Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

"What are you beating up for?" Qin Le said speechlessly. "The Great Shennong already knew I took it."

He always felt that his mother seemed to be... looking forward to seeing him get beaten up?

"Is that so..."

Lin Wanrou first pouted, seemingly a little disappointed, but then her eyes lit up again. She grabbed the jade bottle and happily stroked the ancient alchemy furnace.

"I never imagined that one day I would be able to use a saint-level alchemy furnace! Now that's great, I'll never have to worry about the furnace exploding again, or having to replace it every few days!"

For someone like her who's a pro at crashing furnaces, one of her daily expenses is replacing her alchemy furnace—mortal furnaces simply couldn't withstand the damage from her several research accidents.

Now that she has this alchemy furnace that Shennong used, not to mention anything else, its blast-resistant properties alone give her an overwhelming sense of security.

She immediately bit her fingertip, squeezed out a drop of blood essence, mixed it with her divine sense, and quickly imprinted her divine sense mark on the core of the alchemy furnace, completing the initial recognition of the furnace as its master.

At this moment, Qin Le took out something else—a seemingly ordinary, jet-black wooden strip—and handed it over.

"Mom, this is for you too."

"There's...there's something else good?" Lin Wanrou stared blankly at her son, then at the wooden stick, somewhat bewildered.

I haven't seen the medicine in the jade bottle yet, but it must be precious.

Why did he pull out another item?

Was your son's trip to the celestial realm to buy goods?

"Yes, there's a small flame inside," Qin Le explained. "You should be able to use it when you're refining pills."

"The torch?!"

Lin Wanrou suddenly raised her voice, her eyes widening in surprise.

As an alchemist, she knew all too well what the torch meant!

Even if it's just a small flame, it's still the sacred flame that countless alchemists and weapon refiners dream of!

She took the warm, smooth wooden stick, feeling the restrained yet powerful fire of civilization within it, and couldn't help but rub her temples, asking in a strange tone:

"You wouldn't... have 'taken' the original flame of the Suiren clan, would you?"

For some reason, she had a strong intuition that her son's trip to the Heavenly Realm was actually aimed at raiding the hometowns of those ancient big shots one by one!

"What do you mean by 'took'?" Qin Le rolled her eyes and said irritably, "It was a gift from a big shot to show his appreciation!"

How come in my mom's mouth it sounds like he broke in and stole it?

"So... exactly how much of the big shots' 'family fortune' did you plunder?" Lin Wanrou couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"Not many," Qin Le counted on his fingers. "Just Shennong and Chiyou. Chiyou's place has all the materials for refining weapons, which I don't need, so I gave them all to the Heavenly Realm."

However, there was one thing that Laozi later gave him—Chi You's set of weapon-forging tools, including a hammer, anvil, and other tools.

However, Qin Le himself didn't need it, so he handed it over to Chen Yun, making the best use of it.

"Okay..." Lin Wanrou was completely speechless.

She really didn't need Chi You's things.

But to obtain a sage's alchemy furnace and a source of firewood was already an incredible stroke of luck for her.

For a mortal alchemist to use equipment that only saints possess... that's simply outrageous.

In the blink of an eye, the New Year has arrived.

Qin Le's parents decorated their home with a festive atmosphere for the Lunar New Year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family of three set off to visit their grandparents.

The two elderly people did not live in the capital, but in a nearby city, where they were responsible for looking after an important medicinal garden of the alliance.

This distance is nothing to cultivators; they can fly there in two or three minutes.

Landing outside his grandparents' courtyard, Qin Le immediately saw his grandmother standing by the herb garden, making hand seals to summon clouds and rain, showing that she had not stopped taking care of the spiritual plants even during the New Year.

Qin Le's grandmother appeared to be a beautiful woman in her forties, still possessing considerable charm. Her cultivation level of Refining Emptiness and Merging with the Dao was sufficient to keep her youthful forever.

Even if one's cultivation level is insufficient, there are plenty of youth-preserving pills available; no female cultivator would willingly bear an aged appearance.

Upon seeing her children and grandchildren arrive, Grandma's face immediately broke into a loving smile: "You're here so early?"

Happy New Year, Mom!

"Happy New Year, Grandma!"

Happy New Year, Grandma!

The family of three greeted them with smiles. Stepping into the clean and cozy little house, Qin Le's grandfather, who looked to be in his forties, was busy in the kitchen, the sounds of spatulas and the aroma of food wafting out.

"Shoudao! Come in and help me out!" Grandpa's booming voice came from the kitchen.

"Here it comes!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Le's father, Qin Shoudao, didn't even have time to sit down before rolling up his sleeves and happily disappearing into the kitchen—their exclusive battlefield.

Qin Le stayed with his mother, Lin Wanrou, chatting with his grandmother in the living room. The topics were nothing more than his recent situation, his cultivation, and everyday life. Qin Le had plenty of information online, so his grandmother didn't ask many questions.

As they chatted, Grandma suddenly looked at Qin Le, smiling, and asked with a hint of persuasion:

"Xiao Le, when are you planning to find a Daoist partner?"

Qin Le's lips twitched slightly, revealing a helpless yet pleading smile: "Grandma, I'm only eighteen..."

"So what if she's eighteen?" Grandma glared at her, speaking with righteous indignation: "She'll be nineteen in a few months! She's not young anymore!"

"But I... I really don't have any thoughts about that right now," Qin Le said honestly.

"You child, your standards are too high!" Grandma shook her head reproachfully, then turned to Lin Wanrou: "Wanrou, don't just focus on alchemy all the time, give him some advice. You need to start thinking about his marriage."

Although she longed to hold her great-grandchild, she also understood the situation to some extent.

Before being chosen by the sage, the grandson's lifespan was limited, and perhaps he did not seek a Daoist partner because he did not want to delay others; now that he has ascended to immortality in one step, he is naturally more focused on cultivation.

Moreover, the process of a cultivator seeking a partner is different from that of a mortal getting married; they must share the same ideals and be able to walk side by side on the long road of life.

Given my grandson's current situation, it would be difficult to find a suitable match in the mortal world.

"Mom, don't worry, I'll definitely give him a good talking to when I get back," Lin Wanrou readily agreed with a smile.

After lunch, the family sat for a while, drinking tea and chatting about everyday things. It wasn't until the afternoon that Qin Le's family said their goodbyes and left to return to the capital.

Back in his room, Qin Le had just sat down on the edge of the bed, preparing to continue studying the jade slip encyclopedia given to him by Laozi, when suddenly his head felt heavy.

The little clay figure Nuwa popped up again, stretched out her little hand, and tapped his forehead lightly.

"Little Lele." She floated in front of Qin Le, her little face unusually serious: "When you look for a cultivation partner in the future... you can't just pick anyone."

"Mother Nuwa, why are you saying this too..." Qin Le sighed, feeling even more helpless.

"None of your business!" Nuwa raised her chin, pointed her little finger at him, and said, each word distinct and resolute, "In short, the Daoist partner you choose must, absolutely must, be on par with you in terms of looks! Otherwise... I won't agree!"

Qin Le: "…………"

He opened his mouth, looked at Nuwa's mother's serious expression that said "I'm in charge," and finally let out a long sigh filled with complex emotions.

By this standard... he probably won't be able to find a Daoist partner in his lifetime.