"Old age already?"
Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing looked wistful.
Whether they were Qi Refining Stage cultivators, Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, or even Core Formation Stage True Persons,
all of them had their twilight years, their old age.
Once they entered old age, their blood and vitality declined. Forget breaking through-even maintaining their original strength was no easy matter.
A Qi Refining Stage cultivator's maximum lifespan was a hundred and twenty years.
Most Qi Refining Stage cultivators carried hidden injuries from magical duels and battles in their youth and could only live into their nineties.
For Pill Master Yun to live past a hundred before passing away was indeed a long life.
For Qi Refining Stage cultivators, old age generally began at seventy.
Once they passed seventy, the blood and vitality of Qi Refining Stage cultivators began to decline.
Thus, a Qi Refining Stage cultivator hoping to attempt Foundation Establishment needed to reach perfection at the ninth Qi Refining layer before sixty, at the very least.
Only then could they attempt Foundation Establishment before old age.
Once they passed seventy, their hopes of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm became vanishingly slim.
[You realized you had entered old age. Suddenly, waves of agonizing pain arose from deep within your organs.] [In your youth, you consumed many Waste Pills to cultivate faster, accumulating a great deal of pill toxin in your body.] [During your prime, all these pill toxins were suppressed. But now that you have entered old age and your blood and vitality are declining, the pill toxins gradually invade your organs.] [With pill toxins invading your organs, you suffer unbearable torment.] [Under these circumstances, you determine that you probably will not live to eighty.]
At this point, Zhou Qing fell silent.
Taking Waste Pills had also been Zhou Qing's decision.
After all, under those circumstances, with his low-grade spiritual root aptitude, if he had not relied on Waste Pills while devoting most of his energy to raising spirit plants,
let alone reaching the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining before old age, he would probably still have been lingering in the Early Qi Refining Period.
One slow step meant every step thereafter would be slow.
Pill Master Yun recruited apprentices not to nurture them, but to put them to work.
They were only allowed to cultivate in their spare time.
Thus, Zhou Qing did not regret that decision.
As these thoughts stirred, Zhou Qing continued watching the illusory text of the ongoing simulation.
[Having entered old age, your blood and vitality decline, and your cultivation can no longer advance.] [The pill toxins erupt and invade your organs. Your mind suffers constant torment, and you can no longer refine pills for extended periods.] [You decide to leave the Market District and take a look around outside.] [Although there are traces of Rogue Cultivators around Black Mountain Market, its master, Ouyang Shen of the Foundation Establishment Realm, is still alive after all.] [Those Rogue Cultivators do not dare go too far.] [In the fifty-sixth year, at seventy-one, you secretly leave the Market District.] [When you reach the foot of Black Mountain, you notice wisps of cooking smoke rising nearby.] [This makes you rather curious. You remember that when you first came to Black Mountain Market, no mortals lived at the foot of the mountain.] [You approach the cooking smoke and discover a solitary house standing there.] [You secretly activate a Detection Spell and only approach after confirming that it is not a trap.] [A sturdy-looking child is playing with a wooden sword outside the door.] [You walk over and ask gently, "What is your name?"] [The sturdy-looking child is about eleven or twelve. Seeing that you are a white-haired old man, he is not afraid and replies, "My name is Dahu."] ["Dahu?"] [You smile. "And your surname?"] [You only ask casually, but to your surprise, the child replies, "My surname is Zhou. My name is Zhou Dahu."] ["Zhou?"] [You freeze for a moment.] [At the same time, you begin studying the child.] [You discover an inexplicable familiarity in the child's features.] ["Who gave you your name?" you ask.] ["My grandfather. His name was Zhou Dachun, so he named me Zhou Dahu."] [Noticing the change in your tone, the child speaks somewhat fearfully.] ["Zhou Dachun?"] [You fall silent.] [Forty-three years ago, you brought Dachun to Black Mountain, intending to enter Black Mountain Market.] [But Dachun was merely a mortal and could not enter the Market District, so you settled him at the foot of the mountain.] [At the time, you intended to come down after a while and make further arrangements for Dachun. But you never expected that after becoming Pill Master Yun's apprentice, all your energy would go into raising spirit plants and cultivating.] [As time passed, you forgot about making arrangements for Dachun.] [In your view, although Dachun was not a cultivator, he was fairly strong and should have left on his own.] ["Then where is your grandfather now?"] [You continue asking.] ["My grandfather died when I was very little," the child says quietly.] ["Your grandfather... why didn't he leave this place?"] [You ask.] ["Grandfather said he had to wait here for the young master... if the young master... the young master didn't tell him to leave, he wouldn't leave..."] [The child looks at you cautiously as he answers.]
"Dachun..."
Zhou Qing sighed.
At the same time, he glanced outside the door.
Unlike in the simulation, the present-day Dachun was standing guard at the entrance, protecting Zhou Qing.
