"Zhong Shentong? He wants to see me?" Within the boundless White Mist, Li Fan paused his work.
Li Fan frowned slightly as he listened to He Chen's report, finding the situation rather baffling.
He had only met the man once in the Seated Dao Discourse sector; they had never formally met in the real world.
Seeing Li Fan's expression, He Chen lowered his voice. "According to this Zhong Shentong, he has a method to extend your lifespan, Master Li. But he insists on meeting you in person.
"Although his cultivation is only at the Foundation Establishment realm, his multicolored divine light is truly profound and mysterious. It can even resist the Lifespan-Devouring White Mist. The elders within the fortress speak highly of him.
"Moreover, Zhong Shentong has a wide circle of acquaintances. He was introduced and vouched for by a Spirit Transformation realm cultivator, which is why the fortress allowed him passage.
"It wouldn't hurt for you to meet him, Master Li." He Chen suggested.
Among the cultivators Li Fan had saved at Outpost 01-11 two years prior, He Chen was the most grateful.
After witnessing Li Fan continue to labor on the front lines of array construction even as his own lifespan dwindled, He Chen's admiration for Li Fan reached a level of near reverence. He followed Li Fan's words with unwavering obedience.
Li Fan gave a slight nod. "Very well. Take me to meet this Zhong Shentong."
Internally, he thought: Just when I was feeling drowsy, a pillow appears. Never mind whether this so-called lifespan-extending method is genuine or not. Simply getting closer to him and probing the origins of his multicolored divine light in advance would be beneficial to me.
When they returned to Outpost 01-11, they found an elderly man already seated in the Council Hall. His hair and beard were white as snow, and he wore the robes of a Daoist.
As Li Fan stepped inside, Zhong Shentong's gaze instantly turned to him.
Their eyes met. Li Fan was the first to offer a greeting. "Fellow Daoist Zhong, I have long heard of your esteemed name!"
Zhong Shentong let out a long sigh. "Where there is smoke, there is fire. The rumors circulating outside are not false. Fellow Daoist, you truly bear the signs of a rapidly decaying lifespan, with your final day drawing near."
Upon hearing this, He Chen's gaze turned somewhat hostile.
Li Fan, however, felt a stir within. He motioned for He Chen to leave for the time being.
Only when the two of them remained in the hall did Li Fan cup his hands and ask, "Fellow Daoist, your words seem to carry some deeper meaning?"
Zhong Shentong stroked his beard and nodded. "It is precisely because I have experienced a similar plight that I can be so certain at a glance.
"To be frank with you, Fellow Daoist, when I heard of your deeds, I did not believe them. As I have lived through it myself, I understand all too keenly the sheer intensity of that extreme change—one moment possessing ample remaining lifespan, the next teetering on the brink of death—and the profound terror that accompanies it.
"I once prided myself on having a resilient will, yet I nearly broke. It took me a long time to recover.
"But compared to you, Fellow Daoist..."
Zhong Shentong shook his head. "Just now, you seemed to be overseeing array construction work within the White Mist? To disregard your own life so completely...This is a level beyond my reach!"
Li Fan gave a wry smile. "I am only doing this because I know there is no hope of extending my life. I simply wish to accomplish as much as I can while I still draw breath. As for being noble...
"I don't see it that way," Li Fan said with genuine sincerity.
Zhong Shentong's expression grew even more animated. "Yes! It is precisely this transcendent and carefree attitude.
"How exactly did you achieve this, Fellow Daoist? I beg you to teach me!" With that, he bowed deeply, his face etched with solemnity.
Li Fan reacted swiftly, sidestepping to avoid the bow.
He said gravely, "Fellow Daoist, your arrival here is strange, and your behavior even more baffling.
"If you continue speaking so vaguely, do not blame me for turning hostile! Your multicolored divine light may be formidable, but I am not afraid of you!"
Zhong Shentong gave a bitter laugh and smacked his own forehead. "My apologies, Fellow Daoist. I was impulsive."
Straightening up, he pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "What I said earlier about having a method to extend your lifespan is indeed true. And my desire to seek your guidance is also sincere.
"Have you heard of my story, Fellow Daoist?" Zhong Shentong looked at Li Fan.
Li Fan nodded. "I have heard a little, Fellow Doiast. You are famously known as a late bloomer.
"You began Qi Refinement in your sixties. After several decades, you finally achieved Foundation Establishment.
"You never gave up hope of breaking through to the next realm, even unto death. I hold you in high esteem for that."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Shentong actually blushed. He glanced around, ensuring no one else was present, then lowered his voice. "You praise me too highly, Fellow Daoist.
"There is, in fact, a secret behind this. And it is related to why I have sought you out today. I will tell you now, and I ask that you keep it to yourself."
Li Fan's expression shifted slightly, but he nodded in agreement.
Zhong Shentong cleared his throat. "Tell me, Fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of procrastination?"
"Procrastination?" Li Fan was somewhat taken aback.
"Indeed. This old Daoist suffers from an extremely severe case of procrastination. A terminal illness, with no cure." Zhong Shentong sighed.
"Back in the day, I happened upon a profound cultivation manual when I was just eighteen. Alas, I had absolutely no motivation to practice it. ‘I'm still young, there's plenty of time ahead,’ I thought to myself. So my cultivation grew increasingly lax."
"Like this, I fished for three days and sunned my net for two. I lived a carefree and leisurely life until I was over fifty, and I still hadn't broken through to the Qi Refinement realm.
"And I still wasn't in a hurry then."
Zhong Shentong narrowed his eyes, as if lost in memory.
"I boasted that with my physical condition at the time, I could easily live to seventy or eighty. I still had over thirty years of fun ahead of me.
"Until that day, when I accidentally ingested a poisonous fruit.
"Although I survived and didn't die on the spot, my body was left in a precarious state, teetering on the brink of my lifespan limit.
"I had never felt death so close before, and I became more terrified than ever.
"Between life and death lies great terror!
"At that time, I suddenly remembered that upon breaking through to Qi Refinement, one is able to greatly increase their lifespan.
"As if grasping the last life-saving straw, I cast aside all other thoughts. My mind held only thoughts of cultivation.
"Under the pressure of impending death, my cultivation speed was unimaginably fast. In just one day and one night, I successfully stepped into the Qi Refinement realm!
"But after that, my increased lifespan once again sapped all my motivation. Thinking I had many days left to live, I decided to enjoy myself first."
"That was, until decades later, when I once again approached the limit of my natural lifespan.
"Only under the threat of death did I cultivate and break through to the Foundation Establishment realm!"
After Zhong Shentong finished his tale, Li Fan's expression turned exceedingly strange.
If he wasn't lying, then this man was a genuine, mother-loving prodigy.
"So, Fellow Daoist, what exactly is this lifespan-extending method you speak of?" Li Fan asked, forcing his expression into one of patient amiability.
Zhong Shentong replied with brimming confidence, "I've heard that your remaining lifespan is short, and you've given up on advancing to the Nascent Soul realm? In my opinion, that is entirely unnecessary!"