Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

She used a skill to tidy up the courtyard. Barely catching her breath and preparing to take stock of her cultivation, she heard a knock at the door. “Sister, have you returned?”

Li Heng’s voice came from outside the courtyard.

His dwelling bordered Luo Qingchen’s. He probably came over to investigate upon hearing some noise.

She opened the door, revealing her familiar face that had been unseen for quite some time. A look of surprise and joy appeared on Li Heng’s face.

“Sister, really, where have you been all this time? Why were you gone for so long? How is our teacher?!”

Li Heng bombarded her with a slew of questions upon meeting her.

“Well…”

Luo Qingchen momentarily didn’t know how to explain this. She had been in Xu Mu’s room all this time, and hadn’t visited their teacher at all.

“You haven’t found him, have you? I knew it!”

Li Heng sighed, having already filled in all the blanks in his mind.

“I didn’t expect our teacher to do such a thing, but it’s already done and there’s nothing we can do about it! Sister, do you have any future plans?”

“Huh?”

Li Heng had changed the subject so suddenly that Luo Qingchen was at a loss for how to respond.

Oblivious to Luo Qingchen’s confusion, Li Heng went on, “During the Qi Cultivation Stage, it’s still manageable. But once we advance to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the resources produced by this mountain are simply not enough for both of us to cultivate. I have decided to go down and gain experience after consolidating my Foundation Establishment cultivation. Would you like to come with me?”

With a hopeful gaze, Li Heng looked at Luo Qingchen.

Luo Qingchen’s heart fluttered as she instantly grasped Li Heng’s intentions.

Given Li Heng’s talents, he could have moved to a better mountain, but he persisted in staying here. Luo Qingchen naturally understood his intentions.

However, due to her complicated circumstances, Luo Qingchen had not yet given him a response.

Now that she’s cultivating with Xu Mu, it’s even less likely to happen.

Li Heng had always been subtly hinting at his feelings, but Luo Qingchen’s prolonged absence probably made him finally decide to reveal his affections.

However, he was still rather subtle about it.

Luo Qingchen hesitated for a moment and then shook her head.

“Junior Brother, you go on your own. I need to stay on the mountain to look after our teacher.”

Li Heng’s face fell at her words.

He didn’t believe that Luo Qingchen failed to understand the implications of his words. Her words were clearly an evasion.

“Sister, you’re not unaware of our teacher’s situation. Whether you’re there or not doesn’t affect him. Are you going to give up your own cultivation for him? Haven’t the many years you’ve spent with him repaid his kindness?”

Li Heng, unwilling to give up, tried to persuade her further.

“Junior Brother, go back. I have my own plans! You’re not young anymore, it’s time to settle down. Sister Lin from Wangjian Peak is not bad, don’t miss out on her!”

After saying this, Luo Qingchen closed the door of her house.

Her final words had more or less revealed her feelings.

Li Heng stood there, stunned as if he had been struck by lightning. It took him a good while before he left, lost and dispirited.

Meanwhile, Xu Mu had arrived at the Shang Family’s residence in Tianhe City along with Shang YaoYao, and encountered Shang Lian once again.

“I heard from YaoYao that you wish to join our Shang Family, but you require me to fulfill a condition?”

Shang Lian waved his hand to dismiss the servants, leaving Xu Mu alone in the room.

“Yes!”

Xu Mu nodded.

“What condition?”

“I want to marry Sister Shang!”

Shang Lian’s eyelid twitched. He thought to himself, ‘As expected, it is just as I anticipated.’

Youngsters really like to think about nonsensical matters.

“You should know that I cannot possibly agree to this,” Shang Lian said.

Shang Lian had no intention of offending the Cao Family for Xu Mu’s sake. As for his daughter’s happiness, he couldn’t care less.

The love and hate of young people, these are only temporary impetuousness. With time and experience, they will naturally calm down.

“I know.”

Xu Mu nodded, showing little change in his expression.

