Chapter 55: Eternal Youth

  After searching for a long time, he still couldn't see the shadow of the Xuan Tie sword. Fang Li couldn't help but sigh, it seemed that he wouldn't be able to practice his sword skills today.

  In a daze, Fang Li actually fell asleep again.

  ……

  In the early morning, Liu Caiyu woke up early. It would be more accurate to say that she got up, because she didn't sleep all night. She thought that the Xuan Tie sword was just a four-star ordinary artifact, but when she took it out again at night and looked at it, she found that there were actually forbidden patterns carved on it. When she tried it out, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise - this was an pseudo-artifact with power no less than a seven-star ordinary artifact!

  The price difference between a fourth-grade artifact and a seventh-grade artifact is like heaven and earth, and it's estimated that even the smaller families in Qing'an City don't have many. Thinking of this, Liu Caiyu was excited for an entire night.

  However, she felt that she had taken advantage of the drunk young man. Today, Liu Caiyu got up early and cooked millet porridge with red dates for Fang Li, thinking to herself: "This lady has personally cooked porridge for you, it should be worth at least a seventh-grade ordinary artifact, right?"

  The door creaked open and Liu Caiyu slipped in quietly, seeing that Fang Li was still asleep.

  "He's still asleep," Liu Caiyu sighed inwardly. "An ordinary person's body is indeed fragile, and getting drunk on a pot of wine can last all night. But it's also good that they say 'a commoner has no guilt but will be guilty for possessing jade', he's been flaunting that seventh-grade mundane object everywhere, sooner or later he'll invite disaster upon himself, I'm doing him a favor by taking it away."

  Liu Caiyu muttered to herself and finally found a legitimate reason for unsheathing her Xuan Tie sword.

  "Get up and have some porridge." Liu Caiyu put the cooked porridge on a small table and immediately called out. As long as this young man in front of her drank his own porridge, it should be considered even.

  In a daze, Fang Li seemed to hear someone speaking, "Get up and have porridge" This sentence was so familiar, his mother used to wake him up like this all the time.

  Fang Li's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he felt an inexplicable joy. He sat up abruptly, his blurry eyes fixed on a figure not far away, and exclaimed in surprise: "Mother!"

  All he saw was the figure in front of him suddenly stiffening, his body seemingly still swaying slightly. When Fang Li looked clearly, he found that the person in front of him was not his mother, but a woman in her early twenties. However, at this moment, the woman's face seemed to be looking bad, pale and frightening.

  "Miss, are you okay......?" Fang Li furrowed his brow and asked, but before he could finish the sentence, Liu Caiyu had already turned around and left the room.

  Fang Li shook his head and didn't say much, feeling a bit disheartened. He sighed and started washing up.

  In the next room, Liu Caiyu had already cried into a tearful person. The shopkeeper was anxiously pacing back and forth beside her, not knowing what kind of confusion this temperamental old lady had gotten herself into again, that she would suddenly burst out crying like that, looking so pitiful.

  "Oh no, Madam! What's wrong with you again? You're crying and making a scene early in the morning. The guests downstairs will hear it and it'll affect business. Who'd dare to have breakfast here?" The shop assistant had a bitter face, he was very familiar with the boss's temper. Don't be fooled by her fierce tears, it's probably just some trivial matter again.

  As soon as she heard that it would affect business, Liu Caiyu immediately stopped crying and choked with sobs: "Shitou, tell me, how do I look?" Although she was choking back tears, her tone still had a hint of arrogance.

  "What does he look like?" The shopkeeper patted his own head with force, and for such a simple question, he could cry for half a day. He was indeed impressed. Although he thought so in his heart, he still asked cautiously: "Then... how should I answer?"

  Liu Caiyu's beautiful eyes widened in anger, "This lady is clearly getting angry, can't you see that and respond accordingly?"

  Hearing her say that, the shopkeeper felt at ease and immediately flattered: "Beautiful, of course it's beautiful, does this need to be said? Who in Qing'an City doesn't know that even the third young master of the city lord was infatuated with you and even claimed he would come to offer betrothal gifts?"

  "Don't mention that nonsense to me again." Liu Caiyu's eyebrows furrowed, and she continued with a tone of impatience: "I also know I look pretty, no need to ask you. I just want to ask, do I look very old?" At the same time, she thought to herself, That little brat actually mistook me for his mother, how infuriating!

  The young shopkeeper remained silent for a long time before saying, "Miss, you naturally won't show your age now, but ten or twenty years later, old age and decline are unavoidable. It can be foreseen that after several decades, someone will eventually call you 'old lady'..."

  Liu Caiyu's face suddenly turned pale and she became flustered, saying: "Who asked you to say these things? Following the usual habit, you...you just need to say that I'm still young!"

  The shopkeeper ignored her protests, furrowing his brow and saying: "But what I'm saying is the truth, this isn't something that won't happen just because I don't say it. If you want to transcend life and death, there's only one way to do it - cultivate, and as long as you break through to the foundation building stage, your lifespan will increase to 150 years; breaking through to the golden elixir stage will increase it to 300 years; breaking through to the nascent soul stage will increase it to 500 years... If you're lucky enough to ascend to immortality, then your lifespan will be endless, living forever!"

  Liu Caiyu's eyes dodged and shone, and she said in a low voice: "What's the point of saying these things? In a few more years, I will cultivate well."

  "Are you going to cultivate after becoming an old granny?" The shopkeeper's face turned cold, and he thought for a moment before continuing: "I've already made up my mind. In just a few more days, it will be the day when the Xuan Yang Sword Sect opens its mountain gate. You should go try too. If you can get in, that would be best. But if you can't... I won't stay by your side anymore either. I'll tell Old Ancestor to send someone else to protect you."

