In my twilight years of cultivating, I became a Supreme Daoist of the Longevity Path

Chapter 39: 036: Watching stars with the wind blowing, a rare peace_1 Chapter 39: 036: Watching stars with the wind blowing, a rare peace_1 With the successful creation of the Golden Silkworm Gu, Chen Dengming’s mission to the Luo Family was essentially completed.

His days of carefree cultivation on the Spiritual Vein Land had also come to an end.

He was about to return to the dilapidated gathering place of loose cultivators, competing with a large number of them for numerous cultivation resources.

Resources, they’ve always been the source of conflicts around interests.

No matter which world it is, this remains true.

But in the Cultivation World, this truth is particularly pronounced.

It’s simply because all cultivators need spiritual energy, spiritual objects, and the like for their cultivation.

...

Most of the time, they themselves do not have enough, let alone others.

Moreover, those who pursue the Dao often seclude themselves, with a decade or more passing in a flash.

As years change and the world evolves, once they emerge from seclusion, everything may be different.

This often leads cultivators to become indifferent, prioritizing their self-interest and viewing material resources as extremely important.

In this regard, even the wealthy Luo Family is no different.

At least, Chen Dengming had never heard of any spendthrift second generation in the Luo Family.

A character like Luo Bing, being the best of the third generation, occasionally appears meticulous in valuing resource benefits.

Sometimes it tarnished her fairy-like image, but this was the true nature of humans.

The truth was even more manifested in some Luo Family members, like those who recently lurked outside since Luo Bing’s marriage had an issue.

On the surface, they were smiling and inquiring about the ‘outsider’ inside, but under the table, they were probably waiting for a chance to criticize at the family meeting.

…

At this moment, in his temporarily peaceful room.

Sniffing the strands of spiritual fragrance wafting from the toad incense burner in the four corners of the room, Chen Dengming scrutinized his attribute status.

“Qi Cultivation Level Two Cultivator [Chen Dengming]

Life Span: 162/202

Spiritual Root: Gold, Wood (Mid-Grade 50/100)

Martial Arts: ”Chen Family Martial Arts Compendium” (Complete 99/100)

Daoism: ”Gu Refining Chapter” (Master Level 25/100), ”Three Elements Gathering Spirit Skill” (Second Level 197/200), ”Life-Shortening Cultivation Enhancement Skill” (First level 37/100), ”Big Fireball Skill” (Advanced 3/100), ”Instrument Control Skill” (Beginner 67/100), ”Wood Escape Skill” (Beginner 18/100), ”Gold Spear Skill” (Advanced 2/100)”

Compared to when he had broken through to the second level of Qi Cultivation, his skills and cultivation level have significantly improved by now.

Especially the ”Gu Refining Manual”, which progressed directly from being advanced to the master level, extending his lifespan by eight years.

Having learned the first level of the Wood Escape Skill, his life limit had increased by six years, reaching 202 years, which tapped the lifespan bottom limit of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

However, during this period, he gritted his teeth and consumed sixty years of his lifespan to cultivate the ”Life-Shortening Cultivation Enhancement Skill”, which increased his Spirit Qi Affinity by 40 points, reaching the medium affinity of a mid-grade spiritual root.

This way, his cultivation speed also rose accordingly.

Even if the Gold Spiritual Energy still drastically reduced the Wood Spiritual Energy whenever they encountered, after consuming the Clear Spirit Pill, his cultivation speed had already neared the high level of a low-grade spiritual root.

This resulted in his cultivation speed not dropping much despite the second round of Gu refining tasks being much more arduous.

He was now close to breaking through to the third level of Qi Cultivation.

By now, he only needed to continue cultivating at the Luo Family till tomorrow morning to break through to the Qi Cultivation’s third level.

However, just as the saying goes: Tall trees catch much wind, Chen Dengming didn’t plan to continue his breakthrough at the Luo Family.

Although he believed that Luo Bing wouldn’t care about his little cultivation speed, and wouldn’t discuss the idiom about tall trees with him, a man ‘whose time is running out’, the Luo Family was a large clan after all, and there were many others.

He instinctively chose to hide his ability and planned to return to the gathering place inconspicuously.

“This speed of cultivation is already quite fast.

Not everyone can be like me, increasing their cultivation level as long as they cultivate and breaking through directly without any bottleneck once they achieve mastery…”

Chen Dengming thought to himself.

He was now content with his current progress in cultivation.

Especially the now instant-cast Gold Spear Skill and Fireball Technique.

These outcomes were the fruits of his sweat-soaked efforts.

They were his life-saving assets.

His frantic cultivation could now pause for a while.

Opening his eyes, he rose from the rush mat and walked to the living room to see Xu Wei busily preparing his travel bag.

From clothing to some items she hesitated to use and thus saved, were all carefully arranged in the bag.

