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

Chapter 8: Strangling the Crisis

"Ying'er, stay at home, I'm going to visit the neighbors!"

Xu Mu walked out of the house and knocked on the door next door.

Creak!

The door opened from the inside, revealing two chubby figures.

A man and a woman, both in their thirties.

The man's name was Jia An, and the woman's name was Li Moqing.

Xu Mu had visited them when he first arrived, and occasionally greeted them when they met outside, so they were somewhat familiar.

In Baishifang City, there were only two types of people who could become fat: the children of the prominent families in the city and those who practiced special techniques.

The two of them lived in a shantytown, and the reason was self-evident.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, why do you have time to come over?"

Jia An squeezed out a smile.

Li Moqing, on the other hand, seemed somewhat displeased.

"These past few days, my daughter's crying has disturbed both of you. Please don't blame us, Fellow Daoists. Here are a few Qi Gathering Pills as an apology!"

As he spoke, Xu Mu handed over a bottle containing Qi Gathering Pills.

"Qi Gathering Pills?!!"

Jia An and his wife were shocked.

One Qi Gathering Pill was equivalent to a low-grade spirit stone, which could cover their rent for a month. And judging from Xu Mu's tone, there should be more than just one pill.

"This, this is too precious. Fellow Daoist Xu, please take it back!"

Jia An declined verbally, but his hands couldn't help but reach out.

Li Moqing, beside him, had a gleam in her eyes and couldn't help but want to reach out as well.

Xu Mu smiled and placed the pills in Jia An's hesitant hands.

"A small gift, just a token of respect. If there's anything wrong in the future, please forgive me!"

Inside, he had only put three Qi Gathering Pills, not too many and not too few, but it should be enough to improve their neighborly relationship.

"Fellow Daoist Xu is too polite! We are all neighbors, and we should help each other! It's normal for children to cry and make a fuss! Actually, both of us quite like children!"

Jia An put the Qi Gathering Pills into his storage bag, and his smile became extremely sincere.

Li Moqing's displeased expression also turned into a warm smile.

These past few days, the crying of their daughter, Xiaoling, had indeed annoyed the couple, but they couldn't say anything because of their face.

But now...

Hmm!

That crying voice was so pleasant to the ears!

"Both of you can understand. I'm extremely grateful!"

Xu Mu thanked them again with a cupped fist.

"Fellow Daoist Xu!"

Jia An glanced left and right at the alley behind Xu Mu, making sure that there was no one nearby before lowering his voice and saying, "I've noticed that you've been getting close to Lao Sun recently. You better be careful. I saw him enter the Li brothers' house the day before yesterday!"

"Thank you for the reminder!"

Xu Mu's gaze flickered for a moment, but he didn't say much.

He bid farewell and left!

As for the house on the other side, there was no need to visit because it was currently vacant.

Back at home, thinking about Sun Daocheng's recent actions, Xu Mu began to feel restless.

"I must deal with this old man!"

Although he couldn't be a hundred percent sure that Sun Daocheng wanted to harm him, Xu Mu couldn't afford to take the risk.

For the sake of his wife and daughter, this matter had to be strangled in its cradle.

He returned to the storage room, opened the newly purchased spell compendium, and flipped to the page that recorded the Invisibility Spell.

After carefully memorizing and pondering it, he began to practice.

Like most low-level spells, the Invisibility Spell was easy to learn but difficult to master.

It only took Xu Mu a little over half an hour to learn.

He borrowed Ye Yingying's bronze mirror and placed it in front of him.

Xu Mu formed hand seals, and his spiritual energy surged within him, transforming into a marvelous power that covered his whole body.

In the mirror, he simply disappeared into thin air.

However, after only three breaths, his figure reappeared.

"The duration is too short, and it disappears with even the slightest movement! Completely useless!"

But this was normal.

First-tier spells naturally had limited effects.

If they were all incredibly powerful, everyone would practice spells instead of buying magical tools.

