Peeping into the Immortal Road

Chapter 174 Birthday Banquet Begins, a Happy Day
Deep inside the Hu family's mansion, Hu Qingyun sat alone at the desk, holding in his hand an exquisite gold-embossed invitation card, which was sent from the Ji family.

Ji Chang's name was neatly written in golden font on the cover, inviting the Hu family monks to attend his 200th birthday party.

Hu Qingyun's eyes moved over the invitation, and he was thinking secretly in his heart.

This was not just an ordinary birthday banquet, but also an important occasion to interact with Ji Chang, a second-level top-grade alchemist.

He must carefully select the attendees, as this concerns the reputation of the Hu family and is also a manifestation of respect for Ji Chang.

While thinking, he tapped the table lightly, summoned a clansman who served as a guard, and whispered a few instructions to him.

After a while, there was a gentle knock on the study door, and cousin Hu Qingsong and son Hu Tianxing walked in one after another.

Hu Qingsong had a calm expression on his face, and he felt a solemn and serious atmosphere as soon as he entered the study.

Hu Qingyun stood up and walked towards Hu Qingsong, with a meaningful smile on his face: "Qingsong, Fellow Daoist Han's 200th birthday banquet is about to be held, I would like to invite you to attend on behalf of the Hu family."

Hu Qingsong heard this, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He smiled and shook his head: "Qingyun, even if you didn't tell me, I have the same intention. How can I be absent from Fellow Daoist Han's birthday banquet?"

Hu Qingyun nodded slightly. He was not surprised by Hu Qingsong's answer.

Naturally, he knew very well the relationship between his younger brother and Ji Chang.

Then, Hu Qingyun turned his attention to his son Hu Tianxing.

Hu Tianxing is young and handsome, with agility and determination in his eyes.

His cultivation has already reached the foundation-building stage.

Hu Qingyun said to him solemnly: "Tianxing, you should also go with your uncle this time to celebrate the birthday of Daoist Friend Han."

He paused, his tone revealing a hint of seriousness and expectation: "You must remember that the foundation-building pill you used to break through the foundation-building stage was made by Fellow Daoist Han himself."

"You can't forget this kindness."

Hu Tianxing heard this and showed a determined look on his face. He bowed deeply and said, "Father, uncle, please rest assured. I will definitely not let my family down."

Hu Qingyun and Hu Qingsong looked at each other and saw satisfaction in each other's eyes.

……

A few months later.

Liaogu Fairy City.

Hu Qingsong and Hu Tianxing came to visit Ji Chang, and the door of the cave slowly opened in front of them.

The person who opened the door was Ji Chang's concubine Liu Xuexuan. She was wearing a light green long dress, as gentle as water, with a faint smile on her face.

Hu Qingsong knew Liu Xuexuan and knew that although she was a concubine in name, she was actually no different from Ji Chang's Taoist partner, so he was particularly polite to her.

Although Hu Tianxing was not very clear about Liu Xuexuan's identity, seeing his uncle's attitude, he hurriedly bowed.

"You two have come from far away, you are really rare guests." Liu Xuexuan said with a smile, and led the two to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard.

Then prepare the spiritual tea yourself.

At this time, Ji Chang also walked out of the quiet room. He was wearing a green robe and had a gentle face.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a moment.

Ji Chang smiled and said, "Daoyou Tianxing, now you have successfully established your foundation, which is really cause for celebration."

Upon hearing this, Hu Tianxing quickly said modestly: "Senior Han is too polite. Tianxing is just a junior and does not deserve to be called that."

He felt both grateful and terrified, knowing that it was an honor for him to be praised so highly by someone like Ji Chang.

Then Hu Tianxing continued: "Thanks to the foundation-building pills given by the seniors, I was able to successfully enter the foundation-building stage."

His words were full of gratitude, as if without the Foundation Establishment Pill given by Ji Chang, he would really still be lingering in the Qi Refining Stage.

Ji Chang shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "Tian Xing has extraordinary talent. He may have a chance to break through the Jindan stage in the future."

His words were full of encouragement and expectation, as if he had already seen Hu Tianxing's brilliant future.

Hu Tianxing quickly said modestly: "Senior Han, thank you for your praise. I still need to work harder to live up to your expectations."

At this time, Liu Xuexuan came over with a pot of spiritual tea, looked at them with a smile, and prepared to pour tea for them.

When Hu Tianxing saw Liu Xuexuan was about to pour tea, he hurried forward to take the teapot and took the initiative to pour tea for several people.

Liu Xuexuan did not insist, but sat next to Ji Chang.

Hu Tianxing also took this opportunity to avoid Ji Chang's flattery.

Hu Qingsong smiled and said, "Friend Han, I heard that you didn't participate in the Huangquan assessment some time ago?"

