"I don't need to call myself 'old body' anymore?"
Granny Sha was stunned. Overwhelming joy surged in her heart, montarily making her nose tingle with emotion and tears welling up uncontrollably in her eyes.
She had just said she still had twenty-four years of life left and didn't care about living an extra year or two. But what if it was an extra five hundred years?
What if she could return to her younger self?
Old body, granny—these terms that were originally fitting for her were now completely inappropriate!
She was currently in her sixties. Compared to the more than five hundred years of life she now possessed, she was still in her adolescence!
The Return to Emptiness realm, the Great Ascension Realm—previously unattainable realms that seed so distant—now felt less remote. Even if she couldn't cultivate to the Great Ascension Realm in ten years, she could still strive to break through over a hundred years; there was no need to rush!
She used to always feel old, having lost interest in various things, thinking that the elderly should behave like the elderly.
But now she suddenly realized she wasn't old at all; there were still many things she could do!
Right, she could even find a young partner to infuriate that old bastard Xiang Yunfei!
Excitedly, she paced back and forth. The clothes she wore when she was young could also be dug out and worn again; she didn't need to dress so old-fashioned.
Moreover, in the future when she perford spirit dances, shaking the King Wen drum, who would dare call her a spirit dium or a godmother?
They'd have to call her a goddess!
She rushed excitedly into her room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, finally finding her youthful clothes. Although they carried a musty sll, she enthusiastically put them on, leaped into the courtyard, and called out, "Little Ten, does Granny look good? Wait, can't call Granny... call Auntie... no, can't call Auntie either, maybe I can still attract an old man... call Sister!"
Granny Sha looked serious, grabbing Chen Shi by the collar and lifting him up. "From now on, in front of others, especially young n, rember to call Sister Sha, understand?"
Chen Shi nodded hurriedly.
Granny Sha put him down, still in an excited state, finding it hard to calm down imdiately.
Chen Shi observed her for a mont. Indeed, after rejuvenating, Granny Sha was a great beauty—tall, with good bearing, even though her clothes were sowhat old.
"It shows that no matter how beautiful a woman is, she becos ugly when old," he thought to himself. "So there's no need to find a beautiful wife."
After Granny Sha cald down, he picked another Ginseng Grass Fruit and said, "Granny, take another one."
Granny Sha complied and took it. Chen Shi asked with concern, "Has your lifespan increased further?"
Granny Sha replied, "It has increased, but not by much. My lifespan limit is now five hundred and forty-eight years."
Chen Shi pondered, "So, the sa type of spiritual herb has an upper limit for extending life. Once that limit is reached, no matter how much you eat, it won't increase lifespan further."
Granny Sha smiled, "There is indeed such a saying. I've heard that the patriarchs of great clans, when extending their own lives, always consu various spiritual elixirs and miraculous dicines, never relying on just one type, probably for this reason. Little Ten, how did you make the Ginseng Grass Fruit increase my lifespan?"
Chen Shi explained Li Tianqing's discovery, saying, "Tianqing said it's likely because the spiritual herbs absorbed sunlight from the Ancestral Land, giving them life-extending effects. So I planted the Ginseng Grass outside my small temple, watering them with the righteous energy of heaven and earth, and the new Ginseng Grass Fruits that grew have life-extending effects."
Granny Sha examined the small temple behind his head and indeed saw over ten Ginseng Grass plants outside it.
However, Chen Shi's temple wasn't large, and the land outside was also small, probably unable to grow many types of spiritual herbs.
"Little Ten, don't spread the word yet that the spiritual herbs from your small temple can extend lifespan," Granny Sha thought for a mont and said. "Your temple is small, but its function is too great. If word gets out, you won't be able to protect it. If a truly Great Ascension Realm existence cos to seize it, Qing Yang and I won't be able to hold them off. Moreover, places with spiritual herbs are often temples of China's deities. Not many of these temples have spiritual herbs. If this news spreads, the already scarce remaining temples will likely be destroyed completely. Also, if these temples show any unusual phenona, they'll be destroyed by the Celestial True God. It's best not to invite unnecessary trouble."
Chen Shi nodded gently.
He didn't plan to spread the word either. Even if the small temple could produce life-extending spiritual herbs, the yield would be pitifully small and would bring him imnse danger.
"Little Ten, have you taken any yourself?" Granny Sha smiled. "You should take so too; it can extend your lifespan!"
Chen Shi shook his head, "I don't need it. My life is long."
Granny Sha laughed, "Longer than mine?"
Chen Shi had a clear insight into his own lifespan and said, "I still have thirteen hundred years of life left."
Granny Sha fell silent for a long ti before asking, "How did you cultivate that?"
Chen Shi explained his and Li Tianqing's discovery. When Granny Sha heard about discarding one's cultivation and starting over in an ancient Chinese temple, she couldn't help but frown deeply.
Li Tianqing discarding his Golden Core to start cultivation anew and test this idea could be said to involve risking his life, requiring trendous courage.
Granny Sha was already a Refining Spirit Realm existence, a top-tier figure in the current era. If she discarded her cultivation to start over, the danger would be even greater. During the process of discarding her cultivation, she might simply die.
