Longevity Begins With The Birth Of A Daughter At An Old Age

Chapter 17: The First Wave of Attack

"They really followed me? Are these two guys staring at me all day long?" Xu Mu was truly speechless.

Of course, they might have followed him before, but he didn't have the ability to sense flames at that time, so he didn't know.

And he used to only go to the market, so even if they followed him, it was useless.

Even if they were bold, they wouldn't dare to make a move in the market.

This time, he walked towards Baihe Forest, and the two of them probably thought there was an opportunity to take advantage of, so they followed.

"Since you've followed me here, why not settle it once and for all?"

Xu Mu understood their intention to deal with the two of them, so he deliberately slowed down his pace, allowing them to easily catch up.

Passing through dirty and chaotic streets, the number of buildings on both sides decreased, and they became more dilapidated, until they arrived at the abandoned house where he had hidden before, and then they would leave the slum area.

There were people passing by from time to time on the road, all of them low-level cultivators who were going to Baihe Forest to hunt or gather resources.

Xu Mu walked out of the slum area and stood at the border, looking into the distance at the jungle.

The jungle, which had already turned yellow, extended from not far away all the way to the horizon.

Under the sunlight, a white river flowed from the direction of the market, passing through the vast jungle, making a circle, and then turning back towards the direction of Baishi Market, flowing towards the endless distance.

In the clear blue sky, there were occasionally cultivators controlling flying artifacts, leaving behind long tails of flames as they flew towards the depths of the mountains, most of them being cultivators in the later stage of Qi Refining.

"I wonder when I will be able to use a flying artifact?"

With his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining, he could actually control a low-altitude flying artifact.

But the problem was—no money!

Putting aside these chaotic thoughts, Xu Mu walked towards the direction of the mountains.

Boom!

At this moment, a huge shadow enveloped the sky.

Xu Mu instinctively looked up and saw a giant ship, two hundred meters long and fifty meters wide, flying over his head towards the southwest.

"Isn't the southwest outside the territory of Qinghe Sword Sect? Are they going to another sect? That's rare!"

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but Xu Mu didn't pay any more attention to it.

That kind of thing was too far away for him, thinking about it was useless.

As he got closer to the jungle, Xu Mu remembered the few years when he first crossed over, when he was eager to venture into the jungle, thinking that he would encounter some great opportunities and achieve great success in life.

As a result...

"I almost lost my life!"

Xu Mu bitterly smiled.

It was precisely because of those few lessons that he was able to focus on learning alchemy and even had the idea of getting married and having children.

Of course, as long as he didn't cross the Baisha River and enter deep into the jungle, the danger wasn't that great.

Like the Jia couple, the reason they can make a living in the Baihe Forest with only the cultivation of the early stage of Qi Refining is because of this.

Winter is about to arrive, and many cultivators are using spells to cut down trees on the outskirts of the jungle in order to stockpile firewood for the winter, making it particularly lively.

Among them, the most commonly used spell is Wind Blade Technique.

If Xu Mu didn't have alchemy to support him, he would probably be one of them now.

Thinking of this, he suddenly realized that the temperature had clearly dropped a lot recently, but he hadn't felt much cold at all.

He only had one underwear and a large, old Daoist robe on his body from beginning to end.

Looking at the woodcutting cultivators, most of them have added a layer of cotton clothes.

"I wonder if it's because of a breakthrough in cultivation or the extraordinary mastery of Fire Manipulation Technique!"

Xu Mu guessed that the latter reason was more likely.

He had never heard of the mid-stage of Qi Refining being able to resist the cold and heat. Even the late stage of Qi Refining couldn't do it, at most, they were slightly more resistant to freezing than the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

"This is an unexpected joy! But in order to provide for Yingying and Ling'er, I still need to store some firewood for the winter!"

It would be embarrassing if there was no money to buy it when the time comes.

Just in case, he still needs to prepare.

Without staying at the entrance for long, Xu Mu followed a small path that others had trampled on and walked into the jungle, quickly disappearing among the yellowed fallen leaves.

Li Wen and Li Wu's figures also followed closely behind.

Some cultivators noticed, but no one came forward to remind them.

Cultivators who knew Li Wen and Li Wu showed a look of pity, sighing that Xu Mu was really unlucky to be targeted by these two.

...

Just as he entered, Xu Mu encountered many practitioners collecting resources.

Pine cones, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, mountain delicacies, etc. In order to survive the long winter, lower-level cultivators were collecting any useful resources as much as possible.

Facing Xu Mu, who was alone, everyone was very cautious. As soon as Xu Mu approached a little, they would be on guard.

These resource collectors were all in groups, with some teams consisting of twenty or thirty people, and some with only five or six people. They cooperated with each other, with some on guard and some collecting.

"This is the life of an ordinary wandering cultivator!"

Xu Mu sighed.

There were almost no individuals like him who entered the forest alone.

Xu Mu didn't greet the other party, just smiled kindly, bypassed them, and continued to move deeper.

The deeper he went, the fewer resource collectors he encountered, and at the same time, their cultivation level became higher and their experience seemed more abundant.

When encountering these teams, Xu Mu would always keep his distance.

Who knows if these people have any bad intentions?

