Longevity: Starting from Refining Gu

"""

Everyone had their own duties to fulfill, and their own hopes to chase.

The Wen Country developed steadily, using the Death Realm as a foundation to implement its governance gradually, establishing itself as a nation, and gaining a foothold in Nanli.

In Quantai City, five hundred newly promoted Ghost Face Realm cultivators received their official positions from Ji Ru, proceeding to the Prince Wen Temple to acquire their tokens.

After obtaining the tokens, they swiftly headed to their respective domains to begin their tasks.

The most urgent task at present was still the excavation of the river channels.

This was an extremely vast project.

The person in charge of Quantai City at this time was Ji Ru.

In the eyes of the world, this was Chen Qing mending the relationship with Da Yan.

At the same time, it was also a message to Emperor Donghua that the conflicts between Nanli and Da Yan had completely ended.

Everyone had claimed their own spoils of victory and needed time to digest them.

Li Chonghuan and the Little Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master Mansion, Feng Yi, however, saw more, indicating that Chen Qing was also joining the battle for the succession of the next Emperor Donghua of Da Yan.

Li Chonghuan was not surprised by this; he had long realized that Chen Qing wouldn't be content with obscurity.

In this era, the most outstanding young Heavenly Prides were undoubtedly Li Chonghuan, Chen Qing, and Feng Yi.

One was Feng Yi, the Little Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master Mansion, invincible in the Sky-reaching Realm.

One was the Immortal Court Divine Son, Li Chonghuan, who, although defeated in the Death Realm, still had remarkable achievements; even in defeat, he had fought alone against the three kings, standing his ground until Ji Dang's reinforcements nearly arrived. The blame for the defeat lay not with him, but with the cultivators under him.

The other had established a lasting legacy in the Death Realm, claiming kingship amidst the wilderness, backed by the Jiguang Sect, Nanli, and Sword Travel Palace, and was Chen Qing.

All three had countless supporters and could almost represent the will of a Great Sect.

Emperor Donghua was entirely unconcerned with this, as he understood that these three merely wished to secure a confirmed Emperor Donghua as an ally.

And indeed, the newly ascended Emperor Donghua needed a strong ally.

As for supporting an Emperor Donghua as a puppet, people would only think it foolish.

Da Yan, wielding heavenly destiny for tens of thousands of years, had never had a puppet emperor.

Upon ascending the throne, one might just be a prince, but once on the throne, they became the Emperor Donghua overlooking the world, the supreme emperor.

However, at this moment, Chen Qing wasn't overly concerned with these matters; he was more interested in the precious legacy left behind by the Spirit King.

He was eager to know why the method of gathering Spiritual Energy had become lost to history.

It seemed almost impossible.

There was no one who wouldn't like this method.

Returning to the palace in Quantai City, after a meal, Yu Qingshuang reached out to unfasten his cloak, "Junior Brother, it's time for bed."

Chen Qing grasped Yu Qingshuang's smooth little hand, "Hmm."

The next day, after a discussion with Ji Ru regarding the current issues in the Death Realm, Chen Qing prepared to set off immediately.

Ji Ru said, "The Death Sea is so vast, if you only bring the Undying Dragon Cavalry for excavation, who knows when you will finish?"

"Why don't I go too?"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, "You have the Luck Gu of the Harmonization Ninth Transformation, that's quite beneficial, alright, accompany me on the journey."

"Perhaps it might bring us some of your good fortune."

Upon returning to the shore of the Death Sea, Chen Qing took out a map, "According to Ting Yun, another ten thousand miles ahead, and we will almost reach the ancient battlefield."

After three days' travel, they finally arrived at the ancient battlefield, but unfortunately, all they could see was the boundless Death Sea.

Chen Qing began to mark locations on the map, "These are the spots, dig downwards here."

Leaving Ji Ru and Yu Qingshuang to cultivate on the shore, Chen Qing led a hundred and fifty cavalry of the Undying Dragon Cavalry into the Death Sea to begin the excavation.

Chen Qing, along with the Undying Dragon Cavalry, began excavating amidst the endless bones at the bottom of the Death Sea.

Due to the heavy pressure of the Death Sea, even the Mountain-opening Power of the Undying Dragon Cavalry resulted in a slow excavation pace.

Being able to dig a mile a day was already the limit.

This was only the beginning; the further they dug, the harder it became as they needed to avoid being buried alive by collapsing bones.

After a month of digging, Chen Qing still hadn't discovered anything.

He inquired with Ji Ru, who replied, "Upon arriving here, I haven't felt anything strongly, as if the Luck Gu is suppressed."

Chen Qing asked, "Could it be related to the Heavenly Punishment Sword?"

Yet even after sending the Heavenly Punishment Sword away entirely, Ji Ru still brought no good fortune.

This filled Chen Qing with doubts, increasingly believing something extremely mysterious existed there.

Months passed with no clues; seeing the Luck Gu was ineffective, Chen Qing had no choice but to let Ji Ru return to Quantai City first to manage its operations.

As the year slowly went by, Yu Qingshuang had already contracted the Heavenly Punishment Sword and begun comprehending the Extreme Self Sword Dao, yet Chen Qing still found nothing.

One day, as Chen Qing was practicing sword with Yu Qingshuang, Zuo Chuan appeared with an injured member of the Undying Dragon Cavalry.

Chen Qing laid down his long sword, "What happened?"

Zuo Chuan said, "We discovered strange beings three hundred miles underground."

Chen Qing asked, "Strange beings, what kind of strange beings? There shouldn't be any living things in the Death Sea!"

Zuo Chuan replied, "The beings bore marks of mechanical techniques, like semi-mechanical constructs, yet they bled as well."

"""