Longevity

Jing Pu was dumbfounded. Here he was just moments ago, thinking this and that, even thinking of becoming some respected grand alchemy master. In this situation, what the hell was there to think about?!

At most three days, and he would starve to death here. Ling Tiannan and Ling An'an would at best burn two extra sticks of incense for him.

No... he had to make a trip back to Qinghe Town. Jing Pu did not want to think about any of this mess right now. He first had to solve his food problem.

Cultivating immortality really was not something humans were meant to do. Cultivators did not eat—who could possibly endure that?

Jing Pu gave it some simple thought. He would go to Qinghe Town and buy some food seeds—potatoes, eggplants, all sorts of things. He did not know whether they had them here.

In any case, just like during his three years in Void Space, he would grow his own vegetables and cook his own food.

With Shen Nong, Jing Pu was absolutely confident that no matter what kind of vegetable it was, he could make it flower and bear fruit within a month, enough to feed himself.

If that was the plan, then he needed to leave now.

It took three or four days to walk to Qinghe Town. If he rode a horse, he estimated he could arrive in one day.

Jing Pu did not intend to trouble Ling An'an with this. After all, she was an immortal cultivator, not his personal driver. If he did it himself, he would have food and clothing in abundance.

He just did not know whether there were horses here. Jing Pu found someone and asked, and there really were.

Although the Divine Sword Sect was an immortal cultivation sect, it still maintained connections with the mortal world. Moreover, not everyone here could ride swords through the air. Sword flight required at least Foundation Establishment cultivation. Outer Disciples at the Qi Refining stage relied entirely on horses when they went out.

Since there were horses, there was no need to hurry. Jing Pu needed to go back and sort things out first... most importantly... he had no money.

Jing Pu looked around his house... there were quite a few sparkling, glittering things inside. He would sneak out a few inconspicuous pieces and sell them.

Though that was not exactly honorable, he could not just starve to death.

Once he refined pills and had money in the future, he would redeem them.

After returning, Jing Pu casually selected a few items. After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave Ling Tiannan a note.

Though riding was fast, if he set out overnight, he could reach Qinghe Town by tomorrow afternoon. But if he dawdled around in Qinghe Town and then came back, it would take three or four days no matter what.

After leaving the note, Jing Pu thought for a moment, then suddenly took a glittering golden brush and an ink-black inkstone that seemed capable of swallowing even light from his Space Bag.

These had all been given to Jing Pu by the system. Whenever one of his skills reached its pinnacle, the system gifted him some related items.

The golden brush had been gifted after his calligraphy reached its pinnacle, while the inkstone had been gifted after his Painting Intent reached its pinnacle.

That old man Ling Tiannan had treated Jing Pu very well. Jing Pu was also the sort of person who returned kindness with kindness, so he wanted to show his true ability and paint Ling Tiannan a proper picture. After all, this was about the only skill he had.

As for what to paint... Jing Pu thought about it... How about painting Penglai Island for Ling Tiannan, then writing the two characters "Longevity" in the blank space?

Jing Pu could tell that old man Ling Tiannan did not have much time left. As for why Jing Pu could tell... it was because his physiognomy had also reached its pinnacle.

Though Jing Pu could not really help Ling Tiannan with anything, painting him something and praying for a good omen was still wonderful. Did not cultivators pursue immortality precisely for longevity?

Having decided on the subject, Jing Pu immediately swept his hand grandly and began painting.

Jing Pu had long since brought these arts to their pinnacle, so from conception to completion to adding his final signature, it took only twenty minutes.

After finishing the painting, before the ink had even dried, Jing Pu packed up his things and placed the painting on the table. When Ling Tiannan came looking for him tomorrow, he would see it.

Having done all that, Jing Pu hurried toward the Divine Sword Sect's Jade Horse Pavilion.

When he arrived at the Jade Horse Pavilion and announced his name, the old Daoist guarding the place immediately took Jing Pu to choose a Jade Horse upon hearing it.

That afternoon, Ling Tiannan had already notified the entire Divine Sword Sect that whatever Jing Pu wanted, they were to give it to him—and give him the best!

The Jade Horses here were different from ordinary horses on Earth. They were mounts unique to immortal cultivators.

Not only were these horses exceptionally tall, they were also exceedingly beautiful. Their entire bodies were snow-white and translucent like gemstones, gleaming with a soft silver radiance in the dark night.

At the sight of the Jade Horse, Jing Pu felt a surge of delight. This horse looked like a truly fine steed. If he rode a horse like this... perhaps he could reach Qinghe Town tomorrow morning and have breakfast.

