Longevity Starts With Dual Cultivation - Chapter 17

In the end, faced with Ling Changqing’s icy attitude, the three female cultivators could only leave dejectedly.

After walking some distance away, a petite female cultivator finally couldn’t hold back her outburst: “What’s so great about him? He’s just a third-layer Qi refining bastard! All three of us were willing to follow him, does he think he’s being wronged?”

“Exactly, he’s just lucky to have gained the steward’s favor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be where he is today…”

Another slender female cultivator was equally resentful: “Someone like him – we wouldn’t have given him a second glance before. If it weren’t for wanting to break through to Qi refining third layer quickly, does he really think he’d get such a good opportunity?”

Their true intentions weren’t hard to guess – working at sea was too dangerous, earning spirit stones was too slow, so they planned to find a suitable male cultivator to be their cultivation partner.

Well, “cultivation partner” was just a euphemism – to put it bluntly, it was trading companionship for cultivation resources.

Among the struggling lower-level cultivators, such things weren’t too uncommon. Some female cultivators lacking resources and with insufficient determination often chose this path.

Ling Changqing, having gained the steward’s favor and performing excellently himself, always returned with the greatest harvests from sea voyages, naturally attracting the attention of these female cultivators.

Hence the earlier scene. Unfortunately, Ling Changqing wasn’t willing to play the fool and directly sent them away.

Su Yu sighed: “Forget it, someone like him is destined for great achievements in his cultivation path. He would never fancy people like us.”

“Is that so? Who knows if he might die at the bottom of the sea and never return?”

The petite female cultivator gritted her teeth and sneered, feeling resentful and unwilling in her heart, yet powerless to change things.

Without obtaining resources, their cultivation couldn’t advance. Without sufficient strength, they would eventually meet disaster in the perilous depths.

On this sea vessel, aside from Ling Changqing this anomaly, the other Ling family disciples would never fancy low-level rogue cultivators like them.

“Enough, let’s go back and discuss this. If nothing works, then we’ll have no choice but to…”
Su Yu whispered.

…

In the cultivation chamber, Ling Changqing was communicating with the Epoch Star Palace, watching the continuous changes in his Soul Essence, lost in thought.

“Those three women just now… actually provided so much Soul Essence power? Their resentment is truly extraordinary…”

Ling Changqing pondered silently. These three mysteriously confident female rogue cultivators were absolutely bursting with negative energy, to the extent that the Epoch Star Palace passively harvested Soul Essence power equivalent to ten times the amount from pearl divers.

“If this method works, perhaps I should consider visiting the matchmaking market? The harvest would likely be quite substantial?”

In an instant, Ling Changqing devised a feasible strategy.

Just like in his previous life, this world also had so-called matchmaking markets, filled with all sorts of peculiar specimens and mysteriously confident “fairies.”

Given Ling Changqing’s current conditions, visiting such a place would be appropriate. They would inevitably come for his spirit stone resources, while he would be targeting their Soul Essence. Having made up his mind, Ling Changqing took a Profound Yin Blood Essence Pill and began another night of cultivation.

Early the next morning.

After breakfast, Ling Changqing organized his belongings and left unhurriedly.

On the foredeck, most of the pearl divers had already gathered and were listening to Ling Zifeng’s instructions.

Though Ling Changqing was also present, his position now placed him among the Ling family disciples, no longer needing to squeeze in with the pearl divers.

Unsurprisingly, Su Yu and the two other female cultivators were also there. When their gazes fell upon Ling Changqing, their hatred was palpable.

Ling Changqing remained unfazed. Such low-level rogue cultivators were destined to have short lives, they weren’t even passing figures in his long lifespan, so why bother with them?

A short while later, after Ling Zifeng finished his instructions, the pearl divers began entering the sea.

Ling Changqing, as usual, was the last to go, since no one interfered.

He now had the autonomy to decide when to enter the water and when to return.

The day passed quietly. By evening, when work concluded, Ling Changqing was once again the first to return.

