182: Chapter 181 Things Have Come to This

He looked down at himself; his robes were wrinkled and covered in dust, and the chapped lines on the backs of his hands resembled a dried-up riverbed.

He touched his face and felt a tangled beard, long and thick, covering half of his face.

The house was covered in dust everywhere, spiderwebs had formed in the corners, the vegetables in the garden had withered, and the chickens in the coop were no longer moving.

He stretched, and his bones cracked and popped in a series. He stood up and began to tidy up.

First, he used a Spell to clean the dust from the house. With a simple Dust-Removal Spell, the dust that had accumulated for who knows how long floated up from every corner, gathered into a ball of grey-black fluff, and was tossed into the trash can in the corner of the courtyard.

The spiderwebs in the corners were swept away as well, and not even the dust in the crevices of the window frames remained.

He then used a Cleaning Spell; the pots, bowls, and ladles in the kitchen flew up from the sink, spinning in mid-air on their own, rinsed inside and out by water, and then flew back to their original places, stacked neatly.

The stains on the floor were gone, the mold spots in the corners were gone, and even the water marks on the windows were wiped clean. The entire small building looked brand new, as clean as if it had just been built.

In the past, whenever he used a Spell to clean the house, Qin Wan would always stop him.

She said that life was only interesting when lived personally, and if everything was done with Spells, how was that any different from staying at an inn?

He would accompany her; she would wipe the table, and he would sweep the floor; she would fold the quilt, and he would make the bed.

The two of them would bustle about, and an entire morning would pass. She did not mind the slowness, and neither did he.

Now, it was no longer necessary. It was just a matter of a few Spells.

He went back to the courtyard, pulled out the withered vegetables, and turned the soil.

Previously, they had only planted vegetables to eat, but now he planned to plant some Spirit Medicine and Spirit Plants. The vegetable patch wasn't large, and he finished in just a few breaths.

The chickens in the coop had long since stopped moving. He opened the coop door; the three chickens were huddled in the corner, feathers scattered everywhere, dead completely.

He picked them up, dug a pit in the vegetable patch, and buried them to use as fertilizer.

There were still a few clothes hanging on the clothesline, having been blown by the wind for who knows how long, faded and covered in dust.

He took them down, tossed them into a basin, used a Cleaning Spell, and the clothes became clean; he folded them and put them into the cabinet.

He picked up the pile of newspapers in the courtyard one by one, arranged them by date, and stacked them on the stone table. It was a thick stack, at least several dozen copies.

He flipped to the date on the top one: three months. He had been lying down for three months.

He patted the stack of newspapers, didn't read them, and turned back to the house. He sat down on the chair and submerged his consciousness into the star sea.

He had accumulated many draws over a long time, tens of thousands of them, and threw them all in at once.

That galaxy poured down, countless meteors streaked across the Void Realm, and lights of various colors intertwined, covering the sky and the earth.

He stood there, not moving, not counting.

Spirit Stones flew past him, pile after pile, landing at his feet and stacking into small mountains. Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, Spirit Talismans, Formation Materials—various lights flashed, and various items fell, piling up densely behind him.

He didn't look back; he just stood there and waited.

One thousand draws passed, four thousand draws passed, ten thousand draws passed. No gold, no color. He wasn't anxious and continued to wait.

At eighteen thousand draws, a golden light finally lit up in the depths of the star sea. The light was not large, but it was steady; it flew over unhurriedly and landed in his palm.

It was a Medicinal Pill. It was the size of a dragon's eye, golden throughout, with faint cloud patterns flowing on the surface. The medicinal fragrance was crisp and clear; just smelling it once made his whole body feel comfortable, and his pores opened up.

Longevity Pill. After consuming it, one can directly increase Lifespan by ten thousand years.

When consumed by a Mortal, it increases Lifespan by ten thousand years. When consumed by a Golden Core Cultivator, it increases Lifespan by several thousand years. When consumed by a Nascent Soul Cultivator, it increases Lifespan by several hundred years. When consumed by a Soul Transformation Cultivator, it increases Lifespan by several decades. When consumed by a Void Refinement Divine Lord, it increases Lifespan by ten years.

