Eternal Tale
chapter-133

The next day, they officially began the next hundred-year plan.

Every month, Chen Xun and the big black ox would earn one thousand low-grade spirit stones. Some days they might only earn a hundred, but they never got greedy. They dispersed the spirit medicines or elixirs, all over.

In the face of lifespan, even if they earned just one low-grade spirit stone daily, they would still be considered wealthy in the cultivation world.

Because everything they had was common goods and not worth anyone's attention. Even if someone paid attention, at most it would be Foundation Establishment cultivators...

They never left the city; they had their cave produce, and they didn't care about gossip or troublemaking.

Chen Xun and the big black ox blended in well among the thousands of ordinary cultivators, not showing any sharp edges. People like them were hard to distinguish in a crowd.

After earning enough spirit stones each month, Chen Xun would start practicing axe techniques bare-chested every day, while the ox practiced formations. They also began nurturing their own lifebound magical treasures.

Days spent in cultivation always consumed time faster than aimlessly wandering around. Neither Chen Xun nor the big black ox felt the passage of time, as if it had lost its meaning to them.

Yuxu City saw batches of cultivators come and go, and the vendors whom they occasionally chatted with vanished without a trace.

The cultivation world always had successors, but it also buried countless unwilling bones. Cultivating for hundreds of years ultimately amounted to nothing, without even the chance to enjoy various things.

The waves of the past do not return, the time that has passed does not come again, and time is a merciless firefly, always taking away the lonely souls when it leaves.

Another hundred years passed, another grand event was about to be held, and countless geniuses were rising in various sects.

As time continued to evolve in the cultivation world, only the eternal beings remained forever young.

Qin Immortal Mountain, Yellow-grade Cave Mansion.

Today, the wind was fierce—incredibly violent. Tree branches swayed everywhere, and the sound of the wind was incessant. Chen Xun remained as steadfast as ever, his gaze calm like an ancient well, continuously chopping wood by the creek.

The wind seemed to grow stronger. However, this wind carried a sense of indomitable spirit that was difficult to grasp.

Buzz!

A faint sound of breaking wind rang out as Chen Xun slowly wielded his mountain-opening axe, following the direction of the wind and its natural trajectory.

A leaf quietly fell in the distance, its patterns seemingly erased, yet its falling trajectory remained unchanged.

Chen Xun remained serene, his mind calm, and his demeanor transcendent. In the distance, the mountains were shrouded in mist, the cold wind howled, and he subtly moved his ears, as if listening.

Neither rejoicing in external things nor saddened by oneself, Chen Xun's eyes were filled only with endless tranquility; even the Crane Spirit Tree beside him remained intact.

Buzz!

Another axe swung slowly through the air, causing ripples to appear in the creek and creating waves. Following the trajectory of all things, the axe technique was natural.

This was the experience Chen Xun gained from observing mountains, rivers, and great rivers.

Walking in the world—isn't it another form of cultivation? The elevation of realms brought by spiritual energy is just a part of cultivation.

Buzz!

Chen Xun lightly chopped down, his ink-black hair fluttering, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth as he returned the mountain-opening axe to his waist and headed in another direction.

There were no changes around him; no places were damaged. It seemed that these hundred years of axe practice had still amounted to nothing, with no improvement whatsoever.

Only countless leaves with erased patterns littered the ground. The creek still rippled, taking a while to return to its original state, and then began to flow gently again.

At this moment, the big black ox was sitting cross-legged inside the cave mansion. Dead air surrounded it, and a black coffin lay horizontally in front of it, with countless strands of spirit-restricting vines inside.

The dead air was quite strong, as if it were about to materialize, even the surrounding spiritual energy was contaminated.

However, it was completely restrained by the Water Spirit Technique and the Golden Core, having no effect on the big black ox.

The lifebound magical treasure was like its own right arm, communicating with its mind. It was extremely mysterious and far beyond the comparison of ordinary artifacts.

But if it were damaged, its own Golden Core would also be affected, reducing its strength by a few points.

