Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 323: Chapter 297: Repaying Enmity with Kindness

"And you are?"

Chu Mu instinctively took a step back, his voice low.

"Where is this place?"

The white-haired man surveyed his surroundings, asking a question in return.

Chu Mu fell silent, hesitating slightly. "This is the Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World."

"Great Chu... Longevity Sect?"

The white-robed man seemed somewhat uncertain. He looked at Chu Mu. "Are you a disciple of the Longevity Sect?"

Chu Mu shook his head. "I am a Loose Cultivator."

"A Loose Cultivator..."

The white-robed man nodded, glancing at the grand array Chu Mu had set up.

"I perished long ago. What you see now is but a wisp of a Residual Soul, barely preserved by my bloodline and clinging to existence through a Secret Technique."

"Having been forcibly awakened by you like this, my time is short. I could turn to dust at any moment, so you need not be so wary."

Chu Mu remained silent, though inwardly he was somewhat surprised.

’After all, no matter how he looked at him, this white-haired man didn’t seem like a mere wisp of a Residual Soul.’

’As for the claim that being awakened would cause him to turn to dust, he had no idea if it was true or false, but he certainly wasn’t naive enough to believe it outright.’

He remained extremely vigilant, weighing every word the man spoke.

’That burst of pressure just now, though fleeting, was genuinely far beyond the Foundation Establishment realm!’

Seeing Chu Mu’s silence, the white-robed man seemed to guess his thoughts. He shook his head and chuckled, his smile tinged with a strange bitterness. "I suffered a great catastrophe in my early years. That I’ve managed to cling to existence as a Residual Soul is entirely due to a lingering obsession."

"Now that you have awakened me, my time has grown short. Perhaps this is simply my fate."

"But my final wish remains unfulfilled, and my obsession is hard to dispel. Since you are the one who awakened me, are you willing to bear this karmic bond with me?"

Chu Mu’s gaze flickered, and he spoke slowly, "Senior, what exactly is this karmic bond and obsession you speak of?"

"Deliver this bloodline inheritance of mine back to my clan."

The white-haired man’s tone was solemn, and there seemed to be a hint of pleading in it.

His gaze fixed for a moment on the mass of bloodline at the core of the man’s form. Chu Mu was a little surprised; he had personally refined that mass of bloodline!

’He had inspected it carefully and hadn’t noticed any abnormalities at all!’

"No one without my bloodline can glean the slightest bit from this inheritance."

The white-robed man spoke nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on Chu Mu. As if worried Chu Mu would refuse, the man added another sentence.

"I see you have comprehended Sword Intent, but it seems you lack a proper method. I happen to have obtained a Sword Dao Concentration Method in my youth. If you agree to this, how about I offer it to you as payment?"

Hearing this, Chu Mu’s eyes narrowed, and he instantly became more alert.

’He had only used his Sword Intent while this man was dormant. Now, it was hidden within his Sea of Consciousness. Unless he actively used it, it was impossible for it to be detected.’

As his thoughts raced, Chu Mu asked again, "Senior, where is your clan located?"

"Not within the borders of Great Chu. From Great Chu, you must travel through the Southwest Countries, then cross the Endless Desert Sea to reach the lands of Great Heng."

"My clan is located in Red Eagle County, in the southwest of Great Heng."

"The Red Eagle Marquis Mansion, the Zhu Clan. Everyone in Red Eagle County knows of it."

"Red Eagle Marquis Mansion?"

Hearing this term, Chu Mu froze for a moment, slightly confused.

The man explained,

"The Great Heng Immortal Cultivation Immortal World is quite different from your Great Chu Cultivation Immortal World, and even from the surrounding kingdoms and various sects."

"There’s no point in saying more. When you reach Great Heng one day, you will understand."

Chu Mu nodded, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Then, as if he’d thought of something, he suddenly looked at the man. "How far is Great Heng from Great Chu?"

The man was silent for a moment, then glanced at Chu Mu, seemingly realizing something as well.

"The distance is difficult to calculate. With your current Cultivation, you would find it hard to cross the Endless Desert Sea even if you spent your entire life trying."

"However, I know of a Teleportation Array from ancient times. It can take you from the Xichang Kingdom directly to the northwestern part of the Endless Desert Sea. It’s in a hidden location and likely hasn’t been discovered by others."

"Once you arrive in the northwest of the Endless Desert Sea, with your Cultivation, you should be able to reach the border of Great Heng in a few years at most. Once in Great Heng, you can take a post station Flying Boat directly to Red Eagle County..."

Listening to the man casually talk about a lifetime, or several years, the corner of Chu Mu’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

Setting aside everything else, Xichang Kingdom alone was at least two to three million li from Great Chu. With the war in Great Chu having already started, the previous Flying Boat routes were mostly paralyzed.

If he wanted to go to the Xichang Kingdom, he would have to fly there himself, and he would have to cross a vast territory controlled by the Longevity Sect along the way.

’Such a long distance, coupled with the dangers along the way... it would take several years at the very least.’

’Spending several years just to get to the starting point...’

’A round trip like this would take ten or twenty years, and that’s a conservative estimate.’

’He’d have to be crazy to agree to such a deal.’

Seeing Chu Mu’s silence, the white-robed man added, "I have a piece of Fiery Sun Fire Essence that I can also offer as payment."

Chu Mu’s pupils shrank, and he snapped his head up to look at the man.

"Fiery Sun Fire Essence?"

"Yes, Fiery Sun Fire Essence."

The man nodded. With a wave of his hand, he tossed a Storage Ring toward Chu Mu.

"The Fiery Sun Fire Essence is inside. The Storage Ring also contains some of my former possessions. However, I’ve consumed most of them over the years to sustain my Residual Soul, so there isn’t much left. Just take it all as your reward..."