—The higher the cultivation, the greater the danger faced when discarding it.
"I've extended my life by over five hundred years. If I can't cultivate to the Great Ascension Realm within these five hundred years, even extending my life by a thousand years won't get there," she was very accepting of this and smiled. "Five hundred years and a thousand years make no difference, so it's better not to ss around recklessly. I'm going to the county town to buy so new clothes."
Chen Shi also needed to go to the county town, so they went together.
After Granny Sha beca young, she refused to take a carriage, insisting on walking so passersby could see her graceful figure.
"After Granny beca young, even her temperant changed. She used to be too lazy to walk," Chen Shi thought to himself.
"Granny, would Ginseng Grass Fruit have any effect on Uncle Qing Yang and Uncle Hu?"
Granny Sha shook her head, "Qing Yang won't work. Qing Yang is already dead; his lifespan was written off long ago. Ginseng Grass Fruit is ineffective on him. Old Hu might work. Before Old Hu died, your grandfather created a Ghost and God Domain for him. I don't know if he's truly dead or not. If he is dead, then taking Ginseng Grass Fruit would also be ineffective."
Chen Shi's expression darkened. If it was ineffective for Qing Yang and the Bearded Man, then it would likely be ineffective for Grandpa too.
"Your grandfather might be able to extend his life," Granny Sha said. "He faked his death to escape; his soul never left his body. Later, because of the moon's evil and demonic nature, which risked corrupting him, he hid in the underworld. His body is that of a Corpse Liberation Immortal, and he entered the underworld with his physical body. Perhaps Ginseng Grass Fruit could work for him."
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Where is Grandpa's Primordial Palace? I'll deliver it to him!"
Granny Sha quickly said, "Just settle down! Your grandfather went through great trouble to rescue you from the underworld, and now you want to deliver yourself there! Your current strength is still far from sufficient; don't go to the underworld and cause trouble."
Chen Shi thought about it; Granny Sha was right. He had no choice but to abandon the idea.
Seeing he didn't bring it up again, Granny Sha also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, "If Little Ten ran to the underworld and saw his grandfather standing on the Cyan Ghost Hand, with the other end of the Cyan Ghost Hand piercing his own chest, who knows what would happen?"
She imagined that scene, giving herself a headache, and simply stopped thinking about it.
They arrived at Xinxiang County town. Granny Sha went to buy new clothes, while Chen Shi went to Juxian Pavilion. When Shao Jing heard he had co, he hurried to et him, smiling, "It's been a long ti since we last t! Fortunately, I didn't fail the task. The Soul-Returning Pills you consigned last ti have all been sold."
He took out a small wooden box containing Silver Notes, placed it on the table, and said, "This is the remaining hundred thousand taels of silver."
Chen Shi sought advice, "Brother Shao, I haven't even spent the money from last ti yet; I still have a hundred thousand taels on . Coming from a poor family, with so much money, I'm afraid I'll squander it. May I ask, Brother Shao, how should I manage this money?"
Shao Jing smiled, "In cultivation, where is there ever enough silver? Although two hundred thousand taels is a lot, refining the Golden Core costs money, the Nascent Soul stage costs money, and Spirit Transformation costs money too! The Divine Descent ritual, offering sacrifices to the True God also requires a large sum! Emptiness Refining, Body Unification, Severing the Three Corpses—which one doesn't require spending money? These two hundred thousand taels will only be enough for you to cultivate to the Body Unification realm before they run out. Severing the Three Corpses also costs a huge amount; by then you'll complain about having too little money."
Chen Shi wasn't aware of this and said, "I've already achieved the Nascent Soul stage and haven't spent money; instead, I've earned quite a bit."
Shao Jing looked puzzled, "Before you cultivated your Golden Core, didn't you buy spiritual pills to nourish your foundation and consolidate your essence? Before achieving the Nascent Soul, didn't you buy Great dicine? Just these two things cost several thousand taels of silver. And you also need to buy Spirit Beast at for daily consumption and refinent. Although not a huge amount, it still costs quite a bit every month."
Chen Shi shook his head, "I never took any of those. I just went with the flow and achieved the Golden Core and Nascent Soul."
"That's because your talent is too high. The great clans consu thousands of taels of silver daily on foundation-nourishing pills, essence-consolidating pills, Great dicine, and spiritual pills! Spirit Beast at is calculated by the cartload," Shao Jing said. "If you don't know how to handle these two hundred thousand taels of silver, why not buy good farmland and hire tenant farrs to work for you? The harvest from the good farmland will be the profit generated by the two hundred thousand taels, enough to cover your daily cultivation expenses. When you need money, sell this farmland. Although farmland prices fluctuate, the difference isn't huge."
Chen Shi looked around and asked, "Did Brother Shao establish Juxian Pavilion himself?"
Shao Jing shook his head and smiled, "My father built it. My father spent thirty years managing it, barely establishing a foothold in Xinxiang Province."
