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

Chapter 29: Sword Master

Under the warm sunshine of spring, a gentle breeze blew. Under the willow trees along the banks of the Baisha River, the lush branches hung down, swaying lightly in the wind. Xu Mu and Su Qing, who had changed out of her maid attire, stood under the trees, conducting a transaction.

After confirming the quantity of spirit stones was correct, Xu Mu handed over the elixirs to the other party.

"Fellow Daoist Su, there must be someone from a prominent family behind you, right?" Xu Mu suddenly asked while Su Qing was inspecting the elixirs.

Su Qing's expression stiffened slightly, and she pursed her thin lips.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, I think it's better if you don't know about this matter!"

"Fellow Daoist Su, please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to inquire about the other party's identity. I just have some matters I'd like to trouble the person behind you with."

Su Qing furrowed her eyebrows and hesitated for a moment before asking, "What is it?"

"I want to know about the situation of the major families in our market district, as well as the battle between the Qinghe Sword Sect and the Soul Refining Sect!"

"I can understand why you want to know about the battle, but why do you want to inquire about other families?" Su Qing asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Recently, I've been bothered by certain things, so I want to understand the situation and see if I can find some support!" Xu Mu smiled.

His true intention was naturally to find out about the Luo family's situation and the identity of the person he killed during the last patrol. He needed to know if he should be cautious in the future.

However, he didn't plan to inquire about the Luo family's situation alone.

Who knew if Su Qing was connected to the Luo family?

As for Su Qing's purchase of the Jade Marrow Pill, he also had some speculations in his mind.

Don't forget, he was an alchemist, and his understanding of elixirs far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Aside from improving one's physique and enhancing cultivation talent, the Jade Marrow Pill also had another function, which was detoxification and beauty enhancement.

The so-called improvement of physique was actually the removal of impurities from the body.

That was why when he took it for the first time, he expelled so much dirt and dead skin.

And this function could help practitioners cleanse toxins to a certain extent.

Of course, not all toxins could be cleansed, and some toxins might even have adverse effects.

But no matter what, the Jade Marrow Pill could indeed cleanse most of the toxins in the body to a certain extent.

The reason why the other party secretly purchased it from Su Qing instead of buying it directly from the shop was most likely because they didn't want too many people to know about their poisoning situation.

As for why?

That was something Xu Mu couldn't guess.

Of course, Xu Mu wasn't in the mood to investigate the other party's specific situation either.

The more he knew, the more dangerous it might be!

However, they were currently in a cooperative relationship, so he could make use of it to some extent.

"Want to find support? Why don't you just join our pharmacy? Isn't there a bigger family than the Song family in the entire Baishi Market District?" Su Qing suggested.

"It's always good to compare and not suffer losses. Fellow Daoist Su, please help me inquire. If the other party is unwilling, then forget it. But if they are willing, I can increase the amount of elixirs by thirty percent next time!"

"Well, alright!"

Su Qing hesitated for a moment, nodded, since it was just a matter of passing on a message.

After finishing their business, the two went in different directions and left.

Xu Mu returned to Baishifang Market again. After replenishing his daily supplies, he bought nearly 800 bottles of Fasting Pills in batches from various pharmacies.

As for the second-grade Fasting Pills or similar second-grade elixirs, there were none in the market at all.

Because for lower-level cultivators, the Fasting Platform was already enough, only the big spenders would buy something better.

800 bottles of Fasting Pills were too many, so Xu Mu deliberately bought them separately to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Originally, according to his calculations, 600 bottles should have been enough, but just to be safe, he bought an extra 200 bottles.

In the end, he spent 1,400 low-grade spirit stones!

Recently, the price of Fasting Pills had fallen, so he spent two to three hundred fewer than expected, which was a small surprise.

Returning home with the elixirs, Xu Mu informed his wife and prepared to seclude himself, raising his Thunder Sword Art to the master level in one go.

The Thunder Sword Art was different from spells. If he were to improve it little by little, he would have to adapt to the changes in his body every day, wasting time and affecting his daily life.

