From Family Fisherman to Water Virtue True Immortal-Chapter 236 - 231: Old Friends Grow Old Together

Qingyu Cave Heaven.

Ever since Li Kunlun’s departure, this sea area has grown even more tranquil. Time flows silently, the years slip away, heedless of anyone’s will.

Seasons change, spring gives way to fall, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time is always exceptionally inexpensive for cultivators.

Li Quanqing sits cross-legged on the bank of the fishpond. The dam remains serene, as a gentle breeze whispers past, rustling his robe.

In front of him, the pond water occasionally roils, and after a long while, a Green Jade Carp surfaces, gently blowing bubbles towards him, its tail stirring ripples.

Clearly, Li Quanqing is somewhat distracted, lacking the heart even to cultivate or feed the fish, just sitting here in a daze, as if weighed down by heavy thoughts.

Swoosh!!

Finally, a Communication Talisman flies in from the western direction of the grotto heaven, slicing through the air with a series of whistling sounds, interrupting his reverie.

Li Quanqing reaches out and grabs the Spirit Talisman in his hand, activates it with mana, and immediately Li Quanyi’s voice emerges from it, cold and clear as jade.

He listens quietly until the end, then with a long sigh, stands up and walks towards the direction of the Scripture Pavilion.

Li Quanqing does not employ his mana to walk on air but treads upon the earth, moving forward step by step as if reluctant to face the impending reality.

Soon, a series of undulating mountains appear before him. They aren’t very tall, but they are incredibly majestic and grand.

The whole mountainside has been hollowed out and turned into an ancient Scripture Pavilion housing all the Cultivation Technique Jade Scrolls collected by the Li Family over a thousand years, a testament to the family’s heritage.

Li Quanqing follows the carved stone steps, climbing steadily upwards, the mountain air carrying a slight chill, the mossy and spotted lichens cover the bluestone steps underfoot.

Having successfully scaled to the peak, he arrives in front of the Scripture Pavilion, where he sees two cultivators standing there.

Apart from Li Quanshu, there is also an old man, standing there like the last flicker of a candle in the wind, his vitality sparse, resembling a withered wooden stake.

This is Li Zongzhuo, the Guardian Elder of the Scripture Pavilion for nearly a hundred years, and also the Li Family’s earliest Second Rank Array Master.

Li Quanqing has received a lot of care and instruction from him, or one could say, all from the Quan generation grew up under this man’s watch, hence his high prestige.

"You have finally agreed to see me."

Li Quanqing looks at the old man’s wrinkled, withered skin, sighing in his heart. He too steps up to the highest stone step and stands firm.

From this perspective, the entire view of Qingyu Cave Heaven is beneath one’s gaze, thriving and flourishing.

Cultivators have excellent vision; they can even see the busy and fulfilled clan members, brimming with life, their faces radiant with smiles, like the newborn sun full of hope for the future.

By contrast, Li Zongzhuo seems too aged, his flame of life dimming, a hero facing the twilight of his days.

"Before I pass away, I ought to see my most proud half-pupil one more time, shouldn’t I?"

Li Zongzhuo cracks a smile, struggling to speak, but he views life and death with detachment.

He has lived a very long time; as a Wood Spirit Root Practitioner who has cultivated the Turtle Longevity Extending Technique, he outlived ninety-nine percent of Qi Refining cultivators.

But ultimately, he is not at the Foundation Establishment level and cannot resist the erosion of time. He is about to die.

"The family is making every effort to search for Life Extension Elixir. Perhaps we can purchase one from the Sword Sect. You deserve this."

Li Quanqing’s expression is solemn. These years he has also been searching for a Longevity Turtle Egg, hoping to produce another Turtle Longevity Pill.

Unfortunately, he has failed and received no such news.

"I know my own body well, there’s no need to waste any more Spirit Pills. Save them for other family members who need them more."

Li Zongzhuo’s words are decidedly firm, his gaze drifting into the distance, watching the sun dip gradually into the East Sea, the sunset’s afterglow spreading across the sky.

Just like his life, drawing close to its final endpoint.

After night falls, the chill intensifies. The old man, though a cultivator impervious to the cold and heat, could no longer bear it and went to bed early.

