Chapter 67: Wang Laoyezi

In the Bird Market of Lu City, Wang Laotou lay as usual on his reclining chair basking in the sun, when suddenly the faint winter warmth was blocked by a shadow; he waved his hand irritably:

"Prices are marked—take what you like, no haggling!"

But after saying this, he noticed the shadow didn't move; he opened his eyes impatiently and saw Feng Xue's otherworldly face; he smirked and said:

"You've gotten quite the reputation lately? What do you want from an old man like me? Those scraps not good enough? Want something better?"

"I dare not. This time, I've come mainly to ask you about something." Feng Xue bowed his hand, then reached into his robe and pulled out a small yellow fish; the old man waved it off:

"I don't need this. Ask what you want to know, we'll talk price later."

As he spoke, he tapped his toe, kicking a small stool beside him toward Feng Xue's feet; Feng Xue didn't refuse, steadied himself, and sat down.

"This matter is strange, really—do you know of anything that has no lifespan?"

"That's a strange question—even heaven and earth have an end; what could possibly have no lifespan?"

But as he said this, the old man felt something was off; he thought to himself, this kid's reputation is huge, and he spotted my uniqueness on his very first day in Lu City—he wouldn't ask such a shallow question. So he shifted tone and added:

"Then again, lifespan is a human concept—it depends on how you think of it. Take a stone: I crush it to powder—is that its death or just a change of form? What if I burn it into a vase? Then smash the vase?"

"That's not what I mean." Feng Xue, seeing the old man was about to launch into philosophy, sighed wearily; he organized his thoughts and explained:

"My sect's legacy includes a technique called Qi-Observing Art—it can perceive a person's remaining lifespan. But recently I saw someone with no lifespan at all, yet he's fully alive, moving, breathing—clearly a living person. Since Lu City's most knowledgeable person is you, I came to ask."

"Hah!" At this, the old man let out a derisive laugh, thinking, "That's it?" He immediately put on the air of an elder:

"You're still young! Qi-Observing Art is just a technique—no matter how mysterious, it has limits. It's fine for mortals, but for any cultivator of real depth, the readings are wildly off. It's normal to fail on high-level cultivators. Take me, for instance—can you tell how much lifespan I have left?"

Feng Xue grinned.

"Four hundred sixty-two years, two months, and three days."

"How can there be fractions… wait, what?!"

The old man shot up from his stool like a spring, staring at Feng Xue as if he were a monster.

Feng Xue sighed, but still said:

"Four hundred sixty-two years, two…"

"Enough! Enough! Accurate enough!" The old man raised his hand to stop him; even he himself only roughly knew he had about four hundred sixty years left.

It wasn't that lifespan couldn't be extended—after centuries of daily cultivation at his level, gains were negligible, and pushing too hard might shorten it. Better to live as he pleased; perhaps one day, when his mood lifted and inspiration struck, he'd awaken.

Even if he didn't awaken, it didn't matter—death was just moving to another place. His ancestors and all the unworthy descendants had already built their homes below; he might even live better down there than up here.

But knowing it himself was one thing; hearing a mere two-time acquaintance state the exact number—that was chilling.

"I underestimated your lineage!"

He silently marveled: earlier, rumors from the market—about an ultra-powerful Five Thunder Orthodoxy, about slaying mutated corpse-puppets, about the lost heir of the Shenxiao Sect—he'd dismissed them as hearsay. Now, seeing this Qi-Observing skill, he found himself believing a little.

After all, the Shenxiao Sect's founder once observed the emperor's qi; their Qi-Observing Art being powerful was plausible.

But a man lives by his face; the old man had no intention of losing his elder's dignity. He cleared his throat, rolled his eyes, found an excuse, and spoke solemnly:

"You only got lucky meeting me. Can lifespan really be stated so precisely?"

"You're absolutely right, Elder." Feng Xue immediately stood up, though inwardly thought:

"If I didn't get it exact, would you believe me?"

Having fooled the old man into thinking his shock was covered, the old man sighed—but recalling Feng Xue's earlier question, his scalp prickled.

True, if a regular fortune-teller couldn't read a cultivator's lifespan, that was normal. But this kid read my lifespan perfectly—could there be someone he couldn't read at all? What level would that be?

