Clan Immortal Cultivation: I Can See Hints

Returning to the Earth Fire Hall once again, both the Pill Pavilion and the Artifact Pavilion were significantly busier than before, and the surrounding temperature was much higher as well.

The place was also livelier now, with quite a few Qi Cultivation first and second level disciples trying their hand at the Pill Pavilion and Artifact Pavilion.

Among them, Lin Shizhong was the most successful—the Third Spirit Root Cultivator who had entered the Lin Family alongside Lin Shitao.

Although he had just broken through to the second level of Qi Cultivation, his artifact refining technique and talent earned him the praise of Lin Yutie, a peak Second Rank Artifact Refiner.

Of course, they couldn't help but admire Lin Shiming as well, thanks to that Ascension Conference, the family had gained two promising young immortals.

Now the Lin Family had even changed the Ascension Conference from a five-yearly event to a triennial one.

As a result, the number of Shiming generation members had already grown to over fifty.

Inside the Pill Pavilion, a few more disciples were practicing at the furnaces, but Lin Shitao was surprisingly not in the grand hall, and Lin Yuqi wasn't there either, not responding to the Sound Transmission Talisman.

When the Shiming generation disciples saw Lin Shiming arrive, they gathered around him, respectfully and admiringly calling him Seventh Brother.

Especially the younger ones, whose eyes were filled with adoration, as if Lin Shiming's face bore tales of heart-stirring adventures.

"Where's Second Grandfather?" Lin Shiming nodded in response to each of them, and then asked.

"Second Grandfather and the others are alchemizing in the innermost room; they have been at it for half a month now, and Thirty-One Sister is there too!"

At the mention of this, the facial expressions of several Shiming generation alchemy apprentices darkened, clearly worn out from controlling the furnace for over ten days.

The Thirty-One Sister they referred to was naturally Lin Shitao, the little girl from four years ago, who was now being addressed as Sister.

Lin Shiming felt a twinge of emotion, and as Seventh Brother, he also admonished his Shiming generation siblings to stay focused and calm.

But the thought of his own actions involuntarily reminded him of his Second Uncle, who used to give him the same advice.

Lin Houshou was still in charge of the Treasure Pavilion, but he spoke far less than before.

Suddenly, the earth fire in front of them burst out furiously, soaring to over three meters high.

Several prepared apprentices quickly retreated outside the formation, while Lin Shiming himself was also given quite a fright.

It was his first time witnessing such an eruption of flames, and he too retreated several meters away.

The flames continued to rise, the runes on the walls of the Pill Pavilion flickered wildly, and through the Spirit Gathering Array, countless spirit patterns frenziedly absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy.

Furrowing his brows, Lin Shiming released his divine sense and discovered that the source of the earth fire's turbulence was in the room where Lin Yuqi was in seclusion.

"Could this be?" Lin Shiming suddenly thought of a possibility.

Before he could ponder any further, a faint scent of elixirs wafted out.

This elixir fragrance was very subtle, yet taking a deep breath made one feel the flow of spiritual power throughout their body.

Keep in mind, the rooms for alchemy were sealed with formations, but the fragrance of the elixir had still made its way out.

That could only mean one thing, the elixir Lin Yuqi had crafted was a Third Rank Elixir!

The fragrance lasted nearly an entire hour before it finally faded away.

When the formation opened, a haggard but spirited Lin Yuqi walked out laughing heartily, clutching a pill bottle in his trembling hand.

"Shiming, your timing couldn't have been better! Absolutely perfect," Lin Yuqi said joyfully, twice for emphasis.

Behind him, Lin Shitao also emerged, extremely weary, but her eyes were equally brimming with excitement.

"Congratulations, Second Grandfather!" Lin Shiming quickly waved his hands.

The latter waved back dismissively, turning to address the remaining alchemy apprentices:

"Today, you can take a day to rest and adjust. Alchemy, like cultivation, requires one to alternate between tension and relaxation!"

