Longevity Starts With Dual Cultivation - Chapter 3

As mealtime approached, Ling Changqing finally ended his cultivation session, stood up, and opened the door, intending to head to the ship’s dining hall for a meal.

He carefully locked the door as usual, left a hidden mark, and confirmed that no one was spying around before leisurely making his way along the corridor.
Occasionally, he passed by servants and maids hurrying along the way. When he encountered familiar faces, Ling Changqing would smile and greet them.
As part of the Ling family’s lower ranks, life wasn’t easy for anyone. However, as a distant branch member with some cultivation, Ling Changqing’s status was slightly higher.

At least on the surface, these people wouldn’t show him disrespect, though what happened behind the scenes was another matter.
The dining hall was filled with the faint aroma of meat. Many pearl divers had already gathered, each holding a large food bowl, chatting while eating in small groups around wooden tables.
Since pearl diving was quite dangerous and physically demanding, the Ling family stewards provided passable meals.

Two catties of low-quality spirit rice, paired with a bowl of subpar monster beast meat and a pot of ordinary strong liquor, were enough to fill the pearl divers’ stomachs.
However, such treatment was only available during sea voyages and not during regular work.

Of course, the Ling family stewards were slightly more generous to pearl divers who performed well during the voyages.
For instance, those who brought back Jade Crystal Winterglow Pearls today would receive two catties of slightly better monster beast meat, unlimited low-quality spirit rice, and half a pot of inferior spiritual wine.

For the struggling pearl divers, this was already an exceptionally lavish feast. They normally had no chance to eat so much spirit rice, let alone monster beast meat and spiritual wine.
By now, Ling Changqing had received his portion from the burly-faced cook while holding an iron bowl, then chosen an empty table to sit down and eat quietly.
The spirit rice had a relatively soft texture with a hint of spiritual energy. The monster beast meat was somewhat tough, and the cooking wasn’t very careful, so it didn’t taste particularly good.

While Zen Heart Island had plenty of arable land, the area of spirit fields with excellent feng shui nourished by earth energy and spiritual veins was limited, so there couldn’t be much output of spirit rice or spirit wheat.

The low-quality spirit rice Ling Changqing was eating now typically came from grain fields located at the edges of spiritual veins. It contained only a slight amount of spiritual energy, and with poor seeds, it barely met the standards of spirit rice in the strictest sense.

Nevertheless, such meals weren’t readily available to the majority of low-level cultivators. If one could have this kind of food at every meal, they would already be considered quite successful.
As for the Ling family’s high-ranking elders and favored direct descendants, their daily cultivation involved consuming various Elixir Pills, along with high-quality spirit rice and monster beast meat.

As more pearl divers came to eat, occasional envious glances swept over Ling Changqing’s figure, carrying undisguised jealousy, resentment, and a trace of barely perceptible malice. Of course, some gazes were filled with envy and flattery, human nature was inherently complex and ever-changing.

Ling Changqing remained expressionless, unhurriedly dealing with the food before him. Thanks to the continuous strengthening of his soul, his perception of the emotions and reactions of those around him was extremely sharp.
Resenting others for having what one lacks, and mocking others for their lack.
This, too, was human nature, unchanged by the passage of time or shifts in worlds.

“…Hmm, after this sea expedition ends, I should find a way to acquire a better cultivation technique or divine power to study, right? Relying solely on this crude Water Control Art won’t guarantee safety underwater…”
Ling Changqing calculated silently. For over a decade, he had struggled to survive, with no spare wealth to speak of.

It was only after the exotic treasure, the Epoch Star Palace, awakened on his twelfth birthday had his situation improved somewhat in the past six months. He had managed to save a small amount of low-grade spirit stones and a few family Merit Points, though he wasn’t sure if it would be enough to exchange for a cultivation technique or divine power.

The Water Control Art was a rudimentary technique distributed by the Ling family’s stewards, primarily to help pearl divers move more easily underwater and stay submerged longer. It offered little in terms of offensive power.
After all, to the higher-ups of the Ling family, these pearl divers they raised were merely tools, expendable when necessary. If one batch died, they could simply recruit another from outside. Naturally, they wouldn’t provide them with any particularly good cultivation techniques.

In truth, the market was not lacking in various cultivation techniques and divine power manuals, ranging from common trash to the foundational techniques of certain sects and families, provided one could afford the price.
Given Ling Changqing’s current circumstances, he couldn’t afford to be too ambitious. He could only take one step at a time and see how things unfolded.

“Little Brother Ling…”
A somewhat familiar voice reached him. Ling Changqing looked up and saw a slender, slightly effeminate young man with a smile on his face, carrying a meal bowl as he walked over and sat down opposite him.
“Brother Chen.”
Ling Changqing nodded slightly, his tone indifferent as he responded.
This man, named Chen Tong, was cunning by nature and had a tendency to take advantage of small favors. He had been part of the pearl diving team for five or six years.