There was a hint of curiosity and confusion in his words, and he was obviously surprised that Ji Chang did not participate in the Huangquan assessment.

Ji Chang nodded and explained: "Han's cultivation is only in the late stage of foundation building. If it is the first Huangquan assessment, there is still a chance to pass."

"But in the current assessment, if you don't have the Fake Dan cultivation, don't even think about passing it."

"What's more, this Yellow Springs test is full of dangers. I heard that it is to explore a Jindan ruin. If I had chosen to participate, I would have died by now."

His words were full of helplessness and regret, as if he was regretting not taking part in the Huangquan assessment.

Hu Qingsong listened to Ji Chang's explanation and nodded. Ji Chang's decision not to participate in the Huangquan assessment was obviously a well-considered decision.

In the world of cultivating immortals, it is very important to be able to recognize your own strength and situation and make the right decisions.

It is also very rare and valuable.

……

half a month later.

The birthday banquet officially began. Ji Chang’s cave was bustling with activity and many monks came to participate in this grand celebration.

Some of them were Ji Chang’s old friends, and some were colleagues who came because of his fame. Each of them brought carefully prepared gifts to express their respect and blessings to Ji Chang.

Among the many guests, Huo Youyi stood out.

She was wearing a pink double-breasted tasseled skirt, and she walked towards us with a graceful figure and a smile on her face.

She took out several jars of second-grade premium spirit wine, the aroma of the wine filled the air, attracting many envious glances.

These spiritual wines not only have a mellow taste, but can also help improve one's cultivation, making them extremely rare treasures.

Huo Youyi walked up to Ji Chang, bowed gracefully, and said softly: "Brother Han, congratulations on your 200th birthday. This is the second-grade high-quality spiritual wine that I brewed specially for you. I hope you can make further progress on your path of cultivation."

Ji Chang took the wine and said gratefully, "Fellow Daoist Huo, you are really thoughtful. I will remember this generous gift."

"Please come in quickly."

Ji Chang invited Huo Youyi.

Huo Youyi and Liu Xuexuan greeted each other.

Over the past few decades, Huo Youyi and Liu Xuexuan have become best friends.

When walking into the cave, Huo Youyi looked back at Ji Chang, feeling a little reluctant.

Huo Youyi has some feelings for Ji Chang.

In addition to the nature of female cultivators in the immortal world who admire the strong, it is more about the decades of mutual understanding.

It’s a pity that Ji Chang has no intention of choosing a Taoist partner.

Originally, when Huo Youyi knew that Ji Chang had broken through to the late stage of foundation building and became a second-rank top-grade alchemist, she planned to become Ji Chang's concubine.

Although she was a second-class superior winemaker at that time, her cultivation was only at the initial stage of foundation building. Ji Chang had the potential to become a false pill cultivator in the future, so being his concubine was not too much of a waste.

However, not long after, Huo Youyi's own strength improved and he broke through to the middle stage of foundation building.

A female cultivator who is a second-class top-grade winemaker in the middle stage of foundation building.

In the world of immortal cultivation, it is quite popular, and even as a Taoist companion for a cultivator in the late stage of foundation building, there is no problem at all.

At this point, if Huo Youyi continued to be Ji Chang's concubine, it would be a loss of face.

Naturally, Huo Youyi could only suppress her feelings.

But after all, I still feel a little reluctant.

At this time, Wang Changsheng also stepped forward.

He was dressed in a red robe, had a resolute face, a calm temperament, and his cultivation had actually reached the peak of the middle stage of foundation building.

In his hands, he held several precious second-grade, top-grade fire spiritual objects, which were shining with spiritual light and were obviously not ordinary items.

Wang Changsheng bowed and said, "Brother Han, congratulations on your 200th birthday. This is a second-level, top-grade fire spirit object that I found especially for you. I hope it can be of some help to you."

Ji Chang took the spiritual object, with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Brother Changsheng, this gift is too precious. Han is really grateful."

The two exchanged pleasantries.

Ji Chang suddenly asked, "Brother Changsheng, your cultivation is about to break through to the late stage of foundation building, right?"

Wang Changsheng shook his head and said with a smile: "It's still a long way to go."

"I gained a lot of benefits when I was exploring the cave ruins left by a Jindan cultivator a few days ago, but the distance to breaking through to the late stage of foundation building..."

"It will take another 20 to 30 years."

When Ji Chang heard this, his expression changed slightly.

"Could the Jindan cultivator cave that Brother Changsheng mentioned be the one used for the Huangquan test before?"

Wang Changsheng nodded: "Although the cave ruins have been explored by the cultivators who went to take the test, there are still many places left that have not been explored."

“In addition, almost all the monks who went to explore the cave ruins died, and the things they left behind were also a considerable treasure.”