The man’s expression was complex, his tone mournful.

Chu Mu caught the ring. He cautiously probed it with his Divine Sense. After confirming there was nothing amiss, he finally extended his Divine Sense into the Storage Ring.

The space inside the ring was vast, about three or four times larger than his own Storage Ring, but there were indeed not many items left inside.

Dozens of bottles and jars were piled in a corner, most of which had already been opened.

On another side were dozens of Jade Boxes. Like the bottles and jars, the vast majority of them were already open.

And that "Fiery Sun Fire Essence"...

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, Chu Mu raised his hand, and a crimson Ore Material appeared in his palm.

The ore was not large, only about the size of a fist. Its mottled crimson color looked like complex patterns of flames engraved upon it.

It floated in his hand, yet he couldn’t feel the slightest heat. All its energy was contained within.

Legend has it that the Fiery Sun Fire Essence is born within the Great Sun.

Although it has a physical form, it is actually the product of true Great Sun True Flame that has evolved and condensed into a solid substance over countless years.

The Great Sun hangs high in the sky. According to the lore of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the Great Sun is located in the Outer Realm.

It is said that the Fiery Sun Fire Essence only falls from the Great Sun into the mortal realm under rare, fortuitous circumstances.

Its rarity was self-evident.

For a piece the size of a fist, he had no doubt that if news of it got out, even the lofty Nascent Soul Cultivators would be moved by it, perhaps even fighting over it!

Most importantly, he cultivated the Great Sun Scripture, and the most crucial primary material for his Lifebound Treasure was... this Fiery Sun Fire Essence!

Chu Mu checked again and again, but the ore before him perfectly matched the description of the Fiery Sun Fire Essence recorded in the Great Sun Scripture. He couldn’t find a single discrepancy.

He struggled to calm the trembling in his heart and looked at the white-robed man again, his voice a little unsteady. "Is there a time limit for this transaction?"

"Within fifty years, you must deliver it to my clan and personally hand it to one of my direct descendants."

"Before you deliver this bloodline inheritance to my clan, you must periodically nourish it with blood-offerings to maintain its vitality. Furthermore, you must not perform any action that could harm my bloodline."

Chu Mu replied, "But you must first guarantee that the bloodline... will not harm me."

"I am but a Residual Soul. What is there for you to fear?"

The man shook his head. "There is a Divine Soul Contract in the Storage Ring. All those below the Nascent Soul realm are bound by it."

"You can draw up the contract first, and then we will both sign it."

"Fine."

Chu Mu nodded. He took out the Divine Soul Contract from the Storage Ring, examined it carefully, and then drew up the conditions on the contract.

As he passed the contract over, Chu Mu added, "I’ll also have to trouble you, Senior, to make a Dao Heart Oath according to the contract."

The man glanced at Chu Mu, took the Jade Scroll, and did not object. After signing the Divine Soul Contract, he immediately made the Dao Heart Oath.

Once the contract was established, Chu Mu looked at the white-robed man again and asked tentatively, "May I ask, Senior, what realm had your Cultivation reached?"

"Golden Core!"

The white-robed man glanced at Chu Mu and spat out two words. Then, he formed a hand seal, and a flash of white light appeared. With a wave of his sleeve, the white light shot straight toward Chu Mu.

Horrified, Chu Mu instinctively gave a command, about to mobilize his puppets for a siege, when the man’s voice drifted lightly into his ears.

"This is the Sword Dao Concentration Method. Take it."

After speaking, the man stood with his hands behind his back, making no other moves.

Chu Mu swept his sleeve, catching the white light in his hand. He checked it thoroughly before probing it with his Divine Sense to take a look.

After a brief look through it, he finally relaxed his guard a little.

"My time is short, so it is inconvenient for me to show myself. Let us proceed according to the contract."

At that moment, along with another spoken line, the white-robed man’s figure flickered. His illusory Divine Soul body dissipated, returning to that mass of Bloodline Essence.

The crimson mass floated in the air. The white-robed man’s so-called Residual Soul seemed to have vanished.

Chu Mu hesitated. After a long while, he finally stepped forward, flinging out a series of techniques to completely seal the mass of Bloodline Essence.

Only then did he carefully put it away. Following the terms of the contract, he nourished it with a blood-offering, then sealed it within a room using the courtyard’s Array Prohibition.

After finishing his work, he arranged four Cyan Wolf Puppets to stand outside the room, using the Array of the Four Symbols as a final line of defense. Only then did he relax a little.

The pressure from a Golden Core Powerhouse, even if it was just a Residual Soul, was clearly immense.

After all, in his opinion, the white-robed man was extremely strange and unsettling.

’And... this contract...’

’It seems... too normal.’

According to the white-robed man, forcibly awakening him was tantamount to taking his life.

’For such an act, he’s repaying enmity with kindness?’

’Giving away Spiritual Materials and a Cultivation Technique, all for a so-called obsession?’

Chu Mu could understand it, and it even seemed quite normal. But because it was so normal, it felt abnormal.

He sat cross-legged in the courtyard, carefully reviewing the entire incident—its beginning, its progression, and its outcome.

He scrutinized every single detail.

’Without a doubt, if he were to speculate, there were many problems.’

’But in practical terms...’

He had obtained the manual, and that piece of "Fiery Sun Fire Essence," a peerless treasure, was now sitting in his Storage Ring.

’Essentially, regardless of whether the outcome was good or bad, he had already reaped the benefits.’

’Besides... he had fifty years.’

’It meant he was in a secure position, holding all the cards.’

’I’ll just take it one step at a time...’

Letting out a long breath, Chu Mu shook his head, no longer bothering to dwell on it.

Fifty years was still a very long time...

...

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