The Secret to Longevity: Never Meddle in Other People's Affairs

The next day, Chen Xun cupped his hands in farewell to Ning Si. They were returning to the blacksmith shop; that was their true home in Panning City.

A few days later, Chen Xun smiled and pushed open the door. The room was thick with dust, enough to make him choke.

He looked toward that empty spot and softly said, "Elder Sun, we're back."

"Moo moo~" Black Bull called out twice as well.

"Old Bull, get to work. Let's clean up."

"Moo!"

Man and bull got busy, sweeping and washing every corner. The entire blacksmith shop was soon renewed, spotless and tidy.

The passing neighbors were startled to see the blacksmith shop's doors open. Someone called out, "Is that Brother Chen Xun back? I'm your Auntie Li."

"Auntie Li, it's me."

A loud shout answered from inside the blacksmith shop. Auntie Li was overjoyed, immediately hurrying off to tell all the neighbors that Brother Chen Xun had returned.

Chen Xun had been gone for more than ten years, yet he had actually come back. He was an absolute master at forging. Some townsfolk still used ironware he had made, and it had yet to break.

Neighbors came swarming over. Some Chen Xun recognized, while others were unfamiliar faces. All of them complained about how terrible the nearby blacksmith shops were and how high their prices had become. It still had to be him.

"Hey, Brother Chen Xun, how come you haven't changed at all? You even seem much younger."

Auntie Li looked him up and down, clicking her tongue in amazement. She herself had grown far older than before.

"Heh, I went off to study medicine under a master. I learned the art of preserving one's health."

Chen Xun explained as he looked at Auntie Li. "Most importantly, you need an optimistic mindset. The happier you live, the younger you become."

"Brother Chen Xun, really?"

"Of course. Just crawl under your old man's quilt and you'll find out."

"Hahaha..."

The surrounding neighbors burst into laughter. Auntie Li's face turned crimson as she spat, "No decency at all." Then she hurried away.

"All right, everyone, come back tomorrow. I need to make some preparations too."

"Alright, Brother Chen Xun. Wishing you a grand opening."

"That's right. We'll definitely come support you."

The neighbors were incredibly enthusiastic. Chen Xun clasped his hands with a smile, his mindset now completely different from before.

When the blacksmith shop owners on the surrounding streets heard that Chen Xun had returned, they all cursed loudly. Damn it, cut the prices! Cut them for me!

But afterward, Chen Xun's blacksmith shop only opened for half a day each day, and he stopped taking orders after that. He was too busy. As long as they could make a living, that was enough.

At that moment, they were tinkering with medicinal herbs in the backyard. Even after herbs were pulled from the soil, the Essence of All Things could still increase their age. It was incredibly miraculous.

"Old Bull, I've discovered a very fundamental problem."

Chen Xun spoke seriously. He had pondered this issue for a long time.

"Moo?" Black Bull looked puzzled.

"Don't you feel like we've hit something of a bottleneck at Qi Refining Second Level? Absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth always feels off, and we have to slowly grind it down with time."

"Moo."

"Do you think that as long as we have enough time, we can keep improving our cultivation? That we can always grind our way upward?"

"Moo."

"Heh, Old Bull, you really are naive."

Chen Xun smiled faintly. "The Spiritual Root is talent. Perhaps the Qi Refining Realm can be ground through with time, but the Foundation Establishment Realm might not be."

"Moo?"

"Without outside assistance—that is, without opportunities—we might get stuck at a realm and never break through for the rest of our lives. That is talent. It can't be ground through with time."

"Moo? Moo!"

Black Bull cried out in alarm. The more it thought about it, the more sense it made.

Chen Xun remembered those world-renowned great figures from his previous life. Some things simply could not be caught up to with time. No matter how long ordinary people lived, they could at most gain knowledge, experience, and the like.

Yet they might never reach the heights of those geniuses. That was talent, and that was the cruel reality.

And most unfortunately, Chen Xun and Black Bull were exactly such ordinary immortals. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, then suddenly embraced.

Behind that affectionate hug, wicked grins tugged at both their lips. "So you're a noob too."

"But we need to be careful too. Look at us—we did nothing in the mountain range, yet we still offended someone."

Chen Xun said solemnly. There were too many suspicious points in this matter. "If something feels wrong, don't get curious. Just like we are now, stay out of it."

"Moo moo!"

Black Bull looked at Chen Xun with worship in its eyes. Back when they were still in the village, the villagers had asked Old Man Li about his secret to longevity. He had said, "I never meddle in other people's affairs."

It had not understood at the time, but now it had experienced it firsthand. Black Bull was thrilled. This was all hard-earned wisdom.

