At this point, a trace of barely concealed fear and despair flashed through Changqingzi's eyes.
"Spiritual energy began draining away on a massive scale."
"It was as though a great hole had opened in the world. Thirty years, just thirty years! All the spiritual energy drained away. Those so-called grotto-heaven blessed lands, famous mountains, and great lakes all became barren, mundane places."
"Cultivators could no longer draw in spiritual energy. Every bit of spiritual power they used was gone for good. Their cultivation realms began falling, and their lifespans began shrinking. Everyone was waiting to die, even Nascent Soul cultivators!"
Chen Lin's brows knitted tightly.
All the spiritual energy drained away in thirty years?
This was definitely no natural change. It seemed more like deliberate plunder, perhaps from a higher dimension.
"Then how did you survive?" Chen Lin asked the crucial question.
"The cultivation method I practice is called the Evergreen Art."
Changqingzi patted his shriveled chest. "Its power is unremarkable, but it has one advantage-it extends life. When spiritual energy was abundant, an early Nascent Soul cultivator could live a thousand years. Those who practiced the Evergreen Art could theoretically live fifteen hundred."
"After the spiritual energy dried up, I found an isolated island in the East China Sea, sealed off my own spiritual energy, and reduced my consumption to the bare minimum. I spent eight hundred years clinging to life there."
Changqingzi gave a self-mocking smile. "But even so, without spiritual energy to nourish it, the flesh cannot withstand the ravages of time. I am twelve hundred years old this year, and my vital essence is exhausted. In less than a year at most, my life will burn out completely, and I will become a handful of dust."
Chen Lin said nothing.
A once-mighty Nascent Soul cultivator had