Mr. Chen regained his composure and his life returned to its normal track. He seldom interfered in the affairs of the pharmacy and would only step forward when important decisions needed to be made. The daily affairs were handled by Qi Luo and others.

What he did every day was to go to the East 9th District to take care of the spiritual herbs, and then chat with Luzhu after coming back.

Although it seems that I have relaxed a bit in my cultivation, I have actually not fallen behind.

With the support of the medicine house, he no longer had to rely on meditation to increase his magic power, but could instead swallow pills or choose other resources for cultivation.

What limited his ability to improve his magic power was not the lack of cultivation resources, but his mediocre qualifications.

His innate ability was cut off, so his cultivation speed can only be described as average, not ideal.

However, he is not in a hurry. The current pace of life is very good. If it can continue for a long time, it would be a good thing.

Meditate to refine qi and specialize in the study of alchemy.

This is something fundamental, and he did not neglect it when it came to protecting the way and defeating the enemy.

The exquisite pearl obtained from the secret realm of Xilong River is a growing magic weapon, and he has been using his magic power to nourish it.

On the one hand, it accelerates the growth of the magic weapon, and on the other hand, it leaves one's own imprint, so that the magic weapon and the mind can be in harmony and achieve mutual understanding.

The Star-Slashing sword technique was a skill he had never given up in his cultivation, and he would set aside some time every night to practice it.

This night, the stars are shining brightly and the night sky spreads out, like the most profound and vast painting in the world.

Chen Sheng stood on the ground, holding an iron sword in his hand, looking up at the stars, and slashing at the eternal and unchanging North Star.

A ray of sword intent meandered out, extremely tenacious, as if it could outrun the erosion of time and space and reach the other side.

Standing under such a starry night, Chen Sheng felt insignificant. Compared to the human body, the stars are vast and eternal, unchanging.

However, a group of people on this land die every few decades.

Even a powerful immortal cultivator cannot resist the erosion of time and withers in the blink of an eye. It is impossible for him to exist forever like the stars.

"Tang Hua is gone."

Usually, Luzhu would quietly watch Chen Sheng dancing with his sword under the starry night. In her opinion, that was the most beautiful scene in the world.

This time, she stepped forward and interrupted Chen Sheng's practice, saying something bad.

“Gone?!”

Chen Sheng's mind was still resting on the eternity of the stars and the feeling of the insignificance of the human body. He did not come to his senses for a moment and was indeed a little stunned, not understanding the meaning of the words.

"He failed to break through the barrier and died suddenly."

Luzhu said regretfully.

"Why is it so sudden?"

This time, Mr. Chen reacted, but he couldn't accept it.

Although the spirit of Tang Dynasty paintings is on the decline, it is still far from touching death, and we don’t want such accidents to happen.

"Yes, it was sudden and no one expected it."

Luzhu sighed, a very long sigh.

The passing of Tang Hua made her feel very bad, as if everything she had now was just a dream, and when she woke up, there would be nothing left.

"How is Zhou Lie doing?"

The relationship between Chen Sheng and Tang Hua is still two or three layers apart, but Zhou Lie is different. He is a Taoist partner and a lifelong companion.

Anyone who encounters such a blow will not feel good.

"Locked myself up."

Luzhu didn't know how to comfort him. In the face of life and death, no matter how many words she spoke, they were all empty and powerless.

Mr. Chen was silent for a moment, then said, "Let him calm down first."

Since Zhou Lie chose to face it alone, he would not bother him.

Later, he went to see Zhou Huang. This handsome and extraordinary young man was in a very bad mood. He burst into tears when he saw him. Fortunately, he did not suffer a big blow mentally and felt better after crying.

Mr. Chen gave Zhou Lie some time to accept it, but after more than half a month, the situation did not improve.

The other party has been closing his heart and hiding in darkness. His will has been lost, and he has even abandoned everything in the medicine hut, as if he wanted to isolate himself from the mundane world.

"Boom!"

Mr. Chen could no longer leave Zhou Lie alone.

It does take some time to accept the reality of the death of a fellow Taoist, but one should not allow the sadness to torment the body. If this continues for too long, the person will become ruined.

"Don't worry about me, just go away."

A hoarse sound was heard in the room, like a knife scratching on rotten wood, very unpleasant.

"It's me."

Mr. Chen said calmly.

