter)