I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 356 - 204: Past Lives’ Azure Fall as Cause and Effect, Present Life’s Fortune, Prosperity, Fame, and Luck

Chapter 356: Chapter 204: Past Lives’ Azure Fall as Cause and Effect, Present Life’s Fortune, Prosperity, Fame, and Luck

Five years had whisked by, and Gu Shanhai serenely became a cultivator at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment... a mediocre one.

During these five years, there hadn’t been any significant changes in the outside world. For cultivators, time spans great distances, and five years passed by in the blink of an eye, vanishing in an instant.

Gu Shanhai kept tabs on Shen Heng. The other seemed to no longer be pursued for his life and had inexplicably absorbed a Spirit Vein to reach the Spirit Origin Stage. At first glance, it looked like Shen Heng was thriving effortlessly, but that’s where the news ended. How he was able to assimilate the Spirit Vein in such a short period remained a mystery to everyone.

Now that he had vanished, even fewer knew of these matters.

Also disappearing was Jianfeng Evernight City. They seemed to have grown impatient with their missions and vanished from the world five months ago, leaving no trace behind until today.

Chengyun Sect had searched for nearly three months before finally giving up and notifying Gu Shanhai.

Gu Shanhai casually remarked that the player had left and should be treated as a defector from the sect.

Honestly, Jianfeng Evernight City probably thought they could get such treatment anywhere after staying for so long, letting their ego inflate.

This illusion was normal. Consider this: being carried by NPCs, leveling up without even trying, and having breakthrough materials without the need to gather them—it’s hard not to develop the illusion of being the main character.

Under normal circumstances, this treatment would last for ten years. It was like Jianfeng Evernight City had taken up the mantle of stealing the main character’s opportunities for Gu Shanhai, but they gave it up themselves, so it was no longer Gu Shanhai’s concern.

Another thing was their failure to explain their departure. If only they had said a word to the people of Chengyun Sect, there wouldn’t have been any issues. After all, he wasn’t an official disciple of Chengyun Sect, just a nominal disciple of Gu Shanhai. Since they didn’t take it seriously, Gu Shanhai simply struck off his name.

Being his nominal master, Gu Shanhai thought it was pretty outrageous to leave without saying anything, treating him like a sucker.

The benefits they gave up were their own doing; it wasn’t that Gu Shanhai didn’t offer.

Should they reenter the Xuanji Realm, they would no longer receive this treatment and would have to be a Loose Cultivator.

When Jianfeng Evernight City left, they were also at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. They had been grinding their professional talents and skills. While they did level up, it wasn’t substantial.

To Gu Shanhai, it seemed more like they were preparing to show off and slap others in the face.

But a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage didn’t seem to have much competitive power among players. Had they been a Cave Soul Stage cultivator of the third layer in the Middle Three Realms, they might have nearly matched the first tier.

"Zhu Xiang hasn’t been around lately; last I heard, he seemed to have obtained a small Spirit Vein from Chengyun Sect. It’s possible that the market might be closing down."

A fair number of people had come to foster relationships with Gu Shanhai, so when it came to news, he wasn’t limited to just Zhu Xiang as a source.

"I hope he can reach the Spirit Origin Stage sooner. Judging by his appearance, he’ll probably be running out of lifespan in another hundred years or so." Gu Shanhai didn’t know how old Zhu Xiang was, but he did know that Zhu Xiang was already of great-great-great-grandfather age, with his eldest son dead for who knows how many years.

The "youngest son" mentioned five years ago was actually Zhu Xiang’s 372nd son. He had a multitude of descendants, adding three to five each year.

However, among these descendants, very few could step onto the path of cultivation and experience life and death like mortals.

It wasn’t that these descendants lacked talent; it was purely because Zhu Xiang did not provide them with resources. To embark on the path, the first steps were Cultivation Technique and the type of Qi. The former was easier to address, but the latter was a problem. For Loose Cultivators, gathering was not easy, even for someone at the Purple Mansion Stage like Zhu Xiang.

Moreover, Zhu Xiang had so many descendants that if he were to help each one, he would not be able to afford it. After Qi Refinement comes Foundation Establishment, and after Foundation Establishment, one aspires to reach the Purple Mansion.

This cycle would deplete his resources and waste his time, making it impossible for him to agree. Therefore, only a select few descendants whom he favored received his Qi types and Cultivation Techniques.

Of course, if these descendants managed on their own without asking him for resources, even if they pursued cultivation, Zhu Xiang would turn a blind eye and not interfere.

After all, these descendants were born from indulgence, and he stopped caring once their numbers grew.

The women who followed him were not cultivators but merely mortals. They were sent away when they grew old, and naturally, he wouldn’t care about any preventative measures. Those women received a sizable fortune plus a connection to Zhu Xiang. Their later years were quite comfortable, representing a mutual exchange of needs.

This was the true reflection of most Loose Cultivators when their lifespan was nearing its end, yet unable to break through—they decided to enjoy life while they could and leave behind plenty of offspring.

Zhu Xiang, on the other hand, wanted to struggle a bit more while simultaneously preparing for when he could no longer struggle.

Now it seemed he had succeeded in his struggle. With a Spirit Vein, as long as he successfully assimilated it and withstood the tribulations, he would be rejuvenated.

"I hope he can successfully get through the tribulation." Gu Shanhai knew that this was a significant barrier for Loose Cultivators. In the Lower Three Realms, there were no tribulations; finding the corresponding Cultivation Techniques and breakthrough materials was generally not a problem.

In the Middle Three Realms, the real challenge was not in seeking breakthrough materials and Cultivation Techniques but in facing the tribulations after breaking through. Countless Loose Cultivators fell at this hurdle. They lacked the experience to deal with tribulations and had no elders’ advice nor methods to help them. While they knew of the dangers of tribulations, they lacked concrete understanding, ultimately leading to their demise.

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