Chapter 60: Eternal Evergreen Technique
“Brother Lin, are you alright?”
“Fellow Daoist Lin, what happened to this Azure-Horned Bull! I have a few healing pills here—quickly give them to your spirit beast.”
Upon returning to the courtyard, they happened to see Lu Qingqing handing the child over to Wei Buyi, preparing to rush out, when she coincidentally saw Lin Chang'an returning.
But Lin Chang'an had no mind to concern himself with the pair's actions. He was only focused on treating the Azure-Horned Bull, while pretending to speak angrily:
“The marketplace is getting more and more chaotic these days. If there’s no need, don’t go out easily.”
Wei Buyi leaned on his iron cane and fed healing pills to the Azure-Horned Bull as Lin Chang'an recounted the incident with the rogue cultivator.
“That rogue cultivator wasn't weak. I just lured him away and fled back. But due to carelessness, the Azure-Horned Bull was severely injured.”
At this moment, the Azure-Horned Bull lay on the ground, its pair of weak bovine eyes filled with reliance and concern toward Lin Chang'an.
Holding the Beast Command Token, Lin Chang'an could clearly feel this emotion, which left a complicated feeling in his heart.
Only now did he understand why many cultivators spent their lives accompanied by spirit beasts. Sometimes, spirit beasts were indeed more reliable than people.
“Fellow Daoist Wei, will this silly bull be alright?”
Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but ask with concern. Wei Buyi smiled, stood up leaning on his cane again, and reassured him:
“Don’t worry. This injury is indeed quite serious. If it were us cultivators, we might not survive it. But spirit beasts are naturally resilient—just give it proper rest and it’ll recover.”
Hearing that the Azure-Horned Bull was fine, Lin Chang'an finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then recounted the whole incident to the two of them.
By evening, Shen Lie returned and learned of the matter. He and his wife brought their child over again to offer a solemn thank-you.
Rogue cultivators might be all too familiar to them, but to the child, they were their reverse scale.
……
As night fell, Lin Chang'an, now alone in the cultivation room, finally had time to cautiously inspect the storage pouch of the Wang Clan remnant.
“The two great sects offered such a high bounty. I heard that the captured survivors were all soul-searched by Core Formation elders themselves. This Wang Clan almost certainly obtained some opportunity within the Secret Realm.”
Inside the storage pouch, not a single spirit stone remained. There was only half a bottle of healing pills, plus an empty vial—though from the scent, it clearly once contained Fasting Elixirs.
The rest consisted of the premium magic tool Flaming Sun Sword and fragments of a defensive magic tool left on the body after Fireball Spell burned it to ashes—all of which he had taken back.
It was obvious that Wang Lin had engaged in a duel before fleeing. His defensive magic tool had long since shattered.
“This guy probably hid in a grave and held his breath for several months to avoid pursuit. Clearly, he only came out after exhausting all his spirit stones and Fasting Elixirs.”
Lin Chang'an was secretly shocked. But when he saw the last item, a puzzled expression crossed his face.
“What is this!?”
On what looked like a withered leaf, mysterious characters were imprinted—unfamiliar to him. But the moment Lin Chang'an laid eyes on it, his gaze turned vacant, and a sensation etched into his soul surged forth.
Yet in the blink of an eye, Lin Chang'an regained clarity. At this moment, he was utterly astonished—his shock beyond words.
“Could this opportunity have fallen into my hands!?”
This was an ancient cultivation technique capable of being cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, named 《Eternal Evergreen Technique》.
“Could the might described in this technique actually be real?”
Looking at this technique now imprinted in his mind, Lin Chang'an couldn’t even begin to describe its power.
The 《Eternal Evergreen Technique》, once mastered, could significantly extend one’s lifespan, strengthen qi channels, and grant magical power far beyond others at the same stage. It even came with an innate physique divine ability—‘Regenerative Body’.
Regenerative Body was a special physique only possessed by spirit beasts and spirit beings. To put it plainly, it allowed for limb regeneration and, as cultivation deepened, became increasingly powerful.