Thanks to Ling Zifeng’s prior commitment, the resources he brought back were valued about fifty percent higher than those of the other pearl divers, and he also earned more Family Merit Points.

After Tian Wenhu completed the tally, Ling Changqing’s storage bag contained forty-five low-grade spirit stones and an additional twenty-five Family Merit Points.

At first glance, Family Merit Points might seem of little use, but once accumulated to a certain amount, they could be exchanged for cultivation-enhancing resources like Elixir Pills, Superior-grade Artifacts, Talismans, formation diagrams, and of course, cultivation manuals and texts.

In the future, when Ling Changqing needed to exchange for the middle and lower volumes of the Xuanzhen Black Water Scripture, aside from sufficient spirit stones, he would also need to meet the required standard of Family Merit Points.

As usual, he went to the dining hall for a meal. After eating and drinking his fill, Ling Changqing returned to his room to cultivate without any delay.

Thus, his days cycled repetitively: diving for work, eating, purchasing pills, and secluded cultivation. Ling Changqing’s life was monotonous yet fulfilling.

This high-intensity cultivation persisted for over a month. When night fell on this particular day, Ling Changqing’s cultivation finally broke through once again, elevating him to a Qi refining fourth-layer cultivator.

In his sea of consciousness, a message imbued with profound Dao charm silently emerged:
[Lord of the Epoch Star Palace: Ling Changqing]
[Bone Age: 14]
[Cultivation: Qi refining fourth layer]
[Destiny: 20+96]
[Fortune: 20+74]
[Physique: 15]
[Bone Structure: 13]
[Comprehension: 14]
[Soul: 21]
[Primary Cultivation Technique: Xuanzhen Black Water Scripture (First Layer) 3940/5000]
[Water Escape Technique: (Second Layer) 410/2000]
[Water Spirit Shield: (Second Layer) 435/2000]
[Spiritual Root: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Medium Human Grade 539/10000]
[Benefactors: Ling ZifengTang Qiuyao]

All physical attributes continued to strengthen, with noticeable progress in both his primary cultivation technique and divine spells.

Reaching Qi refining fourth layer placed him among mid-stage Qi refining cultivators. Especially given Ling Changqing’s youth, even among the Ling family’s direct descendants, he was considered a relatively outstanding talent.

The advancement in Water Escape Technique and Water Spirit Shield further enhanced Ling Changqing’s survival capabilities. Perhaps next, he would need to find a way to acquire a couple of offensive spells to cultivate. Another pleasant surprise was that Ling Changqing’s spiritual root level had finally changed, upgrading from the previous low-grade human rank to mid-grade human rank.

Once a cultivator’s spiritual root level improves, it signifies a transformation from the inside out, akin to being reborn.

The direct benefits include faster cultivation speed, simultaneous enhancements in physique, soul, bone structure, and comprehension, among many other advantages that are too numerous to list.

However, resources capable of improving spiritual root quality are considered genuine treasures of heaven and earth in this world.

Even those of relatively low grade are rare and precious finds that most low-level cultivators can only dream of encountering.

This time, however, there was no increase in the quota for new benefactor vacancies, suggesting it might only become available after the next breakthrough.

“Being able to advance so quickly is not only due to previously cultivating the Xuanzhen Black Water Scripture but also likely thanks to the Epoch Star Palace, especially all those good things I consumed at the bottom of the sea…”

Ling Changqing pondered. The early and middle stages of Qi refining don’t present insurmountable bottlenecks; as long as one has sufficient cultivation techniques and Elixir Pill resources, accumulating enough will naturally lead to advancement.

Yet, for ordinary low-level rogue cultivators, the extreme scarcity of techniques and resources makes it exceedingly difficult to progress past this stage.

Most low-level rogue cultivators waste their entire lives, never advancing beyond the early or middle stages of Qi refining.

Ling Changqing, however, is not yet fifteen years old. He already lacks no cultivation techniques and can earn his own Elixir Pill and spirit stone resources, making his path forward bright and promising.