Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

Chapter 231 Master Ma Dan's Visit

This day.

Suddenly, a rich aroma of elixir wafted from Lin Changsheng's courtyard.

A specially designed alchemy room.

Lin Changsheng sat cross-legged, with a boy who looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old beside him.

As the temperature gradually cooled, the originally scorched red alchemy furnace gradually returned to normal.

Lin Changsheng raised his hand and, under the influence of a gentle magical force, took several pills the size of longan into his hand.

The pill still retained some heat, and feeling its vigorous medicinal power, Lin Changsheng looked quite satisfied.

"I'm lucky. I got two genuine Foundation Establishment Pills and one defective, useless pill."

After examining the results of this alchemy session, Lin Changsheng was somewhat pleased.

"Congratulations, Alchemist Lin! You've successfully produced two pills in one go. Your success rate is almost on par with Alchemist Ma."

The boy beside him also showed surprise and delight, offering his sincere congratulations.

"The success of producing two pills at once involves a great deal of luck. Master Ma Dan is more senior and experienced, how could I, Lin, compare to him?"

Lin Changsheng smiled slightly, took out two exquisite porcelain bottles that he had prepared beforehand, put the Foundation Establishment Pill into them, and sealed the bottle openings.

"Shouye, you shall take these two Foundation Establishment Pills back and hand them over to the clan."

"Then go back and rest for a few days. You've been working hard lately, refining quite a few pills."

Lin Changsheng then handed over the porcelain bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill and gave instructions.

"Yes, Master Lin."

The young man carefully took the Foundation Establishment Pill and put it close to his body, then respectfully replied.

Watching the young man walk away, Lin Changsheng gazed at the alchemy furnace in front of him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The Foundation Establishment Pill refined this time is somewhat different from the Foundation Establishment Pill I encountered in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom.

Because of regional differences, the materials and methods used to refine these elixirs also vary from place to place.

Overall, however, the effects are largely the same.

The ability to refine Foundation Establishment Pills signifies that his alchemy skills have now reached the second level.

He will surely be valued in the Li family in the future.

This is also what Lin Changsheng wanted.

To integrate into this community as quickly as possible, the support of the Li family is indispensable.

The boy who left earlier was named Li Shouye, and was Li Chongyuan's nominal second son.

His actual identity is that of a member of a remote collateral branch of the Li family in Dafang Township.

In terms of aptitude, he barely reaches the level of a mid-grade spiritual root, and he has a pure and kind heart.

He was originally a first-level alchemist, and now he followed Lin Changsheng as a fire-starting apprentice, responsible for some tedious tasks related to alchemy.

For example, during the alchemy process, they might do some auxiliary work such as sorting medicinal herbs, tending the fire, and keeping the fire at a constant temperature.

At the same time, they can directly observe Lin Changsheng's alchemy process, accumulating experience and improving their skills.

It was Li Chongyuan who personally suggested placing Li Shouye next to Lin Changsheng.

He knew perfectly well the purpose of the arrangement.

It was nothing more than a test of attitude, while also learning alchemy techniques and keeping watch.

Lin Changsheng readily agreed.

No matter how harmless a Foundation Establishment cultivator from outside may appear, he is ultimately not one of our own.

He had experienced this firsthand when he was with the Xi Danhe family in his early years.

However, a few days after agreeing to take Li Shouye in, a formation master from the Li clan came to the door and set up a 'spirit gathering formation' in the courtyard.

It absorbs the spiritual energy from within a radius of several miles and gathers it here, raising the spiritual energy level in the courtyard to the level of a second-grade high-quality spiritual vein.

This can be considered a kind of invisible 'transaction'.

It was also the Li family of Dafang Township who were satisfied with the results of the test and rewarded Lin Changsheng.

This result was slightly unexpected by Lin Changsheng.

It should be understood that each spiritual spring has a limited amount of spiritual energy to nurture. If Lin Changsheng consumes more of it, it means that other parts of the Li clan's territory will suffer losses.

Therefore, at least judging from the results, the Li family of Dafang Township can be considered to have shown great sincerity.

……

"Senior Lin, you've been working hard refining pills for days. Would you like me to instruct my maid to give you a massage to relax you?"

Upon exiting the alchemy room, a petite woman in a green dress, with a delicate and refined appearance, was already waiting outside with several maids.

"No need, you can take some people to clean up the alchemy room."

Lin Changsheng refused the girl in green without expression, and then calmly gave the order.

"Yes, Senior Lin."

The young woman gracefully bowed and then instructed two maids to enter the alchemy room.

This woman's name is Chen An'an. She is a distant cousin of Li Chongyuan's wife, Qu Jiao.

Qu Jiao personally led him to her door and took care of Lin Changsheng's daily chores.

Lin Changsheng agreed to this as well.

