An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Halfway up Verdant Mountain, several disciples stood together, gazing from afar at the building with a courtyard where the sect leader handled daily affairs.

When they saw two figures walking into the courtyard side by side, one of them asked, ”Junior Brother Qu, aren’t you going to see your father?”

Yuan Yijun was eyeing Qu Jiu curiously. The latter was staring at that courtyard with his lips tightly pursed and his facial muscles taut in a tense, sharp expression.

Qu Jiu coldly uttered. ”No!”

He looked like he wanted nothing to do with his own father, but Yuan Yijun saw no reason for him to react this way. As far as she was concerned, Qu Lingjun was still his family no matter what he had done.

Of course, Yuan Yijun’s own circumstances accounted for this way of thinking. Her mother had passed away when she was small, and her father, Yuan Dongsheng, had raised her all by himself and showered her with all the love he could have offered. A deep reverence for the figure of a father had thus taken root in her heart. Even though Yuan Dongsheng had passed away many years earlier, she still often missed the warmth of his broad shoulders. Therefore, she couldn’t understand why her Junior Brother Qu refused to even see Qu Lingjun when the latter had finally returned after so long.

Is it because of that woman who accompanies his father?

***

When they neared the destination, Qu Lingjun stopped and turned to his company. ”Qin’er, wait for me here.”

Meng Qin’er nodded and earnestly encouraged him, ”Relax. Since your master has taken the initiative to request your return, it should mean he has let bygones be bygones.”

Qu Lingjun smiled; he shared her opinion. When he turned, a tall figure walked out from the room he was about to go into. His eyes lit up. ”Yilong!”

Zeng Yilong was taken aback at first, then broke into a thrilled smile as he grabbed Qu Lingjun’s arm. ”Senior Brother, you’re finally back!”

Qu Lingjun laughed cheerfully. ”That’s right, I’m back. If you ever need pills from now on, feel free to come find me at the Alchemy Institute.”

Within cultivation sects, seniority and addresses were commonly determined by cultivation level to emphasize that strength ruled above all. There were exceptions to everything, though—like Qu Lingjun and Zeng Yilong in this case. The former was a Foundation Establishment qi cultivator which was below the latter who was a third-tier Physique Refiner, yet because Qu Lingjun held a rather high status in the Luo Tian Sect as the direct disciple of its Supreme Elder, his more talented peers, who were now above him in cultivation, still addressed him the same way they used to.

Upon the mention of the Alchemy Institute, Zeng Yilong’s expression turned slightly odd.

Qu Lingjun didn’t notice it and asked curiously, ”Where are you headed?”

Zeng Yilong cleared his throat and pointed toward the group of disciples at the mountainside. ”I’ve been tasked by the sect leader to meet up with the Supreme Elder of the Divine Talisman Sect to take a batch of talisman parchments. I’m bringing the youngsters with me to, you know, let them see the world and broaden their horizons.”

Qu Lingjun laughed. ”The youngsters of our sect have all been through life-and-death battle; which parts of the world haven’t they...”

He stopped speaking when he caught a glimpse of a somber, stern face in the direction Zeng Yilong had pointed. That face bore a seven-out-of-ten resemblance to him, while the remaining three matched with a special face from his memories.

”Oh, Little Jiu is there, too!” Though they hadn’t gotten to spend much time together, Qu Lingjun would obviously not fail to recognize his own son. ”Yilong, please look after Qu Jiu for me.”

Zeng Yilong beat his own muscular chest. ”You don’t have to tell me. That’s my duty. I’m going, let’s catch up when I return!”

”Sure, let’s catch up later!” Qu Lingjun smiled. As he watched Zeng Yilong go to the mountainside, he met Qu Jiu’s eyes for a brief moment—his son merely swept him a dismissive glance utterly devoid of warmth.

Qu Lingjun’s smile faded, though he felt not a shred of anger at the cold treatment. Qu Jiu was the only thing he had left from Mi Li, and he truly seemed to have inherited something from both of them[1]. Yet back then, he had abandoned his wife and child to join the Windflower Palace, failing to fulfill his duties as a husband and father. Qu Jiu had every right to resent him.

