Chapter 95

"You visit in the dead of night, are you here to joke with me?" Shi Long's face grew increasingly impatient; he is, after all, a famous figure, the number one expert in Yangzhou—does he not have any face?

"Speak, what exactly have you come here for?"

"Hehe! It seems Daoist Shi Long really doesn't know anything." Su Fan was not angry upon hearing this, but instead laughed and said: "However, Daoist Shi Long has good taste, to be interested in these ancient scripts."

Su Fan suddenly pointed at the rare book on Shi Long's table, as well as the silk scroll not far away, which immediately caused Shi Long's expression to change.

"Was I discovered, or...?" Shi Long hurriedly composed himself, pretending to be ignorant.

"Just a bit of affectation. If you have nothing else, please leave; I need to rest."

Shi Long grew increasingly displeased with this mysterious visitor, Su Fan.

"Daoist Shi Long, there is no need to put it away, nor is there any need to hide the Secrets of Longevity."

"What?"

Hearing Su Fan mention the Secrets of Longevity, Shi Long was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately bristling.

The look he gave Su Fan was also filled with ferocity.

"What? Is Daoist Shi Long preparing to kill me to silence me?"

Su Fan's joking tone stung Shi Long, making his eyes grow fierce.

"Hehe! It seems I hit the mark. However, Daoist Shi Long, I advise you to be cautious. Even if you want to kill me, it's useless, because the news that the Secrets of Longevity are with you has long since ceased to be a secret."

Su Fan's words caused Shi Long's expression to change wildly.

"Impossible!" Gasping for air, Shi Long glared fiercely at Su Fan.

"If it really had leaked out, why has no one come until now?"

In the tenth year of Daye, the ranking list of the world's strange techniques appeared in the Jianghu, with the Secrets of Longevity ranked second. During that time, Shi Long was very anxious, worried that the fact he possessed the Secrets of Longevity would be discovered.

He was well aware that once this secret of his was leaked, even if he handed over the Secrets of Longevity, he might not be able to save his life.

In the battle at Luoyang, the battle of grandmasters, although he did not go in person, he understood it. Moreover, in the past two years, the Jianghu has been in turmoil; whether in the north or the south, many sects have fought fiercely for a single secret manual, and many innate first-class experts have died.

During that time, he truly could not sleep peacefully.

Later, it was peaceful, and it was just a false alarm.

"Hehe! Naive. The reason no one came to find you is because it's not worth it, or rather, they simply don't care."

"Daoist Shi Long, although you are of the Daoist sect, you are not a direct descendant, right? Otherwise, you shouldn't be so ignorant."

Su Fan laughed teasingly.

"Understand what?"

"Hehe! Regarding the secret of the Secrets of Longevity, you have had it in your hands for over a decade, yet you haven't been able to comprehend even a single bit of it, wasting over ten years in vain. Haven't you realized it yet?"

To tell the truth, given Shi Long's talent, first-class is definitely too low; he should have broken through to innate first-class long ago.

But to have wasted decades is truly a great pity.

"The secret of the Secrets of Longevity, what secret?" Upon hearing this, a look of longing appeared on Shi Long's face.

For these ten-plus years, the Secrets of Longevity had even become his obsession; he had reached the point of Qi deviation.

"Hehe! Daoist Shi Long, you are still obsessed even now!" Su Fan shouted suddenly, his voice like a thunderous roar, stunning Shi Long.

Like the evening drum and morning bell, it suddenly woke Shi Long up.

"You have studied these Secrets of Longevity for over ten years, not only without any breakthrough, but you have wasted over ten years, and even just now you were on the verge of Qi deviation. Do you still not understand?"

"This martial art has not been practiced by anyone since Guang Chengzi. Whether it was Daoist sages or Demonic Sect emperors, none were exceptions; those who practiced it forcibly all died from Qi deviation. You have also tried to practice it over these years, and as a result, you are now covered in internal injuries."

Su Fan saw at a glance that Shi Long had internal injuries, caused by Qi deviation; he must have been practicing it forcibly.

In the original work, he was easily beaten by Yuwen Huaji until he was severely injured and died.

Although Yuwen Huaji's strength is not bad, he barely reaches the super first-class level at most. Shi Long is, after all, a long-famous innate first-class expert; even if he is no match for a super first-class, he shouldn't be beaten so badly by Yuwen Huaji.

Clearly, he already had injuries on his body.

"These Secrets of Longevity are a trap. Everyone from those major powers knows it, yet they ignore it because they know that this technique cannot be practiced at all; practicing it forcibly will only lead to Qi deviation."

"The people of the Daoist sect must know, but they didn't tell you. It seems you really aren't their direct disciple."

"Clearly, they have abandoned you. It's also true that you haven't been able to walk out of this yourself for so many years; it would be strange if they didn't abandon you."

"However, the Daoist sect is truly arrogant. If they had pointed you in the right direction earlier and let you walk out sooner, perhaps you would have given up and focused on cultivation, and you wouldn't only have your current strength."

"It's no wonder their strength has declined so quickly over these years; it's because they hold themselves too high. Otherwise, how could Ning Daoqi have been won over by the Buddhist sect?"

Su Fan couldn't help but mock them.

The Daoist sect has strength, naturally, but for thousands of years, the upper echelons of the Daoist sect have been too arrogant.

From the Pre-Qin period to the present, the Daoist sect has always been considered one of the prominent schools of thought; even when Dong Zhong Shu dismissed the hundred schools and honored only Confucianism, the Daoist school still had great influence.

So they are accustomed to being high and mighty.

Ning Daoqi's background must not be good; otherwise, how could he have ended up borrowing the Cihang Sword Manual from the Cihang Jingzhai?

The Daoist sect's heritage is extremely rich; for thousands of years, they have possessed countless profound inheritances. If Ning Daoqi were a direct descendant of the Daoist sect, he would definitely not have cared about the Cihang Sword Manual.

In fact, in Su Fan's speculation, Ning Daoqi should also have grievances against the Daoist sect; after all, he himself is indeed from the Daoist sect.

But perhaps because he is not a direct descendant or a true disciple, he has always been excluded, which has led to his current state of being cut off from the Daoist sect.

There are his own thoughts in this, and there is also the arrogance of the Daoist sect.

If the Daoist sect could lower its status, then would Ning Daoqi immediately embrace the Daoist sect? It is absolutely possible.

After all, no one likes being mocked as a "traitor" all day long, right?

In his previous life, Su Fan was in the Huashan Sect, which was considered part of the Daoist sect, or rather, the periphery of the Daoist sect. However, in reality, he knew very well that in the eyes of many high-level Daoist figures, the Huashan Sect was nothing.

Even the Wudang Sect is hard to enter the eyes of those high-level Daoist figures.

Therefore, regarding the Daoist sect, although Su Fan does not want to be as disgusted as he is with the Buddhist sect, it is absolutely impossible to say he likes them very much.

Of course, this also has to do with the fact that in his previous life, he once wanted to seek the true scriptures from the Daoist sect but could not.

In his previous life, he was at the peak of the post-natal realm and could not break through, so he thought of seeking the true scriptures of the Daoist sect to learn from them. As a result, several Daoist sects wouldn't even see him.

Leaving him disappointed.

This is also the reason why he mocks the arrogance of the Daoist sect.