Especially in the beginner stage, they were even worse than chicken ribs.

Most cultivators would give up after a little exploration.

It was just a waste of time.

Instead of that, it would be better to focus on improving cultivation, earning money, and buying more powerful magical tools.

But Xu Mu was different.

He had a system!

Opening the system interface, he indeed saw the Invisibility Spell.

[Invisibility Spell - Beginner; 1/100]

Experienced as he was, Xu Mu directly invested 99 points into it.

[Invisibility Spell - Proficient; 0/200]

From beginner to proficient, it wasn't difficult. If Xu Mu worked hard in his cultivation, he could achieve it in one or two months.

So, it was easy to complete the cultivation experience Integrated Union.

During this period, he had gained some insights into the continuous use of the system.

Using Luck points to improve skills in the early stages was actually not cost-effective.

For normal people practicing spells, the later stages became increasingly difficult, and there were bottlenecks when breaking through levels.

Luck points completely ignored this.

The experience gained in the beginner stage and the experience gained at the master level consumed the same amount of Luck points.

In reality, the difficulty of gaining a point of experience at the master level could be tens of times that of the beginner level.

In this situation, it was actually the most cost-effective to cultivate oneself in the beginner stage and then use Luck points when it became difficult to improve in the later stages.

However, this time, in order to eliminate the crisis as soon as possible, he could only use Luck points.

Xu Mu used the Invisibility Spell again, this time maintaining it for more than five breaths, allowing his body to make small movements.

However, it was still chicken ribs!

Xu Mu hesitated a bit!

If he couldn't achieve the desired effect in the end, wouldn't it be a waste?

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed these messy thoughts and began to improve again.

Since he had already made a decision, there was no need to hesitate anymore.

[Invisibility Spell +50]!

[Invisibility Spell +50]!

[Invisibility Spell +50]!

...

[Invisibility Spell - Mastery; 0/400]

This time, Xu Mu displayed it again, and he could now remain invisible for twenty breaths and slowly move around.

Unfortunately, it still didn't achieve the effect he wanted.

He continued to improve!

[Invisibility Spell +10]!

[Invisibility Spell +10]!

[Invisibility Spell +10]!

......

【Perfect Invisibility; 0/800】

This time, the invisibility technique has finally made a qualitative leap.

It can remain invisible for sixty breaths and can freely move without disappearing.

"It's almost done!"

Luck is precious, Xu Mu doesn't want to consume too much on this matter.

...

Time flies by.

On this day, approaching evening, Xu Mu finally decided to go out and sell elixirs in the market.

Before leaving, he pasted five sealing talismans on the four walls of his bedroom and on the roof.

"I might come back late today. If there's any danger, activate these five talismans immediately!"

"And this!"

Xu Mu took out two protective talismans and placed them in Ye Yingying's soft hands.

"It's dangerous outside, so you keep these!"

Ye Yingying wanted to decline.

Since she married Xu Mu, she had never seen him go out at night.

Even if Ye Yingying was simple-minded, she vaguely sensed something.

"Listen to me!"

Xu Mu didn't explain much, and Ye Yingying obediently complied.

After saying "okay," he took out another talisman from his pocket.

It was the amulet Xu Mu had bought for her before.

"You keep this, it's not safe at night!"

"Okay."

This time, Xu Mu didn't refuse.

He remembered the warning from the toothman and the moldy severed hand.

He had confidence in his own strength.

But he wasn't sure about those strange things.

"Just close the front door, don't lock it, and make sure to lock the bedroom door tightly! I'll call you when I come back!"

"Okay."

Ye Yingying nodded.

A trace of uneasiness rose in her heart.

But she didn't say it out loud, afraid that Xu Mu would worry.

Bidding farewell to his wife, Xu Mu walked out of the house and hurried towards the market.

After arriving at the market, many shops had already started packing up and preparing to close.

Only a few shops were still open and bustling, such as brothels and gambling houses.