He held the Medicinal Pill in his palm, examined it over and over again, and then sighed softly. The sigh was long, as if it were being slowly exhaled from a very deep place.

He put the Medicinal Pill into the map of mountains and rivers, placing it together with Qin Wan.

A light lit up again in the depths of the star sea. This time, it was colorful.

The light shifted constantly, sometimes crimson like blood, sometimes azure like the sea, sometimes emerald like a forest, sometimes intertwined with purple and gold.

It flickered for an instant at the end of the star sea, and then flew to him at an indescribable speed—fast like a bolt of lightning splitting the Void Realm, yet slow like a falling leaf.

He reached out and grabbed it; the light faded, and a tea tree lay in his palm.

The tea tree was small, only about a foot tall, with gnarled branches and emerald green leaves. Each leaf had faint golden patterns on it, like runes written stroke by stroke.

enlightenment tea Tree. A supreme treasure of heaven and earth, not inferior to the map of mountains and rivers.

It ripens once every Yuanhui, bearing three hundred and sixty-five leaves at a time. A Yuanhui is one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years. He could not wait that long.

However, the tree he had just drawn already had three hundred and sixty-five leaves, each one lush and dripping with green, emitting a faint Spiritual Qi. He did not pick them, nor was he in a hurry to study them.

He did not know how to store these leaves; if picked and left for too long, the Spiritual Qi would dissipate, and sealing them in a jade box would only delay the inevitable.

Since there was no good way to store them, he simply didn't pick them and let them grow on the tree.

He moved the enlightenment tea Tree into the map of mountains and rivers and planted it next to the small wooden cabin.

Although the small world inside the map lacked complete Law, it did not lack Spirit Soil, and there were also Spirit Springs.

After the tea tree was planted, its roots dug into the Spirit Soil, and the golden patterns on its leaves lit up slightly, as if it were adapting to the new environment.

He watched for a while and then exited the star sea.

He picked up the latest issue of the newspaper. The newspaper was folded squarely; the paper was slightly yellowed, and the ink was a bit faded, but the words were still legible.

He opened the first page, glanced at the exaggerated headlines on the front page, and had no interest.

He flipped through a few more pages and, on the last page in the "Regional News Briefs" section, in the corner, he saw a message.

It was very short, only a few lines of text, tucked away in the very corner of the page; if one didn't look carefully, one wouldn't notice it at all.

Someone wanted to sell a High Grade Fourth-Tier Spiritual Vein. The requirement was to exchange it for items that could extend Lifespan.

It did not say who the seller was, it did not say where the Spiritual Vein was, and only left an address. It was at a certain shop in the East Market of Qingyao City.

He put down the newspaper and thought for a moment.

The Longevity Pill was useless for him to eat. Increasing Lifespan by ten thousand years, for someone like him who couldn't die, was merely the difference between living ten thousand years longer or shorter.

Qin Wan was no longer here, and keeping that Medicinal Pill, besides taking up space, had no meaning.

This High Grade Fourth-Tier Spiritual Vein could be placed into the map of mountains and rivers.

The small world inside the map had always lacked a decent Spiritual Vein, and the Spiritual Qi relied entirely on Spirit Stones and Spirit Medicine to sustain it, which was not a long-term solution.

With this Spiritual Vein, the Spiritual Qi could be self-sustaining, the Spirit Medicine would grow better, and that small world could slowly perfect itself. Qin Wan would also be able to sleep more peacefully.

He took the jade box containing the Longevity Pill out of the map of mountains and rivers.

He tucked the jade box into his bosom and changed into clean clothes. A moon-white robe, washed until it was pale, but clean.

He tied his hair back up and fastened it with a wooden hairpin. He didn't shave his beard; he touched it and felt that keeping it was fine too.

He stood in front of the mirror for a while; the person in the mirror looked strange, yet somewhat familiar.

He turned around and pushed the door open to leave. The alley was very quiet, and the setting sun stretched his shadow out very long.

He locked the door, tucked the key into his bosom, and walked toward the East Market.