It would be better to improve it all at once and then slowly adapt.

"Abba abba!"

Little Ling'er, who could already stand up with support, waved her tender little hand at him, making an incomprehensible sound.

"Little one! Are you reluctant to let go of Daddy?"

Xu Mu walked over with a smile, wanting to pick her up, but Little Ling'er sat back on the bed with a snap, turned her head to the side, leaving Xu Mu speechless.

What do you mean by calling me and then not letting me touch you?

Could it be that you want something from me?

Xu Mu reached out and searched up and down, only finding a few talismans and the purple copper-made Heart-Protecting Mirror.

"Yiya yiya!"

Seeing the Heart-Protecting Mirror, Little Ling'er's eyes lit up, and she grabbed it with her small hand, hugging it in her arms.

"Haha!"

Xu Mu laughed helplessly.

"I didn't expect you to have good taste! Not bad! Not bad! You're indeed my daughter! Haha!"

"Ling'er! Stop being naughty and give Daddy back his things!"

On the side, Ye Yingying was a little angry. This was the life-saving tool her husband used. She reached out to take the magical tool, but Little Ling'er held onto it tightly and her eyes started to turn red, as if she was about to cry.

"Alright! Give it to her! I'll buy a better one next time we go to the market!"

Xu Mu separated the two and pinched his wife's chubby cheeks, saying with a smile.

He didn't lack spirit stones now, and the Heart-Protecting Mirror was only a low-grade defensive magical tool, clearly outdated.

"Alright then!"

Ye Yingying pouted and said helplessly, then turned her head and glared fiercely at Little Ling'er, making Xu Mu laugh and cry.

Could it be that you're jealous of your daughter?

Sitting on the bed, Xiaoling absentmindedly nibbled on her protective mirror.

It seems like she's teething!

"Oh, by the way, you can use these talismans for self-defense, and give me the old ones!" Xu Mu took out three third-grade talismans he had collected and handed them to Yingying.

It turns out that the talismans he bought were all first and second-grade talismans, so now he had to replace them with better ones.

If you calculate it like this, he had quite a few things to replace.

Not only talismans, but also his wife's defensive artifacts, formation artifacts, and even attack artifacts.

He also needed to rearrange the Spirit Gathering formation.

To prevent anyone from discovering anything unusual during a search, he had removed the Spirit Gathering formation a while ago.

He just didn't know if Lán Shījǐn had left. If she had, it would be a bit difficult to find another formation master!

After spending some time with his wife and daughter, Xu Mu finally entered the miscellaneous room, took out a pile of Fasting Pills, opened the system, and began to enhance his Thunder Swordsmanship.

[Thunder Swordsmanship +2]!

[Thunder Swordsmanship +2]!

...

[Thunder Swordsmanship +1]!

[Thunder Swordsmanship +1]!

...

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the room corner was already filled with empty bottles.

Xu Mu had eaten so many Fasting Pills that his tongue was almost numb.

"Next time, no matter what, I have to switch to a different pill. The effect of the Fasting Pills is really poor!" Xu Mu complained.

In the early stages, one pill could increase two points, but in the later stages, it took two pills to increase one point.

Eating two pills at once was not a pleasant experience.

No matter how delicious something was, eating it this way would make anyone vomit.

Not to mention that there was no good substitute for pills in Baishi Fang Market.

Fortunately, after several days of arduous struggle, Thunder Swordsmanship finally reached perfection: 799/800.

Xu Mu took out some stored rations, changed the flavor, meditated and rested for a while, then took out three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills. He poured out one bottle, swallowed it in one gulp, and immediately added a point to Thunder Swordsmanship.

[Thunder Swordsmanship +1]!

[Thunder Swordsmanship Grandmaster; 0/1600]!

Gurgle!

He took a deep breath, his internal organs churned, and his abdomen suddenly emitted a chorus of croaking sounds, crisp and pleasant. At the same time, his joints trembled and made a rumbling sound, like muffled thunder rolling in the clouds on a rainy day.

