Eternal Tale

“Ancestor, I was on that very ship back then! It was you and Brother Ox who saved me.”

Qi Hao hurriedly explained, his voice slightly shaky. Whenever he recalled that day, his resolve wavered, his core unsettled. “This disciple dares not forget.”

As his words fell, the tension in the cave eased, and Qi Hao let out a long breath. He was certain that one misstep in his explanation might have turned him into a lifeless body...

“Something doesn’t add up. A Nascent Soul cultivator’s lifespan is only around two thousand years. You wouldn’t have survived until now.”

Chen Xun didn’t pry into Qi Hao’s aura but instead looked at him with a mysterious smile. “You were cultivating in the Endless Mountains, I heard?”

What had startled Chen Xun the most wasn’t the mention of Liu Yuan but the fact that someone from her time should not have lived this long!

Unless Qi Hao had advanced to Deity Transformation or was somehow deceiving him.

Qi Hao’s pupils contracted as if the Ancestor’s gaze had penetrated him. He quickly replied, “Ancestor, I consumed two Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruits, which extended my life by a thousand years…”

Chen Xun’s fingers twitched, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Two Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruits?! A thousand years of life extension?”

His breath hitched slightly. Life’s limitations had thwarted countless cultivators; even as a long-lived being, he could not escape these constraints and had regrets left in his wake.

This revelation stirred something in Chen Xun. So many of his juniors had limited lifespans, not to mention Xiao Chi in the future. He would need to prepare.

But such an elixir… not a single record of it existed in any book from Qian Country or Da Li, and he’d never even heard of it—a treasure beyond imagination!

Yet here was Qi Hao, living proof of its effects, and Chen Xun couldn’t help but believe him. Changing the subject, he continued, “Qi Hao, tell me more about this fruit.”

Qi Hao staggered back a few steps under the overwhelming pressure that had just filled the room. This secret was something he’d never dared to reveal, his most precious possession. But before the Ancestor, he could hide nothing.

As it turned out, the Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruit was an ancient relic, a celestial herb said to have existed since the beginning of time itself.

Long ago, when powerful cultivators departed from the mortal realm, a myriad of formidable beasts lurked in waiting, ultimately claiming the entire Endless Mountain Range.

The reason? They were drawn by the only remaining Taiwei Purple Celestial Tree.

But this tree required thirty thousand years to bloom, another thirty thousand years to bear fruit, and another thirty thousand years for the fruit to ripen—a full ninety thousand years…

Not only did it need such a vast span of time, but it also required massive resources, needing middle-grade spirit stones and other precious herbs to nurture it.

And the current level of spiritual energy in the world was too thin; the Taiwei Purple Celestial Tree was barely surviving.

It might not even last another hundred thousand years, and if it perished, this world would see the last of its kind vanish forever.

The tree yielded only twenty fruits each cycle, and a being could consume no more than three in a lifetime. Moreover, a cultivator needed to be at least at the middle-stage Golden Core level to endure its potency.

In the Endless Mountains, this prize had ignited violent conflicts among the great beasts. Even the ancestral halls of the beasts couldn’t quell the chaos, as no creature could resist the allure of extended life.

But sometimes, fate has its own ideas. After Qi Hao advanced to the middle-stage Golden Core, he chanced upon the infamous “Fruit Distribution Assembly.”

In a secluded spot, he stumbled upon two Nascent Soul-level beasts that had fought each other to death over the fruits. Their Nascent Souls had already fled, abandoning everything in their haste to regenerate.

They hadn’t taken the fruits, evidently hoping that without the weight of their treasures, their brethren would aid them in their escape. Qi Hao had simply been lucky enough to arrive at the right moment.

With no hesitation, he looted their remains, collected two Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruits, and vanished. From then on, he rose in strength, eventually attaining the Nascent Soul stage, all while keeping his fortune a secret.

“Ancestor, that is the story of my journey.”

“You’re not one to forget your roots; such fortune befits you.”

Chen Xun sighed, his hands unconsciously clasped behind his back. “Have other cultivators come seeking this treasure in recent years? It seems their information came far too late.”

“Indeed, Ancestor. I’m not certain how they obtained their information, but their identities remain unclear.”

Qi Hao’s eyes gleamed with mystery as he continued, “It was rumored they arrived to explore a hidden realm. I suspect they sought the Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruit.”

He gave a wry smile. “The ancestral halls of the beasts may have a stock of these fruits, but I believe the cultivators intended to raid the halls.”

Chen Xun pondered this revelation. It seemed Meng Sheng had been dragged into a similar exploration and, in the aftermath, discovered the ancient teleportation array while fleeing his pursuers.

These stories of cultivation were truly filled with serendipitous encounters, each more incredible than the last. Neither he nor Brother Ox had encountered such thrilling twists in their journey.

Inwardly, he mused, The younger generation is full of surprises.

“However, extending one’s life doesn’t seem to restore vitality. It’s like a mortal prolonging their last breaths without truly reversing aging.”

Chen Xun’s discerning gaze immediately pinpointed the weakness of the Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruit. “While it extends lifespan, it doesn’t provide a breakthrough. Extending life beyond your natural limit might even weaken your power.”

“Ancestor, you see right through it.” Qi Hao’s expression was calm, unbothered by the reality. “Only a breakthrough can restore one’s vitality to its peak.”

“Or,” he added with a sigh, “perhaps there exists a rare celestial treasure that could rejuvenate one’s energy, but I’ve yet to find one in Qian Country.”

Qi Hao felt a pang of regret; his cultivation had reached an impasse.

He had been chosen to remain hidden by Liu Han, shielding the sect from unwanted attention with his limited power.

Now in a broken body, he had volunteered to guard the Endless Mountains. Any service he could render to the sect was his way of repaying his Ancestor’s kindness.

Chen Xun’s gaze grew pensive. Extending life was hardly as simple as people imagined. With any potent celestial fruit, a careful plan was essential.

It was foolish to take a life-extending fruit at the last minute and expect a sudden breakthrough.

Attempting a breakthrough at one’s final breath was foolhardy. By then, the body and soul were both too worn to handle the pressure, and the extended life wouldn’t rejuvenate one’s former vigor.

It was akin to a Golden Core cultivator attempting to break through to Nascent Soul at the very end of their lifespan. The only outcome would be a slow fading of warmth from the body, heartbeat gradually stilling, eyes dimming with a final contented glow as companions mourned nearby.

Chen Xun, however, possessed the Chaoyuan Scarlet Fruit from the Nine Heavens Demon-Suppressing Apes—a treasure that could complement the Taiwei Purple Celestial Fruit’s deficiency. Together, they’d form the ideal combination!

“The ancestral hall of the beasts, you say? Take me there. I’d like to invite these beast kings for some tea.”

“What? Ancestor... the Endless Mountains are home to Nascent Soul late-stage beasts! And if you intervene, the beasts might flee and leave us with future troubles!”

Qi Hao’s expression turned grave. The ancestral beasts rarely intruded into human territories, but provoking them would be disastrous.

Though the Ancestor was unfathomably powerful, a direct confrontation would only leave remnants of the beasts to become hidden threats.

Their current blockade was never meant to ward off the ancestral beasts themselves, only the ambitious early-stage Nascent Soul beasts.

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