After reaching the Song family's medicine shop, Xu Mu explained his purpose, and the maid led him to the back hall.

The bald-headed old man was still in charge of inspecting the medicine.

Because only a few days had passed, the old man remembered Xu Mu and mentioned the contract again, but Xu Mu naturally refused.

Four bottles of Qi Gathering Pills were exchanged for twenty low-grade spirit stones and fifteen sets of materials for refining Qi Gathering Pills.

After leaving the market, Xu Mu went to nearby shops and bought twenty catties of spirit rice and five catties of monster beast meat.

Compared to the stalls in the market, they were more expensive, but since the market had already closed, he could only buy from the shops.

After buying everything, Xu Mu didn't immediately leave the market. Instead, he found a secluded corner and used the invisibility technique.

Then he quietly sneaked into a small alley near the gambling house.

Night fell!

The streets became increasingly empty, and every household closed their doors.

A cool breeze blew, lifting fallen leaves and carrying them into the distance, disappearing into the darkness as if being swallowed by an invisible mouth.

In a brightly lit gambling den, a scruffy figure walked out, muttering to himself.

"Today's luck is really bad! Next time, I must consult a fortune teller before coming! Bah!"

Sun Daocheng spat out a thick, yellow phlegm and glanced at the sky, hastening his steps.

He didn't want to encounter those eerie things.

Inside the market was still fine, but outside the market, well, you could only rely on your own luck.

Stepping out of the area covered by the gambling den's lights, Sun Daocheng formed a hand seal in his hand. Bang! A walnut-sized ball of light appeared at his fingertips, illuminating the path beneath his feet.

This was a first-level spell, the Light Ball Spell!

Crackling sounds filled the air.

As Sun Daocheng walked, he suddenly frowned and quickly turned around.

Behind him was pitch black, with no one in sight.

"Weird! It shouldn't be time yet, right?"

Sun Daocheng shook his head and continued forward, but his steps quickened slightly.

Not long after leaving the market, a hint of orange light suddenly appeared behind him.

Sun Daocheng's heart skipped a beat.

Instead of foolishly turning around to look, he accelerated and ran forward.

In his hand were five green pills emitting a pungent odor, which he fiercely threw behind him.

The pills exploded halfway, turning into a large mass of corrosive green gas.

However, his reaction was fast, but the other party's reaction was even faster.

Whoosh!

A figure, like a phantom, instantly dodged the poisonous pills, caught up to him, and surpassed him.

"So fast!"

Sun Daocheng thought to himself in astonishment.

At that moment, a fist-sized, dark red fireball flew out from the other person's hand and shot towards him.

Danger!

Upon seeing the fireball, a tremendous sense of fear surged in his heart.

The distance was too close, and it was too late to dodge. Sun Daocheng instinctively activated a life-saving talisman.

A green light film instantly covered his body.

He dodged to the left.

The next moment!

The dark red fireball suddenly burst open like an explosive.

Boom!

A ring-shaped shockwave of red flames violently spread outwards.

Snap!

The protective spell on Sun Daocheng's body was as fragile as a bubble.

In an instant, it was torn to shreds!

Everything within sight was covered by the flames.

Sun Daocheng didn't even have time to feel the pain. His consciousness plunged into endless darkness.

"Who wants to kill me?"

Leaving behind this single thought, Sun Daocheng's body was directly blasted away by the force of the flames.

Plop!

When he hit the ground, his body was already mangled, with only a small portion of his head remaining.

The explosion of the fireball created a half-meter deep crater in the ground, and the walls several meters away were cracked by the shockwave.

After a few moments, the figure who had thrown the fireball returned and snatched the storage bag from Sun Daocheng's waist before disappearing in an instant.

The sound of the violent explosion spread throughout half of the slum area, but no one came out of their rooms to investigate.

The previously bustling slum area fell into complete silence with this explosion.

(End of this chapter)