She was meticulous and extremely considerate.

“What else did I forget?”

Xu Wei frowned slightly as she mumbled.

When she happened to look back and saw a silhouette, she was taken aback.

Only after seeing it was Chen Dengming did she pat her chest and turn around, her ears reddening slightly.

She groused with a playful anger in her beautiful eyes, “Master Chen, when did you show up?

You startled me so much that I almost broke into a cold sweat.”

‘Hun’er sweating’ is a dialect from Xu Wei’s hometown, meaning one’s soul is scared to the point of sweating.

However, this kind of dialect, including that of Chen Dengming from Nanxun Kingdom, is not very likable.

It is considered a coarse accent of rural people, frequently ridiculed and looked down upon by Xi’er.

This shows that even in the Cultivation World, becoming a cultivator does not necessarily change one’s social class.

Some inherent prejudices of superiority, even reflected in speech tones, persist, engendering regional discrimination that can only be broken through absolute strength in the future.

Chen Dengming leaned back against the beam with a relaxed smile on his face.

“Xu Wei, I have told you so many times that you’re a cultivator now, you don’t have to call me ‘Immortal Master’ anymore.

You can call me Elder Brother Chen or Daoist friend.

If not, you can call me Fish Selling Guy, I can accept that.”

Xu Wei looked at him with her affectionate eyes for a while, then slightly bowed her head and softly said, “I understand.”

Chen Dengming sighed, unable to resist when this girl looked so pitiful.

He went over and picked up the bundle, “You don’t need to pack so many good clothes.

Wearing nice clothes in a gathering place like that isn’t a good idea.”

Xu Wei shook her head.

“Elder Brother Chen, you are too cautious these days, as if someone is persecuting you every day.

You should know that you are a strong man who was able to defeat an Immortal Master even before reaching the Innate stage.

You’ve reached the second stage of Qi Cultivation now, what’s wrong with wearing decent clothes?”

As she spoke, she picked up a suit to measure against Chen Dengming’s body.

What she didn’t add was the fact that these clothes were something she had carefully hand-sewn during her free time.

It didn’t matter if Chen Dengming didn’t accept her feelings for now.

Having him wear clothes she’d sewn stitch by stitch would mean that her feelings would always be close to him, ensuring her affection was not in vain.

Chen Dengming gave in to her request, stretched out his arms and let Xu Wei help him change.

He experienced a sincerity that he had not encountered from any of his seven wives.

At least, those seven wives had never sewn clothes for him by hand.

He didn’t try to persuade her anymore.

Instead, her obvious ‘affection’ triggered an instinctive impulse in him.

But he held back for the time being.

This place was the Luo Family after all, and they were outsiders, not even considered guests.

Even though their life now was better than in the gathering place, and although they had transformed into cultivators, they were still little characters in this world, and it wasn’t time for them to act recklessly yet.

Saying “no” in front of a beautiful girl isn’t easy.

It requires great courage and a hard heart.

It is only after many painful experiences that a man can learn to say this “no”.

And only after experiencing many pains can a man learn to treasure this “no”.

So, Chen Dengming did not say “no” again!

Living forever is not forgetfulness, and cultivating doesn’t mean being heartless.

Otherwise, with a long life span and living through countless years, ignoring descendants, disregarding wives and daughters, wouldn’t one just be a powerful four-dimensional creature devoid of feelings, not a living and breathing human?

…

That night, they brought out their chairs, lay calmly in the courtyard gazing at stars.

This was the first time Chen Dengming had taken a break from his intense practice.

He suddenly felt that this was not bad.

Having a sincere confidante by his side, smelling a familiar fragrance, talking about jokes that are not actually funny, he had an unprecedented sense of peace in the competitive Cultivation World.

This was an experience he hadn’t had even after more than eighty years of practicing martial arts in his previous life.

They watched and talked for a long time, without trying to define their relationship, maintaining a rare tacit understanding.

Both of them were insightful people, almost too understanding sometimes.

They knew that once a specific relationship or ritual was defined, everything might become dull, even more than after certain actions, so it was better to maintain the status quo like this.

As long as they felt secure–in the harsh and insecure Cultivation World, having a trustworthy person to stay warm with, feeling secure, wasn’t that already a happy thing?

The night was starry, they both expected the next day to be sunny.

Yes, sunny!

At least tomorrow, when Chen Dengming leaves, he would have a good mood.

“As long as Mr.

Chen is doing well.”

Xu Wei looked at the stars, secretly mouthing the original form of address in her heart.

Her eyes unconsciously squinted to mimic the twinkling of the stars.

She was a smart woman, her intelligence not reflected in being calculating, but in understanding and accommodating.

These two qualities could always touch a person’s heart more than the most appealing appearances…

…

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