Chapter 168

Wait, what did Long Lao mean by that sentence?

Long Ziyan has a short lifespan; is he planning to covet that Living Wood?

Is this the main reason he came over today? He must not court death.

Long Xuan was shocked and hurriedly asked: "You aren't planning to have ideas about that Living Wood, are you?"

"You must have self-knowledge! That is something even numerous Gu Kings find hard to obtain; you, a Spirit Sea stage Gu cultivator, shouldn't join in the fun."

"Listen to my advice! Turn back before it's too late!"

Long Xuan was startled and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

Long Lao gave him a fierce look and said disdainfully: "Do you really think I'm a stupid pig? Is that level of heaven-defying object something I, a small Spirit Sea stage Gu cultivator, can covet?"

"You don't need to remind me; I know what I should do. How could I, Long Ao, be someone so lacking in sense?"

"The purpose of my words just now wasn't to covet the Living Wood, but to tell you that Ziyan's lifespan is very short, and you must be prepared for her to age quickly."

"If one day you find her aging day by day, will you change your heart? Look into my eyes and speak!"

Long Lao stared tightly into Long Xuan's eyes and questioned him in a deep voice.

"How could that be? No matter how old she gets, I will still like her. I like old people!" Long Xuan responded directly without even thinking.

Just kidding, Long Ziyan couldn't possibly age in his hands. He had too many ways to make her live a long life. Wasn't increasing lifespan something that could be done easily?

Seeing Long Xuan say this without hesitation and without any pause, Long Lao nodded and said: "Then remember what you said today. Do not let her down, otherwise, I will never forgive you."

"I have a certain understanding of your character. I can rest assured handing Ziyan over to you. From now on, I will hand her over to you; you must not let me down."

After speaking, Long Lao rummaged through his storage bag. Just when Long Xuan thought he was looking for a dowry for him, he took out a few sheets of paper from the storage bag and then solemnly handed them to Long Xuan.

Long Lao didn't know what he was recalling, revealing a painful expression, and sighed: "This is the Gu formula for the Longevity Gu that I created myself, but I only researched half of it. This can only be considered a fragmentary formula for the Longevity Gu."

"It's not that I don't want to complete the Longevity Gu formula; it's just that my strength doesn't allow it. I overestimated my ability; with my ability, I simply couldn't deduce the subsequent materials."

"Your ability to create Gu formulas is unparalleled in the world. I believe no one in the world can surpass you in the talent for creating Gu formulas."

"I am unable to complete this Longevity Gu formula. Since Long Ziyan is already with you, I can only hand this Gu formula to you, to be completed by you, this genius who creates Gu formulas."

"I believe in your ability; you will definitely be able to complete the Longevity Gu formula. By then, Ziyan won't have to worry about lifespan anymore."

Long Lao was in a trance, not knowing what he was thinking, revealing a doting smile.

Seeing his expression, Long Xuan knew he had a story. After Long Xuan took the fragmentary formula with both hands, he curiously asked: "Did you create this type of Gu formula specifically for Ziyan?"

Long Xuan looked at the Longevity Gu fragmentary formula in his hand and found that he could actually see the progress, which meant that all the materials on the Gu formula were correct. Once the subsequent materials were completed, this Gu formula could truly refine a Gu.

He couldn't help but be shocked. The number of materials on this Gu formula was on the scale of thousands. Although he only researched half of it, he no longer had the ability to complete the rest.

But this didn't mean he was useless. A Gu formula that could increase lifespan was absolutely a heaven-defying Gu formula; otherwise, how could it require so many materials? That he could research half of it already showed he was a heaven-sent genius. If it were someone else, they wouldn't even be able to research one-tenth of it.

Long Xuan looked at him unexpectedly. He actually had this talent? He hadn't noticed it.

Long Lao's eyes were always looking at the starry sky, not noticing his gaze, and he said in a melancholy tone: "You guessed wrong! This Gu formula wasn't created for Ziyan, but for her mother, Hong Yu."

"It's just that I was incompetent. Even until Hong Yu passed away, I didn't manage to create the Longevity Gu formula."

Hearing this, Long Xuan was shocked and subconsciously asked: "Could it be that the Master's wife was also born with a short lifespan and needed treasures to supplement her lifespan?"

Long Lao nodded, revealing a look of recollection, and sighed: "Hong Yu possessed the exact same Nine Yin Intercepting Body as Ziyan and was born with a short lifespan. I racked my brains to find a way to increase her lifespan."

"Do you know why I owed so many debts and still haven't finished paying them off?"

Long Lao suddenly looked at Long Xuan and revealed a bitter smile: "In order to find a way to increase her lifespan, I exhausted my family wealth and didn't hesitate to waste my cultivation time to study alchemy, naively wanting to create a pill that could increase lifespan."

"It was also my whimsical idea at the time. Although pills that can increase lifespan exist in theory, they must require heaven-defying materials, which simply couldn't be collected by me, who was only at the Marrow Cleansing stage at the time."