As Lin Yuqi began to speak, several alchemy apprentices felt that he seemed exceptionally happy today, which was out of the ordinary.

But they didn't think much of it, and one by one, they sighed in relief and energetically waved goodbye as they asked to leave.

Only Lin Yuqi stayed behind to hand over the pill bottle to Lin Shiming.

"Shiming, these are Third Rank Consolidation Pills, perfectly suited for your father!" Lin Yuqi explained with joy, his gaze on the elixir unusually tender.

Lin Shiming also accepted the pill bottle with utmost gravity, as it contained the first Third Rank elixir refined by the Lin Family.

For the Lin Family, this was significantly meaningful!

Of course, this was something to share with his seventh great-uncle without delay.

Lin Shiming took out a Spirit Talisman and transmitted a message towards the Qinglian Pool.

Then he looked at the Second Elder, seeing that at this moment Lin Yuqi was so excited, yet also so exhausted.

His eyes were full of bloodshot veins, and his hair was beginning to turn white.

It was evident that there were disturbances in the way this cultivator used his spiritual energy to maintain bodily functions.

"Second Grandfather, as our family's Third Rank Alchemist, you must take good care of your health!" said Lin Shiming with concern. Although Lin Yuqi had maintained a middle-aged appearance until now, the old man was already 92 years old and had suffered a hidden injury in his youth, which likely left him with less than 120 years of life.

"You have no need to worry about that, Shiming. This old man's bones won't rest until I have trained a Third Rank Alchemist!" Lin Yuqi replied nonchalantly, and then he told Lin Shitao to go rest.

The latter was already exhausted from the intensive learning and assistance during the alchemy process.

"Second Grandfather, this is the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe that Seventh Great-Uncle wants to give you!" Lin Shiming hesitated, but still took out the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe.

"Obtained from the Huang Family?" As soon as the recipe appeared, the sharpness in Lin Yuqi's eyes, which had somewhat faded, flared up again. He took the recipe and, after talking briefly with Lin Shiming, he once again entered his room.

As Lin Shiming was about to speak, the former had already spoken:

"What I just gave was a gift for your father's Foundation Establishment, convey my congratulations to him for the success of his Foundation Establishment!"

After saying that, he closed the formation again, and Lin Shiming could only leave helplessly.

...

Having returned to the Qinglian Pool area, since Lin Houyuan was in seclusion, most of the family affairs were being handled by the Great Elder and the Fifth Elder. At this moment, they went to Lin Xianzhi.

Both of them had worried expressions, especially Lin Yuzheng, the Elder responsible for the family's business caravan, who bore the financial pressures of the entire family.

"Shiming, you've come at the right time. You should listen to this too," Lin Xianzhi beckoned Lin Shiming over.

Lin Shiming complied and went over.

During their conversation, Lin Shiming came to understand the reason for the family's current crisis.

The Huang Family was no more, but the Li Family of the Purple Mansion Family had split off to form two branches, Qingyun Li Family and Huangyun Li Family.

The former remained a Purple Mansion Family, naturally not targeting the Lin Family which was still at the Foundation Establishment level. However, the newly formed Huangyun Li Family was different; they started targeting the Lin Family directly through commercial routes.

In Yunzhou's largest marketplace, Qingyun Marketplace, they directly targeted the Lin Family's alchemy rooms and Artifact Refining Pavilion, causing the Lin Family's business to plummet.

If it weren't for the business of Monkey Wine and Lin Xianzhi's senior brother Xie An maintaining several stores, the loss would have been even more dismal.

And it must be noted, the stores operated to support Zi Xuan Hermit and Senior Brother Xie yielded the majority of profits to the latter.

Given these circumstances, the Lin Family increased the clan's stipend, and last year, they spent over a hundred thousand to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills; their finances had already started to go into deficit.

A short-term deficit was bearable, but in the long term, it would definitely affect the development of the family.

And if the clan's stipend were to be reduced now, it would similarly affect the enthusiasm of the clan members.