I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

After Ke Yanfeng left, Song Rou came over and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Senior Brother, you'll soon be an alchemist."

Xu Zhou smiled in response: "Congratulations, Junior Sister. I heard that you are also planning to apply for the alchemy assessment recently. You must be well prepared. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine."

Song Rou blushed: "Senior brother is joking."

Xu Zhou noticed that his junior sister seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and her face showed a complex expression. He couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

Just as she was pondering how to ask, Song Rou suddenly spoke softly:

"Senior brother...when I become an alchemist in the future, will you come and help me?"

She met Xu Zhou's gaze, her eyes filled with expectation, and silently awaited his answer.

Xu Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled: "Let's talk about it later."

Song Rou seemed to realize her slip of the tongue, her expression stiffening as she quickly explained, "I just felt that with your solid foundation, it would be great to have you assisting me. I wanted to ask if you could help me when I'm refining important pills... It's alright if you're unwilling."

Xu Zhou shook his head helplessly: "I'm afraid there's no need."

My junior sister thinks I'm excellent, but since I haven't officially become an alchemist yet, my perspective is a bit limited. Once I become an alchemist, there are plenty of other alchemists in the hall I can consult; their skills are all no less than mine.

Song Rou looked anxious. She opened her mouth to explain, but didn't know where to begin, and her face turned red with anxiety.

"Alright, alright."

Xu Zhou smiled and said, "I know my junior sister really thinks highly of me. I was just teasing you."

Before Song Rou could speak, he continued, "However, just as Senior Brother Ke just said, my foundation is really too weak. After I become an alchemist, I will have to spend a lot of time cultivating properly. I don't know how long it will take before I achieve success in my cultivation."

"If you still need my help then, junior sister, I will definitely not refuse, how about it?"

Song Rou was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Then it's settled!"

"Okay, it's a deal."

Xu Zhou smiled and made the appointment with the other party.

However, he didn't take it to heart.

He vaguely sensed that Song Rou's words carried an unusual intimacy.

However, it would be pointless to talk about this.

In a different setting, if he encountered a highly talented alchemist like Song Rou who was interested in him, he might consider developing a closer relationship with her.

But now it's exempt.

Xu Zhou will need to spend a long time studying his cultivation techniques and will need to concentrate on seclusion for extended periods. He simply has no time to slowly cultivate feelings for the other person. By the time he completes his studies and emerges from seclusion, much time will have passed, and it's uncertain whether the other person will still acknowledge him as their senior brother.

If we can keep this unspoken understanding, we can still get along in the future.

Three days later.

Xu Zhou's application to become an alchemist was not hindered in any way.

His application was submitted by Ke Yanfeng, who had connections with newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect. How could the other deacons dare to say anything? Therefore, Xu Zhou's application was processed quickly without any obstacles.

Not only that, after becoming an alchemist, Xu Zhou's alchemy room and residence were also approved.

He would normally need to accumulate contribution points to exchange for these in the future, but out of respect for Ke Yanfeng, Baicaotang made an exception and immediately allocated him a share, and he could make up for the missing contribution points later.

Stepping into his own private alchemy room, Xu Zhou couldn't help but sigh at how hard-won all of this had been.

After ten years of hard work, I have finally shed my apprenticeship and become a formal first-level alchemist.

Thinking back to the entrance examination years ago, he almost didn't make it in. If it weren't for Steward Zhang allowing him to enter back then, he doesn't know where he would still be struggling for contribution points, instead of managing an alchemy room like he does now.

Of course, this alchemy room wasn't given to him for nothing.

As an obligation, he is required to complete a certain number of alchemy tasks each year.

This was not a difficult task for Xu Zhou. Roughly estimated, he only needed to devote two or three months each year to completing these alchemy tasks, and he could freely use the rest of the time.

"Now I finally have a quiet place to live, and even if I don't go out for ten days or half a month, it won't raise any questions."

"I can finally study the classics in peace, and I'm no longer afraid of being noticed by others."

Xu Zhou was thrilled.

Having been a disciple for a little over ten years, his physical age has increased from just fourteen to nearly nineteen, a span of five years.

It may seem like only five short years, but he also knows that the best age for cultivation is actually quite short; after a certain age, one's vital energy will decline. He had wasted five years of his lifespan, and the loss of that lifespan already made him feel a little heartache.

Thankfully, it's finally over.

"Starting tomorrow, I will devote myself to studying the Longevity Technique."

...

"The Longevity Technique," as a qi cultivation method, is written in an archaic style, making it difficult to study. Moreover, it does not produce many significant results after practice, so few people study it.

Xu Zhou had already studied it for more than two years, but he was still struggling to learn it now.

