Longevity Starts With Dual Cultivation - Chapter 26 - Long-Term Mission
Whether Tang Qiuyao’s proposal was a genuine show of goodwill or harbored other intentions, Ling Changqing didn’t care.
Even if a legendary Nascent Soul cultivator were standing before him, they wouldn’t be able to uncover the secrets of the Epoch Star Palace, so he had nothing to worry about.
This senior sister wasn’t a demonic cultivator, and even if he rented her spiritual vein cave dwelling, would she really find an opportunity to devour him?
“…According to market rates, a cave abode nourished by a second-grade spiritual vein costs one hundred low-grade spirit stones per month, with the annual rent payable upfront. For you, little junior brother, it can be halved, and the deposit can be waived!”
Tang Qiuyao’s cherry lips parted slightly as she spoke unhurriedly.
Ling Changqing nodded: “Alright, it’s settled then!”
The price was quite reasonable. He still had some spirit stones on him, so paying a year’s rent upfront wasn’t a problem.
As for next year, Ling Changqing felt that with his growth rate, he wouldn’t struggle to earn back the rent, so there was nothing to worry about.
Ling Changqing immediately took out six hundred spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to Tang Qiuyao. The stunning beauty nodded slightly, a faint glow flashing as she stored them all in her storage bag.
“Since there’s nothing else to attend to now, I’ll take you back to have a look first.”
Tang Qiuyao set down the Jade Slip in her hand, rose gracefully, and walked out from behind the desk.
Ling Changqing followed silently behind her, his dark eyes reflecting the elegant figure of the stunning beauty. Her full, slender waist and the rounded, perky curves of her hips, hidden beneath her exquisite dress, swayed gently with each step, exuding an alluring charm.
Ling Changqing’s gaze wavered for a moment before returning to normal.
Tang Qiuyao ahead seemed completely unaware, continuing to walk at a leisurely pace.
Exiting the courtyard and winding along the corridors, they arrived at the square outside the assembly hall, where Tang Qiuyao’s flying boat was parked.
Tang Qiuyao led Ling Changqing and two maids onto the flying boat. The high-grade artifact rose lightly into the air and headed toward the southeastern corner of the city.
In just a short while, the flying boat arrived at its destination, landing in front of a lush, picturesque estate.
As they entered the main gate of the estate, groups of maids, servants, and guards came forward to greet them, all dressed in fine attire, bowing and offering their respects in unison.
As a cultivator at the peak of the eighth level of Qi refining and a trusted confidant of the family head, it was no surprise that Tang Qiuyao commanded such a grand reception.
“Alright, everyone may disperse!”
Tang Qiuyao waved her hand, and after another round of bows, the crowd scattered to attend to their duties.
Ling Changqing followed her into the inner residence, with only a few personal maids remaining by their side.
As the mistress, Tang Qiuyao didn’t speak, so the maids didn’t dare to ask questions outright. Instead, they stole glances at the handsome young man in purple, with a few bolder ones nearly staring openly.
In the inner courtyard’s flower hall, Tang Qiuyao gracefully took her seat in the main position before instructing the head maid beside her: “This young man is Ling Changqing, a direct descendant of the family. From now on, he will be a long-term tenant here. Long Yun, give him a jade token to control the formation’s entrance.”
The charming and radiant young lady in the white dress examined Ling Changqing with surprise, softly replying, “Understood, this servant will go and handle it immediately.”
The jade token was also an artifact. Once Ling Changqing’s portrait aura was captured within it, along with a strand of spiritual consciousness, he would be able to freely enter and leave Tang Qiuyao’s Cave Abode blessed land.
After obtaining the jade token, Long Yun led Ling Changqing to the neighboring courtyard to familiarize him with the place.
“Young master…”
Long Yun’s eyes shimmered like rippling water, her tone gentle as she said, “From now on, this entire section of courtyards will be for your use. The spiritual energy formation in the cultivation chamber has already been adjusted. You may activate it yourself when you need to go into seclusion for training.”
“Additionally, if you have any other needs, young master, you may speak directly with this servant.”
“Very well, thank you for your trouble, miss.”
Ling Changqing spoke warmly, taking out two Qi Replenishing Essence Pills and handing them to her as a reward.
Long Yun’s fair cheeks flushed slightly. After accepting the Elixir Pills, she carefully offered a few more reminders before reluctantly taking her leave.
When only he remained in the courtyard, Ling Changqing walked around inspecting the area and found himself quite satisfied with the environment.
The courtyard where he had previously secluded himself for cultivation at the Ling family money house couldn’t compare to the conditions here, yet the price had been outrageously expensive.
Of course, the cost of staying at a five-star hotel was fundamentally different from that of an apartment building, and Tang Qiuyao had clearly given him a friendship discount.
