Longevity Surprise

As Liang Shaotian departed into the distance, the many cultivators on Bamboo Leaf Mountain let out long sighs of relief.

The two Foundation Establishment Ancestors felt as though a great burden had been lifted.

At that moment, sounds of slaughter and spellcasting rose and fell from within several dozen miles around the marketplace.

"Bastard, you dare launch an attack!"

"You evil cultivator brats! Everyone, join forces!"

"Not good! It's the Evil-Faced Flying Eagle!"

Although Liang Shaotian had flaunted his might before leaving, his earlier slaughter of the Zhou Family's Foundation Establishment cultivators had set an example.

Some robber cultivators and Evil Path cultivators hiding their identities took advantage of Liang Shaotian's attack to fish in troubled waters, killing people and seizing treasures.

For instance, the Evil-Faced Flying Eagle who had once attacked Mu Xiuyun.

Even some ordinary cultivators could not resist their greed and targeted those who had flaunted their wealth at the auction.

Among them, two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators even fought fiercely, sending sand and stones flying while wild winds howled.

The scene descended into chaos for a time.

Among the clouds.

A handsome man with flowing long hair looked down at the fighting below. His thin, cold lips curled into a sinister arc as he clicked his tongue and laughed.

"Whether the Cultivation World of Liang Kingdom is orderly or chaotic is for me, Liang Shaotian, to decide!"

"One day, I will restore the glory of the Profound Yin Demonic Path and overturn the heavens of the Great Qing Cultivation World!"

Liang Shaotian let out a long howl, wild and unrestrained.

His speed grew faster and faster. Bamboo Leaf Mountain in his rearward view had already shrunk to the size of a pebble.

He cast one final glance at the marketplace, a deep wariness surfacing in his eyes.

"A Nascent Soul Great Cultivator who does not belong to this era—Yan Donglai!"

"There was actually a record of that great cultivator in the ancient texts of the Demonic Path's inheritance."

It turned out that years ago, when Liang Shaotian had suffered a setback in the Mu Family's Medicine Garden and been rebuked by Lan Chang'an, he had been unwilling to accept it and returned to search through Demonic Path texts.

As a result.

One lone surviving volume of the Profound Yin Demonic Sect contained a few scattered mentions of Yan Donglai, that Nascent Soul great cultivator.

Its general meaning was this: Ten thousand years ago, a legendary Nascent Soul great cultivator named "Yan Donglai" had come to the Great Qing Cultivation World.

At the time, the leaders of both the righteous and demonic paths had personally welcomed him.

As for any other details, none were known.

Liang Shaotian had specifically searched through many ancient books as well, yet found no other records of Yan Donglai.

From this, Liang Shaotian no longer had any doubt about the identity of the remnant soul within Lan Chang'an. He kept his thoughts tightly guarded.

Nor did he dare rashly approach the cultivator possessed by that old monster.

"I can't remain in this region any longer. I still need to find several precious materials before I can begin refining the Black Astral Demonic Flame."

"Luckily, those two Huang Family Foundation Establishment cultivators had never seen the world. One scare was enough to make them retreat."

Liang Shaotian revealed a contemptuous smile.

At Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market, the sounds of slaughter outside gradually subsided.

Quite a few cultivators remained in the marketplace and did not dare venture out easily, fearing that Liang Shaotian and the other robber cultivators had not yet left.

"Senior Yan, might you be willing to come out and meet us?"

The Huang Family's two Old Ancestors floated in midair above the marketplace, cupping their hands toward all directions with respectful voices.

Senior Yan?

Upon hearing the Huang Family Foundation Establishment Ancestors, Lan Chang'an felt a trace of strange amusement.

At the time, Liang Shaotian had held the Black Astral Demonic Flame in his hand, looking as though he intended to destroy the marketplace.

Lan Chang'an had been thoroughly speechless. He had never seen anyone so skilled at putting on airs.

The Huang Family's two Foundation Establishment cultivators were far too cowardly.

Had they fought with all their strength and coordinated with the other neutral Foundation Establishment cultivators, they would have had every chance of killing Liang Shaotian.

After all, Liang Shaotian's cultivation was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment Early Stage, inferior to Huang Tankong at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Upon reaching Foundation Establishment, the gap between every minor realm was immense, let alone when there was a numerical advantage.

The so-called Black Astral Demonic Flame was merely impressive in appearance.

Its outward aura was indeed terrifying, but it had not actually been refined successfully.

With the discernment of his Previous Life at Peak Core Formation, Lan Chang'an naturally saw through it at a glance.

"Since Senior Yan does not wish to meet us, we shall not disturb you."

In midair, Huang Tankong cupped his hands again with great courtesy.

For Liang Shaotian to fear him and address him as senior, he was at least a Pseudo-Core True Person. The likelihood of him being at True Core or higher was even greater.

It was only natural for such an old monster wandering the mortal world to refuse to show himself. The Huang Family Foundation Establishment cultivators had expected it.

Their display was merely a gesture of respect.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, are your injuries all right?"

The two Huang Family Foundation Establishment cultivators, Huang Tankong and Huang Changling, descended before a Cave Abode near the mountaintop.

Zhou Jingxuan, the Zhou Family Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been severely injured earlier, was recovering within the Cave Abode.

The Restriction opened, and the two entered the Cave Abode.

"It is nothing serious. Fortunately, Qingxuan was quick-witted and kept my severed arm intact, then reattached it for me in time."

Zhou Jingxuan lay weakly on the bed, one arm wrapped in bandages that gave off a peculiar medicinal fragrance.

The young woman in yellow tending to him was Zhou Qingxuan.

After learning what had happened, Huang Changling looked astonished. "Miss Zhou, how did you determine that preserving his life this way would work?"

