The Way to Survive

"I had many friends, but sadly, they all died."

Liu Jiao's expression was perfectly calm, with no trace of sorrow. He smiled at Chen Xuan and the others. "Now, you'll become my friends too. I hope you can live a little longer and repay me with some help when you have the ability in the future."

His tone was somewhat humorous, but no one found it funny.

Afterward, Liu Jiao took the book handed over by the ancient scholar and pointed to some names within, asking the Qi Refiners about their current circumstances.

Chen Xuan had been born into poverty and had no qualifications to know these people. He had never even heard of most of them.

Occasionally, someone answered Liu Jiao's questions. More often, there was only silence.

Sometimes Liu Jiao sighed. "This person and I hit it off quite well back then. He should have attained the Dao Repository Realm, yet he died in a battle of magic arts so early."

Sometimes he laughed loudly. "I knew this Qing Yazi would take a crooked path once he reached the pinnacle of the Cauldron Furnace Realm and found no hope ahead... Lu Zhuan, who is this person? Why didn't he come to see me when he was young? Could he have attained the Dao Repository Realm within twenty years and missed me?"

Sometimes he fell silent. "Over the past two or three hundred years, did that peerless prodigy succeed in Hidden in the Mortal World? Is he dead or alive? Where is he? Could it be that there hasn't been a single word of news about him by now?"

Sometimes he sneered. "I've suffered a huge loss. After a hundred investments, not one of them became anything. What use are you later generations?"

Most of the people Liu Jiao asked about were prominent figures from the past few hundred years.

He did not ask a single question about events from even earlier times.

Chen Xuan listened with great interest from the side. He felt his knowledge and experience growing once again, and that his horizons had been greatly broadened. He had always enjoyed hearing such strange stories and unusual anecdotes.

After roughly half an hour, Liu Jiao finished his questions.

"You people who appeared over these twenty years are the poorest-quality batch I've ever seen."

Liu Jiao rose to his feet, resembling a schoolteacher admonishing his pupils, and continued, "But there are things used by some old friends that I have no use for. I can't let their treasures gather dust, so I'm giving them to you today."

"These things cannot be given away for nothing. If someone tries to deal with my secluded Peach Blossom Garden in the future, you'll have to lend a hand."

Every Heaven's Chosen had their own way to survive.

This was the way the Longevity Species survived... Unable to cultivate, they could only rely on the strong.

The scene instantly boiled over. Everyone shouted, "Naturally!" and "Of course I'm someone who repays kindness!"

Aristocratic Clan disciples like Wang Ling'er and Xie Cheng, who received benefits from generation to generation, were even more excited. "As long as our Lineage exists, we'll guarantee the Peach Blossom Garden peace for as long as it exists!"

It was happening. It was happening.

The Longevity Species was giving things away!

Most of those present were not ungrateful people. In any case, Liu Jiao placed no restrictions on them. If something happened to the Peach Blossom Garden in the future, they would naturally lend a hand if they could; if they couldn't, they could simply stand by and watch...

Before long, the ancient scholar led a group of clansmen in carrying out a large chest filled with all kinds of old artifacts.

"There's no need to rush. Everyone will get a share."

Among the forty or fifty Qi Refiners present, Chen Xuan belonged to the group with the greatest talent, so he quickly received an old artifact.

It was a jade bangle, crystal clear and translucent. At a glance... it seemed rather ordinary.

"You possess a trace of ancient appearance and have tremendous prospects. Ancestor Liu Jiao says you have the potential to reach the Cauldron Furnace Realm, but your chances of Hidden in the Mortal World are slim. It would be best not to force it."

The ancient scholar pointed at the jade bangle and continued, "In ancient times, an Extraterritorial Immortal Maiden entered the Peach Blossom Garden when she was young and touched this object... Later, before she vanished from the world and her Dao fell, she had already established a sect and proclaimed herself its ancestor, nearly becoming an immortal. I'm giving this to you today. Ancestor Liu Jiao hopes you'll burn the midnight oil and have a splendid future."

"Thank you for your auspicious words."

Chen Xuan thanked him. Stroking the smooth jade bangle with his finger, he thought, This thing looks ordinary, yet it has such an astonishing origin. It was touched by someone who nearly became an immortal.

When one person attained the Dao, even the chickens and dogs around them ascended to Heaven. This was no mere saying.