  Liu Caiyu's eyes widened, her face pale: "Uncle Shi... are you leaving? I won't bully you anymore, please don't go."

  The shopkeeper sighed, "Originally I didn't plan to tell you so early, but since the words have already been said this far, I don't want to hide it anymore either. Take a look at my true appearance now."

  The shopkeeper's face suddenly underwent a heaven-reversing and earth-overturning change. Originally, his face was still passable, thin but at least it was a young man's face. But now this face had become like dry tree bark, old and rotten, with patches of age spots clearly visible, covering the entire face, on the verge of rotting away.

  Liu Caiyu was startled and exclaimed, "Uncle Shi..."

  The young shopkeeper smiled wryly and said, "Isn't it terrifying? It's because my lifespan has reached its limit, and my time is almost up. If I don't break through to the Golden Elixir stage in a short period of time, I'll soon die of old age."

  I now regret, why didn't I work harder to cultivate in the past? Even if I just spare half an hour every day, over 140 years, that's six years. With these six years, I would have definitely broken through the shackles and entered the Golden Elixir realm, after all, I've already touched the threshold of the Golden Elixir period... Alas, alas!

  "Uncle Shi..." Liu Caiyu was now at a loss for words, just a moment ago she was still being coquettish with Uncle Shi, but now she had learned that Uncle Shi's life was coming to an end and they would soon be parted by life and death...

  "Miss, although your grandfather is very indulgent towards you, as a senior I still want to advise you that you must not waste your time. A cultivator's life is spent fighting against the heavens, if you don't work hard, one day you will end up dying like an ordinary person... I am the best example." The shopkeeper said solemnly, having been with Liu Caiyu for so long, he absolutely did not want Liu Caiyu to follow in his footsteps.

  The shopkeeper was about to say something else when his face suddenly changed and he shouted: "Who?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, his withered arm suddenly stretched out and extended indefinitely, bursting through the door with a loud crash, dragging in a young man in green clothes from outside.

  With a thud, the young man in green clothes fell to the ground, but he didn't make any exclamation of surprise. He just quietly looked at the old man who was about to become a withered wood in front of him.

  "Is it you?" Liu Caiyu recognized the young man who had fallen to the ground, but it wasn't Fang Li or which one?

  Fang Li furrowed his brow and didn't say a word.

  "Did you hear our conversation?" The old man's eyes were icy cold, staring at him as if he was a dead man.

  He looked up as if he hadn't seen anything, brushed off the dust on his body, stood up and said calmly: "I heard it naturally."

  For Fang Li's frank admission, the old man was visibly surprised and immediately sneered: "Good guts, but I've underestimated you. Previously, I didn't notice the true energy fluctuations on your body, thinking you were just an ordinary person. Unexpectedly, you have reached the sixth level of Qi Refining Realm. Tell me, what's your purpose for eavesdropping on our conversation?"

  Liu Caiyu looked at Fang Li in surprise after hearing the old man's words, "The six realms of Qi refining are not much worse than mine!"

  "I just came to ask if anyone has seen my sword." Fang Li said calmly, his face as calm as water.

  The old man burst out laughing after hearing this, "What's the use of wearing a sword for someone who has given up on life?"

  Liu Caiyu felt somewhat guilty and didn't dare look directly at Fang Li.

  Fang Li frowned and his face looked somewhat displeased.

  "What's wrong, didn't I say it correctly? Your soul has been emitting a stench of decay, and I reckon it won't be long before you become a walking corpse. This is truly lamentable for an old man like me who is about to rot away. Some people live without cherishing their lives, while I want to cherish mine but can't - how unfair the heavens are!"

  "I just want my sword back." Fang Li said indifferently, but in his heart he was secretly pleased with the comparison to a walking corpse.

  "The sword is here, take it." Liu Caiyu had lost interest in this seventh-grade ordinary sword and was now more concerned about the old man's lifespan.

  "Thank you." Fang Li took over the Xuan Tie sword, his face still expressionless. After finishing speaking, he turned around and was about to leave.

  Seeing Fang Li's back, the old man's eyes lit up and suddenly spoke out: "Wait."

  Fang Li seemed to have not heard it, and his footsteps did not stop at all.

  The old man saw it, didn't get angry, suddenly jumped up, pulled Fang Li back with one hand, and at the same time a green pill appeared in his hand, which was poured into Fang Li's mouth.

  Fang Li had not yet reacted when the pill suddenly came to life and drilled into his abdomen.

  "What are you waiting for?" Fang Li pushed the old man away and looked at him coldly.

  The old man burst out laughing and said, "What I just made you swallow was the Thirteen Poison Dan. If you want an antidote, then you must agree to one thing for me. You also know that my time is almost up, and I hope you can join the Xuan Yang Sword Sect with my young lady, so there will be someone to take care of her."

  Fang Li sneered and said, "Being a nanny, no interest." After finishing speaking, he didn't even turn his head back and continued walking out of the house.

  "The Thirteen Poison Dan will take effect in twelve hours, and when it does, you'll have no choice but to die. Think carefully before making a decision." The old man reminded with a smile.

  Fang Li still didn't stop for a moment and soon disappeared before the two of them.

  "That little guy really left, will he be poisoned to death outside? Uncle Shi, give him the antidote, I don't need anyone else to accompany me." Liu Caiyu looked at the old man beside her, thinking that his life was about to end, and her nose suddenly turned sour.

  "Don't worry, that kid will come back." The old man smiled lightly, as if nothing had happened.