Chapter 346 – Not Bad

Su Hao stayed in Moon Valley of Cloud Watching for a month. During this month, Fairy Feng Ling didn’t teach them anything. She just threw a pile of books at Su Hao and Huang Guilai, telling them to read them first to cultivate the ability to read Immortal Records.

These Immortal Records were varied, mostly detailing the glorious deeds of past Sect Leaders and elders of Moon Valley of Cloud Watching. Interspersed were many philosophies for cultivators, commonly known as ‘chicken soup’ for the soul.

There was nothing useful for cultivation in them. As soon as Su Hao saw this, he knew that this was a form of ideological conditioning before they truly taught him the real skills.

It was like the onboarding training at Harmony Corporation. Professional skills were put aside for the moment; at least, their mental state needed to be adjusted first.

In just one day, Su Hao finished reading all these watery books. With nothing else to do, he entered the Pinball Space again to study the gene samples of the ten youths.

He had collected these samples incidentally while beating people up earlier.

One day, Fairy Feng Ling summoned Su Hao and Feng Cheng to her side. After assessing their understanding of the ‘chicken soup’ texts, and finding them both satisfactory, she turned and walked out, saying, “Follow me. Today, I will officially teach you the first lesson in cultivation.”

Su Hao was overjoyed and immediately followed, with Feng Cheng close behind.

Fairy Feng Ling stepped out of the cave entrance and leaped gracefully to the summit. Her voice drifted down from above, “You two, come up here!”

Su Hao looked around and seeing no stairs or anything similar, he leaped up directly, using the stone wall for leverage several times to reach the summit.

Fairy Feng Ling looked at Su Hao in surprise and asked, “Did you practice mortal martial arts?”

Su Hao casually replied, “For two years.”

Feng Ling nodded without speaking.

Below, Feng Cheng was dumbfounded. “How… how am I supposed to get up there?”

Finally, seeing that Fairy Feng Ling and Senior Brother Feng Wei were ignoring him, he gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and began to climb.

Feng Ling waited patiently. For her, this wasn’t about testing them, but simply observing the potential of her disciples. If they needed help for such a small difficulty, she wouldn’t hold out much hope for their future.

Mortals value mutual assistance, but for cultivators, once they embark on this path, most things will be up to them.

After about half an hour, Feng Cheng climbed up, panting like a bull. He was visibly delighted to have made it, despite his hands being covered in scratches from the sharp rocks.

After Feng Cheng caught his breath, Fairy Feng Ling smiled and said, “You two have both exceeded my expectations. You seem to have the makings of cultivators!”

After the two had both sat down, Fairy Feng Ling suddenly asked with a smile, “Are you joining Cloud Looking Moon Valley to cultivate because you wish for eternal life?”

This question immediately made Su Hao and Feng Cheng’s spirits lift.

This was a question that struck at the core of cultivation. Eternal life is the ultimate goal all cultivators pursue. If cultivation didn’t promise immortality, people’s enthusiasm for it would be halved, with the other half of their desire being to gain power and live a flamboyant life.

Su Hao nodded without hesitation.

Fairy Feng Ling said, “Then I may have to disappoint you. The eternal life you seek, cultivation cannot grant you.”

This answer was beyond Su Hao’s expectations, and he couldn’t help but show surprise.

Su Hao didn’t rush to ask, instead waiting for Fairy Feng Ling’s further explanation.

But Feng Cheng said incredulously, “Cultivation can’t grant eternal life? How is that possible?”

At this moment, he even suspected that Immortal Gate Cloud Looking Moon Valley was a fraud, not a legitimate Immortal Gate at all!

If cultivation can’t grant eternal life, what’s the point of calling it cultivation?

Fairy Feng Ling continued, “The world says Immortals can fly, burrow, live forever, and do anything. But they’re referring to Immortals, not us cultivators. We cultivators will still age, get sick, die, and eventually turn to dust. As for Immortals, whether they exist or not is up to your belief. When a cultivator reaches the end, perhaps they will truly ascend to immortality as legends say!”

After Fairy Feng Ling finished speaking, Feng Cheng murmured in a daze, “How can this be… I’ll have to die in the future too?”

Fairy Feng Ling smiled, “You can think of it that way! But perhaps there is a sliver of hope in this world. If you can find that sliver of hope, you can achieve your wish and attain eternal life.”

Feng Cheng snapped back to reality and said, “Where is that sliver of hope?”

Fairy Feng Ling chuckled, too lazy to answer his foolish question. If she knew, would she still be here teaching these two disciples?

Hearing this, Su Hao couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret. He had thought he could find the method for eternal life in this world, but it seemed he had been too naive!

In his opinion, this cultivation world was just a simplified version of the cultivation realm.

However, Su Hao then shed his disappointment, thinking to himself, “Whether I succeed or not, I’ll only know after trying. If I don’t reach the end, any conclusions are invalid. Besides, countless people in this world have dedicated themselves to researching cultivation and longevity, so they must have unique insights into how to extend life. I’ll learn all of that first!”

Longevity, how could it be so simple?

Fairy Feng Ling observed the reactions of her two disciples and then said, “Although cultivators cannot achieve eternal life, extending one’s lifespan somewhat is still possible.”

“As expected!” Su Hao thought.

Upon hearing this, Feng Cheng’s eyes also lit up, and his spirits returned.

Since achieving eternal life was impossible, settling for the next best thing, living longer, was also good.

Fairy Feng Ling continued, “First, I’ll tell you about the general path and stages of our cultivators.”

After organizing her thoughts slightly, she slowly said: “We cultivators, at the beginning, are merely mortals. Cultivation is the process of shedding this mortal body. As cultivation deepens, our bodies will gradually transform towards an immortal body. While transforming, we will gain immense power and a longer lifespan.”

“This process of transcending mortality is not achieved overnight. It requires years of cultivation to gradually transform. This process can be divided into five stages: Catalyst Qi Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, Golden Core Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, and Body Integration Realm. Beyond that, there may be higher realms, but that is beyond my knowledge. When you have the destiny in the future, you will know.”

“The important thing is that each realm offers a different increase in lifespan.”

With that, Fairy Feng Ling paused.

Feng Cheng eagerly asked: “Master, how much does it increase lifespan?”

Fairy Feng Ling smiled slightly: “There’s no fixed amount, but there are reliable sayings. The Catalyst Qi Realm does not increase lifespan. The Foundation Establishment Realm increases lifespan by sixty years. The Golden Core Realm adds another one hundred and eighty years. The Nascent Soul Realm adds another five hundred and forty years. The Body Integration Realm adds another sixteen hundred years.”

“In other words, if you can successfully cultivate to the Body Integration Realm and live to old age naturally, you will have a total lifespan of two thousand five hundred years!”

“Two thousand five hundred years!” Upon hearing this, Feng Cheng was still slightly dazed. For mortals less than a hundred years old, this was an unimaginable astronomical figure!

Su Hao couldn’t help but praise upon hearing this: “Two thousand five hundred years? Not bad!”

To allow a mortal with a lifespan of less than a hundred years to live for over two thousand years, the cultivation techniques of this world were worth his full attention. Not to mention anything else, just one Nascent Soul old monster could have existed for longer than Su Hao.

As soon as Su Hao finished speaking, Fairy Feng Ling and Feng Cheng looked at him in unison, their eyes full of concern: Is this person crazy! Two thousand five hundred years is only a ‘not bad’ evaluation?

Su Hao looked back in confusion, did he say something wrong?

(End of chapter)