This sound was recorded in Thunder Swordsmanship and was called "Golden Toad Swallowing Thunder"!

Thunder represents vitality, and it is said that the birth of all things in the world is due to a thunderbolt.

The croaking of the toad represents reproduction. Generally, the golden toad does not croak, only doing so when seeking a mate, day and night without stopping.

Both of them represent birth and development perfectly.

The function of the golden toad swallowing the sound of thunder is to stimulate the previously dormant bone marrow, rejuvenating it and replacing aging cells, making the whole body feel refreshed.

The artistic conception matches the vitality and reproduction perfectly.

As the sound of the golden toad swallowing the sound of thunder resounded, Xu Mu's spine began to itch and burn, quickly spreading throughout his body. His skin turned as red as a cooked shrimp, somewhat similar to when he first took the Jade Essence Pill.

The recently swallowed Yellow Dragon Pill released a tremendous medicinal power, like a surging warm current spreading throughout his body.

If an ordinary cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining were to consume a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pill in one gulp, the result would only be one thing: instant death from being overwhelmed.

Although the medicinal power of the Yellow Dragon Pill is mild, it still cannot be consumed in such a manner.

Eating too much food can cause one to burst, let alone a pill that compresses essence into a ball.

However, under the influence of the system's power, this essence was perfectly absorbed by the body, providing energy support for the body's transformation.

Enough Yellow Dragon Pills to sustain a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator for a hundred days were devoured in just a few breaths.

Xu Mu quickly swallowed another bottle!

When about seventy to eighty percent of the energy from this bottle was consumed, the absorption rate of his body slowed down.

At the same time, the transformation of his body was nearing completion.

Only when everything came to a complete stop did Xu Mu slowly open his eyes.

At this moment, his eyes were clear and penetrating, like a baby's, with distinct black and white, without a trace of flaw.

His skin was as white as jade. Although his hands were not muscular, they were filled with an indescribable sense of strength, as if holding infinite authority.

He stood up and took a few steps, light and ethereal, without a trace of worldly aura, like a celestial being untouched by dust.

Then he took a deep breath, and his skin returned to its flesh color, just a bit fairer than before. His whole body's aura converged, becoming ordinary and devoid of the celestial aura from before, replaced by a gentle and familiar feeling that would make one feel good with just a glance.

Xu Mu lightly flicked his fingers, producing a terrifying cracking sound, like a bowstring being pulled taut, full of penetrating power.

"At the same time as the rebirth, the strength has indeed increased significantly! I'm afraid that even if I move casually now, I'll have the strength of a thousand catties!" Xu Mu sighed in his heart.

He took out the Xuan Iron Sword that he hadn't used for a long time, pinching it with his five fingers and exerting a slight force. The entire sword immediately emitted a grating sound that made one's teeth ache.

When he removed his fingers, five distinct fingerprints appeared on the sword's body, as clear as day.

"Now, without using any spells, just with swordsmanship, I should be able to defeat a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator! If I add in Light Body Technique, I can even kill a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!"

The enhancement of Light Body Technique to swordsmanship was truly significant, especially Xu Mu's Light Body Technique, which had already reached the level of a grandmaster.

That meant that in an instant, his strength and speed had increased several times over.

If it weren't for the excessive recoil, Xu Mu would definitely be able to slaughter Qi Refining cultivators.

Just as he was thinking this, he quickly stopped himself.

"Damn it! I almost started floating again! Don't think that killing a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator makes you invincible! Don't forget that you almost died last time! Moreover, there are many limitations to the combination of Thunder Sword Technique and Light Body Technique. If the opponent flies into the sky, I'll be helpless!"

Xu Mu quickly reminded himself not to become too arrogant just because of his increased strength.

Because arrogance will not lead to a good outcome!

After fully adapting to the power of his body, he opened the system and began to examine the detailed changes in his data.

(End of this chapter)