Re-entering Longevity

[The Great Evolution had its epochs, its primordial assemblies alternating; Heaven too had its lifespan—could Earth be without its end? If the Heavenly Dao were truly endless, whence came the changing of cold and heat? If the thick earth truly had no day of exhaustion, how could seas turn into mulberry fields?

Heaven's calculations, Earth's numbers, and man's fate all emerged from one source, governed by the innate single qi. Since qi shared the same origin, Creation Realm could be measured; since fates shared the same body, fullness and emptiness could be borrowed. The vast thousand worlds were in truth a market where Taiji flowed freely; cultivating truth and unfolding the Dao was nothing more than Yin-Yang weighed down to the last grain. Since Heaven's mandate had a fixed number, its remaining, unspent calculations could naturally be borrowed for a time by the mortal world.]

The profound and unfathomable words of the Twelve Longevity Method slowly flowed through Li Shun's heart. Empowered by this mysterious art, his mind seemed to leave his body and fly beyond his own courtyard.

Leaving Cold Mountain County behind, his perspective rose ever higher, until it could stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun and moon and gaze down upon the vast earth.

Mountains and rivers, flowing waters, the myriad forms of living beings—all entered his sight.

It was as though something in the unseen governed everything between Heaven and Earth, sustaining their cycle from birth to death.

"Life Qi..."

A flash of enlightenment suddenly rose in Li Shun's heart.

Then the scene before his eyes changed abruptly.

There were no longer any concrete sights, only strands upon strands of "qi," ceaselessly circulating.

Flowers, birds, trees, vegetation, beasts and fowl. Even mountains, rivers, wind, clouds, rain, and snow.

Once their outward appearances were stripped away, the core of all things was "Life Qi."

"Where qi flourished, life endured; where qi ran short, life vanished."

"Anything in this world brimming with vitality possessed abundant qi. And I..."

Li Shun's gaze suddenly plummeted from the highest heavens and landed upon his own body.

Though his body had passed fifty, and the Square Inch Puppet had labored in his stead, sparing him from the calamity of fading essence and blood, he still could not escape the erosion of time.

Li Shun clearly saw that the "Life Qi" within him was already nearly exhausted.

It seemed that even a casual gust of wind from outside could scatter it away.

Thump, thump, thump...

The instant that thought surfaced in his mind, Li Shun's heart began pounding wildly.

This was the instinct of a living creature after sensing that its life was about to end.

"I don't want to die."

So he raised his head and looked at this Heaven and Earth.

If the qi within Li Shun was only the size of a fist, then the qi of Heaven and Earth was boundless and inexhaustible.

Compared to Heaven and Earth, man was so tiny, so fragile.

"How tragic..."

"How unfair!"

Comparing the two, a surge of rage arose in Li Shun's heart for no reason at all.

"Why?"

"Why should Heaven and Earth live so long, while man can only live one short life?"

Rage gave birth to wicked thoughts. He stared fixedly at the endless "Life Qi" between Heaven and Earth as thoughts flooded his mind.

"You have so much. Why can't you lend me some?"

"Why won't you lend me some?"

Li Shun's furious roar seemed to resound through Heaven and Earth.

Yet Heaven and Earth gave no response. Only his hollow voice echoed without end.

Li Shun did not lose heart and persisted, repeating it again and again.

There was no other noise left between Heaven and Earth, only Li Shun's resolute will.

And as he communicated with Heaven and Earth, the anger in Li Shun's heart gradually subsided.

He slowly became calm and composed, but his desire remained just as firm—if anything, even firmer.

If it did not succeed, he would never stop.

It was like negotiating a deal across a business table, except Li Shun held no bargaining chips in his hands and could only shout demands.

Yet, most strangely, Heaven and Earth were not entirely unmoved by this act of trying to catch a white wolf barehanded.

Li Shun clearly saw that the paths along which Life Qi flowed between Heaven and Earth truly changed in accordance with his will.

"I can borrow one lifetime."

