Chapter 43 - Immortal Fate Of Longevity: Starting From Taking Care of Fellow Daoist Wife
Chapter 43: The Dark-hearted Xia Family, the Life of Cattle and Horses "Master, your room has been prepared." When Xia Changge returned to his mountain, An Ruoshui was still waiting for him. Here in the outskirts of the city, the Xia family had built luxurious houses for the cultivators who used to live here. An Ruoshui had prepared one of the best houses for Xia Changge. Xia Changge nodded in understanding and patted An Ruoshui's head, encouraging her to rest. His disciple was becoming more considerate with each passing day. The bed had been warmed up. Under normal circumstances, there should be no problems here. However, due to a shortage of manpower, Xia Changge could only personally come and monitor at night, while his subordinates were responsible for guarding during the day. The next day, when Xia Changge was preparing to adjust his own state through cultivation, Yang Zhe unexpectedly paid him a visit at Kong Sang Mountain. "Senior, may I ask what brings you here?" Xia Changge felt a little surprised. Yesterday, this old man's attitude towards him wasn't very good. Of course, Xia Changge understood. After all, he didn't have many days left, and it was normal for most people to feel frustrated and unmanageable. "Young friend, I apologize for my attitude yesterday. Ah! I was just extremely saddened and disappointed by the Xia family!" Yang Zhe looked at Xia Changge with a hint of apology. Xia Changge couldn't quite figure out what this old man was up to. Apologize? There's such a thing? "Senior, you're too kind. It was just a trivial matter, I didn't take it to heart." Regardless, since he came to apologize, Xia Changge's tone was extremely good. "Young friend, did you also sell yourself to the Xia family?" Yang Zhe suddenly spoke in a low voice. Xia Changge quickly shook his head, "No, Senior, I am just a member of a vassal family to the Xia family." But who knew that after hearing this, Yang Zhe directly retorted, "You're worse off than me! I've only been exploited all my life, but you have been exploited for generations!" Xia Changge: "???" This old man is saying some strange things. Then, Yang Zhe began to share his experiences. He had joined the Xia family as a client at the establishment of the family and signed a contract, selling himself. By bringing the Xia family a net profit of five thousand spiritual stones, the Xia family helped him reach the ninth level of Refining Qi stage. By bringing the Xia family a net profit of fifty thousand spiritual stones, the Xia family would inform him of how to break through to the Foundation Building stage. Unfortunately, after a lifetime of hard work, Yang Zhe still hadn't reached that fifty thousand spiritual stones. He had no idea how to break through to the Foundation Building stage even until death. "You're still lucky. With a family to support, if you don't excel in alchemy and manage to refine those expensive elixirs, it's unlikely that you'll reach this amount. But you have children. With the efforts of several generations, you should be able to find a way to break through to the Foundation Building stage. However, whether the Xia family will still be around at that time is another question." Yang Zhe was full of envy as he knew Xia Changge now had children and was establishing his own family. Unlike him, he was solitary and focused solely on cultivation. Originally, he had planned to find a woman after he turned ninety and enjoy a peaceful life, to give himself some descendants. Unfortunately, he was tempted by the Xia family's women halfway through. Those women were still young fifty to sixty years ago, and they were so alluring... Few men in Yun'an Immortal City could resist. Yang Zhe was confident that he could break through to the Foundation Building stage and, with his identity as an alchemist, had a great chance of marrying a beautiful woman. But in the end, it was all just a pipe dream. Working diligently for the Xia family all his life, he did not get what he wanted. Xia Changge couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic towards Yang Zhe. He had worked like an ox and horse his whole life, and in the end, gained nothing. Perhaps this was a microcosm of most wandering cultivators. Of course, this only applied to cultivators in the late stages of the Refining Qi stage. Those who couldn't reach the late stages of the Refining Qi stage didn't need to be mentioned. Yang Zhe should still have a good amount of accumulated spiritual stones, but with no offspring, there was no way for him to take them to the grave. Xia Changge might have been able to extend his lifespan by a few years, but he was not going to do that. For one, they had no blood relationship, and secondly, the risk was too great. "If I had known that working diligently all my life would end up like this, I would have just enjoyed an easy life." As death approached, Yang Zhe couldn't help but express his regrets. To this, Xia Changge didn't mock him in the least. "You're also an alchemist. Although the pills you currently refine are rubbish, I don't have any disciples. Why don't you start refining them? I can give you some guidance as a way of showing my gratitude." Yang Zhe was kind-hearted, and Xia Changge chose to accept. Having someone help and guide him was something he naturally sought. Based on Yang Zhe's suggestion, Xia Changge started refining "Raging Fury Pills" used by Refining Qi stage cultivators. These pills had an average market, only needed by those who primarily cultivated physical strength. They could stimulate potential, double the power, and maintain the effect for about half an hour. After the medicinal effect, there would definitely be a period of weakness. Taking them frequently would cause damage to the body, accelerating organ failure, aging, and reducing lifespan! However, these pills were extremely helpful to cultivators who wielded heavy weapons. Especially when hunting demonic beasts, using these pills could yield good results. This was also one of the most refined pills by Yang Zhe. The Xia family's Beast Hunting Team mostly used these pills to hunt demonic beasts. With more than ten ninth level Refining Qi stage cultivators working together, it was not impossible to hunt Foundation Building stage demonic beasts. The market price for Raging Fury Pills was only three spiritual stones per pill. Over the past few decades, Yang Zhe had refined tens of thousands of them for the Xia family. But the success rate was not very high, wasting a lot of raw materials. Usually, it took two or three attempts to succeed once. Therefore, the net profit from tens of thousands of Raging Fury Pills was only a meager three to five thousand spiritual stones. Xia Changge was sweating just hearing this. This Xia family...is truly rotten to the core. He was starting to feel a little hesitant about using the medicinal materials. With Yang Zhe's guidance, Xia Changge indeed saved a lot of detours. "Senior, I don't know how to express my gratitude." When Yang Zhe was about to leave, Xia Changge sincerely responded. "There's no need for gratitude. I hope you and the other young ones can achieve your goals. After I die, perhaps I will have to rely on you to give me a proper burial." Yang Zhe didn't pay much attention to Xia Changge's words of thanks. In his eyes, Xia Changge was just at the sixth level of the Refining Qi stage. Xia Changge didn't have the audacity to ask Yang Zhe about the realm of the ninth level of the Refining Qi stage. He watched the elderly man leave. Xia Changge relaxed his muscles, circulated his cultivation technique, and relieved his fatigue. He had been here for over two months. During this period, he had time to go back home. After all, he had cleaned up the weeds in his land, so he couldn't let his family's land go to waste. Family and career both needed attention. When the time was about right, Xia Changge brought his puppet Xia Tie to the field and let An Ruoshui command and guard the place. He himself would stay at home for a while. Because his sister Qi'er's child was about to be born. He definitely had to be there to support her in person. (End of this chapter)