Jing Pu did not stand on ceremony. He immediately swung himself onto the horse.

Jing Pu could ride horses, and he was extremely skilled at it, because his God of War skill had reached its pinnacle two years ago.

Speaking of which, back in Void Space, Jing Pu had no living horse to practice on. He had used his pinnacle-level Lu Ban skill to make a wooden horse and practiced riding that. It chafed him so badly he had nearly developed hemorrhoids.

Mounted on the horse, Jing Pu was now dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited steed, brimming with high aspirations—how dashing he looked!

However, Jing Pu had no time to admire himself. After greeting the old Daoist at the Jade Horse Pavilion, he flicked the reins and rode the Jade Horse toward Qinghe Town like a flash of silver light, a fleeting shadow.

A gigantic Wind Spirit Beast was gliding through the skies above the Blazing Dynasty.

The Wind Spirit Beast was the result of an upgraded griffin bloodline. Its entire body glowed blue-green, and it was as large as a sailing ship. Two people stood atop it, a man and a woman.

The woman stood on the Wind Spirit Beast's head, her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she swept her gaze over the pitch-black surroundings.

She was incomparably beautiful. Every beautiful word in the world could have been used to describe her. Beneath that peerless face, she possessed the grace of rosy clouds and the charm of moonlight, the misty elegance of mountain haze and cloud-veiled peaks. Her bearing was like that of a true celestial maiden from the Ninth Heavens.

Clad in white, she was shrouded in a hazy white glow beneath the moonlight, beautiful beyond all measure.

She was Ling Ju, the Holy Maiden of the Jade Pond, hailed as the most beautiful woman in the Northern Province.

Meanwhile, the young man behind her looked at Ling Ju and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Big Sis~~ You've become even prettier. You only went to the Jade Pool Holy Land for one year, yet you already have such bearing. You're truly so beautiful!"

But as soon as the young man finished speaking, Ling Ju suddenly turned around and glared at him with her beautiful eyes.

"Cut the nonsense. Tell me right now, where is that peak Golden Core demon beast you mentioned?!"

Ling Ju was somewhat angry. This young man was her biological younger brother, Ling Jing, and also a direct-line prince of the Bei Lan Dynasty.

The two of them should have been in the imperial city, preparing for the Myriad Sect Grand Ceremony.

But Ling Jing had pestered her endlessly, insisting that there was a Golden Core demon beast here in the Blazing Dynasty and that they should come early to eliminate it.

Ling Ju naturally knew that her younger brother had nearly been driven mad from being cooped up in the imperial city by their father all day. Perhaps he simply wanted an excuse to come out early and have some fun.

But she thought that even if they did not find a Golden Core demon beast, they could still come early to the Divine Sword Sect and study the Ten-Thousand Army Formation. After all, the reason the Divine Sword Sect could host the once-in-a-century Myriad Sect Grand Ceremony was precisely because of the Ten-Thousand Army Formation. Thus, it would not be entirely fooling around and wasting time, so she had finally agreed.

Yet... just as expected, they had not found any Golden Core demon beast. That alone would have been fine... but most importantly, Ling Jing did not even know where the Divine Sword Sect was. The two of them... had gotten a little lost.

Ling Jing stood there with an embarrassed expression, his hands behind his back, not daring to look at Ling Ju.

Ling Jing feared neither Heaven nor Earth; the only people he feared were his father and his biological elder sister. When he was young, this sister of his had beaten him quite badly.

Seeing him like this, Ling Ju shook her head helplessly.

"Forget it, forget it. Let's return the way we came. After we go back this time, don't even think about using me again to fool Father into letting you out."

Ling Jing froze, his face falling as he drew out his voice and pleaded.

"Big Sis~~~~"

However, just as Ling Jing was about to say something, he suddenly froze and looked ahead of the Wind Spirit Beast. A silver-white figure was racing toward them.

Though they could not clearly make out the silver-white figure's appearance, the aura emanating from it made both of them slightly alarmed.

Ling Jing immediately stood atop the Wind Spirit Beast's head, furrowed his brow, and shouted.

"Who goes there? State your name!"

One second later, the person below shouted back.

"Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"

The person below was Jing Pu, but... Jing Pu was so hungry that stars were dancing before his eyes. Why would he bother with them? He just blurted out some nonsense.

Jing Pu inwardly grumbled, Who the hell cares who I am? If that demon beast you people are riding didn't look so imposing, and if you didn't look like you had serious backing, I wouldn't even bother to humor you.

Ling Ju and Ling Jing atop the Wind Spirit Beast were both:

"???"