“It’s said only the most powerful techniques come with divine abilities.”
Lin Chang'an was in awe. With this technique in hand, in the perilous world of cultivation, his chances of survival would rise dramatically.
“However, there’s also a restriction—cultivating this technique requires refining a ‘Heaven and Earth Spirit Root’ as the foundation, turning it into the cultivator’s ‘Life-bound Spirit Plant’.”
Seeing the requirement to refine a Life-bound Spirit Plant, Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but nod secretly.
“Indeed, only with difficulty can something be called an ancient technique. How could it be that easy to cultivate?”
The demanding part of this technique lay in that Heaven and Earth Spirit Root. At the very least, one needed a spirit plant over three thousand years old to barely make use of it—and that was just the start.
Future cultivation of this technique would also require long-term nourishment with spirit spring and spirit liquid, continuously strengthening the plant in mutual symbiosis with the cultivator.
“A three-thousand-year-old spiritual herb—let alone Core Formation cultivators—even Nascent Soul cultivators would fight to the death over one.”
Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but shake his head.
“But although there aren’t any three-thousand-year-old spirit herbs, the Cloudmist Mountain Range is full of spirit plants over a thousand, even ten thousand years old.”
Just like the deep forests in the mortal world, thousand-year-old trees weren’t uncommon.
Although the strength of the Life-bound Spirit Plant was tied to the cultivator themselves, Lin Chang'an, a mere rogue cultivator—even if he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator—would still find it hard to obtain a thousand-year-old spirit herb.
So he could only seek the near and give up the far, using some spirit plant of little use as his Life-bound Spirit Plant.
In the Cloudmist Mountain Range, who knew how many plants had lived for over a thousand, even ten thousand years, yet held little value—ptui!
They should be called spirit plants, spirit flowers, and spirit herbs.
These all held little practical value.
“Once a Life-bound Spirit Plant is refined, it becomes linked to the cultivator’s very life. One must choose with caution.”
After reading this, Lin Chang'an shook his head and sighed again. This ancient technique did look tempting, but it required him to reach Foundation Establishment before it could be cultivated.
“So what? It’s still better than nothing. At least I won’t have to worry about searching for a technique after Foundation Establishment.”
Consoling himself, Lin Chang'an intended to destroy the technique with Fireball Spell, but this withered leaf scroll turned out to be some kind of treasure—he was completely unable to damage it.
“Wait!”
Suddenly thinking of something, Lin Chang'an narrowed his eyes.
Why didn’t that Wang Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator carry it? Why give it to a Qi Refinement cultivator?
Moreover, this ancient technique imprinted itself into the mind after just one glance. Didn’t that mean many in the Wang Clan had already seen it?
Now with the Wang Clan either on the run or captured, and with their souls searched by Core Formation cultivators of the two great sects, it was likely those sects had also obtained this technique.
“If that’s the case, then this technique wouldn’t be watched so closely. When cultivating it later, I just need to hide its unique traits.”
Thinking this, Lin Chang'an quietly breathed a sigh of relief. If this technique had only existed in one copy, he might have worried that the two great sects would relentlessly track it down—there would be serious danger behind it.
But now—if you have it, I have it, everyone has it—the most the two sects would do is resent the Wang Clan’s audacity. They wouldn’t obsessively chase after it.
“But simply gaining a fortunate encounter doesn’t make it one—rising through it afterward is the real fortune.”
Recalling the Wang Clan’s fate, and that Heaven’s Chosen one, Wang Lin, Lin Chang'an silently warned himself not to be careless.
Wang Lin had the opportunity in hand, yet it only served to benefit someone else. Lin Chang'an couldn’t repeat the same mistake and end up preparing another’s robes.
“Not a single hair of the Wang Clan’s possessions can be exposed.”
At this moment, Lin Chang'an made up his mind—the premium magic tool must never be revealed, lest it bring disaster whether it’s related or not.