Now she is the female manager of Lin Changsheng's courtyard, with more than ten young maids under her command, responsible for taking care of her food and daily life.

In the first few days, Chen An'an was extremely bold, making some daring provocations and tests, both overt and covert, to showcase her feminine advantages.

But after being scolded by Lin Changsheng several times, he behaved himself.

However, after that, Qu Jiao, the mistress of the Li family in Dafang Township, stopped sending young and beautiful maids over.

Upon arriving in this place, both sides were testing each other and working together.

……

A few days later.

Lin Changsheng was practicing his martial arts in the training room.

"Senior Lin, Master Ma Dan has come to pay a visit."

Chen An'an's voice could be heard from outside.

Here, Lin Changsheng set up an isolation formation and a powerful restriction.

It is an absolute private territory. Anyone other than himself who gets close will immediately trigger the restriction and launch an attack.

"Master Ma Dan?"

Lin Changsheng finished his practice, opened his eyes, and remained expressionless.

Recalling the situation regarding this Master Madan.

Master Ma Dan was another alchemist from the Li family of Dafang Township.

Although they were both foreign cultivators, they had served the Li family for nearly a hundred years.

He even married a legitimate daughter of the Li family and took several concubines from collateral branches of the Li family.

He was practically half a member of the Li clan.

The only difference is that this Master Ma Dan did not marry into the family.

All of his descendants took the surname 'Ma'.

"However, this Master Ma Dan is narrow-minded. As he gets older, he has become arrogant and domineering, and I'm afraid he has come with ill intentions today."

Lin Changsheng pondered to himself.

At the same time, Lin Changsheng had already arrived in the reception hall.

"I have long admired Master Ma Dan's name. I am sorry that I have not been able to greet you properly today. I hope Master Ma Dan will not be offended."

Lin Changsheng said with a friendly smile.

In the reception room, an elderly man with dark skin and a plump figure sat in the middle of the chairs, resting with his eyes closed.

Even though Lin Changsheng, the master, had appeared, Master Ma Dan did not move an inch.

Seeing this, Lin Changsheng remained calm and did not show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Instead, he took the teapot from the maid and personally poured Master Madan more spiritual tea.

He then sat down in the main seat and began to leisurely sip his tea.

"Master Lin's self-cultivation skills are indeed excellent. He is worthy of being a second-level alchemist who can refine Foundation Establishment Pills."

After a while, Master Ma opened his eyes and looked at the white-robed youth in the main seat in front of him, leisurely sipping his tea. A look of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes, and at the same time, he spoke in a lukewarm tone.

"Master Ma is too kind. Master Ma had been in seclusion for many days, and the Li family was in dire need of elixirs, so I was forced to try it. It was purely by chance that I was able to live up to your expectations."

Lin Changsheng took a sip of the spiritual tea and said with a smile.

Master Ma Dan is now nearly two hundred years old and his cultivation level is in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

However, such cultivation levels were achieved after the Foundation Establishment stage when they believed they had no hope of forming the Core, so they took pills for a long time and forcibly raised their cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Theoretically, the longest lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is around 250 years.

However, for various reasons, very few people live to this age.

Therefore, after the age of two hundred, Ma Danshi's lifespan was almost over.

This is also why the Li family of Dafang Township were so eager to win him over after learning that he was an alchemist.

They need to find someone else as soon as possible to replace Master Madan.

But as for Ma Dan, he hoped that his descendants would take over his position.

However, among his offspring, the one with the best talent in alchemy can currently only refine first-grade fine pills.

Furthermore, limited by his own cultivation level, it is difficult to improve his alchemy grade before advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Lin Changsheng's appearance made Ma Danshi feel a sense of crisis.

"Hehe, Master Lin is too modest. Being able to refine two genuine Foundation Establishment Pills at once is enough to prove that your alchemy skills are solid and you have a bright future."

"In this way, if I delay my alchemy progress again due to studying the art of talismans, it can be considered that someone will lend a helping hand. Master Lin will not refuse then, will he?"

Master Ma smiled slightly, his tone becoming much more amiable.

"Since Mr. Lin enjoys the spiritual ground for cultivation provided by the Li family, he naturally has to make some contributions."

"I never expected that Master Ma Dan, besides being a master alchemist, was also proficient in the art of talismans?!"

Upon hearing Ma Danshi's words, Lin Changsheng's face showed surprise and shock.

Even her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels.

"Indeed, I have mastered both alchemy and talisman-making skills, and I am even more talented in talisman-making. It is just a pity that I am limited by my cultivation level. I only recently succeeded in making a 'quasi-third-order' talisman."

Ma Danshi appeared humble, but his words revealed a great deal of pride.

He seemed to thoroughly enjoy Lin Changsheng's surprised and unexpected expression, a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

He even took out an exquisite jade box from his storage bag and carefully opened it in front of Lin Changsheng.

