Longevity Like a Dream

In a small courtyard in the north of the city, night had fallen.

Song You's letter had long been finished and was neatly folded on the table. He sat opposite Three Flower Lady, who had once again transformed into her human form. The quilt on the bed was tidily folded and placed to the side.

An oil lamp burned in the room, its flickering shadow dancing on the walls.

Song You asked, "Does Three Flower Lady know any spells?"

"Three Flower Lady knows how to catch mice."

"That's Three Flower Lady's skill, but it doesn't count as a spell," Song You shook his head.

"Three Flower Lady is good at receiving incense and fire. She can remember everyone who has offered incense to her and can find them," Three Flower Lady immediately added.

"That's Three Flower Lady's Spiritual Power, and it doesn't count as a spell either," Song You still shook his head. "Besides, Three Flower Lady has long since distanced herself from the Divine Path. If she doesn't absorb incense and fire for a long time, her Spiritual Power will naturally fade away."

"Three Flower Lady is very smart."

"That's also Three Flower Lady's skill."

"Then I don't know anything else..."

Three Flower Lady's tone was tinged with a hint of dejection.

"Now that Three Flower Lady has taken human form, why don't I teach you some spells? What do you think?"

"Okay, okay!"

"What does Three Flower Lady want to learn?"

"Everything!"

"You can only choose one."

"Why?"

"Learning spells isn't something that happens overnight. Mice have to be eaten one bite at a time. Moreover, many highly accomplished hermits with true cultivation only learn one or two spells in their entire lives, which is enough for them to roam the world and even be deified and worshipped as local deities," Song You said calmly, looking at her. "This path values depth, not breadth."

"Then what can you do?"

"I have the Fire Element Technique. At its lowest level, it can burn ghosts. At its middle level, it can burn Yao. At its highest level, it can burn gods and Mo. When taken to its extreme, it's like True Lord Huoyang; burning an entire city or country is not impossible."

"This one's good! This one's amazing!"

"Do you want to learn it?"

"If I learn it, will I not be afraid of the cold anymore?"

"Do I look like I'm afraid of the cold?"

"Then I won't learn it! I'll learn something else!"

"I have the Water Element Technique. Depending on the depth of cultivation, one can breathe freely underwater, summon waves, or call down rain and snow. When taken to its extreme, it's like True Lord Sea Splitter; one can divert rivers and change the colors of the four seas."

"If I learn it, can I go into the water to catch fish?"

"You don't need this technique to catch fish. Mortals can catch fish without going into the water," Song You said. "And you can catch a lot."

"Then I'll learn something else!"

"I have the Earth Element Technique. Again, depending on the depth of cultivation, one can raise walls of earth, turn stones into soldiers, or sit on a mountain and become a deity. When taken to its extreme, it's like Heavenly Venerate Thick Earth; one can raise mountains and sink valleys."

"Is this difficult?"

"You can get started in a few years."

"Are you very good at it?"

"I've dabbled in it a little, but not as well as the Fire Element."

"Then I'll keep looking."

"I have the Wood Element Technique. It can help all things grow, force fruits to ripen out of season, and make withered branches sprout. When taken to its extreme, it's like Immortal Elder Evergreen; one can bring the dead back to life, remain eternally young, and achieve immortality."

"The monkey would definitely like this one!"

"I also have the Metal Element Technique. It can swallow blades and break weapons, turn stone into gold, and point at the ground to make steel. When taken to its extreme, it's like Spirit Officer Gold; one becomes impervious to blades and spears, and utterly indestructible."

"How do you swallow a knife?"

"You can swallow a knife without it cutting you."

"Why would you eat a knife?"

The young girl's eyes widened in confusion.

"If you don't like those, I also have the Talisman method. It can expel ghosts and ward off Yao, summon thunder and fire. There are thousands of talismans, each with infinite uses."

"I am a Yao."

"I have the Spirit communication technique. It allows one to converse with ghosts and gods."

"Three Flower Lady doesn't like talking to gods."

"Don't be self-conscious."

"What is self-conscious?"