Over the years, the black coffin has been elevated to its limit of one hundred and eighty thousand years. If it were to go further, it would no longer be able to suppress it.

"Moo~" The big black ox let out a low moo, its hooves transforming into its ox palms, emitting a faint light from its body.

The radiance of the Golden Cores seemed to penetrate its body, becoming transparent and visible, continuously swirling within the big black ox's body.

The five elements mutually generate and restrain each other, allowing all things to flourish endlessly.

Within the big black ox's body, a complete circulation had formed, resolving many hidden dangers within it.

As it waved its ox palm, the death aura of the black coffin gradually subsided and was swallowed back into the Golden Cores.

Due to the enhancement, the black coffin needed to slowly nourish within their bodies again, and its effects in various aspects became increasingly terrifying, as if the death aura could truly corrupt all things.

No one could escape the cycle of life and death. When life reaches its peak, does Chen Xun believe it is death? Could the ultimate death be life...

They often discussed this issue, but their knowledge was shallow, and their realms were insufficient. They decided to let time provide them with the answers.

"Moo~!" The big black ox breathed out a hot breath, and its tail slapped the ground, excitement gleaming in its eyes.

One of its lifebound magical treasures, the black coffin, had been completely refined.

It quickly flipped open a small booklet to check the next step in Chen Xun's plan, which was their bandit outfit.

"Moo~" The big black ox nodded earnestly. The headgear had also been enhanced to its limit of one hundred and eighty thousand years, but it had not been completely refined yet.

However, it had gained many mysterious effects, one of which was shielding divine consciousness, and it seemed to have gained some defensive power as well.

Chen Xun said it might be to defend against attacks on the soul, divine consciousness, or primordial spirit.

He wasn't sure; they weren't skilled in fighting techniques, and had limited means. They had never encountered attacks on divine consciousness, but they definitely existed in the cultivation world.

"Old Ox!"

"Moo?!"

A loud shout came from outside the cave mansion, and the big black ox hurriedly ran out, indicating that Chen Xun had finished practicing with the axe.

He walked in slowly, a smile on his face. "Old Ox, how was it?"

"Moo~" The big black ox looked proud. It must have been excellent.

Chen Xun slapped it on the back. "Not bad; you have about two-thirds of my strength."

"Moo~!" The big black ox thought seriously for a moment. Big Brother must be stronger than him, so it just nodded.

Chen Xun sat down on a stone chair, took out some health-preserving tea from his storage bag, blew on it symbolically, and slowly started drinking.

The big black ox also squatted on the ground, took out its own health-preserving tea and straw, and drank slowly, with a smile in its ox eyes.

The process of cultivation was quite tiring, mainly consuming mental energy. Most cases of demonic cultivation arose from here, rushing too eagerly would lead to mistakes.

They gazed outward, their eyes vacant. Green mountains, white clouds, and the playful birds in the woods formed a perfect landscape painting.

Chen Xun and the big black ox didn't say anything; they just sat quietly, enjoying the pleasant time and the beauty of nature.

Occasionally, strong winds blew through, and the rustling of leaves added a unique charm.

Over the years, Chen Xun's three mountain-opening axes have also been fully enhanced. With the material of the death aura reaching one hundred and eighty thousand years, who could withstand it?!

Even if the ancestors of the cultivators combined their ages, they wouldn't have lived as long.

In these hundred years, they had amassed a huge fortune of over a million low-grade spirit stones, but they hadn't spent much; they had all saved up.

For this year's three auctions, they planned to spend lavishly, mainly to inquire about news about those two spirit medicines.

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivation technique had also been condensed, but it took several years. Surprisingly, the spiritual power became increasingly profound, with a sense of reality.

Sometimes, Chen Xun felt apprehensive. The spiritual energy within their bodies was ethereal, without thickness, length, or scale. Their spiritual energy had begun to mutate...

He had a premonition that when they reached the Golden Core stage, unimaginable changes would occur.

Their Immortal Point had finally reached full capacity in all five aspects, now they just had to wait for the breakthrough to soar in one go!