"Walking this path failed. Not only did it delay a lot of my cultivation time, but it also exhausted all my cultivation resources, leading to my slow progress. Otherwise, with my aptitude, I would already be a Gu King now."

"Sigh! The path of alchemy didn't work, so I planned to create a Gu formula, whimsically wanting to create a Gu worm that could increase lifespan."

"However, I had a serious lack of awareness of my own ability. I was too self-righteous and didn't have the slightest self-knowledge. How could that kind of heaven-defying Gu formula that can increase lifespan be easily created by an ordinary person like me?"

"My thoughts at the time were simply daydreaming. Thinking about it now, I feel ridiculous."

Long Lao laughed at himself and suddenly looked up and drank a mouthful of wine wildly.

"So this time I failed again, continued to delay my cultivation time, squandered all the family property saved by my parents, and owed a debt, so much that it couldn't be paid off."

"Hehe, do you know how much massive resources it takes to research a Gu formula? I was really stupid at the time."

Long Lao revealed a miserable smile, and after taking a big gulp of wine, continued: "Do you know? Everything I did in those years was in vain."

"Not only did I not research anything, but I also wasted cultivation time and exhausted resources, leading to my slow cultivation speed and the exhaustion of my potential, making it difficult to reach the path of the strong."

"What hurts me even more is that Hong Yu didn't understand my approach at all. In order to research something to increase her lifespan, I didn't have time to accompany her at all. She thought it was because she was aging that I didn't want to touch her."

"She was suspicious all day long, quarreling with me all day. Seeing me close to any woman, she would mistakenly think it was a third party."

"I was also in a bad mood because of the continuous failure of the experiments, so I had a big quarrel with her, then said in a fit of pique that I had someone else, and then ran outside to clear my head. I didn't expect that departure to become the final farewell. I didn't even see her for the last time. I regret it..."

Long Lao revealed a painful expression, his eyes turned red, and he quickly looked elsewhere.

Long Xuan looked at him with complex eyes, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how to comfort him. In the end, he could only sigh lightly and look at a certain place in the starry sky.

He didn't expect Long Lao to have such a story, and Long Ziyan to have such a past. No wonder her relationship with Long Lao was not harmonious.

This was truly a tragic story, really melodramatic.

Long Lao scattered his wealth to research a way to increase lifespan, for which he owed endless debts. This approach was ridiculous, but he couldn't laugh at this moment. This might be the expression of love to the extreme. Which man and woman in a love story are rational?

At this moment, he had already made up his mind to complete the Longevity Gu fragmentary formula as quickly as possible to fulfill Long Lao's dream. If he saw that the Longevity Gu formula he had researched for a lifetime was really completed, he would surely be moved to tears. That way, his life would have one less regret.

……

At the same time, in a secret chamber within the Qian Clan Auction House.

"Eldest Young Miss, the Living Wood is about to be auctioned. Are we really doing nothing?"

"How about I disguise myself, pretend to be a buyer, and bid for the Living Wood? With the wealth of my Qian Clan Merchant Association, I have the ability to bid for the Living Wood."

Qian Duoduo said respectfully, looking at the beautiful woman sitting on a red chair.

Qian Jinjin looked at him and said helplessly: "Are you addicted to pretending to be a buyer? I have already seen the matter of pretending to be a buyer to bid for spirit wine today."

"Although this is a way to exploit loopholes, you are not allowed to do it again in the future, do you understand?"

"Once someone sees through the flaws and catches you in the act, the reputation of my Qian Clan Merchant Association will eventually be affected."

Hearing this, Qian Duoduo revealed an awkward expression. He didn't expect his perfect disguise to be seen through by the Eldest Young Miss at a glance. She really had eyes like torches.

If Qian Jinjin knew his inner thoughts, she would definitely complain. How could his round figure be perfectly disguised? It was too obvious, okay?

"Are we really giving up on such a heaven-defying treasure as the Living Wood? Even pretending to accidentally knock off a piece of bark would be fine."

Qian Duoduo said, unwilling to give up, revealing a very unwilling expression.

Qian Jinjin immediately looked at him with sharp eyes and said sternly: "Don't do unnecessary things, do you understand?"

"Doing nothing is not my decision; it is the family's decision."

"The family has already held an Elder Council meeting, and finally voted unanimously to give up the fight for the Living Wood."

"All the high-level members of the family unanimously believe that the disadvantages of fighting for the Living Wood outweigh the advantages."

"The reputation of the family is the foundation of the clan. With reputation, there will be a steady stream of wealth. This is an inexhaustible benefit. For our clan, the value of reputation is far greater than ten Living Woods."

"So many Gu King ancestors of the family whose lifespan is running out have painfully given up their covetousness for the Living Wood. You, a small steward, dare to covet the Living Wood?"

"Put away all your little cleverness. No matter how reasonable our explanation is, once you move the Living Wood, you will definitely be suspected by others. Don't treat the people of the world as fools! Do you know!"

Qian Jinjin said in a stern tone, looking at Qian Duoduo with a beating gaze.

……

(End of chapter)