Chapter 54 The Price of Longevity
Alzheimer's disease.
What kind of disease is this?
After the initial surprise, everyone began to ponder.
Literally, it's a disease that causes people to become stupid as they get older, which sounds incredible. Would cultivators get such a strange disease?
Everyone silently looked at the authoritative figure present—the Sage of Medicine.
The Sage of Medicine: "..."
No, what was that sound just now?
The Sage of Medicine glanced at the crowd and was surprised to find that they seemed completely unfazed. He instinctively wanted to ask what was going on.
The next second, something unexpected happened to him.
A powerful force descended upon him, gripping his throat and rendering him speechless. He also had a premonition that if he continued, he might explode and die.
"Senior brother, stop yourself from speaking!" Shi Hua glanced over and saw the Medical Saint's face was abnormally red. She immediately thought of what had happened to her earlier and quickly sent a telepathic message to him.
Of all those present, only the Medical Sage was hearing Lou Yuqing's thoughts for the first time, and he was caught completely off guard.
Upon hearing Shi Hua's telepathic message, he did as instructed.
At the same time, the force that bound him also dissipated.
"call."
The Sage of Medicine gasped for breath, raising the sleeve of his white robe to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He had always maintained a refined and elegant image in public and had never been so impolite before.
That power was simply too domineering.
The medical sage's mind was in turmoil, and when he looked at Lou Yuqing again, his eyes held a complex mix of emotions.
Lou Yuqing was completely unaware of this. She was searching for the truth about "Alzheimer's disease" on the gossip panel. She was also somewhat skeptical. How could a powerful demon in human form get such a disease?
If this were applied to ordinary people, it would make much more sense.
On the other side.
The Sage of Medicine, seeing the expectant gazes of the crowd, shook his head helplessly. Since he began practicing medicine, he had never seen such a disease, or to be precise, he had never even heard of it.
Shi Hua suddenly had a flash of inspiration and transmitted her voice, "Senior Bai Yuan is a demon, not a human. Alzheimer's disease is probably a disease that demons get. Senior brother only studies human diseases, so it's not surprising that he doesn't know about this disease."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and then looked at Senior White Turtle.
The ancient white turtle paused in stroking its long, snow-white beard, and looked at them suspiciously. It felt that their gazes were somewhat strange.
"Senior Bai Yuan, please listen to the voice of the Spirit Pearl. Perhaps it will remind you of something." Sect Leader Qing Xuzi gestured for Shi Hua to take out the sound transmission stone.
The communication stone flashed, and a rough female voice suddenly rang out: "Have you asked Old White Turtle? What did he say? When I came to Wendao Sect a few years ago, he agreed very readily."
Lou Yuqing suddenly raised her head: That voice?
Si Nidie's eyes widened slightly as her lofty image of the Spirit Ape shattered. Why did the legendary, beautiful guardian spirit beast have such a disillusioning voice?
The two looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
"I seem to have a vague recollection of it." The ancient white turtle racked its brains, trying to retrieve relevant information from the river of memories. After a long while, it gave up and said lazily, "I still can't remember."
Everyone: "..." This illness seems quite serious.
Shi Hua reluctantly relayed Senior Bai Yuan's situation to Ling Zhu, explaining briefly: "We don't know exactly what illness he has, but we can confirm that Senior Bai Yuan has lost his memory."
Upon receiving the news, Master Lingzhu paced anxiously around the table a few times: "How come Old White Turtle's condition has gotten worse? When I met him before, he said his condition had improved considerably."
Despite Lingzhu Zhenren's constant use of the term "Old White Turtle," her feelings for the Ancient White Turtle are extraordinary; otherwise, she wouldn't have entrusted her child to him.
When the Spirit Ape Clan encountered trouble, Lingzhu's parents were ordered to go out and fight the enemy. However, they were ambushed on the way and were seriously injured. In order to save Lingzhu, who was still a cub, they used a magic array to teleport Lingzhu to a place tens of thousands of miles away.
The previous leader of Wendao Sect happened to meet Lingzhu, who was almost eaten by a monster, and saved her life, bringing her back to the sect.
The sect leader was busy and had no time to look after her, so he went to find the ancient white turtle to help raise the cub. Therefore, before Lingzhu came of age, the old white turtle accompanied her as she grew up.
Lingzhu had always been aware of the old white turtle's condition.
