Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 144 - 116: Nangua Enters the Spirit Realm

Twenty years!

Hong Yuan and the others’ faces turned deathly pale.

They’re already nearing eighty years old—if you add another twenty, the four of them, the older generation, would probably be in their graves by then.

Twenty years, huh?

It’s not entirely unacceptable.

Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

Honestly, that timeline was just about right for him.

In a little over ten years, his main Root Bone talent would finally break past ten points—if his guess was correct, by then he’d most likely awaken his Spirit Root.

By then, entering the Spirit Realm wouldn’t be too late.

"Enough—there’s not much time left, let’s end this for now."

As the speaker’s words faded, under Lu Chang’sheng’s reluctant gaze, Li Nangua stepped into the rift, turning back three times with every stride.

"Nangua, wait for me!"

Lu Chang’sheng blurted out.

In the next instant, Li Nangua’s figure vanished into the rift.

Lu Chang’sheng’s heart tightened, but he saw the white mist closing in all around them, those Mountain Wolves leaping into the rift one after another, their eyes glinting with cunning and bloodlust.

If the other side hadn’t just explained what awaited after the rift, Lu Chang’sheng would have been desperately worried for Li Nangua’s safety.

"Hope everything will be alright..."

Suddenly, Lu Chang’sheng felt a pang of regret—because caring too much clouds your mind.

Meanwhile, Li Nangua found herself in a strange setting, surrounded by darkness, with odd noises echoing nearby—like stones flying in the night, or gusts of wind swirling weirdly.

By the hazy glow, she spotted a massive figure not far away, covered in matted fur, skin and bones, sprawled among a pile of white skeletons, eyelids drooping listlessly—it looked utterly spent.

But just as Li Nangua appeared, it suddenly snapped open its eyes—a glimmer of ravenous, bloodthirsty hunger in the beast’s gaze.

Li Nangua instinctively felt she and her companions had walked right into a trap.

Suddenly, a flash of golden light streaked out of the darkness.

"Damn beast, get back!"

Li Nangua’s eyes widened as she saw the golden glow was actually a delicate little sword—it exploded into dazzling brilliance atop the enormous Mountain Wolf’s head, then morphed into a gigantic sword dozens of feet long, forcing the giant wolf to retreat.

Afterward, it came to rest before Li Nangua’s feet.

"Get on!"

The voice was urgent, as though wielding this mystical sword was straining its master to the limit.

Li Nangua didn’t have time to think—the giant wolf was already rising under the sword’s light, a terrifying pressure barreling down on her, wild and overwhelming.

Without hesitation, she leapt onto the massive sword.

Just then, the giant wolf sensed something, its entire body erupting in a cloud of gray energy—its once shriveled frame swelling with renewed vigor, visibly repairing its own body.

The already enormous Mountain Wolf swelled even larger in an instant—as though it had become a Celestial Wolf from legend.

A colossal paw, shimmering with a black light, materialized overhead, swinging straight down toward Li Nangua’s head.

A burst of white light erupted forth.

The paw paused for a moment, as if something blocked it, but as it pressed down again, the giant sword carrying Li Nangua had already disappeared into the darkness.

Boom!

The paw smashed into the ground below—a tremor shook the earth like thunder.

The ground split open, a gust of wind whistling out of the fissure.

The Mountain Wolf’s once vicious eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of clarity; as it stared at the cracked earth, a wave of panic flickered across its gaze.

Both paws pressed against the rift, as if trying to seal off those escaping strands of wind—but it was clearly too late.

A pebble no bigger than a pinky finger broke free from the crack; then, a chain reaction—more clumps of earth crumbled as the whole space began to collapse at accelerating speed.

Fifteen minutes later, only a small patch of ground remained beneath the Mountain Wolf’s feet.

A few more minutes passed; suddenly, it let out a heart-wrenching howl, before its entire body was utterly consumed by the surrounding darkness.

······

"The Wolf Demon is one of those that got trapped in chaotic space when your world broke away—these monsters cling to drifting fragments of earth, barely surviving amid the space rifts. Usually, they use lingering traces from before the split—echoes left in your world—to lure in mortals and feed on them."

Spirit Realm.

A middle-aged Daoist looked at Li Nangua, smiling as he explained.

This man wore a purple Dao robe, the back embroidered with clouds and mountains; he looked barely thirty.

At that moment, he formed a sword formula with his fingers, and the sword beneath Li Nangua instantly transformed into a streak of light, reversed its flight, and landed on his palm, before he stowed it in a jade tube.

"And you are?"

"I am Tong Buhuan, disciple of Fuyun Mountain!"

Li Nangua eyed the man, noting how young he seemed, yet he called himself ’old Daoist’—her curiosity grew. It was as if Tong Buhuan sensed her thoughts; he shook his head and said, "Cultivators know the art of preserving youth. For me, this is nothing special—no need for surprise, Miss Nangua. In truth, I am already three hundred and seventy-three years old."

Shock gripped Li Nangua’s heart.

"I can tell Miss Nangua has many questions, but this place isn’t safe—we should leave at once."

As he spoke, he formed a sword gesture; the long blade on his back flew forth, changing into a sword several yards long, carrying Li Nangua away toward the horizon.

Just as Tong Buhuan departed, a faint gaze seemed to appear somewhere, its silent scrutiny searching for secrets. When it found nothing, it faded away again.