Chapter 122

Those celestial vessel compatriots who fortunately survived the war then fell into a longevity ailment known as the Demonic Yin Body.

If not for having fortunately received the revelation and protection of the Divine Bow Si Ming, the celestial vessel alliance would have long ceased to exist today.

Behind this seemingly beautiful longevity lies an abyss of endless blood and tears. Jing Yuan lowered his eyes slightly and sighed, saying: "Having come this far in the story, you should all understand what kind of disaster the rebirth of the Jianmu will bring."

Japan, Shinjuku Ward, Takamagahara.

The night had passed its midpoint, the table littered with cups and plates, the plump female attendant and her best friend already slept soundly, only Kaisa and Chu Zihang remained awake in the private room. Kaisa poured the remaining half-glass of sparkling wine into his mouth, only the ice cubes could barely stimulate his gradually weary spirit.

In that case, longevity isn't really a good thing.

No, I actually think it's fine. Even if one eventually falls into the Demonic Yin Body, longevity is still a nice blessing." Chu Zihang suddenly said.

Someone like you would definitely be the chief enforcer of the Medicine King's secret transmission in the celestial vessel.

Experiences of seeking longevity are not uncommon in our country's history, leaving many recorded books, such as the 《Zhouyi Cantong Qi》…… It is an ancient book from 200 AD recording alchemical chemistry, with detailed descriptions of how to extract the 'Supreme One' from all things in nature; many later emperors followed it, seeking longevity.

Did it succeed?

Of course it failed, unless the emperor was a pure-blood dragon—but that's not what I want to say; rather, ancient seekers of longevity all shared a common trait.

Chu Zihang said expressionlessly: "The so-called longevity has always been a privilege possessed by only a few, not a welfare that the masses can enjoy."

Take mixed-bloods as an example: mixed-bloods do not get sick, they have longer lifespans and greater strength. One could even consider this a more perfect human state—just imagine if, overnight, all humans in the world became mixed-bloods; can you imagine what the world would become?

... probably the next day would be the end of the world." Kaisa muttered.

Well, when a particular special group's proportion in society exceeds a certain threshold, it touches the population red line, triggering disaster... that is the origin of the celestial vessel's population explosion and resource scarcity crisis.

Chu Zihang continued: "If, from the beginning, the celestial vessel's emperor had firmly controlled the fruits fallen from the Jianmu, allowing only the imperial family and a tiny minority of nobles to enjoy them, many unnecessary disasters could have been reduced."

Kaisa cleared his head a bit, nodded: "Indeed, the divine substance of longevity in the celestial vessel is like the first-generation mixed-bloods discovered by our ancestors—except the former is widespread among the populace, while the latter deliberately keeps the bloodline firmly in the hands of a few, passing it only among outstanding peers. Thus, even over the past thousands of years, the threshold number of mixed-bloods has never been broken."

After asking Jing Yuan about the doubts in their hearts, the train crew prepared to depart.

Before departure, Xing finally greeted Fu Xuan and told her about Kafuka's escape.

"I had already anticipated this." Fu Xuan was not surprised, lightly shaking her head: "Pursuing her would be a waste of effort; the Qiong Guan Array revealed to me Kafuka's innocence. What matters most now is dealing with the Jianmu."

"Counting from the time the Star Core began its erosion, aside from the alchemist physicians stationed in other cavern heavens, the Dan Ding Si has had no further reports; that place is nearest to the Jianmu, and it's likely more ominous than auspicious."

To reach the Jianmu, one must first pass through the Gong Zao Si and the Dan Ding Si; urged by Fu Xuan, everyone immediately boarded the Star Ark and set off for the Gong Zao Si cavern heaven.

Upon arriving at the Gong Zao Si, just after disembarking from the Star Ark, one sees many artisans gathered at the entrance of the Gong Zao Si.

"Huh?" Ting Yun was quite surprised: "The cavern heaven of the Gong Zao Si has been idle since the Star Core's erosion. Why aren't these people taking the Star Ark to the safe zone?"

"Maybe the Gong Zao Si is just more dedicated to their posts? Think of the diviners of the Divination Bureau—what does 'no comparison, no difference' mean...?" San Yue Qi complained.

"After all, it's work; one relies on it for a living. The adult world... hehe, there's no such thing as 'easy'."

"Old Man Yang, your tone as someone who's been through it..." San Yue Qi couldn't help but wonder what past experiences Waerte had.

Haha... If San Yue Qi knew that the Mr. Waerte she's curious about is currently a corporate slave at an animation company, now crunching overtime to meet a project deadline, drawing animations, who knows what expression he'd have?

On the other end of the phone, Jizi let out a light laugh.

Watching Old Man Yang, who can do almost anything, furiously scribbling while working overtime... hehe, this scene is quite novel.

Didn't I say that? The adult world has no 'easy'. Waerte also didn't back down: 'How come? Is your work at the institute really easy?'

"" A moment of silence came from the other end of the phone at the right time.

Every few days there's a mission, plus she has to look after Qiana and Mei; no one knows from when, Jizi discovered she had started to develop a resistance to coffee.

A tiny little 'work' character—who knows how many adults' final destination it is.

"These days, which path is easy?" Ting Yun smiled slightly, saying: "Everyone, look—this Gong Zao Si is filled with workshops researching strange machines and mechanisms, and artisans racking their brains to invent and innovate."

"Their tradition is to stir up a few baskets every few days—either making the cavern heaven's pavilions vanish into thin air, or causing mechanical puppets to riot, and so on."

"Benefactors, you'd better be careful. In my view, some huge trouble must have broken out inside, making these artisans unwilling to go, yet with no way to escape."

Teyvat continent, Mount Otsang.

As expected, upon hearing the words 'strange machines and mechanisms, mechanical puppets,' Liu Yun stretched his neck, wishing he could poke his head into the light curtain to investigate, hahaha...

"Tch, what's the big deal? The celestial vessel's art of mechanisms is quite exquisite and meticulous; this immortal has always liked these things—what's wrong with looking a few more times? Openly admitting it is fine."

The cheongsam-clad lady with a high ponytail raised her hand and pushed up the half-frame glasses on her nose bridge, … 'Hey, Li Shui, you old fogey, you're not interested in talismans, are you? When Fu Xuan that girl activated the Qiong Guan Array, why didn't you use immortal arts to copy the talismans above?'

"Oh, you mean those faintly visible talismans? Actually, it's not that this immortal is lazy; rather, the talismans engraved above are truly complex and obscure, and studying just one sheet is meaningless unless you copy and study the entire set of talismans in the Qiong Guan Array."

"With this free time, wouldn't it be nice for this immortal to come to Mount Aocang and have tea and chat with you two?"