When he first fell ill, he forgot to bring her the promised sweet fruit, and she was so angry that she ignored him for three days. Later, when similar incidents happened more often, she stopped caring.
Lingzhu thought the old white turtle was just forgetful, but she didn't expect that after not seeing him for several years, the old white turtle would forget about her as well.
Upon hearing Lingzhu Zhenren's voice, Taigu Baiyuan frowned in annoyance. This junior was impolite; how could she address him as "Old Baiyuan"? Strangely, however, he felt no anger at all and calmly accepted it.
It felt as if she had always called him that, and he had gotten used to it.
Spirit Pearl.
As the ancient white turtle chewed on the two words, an indescribable emptiness filled his heart. He knew that he had forgotten something very important.
"Zao Mo, we can't delay any longer, let's set off for the sect now." Lingzhu Zhenren, concerned about the old white turtle's condition, suddenly stood up and flew out of the cave, instantly transforming into a golden streak of light.
Before Zaomo could even ask her to wait, she had vanished. Gazing in the direction she had gone, he sighed, resignedly took out the array plate, and cast several spells into it.
Suddenly, a bright light shone, covering the original cave. On the surface, it was just an ordinary mountain peak that did not attract any attention.
Once the magic array is activated, hurry and chase after the spirit orb.
Finally found it!
Lou Yuqing looked at the bottom of the panel and thought to herself, "This is really not easy." Lines of text were written there—
The Primordial White Turtle inherits bloodlines from the primordial era and is born with the innate supernatural power of petrification.
Petrification...
Si Nidie caught the key information and subconsciously looked at the grayish-white stones scattered on the ground. Her eyes flickered slightly. Could it be that Senior White Turtle was in a stone state just now because he used a petrification technique on her?
Is this his way of hibernating?
On the other side, Sect Leader Qingxuzi and others were deeply impressed by the petrification technique.
Three hundred years ago, two major sects somehow learned that the Zixiao Immortal Venerable of the Wendao Sect was in seclusion for life-and-death cultivation. They secretly united their forces and launched an attack on the Wendao Sect from a distance of millions of miles.
Both sides understood that without the participation of Nascent Soul cultivators, the factor determining the outcome of this war lay in the strength of the Nascent Soul cultivators on both sides.
In other words, the side with more Nascent Soul stage cultivators will win.
Given the number of Nascent Soul cultivators in the Wendao Sect, a single confrontation with one force would undoubtedly result in a crushing defeat. However, when fighting against two forces simultaneously, they seem somewhat overwhelmed.
After all, they were three or four Nascent Soul cultivators behind the other side.
At that time, Immortal Venerable Zixiao was at a crucial juncture in breaking through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. If he had voluntarily ended his seclusion and joined the war, he could have immediately turned the tide of the battle.
However, as a price, Immortal Venerable Zixiao will suffer the backlash of failing to break through, and may never be able to try to take a step towards a higher realm in his lifetime. In a worse case, his cultivation may regress instead of advance.
If the Wendao Sect loses the presence of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, even if it manages to survive this calamity, other forces will still covet the sect and launch wars, repeating today's scenario.
In the cultivation world, strength is paramount, and the weak are not worthy of possessing so many cultivation resources.
When the Wendao Sect is divided up, devoured, and swallowed up, will it still be the glorious sect it once was?
For Sect Leader Qingxuzi, who gave the order, this was a difficult choice—whether or not to send someone to inform Uncle Zixiao that the sect had been attacked!
This concerns the future direction of the sect, whether it will continue its glory or decline.
In the end, Sect Leader Qingxuzi gritted his teeth and suppressed the matter, leading the entire sect to fight the enemy and buy time for Uncle Zixiao.
He's gambling!
I'm betting that Uncle-Master Zixiao will be able to break through in time!
The higher a cultivator's cultivation level, the longer it takes to break through, ranging from a year and a half to two or three months.
The Wendao Sect held out for a month thanks to its mountain-protecting formation, another month thanks to the self-destruction of various magical artifacts, and another half month thanks to a large number of offensive low-level talismans...
Finally, all the disciples fought their way out and battled the enemy in a bloody struggle. Blood was spilled all over the sect, and the white jade palace buildings were stained with a dark color. Every night, they looked like monsters that would devour anyone who dared to bite them.
As the group suffered repeated defeats, in order to preserve their strength, they were forced to cede most of the sect's territory and retreat to the nine main peaks and the area behind them, where they struggled to hold on with all their might.