Understanding dawned upon Li Shun in an instant.

In that moment, Heaven and Earth seemed to fall into absolute stillness.

Only a stream of qi, gleaming with deep azure light, descended from the sky and entered Li Shun's body.

A moment later...

Li Shun's consciousness abruptly broke free from that wondrous realm. He could no longer see Life Qi filling the heavens, and returned to reality.

And at that very moment, his aged, decaying body underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

Surges of vigorous vitality emerged from every part of his body out of nowhere.

Repairing, nourishing, reshaping...

It was like soaking in a hot spring, yet also like standing within a blazing furnace.

Li Shun watched his hands become fair and smooth at a visible pace.

Every wrinkle vanished, and youth returned.

His waist and back were no longer stooped; he could straighten them with ease.

And his leg, which had been broken for many years,

Creak, creak...

also returned to normal under the effects of that unfathomable vitality.

The transformation continued for a full hour.

When Li Shun rose again, he had become a handsome youth with star-like brows and sword-like eyes!

The moment he took a step, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Because at last, he could walk briskly on both legs like an ordinary person.

He no longer needed to limp along.

Young people adapted quickly. In an extremely short time, his walking posture had already returned to normal.

Unable to wait any longer, he went to his bedroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

"So this was what I looked like when I was young."

"Not bad at all!"

It was truly difficult to connect the handsome face in the mirror with the feeble old man from yesterday.

Reverence for the Twelve Longevity Method could not help rising in Li Shun's heart.

"Returning to youth, every chronic ailment gone."

"So this was Borrowing Longevity from Heaven—the Twelve Longevity Method?"

Li Shun closed his eyes and covered his ears with both hands.

He quietly listened to the powerful, vigorous beating of his heart.

"Being young is wonderful."

A sixteen-year-old body, whether in vigor, stamina, or quickness of thought, was far beyond what his body past fifty could compare to.

Immersed in the joy of near rebirth, Li Shun also recalled every scene from his cultivation.

He keenly noticed something strange.

"Compared to Heaven and Earth, I, a tiny mortal, am no different from an ant."

"How could Heaven and Earth's Life Qi be lent out so easily?"

"Ordinary lending requires collateral. Yet this Borrowing Longevity from Heaven of the Twelve Longevity Method seems to have no such process."

"Though one would rapidly age in the later stages, that was merely returning the borrowed Life Qi. No price had been paid."

"A longevity art with absolutely no side effects?"

Doubt suddenly arose in Li Shun's heart.

His thoughts raced, and he considered something else.

"The Emperor Gan who created the Twelve Longevity Method—the first person to borrow longevity from Heaven—what did he use as collateral?"

Yet the information he knew and had seen was far too scarce. Li Shun simply could not infer much.

After pondering for a long time without gaining anything, he refocused his attention on his own body.

"Borrow longevity from Heaven and live another life. What each person borrows is not the same."

"On my first attempt, I borrowed only seventy years of lifespan from Heaven."

"From today onward, over the next sixty-nine years, I will pass through six stages: Longevity Realm, Mortal Descent, Flourishing Splendor, Formed Image, Establishing Emoluments, and Imperial Prosperity. It can be said that my body will remain forever at the peak of vitality. But in the final year..."

"The lifespan I borrowed will be returned in full. I will swiftly pass through Withdrawal and Concealment, Gradual Stripping, Sitting in Forgetfulness, Concealing in You Kingdom, Returning to the Root, and Mysterious Female."

"Until my lifespan is exhausted and I die!"

The owner of Jixia Bookshop, Zhou Xunzhen, surfaced in Li Shun's mind again.

"Gradual Stripping, Sitting in Forgetfulness..."

"Looks like the lifespan he borrowed has run out."

"Seventy years of lifespan is neither short nor long. But if I..."

"Used Threefold Self-Reflection to turn back time, then borrowed it once more?"

"I did not have much experience the first time. If I were given another chance, perhaps I could borrow even more!"

A sharp glint flashed through Li Shun's eyes.