Longevity Begins From Raising Disciples

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Inventorying Possessions

The campfire crackled, sending sparks into the air as it cast the shadows of the two onto the mottled wall, illuminating Chen Ye’s profile in flickers of light and darkness.

He stared at the shadows on the wall in a daze, suddenly reminded of the rented room in a city village from his past life.

That rundown place didn’t even have an air conditioner.

Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, with drafts coming from all sides.

To save some money, he always bought cheap pre-packaged meals online, paired with rice for his three daily meals.

Life was tough, but at least it was peaceful, and he was grateful for that time of his life.

In reality, Chen Ye and Xu Qingjun were no different; his starting point was even lower.

He had been an orphan since childhood, helpless and without support, yet in his past life, he received the aid of kind-hearted people from his country and society.

Though growing up was bitter in ways hard to describe, he managed to find a foothold in society and even enjoyed playing games carefree.

But Xu Qingjun lived in a dog-eat-dog cultivation realm and met a birth father-master...

Qing Jun, in a dazed state, moved her cold, purple-tinged little feet closer to the fire pit. Her tattered straw sandals were soaked with mud and water, turning white.

”Little girl, don’t thank me; if you must thank someone, thank my past life’s country,”

Chen Ye thought silently to himself.

After some tidying by him and Qingjun, the dilapidated house barely looked somewhat presentable.

The fierce wind and rain were kept outside, the fire light was bright and warm inside, pleasant except for the smoke from the fire that was a bit irritating.

Luckily, there were still plenty of places where the house let the wind through, so it wasn’t too suffocating.

Chen Ye felt a sense of pride, impressed with his own crafty handiwork!

But he had not been content for long before the freshly mended hole in the roof started leaking rainwater again.

Damn it!

This lazy predecessor of his, living as a cultivator, hardly better than a great god in his past life!

Even that so-called great figure lived under a bridge shielding him from the wind and rain...

However, in the memories of his predecessor, there were rental estates in Yunxi District available externally.

A small courtyard could be rented for just three spirit stones a month, with a minimum six-month lease.

The environment was clean and orderly, with living conditions much better than here.

Thinking of this, Chen Ye reached into his arms and pulled out a small cloth bag.

The bag, weighed down, only held twelve spirit stones after including the payment from the Dark Old Man, along with thirty spiritual sands.

Spiritual sand is the smallest unit formed when spirit stones are crushed, commonly used by lower-tier cultivators in transactions for ordinary items; a hundred spiritual sands can be exchanged for one spirit stone.

Chen Ye estimated that one piece of spiritual sand had about the same purchasing power as ten bucks from his previous life.

Disappointed, he rummaged through the pouch at his waist.

The pouch contained a variety of odds and ends.

Half a stick of rhino horn incense, usually used for killing insect eggs on spirit grasses; a whole stick sells for two spirit stones. The remaining half should still be useful for four or five times.

A small jade saber, which was a tier one lower-grade magical artifact used by his predecessor; it was bought for fifteen spirit stones.

Two thin booklets.

One titled ”Evergreen Technique,” a ubiquitous wood series cultivation technique in the cultivation realm.

Another titled ”Three Common Spiritual Plant Techniques,” recording the Swift Blade Technique, Fostering Technique, and Cloud Rain Technique, each corresponding to pest expulsion, fostering, and nourishing.

Three pills wrapped in gold leaf, two are Qi Recovery Pills, used to facilitate the recovery of spiritual power; one is a Rejuvenation Pill used for healing injuries.

”Damn, no wonder these are always carried around; they’re invaluable treasures,”

Chen Ye’s dream of moving house shattered completely.

But ”Three Common Spiritual Plant Techniques” reminded him, it stands to reason his predecessor lived for forty years, surely he learned some magic to various extents?

Why were there only two skills on the panel?

Chen Ye concentrated for a moment.

The panel retained only skills that were of Minor Achievement and above; could it be that these techniques, due to long practice by his predecessor, managed to leave bodily memory hence are preserved?

Upon thinking this, Chen Ye immediately understood, after all, he wasn’t the original predecessor, and couldn’t perfectly inherit the techniques.

While his predecessor was merely an obscure loose cultivator among the masses, with limited talents and resources, he could only delve into a limited number of skills in depth.

However, now he had the proficiency panel; as long as he kept practicing, his progress could be limitless!