"..." Song You shook his head, "I also have the Summon and dismiss method, which allows me to retrieve objects from afar and return them to their original position. It's like fetching water into an empty cup or drinking a full goblet of wine."

"After learning this, can I make rats come to me themselves?"

"If one is proficient in this art, then yes."

"Then I want to learn this one!"

"Then Three Flower Lady will need patience. For ordinary people, it takes years to even get started with this method. At first, you can only retrieve things that are not far away, that you know of, and that belong to you. As your skill deepens, you can retrieve things that belong to others. At its peak, you can retrieve things from a thousand miles away, as long as you know the location, and retrieve or return them at will."

"How long will it take to catch rats?"

"For ordinary people, it takes anywhere from ten to several decades."

"Can you catch rats?"

"I've only learned the basics."

"Then..."

Three Flower Lady tilted its head and thought for a moment:

"Then I'll listen to the others first."

"Very good, listening more and choosing wisely without making rash decisions is a good thing," Song You praised. "Three Flower Lady is indeed exceptionally intelligent."

"Hurry up and tell me."

"I have the Beast gathering and bird taming method. After getting started, you can make wild beasts and mountain birds become fond of you, and make them understand your intentions. You can also understand their intentions. As your skill progresses, you can even command wild beasts, mountain birds, and even rare and exotic creatures of the world to serve you."

"Hmm..."

Three Flower Lady tilted its head and thought for a moment: "This can make rats come to me themselves, right?"

"That is possible."

"Then I'll learn this one!"

Song You smiled, but then said, "However, nothing in this world is perfect. All methods have limitations. Otherwise, they would have flaws, defects, or counters. Just like this Beast gathering and bird taming method, the practitioner must be completely at ease and full of goodwill when casting the spell. Not even a tiny speck of guilt or remorse is allowed, not even a trace that you yourself cannot detect."

"I don't understand."

"It means this is a mind technique. Anyone learning this method, regardless of their skill level, must first cultivate their mind," Song You paused. "And to achieve complete peace of mind, without any guilt or debt, depends on the cultivator's character. Some people need to be vegetarian their entire lives, while others only need to avoid using it to harm animals. Only a very, very few rare individuals in the world can use it to deceive and harm living beings."

"I don't understand."

"Three Flower Lady can use it to call rats over, but if you use it to catch and eat rats, it will stop working, or you might never be able to use it again. Your years of cultivation in this path will be ruined."

"Cats are supposed to eat rats."

"That's different."

"Why?"

"Just like me, every time I cast a spell, I face the animals with a pure and benevolent heart. Then, the animals are influenced by this, and with the spell's harmonization, they also treat me with pure benevolence. But if one day I were to use this method to exploit their pure benevolence and deceive them, I would no longer be able to summon that pure benevolent heart. " Song You paused. "Even if Three Flower Lady can currently do what only those extremely rare individuals in the world can do, believing that it's only natural to do so without a shred of guilt or remorse, as Three Flower Lady cultivates and learns over time, you will gradually understand the difference. At that point, years of hard work will be in vain."

"I don't understand."

"You'll understand slowly in the future."

"Oh."

Three Flower Lady continued to look at him expectantly.

"I also have the Dream weaving method. At the lowest level, it can be used to enter dreams and send messages. At the middle level, it can create dreams to trap people. At the highest level, it can weave dreams into the fabric of heaven and earth, and people live within them without knowing."

"Three Flower Lady dreams on its own, why would it want to enter others' dreams? Is it fun?"

"Does Three Flower Lady remember the first spell I mentioned?"

"Forgot."

"..."

"It's because you talk too much."

"Perhaps."

"Why do you know so many?"

"I only have a slight understanding of them."

"Still a lot."

"I am very powerful."

"Oh."

"What does Three Flower Lady want to learn? Have you decided?"

"Three Flower Lady doesn't know."

"Then does Three Flower Lady remember anything else?"

"Immortality."

"Haha..."

Song You couldn't help but chuckle a couple of times.