Fortunately, once you enter a state of focus, even if you learn slowly, you will still make progress.

Furthermore, since Xu Zhou can study tirelessly, he will master the necessary knowledge much faster than recorded.

Even during his studies, Xu Zhou didn't completely relax and still did some cover-ups.

Every ten days or so, he would put down his books, go for a walk, and then come back to continue studying.

If Li Zelei came looking for him, or Song Rou came to visit, he would have to meet her. During holidays, he would also always visit Ke Yanfeng.

If Yan Feng hadn't shielded him, he would have had even more alchemy tasks, making it difficult to maintain a peaceful life. Therefore, he still needs to keep in touch with his senior brother regularly.

He devoted himself to studying the techniques.

When he finally thoroughly studied the "Longevity Technique" and resolved his last remaining doubts...

Looking up, I remembered that this was the seventh time I had seen heavy snow outside.

"Seven years."

He sighed inwardly at how quickly time had passed.

Including the two years before he became an alchemist, it took him a full nine years to finally master the "Longevity Technique." The difficulty of this technique is truly astonishing.

The time for cultivation has finally come.

Following the instructions in the scriptures, Xu Zhou sat cross-legged in the quiet room of his residence, focusing his mind and breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

He originally practiced the "Neiyuan Gong" (a cultivation technique), but due to a long period of non-practice, his meridians should have gradually become blocked, and he might even have regressed to a mortal state.

However, Xu Zhou had fully understood the "Neiyuan Gongfa" before practicing it. His internal energy circulated smoothly, and not only did it not block his meridians, but the condition of his meridians had also improved slightly due to years of nourishment.

However, this magical power was quickly transformed into longevity power during the practice.

Half a day later.

Having completed the first cycle of Qi circulation, Xu Zhou slowly finished his practice.

He briefly pondered the sensation, feeling the magical power flowing smoothly within his body, and nodded slightly.

Both the power of longevity and the power of cultivation are gentle and mild, but there is a slight difference between them.

Now that he has changed his cultivation method, even if Xu Zhou doesn't actively circulate it, the Longevity Technique will passively flow within his body, and his cultivation level will steadily improve over time.

The exact extent of the improvement is still uncertain, but it's better than nothing.

After gaining a basic understanding of magical power, Xu Zhou took out a bottle of Yellow Sprout Pills from his storage bag.

After swallowing a pale yellow pill, he resumed circulating his qi.

The pill transformed into a stream of heat within his body, autonomously helping him to circulate his spiritual energy. The speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy increased dramatically, almost to the point of being uncontrollable, causing a faint white light to flicker around his body.

Another half day passed before Xu Zhou finally finished refining the initial wave of medicinal power and was able to slowly finish his practice.

"So this is how Huangya Dan (Yellow Sprout Pill) assists in cultivation."

Xu Zhou couldn't help but sigh, "I've refined so many batches, but this is the first time I've personally consumed it."

Feeling the unrefined medicinal power within his body, Xu Zhou secretly made a calculation and deduced that it would take at least three days of arduous cultivation to fully digest this medicinal power.

In these three days, his cultivation speed almost doubled.

No wonder the disciples are so enthusiastic about this pill. With the continuous support of the Yellow Sprout Pill, even if Xu Zhou's aptitude is not good, he is expected to break through to the second level of Qi Refining within a year.

"However, I may not have that much time to cultivate slowly."

Instead of continuing his cultivation to refine the medicinal power, Xu Zhou stood up and began to stretch his limbs.

"Cultivation is a tedious activity, making it impossible to enter a state of deep learning."

"If I focus on cultivation, I can indeed improve my cultivation level at the fastest speed, but even at the fastest speed, I will only be on par with the progress of the other disciples."

"So many people in the sect are working so hard to cultivate, yet only a handful can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. I clearly have the ability to learn deeply, but if I continue down the same path as everyone else, I will only end up fading into obscurity."

"This is not what I wanted."

He looked inward and realized that even without actively cultivating, the power of immortality was slowly circulating.

As the cultivation technique operates autonomously, the medicinal power in the abdomen slowly dissipates, further enhancing the speed of the technique's operation, even to a greater extent than when focusing intently on cultivation.

"Instead of wasting time and lifespan meditating in a cave, it's better to rely on pills and let the cultivation technique operate autonomously to improve one's cultivation level."

"I only need to take advantage of my free time to study other classic texts to ensure that my lifespan does not decrease while my cultivation steadily improves."

"Although the progress is slower, it's more stable. Given enough time, I can cultivate to the peak of Qi Refining just like everyone else."

"Now, all we need to do is find the right classic texts."