Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

In the warm sunlight of spring, cool breezes blew intermittently.

Under the willow grove along the White Sand River, green branches hung long and danced in the wind. Xu Mu and Su Qing, who had changed out of her maid’s clothes, were standing under the trees, currently engaging in a transaction.

After confirming the number of Spirit Stones, Xu Mu handed the pill over to the other party.

“Friend Su, I presume that there’s a powerful family backing you?”

As Su Qing was checking the pill, Xu Mu abruptly asked.

Su Qing’s face stiffened slightly and her lips tightened.

“Friend Xu, I believe it’s better if you remain unaware of this matter!”

“Don’t misunderstand, friend Su, I have no intentions of prying into the identity of the person behind you, I just need some help in particular matters!”

Su Qing furrowed her brows and hesitated for a moment before asking, “What is it?”

“I want to gain knowledge about the several large families in our Marketplace, as well as the situation of the battle between the Clear River Sword Sect and the Soul Forging Sect!”

“I can understand why you want to know about the battle, but why do you wish to inquire about other families?” Su Qing asked, slightly confused.

“You know about the issues 1 faced lately, the whole situation is just too infuriating, so 1 thought of understanding their situation. Who knows, I might find a reliable backer!” Xu Mu replied with a laugh.

In reality, he wanted to know about the Luo Family’s situation and whether he would need to be cautious in the future, considering the person he killed in the previous patrol team.

But he wouldn’t ask about the Luo Family’s situation directly.

Who knows if the Luo Family was behind Su Qing?

As for Su Qing purchasing Jade Marrow Pills, he also had some speculations about it.

Don’t forget, he was a Pill Master, and his knowledge of pills far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Aside from improving one’s constitution and cultivation talent, the Jade Marrow Pills also had another feature, they could detoxify and nourish one’s complexion.

What’s called improving one’s constitution is essentially clearing away the body’s impurities.

That’s why he expelled so much dirt and had dead skin peel off after consuming it for the first time.

This trait, to some extent, could help cultivators cleanse toxins inside their body.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be able to cleanse out all the toxins, some toxins might even worsen the situation.

Regardless, the Jade Marrow Pill could indeed cleanse out most toxins from one’s body to some extent.

The reason the other party chose to secretly purchase it through Su Qing, rather than purchasing it openly from a store, was likely because they didn’t want too many others knowing of their poisoning.

As for why?

That was something Xu Mu couldn’t guess.

Of course, Xu Mu also didn’t have the interest to probe into their specific circumstances.

The more he knew, the more dangerous things could become!

But given their current relationship of cooperation, he thought he could utilize the situation a little bit.

“Looking for a backer? Why don’t you simply join our pharmacy? Is there any other family in White Stone City that’s bigger than the Song Family?”

“It’s always better to shop around. Friend Su, help me ask around! If they are unwilling, then let it be. If they agree, I can provide 30% more pills next time!”

“Well, okay then!”

After hesitating a bit, Su Qing agreed, merely agreeing to pass on a message wouldn’t cause any harm.

Having completed their business, they separated, each leaving in a different direction.

Xu Mu returned to the White Stone City. After replenishing his supplies, he purchased nearly eight hundred bottles of Fasting Pills from various pharmacies in installments.

As for tier mo Fasting Pills, or similar tier two pills, they simply weren’t available on the market.

Because for middle and lower class cultivators, the Fasting Pill was already enough. Only the foolishly extravagant would opt for better.

As the number of eight hundred Fasting Pills was too large, Xu Mu decided to split his purchases to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Originally, he planned on purchasing six hundred bottles, but to be on the safe side, he bought an additional mo hundred bottles.

In the end, he spent one thousand and four hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones!

The recent prices of the Fasting Pill had dropped a bit, so he ended up spending two to three hundred less than expected, a pleasant surprise.

Returning home with the pills, Xu Mu told his wife that he was about to start intensive cultivation to master the Thunderbolt Sword Skill in one go.

Unlike skills, the Thunderbolt Sword Skill needed time for the body to adapt to its changes if learnt bit by bit. It would not only be a waste of time but also influence his daily life.