Ji Chang heard this and nodded.

However, although it will take Wang Changsheng another 20 to 30 years to break through to the late stage of foundation building, this speed is also quite fast.

You know, Wang Changsheng’s age is not much different from mine.

He is even a few years younger than me.

Even after twenty or thirty years, Wang Changsheng was able to break through to the late stage of foundation building.

Then he is only one hundred and thirty years old.

A one hundred and thirty year old foundation-building cultivator still has more than one hundred years to live.

From this perspective, it would not be a problem for Wang Changsheng to break through to the false elixir realm before his death.

If the development of the Ten Thousand Mountains could continue for a few hundred years, Wang Changsheng would even have a chance to break through to the Jindan stage.

Of course, Ji Chang did not agree with this.

This is because the progress of opening up the Shiwandashan Mountains has reached a very high level.

At least 70% of the work has been completed, reaching the southern Xinjiang region.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have discovered the Jindan inheritance left by the Gushen Sect monk.

Of course, Wang Changsheng’s cultivation speed is not surprising.

He is just like himself, with top-grade spiritual roots.

Although he had abandoned his alchemy skills, he had been fighting hard on the frontier since the opening of the Shiwan Mountains, and had earned many merits.

And it seemed that these merits were not kept by Ji Chang in exchange for elixir-forming spiritual objects, but were exchanged for elixirs and spiritual medicines for cultivation and breakthroughs.

Even the skills used for cultivation were replaced with third-level inheritance.

Although because of running around on the front line, he was unable to enjoy the superior spiritual vein environment of Liaogu Fairy City.

But I got a great opportunity a few days ago.

The overall cultivation speed is thirty or forty years slower than Ji Chang, which is not too strange.

After receiving Wang Changsheng, representatives of the Hu family also came forward. They were Hu Qingsong and Hu Tianxing, uncle and nephew. The two of them presented two second-grade top-grade magical instruments as gifts.

Each of these magical instruments is a fine product, not only beautiful in appearance but also extremely powerful.

This kind of move can be said to be generous.

After all, for an ordinary cultivator in the late stage of foundation building, being able to obtain a second-grade top-grade magic weapon is already quite good.

Although it is much easier to open up the Ten Thousand Mountains now, second-grade top-grade magic tools are still quite precious.

At this time, Hu Tianxing said respectfully: "Senior Han, this is a second-level high-quality magic weapon that our Hu family specially prepared for you. I wish you a long life and good fortune, and that your cultivation will be improved."

Ji Chang took the magic weapon and thanked him repeatedly: "The Hu family is so polite. These magic weapons are rare treasures. Han is very grateful."

There was constant laughter and joy at the birthday banquet, and the monks raised their glasses to congratulate Ji Chang on his 200th birthday.

At Ji Chang's birthday party, the atmosphere was warm and cheerful.

However, amidst the clinking of glasses, some foundation-building monks were whispering in private, discussing the topic about Ji Chang.

"Fellow Daoist Han has already reached the late stage of foundation building at the age of 200. This speed of cultivation is truly enviable."

"In the future, I will definitely be able to become a fake elixir cultivator and extend my lifespan by a decade."

A cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building exclaimed, with admiration in his eyes.

"Not only that, I heard that Fellow Daoist Han is also a second-level upper-grade alchemist. His status is even more remarkable."

Another cultivator in the early stage of foundation building spoke up, his tone full of envy and admiration.

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Han not only has a high level of cultivation, but also has great alchemy skills. He is truly a role model for cultivators of my generation."

Another foundation-building cultivator exclaimed in admiration.

These foundation-building monks became more and more excited as they talked.

Suddenly, one of the cultivators in the late stage of foundation building said mysteriously: "Do you know? I heard that Fellow Daoist Han's methods are also quite sharp. He was very popular on the front line a few years ago and even made it into the Tiangang Ranking."

"Tian Gang List? Those who can squeeze in are all strong!" the other cultivators exclaimed in amazement.

"That's right. Fellow Daoist Han not only squeezed in, but also got a position quite close to the front, even in front of some fake Dan cultivators."

The cultivator in the late foundation building stage continued speaking, his eyes gleaming with admiration.

Upon hearing this, all the monks nodded in agreement, their admiration for Ji Chang being beyond words.

They knew that there were cultivators who were born as independent cultivators, could cultivate to the late stage of foundation building, become second-rank top-grade alchemists, and possessed fierce methods.

In the entire Zheng State's cultivation world, and even in the entire Eastern Region, he is a rare existence.

And Ji Chang is such an admirable and strong man.

Many foundation-building cultivators who came from the casual cultivation world were also greatly encouraged after hearing about Ji Chang's experience, as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

(End of this chapter)