One had to understand that the might of ancient Qi Refiners soared beyond the heavens. Anything connected to them was no longer ordinary. Even the roads they had walked could rise into paths of Ascend to Immortality, while the traces of the Great Dao left behind would take a very long time to gradually subside.

At the same time, Chen Xuan wondered whether the objects in the room where he had stayed last night had already been sealed away.

If he were fortunate enough to become an immortal in the future, would the things he had touched also be given by Liu Jiao to destined people in later generations tens of millions of years from now?

"This is an object that nearly became immortal!"

Several Qi Refiners stared feverishly at the jade bangle in Chen Xuan's hand.

The jade bangle had been touched by an ancient person who had nearly become an immortal. Once it was taken out and washed by the passage of tens of millions of years, combined with the Great Dao resonance left in the world by that near-immortal, it was impossible to imagine what kind of supreme treasure it would transform into!

"Although it isn't a true Ancient Sage Relic, it's still astonishing enough. It belongs to the highest level of gifts."

A Qi Refiner spoke enviously. Because his talent was limited, Liu Jiao had given him only an old artifact touched by an ordinary high-level Qi Refiner.

No one would foolishly hope that Liu Jiao would give away a true Ancient Sage Relic. Every such item given away meant one less remained.

"It's said that all the Ancient Sage Relics in Liu Jiao's hands have already been given away. Now, the most precious things he possesses are these objects that nearly became immortal. But times have changed, and the great figures who reached the heavens no longer appear in the world. There are very few of these things left now."

Someone muttered to himself, feeling that Chen Xuan's luck was exceptionally good. He had actually obtained such a treasure.

Liu Jiao was merely a member of the Longevity Species who could not cultivate. Even though the Peach Blossom Garden attracted young geniuses, over tens of millions of years, how many of those geniuses could successfully set foot on the Connecting Heaven Immortal Path?

Indeed, during ancient times, Liu Jiao had known some ancient Qi Refiners.

But those ancient Qi Refiners had long since vanished from the world and seen their Daos fall.

It was said that this Peach Blossom Garden was a fragment of an Ancient Mountain Sea severed by the last ancient Qi Refiner he knew, out of consideration for their childhood bond, before he himself was about to perish.

Because of this, Liu Jiao had been able to survive safely in the world without being captured by people with ulterior motives and studied for alchemy.

After that, Liu Jiao had immediately compromised, sending out all the Ancient Sage Relics in one fell swoop and forming many good karmic ties. But some people also guessed that he had secretly kept one or two items.

Hah, another thing meant for women.

Chen Xuan felt somewhat helpless inside. Although this object was excellent, it looked absurd for him to use it. A martial man wearing a jade bangle on his wrist—what kind of image would that be if someone happened to see him?

He had already felt a faint sense of shame fighting with a jade hairpin before. Now he had received something like this as well...

Some people watched Chen Xuan from the shadows, their gazes unfriendly. Among the old artifacts Liu Jiao had given away, the objects that nearly became immortal could be counted on one hand.

No one would dare harbor ill intentions toward powerful people like Yan Yushu and the tiger demon, but someone like Chen Xuan, who stood alone, was clearly much easier to deal with.

But more Qi Refiners were content yet cautious. Wang Ling'er, for example, had been sternly warned by her elders and immediately left at top speed.

She did not even wait for some acquaintances from Red Crow City. She left the village and descended the mountain at once, wanting only to bring the high-level cultivator's relic back to her Household forces as quickly as possible.

Soon, the ancient scholar finished distributing the old artifacts, and the Qi Refiners began leaving one after another... The Peach Blossom Garden Secret Realm could be maintained for only a few short days. It was better to leave early than late. If they accidentally remained behind, they would have to wait another twenty years.

Chen Xuan did not leave. He was waiting, waiting for all unrelated people to leave. He still had one extremely dangerous thing to do.

But in the next moment, someone moved ahead of him.

A young man in black robes stepped forward. His features were handsome, his eyes resembling those of a phoenix, and his bearing carried a hint of gloom. With a smile on his face, he took a letter from his sleeve and walked toward Liu Jiao of the Longevity Species.

"Senior Liu, there's still one matter that my elders would like to trouble you with."

"..."

Chen Xuan withdrew the leg he had been about to step forward with.