After looking around, he considered that he currently had nothing pressing to do. Why not cultivate for a period of time?
Just as Ling Changqing was pondering this, before he could act on it, Long Yun returned, saying that Tang Qiuyao had summoned him.
Thus, moments later, Ling Changqing once again saw the radiant Tang Qiuyao in the inner study.
“You’re here?”
The peerlessly beautiful woman sat upright with perfect posture, her elegant back straight. On the desk before her lay a scroll of shimmering Jade Slip illustrations and a vermilion jade box.
Ling Changqing nodded. “What instructions do you have, senior sister?”
“Nothing much, just a casual chat,” Tang Qiuyao said gently. “You’ve been working underwater for so long, you must be quite familiar with the seabed environment in that area. Have you ever been to a sea area deeper than two hundred zhang?”
Ling Changqing looked momentarily startled, shaking his head. “How could that be possible? My cultivation is still low, and I lack suitable high-grade artifacts for protection. Going to such deep waters would be seeking death, wouldn’t it?”
Given the average cultivation level of pearl diver teams and the effectiveness of basic Water Repelling Talismans, they could only operate in shallow waters within one hundred zhang at most, and even that was fraught with danger.
As for the deep sea regions, pearl divers didn’t dare venture there. Although there contained more high-value cultivation resources, they also hosted more dangerous fish and sea beasts. Even cultivators at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi refining couldn’t guarantee absolute safety.
Tang Qiuyao pursed her lips in a smile. “With your current cultivation realm, it’s indeed not advisable to go to such places. But given how rapidly you’re progressing, perhaps in another twenty or thirty years you might catch up to your senior sister, don’t you think?”
“This… I can only say I’ll do my best. I wouldn’t dare make any definite promises.”
Ling Changqing responded cautiously. Leaving some room in both speech and action was the principle of those who followed the path of caution.
Tang Qiuyao’s eyes sparkled as she spoke in a soft, melodious voice: “To be honest with you, in the early years, the family head once took me down to the seabed over two hundred zhang deep to gather certain resources in order to refine a batch of Green Sun Marrow Transformation Pills. At that time, she wasn’t even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator yet…”
“On the way, we encountered several powerful sea beasts surrounding us. The family head protected me and fought bitterly, barely managing to escape!”
Ling Changqing’s expression shifted slightly. The name Green Sun Marrow Transformation Pill was not unfamiliar to him, it was a resource highly effective even for mid to late Foundation Establishment cultivators. Family Head Ling Qiyue was so young yet already close to the Golden Core realm, likely due in part to this reason.
“Is the family head particularly skilled in alchemy?”
Ling Changqing murmured softly, recalling how Steward Ling Zifeng had previously driven the pearl divers to desperately collect Jade Crystal Winterglow Pearls, presumably intended as alchemical ingredients.
Tang Qiuyao did not evade the question: “Indeed, the family head is an Alchemist Master, and the alchemy inheritance she received is extraordinary. Thus, her demand for various materials suitable for alchemy is quite substantial.”
As she spoke, she handed over the jade slip and jade box: “This contains a list of resources relatively easy to find in the deep sea regions and of high value. Take a look!”
“When your cultivation approaches your senior sister’s level in the future, you can consider giving it a try.”
Ling Changqing took them and briefly examined them, already understanding. Several of the main ingredients for the Green Sun Marrow Transformation Pill could basically be found in the deep sea regions.
The jade slip recorded nearly a hundred types of resources, all naturally quite valuable. Among them, the six most precious rare treasures were highly sought after even by Golden Core Cultivators.
Of course, the habitats of these rare treasures were all in sea areas over seven hundred zhang deep. Without reaching the Foundation Establishment level, one shouldn’t even think of attempting to gather them.
The jade box shimmered with spiritual light, containing a thick stack of Water Repelling Talismans, along with Protective Talismans and Water Escape Talismans, all premium-grade talismans.
With these talismans at hand, Ling Changqing could move freely in seawater up to two hundred zhang deep and briefly linger in waters between two hundred and three hundred zhang.
“Does senior sister want me to try now?”
Ling Changqing asked. These talismans were quite valuable, likely sourced from the family’s public treasury.
Tang Qiuyao laughed: “Of course not now. At the very least, wait until you reach Qi refining sixth layer. Just keep these items for now.”
“Consider this a long-term mission, little junior brother. Whenever you feel confident, you can give it a try. If you manage to retrieve resources from the list, you don’t need to hand them over to Ling Zifeng, bring them directly to me. I won’t shortchange you on the price.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Ling Changqing nodded in agreement.
After conversing a while longer, Tang Qiuyao gestured for him to leave.