Chen Shi took out a small wooden box, retrieved another hundred thousand taels of Silver Notes from it, and pushed both the box and the previous money box toward Shao Jing.
Shao Jing looked at him with confusion, quite puzzled.
Chen Shi smiled, "To be honest, I now have more people under , and daily expenses require money. I don't know how to manage it, which is why I ca to see you, Brother Shao."
Shao Jing looked at the Silver Notes and said, "So, you want to manage this silver for you?"
Chen Shi nodded gently, "Also, the Lu Ban Sect and the Red Mountain Hall talisman master association. They will also have a sum of silver coming in every year, which also needs soone to manage."
Shao Jing had heard of the Lu Ban Sect and the Red Mountain Hall talisman master association. Moved, he said, "I never imagined these two sects would be your enterprises, Brother! As for helping manage silver, I do have a few accountants under ..."
Chen Shi smiled slightly, took out a self-made Celestial Court token, pushed it toward him, and smiled, "Although our organization is quite lax, it's also very secretive; we don't want outsiders to know. Currently, we're short of an accountant. I hope Brother Shao can be our accountant."
Shao Jing looked at this peculiar token, picked it up, and examined it, asking, "May I ask what this organization is called?"
"The Celestial Court."
Shao Jing's hand trembled, and the token fell onto the table.
Chen Shi smiled and looked at him without speaking.
Shao Jing shakily picked up the token, failing to grasp it several tis.
The Celestial Court!
This na was too grand, clearly indicating rebellion!
And rebellion against the Celestial True God!
Chen Shi said, "Our Celestial Court is very lax. Currently, there are only over ten people; it's not about rebellion. It's fine if you don't want to agree; I'm not a bloodthirsty person."
Shao Jing trembled, recalling various rumors about Chen Shi and the successive generations of county magistrates and governors who had died in Xinxiang. Currently, Chen Shi in Xinxiang was practically a local emperor. Even the Xinxiang Governor treated him with utmost respect upon eting him.
Also, news had co from Gongzhou and Yudu about Chen Shi—how could it be described as rely brutal? It was downright savage!
Not long ago, a rchant caravan from Carriage Capital also brought news that Chen Shi had killed over a thousand cultivators in Carriage Capital, including a large number of Spirit Transformation realm experts.
The caravan said the old demon was probably refining a Myriad Soul Banner.
"I... I'll join!" Shao Jing gritted his teeth and said.
Chen Shi was very pleased and smiled, "From now on, we're one of our own! Your codena will be 'Accountant'! Besides you, we also have codenas like Master Craftsman, Jade Rabbit, and County Magistrate's Assistant."
Shao Jing composed himself and asked, "What's your codena?"
"True King."
Shao Jing's face turned ashen, thinking to himself, "So it really is about rebellion!"
Chen Shi briefly explained the Celestial Court's structure and everyone's codenas. The accountant's duties weren't many—just managing money. If mbers of the Celestial Court needed funds for refining treasures, expeditions, building temples, or other matters, they could co to him to withdraw money.
Chen Shi left Juxian Pavilion just as Granny Sha, having bought her clothes, walked over. She looked no more than in her early twenties, tall and slender, lightly made up, with her hair tied in a falling horse bun tilted to one side. Black hair was pinned with a gold hairpin, the falling horse bun covered with a pearl-and-jade floral hairnet, adorned with flower-and-jade hairpins on the side, with a ruby embedded in the center.
Her clothes were elegant: a white high-collared shirt on top, covered with a layer of light grass-green gauze with silver-thread tassels, inside which was a red floor-length skirt, barely revealing the tips of her shoes. When she walked, it was like moving atop red clouds.
"Granny is truly beautiful!" Chen Shi secretly praised. "If we're going to burn offerings for Grandpa, we should burn ones like this."
The two returned to the village. Granny Sha still refused to take a carriage, walking the entire way without her feet touching the ground.
As they neared Gangzi Village, another paper crane fluttered its wings and flew over, landing on Chen Shi's arm.
Chen Shi unfolded the letter and read it. It was another letter from Li Tianqing. The wording was refined, but the tone carried so urgency.
The letter said that the ancient temple he was in seed to have a deity awakening, but incense offerings were difficult to gather, preventing the formation of a Divine Manifestation. Moreover, evil spirits haunted the temple, with flashes of blades and swords, which was quite terrifying.
It was tolerable before, but recently, bloodstains and sword marks frequently appeared on the temple walls, getting closer and closer to Li Tianqing's neck, becoming increasingly dangerous.
Li Tianqing was worried about his life and also concerned that the temple's haunting by evil spirits would affect the condensation of the Divine Manifestation. He asked if Chen Shi could co over before the New Year.
"I have found the temple's plaque; it is the Temple of the God of Wealth. The deity within is called Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor. Co quickly; I eagerly await your arrival."
Chen Shi turned the letter over; on the back was a topographic map drawn by Li Tianqing, showing the location of the Temple of Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor.
"God of Wealth, Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor?" Chen Shi closed the letter, delighted. "I just found an accountant, and Tianqing sends the God of Wealth. It seems the Celestial Court is destined for overflowing wealth!"
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