He didn’t truly harbor feelings for Shang YaoYao. Rather, he wanted to use her to avoid trouble.

“What do you mean, then?” asked Shang Lian, puzzled.

“We can do it another way. Let me join the Shang Family, but Sister Shang cannot be married within one hundred years. After I advance to the Golden Pill stage, I will personally take Sister Shang and call off the wedding!”

According to information he gathered over the years, this underlying body of his most likely will have a falling out with the Tianhe Sect over the heavenly water that he needs, since it concerns the lifeblood of the Tianhe Sect.

When the time comes for conflict to break out between the two parties, having a child and wife would be troublesome. This is also a reason why he agreed so readily to Luo Qingchen’s proposal.

However, if he doesn’t marry into the Shang Family, it would be hard to gain the trust of major clans and forces. Therefore, there’s hardly any way to talk about resources.

So, Xu Mu planned to use Shang YaoYao’s name, and while building openly and digging secretly, so as to fool the Shang Family.

“You’re not joking, are you?”

Shang Lian was shocked by what Xu Mu said.

The things youngsters do for love…

“If Uncle Shang doesn’t believe me, I can sign a contract!”

In doing so, Xu Mu was pledging himself, leaving his fate to Shang Lian’s discretion.

Shang Lian hesitated.

If Xu Mu truly could advance to the Golden Pill stage within a hundred years, even if he could not advance to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, it would be a concrete fact that he would make it to the later stages of Golden Pill. Coupled with his skill talent, there was a possibility he would become an invincible presence in the Golden Pill realm.

This kind of potential and status, the Cao Family couldn’t possibly offend him over a woman.

Apart from the two Nascent Souls in the entire Tianhe Sect, the Old Ancestor of Tianhe’s life hangs by a thread, and under these circumstances, as long as Xu Mu advanced to the late stages of Golden Pill, he would undoubtedly become a personage of great import within the Tianhe Sect, second only to one and a level beyond everyone else. All five major families put together couldn’t afford to offend him.

Despite appearances, all five major families were simply ordinary Golden Pill forces. The strongest among them, the Cao Family, was on par with the Liyang Sect, and wouldn’t dare to offend a high-ranking officer of the Tianhe Sect.

There’s another reason. After a hundred years, it would still be a question whether the two of them would sustain their feelings for each other. Maybe by then they would have parted voluntarily. And in that case, they would not have offended the Cao Family and yet would have gained a genius for free.

A hundred years wasn’t a long time for them. It wasn’t a big problem to use a few excuses to delay.

“I can agree to this! After all, I am YaoYao’s father, and of course I hope that she can be happy!” Shang Lian feigned emotion.

“Thankyou, Uncle Shang!”

Xu Mu similarly showed a ripple of emotion in response.

“Don’t get too carried away yet. I did agree, but I’ll be the one to write the contract.”

“Sure!”

Xu Mu agreed outright.

In the end, the two of them signed two contracts, one for public show and the other for private trade, which could be used to keep each other in check.

With these two contracts, unless Xu Mu didn’t plan to mix in the Tianhe Sect region anymore, he would have to abide by the orders of the Shang Family.

This wasn’t the Shang Family being harsh. Regardless of which force Xu Mu decided to join, the circumstances would be pretty much the same. There isn’t a force that would invest without expecting returns.

Once his cultivation reached a certain level, Xu Mu would have to carry out tasks for the Shang Family.

However, Xu Mu naturally had his own way of managing things and wouldn’t have to risk his life like other cultivators.

“It’s time to reveal some of my other talents using this opportunity!”

Xu Mu joined the Shang Family only to deceive others. He couldn’t possibly rely solely on them as it would slow down his progress considerably.

After the contract was signed, Xu Mu took his leave.

“Father, what was agreed upon? You didn’t bully him, did you?”

Once Xu Mu left, Shang YaoYao came to inquire about the situation.

“Didn’t he discuss it with you?” Shang Lian was surprised.

“Discuss what?”

Could it be that this brat was just wishfully thinking?