Morning Rises, Evening Falls-That Is a Lifetime [Bonus Chapter for Sunflower2012's Tip]

Putting the invitation away, Chen Nianzhi looked at Chen Qinghe and noticed that he seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

He raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but ask, "Does Uncle have something to say?"

Chen Qinghe hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke up, "I heard that you had a Origin-Gathering Pill back then?"

"There is indeed one left."

Chen Nianzhi nodded. Back then, he had refined three Origin-Gathering Pill. Chen Qinghao and Chen Qingwan each used one, and he still had one left.

"This item can help cultivators break through to the Foundation Establishment, but Uncle Qinghe wants it... could it be...?"

Chen Nianzhi paused, a sense of melancholy creeping into her heart.

It was only then that he realized that Chen Qinghe were already gray, and his eyes were filled with a sense of weariness and desolation.

Now, even the Third Elder and Chen Qingwan are approaching seventy years old, and the Second Elder of the Lineage is over eighty. He is getting old.

Back then, in order to help Chen Qingyuan obtain the Foundation-Building Pill, Chen Qinghe repeatedly activated the Jiuyi Bell to fight against the Foundation Establishment Demon Ape, suffering fatal injuries in the process.

Although he recovered from his injuries after taking the Stasis-Resolving Pill, he suffered a significant loss of lifespan. It is common for ordinary people to live to 120 years old after reaching the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, but he may not be able to live past 100.

"The thing I regret most in my life is that I didn't have the courage to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm before I reached the end of my sixty-year lifespan."

Chen Qinghe suddenly spoke, his eyes filled with tears and a hint of regret. "Now that my lifespan is coming to an end, I realize that even if I manage to survive in the Foundation Establishment Qi Refinement Stage, how many more years can I live?"

"So I want to try to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm before my True Qi is exhausted."

"I would die without regret!"

Chen Nianzhi felt as if a huge bell had struck her heart, and she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her, as if a mountain was pressing down on her.

If one could have a slim chance of Self-Foundation Establishment Self-Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty, then the chances of success after sixty are virtually zero.

Because after the decline of Qi and Blood, the strength of a cultivator's physical body and meridians will age and decrease sharply.

Chen Qinghe's lifespan has been greatly reduced, and his current physical condition is almost the same as that of a hundred-year-old cultivator. Even if he uses Foundation-Building Pill, his chances of achieving Foundation Establishment will not exceed 50%, let alone the fact that he only wants to try with a Origin-Gathering Pill.

Chen Nianzhi knew very well that Chen Qinghe was going to his death. He would rather die during a breakthrough, fighting for a one in a billion chance, than lie on his bed waiting for death more than a decade later.

"Uncle Qinghe..."

Chen Nianzhi didn't know how to advise him, nor what to say.

He knew perfectly well that Chen Qinghe was courting death and wasting the precious Origin-Gathering Pill Precious Pill, but he still trembled as he took out the Origin-Gathering Pill and shoved it into Chen Qinghe's hand.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Nianzhi said, "Uncle Qinghe, why don't you wait a little longer?"

"I'll go to Patriarch Jiang and plead with him to see if I can buy you a Foundation-Building Pill."

"Silly child."

Chen Qinghe patted Chen Nianzhi's head and smiled with satisfaction, "Foundation-Building Pill are worth a fortune; even if we buy them, we should give them to those who have a better chance of breaking through."

"I'm just an old man with depleted Qi and Blood; I don't even believe I can break through to the Foundation Establishment. I just want to see the scenery of that realm before I die."

Even if... it's just for a moment.

The night was deep, Bright Moon hung high in the Nine Heavens.

Chen Nianzhi felt melancholy, as if she had a thousand words to say, but had no one to confide in.

He flew out of Heavenly Ruins Market on his sword and landed on a towering mountain that reached into the clouds. Overlooking the vast sea of clouds and the Great Wilderness, he took out an ancient zither.

He sat atop the mountain peak, dressed in snow-white robes, with a zither on his lap. He gently plucked the strings, Dao Kong clear, melodious note echoed across the sky, like a cry from the Long River of time, striking the soul.

I don't know how much time passed, but the music faded away, and the song ended.

Chen Nianzhi opened his eyes and found a hazy figure standing there quietly watching him not far away.

Her bright eyes flickered slightly, and she calmly asked, "What's the name of this piece of music?"

"Big Fish."

Chen Nianzhi blurted it out, then realized what she had said and quickly stood up to bow, saying, "Greetings, Patriarch Jiang."

Jiang Linglong shook her head. She stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the vast land below, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

Are you afraid of me?

"I wouldn't dare," Chen Nianzhi said hastily, her heart skipping a beat.

She smiled noncommittally and asked again, "Do you think I'm old?"

Chen Nianzhi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly replied, "Senior is in the prime of life, how could you be old?"

"Then why do you call me Patriarch Jiang?"

Jiang Linglong gave him a half-smile.

Before he could answer, she turned to look at the distant land and said calmly.

"Mayflies are born in the morning and die in the evening, living their entire lives without knowing the difference between day and night!"

"For it, sunrise and sunset, that is its life."

"You've lived for over thirty years, which, in its eyes, is equivalent to three thousand lifetimes in the mortal world. Are you old?"

Chen Nianzhi was speechless. Many people thought that high-level cultivators who had lived for thousands of years were immortal monsters.

Little did they know that in the eyes of powerful cultivators, those people were no different from mayflies; a mortal's life was merely a short rest for a powerful Dao Lord.

I watched you being born, watched you grow up, watched you be in your prime, watched you grow old, watched you turn into bones in a tomb, yet I remain young and Bu Xiu in this mortal world.

When you laugh at me for living for thousands of years and being an old monster, what difference is there between you and a mayfly looking up at me?

You are different from others.

Jiang Linglong's eyes reflected the endless earth, seemingly seeing through the ever-changing worldly affairs in this vast Great Wilderness.

"Ten thousand years from now, perhaps you will understand that I am only a little bit older than you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Nianzhi said with some trepidation, "Legend has it that only a Primordial Spirit Dao Lord can live for more than ten thousand years. How could I, a junior, be worthy of such praise?"

"You," Jiang Linglong couldn't help but smile at his frightened look, "So young, yet you act like an old man, without any of the sharpness of youth."

Chen Nianzhi found her smile incredibly beautiful; her bright eyes sparkled like stars in the sky, and for a moment she was mesmerized.

Seemingly noticing his expression, Jiang Linglong suppressed her smile, turned around, and with a flick of her long skirt, transformed into a sword light and disappeared into the sky.

Only when the sword light disappeared into the horizon did Chen Nianzhi come back to her senses.

He shook his head and chuckled, then turned to pack up his guqin. Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly as he noticed a jade box that had appeared beside the guqin.

"This is?"

He opened the jade box and found a Foundation-Building Pill inside.

Silently, Chen Nianzhi stood still, watching the direction she had left, remaining silent for a long time.

He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt a faint fragrance linger in his heart, a tranquil scent that permeated his soul and lingered for a long time.

"..."