It would be better to level up all at once and then slowly adjust.

“Ababa!”

Little Ling’er, who was now able to stand by holding onto things, waved her chubby little hand at him, letting out incomprehensible sounds.

“My little one! Can’t bear to leave daddy?”

Xu Mu approached laughing, wanting to pick her up, only to see Little Ling’er immediately sit down on the bed, turning her head to the side, which left Xu Mu quite speechless.

Why call me if you don’t want me to touch you? What do you really want?

Perhaps there’s something on me that you want?

Xu Mu searched himself thoroughly, only to find a couple of Amulets and a Protection Mirror made from refined bronze.

“Eeya!”

Seeing the Protection Mirror, Little Ling’er’s eyes lit up. She grasped it and snuggled up in her arms.

“Haha!”

Xu Mu chuckled.

“Didn’t expect you to recognize a good thing! Well done! As expected of my daughter! Haha!”

“Little Ling’er, stop being naughty, quickly return the thing to daddy!”

On the side, Ye Yingying got a bit angry. This was her husband’s life-saving item. She reached out to take back the magic artifact, but Little Ling’er held onto it tightly. Her eyes were welling up with tears, seemingly about to cry.

“Let it be! Give it to her! Next time I visit the marketplace, I’ll buy a better one!”

Xu Mu separated the two, pinching his wife’s chubby cheek as he smiled.

He currently wasn’t short on Spirit Stones, and the Protection Mirror was merely a lower-quality defensive artifact which was clearly outdated.

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Yes, alright then!”

Ye Yingying reluctantly agreed with a sullen face. She glanced crossly at Little Ling’er, causing Xu Mu to laugh involuntarily.

Are you feeling jealous of our daughter?

Little Ling’er, sitting on the bed without a care in the world, was hugging the Protection Mirror as she began gnawing on it.

It seems she is growing teeth!

“By the way, take these talismans for self-defense and give me back the old ones!”

Xu Mu pulls out the tier three talismans he has collected and hands them to Ye Yingying.

The talismans he had bought before were all tier one or tier two, so now that he has better ones, it’s natural to replace them.

If calculated, there are still quite a lot of things that he needs to replace.

Not only talismans, but also his wife’s defensive magical artifacts, formation-setting artifacts, and even attack artifacts.

Fie needs to find someone to re-set the Spirit Gathering Array as well.

In order to prevent anyone investigating from finding anything unusual, he had disassembled the Spirit Gathering Array earlier.

But he wasn’t sure if Lan Shijin had left, if she had, finding another Array Master would be a bit troublesome!

After spending time with his wife and daughter, Xu Mu entered the storeroom, removed a bunch of Fasting Pills, opened the system, and started upgrading his Thunderbolt Sword Skill.

[Thunderbolt Sword Skill +2]!

[Thunderbolt Sword Skill +2]!

[Thunderbolt Sword Skill +1]!

[Thunderbolt Sword Skill +1]!

In a blink of an eye, several days had passed and the corner of the room was filled with empty bottles.

And Xu Mu was so tired of eating Fasting Pills that his tongue was almost numb.

“I must change to a different type of pill next time, no matter what! The effect of the Fasting Pills is really too poor!” Xu Mu complained.

In the early stage, one bottle could increase two points, but in the latter stage, two bottles were needed to increase one point.

Eating two bottles at a time is definitely not a pleasant experience.

Even the most delicious food would be sickening if eaten this way, let alone the not at all delicious Fasting Pills!

The problem is that White Stone City is too small, there aren’t really any good substitute pills available.

Fortunately, after several days of hard struggle, the Thunderbolt Sword Skill finally reached Perfection; 799/800.

Xu Mu took out some stored up dry food, changed the flavor, meditated for a while, removed three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills, dumped out one bottle, instantly swallowed the contents, and immediately added a point to the Thunderbolt Sword Skill.

[Thunderbolt Sword Skill +1]!

[Master of Thunderbolt Sword Skill; 0/1600]!

Gurgle!

