Longevity Without Knowledge of the World

The Great Sage of the Water Ape was already very old.

As a water god stationed outside the capital, the Great Sage Water Ape was initially unaware of the collapse of the Human Emperor's court and the collective retreat of the Heavenly Court.

It wasn't until decades after the incident that he heard snippets of news from some villagers who were worshipping the water god, and learned that the current deity being worshipped was the 'Zhou Emperor'. Only then did the Great Sage Water Ape realize that the world had changed.

But the Great Sage of the Water Ape did not know where the gods had gone into seclusion.

The Immortal Court also incorporated or eliminated some of the remaining personnel of the Heavenly Court, and even redefined the world.

For example, the waters he was in were controlled by some demonic dragons.

The Great Sage of the Water Ape did not clash with the demon dragons who carried the decree. He eventually wandered in the Huai River and roamed around in search of food and survival.

It was a long, long time after he met the Beast Taming Sect Master that he finally had a stable life here, and he occasionally had to help the Beast Taming Sect with some matters.

As for the unpleasant things that happened at the end, the Great Sage Water Ape didn't want to mention them.

He's not doing too well right now. If Zhang Xuezhou could give him some information about the Heavenly Court, the Great Sage Water Ape would feel more at ease.

If Zhang Xuezhou could obtain the necessary documents from the Heavenly Court to transfer him from his position as the Water God of the Huai River, or even transfer him to the Heavenly Court headquarters, that would be the Water Ape Great Sage's final wish.

"The Heavenly Court..."

The Great Sage of the Water Ape rambled on about everything, while Zhang Xuezhou also thought about the Heavenly Court.

He had little concept of the Heavenly Court in the Kunlun Sacred Land.

He lingered in the Sacred Land for a while, but spent his time in Kunlun Ruins before entering the Miaofa Palace.

Of all the people Zhang Xuezhou had seen, he only knew the Emperor, the Empress, the Golden Crow Great Emperor, and Primordial Spirit, whom he had met once. In addition, Zhang Xuezhou had also seen two fairy maidens whose names he did not even know.

He only caught a glimpse of the Heavenly Court, just as he had only briefly visited the Western Sect.

If you asked Zhang Xuezhou to talk about the Heavenly Court, Zhang Xuezhou really wouldn't be able to say anything.

In short, the Emperor and Empress are in good health, and the Golden Crow Great Emperor has lost most of his feathers.

The Great Sage of the Water Ape had never heard of Primordial Spirit, a rising star among gods and humans.

Zhang Xuezhou felt he didn't have much to say.

"How could this be? We have hundreds of Orthodox God Orthodox God in our Heavenly Court, each possessing strength that is no less than mine, or even far surpasses mine. How could our Heavenly Court have fallen so low as to cower in the Kunlun Sacred Land..."

The Great Sage of the Water Ape was extremely out of the loop, after all, no one liked to go into the water to discuss the affairs of the world, and the sect leader of the Beast Taming Sect did not know anything about the Heavenly Court, let alone go to Kunlun.

He spent his life in the water, while a thousand years had passed in the world.

The once spirited Golden Crow Great Emperor, sitting atop the Emperor's Sky-Patrolling Chariot, has now grown so old that his feathers are tattered.

Time always flows by so imperceptibly, and the Great Sage Water Ape, who knew part of the truth, felt as if it were all a dream.

When they awoke from their dream, these once mighty warriors were already in the twilight of their lives.

"Excuse my frankness, but you are in excellent health; you show absolutely no signs of aging."

After a brief conversation, Zhang Xuezhou glanced at Jin Chang and Lei Bei, who had been knocked unconscious, and then at Su Fei, who dared not approach from a distance. He had no choice but to slowly change the subject.

His topic lessened the sadness of the Water Ape Great Sage.

"My body and Divine Ability are special, nourished by the water that is the source of all things, so my aging process is much slower than normal," said the Great Sage Water Ape. "Even after another thousand years, my body should still be like this!"

"Then you've achieved immortality and eternal life!" Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in amazement.

Would you rather live a long life unaware of the ways of the world?

The Great Sage of the Water Ape can only maintain his physical body's moisture in the water. Once he leaves the water and comes ashore, he will also age and his physical strength will decline.

He could never live without water, and only in water could he maintain his health and longevity.

