Life Extension Earth Escape

"No harm done; this blood is useful to me. Fire Crows are difficult to catch, so one cannot force it."

Lin Changheng swept his gaze over the twenty-eight vials of essence blood. Seeing the varying thickness—the distinction between mature and juvenile specimens—he nodded with a smile.

Su Shuangjiang let out a sigh of relief. She had brought such a large quantity of Rock Mountain Turtle essence blood on a whim, and she had been worried that Lin Changheng might dismiss it as useless and refuse to accept it.

After all, bringing such a large amount of new essence blood was, in a sense, acting on her own initiative.

Fortunately, Brother Lin was not picky.

Lin Changheng then inquired about the price of the Rock Mountain Turtle essence blood and was told it was one spirit stone per vial.

Because Rock Mountain Turtles typically hid in the mountains beneath rocks, they were harder to discover than Fire Crows, despite both being low-grade demonic beasts.

Furthermore, capturing and killing them required shattering mountains and splitting stones, which demanded more effort and specialized methods, hence the higher price.

Lin Changheng understood this logic.

Although Fire Crows were wild, they could ultimately be domesticated, which drove their market price down; it could never be too high.

The Rock Mountain Turtle was different; it could not be domesticated—or at least, humans had yet to develop a method to do so—which naturally commanded a higher price.

"That is acceptable."

Lin Changheng stated his position.

There were nineteen vials of mature Rock Mountain Turtle essence blood and nine of the juvenile variety, totaling twenty-two spirit stones. Adding the Fire Crow essence blood, Lin Changheng owed twenty-seven in total.

By this calculation, he had to pay out an additional three spirit stones.

However, he paid them happily and willingly!

When it came to demonic beast essence blood, the more he had, the better!

The two chatted for a while longer, and Lin Changheng suddenly asked where he might acquire low-grade magical artifacts with a high cost-performance ratio.

He lacked a sense of security and needed more means to protect himself, and since the female cultivator often traveled outside, she might know.

Su Shuangjiang pondered for a moment. "If you want the best value, the black market is the place."

Lin Changheng shook his head with a smile. "Fairy Su, I am aware of the black market, but the area outside the market is chaotic; I fear it is too dangerous."

Upon hearing this, Su Shuangjiang cast a look of surprise with her beautiful eyes, studying her "Brother Lin" carefully for a few moments before covering her mouth and chuckling. "Brother Lin... are you always this steady?"

"Ahem." Lin Changheng heard the teasing in her tone but still nodded candidly. "Cultivation is like walking on thin ice; if one is not steady and cautious, how can one reach the other shore?"

"This little woman has been taught."

Su Shuangjiang smiled enchantingly, then turned serious. "However, I have heard a rumor that in half a month, the black market will, for the first time ever, relocate to the shantytown less than a hundred paces outside the market. I intend to go and see for myself."

Hm? Is that still a black market? The shantytown theoretically still falls under the market's jurisdiction and has patrol protection...

Has it been changed to a white market, an open market?

Lin Changheng was also taken aback.

"It is said that the master of the black market is the master of this very market. Now that the chaos outside the market is severely impacting business, that is why this rumor has emerged."

"I see. That makes sense."

The Qingfeng Ridge Wang Family must have ties to the black market, or perhaps it was opened under their direction. Now that they are preparing to withdraw, they have simply stopped pretending?

"When there is concrete news, I hope Fairy Su might let me know. It would be best if we could go together."

Lin Changheng smiled, even hoping to use the female cultivator as a free bodyguard.

"Very well." To Su Shuangjiang, this was a trivial matter; how could she refuse?

Once the arrangements were settled and he saw Su Shuangjiang to the door, Lin Changheng's thoughts stirred. He decided to reveal the definite news that "Zichuan Market will be abandoned," hoping she would make preparations early.

"This little woman understands."

