The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The next morning, the first thing Han Mu did after getting up was to go find Luo Feng. Everyone was in high spirits last night, and he hadn't had a chance to properly talk to his old friend. Besides, he also wanted to see for himself what kind of mess Luo Feng's alchemy furnace had gotten into.

Han Mu froze as soon as he reached the door of the alchemy room.

The once magnificent alchemy room now only has half a wall remaining, the roof has mostly collapsed, and broken tiles and charred wooden beams are piled haphazardly on the ground. The walls are blackened by soot, as if they have been burned for three days and three nights, and the air is filled with a pungent medicinal smell, mixed with the smell of burnt and sulfur, which makes your throat tight just by smelling it.

Luo Feng squatted amidst the ruins, holding a fragment of a pill furnace in his hand, examining it closely while muttering incantations. His face was covered in a thick layer of soot that it could be scraped off; half of his eyebrows had been burned away, the remaining half charred and curled against his forehead. His hair was a tangled mess, strands sticking out, some still wisps of smoke rising from it. His clothes were tattered, and his exposed arms bore several red, painful burn scars.

He didn't look like an alchemist; he looked more like a refugee who had just crawled out of a fire.

"Luo Feng," Han Mu called out.

Luo Feng raised his head, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that contrasted sharply with the black ash on his face, making him look extremely comical: "My lord, you've arrived."

"Your alchemy furnace exploded thoroughly." Han Mu walked over, squatted down beside him, and picked up a fragment to examine it. The fragment had sharp edges and a charred black surface, clearly indicating that it had been burned through by high temperatures.

"That's right. I've followed you for so many years and ruined quite a few pills, but this is the first time I've ever seen a furnace explode so cleanly." Luo Feng's tone even carried a hint of pride, as if he were showing off some remarkable achievement.

Han Mu was both amused and exasperated. He patted the man's shoulder and said, "It's good that you're alright. The alchemy furnace can be rebuilt."

"My lord is right. I figured it out last night. Out with the old, in with the new." Luo Feng stood up, dusted himself off, and kicked up a cloud of dust. "I plan to build a new pill furnace, three times the size of the old one. It will be more efficient at refining pills, and I can refine a hundred pills at a time."

"Are you sure it won't explode louder?" Han Mu laughed.

Luo Feng scratched his head, chuckled twice, and then pulled Han Mu to see his newly drawn alchemy furnace blueprint. The blueprint was laid out on a relatively intact stone slab, on which was drawn a huge sketch of an alchemy furnace, the lines crooked and twisted, like earthworms crawling across the surface. The annotations were also somewhat messy, with some parts having been corrected several times, ink blots overlapping ink blots. But it was clear that Luo Feng had put in a lot of effort; the edges of the blueprint were curled up, obviously he had been working on it all night.

Looking at the blueprints, Han Mu felt a pang of emotion. Luo Feng had followed him for so many years, transforming from a clumsy, impulsive young man into a disheveled middle-aged man with thinning hair and deepening wrinkles around his eyes. Although still just as unreliable and reckless, his passion for alchemy had never wavered, a passion that reminded Han Mu of his own youth.

"My lord, once I've finished building the new alchemy furnace, I'll refine the first batch of pills for you, guaranteeing that your cultivation will return to its peak." Luo Feng patted his chest and assured him, the black ash on his hands falling down with his movements.

"Then I'll wait." Han Mu said with a smile. Although he didn't have high expectations for the pills Luo Feng had refined, he appreciated the sentiment.

As the two were talking, Han Nian ran over, holding the fishing rod in her hand, and shouted, "Daddy, Uncle Zhou Meng wants you to go to the training ground. He says he has something important to discuss."

Han Mu nodded and followed Han Nian toward the training ground. Luo Feng followed as well, taking a round, dark pill from his pocket. It was pitted and looked like a lump of coal. He casually tossed it into his mouth, chewed it, and then swallowed it with a grimacing expression, his features contorted in pain.

"You're taking random medications again," Han Mu said helplessly.

"This isn't medicine, it's candy," Luo Feng mumbled, still chewing on it.

"Does Tangdou have anything like you? You're as black as a lump of coal."

"I added some medicinal herbs to nourish the body, but the taste isn't very good." Luo Feng licked his lips, savored the taste for a moment, and then frowned.

Han Mu shook his head, too lazy to expose him. Having known Luo Feng for so many years, the rabid stuff he ate had probably poisoned him to death—it was already a miracle that his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

The three arrived at the training ground. Zhou Meng was standing in the center, holding a newly forged spear and practicing his spear techniques. The spear danced in his hands with great force, its tip slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, each move exuding a fierce killing intent. Deep scratches were left on the ground, and gravel flew everywhere.

Han Mu stood on the sidelines and watched for a while, then nodded. Zhou Meng's marksmanship had improved even more than before; clearly, he had never slacked off in the past ten thousand years, honing his skills every day.

Zhou Meng sheathed his gun, walked up to Han Mu, and cupped his hands, saying, "My lord, I summoned you here to discuss something with you."

"What is it? Tell me," Han Mu said.

"I want to double the size of the Cosmic Sea Guard. The Cosmic Sea is now three times larger than it was ten thousand years ago, and there are many more creatures. The current guard is not enough manpower, and they can't even keep up with the patrol schedule," Zhou Meng said earnestly.

"This is a good thing. Just go ahead and do it. You don't need to ask me," Han Mu said.

"There's one more thing. I'd like to appoint the young master as the head instructor of the guard team," Zhou Meng said, looking at Han Nian.

Han Nian was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved her hand: "Uncle Zhou Meng, I can't do it. I'm not qualified to be the chief instructor. I'm too inexperienced."

"You can do it. Your cultivation level is no worse than mine now, and you have rich practical experience. I saw your skills in killing the void creatures in the dimensional rift last time. You were clean and efficient, even more efficient than your father was back then," Zhou Meng said.

Han Nian wanted to decline, but Han Mu spoke up: "Nian'er, since your Uncle Zhou Meng values ​​you, you should take on this task. It will be good for you to train yourself."

Han Nian hesitated for a moment, looked at Zhou Meng's expectant eyes, then at her father's encouraging gaze, and finally nodded: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

Zhou Meng smiled and patted Han Nian on the shoulder: "Good lad, I knew you'd be fine."

After things were settled, Han Mu went to see Han Li again. Han Li was still unconscious, his face pale, but his breathing steady. Fairy Hongmeng was by his bedside, occasionally wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Seeing Han Mu enter, she whispered that Han Li had woken up once earlier, taken some medicine, and fallen asleep again.

Han Mu sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Han Li's gaunt face, feeling deeply grateful. If Han Li hadn't spent so much effort refining that body, he wouldn't have been able to revive so quickly.

"Han Li, you've worked hard this time," Han Mu said softly.

"My lord, please don't say that. He did it all willingly." Fairy Hongmeng held his hand.

Han Mu nodded and said nothing more. He stood up, walked out of the room, and went to the courtyard, where he sat down on the familiar recliner. The sunlight warmed him, and a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and grass to his face. He picked up his fishing rod, baited it, and cast it into the pond.

The float bobbed gently on the water's surface, creating ripples.

Han Mu closed his eyes, savoring this hard-won tranquility.