After a dozen breaths, the door opened. It could be seen that Zhou Lie had just tidied up his appearance and was not so embarrassed, but his face was haggard and his eyes were dull. He no longer had the gentle look he had before.

"teacher……"

He bowed respectfully to Mr. Chen. Even though he was filled with grief, he was unwilling to expose his worst side to his teacher.

"It's been more than half a month. It's time to calm down."

Mr. Chen didn't say much, but his eyes were full of understanding, tolerance, and concern.

"I……"

Zhou Lie wanted to say that he was fine, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a hole was revealed in his psychological defenses.

“Wuwuwu…”

In an instant, his vision blurred and he hugged Chen Sheng, sobbing softly.

He didn't want to act so useless in front of the teacher, but he was not a strong man after all, and facing a teacher who was like a father to him, he completely collapsed.

He had never lost his composure like this before in front of others. Even if it was Zhou Lie and his clansmen, he was still holding on, portraying himself as someone who could not be defeated.

But in front of the teacher, there will not be too much psychological burden. A teacher is like a father, which is never an empty talk.

"I can understand. If your mistress passed away one day, I would also be very sad."

Mr. Chen patted Zhou Lie on the shoulder. He had watched this apprentice grow up from a young age, from the vigorous and energetic boy to the middle-aged man who had lost his wife and had premature gray hair.

Seeing the other person like this, he felt very uncomfortable.

After venting, Zhou Lie calmed down.

Then, he felt a little embarrassed. He was such a grown-up, but still needed the teacher's comfort. He was really childish.

“Buzz!”

A flying sword sent a message across the void, came straight over, and landed in front of Chen Sheng.

"It's true."

He wiped his hand, his mind turned, and he knew the contents of the letter.

His eyes suddenly turned three points colder.

"Teacher, what happened?"

Zhou Lie knew at a glance that Chen Sheng was in a bad mood at the moment, which was very rare. The teacher was almost always gentle in his treatment of people and things.

Judging from the look on his face, this matter clearly holds a lot of weight in Mr. Chen's heart.

"The Ding family is in trouble."

Mr. Chen explained.

The flying sword that carried the message was sent by the Ding family. Their clan had encountered a great disaster and was in constant turmoil. If the consumption continued, the clan's inheritance would probably be cut off.

"Grandpa Ding's family? Those people are so blind."

Zhou Lie was shocked. He was not unfamiliar with Master Ding Dan. He was his teacher's alchemy foundation practitioner and he had also received instruction from him when he was young.

“Fifty-seven years can make time blur a lot of things.”

Chen Sheng's thoughts turned and he realized that quite a while had passed.

In the past fifty-seven years, the alchemists in Yaolu have changed twice. Even for a family in the Qi Refining Realm, this is enough time for too many things to happen.

Many things will be forgotten, and perhaps the relationship between Master Ding Dan and Yaolu will also be forgotten.

It is also possible that the newly emerging immortal cultivation families are completely unaware of this past event and rely on their strength to commit violence.

There are so many possibilities.

"How do we resolve this matter?"

Since the late Master Ding Dan was involved, Zhou Lie knew that Mr. Chen would not ignore it. It was just a matter of setting some rules and going to some extent in dealing with it.

"I will go myself."

Mr. Chen didn't think too much about it. Master Ding Dan had done him a favor, and as long as the Ding family was not at fault, he had reason to help.

Xing Ding City and Ding family.

From the name of this city, we can see that the power of the Ding family in this place has reached a terrifying level.

The fact is, this city was built by the Ding family from scratch, from a village to a city, and it took hundreds of years until the ancestor moved into the medicine house and became an alchemist, reaching its peak.

However, with the passing of the ancestor, the Ding family began to decline.

Generally speaking, this kind of decline is inevitable and is something that a family of immortal cultivators can bear. As long as they accumulate and lie dormant for several generations, they will eventually rise again.

The most frightening thing is being defeated directly during the weak period.

This is the situation that the Ding family encountered. They were severely suppressed and swallowed up by a newly rising family and were on the verge of collapse.

"My Ding family has passed down the art of alchemy and saved countless lives, but we are being beaten to a pulp by a family that rose to power by selling their daughters and flattering others. It's really a joke."

In the ancestral hall, low and angry voices echoed endlessly.

However, like an old lion, it has grown old and has lost its abundant strength and blood, and can no longer deter other animals from hunting it.

The one that went to war with the Ding family was the Sun family, originally an unknown mortal family that made its fortune by giving its daughters to an immortal master as concubines.

