Chapter 696: Sitting Still (A Celebration for the Mysterious Moron!)

"Sigh..."

Hou Shan.

After casually burning a few Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators to death, Aaron scattered their ashes in the Spirit Medicine Garden and let out another faint sigh.

Regarding the changes in the sect, he actually didn't feel much worry.

Because he didn't care, he had no attachments...

Even for Bai Caiwei, it was just like that...

Furthermore, Aaron felt that letting a Foundation Establishment cultivator serve as Sect Master was actually a pretty good idea; at least the rotation was fast... so as to avoid clinging to power.

"Get out of here!"

Aaron went into seclusion to meditate, fished a jade bottle out of his Magic Treasure Pouch, poured out a round pill, stuffed it into his mouth, and tossed the jade bottle aside.

"Forget it... everyone get up."

"Everyone disperse!"

Aaron flew into a rage: "Why haven't you sent people to search yet? Cough, cough... Where is my sixth disciple, Song Zhong?"

In the blink of an eye, another hundred years passed.

He couldn't just go stay in the mortal world!

"In order not to move, I must work hard and give it a try..."

"However, this strategy treats the symptoms but not the root cause..."

Over these past hundred years, by relying on a large amount of practice, he had ground his alchemy skills to the level of Third-tier perfection.

Xiaoqing let out a howl, the sound shaking the surroundings, causing the various Foundation Establishment cultivators to rush to the Yaowang Main Hall.

Aaron looked at Shen Le's dull gaze and couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.

Aaron's expression was solemn as he slapped the alchemy furnace.

The new Sect Master was a Foundation Establishment Mid-stage cultivator, leading the other cultivators in a grand salute.

To be honest, Aaron was a person who was quite nostalgic.

"That is your problem. Fortunately, Third-tier Spirit Pills cannot extend life for too long; sooner or later you will be able to outlast him... Just wait a little longer... You must have patience..."

Although he didn't care much about when Bai Caiwei would return, Aaron had to put on this attitude to show that his own time was running out...

"Strength... whether it's for a sense of security or anything else, when it comes down to it, one must have strength!"

"Out!"

Having stayed at Yaowang Mountain for so long, he had developed some feelings for it and didn't want to move easily.

"I don't know, that was something the old guy suddenly brought back..." Shen Le sneered: "Maybe it's the old guy's illegitimate child... But wanting to reach Golden Core? That is still wishful thinking! And counting the days... the old guy's limit is right before us!"

"The old guy is about to kick the bucket, he's even starting to get senile..."

Xiaoqing, who was guarding the door, stretched out its neck, greedily inhaling the pill fragrance.

Shen Le let out a curse, his heart raging wildly... This was it! This was the look of someone about to run out of oil and lamp!

This old immortal had maintained this appearance in front of him for decades!

Every time, he would console himself that the old guy didn't have long to live, and even went so far as to persuade the impatient Black Demon Sect branch not to make a move, as long as they persisted, persisted... the one who would win was definitely himself!

After Aaron went into seclusion, he would come out from time to time to avoid Shen Le causing any more trouble.

This Golden Core Demon Cultivator was clearly weighing and struggling...

"I am absolutely loyal to the Black Demon Sect! Envoy, you cannot refuse to help me!" Shen Le said hurriedly.

"If this matter can be accomplished, I will certainly not forget the Envoy's contribution!"

Aaron flicked his sleeves and came out of seclusion, only to see Xiaoqing.

Actually, he mainly wanted to see if he had died of old age yet...

Identity and such were problems for after a hundred years.

Even without mentioning premonitions, just looking at the Far West, the small movements of the Black Demon Sect branch were becoming increasingly frequent; this was the best proof!

But he never expected that he would actually be the one to be outlived by this old guy!!!

At the moment of death, he finally tore off the mask of the "kind master and filial disciple" he had worn in the past, cursed, and struggled to raise his hand: "I am not reconciled..."

And... even if he moved, the world was vast; how many places were safer than the Far West?

Of course, precisely because Shen Le was a dog who had been hit with the Nether Heart-Devouring Curse and could absolutely not betray him... and because he had invested so much previously, the sunk cost was too high, making him somewhat hesitant and indecisive...