A smile tugged at the corners of Chen Ye’s mouth, but he quickly sighed again.

Even with the panel, currently he could only practice ”Three Common Spiritual Plant Techniques,” obediently becoming a spirit plant master.

”Start saving spirit stones slowly... After learning alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman making, that’s when the real money comes,”

Chen Ye hugged the pouch tightly to his chest, drifting into a doze.

He didn’t dare to fall asleep directly, afraid that Qingjun might harbor ill intentions.

In a hazy dream, he saw himself becoming a great cultivator of fame, breaking through the void, returning to his homeland.

Just as his mouth crooked into a hook, ready to live the unscrupulous life of a metropolitan immortal king.

Suddenly, a silver-haired maiden with phoenix eyes descended from the sky, holding a spirit sword, coldly yelling, ”Bastard, go die!”

The next morning.

”!”

Chen Ye was jolted awake from his stupor, the first step upon waking was to grope for his bedside phone, only to feel a handful of mud and water.

The coir raincoat from last night’s roof mending had long fallen to the ground, tattered like a plastic bag.

Through the hole, he could see the early sun now high, bright rays of sunlight fell on his face.

”So, it was a dream, yet not a dream...”

Chen Ye sighed deeply, a sharp ache in his heart, a powerful sense of loneliness nearly suffocating him.

Until seeing the silver-haired little girl on the ground, dragging her injured leg while clearing the mud, did his sense of loneliness alleviate significantly.

No matter what, there was at least a companion, just with a small bit of threat.

As for Xu Qingjun achieving progress in cultivation, who knows how many hundreds of years it would be later...

In this time, Chen Ye had confidence in taking good care of the little girl, persuading her to let go of her hatred.

Remembering that in the game, after Xu Qingjun killed her master, the Dark Old Man happened upon the scene.

Although Dark Old Man intended to let Xu Qingjun go, he left only after plundering the predecessor’s spirit stones.

But the little girl, in her panic, ran off to find her senior sister to escape together by night.

In the subsequent two hundred years, the sisters wandered the cultivation realm displaced and haphazardly.

Until senior sister Lu Zhiwei was discovered by Hidden Immortal Sect to be a tribulation fated person, forcibly taken away.

Leaving only Xu Qingjun all alone.

Plus some misunderstandings—like assuming senior sister abandoned her for cultivation.

Xu Qingjun was thoroughly blackened, becoming the future calamity bringer...

These two disciples, in ”Immortal Fall,” were born for the dark times five hundred years later.

Presently, their talents had not yet shown, merely two little girls in Chen Ye’s eyes.

As for things that would happen in a few hundred years?

Chen Ye couldn’t afford to care so much; the predecessor had overexerted his body, leaving him only twenty-two years of life on his panel.

The flood of the future, what did it matter to the current Chen Ye?

Glancing at the panel he opened, in a single night’s time, Evergreen Technique rose from [10/100] to [15/100].

Not bad, even if Chen Ye didn’t cultivate, as long as the technique ran, he could gain proficiency.

One night gave five points; one day would be ten points, in eight or nine days, Evergreen Technique would achieve Great Success.

It’s just uncertain how much lifespan Great Success in Evergreen Technique would extend.

Generally speaking, wood series techniques had the effect of prolonging life and vitality.

”Master, you’re awake?” Qing Jun clutched a rag, looking timidly at Chen Ye.

The little girl, short in stature, her silver hair reaching past her waist, looked up at him, resembling a white furred ball.

”Not bad, really good, but take care of your injured leg,”

Gazing at the tidy home, Chen Ye praised her smilingly.

Yet there was no joy on the little girl’s face; instead, she nervously clutched the rag, her gaze evasive.

Chen Ye noticed something bulging in Qingjun’s arms, his heart skipped a beat.

Wasn’t this girl acting so furtively, did she hide a blade...?

But he was a Fourth-Layer cultivator, worlds apart from the still mundane Xu Qingjun.

Yet, if this girl continued to have dangerous thoughts, attempting to strike at him.

He... might not be able to keep showing leniency.

Noticing Chen Ye’s gaze, the little girl subconsciously tightened her hold on her clothes, cringing slightly.

Chen Ye squinted his eyes, giving Qingjun no time to explain.

He took out what Qingjun was hiding, his expression immediately changed.