Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

“Our esteemed friends, Xu Mu and Xu Lingyu, I presume?” the old man greeted with a salute.

“Indeed! May I ask who you are?” Xu Mu responded in kind.

Xu Lingyu also turned her head towards the old man and the middle-aged man with the round face.

“I am Wu Chun, an attendant of the Fifth Prince. Pleased to meet you both!” the old man introduced, pointing to the young man beside him, “This is Xie Chu, a fellow attendant of the Fifth Prince.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both!” Xie Chu greeted with a smile.

“Ah, our esteemed friends Wu and Xie! Your reputations precede you, and finally meeting you, I see they are indeed well deserved!” Xu Mu replied with a grin.

This wasn’t just a customary response. He had indeed heard of them both from Li Youlan.

Wu Chun was a late-stage Golden Pill cultivator, a tier nine alchemist, and one of the top three attendants under the Fifth Prince.

Xie Chu was a novice Golden Pill cultivator and a Soul Cultivator like Xu Lingyu.

Li Youlan mentioned them because she shares a close relationship with the Fifth Prince, being of the same bloodline. They had contacted each other before coming here, each aware of the other’s circumstances.

This mission was seen as a privilege, involving little danger and a promise of a Sin Refining Pill. Naturally, outsiders couldn’t interfere. Those participating in the mission were primarily associated with the imperial family.

Especially amongst them were the princesses and princes eligible for the throne. Aside from the dedicated Eighteenth Prince, all had sent representatives.

In response to the greetings, Xu Lingyu politely nodded as well.

“No need for such formalities among friends!” Wu Chun said.

After some small talk to get acquainted, Wu Chun said, “We won’t detain you from your spell contemplation. We take our leave now. We can chat more when we have more time!”

“Farewell!”

Xu Mu bid them farewell with a salute.

Wu Chun and Xie Chu returned to their original spots by the large cauldron, continuing their study of the spells. Xu Mu also focused on examining the large cauldron before him.

Each cauldron contained different spells, with nine teams of people, it was just right for each person to possess one cauldron. As for the largest cauldron, it was managed by the Nascent Soul elder overseeing the mission.

According to the guards, the Nascent Soul cultivator should be a prince of the royal family. Xu Mu wasn’t sure which prince it was though.

Xu Ling was here as bait and didn’t need to control the cauldron. She stood by Xu Mu’s side, unmoving, like a bodyguard.

The others on site were in similar situations, with the alchemists studying and researching the spells on their cauldrons, while the Soul Cultivators stood idly by.

In total, there were seven teams present; two more were yet to arrive.

Written on the cauldron were ancient characters, each embodying profound meanings. It was rather challenging to remember them, and it took Xu Mu a whole day to barely memorize them.

A new skill named “Yuan Ding Skill” appeared on his system panel, classified as a tier seven skill.

“The spell itself is not too difficult. However, for an ordinary Golden Pill Cultivator to gain proficiency in a month might be challenging. Striving for Perfection or the Grandmaster Realm is almost impossible, not to mention reaching the Transcendent level.”

Of course, the impossible didn’t include Xu Mu.

With the help of the system, he could quickly enhance the spell to a transcendent level, simply by allocating points.

For him, enhancing a tier seven skill was now a trivial task.

Just as he had raised the “Yuan Ding Skill” to Proficiency level and was considering whether to study other spells, a new team was led in by the guard.

The two newcomers, a man and a woman, looked diverse; the man slightly stooped and wooden-faced, while the woman held her head high and walked with a sense of arrogance as if she looked down on everyone else.

After the guide had left, the woman scanned the room and headed towards an unoccupied cauldron. She stopped halfway, took a second look at everyone present, and strode over to Xu Mu and Xu Lingyu.

Xu Mu initially thought she had come to greet them and was surprised as Li Youlan hadn’t mentioned her; however, the first sentence from the woman left him dumbfounded.

“We’ve taken a liking to this spot! You two move elsewhere!” she ordered coldly, her tone similar to that of reprimanding a servant.

“…”

Xu Mu was speechless.

‘Is something wrong with this woman?’

All the cauldrons were similar. What was there to choose from?

Even if there were differences, it should be whoever comes first that gets it. They had merely arrived a step ahead of her.

“Hmph!”

Spiritual power surged in Xu Lingyu, clearly ready to retaliate. She usually acted reserved and silent, but now she was quite proactive.

The woman clearly realized they wouldn’t leave willingly and mirrored Xu Lingyu’s aggression, ready for a fight.

Everyone surrounding them looked over with varying expressions, yet none stepped forward to help.

“Since you are so attached to this spot, we will yield it to you!”

Just as a conflict was about to erupt, Xu Mu stepped in front of Xu Lingyu and courteously said with a cheery laugh, preempting a brawl.

“Uh…”

The woman seemed taken aback, probably because she did not expect Xu Mu’s reaction. As she recovered, a triumphant look appeared on her face.

“Looks like you know your place! Now go away!”

“We take our leave!”

Xu Mu saluted and ushered Xu Lingyu away.

The onlookers were taken aback, never expecting Xu Mu to be so agreeable.

Xu Lingyu, who was being led away, turned to face Xu Mu. She didn’t say anything, but the clear contempt on her face spoke volumes.

Xu Mu tolerating such an unjust situation garnered no respect from her; only disdain.

However, Li Youlan had instructed her to listen to Xu Mu before they arrived. Although she was not satisfied, she didn’t say anything to avoid causing an internal conflict.

Seeing Xu Lingyu’s reaction, Xu Mu gave an awkward laugh, rubbing his nose sheepishly.

He wasn’t afraid of a conflict, but had wanted to seize this opportunity to learn a new spell. Even though these spells seemed only useful for controlling the cauldron and did not appear to have great value, Xu Mu felt that if he could master all of them, there might be unexpected benefits.

Besides, they were only tier seven spells. He could afford to spend that much Luck Value.

“Friend Xu, that woman is Ling Ying, a member of the Second Prince’s faction. She probably arrived later than she wanted to and was worried that she’d be last, so she purposely occupied your spot!” Wu Chun explained through a transmitted message.

“Understood! Thanks for the heads up!” Xu Mu responded.

Seeing that Xu Mu didn’t seem to care, Wu Chun didn’t say anything more.

If Xu Mu, the person involved, didn’t care, why would he, Wu Chun, need to interfere?

Xu Mu examined the spell on the cauldron, acting as if nothing had happened, and soon another couple arrived, the last team to do so.

This time, it was two women, both looking like beautiful wives. After taking a look around, they too headed towards Xu Mu.

“We’ve taken a liking to this spot! You two move elsewhere!”

Xu Mu: “…”

The crowd: “…”