In this lawless jungle, anyone can transform from a harmless sheep into a man-eating wolf in an instant.

As Xu Mu walked, he searched for the imaginary demonic beasts everywhere, but naturally, he didn't find a single hair.

"I've been thinking too simplistically about this!" Xu Mu self-deprecatingly said.

The outskirts of Baihe Forest have long been trampled by cultivators, so the chances of encountering demonic beasts were already slim. Now, it's winter, and most demonic beasts are probably in hibernation, making the chances even lower.

If I want to find demonic beasts, I'm afraid I have to cross the Baisha River and venture deeper into the forest!

"Let it go!"

He just wanted to test his strength, not seek death!

If he were to encounter a high-level demonic beast, it would be disastrous.

There are often rumors in the market that someone in the later stage of Qi Refining perished deep in the forest.

And those people often act in teams, unlike him, who is alone.

He casually flicked his finger and shot a fireball, which killed a brown bird sleeping on a branch, and he stored it in his storage bag.

Since he came out, he must not return empty-handed.

Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly felt two approaching breaths behind him.

"Looks like someone is seeking death!"

A cold smile appeared on Xu Mu's lips as he cast a invisibility spell on himself, disappearing into the dense forest.

Whoosh!

After a few moments, the figures of Li Wen and Li Wu shot out from the forest and landed where Xu Mu had disappeared.

"What's going on? He was clearly here just now?"

Li Wu's voice was hoarse, and his eerie pupils scanned the surroundings.

"This guy must have used an invisibility talisman! He's really rich!"

Li Wen crouched down, furrowing his brows as he examined the footprints left by Xu Mu.

"Big brother, should we use a tracking talisman? We finally got this opportunity, we can't just let it go!" Li Wu said.

They had been keeping an eye on Xu Mu for several months, and finally, they had this chance.

As for why they were keeping an eye on Xu Mu, it was because he was wealthy.

During their previous surveillance of Xu Mu, they had seen him enter the Song family's medicine shop and noticed how freely he spent money. They immediately realized that Xu Mu's alchemy skills were extraordinary and that he was a fat sheep dripping with oil.

The slums were filled with low-level cultivators who could barely sell themselves for a few low-grade spirit stones. How could they easily give up on someone like Xu Mu?

Although it was a bit strange why Xu Mu suddenly entered Baihe Forest, money can move people's hearts, so they couldn't help but follow.

However, they had been following for a long time and still didn't dare to make a move.

One reason was that there were many people in the outskirts, and the other reason was that they weren't confident!

Li Wen looked around but couldn't find Xu Mu's trace with his naked eye. He reluctantly nodded.

Tracking talismans were not cheap, and if they couldn't catch Xu Mu, they would suffer a big loss.

Seeing Li Wen agree, Li Wu took out a piece of animal skin and licked his pale lips. He eagerly bent down, stuck the talisman on Xu Mu's footprints, and chanted some words.

The talisman spontaneously ignited without fire, enveloping a wisp of green aura.

"Be careful!"

At that moment, Li Wen suddenly felt a chill, and roared loudly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of dark red flying knives appeared out of thin air, cutting through the air and shooting towards the two of them.

Both of them were experienced in battle and immediately activated their protective talismans and defensive artifacts, forming two layers of protective spiritual light before quickly retreating.

However, the flying knives appeared too suddenly, and there were too many of them to dodge.

Just as they released their talismans and artifacts, the flying knives had already arrived in front of them, fiercely colliding with the protective spiritual light.

"He can control dozens of artifacts at the same time. This person is extraordinary. Once we withstand the first wave of attacks, he will immediately use an escape talisman to flee!"

Both of them thought at the same time.

The escape talisman was a third-grade rune that the two of them had spent a huge amount of money to purchase as a means of survival.

They deeply understood one principle: prioritize survival when the opponent's strength is unknown.

It was precisely because they understood this principle that they had been able to successfully rob for many years without any trouble.

But this time, they were destined to be doomed.

At the moment the flying knives collided, they did not break through the protective spiritual light. However, before the two brothers could feel relieved, those flying knives suddenly exploded with a rumbling sound, releasing terrifying heat and impact.

The protective spiritual light only lasted for half a breath, and the defensive artifacts barely lasted for less than a breath before being torn apart by the surging impact.

"These are rune swords!"

"Is it necessary to go this far?!"

The final thoughts of the two brothers were shock and disbelief.

Just to deal with the two of them at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, was it necessary to release so many precious rune swords?

In their understanding, the only artifacts that could explode were specially made rune swords.

By the time the continuous explosions subsided, their bodies were already severely mutilated.

"No way? This is too weak!"

Xu Mu's figure appeared from the air, looking at the two lifeless bodies with some frustration.

He thought there would be a big battle and even had sweaty palms.

He even prepared to run away at any moment!

As a result, the two of them couldn't even withstand the first wave of attacks.

"You two came out to rob with this kind of strength? Are you joking?"

Xu Mu was greatly disappointed!

He had been watched by the two of them all day long, and this was their strength.

He hadn't even had a chance to use more powerful flying swords and a great sword!

"Is it that I'm too strong, or you two are too weak?"

PS: Free period update of 7,000 words. I'm also talented, so please show some support!

(End of this chapter)