Such longevity might be enviable, but he spent his years in a state of blissful ignorance of the world, which the Great Sage Water Ape found meaningless.

As this period of loneliness and meaninglessness continued, the Kongxu in his heart grew, and the Great Sage Water Ape even considered death to end it all.

As they talked, Zhang Xuezhou began to understand the mindset of long-lived people, and even their behavior and habits.

The Great Sage of the Water Ape possesses an extremely long lifespan, making him a very special life form.

Even beings like the Venerable One strive to prolong their Struggle, but the Great Sage Water Ape's union with water, with his body constantly being washed by it, causes his body to age at an extremely slow pace.

The high level of cultivation also kept the Water Ape Great Sage clear-headed. He recovered from some periods of mental confusion by sleeping for a long time.

This made Zhang Xuezhou vaguely realize that many elderly people with high-level sequences in reality might be able to learn from this and adjust their collapsing spirits through long periods of slumber.

The method of combining Divine Ability with water to prolong the physical body was something Zhang Xuezhou couldn't immediately find a point of resonance with, so he could only record this method of longevity used by long-lived people.

As he listened to the Great Sage of the Water Ape's ramblings, he would occasionally mention the scene in the Western Kunlun Holy Land. Zhang Xuezhou even talked about the Golden Dragon Fish, as well as the Red Carp and the Green Carp.

"The Heavenly Court..."

Zhang Xuezhou felt that the order of the previous Human Emperor's reign had collapsed. Beings like the Great Sage Water Ape could go wherever they wanted and do whatever they wanted, and could even go to Western Kunlun on their own. However, the strict class concept was deeply rooted in their hearts, and the Great Sage Water Ape could not get rid of it even if he wanted to.

In the Water Ape Great Sage's mind, the Emperor is still his supreme ruler. Without the Emperor's permission or decree, he cannot return to the Heavenly Court and can only wait for orders.

This is remarkably similar to some of the elderly people from the Luofu Empire that Ren Yisheng once mentioned.

In the minds of these elderly people, they still believe that Luo Zhongcai is the rightful emperor who should inherit the throne, rather than the succession committee governing the country.

In the decades since the founding of the Scarlet Alliance State, there has been no shortage of conflict, which has not only killed a number of people with old ideas, but also caused some powerful Lineage in some places to be outwardly united with Western Capital but inwardly divided, and to do some things that are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

The notion of the existence of the Great Sage Water Ape is almost impossible to change.

"Alright, if I have time to go to the Heavenly Court, I'll ask about this for you and see if I can help you," Zhang Xuezhou agreed.

"That's wonderful!" the Great Sage Water Ape exclaimed joyfully.

Are my two friends really dead yet?

After some tugging, Zhang Xuezhou felt the atmosphere between them had become more harmonious, and the Water Ape Great Sage showed no hostility. This prompted Zhang Xuezhou to point at Jin Chang and Lei Bei.

"Is this your friend?" the Great Sage Water Ape asked in surprise.

"He's not entirely a friend. He caused me some trouble today and even tried to blackmail me," Zhang Xuezhou said, pointing at Jin Chang.

"Do you need me to kill it for you?" the Great Sage Water Ape asked.

"Not yet, he still has some things I need on him," Zhang Xuezhou said, pointing to Jin Chang.

Having finally met Jin Chang, and seeing Jin Chang in such a vulnerable state of imprisonment where he needed to save his life, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would be doing himself a disservice if he didn't do something.

But this is destined to be a psychological tug-of-war.

Zou Bugui was able to remain steadfast in the face of Jin Chang's torture, and Jin Chang, as his fellow disciple, was the same.

Zhang Xuezhou wanted Jin Chang's "Yin Yang Great Joy Nine People Incantation," but Jin Chang knew that entrusting it all to him would mean certain death, so he would definitely hold onto his bottom line.

However, allowing Jin Chang to live would likely lead to Jin Chang's resentment towards Zhang Xuezhou, and even revenge.

Zhang Xuezhou pondered the balance involved, which inevitably caused him considerable headaches.

This is a dilemma for him: if he does well, he can obtain some of the Nine People Sect's cultivation techniques; if he does poorly, he will make another enemy, and his chances of obtaining the Nine People Sect's inheritance will be virtually nonexistent.