Only two Foundation Establishment cultivators were left standing in front of the stone steps, under the stars and moon.

"Has the Clan Leader not been here yet?"

Li Quanqing looked at the myriad of lights that sparkled in the Qingyu Cave Heaven under the night sky and spoke in a deep voice.

Li Quanyi shook her head. By now, many clan members had come to bid their final farewell to Elder Li Zongzhuo, but the Old Clan Chief had yet to visit.

Li Quanqing sighed, reminded of the increasingly aging Mr. Kunshui, his heart filled with endless emotions.

He could very well understand Li Zongyao’s state of mind; for him, the "Zong" generation of the entire clan was left with but a few.

Once Li Zongzhuo passed away, the Old Clan Chief would truly become a solitary figure, looking around with no peers to converse with.

Carrying a heavy heart, Li Quanqing left the Scripture Pavilion and returned to his own Cave Mansion.

He didn’t wish for the elder to die, but such is the rule of the universe: birth, aging, sickness, death—no one can escape it.

Even for Li Quanqing himself, if he could not ensure perpetual and vigorous advancement in his cultivation, he too would face the day of his life’s end, sitting in regret as he breathed his last.

The moonlight was bright and clear, and as usual, Ao Qing circled above the pond, its body exuding demon energy as it manifested a Taiyin Phenomenon, its scale armor glistening like water.

In the waters of the pond, over a thousand Green Jade Carps were neatly arranged, cultivating under the moonlight, drawing in the essence of moonlight, reaching all the way to the outskirts of the pond and extending into the entire Jade Dragon Pond.

"Moo~"

Seemingly sensing its master’s troubled mood, Ao Qing unusually halted its cultivation.

It opened its eyes, shook its enormous head, leaned down from the clouds, mooing softly, and affectionately nuzzled its master’s palm.

As though to offer comfort.

"I’m fine, go on and cultivate, my good fellow."

Li Quanqing stroked its sleek and cool scales. The clear moonlight, like water, shone upon him, dispersing much of his sorrows.

Ao Qing let out a whine, indicating its understanding, and once again ascended to the Heavenly Vault, its demon energy undulated like an expanse of ocean, embodying the bright moon in its cultivation.

Li Quanqing’s gaze dropped as he used his mana to pull up a massive creature—it was the Longevity Turtle.

It had grown even larger, its body covered in rocks and seaweed, resembling a stone turtle statue, even with a few Bright Moon Shells making a home on its back.

Li Quanqing probed its cultivation and, with the aid of the Turtle Ancestor Demon Pill, it was not slow by any means, already at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Compared to the habits of the Longevity Turtle’s kin, this was nothing short of genius; its cultivation speed was top-notch.

However, Li Quanqing still felt it was slow.

"What a pity, it’s still a distance away from Foundation Establishment, even if a Second Rank Life Extension Elixir becomes available, Elder Zongzhuo won’t make it in time."

Li Quanqing shook his head, fed the Longevity Turtle, and then sent it back from whence it came, into the waters of the pond.

After two years of cultivation, among the demon beasts he was raising, quite a few had continuously reached Qi Refining Perfection.

For example, the Golden Flame Tiger, Wooden Peacock, and the Thunder Horn Python Queen, among others.

Li Quanqing had previously concocted several batches of Dragon Snake True Evils, and he wasn’t stingy now, providing them for their cultivation refinement, and now they were all grinding and enduring the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment.

Among them, the Wooden Peacock had noble blood, wood eases fire, with potential for ancestral reversion; the Golden Flame Tiger had absorbed much of the essence of the Heavenly Fire Jiao skeleton’s inherent flame source, and its physique had likewise mutated.

But the one with the highest breakthrough rate was not any of them, but another peculiar demon beast raised by Li Quanqing.

He opened the Hanhai Bowl and stepped inside, only to see a golden toad sprawling on the surface of a Spirit Stone Mine, its demon energy surging, and treasure light soaring to the sky.

That’s right, the one on the verge of breaking through was none other than the peculiar Treasure Light Toad.

As a Heaven and Earth Strange Beast, it faced virtually no bottlenecks; as long as it absorbed sufficient treasure qi, it could break through endlessly.