Although Zhou Qing had long known that Dachun was utterly loyal, he could not help being moved that just a few words had made him wait an entire lifetime at the foot of Black Mountain.
"Dachun."
Zhou Qing suddenly spoke.
"Young master."
Dachun immediately pushed open the door and walked in, answering with an honest, good-natured air.
"Nothing. I just wanted to take a look at you."
Zhou Qing shook his head. "Go on back out."
"All right."
Dachun scratched his head, his simple mind giving it no further thought.
[You meet Zhou Dahu's parents. After demonstrating a few spells, you propose taking Dahu with you.] [You discover that Zhou Dahu also has spiritual root aptitude. Although it is only low-grade, he should have no trouble entering the Qi Refining Stage.] [Zhou Dahu's parents naturally have no objections and are deeply grateful to you.] [You take Zhou Dahu with you, but rather than returning to Black Mountain Market, you travel to the capital of the Qian Kingdom.] [Before you know it, fifty years have passed since you left the capital. The fourth prince who slaughtered the entire Zhou Residence has long since died as well, and the Qian Kingdom's reigning emperor is his son.] [You walk along the bustling streets with Dahu.] [Everything seems no different from fifty years ago.] [You arrive in front of what was once the Zhou Residence.] [This place is no longer called the Zhou Residence, but the Lu Residence.] [The Zhou Family, whose glory had spanned several generations fifty years ago, has long since been forgotten.] [Back then, the Zhou Family not only wielded power over court and country, but also delighted in charity, often providing relief to the common people.] [Yet now, not a single person remembers the Zhou Family.] [You take one final look toward the Imperial Palace.] [You have no intention of storming the Imperial Palace to seek revenge.] [First, you cannot do it. An aged Fifth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, and one ill-suited to combat at that, has little advantage against mortal experts and vast armies.] [What is more, cultivators are stationed within the Imperial Palace as well.] [Second, you still have something more important to do.] [In the fifty-seventh year, at seventy-two, you return to Black Mountain Market with Dahu.] [You meet Yun Shu and entrust Dahu to her, hoping she can look after him.] [This is the first request you have made in decades. Yun Shu solemnly promises that as long as the Yun Clan Pill Workshop exists, Dahu will have a place there.] [In the fifty-eighth year, at seventy-three, Black Mountain Market grows increasingly chaotic. Ordinary cultivators also realize the danger of the market having no successor and begin selling off their assets and fleeing.] [In the fifty-ninth year, at seventy-four, rumors spread through the Market District that its master, Ouyang Shen, has already passed away. The remaining cultivators who had been holding on immediately begin selling their assets in the Market District at bargain prices.] [In the sixtieth year, at seventy-five, Black Mountain Market rapidly falls into decline. More than half the shops close and are put up for sale at rock-bottom prices, yet no cultivator dares take them over.] [Anyone with discerning eyes can see that Black Mountain Market probably cannot survive. Without a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator overseeing it, who would dare gather and trade here?] [In the sixty-first year, at seventy-six, your blood and vitality deteriorate further, and the pill toxins erupt far more frequently. You realize you have only a few years left to live.] [In the sixty-second year, at seventy-seven, you lie in bed, your allotted time nearly exhausted.] [Yun Shu and the other senior members of the Pill Workshop all come to your bedside to see you.] [For decades, you have bent your back and exhausted your strength in service to the Pill Workshop, and everyone has seen it.] ["Uncle Zhou..."] [Yun Shu looks at you with grief in her eyes.] [This is indeed Yun Shu's genuine emotion. Before Pill Master Yun passed away, he told her that you could be trusted absolutely.] [In the cultivation world, there are few people one can trust absolutely. Your passing will mean Yun Shu loses someone she can trust without reservation.] ["Is there any news about what I asked you to keep an eye on?"] [You force your eyes open and look at Yun Shu.] ["No. Market Master Ouyang Shen has not appeared in several years..."] [Yun Shu replies immediately.] ["I see..."] [You slowly close your eyes, your breathing growing weaker and weaker.] [Seeing this, Yun Shu knows you are about to pass away and sighs inwardly.] [Just then, a figure rushes in, flustered and panicked.] ["I told you... no matter what happens, Uncle Zhou must not be disturbed..."] [Yun Shu frowns, about to reprimand him.] ["It's Market Master Ouyang..."] [The cultivator who rushed in speaks quickly.] ["Even if it is Market Master Ouyang..."] [Yun Shu's brow furrows deeply.] ["...Let him speak..."] [Your consciousness was already on the verge of sinking into darkness, but at the words "Market Master Ouyang," you immediately sit up in shock from your deathbed.] ["Market Master Ouyang has appeared in the Market Ward with a newly advanced female Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. They are clearing out the robber cultivators around the Market Ward..."] [With this crucial piece of information, you finally close your eyes and pass away.] [You have died.] [This simulation has ended.]