After hesitation, he spoke:

"When you say 'no lifespan,' what kind? Depleted lifespan? Infinite lifespan? Boundless lifespan? Or just unreadable, unobservable?"

The old man listed the most common cases in the fortune-teller's circle; Feng Xue thought and said:

"It's simply… nothing. In my eyes, he's no different from a stone or a corpse—but he's alive. You must know, in my eyes, even flowers, birds, fish, and insects all show lifespan…"

"Oh? Not unreadable—but invisible?" The old man grew interested; Qi-Observing Arts came in many forms—he himself knew three or four: observing qi color, fate patterns, spiritual radiance. Usually, encountering a powerful being meant you couldn't understand—but never completely invisible…

His centuries of experience stirred. If this were his own disciple, he'd have already snapped two fingers on his forehead and told him not to ask what he shouldn't. But this was another sect's prodigy—his pride wouldn't let him refuse.

After long thought, he finally dredged up a few possibilities, stroked his beard, and feigned profundity:

"If you're asking this, you've asked the right man—I actually know a few cases like this."

"Tell me!" Feng Xue's eyes lit up; he leaned forward, listening intently. The old man, thoroughly pleased, settled back into his reclining chair and swayed gently:

"Since you can't perceive inanimate objects, first consider: inanimate things that have become spirits—like sentient jade, ancient evil weapons, or the remains of great demons with lingering spirit. If they happen to encounter the Emperor's Dew and absorb it, they may gain sentience and become demons, their lifespan naturally different from humans."

"That's possible…" Feng Xue nodded inwardly; the old man continued:

"Also… hmm, didn't you encounter one before? That corpse-puppet? Legend says if a zombie fuses completely with a ghost, it can be reborn as a corpse-demon—essentially no different from a great demon's remains becoming a demon. But such beings carry too much malice; they can't suppress their killing urge, and wherever they go, corpses pile up."

"That doesn't fit." Feng Xue recalled the soul-binding corpse-puppet and shook his head. "Anything else?"

The old man winced at the question—he'd already named two, which was already scholarly; you want more? Wait—he suddenly remembered!

A flash of insight struck him; the old man stroked his beard again—

"It's said that once one cultivates the Yang Spirit, yin and yang harmonize, forming a self-contained universe. Such beings cannot be measured by the lifespan of ordinary lifeforms. But don't even think about that—by the time you reach that level, if you want to hide your identity, your Qi-Observing Art will be detected before you even begin. If you don't want to hide it, they'll tell you themselves."

It is said that once one cultivates the Yang Spirit, yin and yang become mutually supportive, forming a self-contained universe; such beings are likely beyond the scope of mortal comprehension when it comes to lifespan. But don't even think about reaching that realm—by the time you reach it, if you wish to hide your identity, you'll be discovered before you even use your Qi-Seeing Art; if they don't wish to hide it from you, they'll explain the situation outright.

The editor says the book goes live at midnight next Thursday…

Maybe I'm old-fashioned—I still remember when books went live after two hundred thousand words, so I planned to launch on March 1st…

Maybe I'm old-fashioned—I still remember the old days of serialization, when one needed two hundred thousand characters before going premium, and I timed it all to launch on March 1st…

That leaves only ten days. There are still two recommendation rounds left, but to warm things up, I'll say it now.

The author is in good shape, so no fluff—I'm sticking to the same demand: if first-day premium subscriptions break ten thousand—earn that "First Ten Thousand" badge—I'll post eight thousand words daily for a full month. If we stabilize at ten thousand, I'll keep posting eight thousand every month.

The author is currently in good shape, so no fluff—same requirement as before: if first-day premium subscriptions break ten thousand—meaning you earn that "First Ten Thousand" badge—I'll commit to eight thousand words daily for a full month; if you can sustain ten thousand subscriptions, then from then on, I'll deliver eight thousand words every single day.

Ten days left until launch—can you now say I didn't warn you in advance?

This book's progress is already on par with Ghost Story, even slightly better. I barely missed ten thousand on Ghost Story without asking—so please, give it your all!

After all, this book's current performance and progress are about the same as the urban legend, even slightly better; even the urban legend nearly hit ten thousand subscriptions on its first day without me asking, so everyone, please give it your all!

Anyway, no need for tips—please just give me free votes and follow reads!

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(End of Chapter)