Su Shuangjiang's expression shifted. She had already suspected as much, but there was a significant gap between suspicion and certainty. "Many thanks for the reminder, Brother Lin. I will consider this carefully."

Watching the female cultivator hurry away, Lin Changheng couldn't help but shake his head slightly. If the market were to fall, the impact on rogue cultivators would be the most profound.

What they would lose was the safe harbor where their paper boats were moored.

After seeing the female cultivator off, Lin Changheng quickly returned to his room and set to work absorbing the Fire Crow essence blood to perform Spirit Snatch!

A flash of light.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed: Second Layer]
[Spirit Snatch: 24/100]

"Not bad! I wonder what innate talents the Rock Mountain Turtle possesses, and what kind of strange arts it will bring me?"

Filled with anticipation, Lin Changheng reached into the small basin filled with the earth-yellow, shimmering Rock Mountain Turtle essence blood, his mind connecting with the Origin Cauldron.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the thick essence blood vanished, leaving only a shallow layer of clear water.

Within his sea of consciousness, the mouth of the Origin Cauldron surged with glowing mist once more, and a phantom treasure seed of earthy yellow slowly began to take form.

[Rock Mountain Turtle Treasure Species · Spirit Snatching Transformation in progress]

[Spirit Snatching: 11/100]

[Effect: Possesses miscellaneous monster beast bloodline, innate earth affinity, and the inherent talents of Earth Escape, Shield Opening, and Life Extension. Upon the completion of Spirit Snatching, one may choose one to refine.]

Lin Changheng's pupils constricted!

No way? What was he seeing?

Life Extension! It was actually Life Extension!

His heart hammered against his ribs.

"As the saying goes, 'The tortoise enjoys longevity'! One tortoise is passed down through three generations; the person dies, but the tortoise remains!"

"I never imagined that one day I would come into contact with a method for [Life Extension] so early, and it comes from a 'tortoise,' a monster beast known for its long life!"

"They say 'eternal life and long vision' and 'becoming an immortal or an ancestor'—one of the two ultimate goals of immortal cultivation has finally had a glimmer of hope!"

Lin Changheng took several deep, heavy breaths, only then allowing the frantic beating of his heart to gradually steady.

Excitement clouds reason, and impulsiveness leads to misjudgment!

Feeling it still wasn't enough, Lin Changheng went straight to the courtyard and doused himself with cold water. Only after the shock of the cold did he truly calm down and begin to think again.

"[Life Extension] can be put aside for now. I am only in my early thirties and have plenty of lifespan left; pursuing health preservation now seems a bit premature."

"Especially now that Land Reclamation is imminent, with undercurrents surging and the situation on all sides volatile and chaotic, it is extremely dangerous. I must prioritize self-preservation. After all, no matter how long one lives, if they are killed, they really die! Any amount of lifespan is useless then, all washed away into the void!"

"[Earth Escape]!"

"I will secure [Earth Escape] first to enrich my means of survival, and seek [Life Extension] in the future!"

"The root of everything is to stay alive first!"

After a mental struggle and straightening out his logic, Lin Changheng had a plan.

Soon, the time agreed upon by Lin Changheng and Su Shuangjiang arrived.

The two changed their appearances, concealed their features, and set off together.

Su Shuangjiang had confirmed the matter was true beforehand and notified Lin Changheng, which led to this trip.

At dusk, with the sky still bright, the two arrived at the shantytown. Vague silhouettes could be seen moving about inside; there were indeed quite a few people.

They paid ten Spirit Sand to be allowed entry.

Once inside, they discovered that everyone was in a hurry. When trading at the stalls, people either pointed silently or were as stingy with their words as gold, refusing to leak any extra information.

They feared their identities would be exposed, inviting malicious prying eyes.

Lin Changheng and Su Shuangjiang exchanged a glance, tacitly remaining silent as they split up to act.

They had already agreed earlier that once they finished their respective business, they would return to this spot to wait, regroup, and head back together.