After all, his Golden Core was achieved through shortcuts; even if he took Blood Spirit Pills to extend his life, he could not replenish the previous loss of Essence Qi...

During this period, Aaron had Youth Preserving techniques and still looked fine, but Shen Le was aging and weakening at a speed visible to the naked eye...

A trace of joy appeared on Aaron's face as he properly stored this Nine-Star Pill into a jade bottle, and only then did he let out a long breath.

Inside the alchemy furnace, five colors of light swirled, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance faintly emerged, even penetrating the Array Formation and reaching the outside world...

Aaron pretended not to know and summoned this good-for-nothing disciple.

"Greetings, Supreme Elder..."

Aaron glanced at the Attribute Panel:

【Name: Fang Yu (Aaron)】

It was nothing more than a repeat of the Li Jia Lao Zu affair...

When Aaron's 1,400th birthday arrived, he specifically came out of seclusion to take a look at this old disciple.

【Skill:... Third-tier Alchemy (10000/10000)】

Several hours later, he opened his eyes and glanced at the cultivation technique column:

"Hehe... Life-extending spirit items in the Far West are extremely rare. Even if they exist, they are in the hands of other Golden Core Ancestors; who would be willing to trade their own life?"

"However, I can claim to the outside world that I obtained a Spirit Pill for extending life. If Qingdan could live another hundred years, why can't I?"

In truth, with the thousand-year pact approaching, Aaron also felt a sense of a storm brewing.

"I... I am a bit uneasy. Can the Superior Sect bestow another Blood Spirit Pill?"

"If the war goes poorly then, I'll just slip away!"

Hmm...

The Spirit Pill entered his abdomen and immediately transformed into a powerful surge of Spirit Qi, reaching his limbs and bones.

Seeing this scene, Aaron dared not be the least bit careless.

"Sigh... it's not that there's no way. For example, our sect's Secret medicine, the 'Blood Spirit Pill'—one pill can extend a Golden Core Cultivator's life by a hundred years. The effect is halved for the second pill, and the third is ineffective..."

Aaron received a Transmission Talisman; it turned out Shen Le had found an excuse to come and pay a visit.

The old Foundation Establishment cultivator Aaron had previously appointed died of old age after only a few years, so he had to appoint a new Sect Master.

But at this moment, looking at his smiling Master, his eyes were filled with despair: "Ten years after ten years... you old immortal, are you playing me?"

"Stop looking at me; I've already developed an immunity to this act of yours... It was cute when I was little, but now it's just creepy!"

"With a large amount of Spirit Medicine and the Nine-Star Pill... perhaps... I can advance to the late stage of Golden Core as soon as possible?"

However, this Disciple also looked quite aged. Seeing Aaron still there, a trace of gloom flashed in his eyes, but he still bowed: "Greetings, Master..."

After calculating the time, he cast a dazzling array of hand seals, which transformed into wisps of Light and merged into the pill furnace.

"Not bad, not bad... I have recently refined a Spirit Pill for extending life; this old bag of bones can live for many more years!"

It was only recently, when he felt his alchemy had reached the Peak of Perfection and could not improve further, that he began to refine the 'Nine-Star Pill'!

Facts proved that this pill was indeed difficult, and he had even used substitutes.

Shen Le stepped out to answer, feeling a sense of grim satisfaction in his heart.

【Talent: Changsheng】

After a long while, this Black Demon Sect cultivator finally made a decision: "In the past, even selling you wouldn't be worth a single Blood Spirit Pill, but my Black Demon Sect will have major movements soon... If you can live until then, or take control of the Yaowang Sect in advance... it would be of greater help to our sect. I will try to go back and apply for it for you."

And that Demonic Dao Golden Core cultivator also used a Secret substitution technique, possessing a puppet, and analyzed from the side: "Fang Laoguai sent someone to find Bai Caiwei, perhaps to arrange a successor, or perhaps it's just a diversion... You must also pay special attention to that sixth Junior Brother of yours; what is his background?"

