"Great, it's finally stopped crying!" The aunts and mothers-in-law all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is it dead, perhaps?" A busybody speculated, drawing a round of angry glances.
"Ever since Xiaoqing came to our Purple Bamboo Town a year ago, I knew he was no ordinary person." A venerable old man with a wise face spoke with great depth.
"None of us, put together, could match Brother Xiaoqing. Of course he's extraordinary!" Even the local bully chimed in.
At the courtyard entrance, the onlookers began to chatter away. Xiaoqing, however, was ushered out of the house by the old woman. "A young man who's not yet married should avoid such situations. Otherwise, it might cause gossip and make it difficult to find you a wife." "..." Xiaoqing wanted to say something but stopped, standing in the courtyard in silence.
"Poor Little Wang's widow, with no relatives to take care of her and her child..." "Enough, enough, everyone disperse!" The old woman stayed behind to look after Little Wang's widow, and the others gradually left. Xiaoqing couldn't stay either and returned to the West Gate vegetable market.
Everyone originally thought that something unclean had entered Little Wang's widow's home, but Xiaoqing alone didn't believe it. Now, when everyone disbelieved the presence of anything unclean, Xiaoqing was the one who believed.
Back at his stall, Xiaoqing put on his apron. "With such abilities, why do you still slaughter chickens?" The moment he arrived at his stall, people gathered around, and even the surrounding vendors pricked up their ears.
"Precisely because of that, I need to slaughter chickens even more." Xiaoqing's words left everyone puzzled. After a pause, Xiaoqing continued, "From now on, I'll charge one copper coin for slaughtering a chicken." Everyone was stunned, and the surrounding vendors were speechless. You already had no competitors in Purple Bamboo Town; why lower the price yourself? Those who had taken chickens home, thinking Xiaoqing was gone, brought them back upon hearing about the price drop. One copper coin couldn't even buy a meat-filled steamed bun. "I'll only slaughter live chickens... Never mind, bring them over." Xiaoqing continued to slaughter chickens efficiently but became very quiet. It wasn't until the afternoon, an hour later than usual, that he finished.
"Xiaoqing, what grudge do you have with chickens?" A vendor selling chickens joked. Xiaoqing smiled faintly without explaining. The vendor continued, "Aren't you afraid that one day the chickens in town will become spirits and come to settle accounts with you?" The vendor's wife interrupted, "Go away, we're just chicken sellers. What nonsense are you talking about? Even if chickens could become spirits, they'd be slaughtered by Xiaoqing!" Listening to this, Xiaoqing felt even more restless inside. He hurried back to the rented courtyard and lay down directly on the lounge chair in the yard. Before long, Xiaoqing had already fallen asleep. In his dream, Xiaoqing once again dreamed of the divine sword. Ever since he came to this world, he had seen it in every dream. The translucent divine sword, with various divine lights flowing through it, gave Xiaoqing a sense of mysterious connection. The Sword of Destiny and Longevity. His lifespan. Nine thousand three hundred years. A gust of cool wind woke up the hungry Xiaoqing. Without bothering to cook, Xiaoqing still lay there, but his eyes sparkled with a keen light. The Sword of Destiny and Longevity, Xiaoqing had already verified its existence. It has three abilities.
Theft of Time: By killing living beings, one can obtain their remaining lifespan. A chicken, which is usually slaughtered at one year old, has a lifespan of about seven or eight years. Killing one can add six or seven years to one's life. This ability is not affected by other factors. That is, even if it's a sick chicken that can only live for a few more days, killing it will still grant six or seven years of life. Xiaoqing has tried it with ordinary plants, but it doesn't work.
A Hundred-Year Dream: Consuming lifespan to gain insights. It is equivalent to spending a hundred years focusing on a single task and completing it in an instant. A hundred years is the minimum unit. To be cautious, Xiaoqing saved up three hundred years of life and tried it once, which directly perfected his chicken-slaughtering skills. He also used it several times in an attempt to enter the path of cultivation. The result was a method of physical training that continuously strengthened his body. A donkey that couldn't pull a stone mill for a whole day could be easily lifted by Xiaoqing. No matter how hard the stone or iron, Xiaoqing could crush and knead it at will. However, once his physique reached a certain limit, it could not be further improved. After using the "A Hundred-Year Dream" several times without new insights, Xiaoqing stopped. It was also because of this that Xiaoqing thought this was an ordinary world.
Eternal Moment: Consuming lifespan to slow down the flow of time. If one recklessly allows the lifespan to drain away, it can even stop time. However, during the stoppage, only Xiaoqing's thoughts can move. When slowing down the flow of time, Xiaoqing's actions can only be within the limits of his body's endurance.
"This is definitely not an ordinary world. It seems I'm not the one who's abnormal."
"Before going to Little Wang's widow's house with the old woman, I activated the 'A Hundred-Year Dream' and gained insights into the spell to stop a child's crying. There are indeed many mysteries."
"Since this world has unclean things, there must also be spirits and monsters, and naturally, there must be a path of cultivation."
"Without a way in or a method, relying on my own insights, even a thousand years might not be enough for me, who came from another world, to succeed."
Xiaoqing had made up his mind. Since he had already determined that there was a path of cultivation, the lifespan consumed to gain insights was not wasted.
If a thousand years didn't work, then two thousand. If two thousand didn't work, then three thousand! After all, he already had nine thousand three hundred years accumulated!
It was time to indulge!
Think and act, Xiaoqing sat cross-legged.
Close his eyes and silently recite in his heart. Activate the Hundred-Year Dream! Once... twice... three times... Ten times... twenty times... thirty times... After consuming nine thousand years of lifespan, Xiaoqing suddenly opened his eyes. The light in his eyes seemed much brighter. Xiaoqing sniffed, as if he smelled something strange. The air seemed to have some mysterious power entering his body with each breath. The scorching sun above sent a constant flow of heat, making Xiaoqing's body feel warm and cozy. A moment of enlightenment in his heart made Xiaoqing start to breathe rhythmically.
As time slowly passed, a warm current appeared in his body. As thin as a silkworm's thread, intermittent. But this warm current made Xiaoqing feel a revolutionary change in his strength. He clenched his fist, and an explosive sense of power made Xiaoqing feel invincible.
"Nine thousand years of lifespan, in exchange for the way of cultivation..."
Xiaoqing was somewhat astonished in his heart. Was it because his comprehension was too poor? Moreover, this way of cultivation seemed a bit strange. Logically, he should have gained some kind of cultivation method to continue practicing with. But Xiaoqing felt that he was directly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon.
"Increased strength is enough to deal with monsters. I'm not afraid of any spirit, not just chicken spirits."
"But to deal with unclean things, the spells I've memorized might be more reliable."
Xiaoqing continued to activate the Hundred-Year Dream, leaving himself a hundred years of lifespan, and used the remaining two hundred years to gain insights into two spells.