"If you follow your Xun Bro, won't everything be arranged crystal clear?"

"Moo!"

Black Bull was completely convinced. Chen Xun really was a great genius.

"Like I said, even if the Ningyun Mountain Range had ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine, we still wouldn't go. Don't risk your life fighting for opportunities. Keep your mindset steady."

"Moo moo~~" Black Bull rubbed against Chen Xun.

Chen Xun smiled slightly and patted its head. "We have the Essence of All Things. We can simply improve our strength slowly. We don't need to seek revenge on anyone, so don't let it ruin our happy days."

Black Bull nodded heavily. Ever since cultivating the Qi Refining Art, its mindset had indeed become somewhat impatient.

"Old Bull, don't put the cart before the horse. Even if cultivation reaches the highest realm, granting immortality and the power to destroy heaven and earth with a single thought, you still have to live your life."

Chen Xun had long noticed Black Bull's impatience. "The journey we go through is what matters most, not that bullshit realm. At worst, if our luck runs out, we croak. When a man dies, his balls point at the sky—who's afraid of whom?"

"Moo moo moo moo!!"

Black Bull nodded like a chick pecking rice. It understood. It understood!

"Maybe some great expert will take a dislike to us and wipe us out with one wave of their hand. If we die together, perhaps we can still stay together in the next life."

Chen Xun said this with carefree abandon. That was simply his mindset. Immortality had been a freebie anyway.

Black Bull felt as though it had been awakened by a blow to the head. It hurried over to Chen Xun. What if a great expert came the very next moment? It had to die together with Chen Xun.

"Hahaha..." Chen Xun laughed loudly, constantly pushing Black Bull away, while it kept squeezing back toward him.

Half a year later, a heaven-shaking boom from the Ningyun Mountain Range shattered Panning City's peace. Countless cultivators stood in the Skyvault, visible even from the city, like UFOs.

"Holy shit, Old Bull, come out and look at the flying people."

Chen Xun hurriedly shouted. He grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the table, picked up a stool, and headed outside.

"Moo moo!" Black Bull skipped out as well and began eating sunflower seeds, its bull eyes fixed on the distant sky. It really was awesome.

The streets were filled with people. All the neighbors had poured out to see the Immortals, and some even knelt on the ground, endlessly praying for blessings.

Chen Xun and Black Bull's eyesight was far better than that of the common folk. They came with their own telescope function.

"Old Bull, what do you think? Are they fighting?"

Chen Xun sat on his stool, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds. "Why are they all standing together? Shouldn't they set up some kind of formation or something?"

"Moo?" Black Bull could not make sense of the situation either. It lay on the ground and continued eating sunflower seeds.

A streak of rainbow light flashed across the horizon, and violent explosions thundered through the sky. Countless townsfolk were so frightened that they sprawled on the ground, muttering who knew what.

"Seriously awesome. They have to be at least in the Foundation Establishment Realm, right?"

Chen Xun exclaimed, finding his sunflower seeds more delicious with every crack. "Old Bull, if we can fly someday, would that mean we're bull-shitting our way to the heavens?"

"Moo moo!" Black Bull flew into a rage. It now understood what that phrase meant. Chen Xun was making fun of it.

It immediately snatched away Chen Xun's sunflower seeds. Chen Xun promptly pried open its mouth and snatched them back.

The battle in the distant sky suddenly grew fierce. Rainbow lights from all sorts of spells flashed without end, and cultivators even fell from the sky. It was spectacular beyond compare.

Chen Xun and Black Bull could not help but applaud. This was far more enjoyable than watching street performers.

"My heavens, every one of them is like a humanoid weapon."

Chen Xun's mouth hung wide open. This had truly opened his eyes. "No matter how skilled a mortal's martial arts are, spells come flying in like lasers. Who could withstand that?"

"Moo!" Black Bull opened its mouth wide as well and chimed in. It was far too outrageous.

Countless townsfolk in the city looked on with reverence. This was the power of Immortals, the ultimate height mortals could never reach.

The battle among Immortals came quickly and ended quickly. All sorts of escaping lights appeared in the sky, and after half a day of fighting, they gradually vanished.

"That's it already? I haven't seen enough yet. What a shame."

"Moo~~"

Chen Xun and Black Bull were still unsatisfied. They could have watched for at least a month. This was far more exciting than any drama.

"Old Bull, back to work."

"Moo!"

Life still had to go on. This spell battle had nothing to do with them, though Chen Xun had begun imagining that once they entered the Cultivation World, watching others fight spells every day would be quite nice too.