The enemy leader arrogantly shouted at them: "You are already at your last gasp. If you know what's good for you, surrender now and I will spare your lives. If you continue to resist, once we break through this place, none of you will escape!"
At that time, everyone was filled with despair.
Some disciples even showed signs of defection, arriving at the magic array in the middle of the night with the barrier-breaking beads, hoping to break the restriction and offer their allegiance to the enemy sect.
Fortunately, Sect Leader Qingxuzi was prepared and managed to thwart the other side's rebellious act.
At that moment, the Primordial White Turtle broke its hibernation, teleported to the enemy forces, petrified their leader, and gently tapped him with its white shell, shattering the stone sculpture he had transformed into into countless pieces.
The enemy's morale was severely damaged, and the Primordial White Turtle pressed its advantage, killing five Nascent Soul stage cultivators in succession, no matter how they tried to escape.
[Senior White Turtle's other talent is—spatial supernatural power]
Lou Yuqing was amazed. In terms of killing and chasing enemies, Senior White Turtle's supernatural powers were obviously more practical than the illusions of the Spirit Monkey. Once Senior White Turtle caught up with him, death would be the inevitable outcome.
When Sect Leader Qingxuzi recalled the situation back then, he was filled with emotion. It was the most dangerous time in the history of Wendao Sect. If he had failed to withstand the enemy's attack and Wendao Sect had been destroyed there, he would have become a sinner.
Fortunately, Senior White Turtle was there. Although he would often go into hibernation, he would wake up in times of crisis and display his supernatural powers, severely damaging the enemy's morale.
Wendao Sect switched from defense to offense, decisively defeating the enemy and reclaiming their territory.
Then, Senior White Turtle disappeared.
He left after accomplishing his task, concealing his identity and name.
Taigu Baiyuan glanced at Sect Leader Qingxuzi with suspicion, wondering to himself what was wrong with this person and why he was looking at him so strangely, as if he had saved the other's parents.
Qingxuzi: "..." No, there really isn't.
It is reverence! It is admiration! It is being moved!
Lou Yuqing's inner thoughts continued.
[Senior White Turtle possesses an ability that ordinary people can only dream of; it is precisely because of this ability that he was able to pass on the bloodline from the Primordial Era.]
[Of the ancient beings of that era, apart from a very small number who managed to perpetuate their bloodlines through special means, most perished at that time.]
Si Nidie leaned back: Wow~ So awesome?
She pricked up her ears and listened quietly to Lou Yuqing's innermost thoughts.
[This ability is longevity. Tortoise-type demon beasts naturally have long lifespans, and once their cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage, living for hundreds of thousands of years is not a problem at all.]
[With the blessing of its longevity talent, the White Turtle easily lived for over a million years, but only half of those days were spent in conscious sleep; the other half was spent in hibernation.]
As time went on, the White Turtle's waking hours became shorter and its dormant hours became longer. Now, it rarely wakes up at all.
Meanwhile, his memories were gradually fading as he went into hibernation.
[Until he never wakes up again...]
Lou Yuqing paused.
[The White Turtle will then face its true death.]
Everyone felt as if they had been struck by a heavy hammer, their heads ringing.
Si Nidie covered her mouth, swallowing back the scream that almost escaped her lips. Her gaze fell on the old man who exuded an ethereal aura, and she was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
So, Senior White Turtle was already on the verge of death?
"I don't know what you youngsters are up to. If you want to watch, then watch openly. Do you think I'd refuse?" The old man in white shook his head at the crowd, looking quite helpless.
He seems unaware that he is about to die.
That's right, he forgot everything.
As everyone thought this, they felt increasingly distressed.
Sect Leader Qingxuzi mustered his spirits and said, "We were impolite. Lingzhu said she is on her way to the sect. You will be able to see her in a few days. Talking with her then should help you recover your memories."
He was quite somber when he said those words.
Longevity is not immortality; its price is slumber and oblivion. If we were to force the White Turtle to remember and understand his impending death, would that be a painful experience for him?
The old man in white, unaware of their thoughts, looked at their bitter faces and listlessly looked away. Suddenly, he noticed someone who stood out from the crowd.
This person was none other than Lou Yuqing.
Lou Yuqing smiled at him, not as worried as the others, because the result displayed on the system panel was several times more cruel than what was happening now.
Having the opportunity to change one's destiny is an immense stroke of luck.