Inside the jade box, there was a soft golden cloth, on which lay a talisman paper that was light blue and exuded a subtle aura.

The fluctuations were indeed greater than those of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but they were still far from those of a true Golden Core cultivator.

Lin Changsheng could see through the secret of this magic talisman at a glance.

It is indeed a 'quasi-third-tier' water-attribute attack spell.

However, the artist was extremely unskilled in drawing this talisman; the spiritual ink flowed unevenly, and the artist failed to fully absorb the essence of the entire talisman paper.

It was almost on the verge of failure.

After demonstrating it for only two or three breaths, Master Ma Dan put the 'quasi-third-tier' talisman away again.

He muttered to himself, "This 'quasi-third-tier' attack talisman is extremely powerful. If it is accidentally triggered, even with Master Lin's cultivation level, his life may be in danger."

"It's actually a 'quasi-third-tier' spell talisman!"

"So, if Master Ma Dan possesses this talisman, wouldn't that be equivalent to having the combat power of a pseudo-Dan Real Person?"

"I wonder if Master Ma has any more of these 'quasi-third-tier' talismans on him?"

Lin Changsheng reluctantly withdrew his gaze, but couldn't help praising it.

His words seemed to carry a hint of lingering longing.

"Combat strength... is about the same as a fake Core Formation cultivator. As for 'quasi-third-tier' talismans... there are quite a few, but these talismans require a high level of spiritual awareness from the user. Master Lin should be down-to-earth and not be overly ambitious."

Ma Danshi spoke in a profound and enigmatic tone.

……

Half an hour later.

Ma Danshi left Lin Changsheng's residence.

The two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.

Before leaving, he generously gave Lin Changsheng three second-tier high-grade magic talismans.

He stated frankly that even a cultivator like Lin Changsheng, who was not skilled in combat, would be able to deal with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with these three spell talismans.

He returned to his own residence.

"Master, how did the trip go? Was the new alchemist Lin easy to get along with?"

The overweight Master Ma Dan lay on a soft couch, and a young and beautiful concubine took the initiative to come forward and give him a gentle massage.

Master Ma Dan looked completely satisfied.

Recalling the treatment she received in Lin Changsheng's courtyard, she even hummed a tune with pleasure.

He was born a mortal in his early years, but received a divine destiny in his childhood.

Now that he's reached the age of two hundred, he prefers to enjoy life like a wealthy, worldly tycoon.

"Hmph, just a mere brat. I, the master, will easily subdue him when I personally come to his door."

Ma Danshi said smugly.

At that moment, a plump woman who looked to be in her thirties and was adorned with jewels walked in.

"Master, it is said that Master Lin is still young. You should not offend him too much, otherwise it would be tantamount to making enemies for the Ma family's descendants for no reason."

A plump woman, exuding an air of wealth, spoke from the side with a hint of worry on her face.

"Hmph, what a woman's view! That kid is new here. If I don't give him a hard time and intimidate him, he'll really think that just because he's refined a Foundation Establishment Pill, he can be on equal footing with me."

"But don't worry, I've heard that the young alchemist is timid and cowardly, and seeing him today confirms it. I'll use both kindness and severity to ensure he won't dare to overstep his bounds in the future."

Master Ma Dan said with full confidence and pride.

……

On this day, Lin Changsheng, who was cultivating, suddenly trembled all over his body, and his internal magical power grew stronger once again.

He opened his eyes in surprise, his face beaming with joy.

That year, Lin Changsheng was 105 years old.

After years of dedicated cultivation, he finally resolved the problem of toxicity caused by consuming large amounts of elixirs in previous years.

Now, his cultivation at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage has made further progress.

We are getting closer and closer to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Peaceful places are more suitable for quiet contemplation and meditation."

Lin Changsheng sighed inwardly.

Although the cultivation grounds provided by the Li clan in Dafang Township were of slightly inferior quality to Changchun Peak in Yue Kingdom.

But it is a place of relative peace and tranquility.

With his mind focused and free from distractions, Lin Changsheng's cultivation progressed significantly faster.

"Within twenty years, he is expected to advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment!"

He was deeply moved.

At this moment, Chen An'an's voice transmission came from outside the barrier.

"Senior Lin, the steward of the Ancestral Temple has brought a message jade slip."

In the courtyard, Chen An'an, pure and serene, beautiful and intelligent, respectfully held a jade slip in her hands.

Before long, the barrier opened a gap, and a force drew the jade slip into it.

There was no verbal exchange during this time.

Realizing her hands were empty and seeing the barrier in front of her closing, the girl stood there for a long time, sighed, and seemed to feel unwilling.

Inside the room, Lin Changsheng listened to the contents of the jade slip and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

"The Golden Core cultivator from Yu Huai Sect invited Li Chongyuan to Yu Huai Immortal City, and specifically requested that I accompany him?"