He took a deep breath, his organs writhed, his abdomen suddenly made croaking sounds, crisp and pleasant to the ear, at the same time, his body started trembling, making a rumbling sound, like a muted thunder hidden in the clouds on a rainy day, rolling back and forth.

This sound was documented in the Thunderbolt Sword Skill, known as the Golden Toad Swallowing Thunder!

Thunder represents life, as it is said that the birth of everything in the universe was caused by a falling thunderbolt.

Croaking signifies breeding. Golden toads generally don’t croak, only when they are in heat do they croak non-stop, day and night.

The two of them precisely represent birth and development!

The function of the Golden Toad Swallowing Thunder is to stimulate the dormant bone marrow with sound, rejuvenate it, replace the old cells, and renew the whole body.

The conception aligns with the essence of breeding life!

As the Golden Toad Swallowing Thunder began to echo, Xu Mu’s spine started to tingle and warm up, quickly spreading throughout his body. His skin turned red like a cooked shrimp, somewhat reminiscent of the first time he took the Jade Marrow Pill.

The recently swallowed Yellow Dragon Pill released its massive medicinal power, like a surging warm current, spreading all over his body.

If a regular Qi Cultivation Mid-Stage cultivator swallowed a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pill all at once, there would only be one outcome — bursting to death on the spot.

Even though the medicinal power of the Yellow Dragon Pill is gentle, it still shouldn’t be taken like this.

Overeating can cause bursting, let alone a pill that compresses essence into a package.

However, under the influence of the system, this essence was perfectly absorbed by his body, providing the necessary energy for the body’s transformation.

The Yellow Dragon Pill, which was supposed to sustain a Qi Cultivation Late Stage cultivator for a hundred days, was entirely consumed within only a few breaths.

Xu Mu quickly ate another bottle!

When about seventy to eighty percent of the energy from this bottle got absorbed, his body’s absorption speed started to decline.

Simultaneously, the transformation of his body was nearing its end.

When everything completely halted, Xu Mu slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, his eyes were clear and transparent, just like a newborn, distinctively black and white, without any flaws.

His skin was as white as jade, although his hands were not particularly strong, they gave off an indescribable sense of power, as if holding infinite authority.

He stood up and walked slowly for a few steps, his movements light and ethereal, like a dust-free Immortal.

Then, he took a deep breath and his skin color returned to a natural flesh tone. It was just slightly fairer than before. His aura became ordinary, the dust-free Immortal air was gone, replaced with a gentle demeanor that brings a sense of closeness after a single glance.

Xu Mu lightly flicked his finger, making cracking sounds as if strings of a large bow were being drawn, filled with terrifying piercing power.

With the rebirth of my body, my strength has naturally increased! I reckon even a minimal movement now carries the force of thousands of jins!” Xu Mu exclaimed in his mind.

He took out his long-unused Black Iron Sword, gripped the blade with his fingers. With a slight effort, the sword produced a screeching grinding sound that would make one’s teeth sour.

When he removed his fingers, there were five clearly visible pressure marks on the blade, which could cut iron as if it were mud.

“Now, even without using any skills, just using the swordsmanship alone, I should be able to defeat a Qi Cultivation Mid-Level cultivator! If I add the Light Body Skill, I could even kill a Qi Cultivation Late-Level practitioner!”

The Light Body Skill greatly enhances swordsmanship. Especially Xu Mu’s Light Body Skill, which has been upgraded to Master level.

This is equivalent to amplifying power and speed several times in an instant.

If it weren’t for the reaction force being too great, Xu Mu would surely slaughter all those in the Qi Cultivation Stage.

As soon as this thought occurred, he quickly stopped himself.

“Fuck! Almost got carried away! Don’t think that just because you killed a Qi Cultivation Late-Level cultivator, you’re invincible! Don’t forget the close call from last time! Moreover, the combination of Thunderbolt Sword Skill and Light Body Skill has many limitations, if the opponent takes to the air, I would be helpless against them!”

Xu Mu quickly reminded himself not to be arrogant and complacent because of his strength.

Because arrogance would not lead to a good end!

After fully adjusting to the power of his body, he opened the system to check the detailed data changes..