Ten years later.

For instance, he would announce to the outside world after a period of time that he had taken in a closed-door Disciple.

Aaron sat in the main seat without ceremony, looking lazily at the people below.

"And a hundred-plus years is too short; what can be done? Could it be I have to create a new persona again? Hmm... take in another closed-door Disciple, let him reach Golden Core in a hundred years, and then, hiding behind this persona, I can continue to drift for another four hundred years..."

Aaron looked at the purple copper pill furnace in front of him, his face full of caution.

Shen Le's Cave Abode.

"My sense of security has increased quite a bit. Even if the Black Demon Sect's branch has many little tricks lately, I'm not afraid..."

Just feeding it to a dog like this, wouldn't that be too wasteful?

Stared at by the dragon head and a pair of ferocious large eyes, Aaron didn't feel it was cute in the slightest and stepped directly onto Xiaoqing's back: "To the Yaowang Main Hall!"

Aaron was already quite skilled in the technique of creating a person who did not exist at all.

"Even if it's a bit awkward, it's still better than running away when the act can no longer be kept up!"

Another ten years passed...

At this time, Shen Le could only lie on the bed, on the verge of death...

After all, Fang Laoguai's persona was already over four hundred years old; in another hundred years, he would inevitably reach the lifespan limit of a Golden Core Cultivator!

By then, this play would no longer be performable!

The massive furnace lid flew up out of thin air, and clouds of auspicious vapor resembling spirit mushrooms emerged.

【Technique: Mingyu Art 15th Layer (10433/20000)】

"Supreme Elder... you just sent Senior Brother Song out to execute a mission, have you forgotten?" The Sect Master bit the bullet and came out to answer.

【Realm: Golden Core Mid-stage】

Fortunately, being an old monster who had lived for over a thousand years, the more major events Aaron encountered, the more extremely calm he became.

He was worried about his own problem.

"Get out!!"

At this thought, Aaron took out another Third-tier Spirit Pill to consume and continued to cultivate...

And in reality, this closed-door Disciple did not exist at all...

After all, this was a Spirit Pill for extending life that was extremely rare in the entire Extreme West!

Aaron returned to his Cave Abode, picked up a five-hundred-year-old Spirit Medicine, and began to hone his alchemy.

The Black Demon Sect envoy sneered: "As for refining it yourself? Pills refined with Third-tier alchemy can at most extend life by a few decades, and there is drug resistance if taken too much; the effect will drop crazily, and the required materials are even more precious... Besides, aren't you here? Make some trouble for the old guy's alchemy. Even if you can't beat that turtle, you can start from the auxiliary materials. I will give you a list later. The materials on it are common auxiliary materials for life-extending pills in the Extreme West. It shouldn't be hard for you to sabotage the procurement, right?"

Xiaoqing blinked its innocent large eyes, looking pitifully at Aaron.

"Finally maxed out a Third-tier skill; it really wasn't easy..."

When he saw him sitting on the Longevity Turtle, Shen Le lowered his head and cursed inwardly: "The old guy can really live!"

"This..."

Aaron immediately closed his eyes and circulated the Mingyu Art, silently digesting this stream of Spirit Qi.

"Reporting to Master, not yet!"

【Spell:...】

Aaron coughed, appearing somewhat Weakness: "Has the person sent to Great Gan returned? Where is my eldest Disciple?"

And within the auspicious clouds, a pill with brilliant radiance and nine star-like spots on its body was slowly emerging.

Even though he handled the process perfectly, he still encountered a fixed failure rate and failed twice in a row.

"Not bad... one 'Three Yang Pill' can increase Proficiency by one hundred points... combined with my bitter cultivation, the progress speed of my cultivation art will be greatly accelerated..."

Shen Le paced back and forth, appearing very excited.

"Go!"

Inside the Cave Abode.

At this moment, there was only one focus of his attention—first use low-tier Spirit Medicine to max out his alchemy, and then refine that batch of thousand-year Spirit Herbs into suitable Spirit Pills!

Shen Le had already swallowed a Blood Spirit Pill and, with full confidence, bowed: "Master... are you doing well, old man?"