Given the circumstances then, Liang Shaotian could have killed the two of them with ease.

"I once investigated Liang Shaotian out of curiosity. I heard that he cared deeply about face and acted entirely according to his mood. Most cultivators who survived at his hands had said flattering things to him."

Still shaken, Zhou Qingxuan forced a smile.

The Huang Family's two Foundation Establishment cultivators looked surprised upon hearing this.

They silently resolved that after returning to the lineage, they would certainly pass this crucial information on to the younger generation. If they were unfortunate enough to encounter Liang Shaotian someday, they might still be able to fight for a sliver of survival.

After the Huang Family Foundation Establishment cultivators left.

Zhou Jingxuan lifted his eyelids and said unhappily.

"Qingxuan, next time you cut off your uncle's arm, could you give me a warning first?"

"Hehe, I did it for Uncle Jingxuan's own good. Better a short pain than a long one."

Zhou Qingxuan dispelled her gloom with a smile, returning to her lively and playful self.

After a moment of silence, she softly said, "Uncle Jingxuan, I don't want to return to the Zhou Family."

"You want to remain at Bamboo Leaf Mountain? Cultivators from the lineage will handle the businesses here."

Zhou Jingxuan asked in confusion.

"I want to settle myself here for several years and investigate that mysterious Senior Yan while I'm at it."

Zhou Qingxuan stated her decision.

"Senior Yan? How could you possibly find such a mysterious figure playing amid worldly dust? In the Cultivation World, excessive curiosity is no good thing."

Zhou Jingxuan did not approve and tried to persuade her.

But when he saw the young woman pout and bite her lip, he knew he would not be able to change her mind.

Zhou Qingxuan was usually playful and clever, making her quite likable, but at times she could be terribly stubborn.

Two days later, Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market gradually returned to normal.

Most cultivators who had attended the auction departed.

The marketplace became much quieter.

Yet the tea houses and wine taverns still carried discussions of Liang Shaotian and Senior Yan.

The crisis and turmoil at the auction left psychological shadows on many cultivators who had come from afar.

For many years afterward, Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market's popularity never reached the Huang Family's expectations.

The bustle of this auction seemed to have been the historical peak of the marketplace.

On the third floor of the Spirit Talisman Shop.

Lan Chang'an set up an array and several layers of Restrictions within his room.

He took out the First-Order Longevity Pill he had purchased at the auction from his Storage Bag.

The marketplace had been crowded and full of watchful eyes over the past two days, while Mu Xiuyun had remained in the shop.

He had not dared casually consume the Longevity Pill to test it.

Now, it had finally quieted down.

Lan Chang'an looked at the dark bluish-black pill in his palm, which emitted a strange odor.

It was difficult to imagine that this was the exceptionally precious Longevity Pill of the Cultivation World.

As he circulated the Evergreen Art, the mana within Lan Chang'an's body stirred restlessly, further confirming his guess.

He sat cross-legged, swallowed the First-Order Longevity Pill, closed his eyes, and quietly sensed its effects.

The instant the Longevity Pill entered his stomach, Evergreen Mana surged forth and swallowed the pill in one gulp.

The very next moment.

Lan Chang'an's heartbeat accelerated as he caught a far stronger aura of the turning of ages than before.

In just a few breaths, he seemed to transform into a towering ancient tree, experiencing spring's departure and autumn's arrival, the cycle of life, again and again.

After ten repeated cycles, the Longevity Pill's medicinal effect faded.

Within his State of Mind, an insight into the vicissitudes of countless years had appeared.

"Ten years of added lifespan?"

Lan Chang'an opened his deep eyes, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

He could clearly sense that the upper limit of his lifespan had increased by ten years.

That was double the five years he had anticipated.

This surprised him greatly. After pondering for a long while, he could only guess that the Evergreen Art could maximize the benefits absorbed from the Longevity Pill.

Lan Chang'an carefully sensed the changes in his mana again.

Before long, an expression of wild joy appeared on his face.

"This Longevity Pill not only increases the upper limit of my lifespan, it even raises the strength of my mana by a trace."

Lan Chang'an was overjoyed.

Given his own special circumstances, he suspected that taking a second or third Longevity Pill might not necessarily be ineffective for him.

Perhaps it would no longer provide such excellent lifespan-extending effects, but the possibility of enhancing his mana was considerable.

Unfortunately, he had not dared purchase a second Longevity Pill at the time.

Apart from the pressure exerted by those elderly cultivators, buying a second pill would not have conformed to reason.

After all, for ordinary cultivators, taking a second Longevity Pill of the same order had no effect.

Lan Chang'an thought to himself, In the future, aside from Longevity Pills, I need to keep an eye out for heavenly treasures that extend lifespan.

Taking a single lowest-order Longevity Pill had strengthened his mana by a trace.

If he could consume higher-order lifespan-extending treasures in the future, with their numbers accumulating, the results would be something to look forward to.

Moreover, the Evergreen Art itself grew stronger in mana the longer one lived.

At present, the Evergreen Art's mana was only slightly stronger than commonplace cultivation methods, but it could not compare with sect cultivation methods, especially lineage-defending cultivation methods.

If he lived for several hundred or even a thousand years and consumed large quantities of lifespan-extending treasures.

Then perhaps that plain and unremarkable Longevity Cultivation Art could rival a sect-defending cultivation method in power.

And that did not even account for the Evergreen Art's advantages in extending lifespan, nurturing one's nature, maintaining long and enduring vital energy, detoxifying poisons, healing injuries, and more.

After testing the Longevity Pill.

Lan Chang'an took out another dark gray turtle egg, roughly the size of an infant's fist.