Longevity: Sweeping Across the World as an Eunuch

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Wordless Book

After tonight, Su Chen’s name would shake the world. Even the distant Great Zhou would come to know of him.

Su Chen left.

Carrying the momentum of his great victory, he headed for the Imperial Study. He wanted to ask the Little Emperor a question.

What was human life in his eyes?

How many unfortunate souls would have to die this winter before he would finally stop?

He might not be able to save everyone under the heavens, but he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to the suffering of these ill-fated people right before him.

"Eunuch Su is headed for the Imperial Study. Should we stop him?"

The Killing Martial Guard Commander was terrified. He looked to the Imperial Guard Commander and the Dark Guard Commander beside him, and then to the five Chief Stewards in the distance.

"Who could possibly stop him?"

"Two First-Grade masters were defeated and one was killed! The one who died was the Chief Steward of Wealth and Honor, who was right by Your Majesty’s side. You want to try and stop him?"

"But what if Eunuch Su tries to overthrow the dynasty? He and that traitor Zhang Gui are sworn brothers..."

"In that case..."

"We should probably go burn some incense for His Majesty."

The five Chief Stewards and three Commanders—the current pinnacle of power in the Great Liang Palace—silently watched Su Chen depart.

Did they dare to make a move?

They did not.

The door to the Imperial Study was open.

Outside, there were no Hidden Guards on patrol. Instead, the ground was riddled with terrifying craters, and collapsed palaces and walls were everywhere.

The signs of battle were heavy. It seemed powerful First-Grade masters had clashed here.

’Perhaps.’

’Coming back another day wouldn’t be a bad idea.’

’If he stops killing people, I suppose I can forgive him.’

Standing before the Imperial Study, Su Chen hesitated, wondering if he should turn and run.

After all.

This Great Liang dynasty’s life force was simply too tenacious.

Heaven knows what other trump cards the Little Emperor was hiding, considering they had managed to seal away a Grandmaster and Great Demon Fiend like the Grand Ancestor of Liang in a coffin.

"Cough, cough."

A violent coughing fit erupted from the Imperial Study, as if someone was trying to hack up their own lungs.

An aged figure in a Purple Robe appeared before Su Chen.

He looked even older now.

Su Chen wouldn’t have been surprised if he had simply dropped dead in the next second.

"Come in."

The old man in the Purple Robe beckoned.

But Su Chen didn’t move. After a moment of thought, he actually backed away, increasing the distance between himself and the aged man.

"A Thousand-Year Treasure Medicine can extend one’s life. I thought you would have been drawn to it as well," Su Chen said.

"Cough, cough."

"I don’t have long to live."

"Fighting for it would be more trouble than it’s worth for an old man like me. Unless your Thousand-Year Treasure Medicine is a Thousand-year-old Ginseng King, it wouldn’t be enough to replenish the Primordial Qi I’d expend trying to seize it..."

Three years ago.

When Su Chen first met this aged man in the Purple Robe, the light of his life span couldn’t have lasted a year. Yet for some reason, he had managed to cling on for a full eleven years.

Even Human Blood Life-extending Pills couldn’t extend a life by eleven years.

Speaking of which.

This old man in the Purple Robe was already over one hundred and ten years old.

For a First-Grade master in their eighties or nineties, their body, blood, Qi, and True Qi are all in decline. Their life span simply can’t withstand making a move more than a few times.

Fortunately, there are Secret Skills in this world.

One could consume Exotic Grass Treasure Medicines to nurture Vitality within the body. Then, when a battle was imminent, one could unleash this power of Vitality without affecting their life span, allowing them to temporarily return to their Peak state.

Back then, this was exactly what the old man in the Purple Robe had done.

With a single Wind Snow Sword, he had slain the Purple Star Daoist, who was also at the Peak of First Grade and could borrow the Heaven and Earth’s Will!

And just like that.

Su Chen had glimpsed the threshold of Heaven and Earth’s Will, comprehending a mere fraction of the Wind Snow True Intent.

"Where’s the Little Emperor?"

Su Chen looked into the Imperial Study and saw only a complete mess. The fluctuations from battle inside were even greater than those outside.

Even the ice cellar beneath the Imperial Study was likely destroyed.

"He’s gone."

"You were too late."

"I’m old, after all. Even forcing myself to act, I still couldn’t keep him here..."

The old man in the Purple Robe, the number one First-Grade master of the Tianwu Tower, didn’t press Su Chen to enter. He simply sat on the threshold and began to chat idly with him.

Most of the time, Su Chen just listened quietly without responding.

"You know,"

"I’ve roamed freely my entire life. At one hundred and seventeen years old, I have no children and have never taken a disciple. The only one who could barely be considered half a disciple is a young man like you, whom I’ve only met once or twice."