Everyone heard Lou Yuqing's inner voice slowly rise.
Several years ago, Senior White Turtle awoke and was sunbathing in the middle of the lake when he bumped into True Person Lingzhu, who had come looking for him. He agreed to help her relay her message to the sect to take care of the little monkey.
Unexpectedly, not long after Master Lingzhu left, Senior Baiyuan's "Alzheimer's disease" suddenly flared up, causing him to seal himself and enter a petrified state.
The little monkey circled the stone sculpture for ten days, during which it tried to break it, making its hands swollen and red, but the sculpture remained unmoved.
[Later, it got so hungry that it left the sect's back lake and went to steal the thousand-year-old cocktail flowers from the spirit plant garden, and committed several more crimes.]
One day, it wandered into the farmland of Qishan to steal some spirit rice and formed a bond with Ruan Qingzhu. Thanks to Ruan Qingzhu's meticulous care, the little monkey gradually adapted to this kind of life.
It swung through the mountains and forests, rolled and played under waterfalls, piled up fruit to brew monkey wine... But such happy days would soon come to an abrupt end after Steward Chen witnessed it using its supernatural powers.
Everyone knew what was going to happen next, since it had already happened, and Shi Hua was the person in charge of handling the case.
Listening to Lou Yuqing's inner thoughts, she had a bad feeling. If everything was fine, the other party wouldn't need to explain unless it was something bad...
When Shi Hua considered this possibility, her heart clenched.
[Manager Chen, fearing that capturing the little monkey himself would leave a loophole, contacted a spirit beast dealer on the black market to handle it. The spirit beast dealer proposed the transaction while Ruan Qingzhu was out.]
[Ruan Qingzhu refused to buy or sell the little monkey, which enraged the spirit beast dealer. He then kidnapped her parents to threaten her. Despite her struggle, Ruan Qingzhu still refused to agree and instead used the Thunderfire Pearl to coerce the spirit beast dealer.]
[Because Yuan Shenxing suddenly rammed the door, it triggered the explosion of the Thunderfire Pearl, killing Ruan Qingzhu and the others. The clues were also directly erased, and Manager Chen thus escaped unharmed.]
At that time, the little monkey waited a long time for Ruan Qingzhu's return, but she did not come back. So she went to the back lake to ask Senior White Turtle for help, but Senior White Turtle had not yet woken up.
Coincidentally, Manager Chen also went to Houhu that day and bumped into Little Monkey. His initial intention to stay quiet for a while was instantly rekindled. Using Ruan Qingzhu as an excuse, he lowered Little Monkey's guard and easily drugged and took him away.
Shi Hua's lips were slightly pale; just as expected.
Although the little monkey was quite intelligent and possessed supernatural powers, it didn't understand the principle that you can't judge a book by its cover, which is why it fell for Steward Chen's trick.
The Sage of Medicine held her trembling hand and transmitted his voice, "Don't be afraid, Yuqing is talking about the original course of events. Look, the little monkey is still perfectly fine."
Shi Hua gave a soft "Mmm".
On the surface, he calmed down, but he couldn't help but think about it.
If the little monkey goes missing, what will happen when Lingzhu arrives at Wendao Sect and can't find her child?
She said she didn't know about the little monkey's existence. Wouldn't the Spirit Pearl think it was just an excuse? After all, Senior White Turtle's life was coming to an end, and what if he unfortunately perished before the Spirit Pearl arrived...?
If that's the case, then they've been wrongly accused.
Just as Shi Hua was getting anxious, Lou Yuqing revealed what happened next.
[Manager Chen concealed his identity and went through many twists and turns before selling the little monkey to a certain beast-taming sect. That sect was neither entirely righteous nor entirely evil, and upon taking in the little monkey, they killed Manager Chen.]
Serves you right!
Upon hearing about Steward Chen's fate, Si Nidie immediately let out a relieved snort. "If you dare to negotiate with a tiger, you must be prepared to die."
Shi Hua's face darkened; the little monkey had actually been sold to the Beast Taming Sect.
As a beast tamer, she was well aware of the methods of some of her peers. When they encountered a top-tier spirit beast like the Spirit Ape, they would spare no expense to contract it.
You say a contract requires voluntary consent? Ha, they have plenty of ways to torture you. Once they've worn down the will of the spirit monkey, it'll be theirs for the taking.
The sect leader Qingxuzi and others also thought of this matter, their faces darkening with worry.