It was also the Sun family's luck that a genius in cultivating immortals emerged. In just twenty years, he suddenly achieved the great perfection of the Qi Refining Realm.

Those with rotten roots gain power and are like hyenas. When they smell blood, they will pounce on you and snatch a few pieces of meat.

The Ding family, which was in a period of decline, happened to be targeted.

A few days ago, their tribe was almost invaded, resulting in heavy casualties, and the smell of blood did not dissipate for long.

"It's my incompetence that has brought shame to the Ding family."

The head of the Ding family, who had met Mr. Chen once, passed away six years ago. The new head of the Ding family is called Ding Cheng. He has a middle-aged appearance and a steady demeanor.

Faced with such a disaster, he took on the responsibility of a patriarch and took all the blame.

"No one blames you, we are just mad at you."

The roaring elder also knew the root of the matter. The fault lay not with the Ding family but with the foreign enemies.

He and many other old people were resentful in their hearts. Some said they were being aloof or conceited, but the Ding family had passed down the art of alchemy from generation to generation, and their reputation was clean and incorruptible, which was much stronger than that of the Sun family.

When the ancestor was alive, the country was extremely prosperous and no one dared to bully it.

I can only say that I'm unlucky. Even the things that I used to look down upon can come up and step on them.

"What should we do next? Ask for peace?"

"No, the Sun family is ambitious and we can't live in harmony with them."

"What they want is the entire Ding family, the alchemy inheritance of my Ding family."

Venting cannot solve the problem, things must eventually return to reality.

The ancestral hall was filled with the Ding family's top leaders. At this time, no one had any ulterior motives, and everyone was seriously analyzing the family's future path.

Make peace?

This path was rejected by many people.

The Sun family is too arrogant and short-sighted, like a blind bear, acting recklessly and making people feel aggrieved and resentful.

"I have already sent a letter to the person in the medicine room via flying sword."

At this time, Ding Cheng revealed all the arrangements. By this point, the family was no longer able to cope with it and could only use the connections they had accumulated earlier.

"That person? Yes, now is the time to use this favor."

This news made the top management of the Ding family silent for a while. They felt a little reluctant, but they were relieved in the end.

Only after overcoming the current difficulties can we talk about the future.

But really, it hurts.

That person's favor is too valuable.

The ancestor has passed away. Although it cannot be said that it is gone after use, it still makes people uneasy.

"If he shows off his power, the Sun family will be in trouble, and the same goes for the person behind him."

That man's majesty was too powerful. They felt their blood boiling at the thought that the Ding family could borrow his power.

The Sun family and the people behind the Sun family are nothing in front of him and can be crushed easily.

"It has been fifty-seven years since the ancestor passed away."

Someone whispered in joy.

But it cut the warm atmosphere in half.

They still had concerns, fearing that the man from Yaolu had forgotten their old friendship and would turn a blind eye to the Ding family.

After all, time is ruthless and can make a person's passion gradually cool down and eventually turn into absolute rationality.

For example, whatever we do, we always start from the interests.

Then the Ding family is really of no use to that person.

"I know what you mean, but considering his personality, it's unlikely."

Ding Cheng interrupted everyone's thoughts. He knew that people would forget about him when he left, but he still had great trust in that person.

The deceased ancestor and the previous clan leader both left behind words that if there is a difficulty that cannot be overcome, go to the medicine house for help.

To be trusted like this, that person's character must be excellent.

"Clan leader, someone is coming to the medicine house."

The younger generation of the Ding family who reported the news knew that important matters were being discussed in the ancestral hall, but he still walked in bravely.

He knew that this matter was extremely important and could not be neglected.

"Come in, who is coming?"

Ding Cheng was surprised, and then happy, knowing that the flying sword was useful for sending messages. In such a short time, Yaolu sent someone over.

He didn't dare to be impolite, and had to show respect when addressing people, so he had to ask clearly first.

"Mr. Chen!"

The young man who reported the news told the truth.

He didn't know the weight of this name and said it calmly, but to the ears of Ding Cheng and others, it was like thunder passing through the sky, ringing in their minds, and was very majestic.

"Wait, I'll go out to greet you."

Then, Ding Cheng took the lead in walking out of the ancestral hall and strode outside.

The senior members of the Ding family behind him ran out without being told, full of awe and excitement, without showing any sign of composure at all.

(End of this chapter)