”Dear, Sect Leader Li is waiting for you,” rang the woman’s soft voice.

Qu Lingjun let out a long sigh, then he lifted the hem of his robe and entered the room.

Inside, Li Yingzhang greeted him with a smile that showed not the slightest trace of estrangement. ”Lingjun, welcome back.”

Qu Lingjun squeezed out a smile in return. ”It’s about time I did. At my age, it’s hard to feel at ease anywhere that’s not home. Now that I’m back, I can finally make some contributions to our sect. I hear we’re short on funds. My alchemy skills have improved considerably. I could lead the Alchemy Institute and open up a new source of revenue.”

”There’s no rush on that.” Li Yingzhang waved his hand and looked outside. ”What’s the situation with Fellow Daoist Meng?”

At the mention of his wife, Qu Lingjun revealed a tender look. ”She refused to divorce me and pleaded with the palace master to come with me to our sect. She has decided to stay until I’ve lived out my natural life span, so... it’ll be forty or fifty years before she returns to the Windflower Palace. I hope to have your approval on this.”

After understanding the story, Li Yingzhang expressed his admiration for their marital devotion. At the same time, he couldn’t help rejoicing inside. Meng Qin’er was among the most gifted members of the Windflower Palace’s young generation; she had formed her Golden Core at quite a young age. Her staying in the Luo Tian Sect, even if it was only for four or five decades, would be more than enough to bolster their strength and prestige. With Sima Wenjie stripped of his cultivation, Luo Tian was left with only eight Adepts. Li Yingzhang knew that Meng Qin’er would be a perfect person to fill that gap, so he immediately agreed to Qu Lingjun’s request.

Qu Lingjun breathed a sigh of relief that his Dao companion could stay. He then asked, ”Where is my master?”

Li Yingzhang replied, ”The Supreme Elder is preparing to refine Nascent Soul Pills. He’s been very busy and might not have time to see you.”

Qu Lingjun’s eyes lit up. ”The Nascent Soul Pill? I’ve heard it’s extremely complicated to make. Green Pill Valley once mobilized their entire resources and even specially invited Master to help them refine this pill, but they still failed, sadly. Now that Master is attempting it, I can assist him.”

He spoke quickly and eagerly, yet such excitement was still second to the brimming confidence and pride in his tone, and understandably so. His current alchemy skills allowed him to refine third-tier pills, putting him on the same level as some of the elders of Green Pill Valley back in the day. He was confident he had the ability to help his master.

To his surprise, however, Li Yingzhang said, ”That won’t be necessary. Qi Yi has already gone to assist the Supreme Elder.”

”I can also...” Qu Lingjun stopped under Li Yingzhang’s inscrutable eyes. For some reason, that look made him hesitant about his original idea, so instead, he tentatively suggested, ”Since Qi Yi is helping Master, the Alchemy Institute must be short-staffed. I can help watch over it in the meantime.”

This time, he didn’t act as presumptuously as he had toward Zeng Yilong earlier, treating the Alchemy Institute as if it were his own territory, because he had a vague feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Sure enough, Li Yingzhang cleared his throat and shook his head. ”There’s no need for that, either. The sect has already arranged a cave residence for you. You can focus on your cultivation there.”

Qu Lingjun found this arrangement hard to believe. ”Is this your decision, or my master’s?”

Li Yingzhang didn’t give an answer; he merely handed Qu Lingjun a storage pouch. Given his status as the sect leader, there was no need for him to beat around the bush. His evasion of the question was an answer in and of itself...

Qu Lingjun’s face slowly paled.

1. This part is an untranslatable wordplay about Qu Jiu’s name. His parents’ surnames mean “yeast” (曲, qū) and “rice” (米 mǐ), respectively, while Qu Jiu’s given name is 酒 (jiǔ, literally “liquor”). The name comes from the phrase 曲米成酒 (qū mǐ chéng jiǔ), which literally means “yeast and rice make liquor.” ☜