It seems that eternal youth and immortality are not only the ultimate pursuits of humans, but also of other living beings.

What a pity, what a pity...

Although Song You wasn't sure if the Wood element method could truly grant eternal youth and immortality when taken to its extreme, even if it could, the only one who could reach that extreme in this world would likely be Immortal Elder Evergreen.

As for whether Immortal Elder Evergreen achieved immortality through Prayer Power and faith, or through Magical Power, or even whether Immortal Elder Evergreen was real or fake, and whether he still existed now, who could tell?

"Taoist priest."

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you talking anymore?"

Has the Three Flower Lady ever heard of Dao Charm?

"No."

"There's a song about Dao charm that's quite good..."

Prefect Yu sat at the head of the table as a subordinate entered the room.

"Prefect, I've returned."

"Has the Mister accepted?"

"The Mister has accepted."

"It was indeed correct to send you."

"You flatter me, Prefect."

"It's good that he accepted..."

Prefect Yu waved his hand, dismissing the subordinate, and then fell into thought.

In these times, the Immortal Path was like the moon overhead, inherently mysterious and unattainable, further embellished by the works of poets and scholars throughout the ages, adding a unique hue. It was common for literati and scholars to yearn for the Immortal Path. Some great talents even styled themselves as banished or mortal immortals, often dreaming that they could, like the ancient poets, one day look up at the moon, or compose poetry while drunk, or through some chance encounter, suddenly gain enlightenment, then cast aside their mortal lives and ascend to immortality, thus achieving eternal youth and carefree freedom.

Prefect Yu had yearned for the Immortal Path and immortality in his youth, even inviting a few friends to famous mountains in search of immortality, but to no avail. Now, nearing fifty, he still often searched for pill recipes to refine elixirs for himself.

Each pill he consumed brought him a step further away from this chaotic world.

The Mister today might not have been an immortal, but he was certainly one of the rare transcendent figures Prefect Yu had ever met. It was a pity that their conversation had not yielded the answers he sought.

Perhaps it was because his acquaintance with the Mister was too shallow; speaking of profound matters to someone he barely knew, the Mister naturally wouldn't say much.

But what could he do?

Who could guess the thoughts and preferences of these reclusive masters? He had previously heard that the Mister enjoyed listening to the zither and had been full of confidence, thinking he could use Yang Jinsheng to deepen his connection with the Mister. Yet, how could he have imagined that the Mister only wanted to listen to the music and had no interest in the person playing the zither on the other side of the wall? It was already fortunate that he had chanced upon the Mister fiddling with an inkstick.

Besides, he should be content—

Just these few words today were astonishing enough.

Prefect Yu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Were there truly no gods or immortals when the heavens and earth first opened?

Were there no gods or immortals when the sun and moon first rose?

Then how could one become an immortal?

Immortals could surely live forever, right?

Or perhaps not?

He sat there until the sky grew dark, lost in thought, fantasy, and contemplation.

It wasn't until his wife came to tell him to blow out the lamp and go to sleep, and he lay in bed, that he still kept his eyes open, staring into the void of darkness. Moonlight streamed faintly through the window, and he began to ponder the gods and immortals in the Moon Palace. If he were to become an immortal, he would surely fly to the Moon Palace often for recreation.

Somehow, he fell asleep.

In his drowsy state, he actually heard someone singing. The lyrics were profound, the voice somewhat aged, and the singing rough, yet it possessed a natural, rustic charm. It drifted leisurely, reminding him of an old Taoist priest, and the sound naturally seemed to emanate from a Taoist temple deep in the mountains, carrying with it the scent of incense.

"Since ancient times, flowers have not bloomed forever, and the moon has never been perfectly round.

"No matter how much gold and jade you pile up, it's hard to buy immortality.

"Can birds have cranes of a thousand years? Rare indeed are people who live a hundred years.

"Life is fleeting, death is vast.

"When will you awaken? How can you live long if you desire it?

"...

"Where have the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors gone? Where are the Dukes and Ministers of past dynasties?

"Just look at the Green history, who can escape impermanence?

"..."