Xiao Ran's face shifted slightly as warmth bloomed in his chest.
A medicine that extended a mortal's life by a thousand years?
Did Master say she was bringing me to see a beauty, but actually mean to help me extend my life?
He had originally thought Master was a swaggering tomboy who was all brawn and no brain when sloshed on fake wine, but she actually possessed a fine eye for detail beneath that rough exterior. Was she a good master who genuinely looked out for her disciple? Yet wasn't extending a mortal's life by a thousand years stretching it a bit too far?
If such a medicine truly existed, who would bother enduring the hardships of cultivation?
Wouldn't popping pills for eternal life be fantastic? "There is such a thing."
True Person Yinyue said softly.
Xiao Ran was stunned.
There really was? It seemed this truly was a good master who looked out for her disciple! True Person Yinyue extended her palm flat, and amid swirling cyan light, a pill that was pitch-black and coarse in texture appeared in her hand.
"This pill is called the Thousand Year Pill. It is a medicine I refined in my youth, specially designed to act on a constitution of Balanced Five-Elements Endowment. After ingestion, it theoretically extends life by a thousand years, but there is also a certain probability that the taker will drop dead within ten breaths."
A chill ran down Xiao Ran's spine.
A trace of unusual radiance clearly flickered within the gentle pupils of True Person Yinyue as she calmly recounted this.
Could you possibly be looking for a test subject?
And just how had that certain probability of dropping dead been calculated?
The more Xiao Ran thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed, so he hastily said:
"Living a lifetime is like a fleeting shadow. This disciple humbly believes that a plain and simple life is the true way. Mortals have no need to force longevity."
Lingzhou Yue also felt that this Thousand Year Pill was too absurd, so she asked, "Master, do you have any pills that can extend life by a hundred years?"
"There are indeed."
True Person Yinyue extended her flat palm once more, and amid swirling cyan light, a pill that was grayish-brown and bumpy appeared in her hand.
"This pill is called the Hundred Year Pill, specially refined in my youth for mortals of mediocre talent. Consuming it can extend life by a hundred years, but there is a very small probability that the taker will be left with a lifelong chronic illness."
A lifelong chronic illness, seriously! Xiao Ran's legs went weak, and he hurriedly said: "Practitioners value the Dao following nature and governing by non-action. This disciple walking this path in the immortal gates once is enough to comfort a lifetime; there is no need to forcefully extend life."
True Person Yinyue crushed the pill in her palm, smiled gently, and turned to Lingzhou Yue. "Junior nephew has such a penetrating insight. It is your good fortune."
Lingzhou Yue chuckled. Could one be a master builder without penetrating insight?
Yet he heard Xiao Ran ask from the side:
"Does Senior Uncle have any pills that only extend life by ten years?"
True Person Yinyue nodded slightly, quite satisfied with Xiao Ran's attitude of non-action and non-contention.
Not contending is what makes one lazy.
Contending too much easily leads to becoming a demon.
Non-action in contention is precisely the Dao following nature and the mindset of a supreme person.
For a mortal who had suddenly gained favor yet could maintain such a mindset, it was truly precious.
"I do."
"What are the side effects?"
"Bitter taste and clears internal heat."
Xiao Ran suddenly said in a solemn tone, "Such a fine medicine, please give this disciple one hundred of them."
True Person Yinyue's gentle voice choked off, and she actually found herself unable to speak...
Lingzhou Yue's sword-like brows twitched slightly, and she slapped Xiao Ran on the shoulder.
"Fool! A hundred Ten Year Pills cannot extend your life by a thousand years!"
"Eh, they can't?"
Xiao Ran deliberately asked in feigned surprise.
Of course he knew they couldn't! It was just that he had been somewhat annoyed by True Person Yinyue's successive probings of his state of mind with the Thousand Year Pill and Hundred Year Pill, so he had intentionally teased her.
This feeling was rather like being asked by the River God with an axe: Young woodcutter, did you drop this golden axe, or this silver axe, or this iron axe?
I dropped an entire Axe Gang! Xiao Ran disliked the feeling of being tested, being guessed at, and being pigeonholed, which was why he had deliberately put Senior Uncle on the spot.
As a result, he got beaten by Master...
Lingzhou Yue had not given up on the plan to extend Xiao Ran's life.
"Since the existing pills are useless, Master can check his body so we can refine a suitable, specialized longevity pill."
True Person Yinyue sighed. "The more I study alchemy, the more I understand that going against the heavens is unviable. You at least studied medicine with me for decades; why don't you understand such a simple principle? Junior Nephew Xiao is a very fine person, and of course you can keep him, but you still need to take on a few more direct disciples so your swordsmanship doesn't lose its inheritance in this Dharma Ending Era."
The moment Lingzhou Yue heard this, her head pounded, and she hurriedly pursed her lips and said:
"Can't a mortal inherit my swordsmanship? Don't look at this fellow's clumsiness; there might come a day when his swordsmanship surpasses mine."