Because he had spoken with Ling Changqing more often in the past, Chen Tong always subtly positioned himself as Ling Changqing’s mentor, telling everyone that Ling Changqing was his protégé.
Ling Changqing deeply disliked this man’s behavior but maintained a superficial harmony for now, avoiding an outright confrontation.

Chen Tong glanced enviously at the large chunk of demon beast meat in Ling Changqing’s bowl, then looked at his own meal, feeling somewhat unbalanced.
For several days in a row, he had failed to find any Jade Crystal Winterglow Pearls. Today, not only had he been scolded by Steward Ling Changfeng, but he had also been whipped, and his back still ached faintly.

“Little Brother Ling, let me tell you something,”
Chen Tong thought for a moment, his face breaking into an eager smile. “I’m not far from breaking through to the fourth level of Qi refining. I just need a bit more resources for elixir pills. Could you lend me some spirit stones now? I’ll pay you back as soon as I break through!”
“…”

Ling Changqing paused briefly, raised his eyes to scrutinize the other for a moment, then lowered his head and continued eating.

“So, what do you say? Given our past friendship, you should trust my character, right?”
Chen Tong’s smile didn’t fade. In his eyes, this handsome young man had been quite lucky lately, rarely returning empty-handed from his sea expeditions each day. He must have saved up some resources. After all, I’m a seasoned pearl diver who has looked out for this kid many times before. It’s only right that he shows me some respect by offering resources.
Once I successfully break through to the fourth level of Qi refining, my status in the pearl diving team will only rise higher. Wouldn’t this kid Ling Changqing have to curry favor with me even more?

Across the dining table, Ling Changqing slowly swallowed the rice in his mouth, his voice calm and steady: “Sorry, but I’m a bit tight on funds lately. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you, Brother Chen.”

His past life experiences had taught him that lending money often turned friends into enemies, this held true even for close friends and relatives, let alone someone like this guy with whom he had no real connection.
Given this fellow’s character, if he could actually repay the money on time, Ling Changqing would dare to write his own name backward.

“You…”
Chen Tong’s expression froze, and he stared in disbelief at the delicate-looking young man before him.
He never would have thought that, with his own standing, such a small request would be refused by this kid?
Had he forgotten how he was mentored back in the day? How dare he?!
Watching the other’s face shift between shades of pale and flushed, Ling Changqing inwardly sneered.

“This matter, Brother Chen, you’d better ask someone else!”
Ling Changqing spoke indifferently, then lowered his head and continued eating, not sparing the other another glance.

“Ling Changqing, you… you’re something… I’ll remember this!”
Chen Tong gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at him, then picked up his rice bowl and stormed off angrily.

Ling Changqing chuckled softly, knowing full well that he had just made an enemy of this guy.
Such people were born petty, they would hold a grudge over the smallest matters. Given the slightest opportunity in the future, they would pounce like mad dogs, seeking revenge.

However, Ling Changqing had nothing to fear. Just moments ago, the Epoch Star Palace within him trembled faintly, and another wisp of soul energy quietly gathered.
Ling Changqing now understood that anyone, human or beast, who harbored ill will toward him would mysteriously lose a tiny fraction of their soul essence. After being absorbed and transformed by the Epoch Star Palace, it became nourishment for the growth and strengthening of his own soul.
This was the reason his soul power continued to increase, and along with it, his comprehension had improved significantly.

Although the souls of these low-level cultivators weren’t strong, and the amount of soul essence lost was minuscule, perhaps less than a thousandth, it added up over time, like grains of sand forming a tower.
Over the long term, Ling Changqing believed his soul would grow so powerful that even Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators would struggle to compare, and the same went for his comprehension.

With a powerful soul and exceptional comprehension, cultivating various techniques and abilities would naturally be twice as effective, and breaking through bottlenecks would be much easier.
When he first grasped this marvelous power of the Epoch Star Palace, Ling Changqing’s initial reaction was a mix of joy and concern.

He was glad to have a path to continuous growth, but worried that to rapidly strengthen his soul and enhance his comprehension, he would have to constantly stir up trouble and create conflicts with as many people as possible.
Simply put, the more people who envied, resented, or bore ill will toward Ling Changqing, the more soul essence the Epoch Star Palace could passively harvest.
However, this did not align with Ling Changqing’s principle of keeping a low profile, being cautious, and developing steadily under the radar. With low cultivation strength and no other means of self-protection, if too many people harbor resentment and keep tabs on you, sooner or later you’ll be wiped out without a trace.

Ling Changqing felt it was impossible for him to give up harvesting soul essence, yet he couldn’t deliberately provoke too many enemies either. Thus, this became an almost unsolvable dilemma.
Therefore, he still needed to devise a way to achieve the best of both worlds.