"In the latter half of my life, seeking to extend my years, I allowed myself to be used by the Grand Ancestor of Liang. I acted as a protector for his succession and committed too many evil deeds. I didn’t dare have children or take on disciples."

"What a pity."

"If only you had stayed three years ago and taken me as your master, how wonderful that would have been! In three years, I could have guided you on the Path of Qi all the way to the Second Grade Fury Gang Realm. With your talent, as a Dual First Grade, your chances of breaking through to Grandmaster would have been much greater..."

"What a pity."

The old man in the Purple Robe leaned against the doorframe, his voice growing softer and softer until it faded into silence.

In Su Chen’s eyes, this old man in the Purple Robe was like a candle flickering in the wind. The Fire of Life Span that should have been extinguished ten years ago on the night of the Celestial Chaos had finally gone out tonight.

This man, the truly strongest First-Grade master in Great Liang...

He had died of old age!

’Since you considered me half a disciple, I’ll consider you half a master. You’ve angered the Little Emperor, so there’s no telling if he’ll arrange for your burial...’

’So be it.’

’I’ll bury you next to Elder Chen. At least you’ll have someone to talk to on the Yellow Springs Road.’

"Sigh!"

Su Chen sighed, hoisted the old man’s body onto his shoulder, and stealthily returned to the pharmacy.

Xuan was still fast asleep.

Su Chen took one thousand taels of silver notes, and with a ripple of his roots, his appearance changed completely. He went outside the Imperial Palace and knocked on the door of a funeral parlor.

Everything was kept simple.

While fetching the coffin for the burial.

The owner of the funeral parlor handed Su Chen a Wordless Book.

"This was your master’s personal possession. Please take good care of it..."

Flipping through it, Su Chen didn’t give it much thought and tucked it into his robes.

After everything was finished, Su Chen returned to the Imperial Palace.

By now, the sky was already beginning to brighten with the dawn.

Yawning, Su Chen transformed back into the pharmacist, Xu Ge, opened the pharmacy’s door, woke up Xuan, and began another day’s work.

As for him, he was the same as always, leaning against the doorway, waiting for customers to arrive.

After the great battle last night, Su Chen’s internal organs were still slowly digesting the medicinal power, solidifying his foothold on the threshold of the Second Grade Realm.

The Internal Organ Realm has three stages: first, Organ Cleansing; second, Refining the Viscera; and third, nurturing a breath within the organs until it Merges.

Currently, Su Chen was still in the Organ Cleansing stage.

In his drowsy state, he leaned against the doorframe and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream,

the Wordless Book tucked in his robes began to glow and grow hot. In the dream, Su Chen found himself sitting across from a white-robed Sword Immortal.

He asked Su Chen,

"Do you wish to cultivate the sword?"

BOOM!

Just like that, Su Chen woke up.

’A strange dream.’

Su Chen rubbed his head. Just then, Xuan ran back from outside the pharmacy, clutching a booklet. He looked ecstatic as he animatedly told Su Chen the news.

"Master, do you know what happened last night?"

"A battle of First-Grade masters!"

"According to the legends, the impossibly noble master of the Library Pavilion returned after seeking the Dao for three years! With a single move, he suppressed three Junior Grandmasters, killing one and severely injuring the other two!"

"The whole world is in shock! The entire Imperial Palace—no, the Imperial City—no, that’s not right either—the entire Six Commanderies of Great Liang are in an uproar! The Great Liang Martial Pavilion has placed the master of the Library Pavilion at number one on the Great Liang Martial Arts List! The Moonlit Guest in Mysterious Clothes, the Wind Snow Sword Junior Grandmaster!"

Xuan’s face was flushed with excitement, his eyes filled with reverence for the Su Chen of the Library Pavilion. He clenched his fists.

"One day, I’ll cultivate too. I’ll become a figure just like the Moonlit Guest in Mysterious Clothes, the Wind Snow Little Grandmaster."

Su Chen patted Xuan’s head, resisting the urge to knock some sense into him.

"We’re just ordinary Eunuchs. Don’t get lost in such big dreams. Let’s get back to work."

Outside the pharmacy.

Spirited horses trotted by urgently. A figure in a fiery red robe led a group of Eastern Depot agents past the shop.

Su Chen was in a bit of a daze.

For a moment, he almost thought an old friend had come back to life.

But the leader, dressed in the red robe and the Chief Eunuch’s Uniform, was Xu Xiaohan.

No.

It should be Xu Han.

Now, he was the Chief Eunuch of the Western Depot.

The Eastern Depot was long a thing of the past.

’Time flows on. Everything has changed, and the people are no longer the same.’

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