The son of the Beast Taming Sect's leader, who was at the age to form a contract with his natal spirit beast, made a contract request to the little monkey, which the little monkey refused without hesitation.
This action angered the sect leader's son. She had grown up pampered and spoiled, and there was nothing she couldn't get if she wanted it. If soft tactics didn't work, she would resort to force.
The little monkey suffered torture for three whole months, its flesh mangled and its body covered in wounds. The sect leader's son offered it one last chance, but it still refused.
Then, the little monkey suffered the most painful torment of its life, which was also the last time it was tortured... Its consciousness could not withstand the mental attack and collapsed.
Lou Yuqing paused, then closed her eyes.
She couldn't imagine the kind of abuse the little monkey had suffered. Perhaps the audio and video could give her a sense of it, but she simply didn't have the courage to click on it.
Just reading the text made her feel a strong sense of suffocation; if the images were added, she didn't know if she could have endured it.
"hateful!"
Shi Hua finally couldn't hold back and threw a punch. Azure spiritual energy shot out and pierced into the lake like a flying needle. Looking down from above, a small black hole could be seen appearing. It paused for a second before closing back.
The ancient white turtle looked at Shi Hua in surprise. What was wrong with her?
What happened to Elder Shi Hua?
Lou Yuqing also looked at Shi Hua.
Facing the gazes cast upon her by the two, Shi Hua tried her best to suppress the anger in her heart and said, "I was just annoyed by Lingzhu's irresponsibility."
This wasn't just a perfunctory remark; Shi Hua genuinely harbored resentment towards Lingzhu. As a mother, hadn't she cared about her child at all over the years?
This explanation.
Lou Yuqing believed it.
Taigu Baiyuan did not believe it; Shi Hua's anger far exceeded what she showed, but he was too lazy to figure it out.
Three days after the little monkey was abducted by Steward Chen, Senior White Turtle broke free from his petrified state and regained consciousness, but he had also forgotten everything.
His mind went blank, as if he had forgotten something. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember, and finally, his time came.
On a beautiful evening, he sat in meditation by the lake and passed away, becoming a stone sculpture of a turtle.
Everyone's hearts sank.
Therefore, Senior White Turtle will soon face his end after waking up this time.
Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?
The ancient white turtle was annoyed by the way they were looking at it and was thinking about whether to leave first, when it suddenly heard Lou Yuqing speak up and ask, "My dream?"
Lou Yuqing nodded.
"You're quite interesting, young lady. My dream is probably to regain my memories," the Ancient White Turtle said, seemingly jokingly. "I don't know why, but I feel like I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I can't remember them."
Sadness appeared in everyone's eyes. Indeed, if Senior White Turtle knew that the little monkey had died so tragically, he would definitely feel very guilty.
Thankfully, none of this happened.
They still have a chance to salvage everything.
When the little monkey died, perhaps due to the bond between mother and child, Lingzhu felt an overwhelming grief welling up within her and immediately contacted Shi Hua to inquire about the little monkey's condition.
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Author's Note: Pre-order now for "The Daily Life of a Cannon Fodder Farmer," please add it to your favorites!
In the novel "The Immortal Path to Immortality", there is a cannon fodder character who opposes the female lead. He overestimates his abilities and makes a bet with her, but dies inexplicably on the competition stage.
Chu Yunran transmigrated into the body of a cannon fodder character, staging a dramatic resurrection.
Faced with an unknown enemy within the sect, she quickly fled.
Cultivating immortality is too dangerous; she just wants to go home and farm.
Later, she discovered
Whenever the spiritual plant matures, her cultivation level increases.
Harvesting one acre of spirit rice grants +10 years of cultivation!
Harvest a tea tree, and your cultivation level will increase by 20 years!
Harvesting a mushroom grants +50 years of cultivation!
When her cultivation level was low, Chu Yunran was obsequious and submissive.
When her cultivation level increased significantly, Chu Yunran launched a powerful attack.
Which brat plotted against this old lady? She's going to turn this person into fertilizer!
Everyone was shocked and investigated Chu Yunran's experiences over the years. It turned out that all she did was farm, and they couldn't help but question the meaning of life.
Damn, can you cultivate immortality by farming?
Chu Yunran proudly raised her head: Yes.
This book is also known as "Growing Farm in the World of Cultivation".
#The Way of Survival, I Know It# #Farming is the True Way#
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