"Nine-Star Pill... it's done!"

Time passed in a hurry.

Ten years and another ten years...

Hearing there was hope for life extension, Shen Le was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Aaron took the initiative to summon Shen Le.

"The Ancestor is coming out of seclusion!"

"Oh, oh..."

But in the end, it did not explode or deteriorate; instead, it stabilized.

Learning the lesson from the previous time when the seclusion was too long and the Yaowang Sect almost changed its surname by the time he came out.

"Good Disciple, where does this talk come from?"

He also felt some regret in his heart; even using the connections of the Black Demon Sect, he only found out that after this woman went to Great Gan, she explored a certain Secret realm, and immediately after, there was no news of her...

"Trash!"

"Counting on my fingers, there are only two hundred years left until the oath ends..."

Aaron was more inclined toward the latter plan.

Holding the thought that at worst he would just wait another thousand years, he performed a set of pill-collecting hand seals with extreme fluidity, causing that pill's Light to be restrained, the pill trembling slightly.

"Fortunately... the last time finally succeeded!"

After these years of fine-tuning, the so-called Yaowang Sect Sect Master had completely become an administrative position; although it sounded nice, that was all it was.

Speaking of this, his expression finally became somewhat uneasy: "But why hasn't he died yet? I have a feeling that my own lifespan is almost up..."

"Perhaps it is time... to contact the Golden Core forces of the Far West Countries and reorganize the Extreme West Alliance?"

Then, every once in a while, he would disguise himself as this person, revealing the strength of Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and Golden Core...

Aaron coughed weakly a few times: "Cough, cough... to tell you the truth... your Master is also at the end of his rope... my limit is in these few days... if you want to take over, you might as well wait a little longer... cough, cough..."

Aaron patted his own head, then suddenly his expression sank, acting like a senile old man, while still forcibly pretending to be calm!

The Demon Sect Golden Core was also somewhat confused: "A Golden Core Cultivator has a lifespan of five hundred years, but it is not balanced. Some Golden Core Ancestors suffered severe injuries when they were young, causing great damage to their Essence Qi, and they might pass away after living for four hundred and fifty or sixty years... others are good at health preservation, and if they take good care of themselves, living on until five hundred and fifty years old is no big problem... As for your lifespan, having reached Golden Core using the Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique, it is very lucky to live to five hundred. It is indeed somewhat dangerous... If you die before the old guy, then the previous planning will all become a joke!"

'The old guy is about to die, right? Practicing this Youth Preserving art, you really can't tell just from the appearance... but you still want to find Bai Caiwei to take over? Hmph hmph...'

Subsequently, he refined most of the thousand-year Spirit Herbs into Spirit Pills that increase Dharma Power.

【Cultivation Art: Mingyu Art 15th Layer (10333/20000)】

"You are quite lucky..."

After all, Shen Le was almost six hundred years old; as a Golden Core Ancestor, his life was undoubtedly very successful.

This high-quality mutton-fat white jade bottle actually only contained this one Spirit Pill.

Shen Le's eyes gradually lit up...

【Age: 1300】

Well, Shen Le was still the first one.

If it failed again this time, the thousand-year Nine-Eyed Begonia used as the main material would be completely exhausted!

"Master..."

He had failed twice before at the final steps of pill condensation and pill collection.

After thanking him, he said with some hesitation and anxiety: "Speaking of life extension, I thought of another matter... over at the old guy's place... his alchemy must have reached the Third-tier; don't let him trade for any life-extending Spirit items, or even refine a life-extending Spirit Pill himself..."

He even thought of the name for this sixth disciple, calling him 'Song Zhong'!

"Surname Song, given name Zhong, to send me to my end (Song Zhong), not bad, not bad..."

"Damn it... why did the old guy actually refine a life-extending Spirit Pill?"

Inside the Hou Shan Cave Abode.

In the end, a breath of Spirit Qi dissipated, the Golden Core disintegrated, his palm fell, and he just passed away like that...

PS: Well, adding a chapter to beg for forgiveness... by the way, begging for votes and Qidian subscriptions!

(End of chapter)