Seeing that Lingzhou Yue's mind was made up, True Person Yinyue stopped trying to persuade her and only said:
"In that case, I will find time to arrange a body dissection and herbal bath for him."
Lingzhou Yue smiled with dashing grace, thinking to herself that Master still loved her after all!
"Many thanks, Master."
Yet Xiao Ran stood frozen on the spot with a face full of dark lines.
He understood the herbal bath, but what on earth was a body dissection?
Just as a chill ran down his spine, Master patted him and pointed at the herb field with her wine bamboo tube.
"The Elder Council is still more than half an hour away. Clear the weeds and plow the wasteland in Senior Uncle's herb field for her; consider it fulfilling a bit of filial piety."
Xiao Ran's ears twitched like a rabbit's.
Keyword: fulfilling a bit of filial piety.
Could this be a new way to fleece the system? Helping Master fulfill filial piety for Senior Uncle...
Fulfilling filial piety on someone else's behalf?
It was worth a try! Xiao Ran focused his mind to open the system shop and searched for farming skills.
Max Level Farming Skill: Includes max level land preparation, seed selection, seedling cultivation, fertilization, irrigation, pest control, weed removal, peer grafting, etc... Total price 9 filial piety points, does host wish to confirm purchase?
For Xiao Ran, investing in farming skills was already part of his plan.
Sword-Wielding Mountain was too glaringly bald, and he had been preparing to grow some good things to properly show filial piety to Master.
Now, investing in advance to run an experiment was nothing inappropriate.
"Purchase!"
Congratulations host for acquiring: Max Level Farming Skill! (Consumed 9 filial piety points, remaining 28 filial piety points)
Xiao Ran's brain buzzed, and he was instantly sublimated.
In just a single flash, his sea of consciousness became as clear as a starlit sky.
Soon, his head was filled with all sorts of minor farming knowledge, seed-seeking techniques, pulling sprouts to help them grow, plowing postures, enduring irrigation, tuber grafting...
Bizarre knowledge had increased!
Stepping into the herb field once more, Xiao Ran looked at the spiritual plants in the plots, and his gaze was completely different—everything was crystal clear to him.
The two little lasses were striding across the herb beds, their four short legs poking back and forth as they walked with the swagger of big bosses.
Chunwa shook her head and wagged her brain, instructing Xiao Ran:
"Junior brother, these are spiritual beds, completely different from ordinary fields! Are you sure you really know how to weed and catch bugs? The bugs here bite, and the weeds are poisonous, you know!"
Qiuchan appeared somewhat aloof, her demeanor haughty as she said:
"Do you know the four cultivation methods for spiritual fields?"
East Cliff of the herb field.
Cyan clouds and a sea of mist filled the morning glow.
Rows of purple maples bathed in thin mist and the morning light.
Amidst the swirling morning glow, golden light suddenly burst forth like boiling molten iron, splashing outward to escort the sun wheel as it rose grandly among the mountain ranges!
Half the clouds turned from dark red to dazzling golden yellow in layers and sheets, intensifying until they dyed the entire heaven and earth red in the blink of an eye.
True Person Yinyue stood with her hands behind her back at the edge of the cliff.
The morning breeze rose abruptly, stirring strands of silver hair and revealing boundless gentleness alongside a hint of vicissitudes.
"I wonder how many places in the Cultivation World can still see the sunrise, and I wonder how much longer we can watch the sunrise on Zongzhi Mountain."
Lingzhou Yue poured herself a mouthful of murky wine.
The mountain wind whipped fiercely, blowing her loose cyan robe into a figure that made one's mouth water.
"Since the general trend is irreversible, there's nothing to worry about after all. If we're going to die, we die together—isn't that rather magnificent?"
True Person Yinyue shook her head.
"The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. In this day and age, it's probably difficult for you to go on living at ease."
"Cough, cough, living at ease? I'm earnestly teaching my disciple, you know."
"You always walk the most rugged paths."
Lingzhou Yue's face sank as she tossed out her universal counter.
"This is also a form of cultivation."
Unable to outtalk her, True Person Yinyue merely reminded her, "I won't speak up for you at the Elder Council; think it over yourself."
"What a coincidence, I won't speak up for him either."
Lingzhou Yue turned around and looked off in the distance at Xiao Ran.
"Don't look at him as having heavenly-trash-grade, useless aptitude; he still has some talent in certain areas."
True Person Yinyue stood at the cliff's edge, hands behind her back, watching the sun, finding this hedonistic disciple of hers quite a headache.
"I certainly don't believe you took him on as a direct disciple for the sake of some special talent."
Lingzhou Yue raised her wine vessel for a deep drink.
"Then we'll just have to wait and see."
When she said those words, she had never imagined that a mere half-hour later, True Person Yinyue would stand startled and frozen by the edge of the field...
Before you continue